Be extra careful when you read Bloomberg this morning. It will make you think you had one too many last night. The financial news service reports that Chrysler posted a $143 million operating profit in the first quarter,“after cutting costs and introducing a big pickup.” It’s a miracle alright. (Read More…)
Find Reviews by Make:
Latest auto news, reviews, editorials, and podcasts
Increasing signs that reports of the death of luxury cars are greatly exaggerated are emerging from Sindelfingen. To the joy of Daimler stockholders, and to the amazement of pundits who predicted we’ll be driving scooters, Daimler nearly doubled its profit guidance. According to the new reckoning, between €2.5 and €3b should appear below the bottom line as EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) by the end of this year, says Daimler according to Das Autohaus. That came as quite a surprise. (Read More…)
The fabled Mercedes “Shooting Break” (or Brake ) is one step closer to productiondom. Gasgoo reports that the Shooting Break will make “its world debut at the Auto China motor show later this week.” Meaning Friday, the 23rd. TTAC will be there. (Read More…)
The emerging car market in India isn’t emerging fast enough to keep some car companies alive. Three years after Renault started to build its low-cost Logan in India, Renault is pulling out. The ho-hum sales come as no surprise to the attentive TTAC reader. As previously noted, India sells in a year what China consumes in a month in terms of cars. (Read More…)
Talk about unfortunate timing: Just as the scrapping incentives all around the world are running out, a Japanese company found a way to turn old cars into fuel. (Read More…)
How cruelly ironic is it that the UK, home of the world’s most vibrant sportscar cottage industry and some of the most notorious “petrolheads” in Europe, is also the world’s leader in automated ticketing and surveillance? Oh, and before you try to answer, understand that Old Blighty’s Orwellian tendencies have just hit a new high/low. The Telegraph [via Jalopnik] reports that Britain’s Home Office is testing new average speed cameras which combine license number-reading technology with a GPS receiver. In contrast to previous generations of speed cameras, the new system, named SpeedSpike, can calculate average speed between any two points in a network, rather than just in a straight line.
(Read More…)
Last week’s Checker Marathon tailgate was tough enough. And then Dr Lemming has to go and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory with this comment: I’m not remembering a wagon with such a pronounced horizontal character line right above the bottom of the tailgate. For example, I don’t think it is a Checker wagon. Oi veh! Congratulations on your certainty anyway. Have fun!
Ever since a debt crisis toppled the already-precarious auto sector into undeniable crisis there’s been a running debate about when US car sales would “return to normal.” By now though, even the most ardent bulls seem to have accepted that 2007’s 16m number will be out of reach for at least several more years. So, how will we know when we’ve hit the new normal? According to Edmunds, at least one statistic roared back to 2006 levels last month: the percentage of sales financed at zero percent.
In March, more than 22 percent of financed new cars were purchased with zero-percent finance deals. Last March the total was just 13 percent. The prior high was 21 percent in July 2006.
Ask the good folks from Hybridcars.com what today’s big news was, and they’d probably point to their own scoop, titled Hyundai Has Prius-Killer in the Works. It can be hard for blogs to get OEM reps on the phone, and Hyundai’s product public relations manager Miles Johnson walked an enticingly vague line:
We are studying a dedicated Prius-fighter vehicle, meaning a hybrid-specific nameplate that isn’t based off a Sonata or a Santa Fe. It’s its own thing. We’ve also been studying plug-in hybrid technology, which is a bit farther out for us, but the near-term would be a Prius-sized vehicle… You can look at the dimensions of the Blue Will concept and see it would be a similar package and size to a Prius.
With Hyundai launching its first US-market hybrid, the Sonata, later this year, this is yet another sign of the big H’s relentless momentum, right? Well, not exactly…
The EV smackdown is about to begin, as Nissan and GM prepare to launch their competing but different EVs in the final quarter of this year. It promises to be quite a show, as both manufacturers have gambled huge sums on distinctly different approaches. The Leaf is a pure battery EV, with an optimum range of 100 miles, but which will easily shrink into some 60 miles under less than ideal conditions. GM’s Volt’s target EV range is forty miles, also subject to the same diminishing influences. Of course, it carries a security blanket gen-set along for the ride. But the first skirmish for the hearts , minds, hands and wallets of consumers has already been decided, in the Leaf’s favor. (Read More…)
When friends of the automobile think about environmental regulation, our minds tend to tend to leap towards emissions. Between energy independence, air quality and the specter of global warming, a number of political agendas focus auto regulations on the tailpipe and drivetrain, driving a number of changes in the industry. But, as the AP reports, engines aren’t the only automotive components that impact the environment. The state of Washington has voted to ban brake pads with more than five percent copper content by 2021, making it the first state in the union to address the accumulation of heavy metals in groundwater through automotive regulation.
It’s a well known fact that GM didn’t approve production for what eventually became the Camaro until six months after the Mustang was released, by which time it had already sold over 100k units. That doesn’t mean that Chevy hadn’t given the idea some thought over the years. (Read More…)
Should your travels bring you to Wolfsburg in the near future, do yourself a favor, don’t mention “Cologne.” Don’t say anything about “Köln.” For goodness gracious, don’t mention Ford. Even colloquialisms such as “ich mach mich fort” (“I’m outta here”) should be avoided. Any of the above would get you an icy stare at a minimum. Or a uniformed Werkschutz escort to the factory gate at Wache Sandkamp. The boys in Wolfsburg carry a deep grudge against Ford. Ford beat Volkswagen at Golf. (Read More…)
Sunil Shah writes:
I am wondering if you can give me some advice as I search for a used car. By way of background, I previously had an E46 330i w/sport package and manual transmission (purchased used at 35K miles and sold at 89K miles). It was a great car, but I sold a while back as I moved into a city and had a short walk to work. Now, I’m back in the suburbs and am looking for something that may or may not exist.
First developed by Holden in 2004, GM’s Zeta platform now underpins vehicles as diverse as the Statesman/Lumina/G8/Caprice sedans, and the Chevy Camaro. Originally designed for full-sized , rear-drive Australian sedans, Zeta was downsized as far as it could be for the Camaro, which reviewers largely view as overweight and rather too ungainly for true sportscar status. Accordingly, GM has been developing a new rear-drive platform known as “Alpha,” which will form the basis of GM’s performance and luxury RWD models for the considerable future. Last we heard about Alpha was last August, when Bob Lutz swore there was no development underway of the platform he compared to BMW’s 1-/3-series. According to Motor Trend, work on the Alpha platform has begun… but there are already signs of trouble.
Recent Comments