South Korea is a small country. With 48.6 million people crammed into an area roughly the size of Indiana, South Korea has one of the world’s highest population densities. It also has an amazing auto industry. Like Germany in the 50s, and Japan in the 60s, Korea was the laughing stock of the 80s. That arrogant grin has frozen. South Korea is a feared competitor the world over. Let’s have a look at the feisty little runt. (Read More…)
A motorist filed a federal lawsuit against Chicago, Illinois police officers who issued twenty-four bogus parking tickets against him over the course of fourteen months. The tickets arrived in groups of three and four and were for violations that frequently contradicted one another, requiring the vehicle to be in more than one place at a time. Mark Geinosky suspects they conspired against him to extract revenge on behalf of his ex-wife.
“Plaintiff alleges that he received tickets for violations which never occurred, and which the defendant officers knew had not occurred, as part of a deliberate campaign by officers in Unit 253 to harass him,” Geinosky’s lawyer wrote in a brief to the court. “Plaintiff was forced, over and over again, to respond to bogus parking tickets which the defendant officers gave him for malicious reasons.”
New car registrations in the 27 countries of the EU crashed by 16.6 percent to 1,027,036 units in October. That according to the latest statistics of the European manufacturer organization ACEA. The year looks a bit better: In the first 10 months, demand for new cars has decreased by 5.5 percent, totaling 11,279,542 new vehicles registered. (Read More…)
GM’s Korean partner GM-Daewoo has an Aveo-based “SUV” in the final stages of design development… and it definitely looks like the 2007 “Chevy Trax” concept, right? Wrong. Of course.
Design chief Taewan Kim insists the design is “still not fixed” for production but the detailed study is finished to the sort of standard designers reach before wheeling in The Boss to sign it off as ready for production and the interior ‘mock-up’ looked all but sorted to give the suppliers the go for first off-tool samples. Looks? Cameras were banned but think ‘I shrunk the Capitiva’ and you get the idea.
Don’t know what a Captiva is? Well, do you remember the Saturn Vue? No? Well, there’s a new one anyway… take a look after the jump.
According to a GM press release, the 2012 model-year version of the Buick LaCrosse is dragging a skeleton out of the GM marketing closet: the mild hybrid. But don’t you dare use the “m” word… it’s the eAssist.
Mated to a 2.4L Ecotec direct injection four-cylinder engine and next-generation six-speed automatic transmission, the eAssist system uses power stored in the battery to provide needed electrical boost in various driving scenarios, optimizing engine and transmission operation. An advanced 115V lithium-ion battery and latest-generation 15-kW motor-generator unit help increase fuel economy through:
- Regenerative braking, which provides up to 15 kW of electricity to charge the battery
- Providing up to 11 kW (15 hp) of electric power assistance during acceleration
- Automatic engine shut-off when the vehicle is stopped
- Aggressive fuel cut-off during deceleration down to zero vehicle speed, enabled by the torque smoothing provided by the motor-generator unit
- Intelligent charge/discharge of the high-voltage battery.
But most importantly:
While the eAssist system shares the same basic belt-alternator-starter configuration of previous BAS designs, it delivers more than three times the power and is much more capable than the previous-generation BAS system.
Buick says this will be the standard powertrain option for the LaCrosse starting in 2012, and along with aero and tire tweaks will loft the model’s mileage to (shout it) 37 MPG highway and (whisper it) 25 city. The price: 65 lbs and a $2k-$3k sticker increase to “about $30,000”. The Lacrosse has sold well this year (by recent Buick standards… 52k sales year-to-date), and the LaCrosse’s average transaction price is reportedly sitting at $32k… but that doesn’t mean this isn’t a gamble. The question now: will GM also drop a two-mode hybrid in the LaCrosse as threatened?
That’s right kids, automotive design does matter… even in the search for New York City’s Taxi Of Tomorrow. Which weird-looking van do you prefer? Vote here.
Still not sure what to think of the forthcoming Kia Optima? Stare at it some more while you wait for TTAC to get its hands on a US-market version…
On a recent visit to HATCI, TTAC’s Michael Karesh was granted a peek at the forthcoming Hyundai coupe, known in concept form as Veloster. As our graph of the day shows, Hyundai’s never had great sales success with its front-drive coupes. At its best, the Tiburon hit 20k annual sales for a few year with the last design, but the appeal wore off and sales dropped to about half that level. And with sales of the Genesis sedan and coupe combining for fewer than 24k sales through October of this year, it seems that Hyundai isn’t setting the US coupe market afire with its rear-drive offering either. For comparison, the Chevy Camaro racked up at about 71,500 sales through October. But with 40 MPG highway apparently on-tap for this new Elantra-based coupe, the Velostiburon is on track to out-green the hybrid Honda CR-Z. And by the looks of things, it should at least give the Scion tC a run for the extroverted budget-coupe market. Could Korea’s coupe curse be on the way out?
The Korean word for ‘five’ sounds like “oh,” as in, “Oh, Snap!” or “OMG.” So in Korea, that makes Kia’s new K5 a “K.O.,” at least in name. But does Kia’s new Camccord fighter actually land a knockout on the all-important D-Segment, or is it a mere win by decision?
If there’s a maxim the auto industry can take to the bank, it’s this: focus wins. Knowing a brand’s advantages and maintaining a laser-like focus on them is the way to win in the car game, and it’s a lesson Hyundai has clearly learned. Over the last several years, Hyundai has caught the media’s attention by moving into the luxury and coupe segments with its Genesis, but the real offensive is still coming. The redesigned Sonata was the tip of the spear, giving Hyundai a top-notch competitor in the all-important D-Segment, and next up are similarly improved versions of the Elantra and Accent. These three models have been some of Hyundai’s most enduringly successful nameplates, and as this graph proves, they’ve been responsible for much of the brand’s recent sales growth. They’ve even maintained decent momentum towards the end of their model lifes. With the new Tucson replacing the Santa Fe as Hyundai’s top-selling crossover, Hyundai has been able to maintain a competitive crossover nameplate for several years now, but even the hot CUV segment likely won’t provide as much juice to Hyundai sales as the redesigned Elantra and Accent. Meanwhile, Hyundai’s entries into the luxury and sporty space seem to have amounted to little more than a distraction… the lurking danger for every automaker.
This is a big week for TTAC. A really properly big week. We’ve just had our new budget approved, and as a result, we’ve got some masthead changes to announce shortly… including the hiring of the newest member of Team TTAC, who just happens to be one of my favorite auto writers on the whole damn Web. We’re waiting on a few last-minute details before we make these big announcements though, so in the meantime you’ll have to make do with a smaller announcement: though you might not know it from the content that’s gone up so far today, this week will be Korea Week at TTAC.
Why? Because the rise of the Korean automakers has been one of the biggest automotive stories of the last decade. Twenty years ago, just as Japanese brands were gaining mass-market acceptance in the United States, Korean brands were the punchline of America’s new-car market. But like the Japanese before them, the Korean automakers persisted and successfully entered the automotive mainstream, both with their own brands, and as developers of captive imports and global products for American automakers like GM. Now, with the automotive industry still reeling from the economic downturn, Hyundai and Kia are poised to make serious inroads on the US market, with new products that are capturing the attention of the media and the public.
Over the next week, we’ll explore the history of the Korean automakers, their rise to power, and the vehicles that they built along the way. We’ll also be featuring reviews of the newest products coming out of Korea, starting with one of the Web’s first reviews of the 2011 Kia Optima (Korean-Market Spec), directly from our man in Korea. So pull up a chair, break out the BiBimBap, and stand by for a week of Kimchi-flavored coverage here at TTAC!
Dan Joseph writes in:
How do I choose which Panther to start with? The 2002 Grand Marquis I was looking at (and loving on) sold before I could make it to the car lot on Saturday. Now I’m struggling to decide between a 1996 Crown Vic and a 1991 Lincoln TC. There’s also a 2003 CV, plus a few CVPI units that tempt me. The main issue is a new baby (12 weeks) that has a car seat that pushes mama into a claustrophobic area in the back of her Saab 9-5. Wider car, here we come.
I’d go for an Interceptor… but then, I’m hardly TTAC’s Panther authority. So let’s hear it, Pantherphiles: how should Dan begin his very own love affair with the classic American rear-drive chassis?
Conjecture that Lambo might be getting rid of the V12 in its flagship turns out to have been way off-base: in fact, Lamborghini has just announced specs for its first clean-sheet V12 since the 1964 350GT. Its 6.5 liter displacement is good for 700 high-revving horsepower (but “only” about 500 lb-ft of torque), thanks to aluminum-silicon alloy four-valve heads and an oversquare design. The new engine also comes with a new type of automated-manual gearbox that Lamborghini calls an “Independent Shifting Rod” transmission. We’ll publish more technical details as they become available, but for now let’s just take a moment to lap up the visual feast. New Lambo V12s don’t come around every day… in fact, given past practice and future emissions standards, this may well be the last of the breed.
TTAC Commentator Silent Ricochet writes:
Hi Sajeev, I am the owner of a 2002 Chevrolet Cavalier Z24 (has the 2.4L LDR motor in it) with about 128,000 Miles on it. I being a teenager, have my fun with it, but also baby it when it’s cold out, let it warm up plenty, even in the summer, and give it an oil change every 3000 Miles; no excuses. The car has a 5-speed Manual Gearbox, and I’m trying to figure out this awful noise that comes from my car when shifting from time to time. In any gear, other than first, if the RPM’s are too low for that gear (usually under 2000 RPM), the engine is kinda sluggish (that’s expected). What isn’t expected is this weird metallic vibrating sound that comes out of my car. Happens often when being in too high of a gear when going around a turn (even in 2nd gear, and I can’t put the car in 1st around a turn unless I’m doing under like 5 MPH). Pressing the gas harder to raise my RPM’s quicker does nothing, if anything just amplifies the sound, so What I must do is either downshift to a lower gear if possible, or just lightly hold my foot on the gas until I get back into my Torque band around 2400RPM. The noise can be hear well outside of the car, as I get looks from people walking by when the noise is made, and I can even hear it reverberate off the houses in my neighborhood when my windows are down. What is this noise and is it a cause for concern?
The Fisker Karma looks as sleek and and sexy as any four-door car on the market, but it’s got a secret: Spanx. Fisker’s powertrain sand battery suppliers tells the New York Times that prototypes of the series-hybrid Karma are weighing in at “over 5,000 lbs.” Says battery supplier A123 System’s Jason Forcier
It’s a pretty heavy car, but you have to look at all the technology, which includes a large gas engine, large electric motors and large batteries.
Fisker reps insist that the final product could come out weighing slightly less, but don’t hold your breath. Meanwhile the 50-mile EV range, 5.9 second 0-60 time and 125 mile top speed goals remain unchanged…. it will probably just feel lead-footed in the twisty stuff. On the other hand, by packaging its batteries in a low, central mass, Chevy’s Volt (the only other EREV on the market) actually handles fairly well for a nearly 4,000-lb compact. Still, “over 5,000 lbs” is full-sized SUV territory, and the Karma is being positioned as a green performance luxury car, not a chauffeured limo. Could this possibly end well?
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