August 16 [word of the day]: blinker beat
When the tic-toc of the blinkers syncs with the music playing on the car radio.
dude check it out, I got blinker beat happening on this Jay-Z song.
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Autoblog occasionally gives me flash-backs, as they have with their blog on the Devon GTX.
The California-based design studio and upstart automaker created the GTX as an American answer to the ultra-exclusive sports cars hailing from Europe. Housed within the steel structure and carbon fiber body lies an 8.4-liter V10 putting 650 hp (at 6,100 rpm) to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox.
But credulity has its price:
Devon plans to produce 36 cars each year, carrying a price tag of $500,000, with a racing package commanding another $25,000.
I’ve been harping on about the media’s “Ford didn’t take bailout bucks” meme for some time. Commentators have slated me for slating the Blue Oval Boyz for claiming they avoided the taxpayer trough. In fact, Ford raided the public purse to the tune of $5.9 billion dollars. Yes, it’s a no-to-low-interest Department of Energy “retooling loan.” I repeat: the $5.9 billion loan from the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) program allows Mulally’s minions to spend $5.9 billion dollars on something else. It’s a bailout. Question: if you’re an industry writer, how do you push Ford’s mega-suckle to one side to keep the “pure as driven snow” show alive? You draw a distinction between “emergency tax dollars” and ATVM loans, while, at the same time, not mentioning the loans. Sarah Webster’s “Ford, Toyota in a close race to No. 1” does that and more, taking Motown’s hometown cheerleading to the next level.
KTVU.com reports that an unspecified Japanese newspaper reports that Toyota has decided to shut down its Fremont, California, plant as of next March. New GM has already announced its decision to pull the plug on its share of the plant’s production, which last consisted of the Pontiac Vibe version of the Toyota Matrix. Speaking off the record, a U.S. Toyota spokesman told TTAC the writing’s been on the wall for some time. “NUMMI (New United Motor Manufacturing) was only profitable for a single year.” If this story pans out, production of the Tacoma pickup and Corolla sedan will move to ToMoCo’s mothballed—but brand spanking new—Mississippi factory. Which is, unlike NUMMI, a non-union shop. [Thanks to jmhm2003 for the link.]
TTAC Commentator Boff says the new Porsche Panamera sounds like Ye Olde 928—which would make my previous headline seem pretty pig ignorant. He may be right. We retort, you decide.
Nor, in fact, does the Panamera look like any Porsche I’ve ever seen before, although it’s vaguely reminiscent of the 911. I wonder if they can match the shag carpet in my basement . . .
Like many American car buyers, I place reliability near the top of my “must have” list. Over on GM’s FastLane blog, I told GM they’d conquer [some] Toyota and Honda customers when the American automaker’s ten-year-old cars offered the same service as ten-year-old Toyotas and Hondas. Truth be told, New GM may not HAVE ten years. So it’s no surprise that they tried to wow me with tail fins and technology. When the speeches finally ended in the Proving Ground auditorium, I was invited to sample New GM in the “now.” Our PR handlers gave us a quick safety talk (don’t do anything stupid, obey the traffic wardens) and turned us loose.
One of our Best and Brightest, Kixstart, sent us this heads-up:
Jeff Belzer Chevrolet in the Twin Cities is running a newspaper ad today suggesting you “Order Your 2010 Chevy Volt! 230mpg EPA City!” Who could resist? When I called the dealer, “Mary Jo” answered. After a preliminary question or two Jeff Belzer, himself, called me back. Yes, they’re really taking orders. They want $10K down. The price of the Volt will be $40 to $50K, plus $10K on top. (Belzer wasn’t even slightly embarrassed by the surcharge.) If I wanted, I could pick a color. But there are no specific delivery dates. If I don’t like the car when it arrives, I can have my money back. According to Belzer, this is not a dealer cashing-in before time. “It’s official.”
TTAC commentator Geo. Levecque writes:
Hello Sajeev, greetings from Canada. If you switch Oil to Synthetic, can you go back to the old stuff? If it matters, I am asking about my 2008 Toyota RAV4 2008, 4 Cyl, with 18,000 kms on it.
icollector.com reckons this ‘Stang is a keeper. Bidding so far: $16,800.00. What does that tell you? Make the jump for the particulars.
The Cash for Clunkers (a.k.a. C.A.R.S.) program is a car industry bailout dressed-up as a green initiative. The University of California has put some numbers to the boondoggle. According to a study by UC Davis transportation economist Christopher Knittel, Uncle Sam’s taxpayer reach-around is paying 10 times the “sticker price” to reduce emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. At least. “While carbon credits are projected to sell in the U.S. for about $28 per ton (today’s price in Europe was $20), even the best-case calculation of the cost of the clunkers rebate is $237 per ton. When burned, a gallon of gasoline creates roughly 20 pounds of carbon dioxide. I combined that known value with an average rebate of $4,200 and a range of assumptions about the fuel economy of the new vehicles purchased and how long the clunkers would have been on the road if not for the program,” Knittel said. “I even assumed drivers didn’t change their habits, although some analysts have suggested that the owners of new vehicles will drive more than they would have with their old cars.”
On Friday, the last act of the ménage à trois between Volkswagen, Porsche and the Sheik of Qatar was consumated. After the supervisory boards of Porsche and Volkswagen had given their approving nods to Porsche becoming the tenth brand of Volkswagen, Sheik Hamad bin Dschassim bin Dschaber al-Thani signed on the dotted line and bought 10 percent of coveted voting shares in Porsche SE for his sovereign wealth fund Qatar Holding LLC. Qatar will also take over “most” (says Das Autohaus) of the options on VW stock. They paid €1b for a package of derivatives that gives Qatar access to a 17 percent stake in Volkswagen. As peace breaks out between Wolfsburg and Zuffenhausen, Volkswagen is set to attack a big enemy: Toyota. (Read More…)
As predicted a month ago, European car sales continued their cautious turn-around in July. Eastern Europe is still down (but on the mend), Western Europe, clocked in with a growth of five percent compared to July 2008. Europe as a whole was up 3 percent in July. Here are the highlights:
Guess the cars (full images tomorrow). All photos courtesy David Holzman. Thanks to Marc Feinstein, German Performance Service, Cambridge, MA and Robert Fitzgerald, Robert’s Porsche-Mercedes Service, Wellfleet MA for access to the vehicles.
Darwin wasn’t kidding when he described the new GMC Terrain as “hideous.” Check out Susan Docherty’s video—no embed codes for New, transparent GM—over on the right hand side of the FastLane home page. GM’s GM for the Buick-Pontiac-GMC channel also tells us that the LaCrosse’s quad-pot powerplant will make it “lead within its competitive set as the only vehicle with a four-cylinder engine.” I don’t suppose anyone stopped to wonder why none of the LaCrosse’s competitors avoid that particular powertrain . . . There’s more, but it’s late. Have a look for yourself.
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