This is not a test. Do not attempt to adjust your display. What you are watching is an advertisement for a new car. But before you hit the jump and find out what car this is supposed to make you want to buy (trust me, you won’t be able to tell by watching alone), see if you can guess the answer. (Read More…)

Unless you’re checking in on TTAC from your private jet, chances are you have never driven a car worth upwards of a quarter-million dollars. Hell, TTAC’s writers are more likely to be invited to strap into the latest hi-po machinery than most honest paycheck-earners, and it’s a rare day when we get access to the true elite of the global auto game. But as enthusiasts, we all have opinions about even the cars that massively exceed our purchasing power (let alone our ability to use them to their true abilities), so we’re curious about which next-gen supercar leaps out as the most appealing based solely on what you’ve heard about them.
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With its effort to organize transplant manufacturers stalled, the UAW is turning all of its attention to what may be one of its toughest contract negotiations ever. The union’s rank-and-file is pushing hard to take back concessions given during the bailout, but at the same time, the union has to avoid burdening the recovering US automakers with competitive disadvantages. And because the three Detroit automakers have performed so differently over the last year (Ford made a $6.6b profit last year, GM made $4.7b and Chrysler lost $652m), the tradition of pattern bargaining will only make negotiations even tougher. But it’s huge bonuses for executives at Ford that is getting the war of words started early, as Bill Johnson, plant chairman for UAW Local 900, threatens

If they don’t restore everything (we) gave up, the membership is going to knock it down. The bonuses that were just announced are just ridiculous.

And that’s a good place for the UAW to begin negotiations, but they’re realistically not going to get everything back. So how is this going to play out?
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Fear not rally-special fans: Mitsubishi has apparently gone back on its vow to cut off the Lancer Evolution series of AWD performance machines. Mitusu’s CEO gives Autocar the definitive word:

Production of the current Lancer Evolution X continues as planned. As for its successor, regulations and market feedback will dictate its engineering package and architecture. MMC [Mitsubishi Motor Company] has kept the Lancer Evolution sedan evolving as the brand’s highest performing model in the global market. However, as the markets need’s and demands change, MMC is considering not advancing the Lancer Evolution concept in the same way as before, but to find a different direction for the Lancer Evolution model to evolve.

The new direction, the technologies involved, and corresponding products will be disclosed in due course.

Rumors have the EVO XI boasting a diesel-electric hybrid system, combining a sub-five-second 0-60 time with 200 grams of C02 emissions per km (low-30 MPGs). But this drama has taken on plenty of twists and turns already, and since diesel-electric technology is so expensive, the EVO XI could even have a less-radically-revised drivetrain in keeping with the models budget-hero image. And no matter what happens, Mitsubishi’s “will-we-won’t-we” approach to the EVO’s future has certainly helped raise the profile of its halo car. But even if the EVO lives, our romance with the too-good-to-live recent version will be changed. Some things weren’t meant to last forever…

The Autochannel in the UK is talking about a long wheelbase Audi A8 with built-in LTE 4G connectivity. That shouldn’t be a big feat, it’s new technology, but it can be bought off the shelf. The Autochannel pistonheads however are deeply in awe: “LTE technology offers data transfer speeds of up to 100Mbps, which is similar to a fixed-line broadband connection. This means passengers in the prototype can use the LTE broadband connection to stream music, high-definition videos and other data on up to six computer or mobile phone devices with ease.” Sure, and Ferdinand Piech invented the Internet. (Read More…)

TTAC’s twitter friend, Ethan, writes:

Hi Sajeev,

You probably remember my original query but this indecision is compounded by my second problem: I love the aforementioned Volvo, but with 185K ticking past on the odometer, the steering rack and other things are letting go.

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New twist in GM’s hunt for the elusive carpart: Opel’s Eisenach plant will resume normal operations tomorrow, Tuesday. It was reported to suffer a serious shortage of Japanese parts. (Read More…)

No sooner had production of Chevy’s aging Colorado compact pickup ground to a halt due to parts supply disruption in Japan then GM brought out the concept version of its forthcoming replacement, the Global Colorado. This concept specifically previews the Thai-built version of GM’s compact-midsized pickup, and offers 4 Wheel Drive, as well as an all-new 2.8 liter turbodiesel engine. Brad Merkel, GM’s Global Vehicle Line Executive explains

Although this is a show vehicle, the basic proportions and form convey the vision for the next-generation Colorado that we will bring to market. It reflects a stylized version of the new truck, one that takes into account rugged dependable truck capabilities for commercial use as well as sophisticated refinement for personal-use needs.

The Thai-built version of the Global olorado willl begin production this October, but a version of this truck intended for the US market is still a ways off. It’s unlikely that a US version will offer GM’s new diesel engine, but GM is still keeping details about its new oil-burning engine under wraps for now. Given the lack of investment in the US Market’s mid-compact truck offerings, however, any new trucks entering this space are worth watching.

As Detroit was skipping a decade or two of car R&D by concentrating on packing increasing numbers of 128-ouncer-ready cup holders and faux-wood trim into big trucks, it became necessary to make it clear to the targeted buyer demographics that these trucks really weren’t, you know, trucks. In fact, they were more about protection from street crime and potholes than anything else, which is where slapping Mercury badges on the Explorer and Oldsmobile badges on the Blazer came in. (Read More…)

Italy’s financial police, the Guardia di Finanza, announced in Brescia last week the indictment of five individuals suspected of a 13 million euro (US $18 million) scheme involving tax fraud and rigged speed cameras. Diego Barosi, 60, the head of the Garda Segnale Srl photo enforcement firm would bid on municipal automated ticketing machine contracts against shell companies run by his co-conspirators. They would ensure that Garda ended up landing the lucrative deal.

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In what “could herald a new era in auto insurance” (if the Wall Street Journal is right), Progressive “introduced a new type of car insurance that offers a discount to policyholders based on real-time information about how and when they drive.”

And how will Progressive obtain all that info? (Read More…)

It was a shame how the Cadillac name had all the blood drained out of it by Malaise Era faux-classy models, and Chrysler wasn’t far behind; by 1982, you could buy what was essentially a Dodge Diplomat with New Yorker badging. A New Yorker with a Slant Six? (Read More…)

There are gallant, yet disturbing news coming from Japan’s automaker front. Japanese automakers unite to cope with the disaster. “Automakers have set up a joint headquarters for support measures and are sharing damage reports and other information,” reports  The Nikkei [sub]. “They have a plan that aims to provide more effective support by dividing their forces by region and building teams on the fly. Staff from, say, Toyota may end up lending a hand to a parts maker that does business with, say, Nissan.” According to the Nikkei, Japan’s automakers also have come to a “silent understanding” to not to compete for who might be first to restart production.  What is causing the sudden unity amongst former bitter rivals? (Read More…)

Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.) — Walt Whitman, “Song Of Myself”

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds… With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall. Speak what you think now in hard words, and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said to-day. — Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Self-Reliance”

“Overall, the Sebring is a very comfortable vehicle… On the road, the Sebring convertible is fun to drive… Even with the hardtop closed, the Sebring remains sharp… the Sebring convertible is definitely worth a spin… This stylish convertible offers an excellent combination of amenities, solid performance and that gorgeous disappearing top.” — Scott Burgess, on the Chrysler Sebring

“It’s vastly improved, but that’s only because it was so horrendous before.” — Scott Burgess, on the Chrysler 200

When Scott Burgess resigned from the Detroit News over that paper’s ex post facto editing of his Chrysler 200 review, Jalopnik and many other sites couldn’t wait to hail the man as a veritable hero of journalism, a lone wolf defiantly standing alone against a shadowy coalition of evil manufacturers, greedy dealers, and weak-willed publications. I wasn’t so sure about the whole thing. Surely the amiable junketeer who wrote “The Volt may be Mr. Right for the future, but the Cruze is Mr. Right Now” hadn’t really been that horrified by the 200, which is a perfectly reasonable mid-sized car and not in any way the apocalyptic, symptomatic, prophylactic hell-hound described in the original DetNews draft.

So, I did what nobody else was willing to do: I found Scott’s review of the Chrysler Sebring. Sit down, crank up Rebecca Black’s horrifying, Sebring-centric song “Friday”, and let’s ride our drop-top time machine back to April 4, 2007…
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The French government has its hands full pounding Gadaffi’s tanks and artillery pieces into pulp. At the same time, the French government decided not to destabilize carmaker Renault. French Industry Minister Eric Besson said the latter part when he was asked whether he’s calling for Carlos Ghosn’s head after the espionage scandal had turned into a farce.

“As industry minister, I hear the voice of the people asking for punishment, but the industry minister’s greater concern at this time is not to destabilize Renault any further,” Besson told RFI radio ( via Reuters) in an interview. (Read More…)