Update: It looks like we’re in the clear. If you notice anything broken with the site, email me at mstevenson@ttac.com.
We’re currently working on a site issue that’s restricting the ability of many of you to scroll pages. When it’s cleared up, we’ll update this post.
Thanks for hanging in there.
James writes:
I seem to find myself in an endless car-buying cycle of “I’ll finally be content if I buy X car”; get said car, get a year into ownership and dammit — I want a different car! Buyers remorse at its finest.
I don’t know what it is when it comes to cars, but I seem to have this blind spot for knowing what the heck I really want in the car, unlike everything else in life. Sigh.
Guess who’s back?
Henrik Fisker, the designer-turned-entrepreneur behind the ill-fated Fisker Karma, wants to try his hand at building a green luxury vehicle again.
The Dane wants to erase the cloud of failure that hangs over his name by building a new electric car with a Tesla-beating range, Bloomberg reports. Naturally, his name is all over the new company. In fact, it is the company. (Read More…)
A materials engineer fired by Tesla Motors earlier this year is suing the automaker, claiming that his age led to the dismissal.
The discrimination suit filed by Thomas Flessner, 69, paints a picture of a Logan’s Run-like corporate atmosphere that values youth above all else, Fusion reports. It’s the latest in a steady stream of complaints about the youth-focused culture within the tech industry. (Read More…)
In September 2016, for the first time since October 2014, the Chevrolet Camaro outsold the Ford Mustang in the United States.
Year-over-year, Chevrolet Camaro sales jumped 25 percent to a five-year September high of 6,577.
With the worst Ford Mustang decline since (not coincidentally) October 2014, the Blue Oval’s pony car saw its share of the three-car Detroit pony/muscle car sector fall by 15 points to 34 percent.
Thus, the Camaro wins. Over the span of one month. By a small margin. (Read More…)
Update: Added statement from Buick.
As Buick rolls out its Avenir sub-brand, slashes underperforming products, and bolsters its crossover and SUV portfolio, the Regal withers on the vine — but not for long.
Speaking with a well-placed source, TTAC gleaned details on the forthcoming Buick Regal, which will be revealed in the second quarter of 2017, possibly at the New York International Auto Show.
We reported in July that Ford canceled a total of 220 Focus RS orders for model year 2016 and moved them to the 2017 model year. These orders were set to start cranking out of the Saarlouis factory as manufacturing resumed on August 15, with priority going to those orders first, but many customers are reporting no updates and no car in sight.
According to emails obtained by TTAC, one such customer is approaching the one year mark since placing his order on October 23, 2015, which was reportedly one of the first 400 placed as the customer received a special diecast Focus RS to commemorate the purchase.
But where’s the car?
The Chevrolet Cruze Diesel returns in 2017, packing a smaller oil-burning four-cylinder and more torque than the first-generation model, but there’s another major change from its predecessor.
According to GMInsideNews, the next-generation Cruze Diesel will offer both a manual and automatic transmission. Clearly, GM wasn’t lying about its plan to romance former Volkswagen owners. (Read More…)
September 2016 auto sales slid nearly 1 percent, not as rough an outcome as projected by many industry analysts but more proof that the auto industry may have peaked in calendar year 2015.
Despite bright spots from Ram, Buick, and Infiniti, most of the year-over-year improvements reported by automakers in September were modest in size. Porsche, Lincoln, Toyota, Honda, Audi, and Volvo all combined for sub-2-percent increases. Mercedes-Benz, Subaru, Cadillac, Hyundai, and Lexus couldn’t quite manage 4-percent upticks.
Yet in a market that slowed for a second consecutive month, many of the gains produced by pickup truck sales still weren’t strong enough to bring more buyers into showrooms than in September 2015. (Read More…)
GM Canada autoworkers seemed pretty pleased with the contract deal their union reached with the company, but Ford needs to put something different on the table to satisfy its employees.
The president of a Unifor local representing Canadian Ford workers said his members would have voted down the GM deal, Reuters reports. (Read More…)
General Motors has rolled out a unique variant of its popular midsize Chevrolet Colorado pickup in advance of U.S. military trials scheduled to begin next year.
The Colorado ZH2, seemingly plucked from the set of a Mad Max sequel, has seen its frame and body stretched, reinforced and modified to within an inch of its life, and draws its power from a hydrogen fuel cell.
If this sounds like eco-nonsense, and you’re wondering when the U.S. Navy will announce a return to sail, hold on — there are tactical advantages to the vehicle’s powertrain. (Read More…)
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into 380,000 Ford Edge SUVs after receiving a slew of complaints about doors that won’t latch.
The regulator’s probe increases the chances that Ford will add another crop of vehicles to its 2.4 million-strong door latch recall. Meanwhile, another NHTSA investigation targets reports of power steering failure in certain Fusion models. (Read More…)
General Motors claims Chevrolet dealers will see some Bolts arrive before the end of the year, but it’s now clear who gets the 238-mile electric vehicle first.
The first Bolts to roll out of the Orion Assembly plant will go to drivers working for Lyft, the Detroit Free Press reports. (Read More…)
On the surface, it seems creepy and/or pathetic, but it could be a healthy new revenue stream for Toyota.
The automaker plans to begin offering a small, talking robot to Japanese customers this winter — a strategic product for an aging population with a low birthrate, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Kirobo Mini is designed to replace family members you don’t have, which might explain why it will criticize your driving habits. (Read More…)
If you were to take a moment to ponder the death of the wagon in America and had to put a timeline on when it all started, quite a few people would wager it arrived in the 1990s. That timeline makes a lot of sense, since that’s when the SUV craze really started to take off. But there isn’t a specific date when it all came crashing down, and that’s frustrating as a historian.
We can nail down the end of the Roman Empire to the year that Odoacer overthrew Romulus Augustus (476, if you were concerned), but there was never an “okay, no more wagons starting now” moment in our country.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the highlights of the longroof market in the Naughts.
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