When GM’s new 1973 cars, especially the all-new  “mid-sized” cars were introduced, my friend Paul Brown, an artist and fellow Bill Mitchell aficionado and I trotted down to Iowa City’s various dealers to experience them in the flesh. We found them to be somewhat over the top, and struggled to understand what Bill and his associates were thinking, or what someone had put in the Advanced Styling studio water coolers. Inspired by the the GM psychedelia, we loaded up on brochures, and went home and got out scissors and paste, and decided that we could “improve” on their imaginings. I wrote about it here before, but after writing yesterday’s CC on the Collonade Malibu, I realized that I still had some of our work (I tend to keep things). I’ve been a little shy about sharing them, but what the hell; it was a long time ago. (Read More…)

Last week, Professor David W. Gilbert testified at a house hearing and said he had replicated the unintended sudden acceleration in Toyota’s vehicles. Toyota, and their testing lab Exponent tried Gilberts method and said he was right. “But Toyota said it also created the same response in vehicles made by competitors, which it said rendered Mr. Gilbert’s findings misleading,” writes the Washington Post.

In a statement, Toyota says: “The analysis of Professor’s Gilbert’s demonstration establishes that he has reengineered and rewired the signals from the accelerator pedal. This rewired circuit is highly unlikely to occur naturally and can only be contrived in a laboratory. There is no evidence to suggest that this highly unlikely scenario has ever occurred in the real world. As shown in the Exponent and Toyota evaluations, with such artificial modifications, similar results can be obtained in other vehicles. “ When Exponent applied Gilbert’s test to five models, including a Honda Accord and a BMW 325i, all five vehicles reacted similarly. (Read More…)

Just as Paul Niedermeyer, Edmunds, Consumer Reports or anybody else who has the time to download and analyze 103.1 Mbytes worth of customer complaints to NHTSA, Toyota is pouring over the data. However, their attempts are being thoroughly frustrated.

According to The Nikkei [sub], Toyota found out that oftentimes complaints submitted to the NHTSA “either are unverifiable or lack vehicle-owner information required to facilitate follow-up.” In other words, a lot of the complaints look like they are bogus. Even if they are real, their validity cannot be ascertained.

And herein lies the rub: (Read More…)

When Toyota stumbled there were (muted) shouts of glee around the car producing world. “Yay! They fell flat on their face! Let’s pick up the pieces.” Well, nobody said it openly, but action speaks louder than words: Ford and Hyundai revved up their “quality” aspects (wink, wink) GM and Chrysler fired up their incentives (it’s all on the taxpayers, so who cares?) Ford and  Hyundai said “to hell with subliminal messages” and followed with the money. Even Nissan couldn’t help themselves and offered a bounty to deserting Toyotaphiles. February came and went and Toyota only registered a 9 percent drop (year on year after the carpocalypse). This was quite confusing. Especially given the fact that production had been halted and dealer stock was quarantined until fixed. Analysts had predicted double digit drops and were surprised themselves. Everyone had expected something out of a George Romero film to happen to Toyota. So, suddenly, this turns into an Agatha Christie story. “Who benefited from Toyota’s stumble”? (Read More…)

You want to know why the Honda Accord took the country by storm in 1976? You’re looking at its ugly face. That grille looks positively unreal, like something cobbled up by a high school shop class with some leftover extruded sheetmetal. Where were you, Bill Mitchell, when this abomination was approved? In the Accord CC I said Detroit didn’t just open the portcullis with its obese “mid-sized cars” of the seventies. It actively invited the invasion, and Honda led the charge. Well, here are GM’s gates swung wide open. And the problem wasn’t just the front end, but a face does reveal much of what’s behind it. And this mug wasn’t lying.  (Read More…)

Apparently eager to avoid uncertainties of the Congressional-mandated arbitration, GM announced that 661 of its 1,160 terminated dealers that sought arbitration would be back in business pronto. Automotive News quotes GM North America President Mark Reuss: We are eager to restore relationships with our dealers, and get back to doing what we do best — selling cars and taking care of customers,” “The arbitration process creates uncertainty in the market. We believe issuing these Letters of Intent is good for our customers, our dealers and GM.” (Read More…)

Instead of solving the truly pressing needs of the land, Republicans and Democrats are publicly squabbling over the relevance and veracity of the Biller “smoking gun” documents that claim to prove that Toyota hid safety problems. U.S. Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sent a letter on Feb. 26 to Yoshimi Inaba, president and chief executive officer of Toyota Motor North America Inc., that said the documents provided “evidence that Toyota deliberately withheld relevant electronic records that it was legally required to produce” in lawsuits. Towns went on to say that  the documents “shed some light on Toyota’s handling of the sudden unintended acceleration problem” and “indicate a systematic disregard for the law. Not so, says U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-California. And he has a smoking gun of his own: (Read More…)

It’s one of my (many) fantasies: fly one-way to Brazil, buy a brand new VW Kombi and drive it back. But alcohol is a little hard to come by here, especially since Oregon has state liquor stores.  Actually, the Kombi’s 1.4 liter motor drinks gas too, but I would have preferred a diesel. Anyway, Brazil is celebrating fifty years of domestic production of the VW bus, and today seems to be Brazil day at TTAC. So if you share my fantasy, head to VW do Brasil’s site and their special Kombi 50 Anos site and check out the current Kombi and a disappointingly small gallery of vintage shots. (Read More…)

Autobraz writes:

Hi, The company I work for is transferring me to their headquarters in the UK. I wonder if you could help me by using the collective intelligence of the Best and Brightest for suggestions on which car should I buy once I get there. My knowledge of the UK auto world is limited to watching Top Gear episodes and an Aston Martin, Jaguar or Pagani Zonda do not fit my budget. What I am looking for: Space: enough for weekend trips with my wife and 3 year old son. I currently own a 1.6 Ford Focus (1st Gen, made in Argentina) and has been good enough. So I guess a hatchback is enough for me. Power: Economy is more important.

Again, my 1.6 gas (should I start saying petrol?) is enough for me. I am not sure which size of Diesel engine would compare or if it is worth to choose one instead of a gasoline powered engine. Status: couldn’t care less. Second hand options are welcomed but not being versed on the country and its people I would be worried to buy one. I feel comfortable enough buying second hand in Brazil, but I know the culture here and so I can avoid bad deals. Thank you very much for the help! (Read More…)

The Duster moniker alone should be enough to tell you that this compact ute won’t be coming to the US, but it’s a crucial new addition to Renault’s low-cost Dacia lineup. Dacia is making serious inroads in Europe, as a combination of C4C schemes and the rediscovered love of frugality has firmly put the Renault budget brand at the top of the growth charts. CUVs are hot in Europe, but if the Tiguan’s nose-bleed price is a put-off, the Duster is available for about half the price. And you know, that’s not half bad.

Recently-reassigned Cadillac boss Bryan Nesbitt isn’t the only GM exec paying the price for weak Cadillac sales, as Automotive News [sub] reports that GM has terminated three other Caddy executives.

Cadillac’s Steve Shannon and John Howell were dismissed Monday, said eight sources familiar with the moves. Jay Spenchian, an executive director who worked on Cadillac and other brands, was also let go, the sources said.

Chrysler’s troubled relations with its dealers took another turn for the nasty this week, as culled dealers teamed up with lawmakers to criticize Chrysler’s decision to open new dealerships near the sites of several culled dealers. As with GM’s dealer struggles, this latest controversy centers around Colorado, where culled dealers are protesting Chrysler’s behavior in the Denver Post. Culled dealers have seen franchises in their former areas awarded to chains like AutoNation before congressionally-mandated arbitration had even given them the opportunity to contest their culling during last year’s bankruptcy proceedings. “This is not right,” said one dealer. “We specifically asked (Chrysler) not to redistribute the franchise before our arbitration.”

(Read More…)

TTAC Commentator Robstar writes:

Hello Mr. Mehta, I am currently in Brazil visiting my in-laws. I am more and more falling in love with the 1974 1.5L Fusca (what the Beetle is called here) my brother-in-law owns. I can’t imagine they go for much in the US, and I thought it might be another fun car to stick in the garage. I’m not much of a do-it-yourself’er, so I have the following questions…

1) Is it going to be impossible to find a vintage “Fusca” that is not rusted out? (I’m in the Chicagoland area)

2) How hard is it to find parts for these? Considering the production run, I’d imagine it should be pretty easy.

3) What should I be cautious of when purchasing? (Also, I only want the 4MT. Not sure if they were made in an AT form)

4) Any idea what price range these go for? How about insurance for a married male in his mid 30s.

I’d be appreciative of any discussion & insight TTAC readers can give. I’m including (scaled down) pictures of the Fusca, the car that brought about this question…thanks!

(Read More…)

Police in Washington state will have the power to take any car for at least twelve hours under legislation passed unanimously by the state House earlier this month and considered by a Senate committee yesterday. State Representative Doug Ericksen (R-Ferndale) introduced what he called “Hailey’s Law” which would make it mandatory for police to grab the vehicle from drivers merely suspected — not convicted — of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI).

(Read More…)

We’ve seen photos of the refreshed BMW 3-Series coupe and convertible, but shots of the sedan have proven somewhat more elusive. Luckily TTAC has eyes everywhere. Commenter dinu01 spied this updated 3-Series testing near Toronto. “Both front and rear emblems are taped,” he reports. “The driver did not want to be photographed and went between 150-160 km/h.” Have a spy shot of your own? Share it with our contact form, and we’ll share it with TTAC’s readers.