After nearly 20 years of racing abstinence – his hast race was 1991 in Hockenheim –  the legendary rally world champion Walter Röhrl is back on the circuit. At the ripe age of 62, he is part of the Porsche team that races the VLN cup at the Nürburgring. In a Porsche 911 GT3 RS. The high point of the VLN Cup will be the 24 Hours Nürburgring, the very same  that Akio Toyoda regretfully decided to avoid this year due to unfortunate circumstances back home. (Read More…)

Now that TTAC’s crew has landed in force at NYIAS, Chinese Week-end is no longer in effect. Regular rules apply.  We clear the stage with a look back at the human side of last year’s Shanghai Auto Show. There are two reasons for it: (Read More…)

On April 1, new federal fuel economy CAFE standards went into effect. By 2016, new cars should get 35 mpg or thereabouts. The true number remains an exercise in abstract algebra. Says Consumer Reports: “The new standards require different fuel economy averages for each manufacturer and for each type of vehicle (such as small, midsized, and large sedans or SUVs).” There are plenty of loopholes and offsets. Extra credit for cars that take E85 Ethanol, for instance. And here is another huge loophole: (Read More…)

Cadillac contracted the services of the Ritz-Carlton to train Cadillac dealers to provide 5-star service. The Ritz Carlton, first recipient of the Baldridge award in 1999, has a side business in training other companies to provide quality service.

Don Butler, Cadillac’s marketing VP, said to Automotive News [sub] that the program will emphasize customer treatment rather than facilities. For instance, he said, a dealership employee might take an umbrella and walk a customer out to his or her car when it’s raining. “It’s simple,” Butler said. “It’s the things that don’t cost a lot of money.” If he would only know. (Read More…)

That was expensive: Close to the Daimler proving grounds near Stuttgart, the local fire department could pick the remainder of a prototype Pagani C9 über-sportscar out of the guardrail. Cost: €1m, give or take a few. (Read More…)

Conspicuous consumption gradually is becoming socially agreeable again around the world, or so it seems.  Germany’s auto motor und sport cornered Mercedes-Benz Cars sales chief Joachim Schmidt at the New York Auto Show. Schmidt said “we are probably going to reach a plus of more than 10 percent in global vehicle sales in the first quarter.” Why the sudden growth? (Read More…)

While everybody is afraid of China flexing its muscles, the Middle Kingdom is stretching its feet. And its cars. Long versions are very popular in the world’s largest auto market, where one can hire a permanent driver for a few hundred $ a month. (Read More…)

Didn’t BMW make noises that they “want to be the number 1 luxury carmaker in the United States by 2012?“ If that’s still the case, then the boys from Bavaria better get their act together. Currently, they don’t look so good. In the March 2010 sales round-up, they came in with a measly 3 percent growth, while the market grew 24 percent. Then, as Automotive News [sub] points out, there is a dark horse: (Read More…)

The NY Auto Show? Let’s talk about what is not there: The star of the Geneva Auto Show, the gas-electric hybrid Porsche 918 Spyder Concept. It is not there because it’s, as Motortrend reports, “en route to the Beijing Auto Show.” (Read More…)

As you are reading this, worker bees in the employ of Volkswagen are putting the last touches on a revamped model of the venerable Phaeton, overtime be damned. When everything is in Ordnung and the Spaltmass (panel gap) is as tight as a vise, the Phaeton will be loaded on the next Lufthansa freighter, and – eat your heart out, Jack Baruth – it will be flown to Beijing. As China Daily has it, “Volkswagen AG is speeding up a face-lift of the $88,000 Phaeton sedan in time to unveil the model at the Beijing auto show and target China’s millionaires.” (Read More…)

Due to developments beyond my control, you, the Best and the Brightest, will be exposed to a whole load of BS today. Nothing but BS. All day. (Read More…)

A few days ago, we reported that Toyota had caved in to demands of the Commerce Bureau and the Consumer Protection Committee of China’s Zhejiang Province. Under the agreement, Toyota will reimburse Zhejiang customers for losses sustained from the RAV4 recall. Toyota will send people to pick up and deliver the affected vehicles, and will provide a loaner while the car is in the shop. The whole thing was started by New York’s AG Andrew Cuomo who strong-armed Toyota into supplying similar services to recall-affected residents of the Empire State. The Zhejiang-accord had The Nikkei [sub] worried: “Such an agreement could lead to demands for similar deals from customers in not only other provinces, but also other countries.” It didn’t take long. (Read More…)

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon approved a $185m settlement between Daimler, the Department of Justice (DOJ,) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The Feds had alleged that Daimler violated the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by drowning foreign government officials in money and gifts until they relented and ordered Daimler products. According to Reuters, Daimler’s German and Russian units each agreed to plead guilty to two minor counts of violating U.S. anti-bribery laws. Its China subsidiary will be subject to the two-year deferred prosecution agreement as well. That said, the bad boys from Sindelfingen may go forth and sin no more. Except for one niggling detail … (Read More…)

If you are in the market for a Toyota, then there is no rush to run to your dealer over the Easter weekend and to make any rash buying decisions. Toyota will extend its generous (or not so generous, depending on who’s doing the counting) incentives well into April. (Read More…)

When you are a Chinese car company, especially one that is mostly government owned, reporting profits is not one of your prime objectives. As long as you don’t lose money hand over fist, as long as you provide jobs for many people, as long as you grow in market share and influence, having money left over is sometimes just a (taxable) nuisance. But in times like these, it’s unavoidable. And it doesn’t hurt your stock when you are a publicly traded company. Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, better known as SAIC, has announced that their net profit for 2009 jumped 900 percent from the previous year, reaching a record of nearly $1b ($966m, to be exact.) (Read More…)