If the British empire was built on cups of tea, the rise of the Korean automakers might just as well be chalked up to the restorative properties of spicy breakfast foods. There’s nothing like facing the day with sizzling tastebuds and clear sinuses to give a third-tier auto manufacturing nation the perspective needed to steal a march on its Japanese, European and American rivals. Possibly in deference to the healing powers of breakfast kimchi, Kia has named its newest city car the Morning for the Korean market and the Picanto everywhere else… and it’s sure to spice up Kia’s European sales, further extending Hyundai-Kia’s lead as the top Asian brand on the Old Continent.
As a longtime champion of clean-diesel technology in the American market, Volkswagen’s decision to launch its all-new Touareg with a hybrid version comes as something of a surprise. Not only does VW have a stable of proven, efficient oil-burners to choose from, but the firm has, until very recently, savored its role as a skeptic […]
Production of Chevrolet’s Volt was supposed to be limited to 10k units this year, a target GM has already set its sights on surpassing. With 2012 volume projections now reaching 25k units, the next step in The General’s quest to prove that the Volt is a viable vehicle is a staggering goal: doubling its 2013 production target from 60k to 120k units of production. According to Bloomberg, GM has not officially announced the 120k volume goal and may not build that many Volts in 2013 at all, if energy prices and supplier challenges don’t allow it. And though supplier issues could well leave the goal out of reach, even if GM is able to ramp up production to fulfill its 120k unit goal by next year, there are no signs yet that the market will support those production levels. After all, GM is essentially banking on the kind of volume-to-price niche that BMW has taken years to cultivate with its 3 Series… which starts at prices slightly below the Volt’s $41k, and still moved fewer than 110k units last year.
Ignore the commas in the X-axis labeling, and you’ll see that this graph compares total sales volume for last year against each model’s year-of-introduction as we hunt for the missing links between product cadence and sales performance. Above, you can see that none of the major D-Segment competitors was introduced before 2007, and that newness alone is not linked to sales volume. In fact, in the D-Segment, volume seems to decrease with newness (although historical data indicates that this is a brand-loyalty issue rather than a consumer preference for older vehicles). Moreover, it appears that more recent introductions are merely narrowing the competitive gaps in the midsized sedan segment (although we’ll need new Accord and Camry replacements to tell if that trend is for real).
The compact segment, on the other hand, shows a far less surprising correlation between year-of-introduction and sales, as sales grow in a fairly consistent manner as you move across the x axis from older to newer nameplates. The major lesson from these graphs: Honda and Toyota continue to enjoy a “reverse perception gap” in which their aging models tend to most dramatically defy volume expectations relative to the age of the competition. But with more competition coming this year, as Chevy’s Cruze, Hyundai’s Elantra and Ford’s Focus come into the market, the consumer’s tendency to give Honda and Toyota “the benefit of the doubt” could well be tested. And once perceptions start shifting, there’s no telling where they might end up.
Norway’s automotive industry never got quite as large as neighbor Sweden’s (to put it mildly), but Norwegians can still puff up their chests with pride when they see a Troll Sportcupe cruise by. (Read More…)
The Department of Energy’s $25b Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Loan program was very nearly used as a slush fund to keep GM and Chrysler afloat during the dangerous days leading up to the federal auto bailout. Though President Bush’s decision to use TARP to rescue America’s failing automakers took away the need to tap the so-called “retooling loan” program to fund America’s auto bailout, that decision also contributed to a long delay in the allocation of the ATVM loans. Because the loans require applicants prove “financial viability,” GM and Chrysler’s requests (which account for $17.4b out of the remaining pool of $16.7b in non-allocated loans) have been on hold, and with them, every other automaker still seeking approval for its requests. And now, with no word from the DOE on the loan program since last April, congress is agitating for the DOE to make with the loans already. Senator Diane Feinstein captures the frustration in a letter published by the Detroit News
“On multiple occasions, the department has missed internal deadlines for initial decisions, term negotiations, final decisions and loan closure,” she wrote, saying the department failed to give applicants “a clear timeline.”
But did the DOE miss deadlines and string automakers along out of negligence, or because it had to wait in order to fulfill the loan program’s mission, namely supporting the bailed-out automakers?
If you are the proud owner of a Porsche 997, which can slurp as much as 1.6 quarts of oil every 622 miles, you may be asking yourself “what do you mean am I ready?” But Porsche isn’t talking about upping the tolerated oil consumption numbers for its gas-powered flat-six engine… it’s considering adding a diesel engine to its US lineup, starting with an oil-burning version of its Panamera sports sedan and Cayenne SUV. With diesel versions of both of its two largest vehicles planned to debut at the Geneva Auto Show, Porsche’s Bernhard Maier tells Automotive News Europe [sub] that
We are discussing internally if we should introduce the Cayenne diesel in the U.S. this year. Also a Panamera diesel is an option.
Porsche has offered a 240 HP diesel version of its Cayenne in Europe since 2009, which gets over 30 MPG combined on the European test-cycle (non-EPA). And with 63 percent of Porsche’s sales last year coming from either the Cayenne or the Panamera last year, the firm is looking to those two nameplates for volume growth until its new products (like the next-gen 911 and a forthcoming “baby boxster”) hit dealerships. Offering diesels in the US may not create a huge surge in demand for Porsche’s most popular products, but it won’t hurt efforts to broaden their appeal.
Sajeev, my just post-college daughter is driving our 2003 Honda Accord EX – V-6, leather, Navigation, all the sweet bells and whistles. The bulk of 175,000 miles have been highway-easy, and the vehicle has been well-maintained during its life. . . except the transmission. After an early flush-and-fill at 30K, it didn’t see fluid change until something north of 95K, and is now waaay due for fresh fluid.
It doesn’t whine, and up- and downshifts when expected. My daughter mentioned a “shudder” in the car when she backs from her parking space and shifts into Drive. She took it to the dealer and — guess what? — they recommended she replace the tranny for a cost of $4,000. “We give you a three-year guarantee,” they cheerily promise.
Uh, not gonna happen. But, she plans on keeping the car for at least another year or two. Maybe longer.
That’s the windup and here’s the pitch: Considering the age, mileage and mostly highway-driven wear, when I have the transmission fluid replaced next month, should I have it powerflushed to make it squeaky clean or do a simple drain and topoff (out of fear of “dislodging” some clearances that have been built over thousands of miles)?
With a number of shocking nameplate-engineering jobs on deck (who’s ready for a Chrysler 200-based Lancia Flavia?), Fiat’s easing into things with one of the more innocuous moves on the to-do list: rebadging Dodges Journey as a Fiat. In Europe, the Freemont will slip into obscurity between Fiat’s Qubo and Doblò, much as the real Fremont struggles to serve as more than a unnecessary and unwanted distraction between Oakland and San Jose. And even though European buyers don’t buy many midsized crossovers, and don’t come to Fiat when they do, the Journey has been reworked to live up to the refined tastes of the European soccer mom. From retuned steering and suspension, to diesel engines, a new instrument panel and more soft-touch materials, The Freemont is a Dodge Journey for people who aren’t willing to buy shockingly poor-quality vehicles on the strength of inane advertising alone. And since they’re not calling it the Multipla, there’s no tip-toeing around comparisons to storied predecessors. But the fact that Fiat isn’t used to selling vehicles like the Journey is already showing up in its marketing literature, which enigmatically refers to the Freemont as a
“factotum vehicle” which has been “designed to meet the diverse needs of families and those seeking a spacious, comfortable and versatile vehicle to cater for the frenetic pace of everyday life or weekend leisure time”
The Tennessee General Assembly, which in past sessions has endorsed the use of speed cameras and red light cameras, is preparing once more to either expand or restrict their use. Bills introduced earlier this month provide the foundation for action that frequently takes a different turn after committee consideration.
Lobbyists for municipalities that use automated ticketing machines have a strong hold over the General Assembly and its committees. In 2008, municipalities joined forces with the camera industry to push through a measure authorizing photo ticketing. To deal with vocal opponents to the idea, then-state Senator Tim Burchett (R-Knoxville) drafted the bill in such a way that its wording appeared to be a ban on cameras. Similarly, attempts at placing limitations on camera use last year were watered down in the committee process to the point where the remaining “limits” merely reflected existing practices.
American-made overhead-cam engines were almost as rare as reliable South Vietnamese presidents in the mid-1960s, so I did a doubletake when I spotted one in a Denver self-service wrecking yard. (Read More…)
BYD had a bit of a rough time lately. This might cheer them up: According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, a joint design team of BYD and Daimler has finished the styling of an all-electric battery car that will be launched by a BYD/Daimler ( or “Benz” as they call them in China) joint venture. (Read More…)
Toyota released year-end global sales numbers for 2010. Thanks to an uptick in December sales, they were slightly better than estimated in December. Toyota Motor Corporation global group sales rose 8 percent to 8.418 million units. This includes Daihatsu and Hino.
Toyota sold 7.528 million units under its own nameplate, up 8 percent. Daihatsu sold 783,000 units, up 4 percent, and truck maker Hino moved 107,000 units, up a strong 35 percent. Japanese group sales were 2.204 million units, up 10 percent. Overseas sales rose 6 percent to 5.962 million units. But are 8.418 million units enough to keep Toyota in the top spot?
Honda Motor Co. Ltd. has to write off 15 billion yen ($181 million) “resulting from recently discovered improper transactions at a trading business subsidiary in Tokyo,” reports The Nikkei [sub]. It was all about dead fish. (Read More…)
On Friday, Ford will show something it didn’t have for a long time: Money, and lots of it. The Freep thinks that Ford will report a profit for 2010 of about $8 billion excluding onetime charges. That would be the biggest annual profit Ford saw in a decade. (Read More…)
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