As of this moment, Audi has no plans to bring its Q3 “Crossunder” into the MINI Countryman/BMW X1/Nissan Juke/Mitsubishi Outlander Sport battle for the hearts of downsizing CUV-lovers brewing here in the US market… and yet Audi of America is teasing the thing on its Youtube channel. Does this mean we can expect this 3,300-ish lb CUV, offering 48.2/16.24 cubic feet of storage (rear seats down/up) to arrive stateside at some point? We’d certainly be surprised if that didn’t happen somewhere down the line…
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Posts By: Edward Niedermeyer
Ticket quotas seem to be one of those facts of life that exists, unexamined, in law enforcement departments around the country. But this week the concept has been dragged out into the light of the justice system, as two LAPD officers have won a lawsuit against their department’s ticket quota system. The LAT reports:
Officers Howard Chan and David Benioff, veteran motor officers with the LAPD’s West Traffic Division, sued the department in 2009, alleging that their captain mandated each motor officer to write 18 tickets a day, according to the suit.
In addition to the quota, officers were told the tickets they gave out had to be for “major movers” such as speeding, lane straddling or running a red light — offenses that could each generate revenue of several hundred dollars each.
The civil court jury sided with the officers by a vote of 11 to 1. The damage award [of $2m] was for loss of reputation and specific employment actions against the officers by the department affecting their careers after they reported the misconduct and refused to meet the quotas.
The department defended itself by arguing that, rather than a specific quota, the department had broad goals intended to reduce injuries and fatalities. That argument was roundly rejected by the jury, which found in favor of the suing officers 11-1, after a former LAPD commander testified that gas prices and paramedic response times had far more to do with injury and fatality levels. With any luck, this ruling may even create precedent to eliminate quota systems around the country. Meanwhile, MyFoxLA reports that the LAPD is appealing the ruling.
Even though Chevy’s new Malibu doesn’t get officially revealed until next Tuesday, and won’t actually go into production until January or reach dealers until the following spring (that’s right, a year from now), here’s a big, fat picture of the thing. After the Camaro-inspired taillight tease, I would guess that more than a few folks were expecting something a little more bold from the redesign, rather than the round-n-crease update we’re getting. We’ll withhold judgement until we see more, but as a first real look at a car that’s being rushed into production, this one leaves us feeling a little flat. But hey, at least we have plenty of time to get used to it.
Is imitation the sincerest form of flattery? Nobody told the Germans, who seem to be growing weary of China’s ceaseless automotive design flattery. “The Copy-Shop is open again” grumbles AutoBild, of the Emgrand EC6-RV, which marks the second obvious Chinese MINI clone here’s the first) in the last several years. At least Emgrand’s parent company Geely isn’t ripping off its joint venture partner… but then, didn’t Geely buy Volvo so it wouldn’t have to rip off Western brands? Old habits must die hard…
There’s been a recent groundswell of interest in natural gas as a fuel for cars in recent months, marked by Honda’s decision to sell a natural gas-powered 2012 Civic in 50 states, Edmunds CEO Jeremy Anwyl’s public paean to the fuel, and the EPA’s relaxation of natural gas conversion regulations. Honda alt-fuel manager Eric Rosenberg enthuses to WardsAuto
We’re the Saudi Arabia of natural gas… Demand [for the Civic GX] has tripled, and that’s actual retail demand. Traditionally, fleet has been about 50% to 55% of demand, but now it’s dropped; now 80% of demand is retail.
And since Chrysler’s new guardian, Fiat, has plenty of (well-subsidized) natural gas experience in Italy, it’s no surprise that Chrysler’s looking to get in on the action (Chrysler’s own experience with the stuff was brief). In fact, just last year Fiat-Chrysler was pushing the idea of natural gas cars as a stopgap until its first EV (the 500) arrives in 2012. Now, presumably because the desired government help wasn’t forthcoming, Bloomberg reports that Chrysler is only promising gassy goodness “by 2017.” Now there’s an interesting way to jump on a bandwagon.
Hey you, you’re an “auto enthusiast,” right? You care about the “driving experience, yes”? Good, name a top-20 global automaker that sells one brand of cars globally, marketed specifically to enthusiasts.
Take your time answering, but there’s only one… and it has something very serious to say to you.
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Retail market share is one of those metrics that tends to cut through the vagueness of pure sales-volume numbers, reflecting an automaker’s performance compared to the competition, without the distraction of fleet sales. It’s not a perfect measure of a business’s overall strength, as fleet sales can help with economies of scale and capacity utilization, but it’s one of the most accurate ways to measure the appeal of a firm’s products with real consumers. And, based on this chart of GM’s monthly retail market share (as calculated by TrueCar VP for Industry Analysis and all-round data ninja Jesse Toprak), GM’s much-vaunted Lutz-era products aren’t moving the needle with those real consumers. Emerging from bankruptcy didn’t seem to provide much of boost either. And unless drastic happens soon, GM’s battle for consumer acceptance will continue its slow but steady decline. Not good!
Hit the jump for raw data and a historical chart of GM’s non-retail market share.
Ford’s Lincoln turnaround continues to be a hot topic for industry watchers who have a hard time squaring the success of the Ford brand with the weak performance of Ford’s luxury efforts. Thus far, the X-factor is Lincoln’s product, which has for too long consisted of little more than tarted-up Fords without any of the the unique attributes that drive luxury brand aspiration. So, what does the future hold for Lincoln’s product plans? According to FordInsideNews, the answer is as predictable as it is troubling: Global C-Platform. That’s right, Lincoln’s future is based on the same platform as the future of the Ford brand.
Start with a serving of 5-Series GT, mix with a healthy portion of DeTomaso “D’oh-ville,” add a splash of Jag, and garnish with some Opel Insignia. Did we leave anything out in the recipe for “Great Wall SC80”?
The German Manager Magazin will write in its print edition that Volkswagen is considering buying all or part of Isuzu, the diesel-centric Japanese truck and commercial vehicle manufacturer. Volkswagen even has a codename for the deal: “Irene.” Another possibility: the truck firm MAN, which VW owns 30% of, could buy up an Isuzu stake, allowing VW to craft a three-part truck alliance between MAN, Scania and Isuzu. VW’s board member in charge of commercial trucks, Jochem Heizmann, is reportedly in Tokyo pursuing the acquisition and has inspected Isuzu. Toyota’s six percent stake in Isuzu (not to mention VW’s distractions integrating its Porsche and Suzuki alliances) could be serious obstacles. As VW and Toyota battle for the position of world’s largest automaker, Isuzu could become a symbolic battleground for the outsized ambitions of these two industry titans.
UPDATE: VW tells Automotive News [sub] that an Isuzu takeover is “not on the agenda.” Does that mean they’re not looking into the possibility? At this point, it’s not clear.
Typically, when a focused, well-branded company like BMW buys storied brands and then tries to combine them, the results are less than ideal for all involved. Thus far, BMW had actually been doing a fantastic job with its MINI and Rolls-Royce franchises, expanding into new niches while revitalizing potent brands with high-quality products. But putting the two together? It’s not clear how many buyers will line up for this Rolls-fettled MINI Goodwood (price estimated as high as £50,000), but at least the thing has good historical precedent in the Peter Sellers Mini-Rolls. And compared to some of the modern attempts to create premium city cars (hello Aston Cygnet), that makes this über-priced MINI-mashup something more than a mere cynical play for profits and C02 emission average reductions. In fact, it’s something of a tribute to BMW’s stewardship of two brands that could well have been botched over the past decade or so. Hit the jump for details on the Mini Goodwood’s posh appointments.
Back in January, when news broke that GM would be pulling its 2.8T V6 from the Cadillac lineup, I reckoned that
Cadillac needs to figure out if it wants to keep its SRX saddled to an underwhelming engine, or if it wants to add its widely-lauded 3.6 direct injection V6 to the SRX lineup.
And you know what? Cadillac made the right call (or at least the obvious one). But will GM seal the deal and drop the unloved 3.0?
When I reviewed the current Chevrolet Malibu, I was generally impressed with GM’s effort in a highly competitive segment, but I had a few complaints. One of those complaints had to do with the ‘bu’s back bench, which prompted me to note
the rear seats seem like almost an afterthought compared to the well-appointed front row. Low seat height, a relatively narrow bench and unsupportive seating make for a poor combination
With images of an updated Malibu making the rounds of the blogosphere, and the Detroit News reporting that its production has been pulled ahead by six months by the order of Dan Akerson, you might think GM had taken the opportunity to improve the Malibu’s second-row shortcomings. But, according to Automotive News [sub]’s product editor, Rick Kranz, it seems that GM has done the opposite of improve rear-seat interior space… because of yet another of the ‘bu’s shortcomings.
Over the weekend, Chinadaily [via CarNewsChina] reported that China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine had halted imports of Jeep Wranglers due to what was reported as
fires [caused by] a problem in the vehicles’ automatic transmission and related systems.
And though for some this story’s value may begin and end with the ironic humor value of China recalling unsafe American products, there’s more to this than meets the eye. As it turns out, NHTSA has investigated a suspiciously similar transmission-related fire risk in Wranglers, and made Chrysler fix it. What’s not clear is why China-bound Jeeps don’t appear to have received the upgrade that US regulators required for American-market sales.
As I’ve explained many times before, it can be very difficult to know when a recall is worth covering. Drawing too many conclusions from a single defect can be dangerous, as defects are a fact of any industry that balances quality and cost as closely as the auto business. But in this case, I’ve received enough emails about the video above that I’m willing to open a discussion about it here. But before you jump in, be sure to read the caveat after the jump.
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