Mercedes-Benz will no longer sell the R-Class crossover (minivan? SUV? wagon? we’re not sure) in the United States as of the 2013 model year. Slow sales meant it was hard to justify continuing sales of the car in America, but the R-Class will live on elsewhere.
Even though GMC made a fuss over their Terrain Denali, with its new 3.6L V6, this past week, the hot ticket seems to be the 4-cylinder Terrain, along with its Chevrolet stablemate, the Chevrolet Equinox.
An I.P.O for a physical product is a refreshing change from the Tech 2.0 bubble we’ve been subjected to lately. Allison Transmission, formerly of General Motors, just issued their first I.P.O, raising $600 million for the company. Allison is now valued at $4.2 billion.
Contrary to initial reports, Ford CEO Alan Mulally told Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail that the Ford B-Max MPV will be coming to North America after all.
Geely has chosen their battery technology partner for their new plug-in hybrid vehicle, and their supplier, A123 Systems Inc., may not be a familiar name to everyone, but their wares have been used by other vehicles like the Fisker Karma.
Ed Dowdall, a 70-year-old San Jose area resident with a rare form of dementia that causes wildly unstable cognitive functioning and hallucinations, walked into a dealer and traded in his 2008 Nissan Altima Hybrid for a Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet, which retailed for $62,000. A series of protests and complaints from Dowdall’s wife led to the dealer taking back the car and voiding the sale.
With the Toyota 86 set to go on sale in a couple of weeks (the first production models are set to leave the line on Friday), Toyota’s Japanese sales outlets will have separate spaces to sell the new sports car – and in some cases, stand alone sales facilities, similar to the Chrysler/Fiat arrangement in America.
Chrysler’s owner Fiat is in trouble. Fiat has a (declining) market share of 28.3 percent in its home market Italy, a market that had tanked 19 percent in February, and 18 percent in the first two months of the year. Fiat’s sales in Italy, down 20 percent in February, slowed more than the floundering market. Fiat’s southern exposure to the ailing parts of Europe is disproportional. Fiat’s top executives will now have an emergency meeting with Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Monti, Reuters reports. Possibly on the agenda: A closure of another Italian factory, and a cutback on investments in Italy. Read More >
The Fisker Karma that broke down shortly after Consumer Reports took delivery is up and running again, thanks to a new battery pack replaced under warranty.
Opinions from the B&B regarding the Range Rover Evoque were somewhat mixed, but Jaguar Land Rover is having so much trouble keeping up with demand that they’re hiring.
Pop quiz; what do increased production, lots of cash on the hood and high gas prices mean for Honda dealers? Lots of Civics moving out the door.
Toyota COO Jim Lentz will be getting a new role – CEO of Toyota Motor Sales North America. The announcement was buried in a press release announcing other management changes at Toyota’s stateside operations.
Volvo has had a big news day today, with reports of a major celebrity endorsement for China, a new design department head in Sweden and a possible plant for North America.
As one of the few people who doesn’t hate the direction Lotus is going in, the news that development of Lotus’ entire lineup has been suspended is disheartening. It seems that the Malaysian government is looking to unload their stake in Proton, parent company of Lotus.
While both General Motors and Chrysler are putting their money on Compressed Natural Gas options for their pickup-truck lineups, Ford is going with pretty much everything but CNG as it examines alternative fuel strategies for future vehicles – and for now, the 3.5L Ecoboost V6 will be the standard bearer for light duty versions of the Ford F-Series.
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