For such an elderly car, Buick is getting awfully creative with its teasers. Released last week, Buick teased its 2017 LaCrosse in an image and video ahead of the Los Angeles Auto Show, where it will be officially revealed.
The silhouette of the LaCrosse shows hips and shoulders similar to Buick’s Avenir concept — and not much else. (Thankfully, the bulbous Vulcan rear end of the Avenir appears to be gone.) (Read More…)
On her weekly podcast, German Prime Minister Angela Merkel said Volkswagen’s scandal hasn’t harmed the German automobile industry’s image, but that the automaker would need to conduct its investigation with transparency to restore faith in the country’s industry.
“A lot will depend on how Volkswagen deals with the issue,” Merkel said, according to Reuters.
Separately, sources told German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung (via Reuters) that the automaker, under pressure from investigators, is offering amnesty to employees who reveal what they knew about its cheating devices. Amnesty won’t apply to top-level managers, according to the report.
Volkswagen told dealers that it would buy back some of its unsellable, used diesel cars withering on their lots at fixed prices to help dealers cope during the automaker’s growing diesel scandal, Automotive News reported.
The cars that dealers are accepting on trade-in, but can’t sell due to their illegally polluting engines, have sat on lots while the automaker develops its plan to fix 482,000 cars sold in the U.S. with the illegal “defeat device.” Volkswagen has offered a $2,000 “loyalty discount” for any Volkswagen trade-in, including diesel cars. (Read More…)
I love you, unicorn.
A TTAC reader spotted this 2016 Volkswagen Passat Alltrack roaming the streets of Phoenix the other day and dutifully reported “What the hell is that?”
This Passat wagon, which is sold overseas, may be the only one in the States. It’s wearing manufacturer tags and likely just had its way with VW’s massive testing circuit in Phoenix.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced Friday that it would recall nearly 900,000 cars worldwide — including more than 550,000 cars in the U.S. — for defective airbag and brake systems.
The company said some 2003 Jeep Liberty and 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee models were fitted with faulty airbags that could deploy. The automaker acknowledged that seven injuries had been caused by the airbags, which were not made by Takata. In all, 284,089 cars are affected by that recall.
Additionally, the company said more than 275,000 Dodge Journey models from 2012-2015 may have defective anti-lock brake systems that could fail due to excess moisture.
Mitsubishi announced Thursday that it would make available Rockford Fosgate Special Edition badges attached to a Mirage.
The badges, which cost $14,495 to start, include a car that still has four speakers (five if you count a 6.5-inch subwoofer) and four wheels.
The Janesville, Wisconsin, General Motors assembly plant that was shuttered six years ago will likely officially close, according to letters in a proposed agreement between United Auto Workers and the automaker, Automotive News reported.
The plant, which was opened in 1919 and once produced large SUVs such as the Chevrolet Suburban/GMC Yukon XL, employed as many as 7,000 workers in the 1970s. Hundreds of workers were sent to other plants when the plant suspended operation in 2009, six months before GM’s announced bankruptcy.
* A cautionary tale. Traversing the great state of Wyoming with hundreds of pounds of men, gear (including a Chairman Mao stencil) and snacks needs no fewer than 14 cupholders. (Two cupholders were used for drinks, the rest were used for toy cars and various empty wrappers.) Building a family car isn’t a trick. Rather, […]
Massachusetts Sen. Edward Markey on Thursday sent a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration asking the agency to re-evaluate millions of fuel economy credits awarded to the automaker by the agency for cheating diesel cars.
The letter, which was addressed to Administrator Mark Rosekind, outlined the automaker’s exceedingly fuel efficient fleet average from 2008, which now could be in jeopardy after the automaker admitted it cheated emissions tests and could impact those cars’ mileage. (Read More…)
Volkswagen will still invest $900 million in its Chattanooga, Tennessee plant despite company-wide cost cutting from its diesel disaster, the automaker announced Thursday.
The company had long planned on a mid-size, three-row SUV to compete in the U.S.. However, those plans were upended when the Environmental Protection Agency announced in September that Volkswagen’s diesels had been illegally polluting, and the company shed billions from its value in following days.
The three-row SUV, which may follow closely Volkswagen’s CrossBlue Concept, was announced last year for the Tennessee plant. Volkswagen said it would begin building the SUV at the end of 2016. (Read More…)
Mazda will show two different concepts of its lightweight convertible next month at the annual SEMA show in Las Vegas.
A proposed contract between the United Auto Workers and General Motors will eventually end a tiered pay system divided between veteran auto workers and employees hired after 2008, and provide annual bonuses and substantial raises for the first time in a decade. The automaker has offered an $8,000 signing bonus to approve the deal.
The proposed deal outlines the automaker’s $8.3 billion investment in American plants — above its $6.4 billion improvements already announced — over the life of the contract. The deal was posted on the UAW website Thursday.
The deal for GM workers, which is sweeter than the deal hammered out between the UAW and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, will be reviewed and voted on in coming weeks.
Porsche announced Tuesday its Macan GTS crossover; a harder, faster version of its Macan S, but without encroaching too far on the Macan Turbo.
The twin-turbocharged 3-liter V-6 boosts output from 340 horsepower in the Macan S to 360 horsepower in the Macan GTS, and 30 more foot-pounds of twist from 339 to 369 pounds-feet of torque. The difference is nominal; Porsche says the Macan GTS will run up to 60 mph in 5 seconds, 0.2 seconds quicker than a Macan S.
During a call to discuss its third-quarter financial results, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne hinted that the automaker may launch a Ram-branded large SUV to compete with Ford’s Expedition and General Motors’ Suburban/Yukon XL.
The battleship segment is “the near-exclusive use of some others. We have a reasonable chance of getting at least part of that market,” Marchionne said, according to Automotive News.
Nissan unveiled its next Leaf IDS Concept, a semi-autonomous EV complete with a glimpse of Nissan’s coming “Intelligent Drive” features that may be equipped on some of its cars by the end of the decade.
The IDS Concept boasts an autonomous piloted driving mode for conversationalists (the seats rotate inward to invite dialogue!) a movable dash with “Minority Report” pre-cog abilities (probably) and a submarine-style style steering wheel.
But those aren’t the best concept-ish features. (Read More…)
Recent Comments