Jon writes:

Hi Sajeev, I own a 2002 Subaru WRX wagon, and live in Tennessee.  Last month, Subaru and the NHTSA issued a recall for certain 02-03 WRXs in northern states.  The recall states that in cold weather, there may be an underhood fuel leak.  Tennessee is not considered a cold-weather state, so my car is not officially part of the recall.  But I’ve noticed that if the temperatures get down to the 20s (not particularly cold, in my book), I can definitely smell raw fuel coming from the engine bay.  I’ve called two dealerships in my area, and neither of them have heard anything about the recall.  I called Subaru directly, and they are insisting that I take my car to a dealer for an inspection.  Naturally, the cost of this inspection will only be refunded if the car is then included in the recall.  I do not at all like this option.  Any ideas on where else to turn?

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Media from Associated Press to The Business Standard of India are abuzz with reports that Fiat (the company) is planning to cut 5000 jobs and will be spinning off its car division this summer. The stock market seems to like the idea: Fiat’s shares rose 4.15 percent. (Read More…)

For a moment, turn away from the uncertain prospects of Chrysler’s Fiat-directed future and consider the subject of this review as nothing other than one entry in the popular five-door hatchback segment of the North American compact car market. That’s what I had to do, anyway, in order to rationalize driving and writing about a […]

Honda is perplexed and overwhelmed by the demand for their just launched CR-Z small sports hybrid car, says The Nikkei [sub]. Honda had planned for 1000 a month, which turned out to be a big mistake. After one month, they already have more than 10,000 orders, and a hard time filling them. They’ve sold in one month what they wanted to sell in a year, more or less, and the orders keep pouring in. (Read More…)

Motor Trend reports that Cadillac’s long search for a flagship is over. After debating a number of options, including importing a stretched Chinese-market STS, GM has decided that the “Super Epsilon”-based XTS will be the future range-topper for its luxury brand. The XTS was developed on a stretched version of the platform that underpins GM sedans including the Buick LaCrosse, Chevy Malibu and the forthcoming Buick Regal, and was shown in concept form as the XTS Platinum concept at the Detroit Auto Show. That concept was shown with a theoretical plug-in drivetrain made up of Cadillac’s 3.6 liter DI V6 and the plug-in components from the canceled Vue plug-in, and according to MT, the recent cancellation of the Converj plug-in means “there’s profit and green image to be had in the plug-in XTS.” Until that technology is production-ready, choosing the XTS’s engine options will be an interesting challenge.

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Malaysia is an economic boom-town, and a country of 28m people. Import duties on foreign cars can run as high as 300 percent. According to unconfirmed rumors, this is to protect the two local makers, Proton & Perodua.

Many foreign car makers have tried to get a chunk of that protected market. One of them is Volkswagen, which does a booming business next door in China. (Read More…)

A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that municipalities in most states may use evidence illegally collected by photo enforcement cameras. The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit made its decision in the case of Stephen Bell who sued both American Traffic Solutions (ATS), an Arizona-based red light camera operator, and Redflex Traffic Solutions of Australia for violating Texas statutes requiring companies involved in private investigation to obtain a license. The three-judge appellate panel determined that there was no problem with companies offering unlawfully obtained evidence in civil court cases.

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Shanghai is in the grips of pre-Expo frenzy. Shanghai’s Finest are closing down all world famous adult entertainment establishments to present a clean Shanghai from May 1 to October 31 – no red rope treatment, except at the show entrance . General Motors, corporate citizen of Shanghai, unveiled a new electric concept car to up its image as a supplier of non-polluting cars tailored to keep the crowded mega-cities of the future green and clean. Did I say “car?” It looks more like an overgrown Segway scooter. Or something that escaped the Sunday Funnies, AD 1968 … (Read More…)

Money-wise, the United States is in a bit of a tough spot. Must create revenue wherever it can. From red light cameras to shaking down foreign companies. On Tuesday, Germany’s Daimler AG was charged with violating U.S. bribery laws “by showering foreign officials with millions of dollars and gifts of luxury cars to win business deals,” as Reuters has it. After asking “how much will it take for this to go away?” Daimler plans to pay $185m to settle charges by the U.S. Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission. (Read More…)

By 2015, no new car made by Mazda will stand around idle. By this year, Mazda plans to install its idling stop function on all of its new automobiles, says today’s Nikkei [sub]. Some domestic and European Mazda already have this feature. In a few years, it will be universal, including North America, where current EPA regulations discourage idle stop. (Read More…)

The good folks from the Public Radio show This American Life are hunting down a headline. Writer Emily Condon writes:

There was an article, likely between 1980 and 1988, that ran about the NUMMI plant in Fremont California, focusing on the GM and Toyota partnership. We think the headline was “HELL FREEZES OVER,” or possibly “HELL FREEZES OVER IN FREMONT,” or something to that effect. The person we’re interviewing thought it was Motor Trend – they couldn’t find any record of it. I couldn’t find it in Motor Trend or Car & Driver…but it’s possible I somehow missed it, since the archives weren’t searchable, but only on microfilm. But could possibly be another publication, too.

Long story short, their investigation seems to have gone cold at a TTAC comment thread, which is where you, our Best and Brightest, come in. The first commenter to identify the magazine and issue that This American Life is looking for, will win immortal TTAC fame, and the much-coveted Fiat 500 mouse.

[UPDATE: Commenter Msquare proves that whether you need an old car mag headline hunted down, or a ’51 Packard identified from only a picture of its gas cap, TTAC’s Best & Brightest are the place to go. Congratulations Msquare, check your email for instructions on claiming your prize. Everyone else, be sure to check out This American Life‘s piece on NUMMI, “the car plant that could have changed everything,” which airs on March 26. ]

Remember when we reported that the cash cow known as in-house dealer finance wouldn’t be covered by the Consumer Financial Protection Act, currently making its way through congressional committees? That version of the bill passed the House Financial Services Committee (with some questionable support), but now Automotive News [sub] reports that the Senate Banking Committee has passed its own version which does make dealer finance subject to regulation by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The Senate version would also make the CFPB an office of the Federal Reserve, rather than a stand-alone agency. So, should an agency set up to prevent another financial crisis extend regulation to dealer finance operations? Dealers aren’t happy about the idea, but traditional consumer advocates aren’t the only ones saying yes…

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Japan’s Mag-X [via Autoten] brings us this rendering of a Toyota low-cost car, said to be planned for a 2012 launch in India’s hot-hot entry-level car market. Expected to weigh about 1,322 lbs, Toyota’s Tata Nano-fighter is said to have an 800cc two-cylinder engine mounted out back (alá Nano).

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While the autoblogosphere frets bout whether BMW drivers can tell which wheels drive their cars, the real news in the BMW-goes-FWD storyline is the impact that the sea change in brand strategy is expected to have on volume. Automotive News [sub] reports that BMW is developing a new family of modular gas and diesel engines, which are intended “primarily for BMW’s new front-wheel-drive architecture, but the powerplants also will be used in the automaker’s rear-wheel-drive cars,” according to CEO Norbert Reithofer. And the volume at which this new family of three, four and six-cylinder engines will be produced is one of the early indications of where BMW is going with its FWD expansion. Today, BMW sells just under 1.3m vehicles worldwide. That’s fewer cars than will be powered by this new family of engines alone, which Reithofer says will motivate 1.5m vehicles worldwide. Considering BMW’s goal is to sell 2m vehicles of all its brands by 2020, it’s clear that much of that growth will be made possible by new FWD-inclusive drivetrain technology.
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Nearly a month ago, Toyota’s Jim Lentz was asked by National Public Radio about the then-new “shim fix” for sticky accelerator pedals.

NPR asked: “if I’m a Toyota owner subject to this recall and I say ‘I don’t want a repaired accelerator pedal, I want a new one.’ Is that an option?” To which Lentz replied: “it will be looked at on a case-by-case basis.” When NPR asked for Lentz to clarify what he meant by “case-by-case basis,” he said “It’s really up to… between the dealer and the customer. We would like to see customers get this fix done with the precision cut steel bar and see how that is. I think the customers are going to be very satisfied with overall quality of the pedal and the feel of the pedal.”

At the time, this was interpreted as a not-so-great sign for Toyota’s “precision cut” shim fix. Reinforcing the impression that some might not be happy with the fix, a Toyota memo to dealers has surfaced today at the AP [via Google], which requests that:

If a customer is not satisfied with the operation and/or the feel of the accelerator pedal after the reinforcement bar has been installed, please assist us by assuring a replacement pedal is provided at no charge to these customers

Which makes us wonder: is there anyone out there who has had the shim fix done to their recalled Toyota only to have the problem reoccur? Has anyone requested a replacement pedal instead of the shim fix, and had a Toyota dealer turn you down? Toyota is probably playing it safe by asking dealers to provide new pedals, but we’re cant help but wonder why they would cast suspicion on the shim fix this way. Any ideas?