When GM went into bankruptcy, people had their money on Saturn going to die. The odds changed a bit when Roger Penske was in talks to buy Saturn. But, in a cruel twist of fate, Saturn was condemned to death by a bunch of executives in France. They vetoed Carlos Ghosn’s idea of supplying Penske with Renault cars for the Saturn brand. The death of Saturn meant that its manufacturing plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, would join Saturn in the grave. And so it did, along with 800 people who lost their jobs. Suddenly, there is the proverbial glimmer of hope for those 800 workers and the economy of Spring Hill. (Read More…)
Find Reviews by Make:
Latest auto news, reviews, editorials, and podcasts
Schadenfreude recently brought the elder Niedermeyer out of his summer semi-retirement, and for the most part, it’s a consistent inspiration for much of our content here at TTAC. But as natural and healthy as it is to laugh and learn from the mistakes of others, for some reason I’m just not feeling it today. Blame it, if you must, on a certain mellowness that settles in over the glorious course of an Oregon Summer. One Robert Farago always said that hate must come from a place of love, so in the interests of getting TTAC back in lean, mean fighting form, I’m going to indulge in the worst kind of of auto-writing love-fest: I’m going to tell you about how much I love my car. Except that it’s not a car, and it’s not actually mine…
Nothing but bad news from the video recorder; even when it was working, the fabulous sound of the supercharged CTS-V’s V-8 was left out.
This is a reasonably quick pit-to-pit lap of Monticello in the CTS-V Coupe. I was 3mph short of the local instructors at the end of the back straight. I’ll blame it on (the admirably fit) weight of my passenger, AutoGuide’s senior editor Colum Wood.
In the video, you can see the site of my off-track mishap and get a feel for what it’s like to push this very quick coupe around the track at cornering pressures of 1.1g or more. Don’t forget to click it to “480” to get the full resolution from the instruments.
George writes:
Sajeev, the automatic transmission in my 1999 Honda Accord Coupe from a prior Piston Slap failed at 115k miles. Lost 4th gear (and reverse) on US-75 on Friday. Lower 3 forward gears work, but got a rental Saturday and kept the Accord parked at home. Have an estimate of $1850 from Plano Transmission to rebuild it with (tougher?) Raybestos clutches. Owner Jeff McLeod claims to have bought a 98 Accord from a customer, rebuilt the transmission, and drove the car to 200k miles. What is your opinion of rebuilding that transmission in a local shop vs. installing a factory rebuilt transmission? I like the idea of knowing exactly what was done to the transmission and where the core came from. What parts would you want inside the transmission if it was your car? My goal would be a
- A car capable of running to 200k miles
- A car reliable enough for getting to work and weekend trips for at least 2 years to 140k miles.
I test drove several cars this weekend and wasn’t excited with my replacement choices.
BMW snagged the top spot last month, but Lexus and Mercedes are still battling for the top spot in year-to-date luxury brand sales. Lincoln and Mercury are running at less than half the rate of Buick and Cadillac, while Saab’s year-to-date number is nearly on par with its next-nearest rival Jaguar’s monthly number. Infiniti pulled ahead of Audi in YTD and monthly sales in July, as both brands prepare to overtake the canceled Mercury brand in the YTD sales race, and start chasing Acura. It continues to be a rowdy year for the luxury brands…
In the last installment of our New Or Used? series, Sajeev, Steve and our Best and Brightest teamed up to help a reader find the modern equivalent of a Volkswagen Microbus. Because answers were limited to US-market vehicles, this CrossTouran wouldn’t have made the cut, but in a perfect world, this might just have been the car our reader was looking for. But with a starting price of €27,700 ($35k) for a 105 HP version, it’s still missing the kind of US-market appeal that might tempt VW planners to send it stateside… especially with the more American-friendly Tiguan starting at $23k, and the more off-road-capable Touareg going for about $40k. But if a small, AWD van is what you’re looking for, there is an automaker willing to take a risk on your peculiar tastes: the next-gen Mazda5 may not be a looker, but it’s said to come with an AWD option when it debuts in the US early next year.
I’ve mentioned before that the UK Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) can be quite rabid when pursuing adverts with bold claims. Remember Renault’s run-in (nice alliteration) with the ASA about their claims for “zero emissions”? Or BMW, who tried to give the impression that their 3 litre, 6 cylinder hoonmobile, the Z4, was doing its bit for the environment (presumably by draining it of all that troublesome oil)? Well, the ASA is at it again. (Read More…)
Editor’s Note: Legendary auto journalist and TTAC inspiration Jerry Flint died this week. Rather than write a sappy eulogy, we’ve decided to let Jerry speak for himself. What follows is a speech Flint gave to GM employees at Milford Proving Grounds in October 2000. It’s feisty, passionate and deeply insightful… the kind of speech that made Jerry famous, and paved the way for sites like TTAC. Moreover, it shows just how deep GM’s problems run, and serves as a timeless warning against the worst impulses of the business. Rest In Peace Jerry… we will always remember you at your best. [Courtesy: The Olds Zone Hat Tip: Ken Elias]
There was an auto executive, he was a very high ranking GM man. You all know his name but I won’t mention it because it might embarrass him. He’s not at General Motors anymore.
I once asked this man what he would do if he found himself the chief executive of General Motors. He said, and I quote, “I would fire 1,000 executives.” End of quote. I’m not sure whether it made any difference to him which 1,000 executives, if he had anyone in particular in mind, or any thousand would do. I just tell you this to start things off.
Fasten your seat belts, it’s going to get bumpy.
If you are under water with your car, will any friendly GM dealer bail you out? Of course. If you live in what was formerly called “East Germany.” (Read More…)
TTAC’s writers don’t always agree with each other, but we can’t help but rub off on each other a little bit. After all, as our Jack Baruth puts it, “great artists steal.” Lately we’ve been treated to a tour of Jack’s love-hate relationship with the Porsche brand in his take on Paul Niedermeyer’s “Deadly Sins” series. And if the latest news on Porsche’s product plans [via Auto Motor und Sport] are anything to go on, we can probably expect more Baruthian takedowns of Zuffenhausen’s flights of fancy going forward.
The China Association of Auto Manufacturers (CAAM) is confident that total auto sales in China may reach up to 16 million units, says Global Times. They seem to be unfazed by the recent cooling-off. (Read More…)
Via Slashdot comes the latest word in your vehicle’s vulnerability to hackers: Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems. According to Goodgearguide.com, researchers from Rutgers and the University of South Carolina have found that wireless communications between tire-mounted sensors and and on-board computers can be intercepted by hackers, resulting in the ability to track your movements. According to researchers,
If the sensor IDs were captured at roadside tracking points and stored in databases, third parties could infer or prove that the driver has visited potentially sensitive locations such as medical clinics, political meetings, or nightclubs… Such messages could also be forged. An attacker could flood the control unit with low pressure readings that would repeatedly set off the warning light, causing the driver to lose confidence in the sensor readings, the researchers contend. An attacker could also send nonsensical messages to the control unit, confusing or possibly even breaking the unit.
Researchers note that such attacks would be expensive and complicated to pull off, but that even a simple encryption algorithm would shut this latest window of opportunity for hacker attacks. Says Wenyuan Xu of the University of South Carolina
If no one mentions [such flaws], then they won’t bother with security… The consumer may be willing to pay few dollars to make their autos secure
Making a recording of a police traffic stop is not a crime in the opinion of Maryland’s attorney general. In a ruling issued last month from the state’s top law enforcement office, Chief Counsel Robert N. McDonald found the legal grounds weak for felony wiretapping charges of the type brought against a motorcyclist who posted a video of himself being arrested on YouTube. Maryland State Police had taken advantage of ambiguity in the law to prosecute Anthony Graber, 25 for the April 13 recording.
Now that at least partial civility has returned, with Congress having been officially notified that no ghosts were found in any Toyota machines, and that “the evidence points to a preponderance of cases where people who claimed unintended acceleration were pressing the wrong pedal,” it’s time to ratchet-down the tension on both sides.
In diplo-speak, that’s called “confidence-building measures,” or CBMs for short (not to be mistaken for ICBMs.) Toyota is performing CBMs. In a country that is suspect of building ICBMs. (Read More…)
As I crest Monticello Motor Club’s Turn 17, I am speaking directly to you, the TTAC reader, through the magic of a complete video, data, and audio recording system installed in my six-speed manual CTS-V Coupe. “I have an idea,” I say, as I hold the throttle pinned to the stop way past the braking […]
Recent Comments