TTAC commenter gimmiemanual writes:
I was living in China in late 2009, and decided to take scuba classes so I could dive the Great Barrier Reef.
My open water course was done in Qiandao Lake, outside of Shanghai, and this picture was on the wall of my (terrible) local hotel room.
I offered to buy it for what everyone with me considered a ridiculous amount, but the owner absolutely refused to sell it to me. I’ve lazily looked through the internet, but have been unable to figure out what it is.
Based on internal platform codes, sources are telling us Cadillac is working on a Delta-based Mercedes CLA rival.
General Motors has spent significant time and effort refining the Delta platform – as noted in our Cruze review, this platform is well worthy of premiums above the Cruze’s $17, 495 MSRP.
Based on what sources are sending our way, it looks like General Motors is planning exactly that, a premium vehicle based on the new D2XX platform. (Read More…)
The first-generation North American Ford Escort looked a lot like its European namesake, but was a very different machine under the skin. For the 1991 model year, the Escort moved to the same platform as the Mazda 323, so the late-’80s models are the last of the all-Ford American Escorts.
Here’s one that I spotted in a Northern California yard. (Read More…)
Tesla is in the game to make money with its $35,000 Model 3, due out in late 2017, but that claim was recently disputed by an industry insider.
Jon Bereisa, an electric vehicle engineering consultant (and former General Motors systems architect responsible for the Chevrolet Volt), said recently that the Model 3 needs to be much more expensive for Tesla to break even, according to StreetInsider (via Electrek). (Read More…)
Over the weekend and earlier this week, my girlfriend and I negotiated over and agreed to purchase a new car. No, it isn’t that.
It just posted its largest loss ever and is up to its eyebrows in scandal-related expenses, so what’s an automaker to do when the hands come out asking for more?
That’s the situation in Wolfsburg, Germany, where the scandal-rocked Volkswagen and its workers’ labor union find themselves engaged in an uncomfortable dance, according to Automotive News Europe.
The union, IG Metall, says the automaker’s diesel emissions scandal is no excuse for holding back raises to its 120,000 staff members, and Volkswagen says, “What? Sorry, can’t hear you — we’re driving into a tunnel…call back later.” (Read More…)
After cleaning up the data as much as I could considering this smashing headache I’m managing today, I’ve crunched the numbers and come out with a magic number: 242. That’s the total number of vehicles you nominated that were eligible for this year’s Ten Best and Ten Worst.
Here they are, in order of Best to Worst, for your reading pleasure.
You can’t get your hands on the gear-iest transmission in the land without throwing some money around first.
Ford Motor Company announced today that it will spend $1.4 billion to produce their new 10-speed automatic for future F-150s, and invest $200 million into large truck production at its Ohio Assembly Plant. (Read More…)
“Clean up the place when you’re done with it, and don’t even think of offering ‘hourly rates’ while you have it. This is a respectable car.”
Adds like this could start popping up from new Mini owners if the quirky automaker has its way, Automotive News Europe reports.
Mini plans to offer devices on its models that allow the owner to rent out their vehicle to other drivers, providing some cash for themselves and a Mini experience for non-owners.
Peter Schwarzenbauer, the BMW Group executive in charge of Mini, seems very excited about the technology, telling Automotive News that the system will be “kind of like Airbnb on wheels.” (Read More…)
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne has a good morning today, after FCA announced boosted profit and earnings spurred by healthy sales in the U.S. and Europe.
First quarter net profits were up from just above the break-even point a year ago to 451 million euros ($539.4 million), according to The Detroit News, with pre-tax earnings up 88 percent to 1.3 billion euros ($1.6 billion). (Read More…)
Andre writes:
Bark,
I’ve lurked on TTAC for around eight months and just registered to ask for a recommendation. (Thanks! —Bark)
My daily driver is a 2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI, and it’s likely I’ll be taking the buyback option on the vehicle based on the agreement-in-principle between VW and the government on the “defeat device.” It’s been a great car (stone reliable, a miracle according to the B&B), but any fix is likely to cut both performance and fuel mileage.
The question is, what to replace it with?
Mitsubishi’s fuel economy scandal blew up yesterday after the automaker admitted it has issued misleading mileage data since C+C Music Factory was at the top of the charts.
The scandal that started with inflated mileage numbers on a single minicar one week ago now extends to all Japanese market Mitsubishi vehicles sold over the past quarter century. Reuters is reporting that the automaker compiled fuel economy data using U.S. standards, rather than the Japanese standards that factor in much more city driving. (Read More…)
A few months ago, my esteemed colleague Ronnie Schreiber found himself in possession of a McLaren 675LT for the week. Not having a tremendous amount of personal experience with supercars, and not in a position to kill $10,000 worth of consumables in a single day at Thunderhill, Ronnie decided not to write a conventional review […]
David writes:
Over the last few years, I’ve had work done on my ’99 Ford F-150 at various places near my work. It seems that when a wear item goes (like ball joints), the mechanic wants to replace absolutely everything in the system — tie rods, pitman arm, trailing arm, etc. Or when the left side brake caliper goes bad, they want to replace the right one, too. Or give me all new hoses when I replace my radiator.
The reason the mechanic gives is always, “Well they are the same age, and if the left one is bad, the right one is not far behind.”
This gets really expensive really quick. Is this worth it? Why do mechanics always want to replace everything in the system, if only one part is bad? Is this strategy only to boost profit? Or is there some truth in their reasoning? (Read More…)
After Volkswagen announced last week that it would cut dividends by 97 percent due to the financial fallout of the diesel emissions scandal, there’s a ray of light for those who have shares in the company’s owner.
Porsche Automobil Holding SE, the investment vehicle of Volkswagen AG’s ultra-wealthy owner family, said it will front the cash to allow shareholders a bigger return, according to Bloomberg. (Read More…)
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