The next Renault Samsung SM5 has debuted in Korea, giving us a preview of Mitsubishi’s next entrant in the D-segment.
Find Reviews by Make:
Latest auto news, reviews, editorials, and podcasts
The FJ60 Land Cruiser is still a common sight on the streets of Denver, where I live. These things are not anywhere near as comfortable or fuel-efficient as modern SUVs, but they are just about impossible to kill… and that counts for a lot with your FJ-driving demographic around these parts. Being so prized, however, means that you don’t see many of these trucks in high-turnover self-service wrecking yards, and when you do see one it tends to get picked clean in a hurry. I went to a local yard on a typically freezing-ass Half Price Day sale last week and spotted this remarkably un-stripped ’82. (Read More…)
Another car carrier incident, another hot Porsche and Chinese channel stuffing. Oh and the MINI Paceman is dead.
The Toyota Camry was America’s most popular car in 2014, the 13th consecutive year in which the Camry has led all passenger cars. The Camry ranked fourth among vehicles overall, trailing only three pickup trucks.
• Camry volume represents a six-year high
• Accord volume shoots up to seven-year high
• Corolla leads all small cars
Camry volume rose to a six-year high in 2014. With a 5% increase in the lead-up to a MY2015 refresh, the Camry outsold its nearest rival, the Honda Accord, by 40,232 units. (The Accord trailed the Camry by 41,806 units in 2013.) Accord volume, at 388,374 units, improved to a seven-year high.
Despite reporting record-high U.S. sales, the Nissan Altima fell from third place in 2013 to the fourth spot this year. Altima volume increased in each of the last five years.
American Honda grabbed its third consecutive best-selling SUV crown with the increasingly popular CR-V in calendar year 2014. The CR-V’s lead over the next-best-selling Ford Escape grew to 28,807 units (about one month of sales for the CR-V) in 2014 from 7911 units in calendar year 2013.
• CR-V leads SUVs & crossovers in seven of the last eight years
• Seven of the ten best sellers post record U.S. sales
• Explorer is America’s best-selling three-row vehicle
The CR-V was alone on top, but it was not alone in its ability to achieve record-high U.S. sales volume. Along with the CR-V, the Ford Escape, Toyota RAV4, Chevrolet Equinox, Nissan Rogue, Jeep Wrangler, and Subaru Forester all sold more often in 2014 than in any prior year.
President Barack Obama will be visiting the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich. Wednesday, a plant currently closed due to low demand for both the Focus and C-Max.
Speed cameras are the bane of motorists, a needed safety measure for road safety advocates, and a boon to government coffers (just ask Waldo, Fla.). Motorists in New South Wales, Australia, however, have decided to fly the two-fingered salute the only way they know how: By popping the hood.
Last year, Tesla granted every one of its competitors full access to its myriad of patents, in the hope they would, in turn, build more EVs.
This year? Toyota is doing the same with its hydrogen fuel-cell patents to help spur on further FCV development.
Sources that Mercedes-Benz will announce Tuesday that their headquarters will move from Northern New Jersey to Atlanta, Georgia.
In the time honored buff book tradition of pitting supercars against military aircraft, Road & Track and the Drive network managed to procure a Hellcat for a drag race against an F-16.
Auto sales in the United States grew nearly 11% in December 2014, a fitting ending to a year of impressive growth for the overall auto industry. The biggest leaps forward in December were achieved by three volume brands: Chrysler, Kia, and Ram. Scion and Cadillac continued to spiral. Volkswagen reported a modest increase for the third consecutive year in comparison with what was a disappointing fourth-quarter in 2013.
• Ford led all brands in U.S. sales in 2014
• GM is the top-selling manufacturer with its four brands
• Maserati’s 171% year-over-year improvement led all automakers in 2014
• Jeep and Ram combined for 303,190 more sales in 2014 than in 2013
The market supported more than 16 million sales for the first time 2007 with strength rising most particularly in the SUV/crossover sector, but also from top-selling cars. Toyota’s Camry, the best-selling car in America, climbed to 428,606 sales. The Nissan Altima set an annual sales record. The Honda Accord reached a seven-year high.
As of 3:03 P.M., a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude oil is sitting at $49.90 USD. For $42.48, you can get a fifth of Wiser’s Legacy Canadian Whisky – decent stuff, but nothing fancy. If you’ll excuse me, I’m off to buy myself a Hellcat.
Last year, I made a few predictions about events in the auto industry. I firmly believe in being held accountable when making these statements. Most journalists have zero skin in the game and make outlandish pronouncements about product planning, regulations and other matters. These are quickly lost in the ether of the online news cycle, and the idiocy of their statements is forgotten as soon as you can say “brown diesel wagon”. Let’s see how I fared in 2014.
One of the cars I’ve always admired from afar was the Fox Body Mustang Cobra. I say admired from afar because I’ve always known that it would never live up to my own fantasies if I ever drove it. But this rolling chassis presents an interesting way to get into a Cobra without running afoul of the need to preserve its authenticity.
Today’s QOTD comes from Grandma, who is on vacation in Florida. Grandma writes:
i have a a chevy sonic rental. i parked it, it is so small it was a breeze lots of 2014 mercedes sitting in dealer lots here. saw 2 bmw electric cars. the back lights look like the kia soul. it looks cute, but none of the beemer [sic] sophistication. don’t know why they have to make electric cars look so quirky.
Upon further questioning, it appears Grandma was asking about the BMW i3. Sixt is now renting out the i3 in the South Florida area, complete with burnt orange paint and giant Sixt logos. I didn’t really have a good answer for her, other than “people want to be seen driving an electric car”. In her mind, a Bimmer is still something you buy to show that you’ve “arrived” – but it’s not as good as a “Jag-you-are”.
Recent Comments