Sajeev, re: New Or Used article a while ago on rust belt engineer relocated to Saltillo with $45k car allowance from first tier supplier employer to drive whatever he wants to drive for work.
Fast forward: 1 year in, he is handing in his employer’s used-up 1 year old V6 cayenne and taking a new GTI with the new engine next weekend. He drives hard, which is OK from destructive testing point of view. He asked for, and receives VW factory 17 wheels, unlike US public. They fit. (Cue old racing adage about brake size and wheel size)
His job prospects include offer to go to Mongolia – new plant there. Who knows what he’d drive there.
Now that most of the large car companies have supplied their numbers, TTAC has compiled its annual table of the world’s largest automakers. In doing so, we have attempted to come as close as possible to the methodology used in the official OICA list, which will be published some time this summer. Here is the 2009 version as a reference. And here are TTAC’s Top Ten of 2010: Read More >
For countries up north, this was the end of the malaise and the beginning of party time. In Brazil, it was the decade of doom and gloom. Politically, the military regime was running out of steam. Gradual democratization was unavoidable. Culturally, the country exploded. Censorship, which had marked the 70s, disappeared. Playboy showed full frontal (female) nudity to grateful teenage boys and men. Brazilian rock came into its own. Economically, the country tried hard, but ran hard to stay in the same place. This decade is often referred to as the lost decade. Foreign debt was the overriding problem. The dollar became king. Inflation was reaching hyper mode. People didn’t have money. Smaller and smaller cars took a bigger and bigger piece of the sales pie. Read More >
Some of you may be more familiar with this friend of the catering and drinking-water industries in its Chevrolet Step-Van guise, but I’ve always preferred GMC’s name: Value Van! I ran across this fairly complete example in my local self-service wrecking yard, quite close to the Simu-Wood™ LeBaron Town & Country wagon. Me and the Value Van, we have a history!Read More >
Sajeev, among the many inconveniences of winter: the frequent need to scrape snow and ice off of the car windows. You should be glad to be down there in Texas where you don’t have to deal with pieces of solidified atmosphere that congeal on the windshield. Is there any device or method that takes the tsuris out of window clearing?
I came home tonight to see that Consumer Reports is trying to scare me out of buying a Honda Insight. The joke’s on them! I was going to buy a 2003 Crown Vic LX Sport!
Really, though… Did you ever think you’d see the day when CR wouldn’t recommend a Honda? Even in the darkest moments of the Acura transmission fiasco, the lab-coated crew could barely bring themselves to diss the brand. After all, they were too busy using robots to roll Troopers.
Norway’s automotive industry never got quite as large as neighbor Sweden’s (to put it mildly), but Norwegians can still puff up their chests with pride when they see a Troll Sportcupe cruise by. Read More >
Sajeev, my just post-college daughter is driving our 2003 Honda Accord EX – V-6, leather, Navigation, all the sweet bells and whistles. The bulk of 175,000 miles have been highway-easy, and the vehicle has been well-maintained during its life. . . except the transmission. After an early flush-and-fill at 30K, it didn’t see fluid change until something north of 95K, and is now waaay due for fresh fluid.
It doesn’t whine, and up- and downshifts when expected. My daughter mentioned a “shudder” in the car when she backs from her parking space and shifts into Drive. She took it to the dealer and — guess what? — they recommended she replace the tranny for a cost of $4,000. “We give you a three-year guarantee,” they cheerily promise.
Uh, not gonna happen. But, she plans on keeping the car for at least another year or two. Maybe longer.
That’s the windup and here’s the pitch: Considering the age, mileage and mostly highway-driven wear, when I have the transmission fluid replaced next month, should I have it powerflushed to make it squeaky clean or do a simple drain and topoff (out of fear of “dislodging” some clearances that have been built over thousands of miles)?
American-made overhead-cam engines were almost as rare as reliable South Vietnamese presidents in the mid-1960s, so I did a doubletake when I spotted one in a Denver self-service wrecking yard. Read More >
Ur-Turn is your weekly opportunity to contribute to TTAC. Every weekend (well, almost) we select a piece submitted to our contact form, and publish it as a showcase for the diverse perspectives of TTAC’s readers. Today’s contribution, from Mark Whintonof carquestions.ca, casts a winking eye at Chrysler’s interior improvements to a vehicle that seemed to escape much of the media’s attention at the North American International Auto Show.
Well it looks like Chrysler has finally listened to the chorus of criticism from its customers and industry pundits and the results are better than anyone expected. Bucking the industry norm Chrysler has a number of trend setting “firsts”. Starting with seating Chrysler has ditched the standard bucket seat arrangement and developed a new “wide body” style that fits any size width and meets the goal of fewer parts since the seat needs two less tracks, one less motor and entirely eliminates the center console, a reported savings of $350 per vehicle. The biggest change has been a switch from mostly plastic to a definite functional metal theme. Gone are the plastic shifters and door handles replaced by solid metal. The feeling is incredible and reminds me of the mid 60’s when you knew you had your hand on something, not like the 90’s that feel like a pool noodle.
This is part two of the Pictorial History of the Brazilian Car, a five part series, brought to you by our boy in Brazil, Marcelo de Vasconcellos. Part one one took you back to Brazil’s Stone age (WW II and thereafter.) This part takes you to …
The 60s
The 50s were the golden era of Rio. The 60s marked the rise of São Paulo. Rio: sun, fun, beach and romance. São Paulo: drizzle, dirt, work and gray. Read More >
Public Enemy’s 1987 ode to the Olds 98, “You’re Gonna Get Yours,” has long been one of my all-time favorite car anthems, and I’ve always pictured Chuck D’s 98 as a mint-green example of the late-70s iteration of Oldsmobile’s top-of-the-line big car. Then I’m at the junkyard and… here’s Chuck’s car! Read More >
This Pictorial History of the Brazilian Car has been graciously made available by our man in Brazil, Marcelo de Vasconcellos. This is part one of a five part series.
When writing about Brazil and the Brazilian car industry, many of times it has been pointed out to me that made of the statements I made were very broad and didn’t take into account the many nuances of our automotive history. Specifically, the statement that Brazil has done little but take old stamping presses from corporate HQs and produced technically inferior cars has proven to provoke repercussions. So, in order to correct some of that, I’ve been inspired by your comments to write a brief history of the Brazilian car industry. Happy reading for a beautiful sunny, summer morning (well at least from my little corner of the world)! Hopefully, you will also get a better hang of what the hell I’m always going on about!
Pre-50s
Brazil was a little, isolated, largely agricultural country back then. Read More >
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