I was living in Austria when the first-generation A2 came out, and I was mildly shocked to find that I couldn’t find a single native who was as geeked about Audi’s baby aluminum wonder as I was. Sure, it was geeky and overpriced, but for me it surpassed even the TT as the apotheosis of Peter Schreyer’s bauhaus-inspired design language. Tyroleans of all ages laughed off my enthusiasm as eccentricity, and across Europe the A2 never sold especially well.

But by the time production ended in 2005, the A2 was as fresh as the day the first example rolled out of Neckarsulm, and even to this day its resale value has held up extremely well. To be completely honest I don’t actually have the numbers to back that up, but it’s what I was told when I was in Germany earlier this Summer. And in Volkswagen’s Autostadt, the A2 has a special place of honor inside the Zeithaus (House of Time) alongside another ahead-of-its-time freak: the Citroen DS.

Will the next A2, a concept version of which is headed to the Frankfurt Show, be as special? It still has an aluminum spaceframe… but it’s also 2011, not 1999. The A2 2.0 has its work cut out for it…

The Environmental Protection Agency’s fuel economy testing system is notoriously weak, relying on self-reporting for the vast majority of vehicles, and exhibiting vulnerabilities to “gaming.” But rather than attacking each others’ EPA numbers, automakers seem to have agreed that it’s best if everyone does their best to juice their own numbers and allows the imperfect system to limp on. But over at Automotive News [sub], we’re hearing what could be the first shots fired in a new war over EPA ratings, as Product Editor Rick Kranz reveals that an OEM is starting to complain about another OEM’s fuel economy ratings. He writes:

An executive of one U.S. automaker suggests there might be some sleight of hand going on and that the EPA is not catching the offenders.

The issue: There’s a noticeable difference between the mpg number posted on some cars’ window sticker and an analysis of the data submitted by automakers to the EPA.

Ruh-roh!

(Read More…)

The original car czar is headed back at General Motors, as the company announced today that it was officially retaining former Vice Chairman Bob Lutz as a Senior Advisor. The General’s press release notes

Lutz will be available to executives on a part-time consultancy basis effective immediately. He brings a wealth of experience built over the course of more than 40 years in the industry, including two stints at GM. He has also been a senior executive at Ford, Chrysler, BMW and was CEO of Exide Batteries.

Lutz has been providing advice to GM executives informally since retiring from the company in 2010.

I spent nearly three hours with Lutz last week, and he never mentioned a possible return to GM. He did, however, discuss his entire career, his experiences at Chrysler and GM, his product development philosophy and much, much more. You can read all about it starting on Tuesday, when we begin to publish content based on our interview.

Voters in at least seven cities will soon have a chance to decide whether to prohibit the use of red light cameras and speed cameras. Initiatives are being certified for the ballot in five states across the country, despite an all-out effort by photo ticketing firms to block any public role in the matter. Early voting is already underway in Albuquerque, New Mexico for the October 4 municipal election.

“Shall the Albuquerque city council continue authorizing the ‘Safe Traffic Operations Program,’ commonly called the ‘red light camera program’?” the city ballot asks.

(Read More…)

Back in the Malaise Era, why did anyone buy a Corolla (or an Omni or GLC or any other miserable underpowered econobox) instead of a Civic? Somehow, Soichiro‘s little car managed to be economical, reliable, and fun to drive. Most of the second-gen (1980-83) Civics have long since been crushed, not being as solid as their successors and also not attracting a following of collectors willing to do any sort of restoration, so you don’t see many of them in the junkyards these days. Here’s one that managed to hang on for more than 30 years before taking that final tow-truck ride. (Read More…)

A Brooklyn college student was pinned under a car that had crashed into his motorcycle. Rescue workers tried to free him with a hydraulic jack. When the car was 4 feet in the air, it dropped on the student. (Read More…)

GM will go it alone in Japan. From November on, GM will “switch to direct sales for all its Japanese-market models, some of which are now sold by a Mitsui & Co. unit,” reports  The Nikkei [sub]. Mitsui Bussan Automotive began handling GM vehicles in 1992 and focused mainly on large SUVs, such as the Cadillac Escalade, Chevy Avalanche, Traverse, Silverado and HHR. (Read More…)

This is round two of TTAC’s “Grade The Analysts”. Last time, we graded only on how closely analysts hit the SAAR number (table provided by Bloomberg.). If we would have done this this time, all would have received an A or better. The guesses were THAT close. The overall SAAR  for August was 12.1 million, and none of the analysts did bet on less than 11.9 or better than 12.3. Instead of giving them all gold stars, we made it a bit more interesting. (Read More…)

If the Shanghai Daily isn’t hallucinating (their writing is pretty sober, if not sobering), and if their source is reliable (the source is Pang Qinghua, chairman of Pang Da, the yellow knight from China that was supposed to save Saab from the abyss,) then Saab’s goose is cooked.

Chairman Pang told the Shanghai Daily that “Pang Da Automobile Trade Co and Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co have not submitted an application to the Chinese government to inject much-needed funds in Saab, increasing fears that the Swedish carmaker may drive into bankruptcy due to a cash crunch.”

Why does that mean that the goose is good for eating? Because Saab says so. (Read More…)

TTAC’s own Steve Lang writes:

I will be filling for a couple of good friends at a radio show this evening. The ‘Wheels Events Radio Hour’  will be broadcast live at 7:00 P.M. Eastern time at this Internet site. We will be covering upcoming events with the SCCA along with my own miscellaneous ramblings about cars and the auto auction world. Who knows? I may even try to do some bid calling if they give me something to sell.

Sadly, while Steve’s on the air I’ll be busy gawking at a ’37 Hispano-Suiza, Jag XK-SS, Bugatti Atlante and the other ridiculous rides that make up the “Allure of The Automobile” Exhibit with my old man. So why don’t you tune in for me?

The publication of Frank Greves’ article in American Journalism Review served as a rude reminder to me how time really does fly. Mr. Greves describes the fallout from my less-than-fawning review of Porsche’s Panamera and Panamera Turbo. What follows is the story he didn’t tell: how Porsche tried to keep me out of the car, how they tried to “correct” my review after the fact, and the fractious relationship I’ve had with Stuttgart’s PR people since then. I’ll also provide links to the original review and video review of the car, so you can decide for yourself how wrong, or right, I was.

A serious warning before you click the jump: Sex, violence, skullduggery, harsh words, and excessive alcohol consumption are described in semi-graphic detail below. This is not for the faint of heart, the excessively moral, or the uncritically Porschephilic. It’s also not a short story. You’ve been warned.

(Read More…)

If Ferrari is known for one thing, it’s super-fast, good-looking cars. But if Ferrari is known for two things, that second thing would be its uncanny ability to separate the wealthy from their hard-earned (or not) cash. And apparently the brand is so good at extracting revenue from its super-wealthy clientele that it doesn’t mind a little competition. The Wall Street Journal reports that, when asked by the Italian paper Republica how governments should overcome their budget crises, Ferrari Chairman Luca DeMontezemolo replied

You have to begin by asking it of those who have most, because it is scandalous that it should be asked of the middle class

Class warfare, or just the natural perspective of a guy who regularly charges the super-rich $2,300 for Alcantara trunk liner and $1,800 for a spare wheel? We report, you decide…

More than two decades before I owned a Dodge A100, I admired the boxy mid-engined cargo haulers and enjoyed photographing them. Here’s a shot from the parking lot of a now-defunct self-service junkyard in Hayward, California, circa 1991; this is Half Price Day and these are customers’ vehicles. Yes, it’s a Dodge A100 and an early front-engine Ford Econoline. (Read More…)

If you’re one of those people who can’t stand the glacial styling evolution of the Porsche 911, look away now. Smart’s new Forvision Concept is said to preview some of the look of the next-gen Smart and, well, it’s no radical change. In fact, if you were to strip away all of the “concept-y” features from this thing, you’d be left with something like a current Smart with a fancy bodykit. Oh sure, it’s got “organic solar cells” on the roof and heat-conductive and insulating “e-textile” seat coverings, but this plug-in concept really just proves that Smart is a fixed idea. Though updates will be welcome in the European market where Smart already does well, but unless Smart shows a concept with a lower price, higher efficiency and more satisfying transmission, it’s hard to see the American market losing any sleep over such a “future Smart.”

With GM, “Fiat Group” and Ford improving their sales volume by 16%, 23% and 9% respectively, Detroit is dominating the headlines in early August sales analysis. But Hyundai Group’s 29% is the big percentage winner, and Nissan had a good volume month as well, up 14%. But the “big two” Japanese are continuing to slide, with Honda off 6% and Toyota down 8%. Hit the jump for our developing table…

(Read More…)