Why did we have an eleven-year-old, scratch-and-dent, no-maintenance-records, twelve-cylinder Jaguar on our lot? Blame our naive sales manager, who always paid top dollar for trades. In his haste to revolutionize the way people bought and sold luxury cars in Dublin, Ohio, “Steve” tended to ignore the established car-sales playbook. At the time, I thought he […]

After claiming a $2b Q3 net profit last week without releasing any data, GM has just dropped some more complete numbers for the last quarter… but we’re still waiting for complete, audited, GAAP-approved numbers. In the meantime, make what you will of the limited data [.doc here]. UPDATE: TrueCar sends us complete by-brand breakdowns of GM’s incentive, market share and transaction price.

With all the intrigue around the Porsche-takes-over-Volkswagen and Volkswagen-takes-over-Porsche, there are the expected ups and downs. Recently, there have been voices it might not happen. Reason given: The lawsuits. I believe, this is just propaganda to demoralize the opposition and to force them to settle. In the meantime, facts are being created. And here is another fact: Volkswagen officially acquired the auto trading business of the Porsche Holding in Salzburg, Austria. The company changes hands for €3.3b ($4.5b), a sign that this is not your ordinary car dealership. (Read More…)

Hyundai’s Sonata overhaul has been well-received by critics and customers, and the next-gen Elantra looks set to move the magic to the C-segment. But what of the Accent? If there’s a vehicle left in Hyundai’s lineup that recalls the bad old days of Hyundai’s bargain-basement past, it’s the current sub-$10k base price Accent. Of course, that’s all about to change, as a new Accent is hitting the roads in Korea… and like most of Hyundai’s new product, it looks like a huge step up from its predecessor. TTAC’s man in Korea, Walter Foreman, was kind enough to send in this mega-dump of over 80 images of the new Accent, noting

I came to China first in 2004 on a job for Volkswagen. Back when, and years thereafter, the foreigners at the joint ventures agreed (latest after the third beer at Paulaner) that eventually, their days will be numbered. “Once the Chinese have learned enough, they’ll kick us out,” was the lament. That was six years ago, and no sign of an expulsion from the Chinese paradise yet. On the contrary: The Chinese might invite the foreigners in for good. They are thinking about dropping the 50:50 joint venture requirement that forces foreign automakers to team up with local manufacturers. (Read More…)

Hyundai’s Dan Bedore leaked this covered-up snap of the new American-made Elantra to Twitter, with the caption

Just received this from our friends at the plant in Alabama.

Hyundai’s done a good job of keeping quiet about the new Elantra, but anyone who pays attention to cars has seen the Elantra before… hell, we’ve even seen it park itself.  Not that we’re jaded or anything. Luckily we’re still going to be able to get our new-Hyundai kicks today, as we just received a treasure trove of new baby photos from Korea…

Another state court of appeals on Friday saw no problem with police attaching a GPS tracking device to an automobile without first obtaining a warrant from a judge. Idaho’s second highest court denied the appeal of Filip Danney who was convicted on marijuana charges based on evidence gained from the spying device.

In March 2007, Ada County Detective Matt Taddicken received an anonymous tip about Danney and decided to investigate. Two months later, he went to Danney’s work and placed a GPS tracker on Danney’s parked car. Within a few days, the device showed Danney was returning to Boise from a trip to Arcata, California. This was enough to have Taddicken order Danney stopped and searched. Ada County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Matthew Clifford claimed that Danney failed to “signal for five seconds prior to changing lanes,” and used this as a reason to pull him over. While Danney was detained, a drug dog was brought in to search the vehicle. The dog found the marijuana.

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When Fiat started to get a grip on Chrysler, there was very little chance of success. But to be fair, they are making a go of it. Sergio Marchionne is doing his best to integrate Fiat and Chrysler. Is he really? (Read More…)

When Tata bought Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) from Ford in 2008, the general consensus was that Ford was off-loading a massive problem, and that Tata should have their collective heads examined. JLR had been nothing but a cash drain on Ford. Sucking up resources which other divisions (cough-Lincoln-cough) sorely needed. The Jaguar brand was damaged due to the X-Type “fiasco” (note the inverted commas, because I still love my X-Type!) and Land Rover wasn’t really held in much higher regard. Even I, a big Jag-fan, had to concede that I was seeing the final days of JLR. How wrong was I? (Read More…)

California EV maker Tesla has reported its Q3 results, and they’re a sizable helping of not great. But before we dive into the messy reality, let’s check in with CEO Elon Musk for an unreasonably rosy take on the loss:

We are very pleased to report steady top-line growth and significant growth in gross margin, driven by the continued improvement in Roadster orders and our growing powertrain business. Roadster orders in this quarter hit a new high since the third quarter of 2008, having increased over 15% from last quarter. While some of this is due to seasonal effects associated with selling a convertible during the summer months, we are pleased with the global expansion of the Roadster business and the continued validation of Tesla’s technology leadership position evidenced by our new and expanding strategic relationships

Translation: Toyota is investing in us… now get out of here with your awkward questions. Unfortunately for Mr Musk, it isn’t quite that simple…
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I’ve test driven new cars during three periods in my life. The first of those periods, the year before I bought the Saturn in ’93, I went out every couple of weeks with a friend to do test drives. The second period was in ’96, when the same friend had me test drive the cars he was interested in while he sat shotgun, telling me that if I didn’t scare him, that would mean the car had passed the handling test. He rejected a Volvo 850 and several others, and bought an Audi A4. Then, in ’00, I helped a friend buy his Boxster, breaking my personal Vmax record on Rt. 128, Boston’s beltway in the process. My testing procedure didn’t call for 115 mph; but the car felt so firmly planted–like the Pentagon!–that I had no idea how fast I was going until I checked the speedo.
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We’ve been tracking mounting opposition to E15 ethanol for some time now, and when the EPA approved the 15-percent corn juice blend for vehicles made in 2007 or later, we saw the opposition begin to crystalize. Now, the Detroit News reports that a number of oil, food and other interest groups have filed suit in a D.C. Circuit appeals court, seeking to halt the EPA’s approval of E15. According to the DetN

The petitioners argue that under the Clean Air Act, the EPA administrator may only grant a waiver for a new fuel additive if it “will not cause or contribute to a failure of any emission control device or system.”

They believe the “EPA has unlawfully interpreted the statute to achieve a particular outcome,” but EPA administrator Lisa Jackson said it was based on “sound science.”

Considering the approval was apparently based on study results from a mere 14 vehicles, it sounds like the industry groups might have a solid point here. Especially when you realize that a major motivation for E15 approval is from the fact that blenders couldn’t sell enough E10 to meet government mandates. As the video above (from June of this year) proves, the political tail has wagged the scientific dog on ethanol ever since the farm lobby realized that ethanol could be the next corn syrup. With any luck, this lawsuit could just be the point at which science re-asserts itself.

The strange looking vehicle on the right is a European-spec Mitsubishi i-MiEV, a 63 HP, 75-100 mile-range electric vehicle. The strange looking vehicle on the left is a US-spec Mitsubishi i-MiEV, specially “improved” for the US audience. USA Today puts it best, reporting

The iMiEV for the U.S. will be — surprise, surprise — bigger than the ones it sells in Japan and Europe. That’s because Americans are fatter.

In case you’d forgotten. No word on just how much bigger the i-MiEV needed to become in order to “meet the expectations of U.S. consumers,” but considering the apparent necessity of grafting on a slack-jawed underbite, one hopes the difference is noticeable on the inside. We’ll find out for sure at the LA Auto show, but in the meantime, hit the jump to find out what we hope doesn’t grow as the i-MiEV slips into something a little more American.

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The car business has endured a lot of bad news over the last several years, as finance-fueled sales crashed with the credit market, and automakers around the world scrambled for government aid. The so-called “Carmageddon” has touched everyone even remotely involved with the automotive industry, not to mention everyone who pays taxes, but from a strictly  consumer perspective, it hasn’t been all bad. Certainly the deals have been good, as programs like Cash For Clunkers and the wind-down of several brands have helped savvy shoppers find some of the best deals in a long time. So here’s the reality check: according to Booz & Co.’s Global Innovation 1000 study, spending on research and development by the auto sector was down $12b last year. That’s $12b that should have been spent making your car faster, smarter, safer, cleaner, better that’s no longer being spent. Still feeling untouched?

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According to Auto Motor und Sport, the next-generation Porsche 911 (991) will have its wheelbase extended by ten centimeters compared to the current model, a concession to US emissions standards which are categorized by footprint. The new elfer will also lose about 88 pounds and gain stop-start technology, in yet another nod to tightening global emissions standards. Oh yes, and the handbrake will become an electrically-controlled switch similar to the unit in the Panamera. Otherwise… has anything changed? These Erlkönig spy shots reveal the biggest non-story in all of automotive-dom: the 911’s styling really won’t change all that much for its newest iteration. Yes, the most consistently-styled car of the modern era will get slightly steeper front headlights, a more tapered rear end, and fewer vestigal cooling vents that survived the switch from air-cooled to water-cooled engines, thanks to the Porsche’s legendarily stubborn styling department. Otherwise, the updates are incredibly subtle (those side vents are taped-on camo, according to AM und S).

Can the Carrera continue like this forever? Will faithfulness to its classical form ever wear thin? A quick comparison of 911 sales to Boxster/Cayman sales (4,751 to 3,036 in the US, year-to-date) suggests that’s not going to be a problem anytime soon…