Autoexpress has one of those compelling-but-mysterious stories on a possible new MPV from Toyota. We know that it will be a compact seven-seater, but the basis for the new MPV is still unclear. “We’re looking at a seven-seater based on the Prius. It would use a lithium-ion battery, and could be here by 2012,” says one anonymous tipster. But iQ city car chief engineer Hiroki Nakajima claims that another approach could be in the cards. Specifically, Toyota is looking at proliferating iQ space-saving developments across its product line, and Nakajima reckons that iQ breakthroughs could be used to squeeze seven seats into a Yaris platform. “We’re working on a seven-seater that’s the size of the Yaris,” says Nakajima. “We can do it, and give limo-like legroom in the back!” Of course this approach would likely make a hybrid system too expensive. For the US market, a slightly-larger Prius-based option (such as the Estima concept pictured above) would likely be a more popular choice. Frankly, the California soccer mom arms race would never be the same. Until the Lexus version comes out.
Posts By: Edward Niedermeyer
Well, it was only a matter of time. After all, the ethanol industry receives about $7b in annual government subsidies and still can’t turn a profit when times are good. Why, they’re going to need the most special bailout of all! The WSJ’s Washington Wire reports that the Renewable Fuels Association recently sent a bailout-begging mission to DC. The RFA lobbyists met with congressional and Obama staffers and reportedly “provided them with some ideas on how to craft the language of” an economic recovery package. Run that phrase through the DC bullshit decoder, and it turns out that the RFA team was actually lobbying for a massive bailout package. And a hauntingly familiar massive bailout package at that. The RFA is seeking $1 billion short-term credit facility so ethanol producers could finance current operations (think “bridge loans”); a $50 billion federal loan guarantee program to finance investment in new renewable fuel production capacity and supporting infrastructure (think “136 loans”); and a requirement that any auto maker receiving federal aid only produce new vehicles that can run on any blend up to 85% ethanol, beginning with the 2010 model season (give up on democracy). Meanwhile, the RFA’s Matt Hartwig insists that “we’re not asking for a specific bailout, but rather, as a trade association, we’re providing ideas to an incoming Congress and a new administration about ways to bolster the domestic renewable fuel industry.” Right. (Hat Tip: Reason Hit & Run)
The next generation Subaru Legacy is headed upmarket, with a new 3.6 liter boxer six (hello Zuffenhausen!) and six-speed transmission. Familiar 3.0 and 2.5 liter boxer engines should return, and will be joined by the world’s only diesel boxer; a 2.0 four-banger that will almost certainly not make it to the States. More details when the Legacy Concept previews the new look of Legacy at the Detroit Auto Show. If there still is a Detroit Auto Show.
In today’s TTAC contest, we were looking for the best bumper sticker slogan for the bailout-begging CEO. And man were there some good ones. We had several Jet-Gate references, from My other car is a Gulfstream/Learjet/LS430/Golden Parachute to I’d rather be flying. A few were based in visual gags, such as The Darwin fish eating Chrysler and A graphic of the Democratic congressional leadership: Don’t Laugh. They’re Paid For. Still others riffed on some of the classic standbys of the bumper sticker universe. Ass, Grass or Duracells- No One Rides For Free would be great on a Volt, as would My Child is Honor Student at Detroit Elementary School, and he could have have run this company way freakin better than I did. Finally, a few popular bumper stickers would have made great additions right out of the box, specifically Baby On Board and What, Me Worry? And we loved the idea of slapping a certain infamous quote by a certain Maximum auto executive on Wagoner’s DC-bound Volt mule. But only one quote could win…
Yes, bailout watchers, President Bush was under pressure to make an announcement today on the possible use of TARP funds to rescue the domestic auto industry. And by the looks of things round Chrysler way, waiting even until today was probably a stretch. But Bush has juked expectations (and not for the first time) by failing to make any kind of announcement by close of business today. And this mysterious defiance of the media-proclaimed deadline has ABC News wondering “What’s Taking So Long?” No, seriously, that’s the headline. Not being the kind of news source that asks a question with no convenient answer, ABC quickly reveals that “some of the GOP senators who killed a congressional bill to save American carmakers last week have written to the president to say they don’t believe ‘any amount of money’ will save the struggling car companies without major changes to how they operate.” The letter was signed by senators Jim DeMint; Jeff Sessions; John Ensign; Tom Coburn; John Cornyn; Mike Enzi; and Saxby Chamblis as well as more than two dozen Republican members of the House. The White House responded through spokesman Tony Fratto, who told ABC “it’s a huge industry, and both the problem and the potential solutions are complicated. Congress is leaving the administration with suboptimal choices to deal with the issue.” Meanwhile, for Chrysler and GM the choices become increasingly “suboptimal” with every passing hour.
Sometimes a car is just a car: a large assemblage of metal, glass and plastic designed to provide mobility. But as the recent bailout hearings proved conclusively, sometimes a car can be so much more. A car can be a symbol of hope. A sign of change. Or a red herring. When GM CEO Rick Wagoner rolled up on the Capitol in his Cruze-bodied Volt mule, he expected it to erase the negativity that was spawned by Jet-gate only a few weeks earlier. And yet, somehow the symbolic power of the Volt arrival failed to inspire enough faith in GM’s future to secure a quick $34b. Perhaps Wagoner should have done more to amplify the message that a wholly unrecognizeable car (to congress and most Americans) was supposed to send. May we suggest that silver bullet of automotive communication, the bumper sticker? After all, nothing highlights the relationship between a one’s deeply-held values and their car’s brand image like a well placed bumper sticker. And so the question comes to you, oh Best and Brightest, if Wagoner could have slapped a single bumper sticker on his beltway beggarmobile, what should it have been? Answers can be existing bumper stickers or unique creations of your own twisted imagination. The winner will get $100 worth of Car Tattoos (your design or theirs) from Cartatts.com.
The Zenvo ST1 hits 60 mph in 3 seconds flat and tops out at 233 mph, thanks to its 7 liter turbo- and supercharged V8. This “100 percent Danish,” 1104 hp, RWD beast is hand-built, and features a six-speed manual transmission and a hydraulic limited-slip differential. Nobody knows what it costs.
Your faithful blogger is suffering this morning. A night of birthday celebration is currently proving that knowledge of moderation (and the mysteries of escrow) do not simply come with age. But compared to the hangover caused by a decade-long cheap credit binge, my suffering seems downright tolerable. Just ask GMAC. The Detroit News reports that GM’s once-captive lender has delayed the delivery date for debt swap deliveries for the fifth time, as it desperately attempts to round up enough capital to achieve bank holding status. Despite improving its offer last week, GMAC still says it needs “significant additional participation” from bondholders to make its goal of $30b in regulatory capital. Luckily the DetN is happy to sugar-coat the pain by headlining the story in as optimistic terms as possible (GMAC closer to raising enough capital to become bank holding company). And though technically true, there’s devils in them thar details.
With an ambitious goal and over 100 entries, judging today’s contest wasn’t easy. But a big, beautiful copy of “The Art And Colour Of GM” has to go to someone, so it’s decision time. We saw a broad range of approaches to the challenge, from the nostalgic (Build a time machine so you can undo past mistakes), to the painfully obvious (It can not be explained in 10 words or less), and from the lyrical (Fatten your animal for sacrifice, but keep your muse slender), to the symmetrical (Screw Creditors, Bust Unions, Modular Car Platform, One Truck Platform). We even had a few answers that you just know were mentioned at the Senate Republican caucus meetings (sell everything and give the money back to the shareholders) and GM-UAW strategy sessions (Hold gun to governments head, “BUY GM OR ELSE!”). One comment, however, stood out.
“The (2009 PDK) Porsche Carrera covered about 190 kilometres/118 miles of the total route on country roads and 30 kilometres/19 miles in city traffic, with the remaining distance on the Autobahn. The car’s tank was filled up prior to and after the test drive by a certified inspector of the German DEKRA Car Inspection Authority, who also sealed the fuel tank and the engine compartment in the process. Under normal traffic conditions, with the headlights switched on, and with rain from time to time, the driver sought to keep the car’s engine speed between 1,800 and 2,000 rpm, with a road speed between 90 and 130 km/h (56 – 81 mph). The average speed achieved in the process was 84 km/h or 52 mph.”
While waiting for video of the Kia Soul to show up in the ol’ inbox, I decided to give the one press release I do have a read. And to be honest, I’m kind of regretting the decision. I fully understand that one should never be surprised by what might happen when asking a company to describe its own product. Still… well, let me show you what I’m talking about. The first thing you learn is that the Soul is a “brand defining” addition to the Kia lineup. Fair enough. Kia’s brand needs definition only slightly more than my rapidly aging, 26 year old blogger physique does. But instead of heading for the branding gym with its most promising product to date, Kia (like myself) is whipping its image into shape by texting and playing Wii. For example, did you know that Kia’s formula for its hip whip name reads “Soul = Style + ValU + SafeT”? No? Well the brand definition continues apace with the puzzling non-sequitor “L8st head-trnr will impre$ w/ personality & gr8 options ☺.” I kid you not. At this point I’m expecting Soul owners to receive a steady stream of text messages from their “attractive and customizable vehicle” suggesting they skip fourth-period history in favor of Cartoon Network and bong rips.
We hear via Jalopnik that Car and Driver Editor-in-Chief Csaba Csere has resigned. No word is immediately available on his reasons for departing the magazine he has served since joining as Technical Editor in 1980. Former TTAC and C&D scribe Brock Yates was unaware that his former boss was departing, but had only kind words for the man who once trekked to the Yates family kitchen to fire him. “A nice fellow,” is how Yates describes Csere. Csaba was “not a particularly good writer, but a good editor,” Yates told me this morning, as I was awaiting a shellacking for identifying myself as part of the TTAC team. He had “strong ties to Detroit,” according to the Cannonball legend, but was a “nice fellow” all the same. Apparently it bore repeating. So what if, as Yates wrote in his first TTAC editorial, “Car and Driver had become a pale shadow of its former self,” and “like Detroit’s carmakers, Csere and his team had refused to recognize reality.” When all is said and done, people remember people. Not a debilitating addiction to comparo tests, a blindering enthusiasm for all things Detroit, or an embarassing public nap. No, regardless of any perceived shortcomings (and man, do we all have them) Csere is a giant figure in American automotive journalism. If nearly 30 years of high-profile print journalism happen to have left Csere with the urge to express his feelings on the industry in a more open, free-wheeling environment, we invite him to send his thoughts our way. We will always have room for an experienced industry-watcher with a mind for truth-telling.
If you journey to the Detroit Auto Show this winter, you will get a chance to see the new Mercedes A and B Class models. I know, I know. Who cares, right? (No points for guessing Automotive News [sub]) Especially since the Benz Boys will be headlining their Concept BlueZero hybrid/alt-fuel roadshow at the wasteland formerly known as the Detroit Auto Show. But did you know that all of those fancy futuremobiles will be based on the “sandwich board” platform which first debuted in production on the original A-Class? Apparently it makes for a lot of flexibility with powertrain choices. The new A and B will ditch the intriguing but space-limiting concept for a standard FWD layout, but at least the B and “likely” the A as are headed stateside sometime in 2011. Absent a GM bankruptcy-triggered end of times, of course. And though we won’t be in Detroit to snap our own photos of these Euro-hatches (right, boss?), their American ambitions bring up a wrinkle on the stimulating discussion on our national ambivalence towards compact cars. (Read More…)
Toyota had planned on beginning production of Priora at its Blue Springs plant in 2010, but those plans are now on hold indefinitely, according to the AP (via CNN Money). According to ToMoCo spokesfolks, construction of the plant is 90 percent complete, but installation of its machinery and tooling (the “most time-consuming elements”) has been delayed. And what of the 100-odd folks hired to oversee construction and install human resources plans? “Those people’s jobs are safe, and we’ll find things for them to do,” says Toyota’s Mike Goss. With weak sales affecting even the once-hot Prius, Toyota is responding quickly by holding off on a hiring binge until the market begins to recover. Consider the Tundra lesson learned, but in tough economic times those jobs will be missed. As will the $239m state incentive package, not to mention the $235m in tax revenue that the plant is expected to bring in over its first ten years of operation.
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