Remember all that hype about how a Detroit-area Jeep plant would be building the Maserati Levante SUV, for export back to Italy? Yeah, me either.
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Posts By: Derek Kreindler
By the time you read this, I’ll be under the knife, but I wanted to share with you my favorite Super Bowl ad. I don’t have any real profound insights, but I did get a real kick out of it, as I recalled my own prom night, an event that largely faded from memory.
Remember how you all mocked me for my earnest proclamation that the 2013 Ford Fusion would be a “game changer”? Well, January looks to be a promising prelude to my inevitable vindication, as far as sales goes.
TTAC readers, this is the one you’ve been waiting for; a fun-to-drive, lightweight, stick-shift sports sedan that doesn’t require a home equity loan to purchase. Now, the question is, will anyone buy it?
Anyone attending the Geneva Auto Show will get to see a concept version of the Toyota 86 convertible, pictured above in a sketch. Enjoy it as you sip your 7 Franc lattes. We’ll have live shots for you starting March 5th, once the show is on. Maybe it will be warm enough to put the top down on the MX-5 by then…
TTAC alum Justin Berkowitz hit the jackpot with Chrysler, managing to make sense of the umpteenth new product rollout they’ve announced since getting in bed with Fiat, and posting the most accurate rendering of the new Jeep Liberty replacement (according to TTAC sources, it is dead on).
The current Ssangyong Rodius is without question the world’s ugliest car. Having seen them in the Middle East and Europe, I can confirm that they make the Pontiac Aztek look like an Aston Martin DB9. But the reign of the Rodius is coming to an end – if the sketches below are to be believed, the new Rodius should be somewhat attractive.
If you were to read certain outlets, you may have the mistaken impression that Mazda is making a move upmarket. More than one industry gadfly took Mazda CEO Takashi Yamanouchi’s assertion that he wants to see Mazda become a “premium” brand as evidence of managerial incompetence. How could the world’s last independent auto maker have the gall to gun for the Germans and upscale Japanese marques when they are currently a bit player in the global auto sector?
The stupidly named Kia pro_cee’d is going to get the Hyundai Veloster Turbo’s 1.6L 201-horsepower turbocharged 4-cylinder engine as part of a GT trim level. The GT will bow at the Geneva Auto Show – which TTAC won’t be covering, since the Swiss Franc’s relative strength will make even an espresso unaffordable.
The important question for North American consumers – will we get a Forte with this powertrain? Or an Elantra GT? We’ve heard hints from Hyundai that an upgraded engine is in the cards for the hatchback. This seems like an obvious choice.
Better Place Australia’s future is in serious jeopardy after its CEO resigned, amid plans to restrict new investment to Israel and Denmark, Better Place’s main markets.
As we come to yet another hiccup in the launch of the Dodge Dart, it’s worth taking a look backwards to examine how we got to this point; the elimination of a second shift at the Dundee, Michigan plant that builds the Dart’s 1.4L FIRE engine, as well as the firing or re-assignment of 58 workers.
As both Ronnie and Michael Karesh noted, the same 1.4T FIRE engine that’s so delightful in the Fiat 500 Abarth is weaksauce in the Dart. The 1.4T’s clunky dual-clutch auto doesn’t help matters either. If it weren’t for government mandated fuel economy targets imposed as a condition of the bailout, that engine – and possibly the Dart – wouldn’t even be here right now.
Guangzhou Autos is reporting that 2012 profits are down as much as 80 percent, thanks to the dispute with Japan over a few islands in some godforsaken corner of the world.
Word from Germany is that Opel’s head of sales and marketing, Alfred Rieck, is departing Opel after just 7 months on the job.
A low-cost Volkswagen, selling for between 5,000 and 10,000 euros, might be earmarked for China, and the range could include – brace yourselves – a station wagon!
If there’s a better symbol of how much the world has changed since the fall of the British Empire than an Indian-made Jaguar, built by Tata, then I haven’t seen it.
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