Toyota’s failure to crack the US pony car market over the long term is one of its few major stumbles. When I found the pristine Celica Supra Mk I, and then ran across this sad looking and likely abandoned/stolen Mark III, I knew it was fated for me to do a three-parter on the first three generations of Toyota’s ill-fated pony car challenger. It took me a while to find the Mark II, but now we’re at the point of pulling the whole thread together. I’m far from an expert on the Mark III, so please add to the limited body of knowledge that I can muster or fake. One thing is clear: Toyota’s trajectory with the Supra led to a dead end, and that path started early on, perhaps right from the get-go. And the Mark III clearly marked the beginning of the end. (Read More…)
It’s over. The deal with Spyker (surprise) fell through, and GM has announced that Saab will be wound down and 218 US dealer closed. Automotive News reports: “We regret that we were not able to complete this transaction with Spyker Cars,” GM Europe President Nick Reilly said in a statement. “We will work closely with the Saab organization to wind down the business in an orderly and responsible manner.” (Read More…)
Would you set out for a drive with your low fuel light on, knowing there was no place to buy gas? That’s the painful reality many EV drivers are going to be faced with every morning after unplugging their fully-charged battery and heading out on the road. Most conventional cars have about 50 to 60 miles left after the gauge hits empty, plenty of time to find a gas station. But according to a Consumer Reports test of a Mitsubishi i-MIEV, the stated range of 100 miles with a full battery is more like 60 or 50 under typical conditions, if you consider using lights at night, indulging in heat or A/C, or driving at 65 mph typical. I do. And so will most drivers. Disappointment with their $40k electric mini-car is inevitable. Just don’t say Darryl Siry or I didn’t warn you: (Read More…)
If “the truth will set you free,” as both the Good Book and the founder of this website maintain, then I should probably take this opportunity to come clean: When it comes to trucks, I’m seriously prejudiced in favor of substance over style – which means that most modern trucks are, for my tastes, too […]
In an interview with the Financial Times, Reilly said that Opel should shoot for an operating profit margin of 4-5 percent within four years, if not earlier.
In the world according to Reilly, Opel will perform like this: Opel will face “another tough” year in 2010, when Europe goes on C4C withdrawal. Reilly sees Opel to break even by 2011 and make a “decent” profit from 2012.
Says Reilly: “If we are successful we should be at least 4-5 percent. Four to five per cent gives a good return on investment and capital … It shouldn’t take more than four years.”
Industry insiders think Reilly is hallucinating. (Read More…)
Come 2010, U.S. customers will storm the few remaining dealerships. GM will go public with a healthy pop that makes the taxpayer rich. The good old times will be back. The Japanese don’t think so. (Read More…)
For some weeks, we have been following the steamy nampa between Japanese and European auto makers with more than prurient interest. First Mitsubishi and PSA (TBD), then Suzuki and VW (marriage consummated.) Now what? Now who? Suddenly, all eyes are on Mazda, the former wallflower of Nipponese car makers. (Read More…)
The steamer is the granddaddy of all engines, dating back some 2,000 years. All of the earliest “cars” were steamers, and the golden age of steam cars in the teens and twenties resulted in some fabulously refined vehicles. The Stanley was very successful and set the world speed record in 1906 that was only broken recently; and the ultimate development, the highly refined Doble, created a legend. The advantages of the steam engine are the ability to burn almost any kind of fuel, generate maximum torque at starting rpm, no need for a transmission, and the ability to power the loudest of horns. There have been numerous attempts at automotive steam engine revivals; but their many downsides have relegated them to the obscure pages of wikipedia: delay in getting up a head of steam, bulky condensers, oil contamination of the steam, inefficiencies, etc.. But Cyclone Power Technologies has been developing a radical update on a compact, efficient, eco-friendly steam engine. Before we dismiss it as more hot vapor in our usual dismissive TTAC manner, let’s take a closer look first: (Read More…)
Today’s Bobcat CC tends to reinforce the image of Eugene as an insane asylum refuge for the disaffected, eccentric, permanently drugged, but artistic and creative goof-balls of the world. Well, that’s largely true, and it sure keeps things interesting. But the reality is that there are two Eugenes: south of the river and north of of it. That’s a slight over-simplification, but you get the picture, here: just imagine that the yellow line between the Charger SRT and the Datsun 710 is the Willamette. But there are circumstances that cause the two sides to intermingle, like this little parking lot behind an accountant’s office. Guess whose car is the accountant’s and whose is his patchouli-oil scented assistant’s? Another perspective to assist your efforts after the jump. (Read More…)
Perhaps you’ve seen the advertisement: an Optima battery survives the rigors of a demolition derby, then goes into the vehicle taking it’s owner home. But is it pure advertising hyperbole or is there something to the claim? To find out I tested the Optima Red Top and Yellow top batteries in situations ranging from daily-driving to that demolition derby-in-denial, the 24 Hours of LeMons.
Toyota Motor North America announced the retirement today of group vice president of Americas strategic research and planning and corporate communications Steve Sturm, group vice president of strategic and product planning Dave Danzer and group vice president for environmental and public affairs Irv Miller. Toyota did not announce replacements for the three VPs, and wouldn’t even tell Automotive News [sub] their ages, saying simply that they were “of retirement age.”
On October the 26th, 2009, Mr E. Niedermeyer asked the best and brightest whether Mazda can catch up on hybrid technologies. If you were a betting person, you’d have probably said no. Partly because Ford had divested a huge chunk of Mazda, which meant they took their hybrid system with them, but mainly because Mazda had no aspirations towards hybrids. It was more interested in lighter materials and stop/start systems. So, can Mazda catch up on hybrid powertrains? Well, the answer, to paraphrase a certain President, is yes they can and Mazda are going straight to the people who know this technology best. Asiaone.com reports that Toyota and Mazda have reached an agreement in which Toyota will sell Mazda key components in which they can build a hybrid car.
I promise that this will be the last Bobcat post on this Bobcat Thursday. I can only take so much of the seventies before giving myself stomach malaise. But all this Volt jingle business brings back that wonderful era when no self-respecting car ad was without a sick-making jingle, like this Bobcat gem. I tried, but failed to find a Bobcat dance routine; Sorry.
Pictures tell a thousand words, so these are going to spare me some. What more could I say anyway? More seventies-era glamor, pick-up mobiles, and drag-racers’ favorite funny cars follow: (Read More…)
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