Korea's Kia has released photos of its Soul. To herald the U.S. arrival of its new citycar– which looks to have the Chevy's Aveo Beat– Kia's announced the Soul's engine lineup. Globally, the Soul will offer three powerplants. Yanks are denied the 1.6-liter turbodiesel with 128 horsepower. We get to choose from either a 1.6-liter, 124-horse four (the new NA class leader) or a 2.0-liter with an unspecified amount of power. The fuel economy– which RF would call "mission critical"– has not yet been rated by the EPA. Although the new car's based on the Rio platform, Kia promises that the Soul "won't drive like a mailbox." Return to sender? Let's just hope Kia's Soul has more eponymousness than its other efforts, which tend to put inhabitants in econobox Hell.
Posts By: Justin Berkowitz
The hotly anticipated 2009 Mazda6 is set to hit the showroom floor in August. The base 2.5-liter four-cylinder model, with 170 horses and a standard six-speed stick, will set you back $19,220 (including a $670 destination fee). For contrast, a base Accord runs nearly two grand more ($21,030). The four-cylinder Mazda6 will offer an optional five-speed automatic transmission for a bit more money, of course. If you want to dial-up the power, Mazda offer the 6 with a 273 horse, 3.7 liter V6 (six-speed automatic transmission only) for $24,800. All versions of the new Mazda6 come with air con, ABS, six airbags, dynamic stability control and traction control. The autoboxed four-banger gets 21/30 EPA miles per gallon, dropping one mpg if you pick the stick. The V6's 17/25 mpg is not what you'd call class competitive; the five-speed Accord V6 is rated at 19/29. Then again, the Mazda should handily beat the Honda in the ol fun to drive category. We'll have a TTAC review as soon as the 6 hits the streets.
If there's one thing Wall Street’s wizards are taking away from Rick Wagoner's morning press conference, it's that money's too tight to mention. Meanwhile product is, was and always will be the real meat of the matter. On this score, Wagoner doesn't. "Eighteen of the next 19 products will be cars or crossovers." Sounds good– provided you don't ask "what are they?" The answer to that question flags the fact that General Motors still doesn't realize that they're in a business of building cars and convincing people to exchange their money for those cars.
The new 3G iPhone went on sale on July 11. So people lined up overnight. In the first three days, Apple moved one million iPhones worldwide (but none of them into my pocket, thank you). Meanwhile, the Blackberry folks have confirmed their next generation models: the Bold and Thunder. No release date's been set. No specs revealed. In fact, The Thunder might not even be called The Thunder. So I have my hands up in the air, waiting for RIM to let us know. It strikes me that GM's Volt is running along the lines of this second business model– even if phones are infinitely easier to develop than cars. What GM really ought to do is shut up about their plug-in electric – gas hybrid Volt until the automaker can tell us exactly what, how, and when. That said, I continue to believe the Volt per se will never be offered for mass consumption. GM will merely say the Volt was an excellent tech development platform, and maybe lease a few prototypes to celebs or government agencies. Its R&D and innovations will trickle into other vehicles. I'd be thrilled for them to prove me wrong. God knows they're working hard on it. But I'm having a really hard time paying attention.
Kia sent out some press shots of its new Forte compact sedan last week. But real world pictures of cars are always a step up. Those candid photos, along with scans of the Korean brochure, are here for you to peruse, thanks to the fans at Kia-World.net. IMHO, the Forte looks quite good in the metal. The biggest improvement over the Spectra: the interior. It appears to be made from something other/better than cardboard this time (no word on whether the traditional Hyundai-Kia interior crayon smell will remain). Americans probably will not get the 1.6-liter with 124 horses; the 2.0-liter engine with some 150 horses is a lock. And we're all holding out to see if Kia decides it wants to put its money where its auto show mouth is and give us a version of that 2.0-liter with a turbocharger. Not surprisingly, the Korean brochure shows all sort of high-end kit, from keyless go to Bluetooth to navigation. How many of these doo-hickeys will make it to North America is your guess. Looks like it might be the best Kia yet, though. And that's saying something. I think.
Tesla Prez and CEO Ze'ev Drori has e-mailed customers with important news! "In large measure we deliberately limit the production until we install our own born and bred final transmission by mid-September, at which time production will start to ramp up leading toward a monthly rate of over 100 cars in December." Translation: Tesla owners at the front of the line will receive damaged goods. And the aspiring EV maker's got another promised production date for the rest of its "non-founders" customers, who were told Tesla went into "full production" on March 17 (of this year). Ze'ev also proudly touts Tesla's high-profile hire: 24-year Chrysler vet, ex-VP, and former chief engineer of future midsize products Mike Donoughe (out of the frying pan into the frialator?). Tesla's Prez highlights the fact that The Big D was tapped to head-up ChryCo's Project D. Uh, wasn't that the "emergency project" designed to rescue the craptastic Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger from being the worst new cars sold in America? Whatever happened to that, anyway? Was it ever finished?
PickupTrucks.com reports that Ford's veep for product development, Derrick Kuzak is considering (what's the hurry?) "right-sizing" the F-150's power plant. Ford may stick an EcoBoost four-banger into the base the F-150 pickup truck. And why not? The current V6 F-150 is dead for 2009; the base V8 offers better performance and fuel economy. So FoMoCo needs something smaller and more fuel-efficient underhood to elevate sales from apocalyptic to merely catastrophic. At the same time, FoMoCo needs to satisfy upcoming CAFE regs: 28.6 for light trucks by 2015. Headline: a V6 with the performance of a V8 and the fuel economy of a V6! In the F-150, the 2.5-liter turbocharged direct injection straight four would be good for 260 horses, 300 lb ft of torque and around 28 highway mpgs. This is all just potential product planning (for 2013, no less). With the smaller F100 being planned (and not ten years too soon), the four-banger F-150 would have a kid brother to share engines. Upon hearing this news am I the only person thinking "260 hp EcoBoost Mustang, please" or at least "Mmmm, Compact pickup."
Mercedes has revealed its second "Black Series" model: the SL 65 AMG Black Series. The BS lineup of cars (they did realize that, no?) promises to take bonkers AMG models and make them suitable for institutionalization. To wit: the power goes from not inconsiderable 604 horses to a highly volatile 661hp. AMG ditches the folding hardtop (losing some 570lbs. of passion-killing weight) and upgrades pretty much everything else– suspension, transmission, brakes, lease payments. If you can get past the crass body kit, the fixed roof improves the SL's side profile considerably. Deep breath now. If you want to play with Black, you'll need an awful lot of jack: $320k. Plus dealer eBay adjustment? The mind boggles. And the there's the apocalyptic depreciation. Our own Jay Shoemaker when sampling this car's little brother– the CLK Black Series— Jay remarked that it would make a fine used car value. And then he bought a twin-turbo S65 AMG for $70k (review coming). Smart man.
Ever go to get a haircut, ask for just a trim, and the cutter truly just barely cuts your hair? That's what happened on the 3-Series refresh. The front fascia is slightly revised. But for the most part, we're looking at the same ol' 3-Series we know and mostly love. Or strongly like. The biggest changes for the American version are: (1) a 335i wagon will now be available; (2) BMW is rolling out their dual clutch automatic transmission from the M3 as an option on the 335i coupe and convertible models only (guess on a $2500 price premium over the stick) and (3) the 335d, as in turbodiesel, is coming to America. From that oil burning engine you can pay 5.19 for diesel fuel, but also enjoy 425 lb ft of torque starting at only 1750 rpm and 265 horses. For now, the 335d will be only available configured as a RWD sedan for us North Americans, but the engine is set to land in the AWD BMW X5 as well. To be 50-state compliant, the engine uses the AdBlue urea injection system co-developed with Mercedes and VW. Expect the updated cars to be '09 models shipping early fall.
Acura has released the first image of the production 2009 TL sport sedan, going on sale this fall. While full specifications have not yet been announced, Acura does say that for the first time the TL will be available with their Super Handling All Wheel Drive system (presently on the RL). Acura also says that this new TL will be the "most powerful Acura ever," and previous reports tell us that two engines will be offered. The base front wheel drive model will have a 280 horsepower 3.5 liter V6. Step up to the AWD version, and you pack a 3.7 liter with 310 ponies. All wheel drive and 300ish horsepower sounds a lot like the RL. And what about the RL? Likely to move upmarket next time around, but exactly how so is still speculation. What is not speculation is that Acura is moving forward with the snow plow grills, which just debuted on the 2009 TSX, and it ain't pretty. While the press release also touts more driver technology (Bluetooth microwave oven, DVD hot pockets), let's just hope Acura didn't take the driving experience from hero to zero as they did on the new TSX.
While top 5 and top 10 lists are the crack of the automotive nickel press (cheap, low quality, likely to give you brain damage and felonious), Autoweek's Top 5 Fuel-Efficient Cars You Actually Want to Drive" is just too asinine, too absurd not to pass on to TTAC's Best and Brightest. Not only do they choose bad cars (that, according to Autoweek, bring a smile to your face), but their stats are largely incorrect.
— 2008 Tesla Roadster (Exotic)
– $109,000 MSRP
– 220 miles per charge (256 mpg equivalent)
– 0-60 in 3.9 seconds
Oh, it's exotic alright. So exotic, it's not in production and you can't buy one. Autoweek should know better than to swallow the load from Tesla’s PR department. The Tesla isn’t in full production, the range is completely unverified, they are likely going to be selling for way over the $109,000 sticker. Then again, Autoweek’s list is “cars you want to drive” and in fact, we all do want to drive the Tesla.
— 2008 Audi TT 2.0 TDI Quattro (Weekend Warrior)
– $49,000 MSRP (estimated)
– 44 mpg (hwy)
– All-wheel drive handling
Does Autoweek know something Audi doesn’t? This model wasn’t confirmed for US production. Audi is bringing a 3.0-liter V6 diesel for the A4 and Q5/Q7, but the TDI four-banger is VW only for now. If they want to go off on the European cars tangent, that’s fine, but in such a case I’m going BMW 120d.
— 2008 Mercedes-Benz E320 BLUETEC (Executive Sedan)
– $53,075 MSRP
– 32 mpg (hwy)
– 210 horsepower, 400 lb-ft of torque
— 2008 MINI Cooper (Cheap Thrills)
– $18,700 MSRP
– 37 mpg (hwy)
– 2546 lbs and go-kart handling
They were bound to get two out of the five right. But you still have to ask yourself if the diesel price premium actually makes sense over a Benz E350, which unlike the oil burner, is available with 4Matic. There’s no denying the diesel Benzes are wonderful. And as for the Cooper, it’s a gem.
— 2008 Lexus RX 400h (Family Fun)
– $42,980 MSRP
– 27 mpg (city)
– 84.7 cubic feet of available cargo space
The only “family fun” thing about the Lexus RX hybrid is parking it on a set of train tracks and walking home. This is a terrible vehicle, with observed mileage guaranteed to be much lower. Also, just try finding one without the $6000 navigation package.
According to an editor's note in yesterday's LA Times, the Autos section, Highway 1, is no more. The likely reasons? The LA Times is having a hard time making money. Subscriptions and circulation are down, paper, ink, and distribution costs are way up. This is true for most print newspapers, and something's gotta go. Why they picked autos, I don't know, since the biggest part of the budget is Dan Neil's salary. And that will stay put as he moves over to the business section for his charming reviews (he hits the Alfa MiTo this week). The bulk of the rest of the section is advertisements, and I'm fairly certain the LA Times gets paid for those. Still, this was an accounting department decision, so we can be sure the math added up. For a city like LA, so steeped in car culture, this is a sad development. And yet not at all surprising. Kevin Roderick over at LA Observed thinks Home, Real Estate, Books, and Food are lined up for the guillotine, also. Meanwhile, Crain's Detroit Business reports that it's only a matter of time before The Detroit News sends its cheerleaders packing. "Dwindling circulation, plummeting retail and classified advertising sales and the tribulations of metro Detroit's economy make this two-newspaper town an 'anomaly,' said Rem Rieder, editor and senior vice president of the American Journalism Review." How ironic is that?
The Wall Street Journal put itself in the headlines this week. The august paper reported that General Motors may be considering (i.e. thinking about thinking about) shedding brands. While some of us have been saying– for years– that GM should refine, resell and/or retire it's octo-branded U.S. portfolio, this is the first time the mainstream media covered the issue since Oldsmobile was bricked-over in 2002. Not surprisingly, GM issued a flat-out denial, followed by a little deal hand-holding. Apparently, The General won’t shutter brands, only “reduce overlapping models.” Yes, it's the same old song, with a different Beat since you've been gone.
Gentlemen, start your engines. And head out to Nevada. The Shady Lady Ranch, located in a trailer 31 miles north of Beatty, Nevada, is offering a promotional sale. To cover the cost of gas for the 150-mile drive from Las Vegas, if you spend $300 at the legal brothel, they'll throw a $50 gas card your way. Three hundreds bones buys you an hour with one of their shady ladies, including (according to the website) Rio, Electra, and Dakota. In the first week, they gave out $1000 worth of gas cards. The downside: the 40-minute "quick man" special ($200) does not qualify customers for the gas rebate. As we already know, the cost of diesel has been pounding Nevada's brothel industry, especially in respect to truckers' custom. While this "let's keep America, uh, smiling" campaign may not solve the transportation-to-hookers problem, it should at least soften the blow. So to speak.
The expression "doing well by doing good" is totally hot in business/academia. This Third Way thinking attempts to reconcile the [allegedly] conflicting notions of "making enough money to buy a Ferrari and a house in the Hamptons" and "getting enough props for being socially responsible to keep the trophy wife happy." As your average Land Rover belches-out enough CO2 to offend every environmental group on planet earth, Land Rover's got to hold a pity party to make their PC bones. And so they have, by donating 60 vehicles (48 Defenders, eight Discoveries and four Freelanders) to the British Red Cross (BRC) and other national Red Cross societies in "troubled" countries (Sierra Leone, Mongolia, Liberia, Lesotho, South Africa). Accepting the gift, Sir Nicholas Young, the CEO of the BRC, remarked that the people they help are often "in the places that are hardest to reach." True dat. And we applaud both the positive impact of this largesse and its PR efficacy. Every time the BBC shows all hell breaking loose somewhere, the guys handing out medical supplies and food are in a butch Defender 110. Our only question: why didn't Land Rover ship some free vehicles to the Red Cross (or other worthy group) in Tata's Indian pridelands?
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