Deep in their hearts, the folks at Volkswagen think the ICE has a long ways to go. Privately,  and after a few drinks, they often say that EVs are lunacy on  wheels. I don’t blame them.  Publicly, they put on a good show when needed. Here is another act: Volkswagen introduces an all-electric Golf. Read More >

In news which will shock absolutely no-one, Business Week reports that Toyota and Nissan’s attempts to woo buyers of big pick-up trucks are failing (or failed, depending which way you’re looking at it). “The Big Three successfully beat back the Toyota incursion into the pickup market” said Brian Johnson, auto analyst for UK bank Barclays, “We had expected Toyota would do what they did with cars and take over the market. Their share gains have been frustratingly slow.” As with most things, the devil is in the details. Or in this case, the devil is in the market research. Read More >

When Honda first launched its current Insight hybrid, it was the cheapest hybrid on the Japanese market, and it quickly became the best-selling car in the country. Then everyone realized that the Prius was infinitely better for not much more cash, and the Insight dropped off. Now, Honda is trying to recapture its budget-hybrid mojo by releasing the car it probably should have made instead of the Insight: the Fit Hybrid. And they’ve priced the 1.3 liter IMA hybrid Fit at just $19,310 (1.59 million Yen), according to Automotive News [sub]. But this time, Honda’s not trying to take on the Prius directly. Says Honda CEO Takanobu Ito

They are totally different cars. Their price ranges are different and they look different. So I don’t consider the Prius as the Fit’s direct competitor. We just want many more people to own the Fit by expanding our line-up.

No word yet on possible US-market availability.

Jeremy Clarkson thinks it’s a pile of wank. Bob Lutz thinks it was a crock of bowel movement. But say what you like about global warming, if you can get credentials which make you “eco-friendly”, that’s worth a lot of marketing money. Which is why Honda is probably feeling pretty chuffed with themselves. Read More >

Mitsubishi started production of the European-spec model of its i-MiEV electric vehicle Wednesday to maintain its lead over rivals in a non-existing market segment expected to grow rapidly. At the same time, Mitsu started production of the iOn, which is an i-MiEV, rebadged for PSA Peugeot Citroen.

According to The Nikkei [sub], the iOn needed “changes from the Japanese version to meet European safety standards.” Let’s hope that the Euro-spec i-MiEV received the same changes, otherwise it will be DOA. Read More >

When a country gets desperate, it closes its borders to imports. It’s a sign of surrender: We can’t compete anymore, so let’s close the doors. Closed borders rarely create jobs. In the contrary, they drive prices up, and everybody pays. Import restrictions are the most insidious tax a country can levy on its citizens. And they readily pay for it. Trade wars are an easy sell. Especially to people who cannot balance their checkbook. The price will be paid later. Read More >

Here is another myth that won’t die, as hard as we might be trying to debunk it: “Japan is a closed market for cars. They do everything to keep foreign cars out. Those Nips are unfair, and it’s time to do something about it.”

It’s baloney. Paul Niedermeyer debunked the propaganda, and said: “Want to import cars to Japan? It’s one of the easiest countries to do so.“ I did another  story and showed, for those with reading comprehension problems, a picture of Japanese im- and exports. But the story won’t die. Ok, let’s try again to put it to rest. Read More >

When Renault released their second generation Megane, people’s reaction pretty revolved around three words. “Whisky”, “Tango” and “Foxtrot”, if you know what I mean. I remember when I first saw it my first thoughts were “My goodness! It looks like someone’s made a massive dent in the back with a cricket bat.” But what did I know? It was voted European Car of the Year in 2003, was the first small family car to achieve a 5 star Euro NCAP rating, and went on to become a sales success. Now let’s look at Renault’s partner, Nissan. When the Juke came out, the reaction was pretty much the same to the Renault Megane. “What in the name of all that is holy is that?!” And now. the Renault-Nissan alliance has done it again. Read More >

Honda reports a healthy 26.1 percent rise in their sales in the United States. However, there’s a little more to this figure than meets the eye. Do you think that Honda branded vehicles carried all the weight in September…? Read More >

TTAC (and just about everybody who comments on the Japanese market) saw it coming: After 14 months of government subsidies-induced growth, the Japanese car market took a corner. And now its nowhere but down.  Japanese sales dropped 4.1 percent  on the year to 308,663 units in September, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association told The Nikkei [sub]. This number does not include Kei cars, which will be published separately. Read More >

In a new ad sponsoring all kinds of programs, on regular and cable TV, Nissan is taking the competition by the horns. In their new ad touting their Livina 2011 (pics here), they directly attack GM, Honda and Fiat. Yes, they cite their competitors by name and even put their logos and cars in the ad.

In Brazil, this is almost unheard of. Back in the 90s Pepsi did a South American version of the coke wars. Some beer companies soon copycatted them. However, the ads were pulled quickly and I had the impression people were not impressed with such tactics. Read More >

I used to play poker a lot. So I’m perfectly aware of the old adage “Strong is weak and weak is strong“. If someone is acting weak, chances are, they’ve got a good hand and are trying to lull you into a false sense of security. Likewise, if someone is acting bold, then there’s a good chance they’ve got “rags” and are trying to scare you off to collect the pot for themselves. Like when Cerberus purchased Chrysler. It was an open secret in the industry that Chrysler was ready for the knacker’s yard…again. But Cerberus still pushed ahead with the purchase. Eventually, Chrysler failed and Cerberus lost money. Which made everyone wonder “What were you thinking?” I have a suspicion people will start asking the same question about Toyota soon. Read More >

Japanese automakers keep saying the ever appreciating yen will be their undoing. So their government intervened, sending the yen back to 85 to the dollar. Once the intervention stopped, the yen continued its march upwards. Today, the Japanese currency stood at 83.31 to the dollar. Which is losing strength across the world. The Europeans received $1.36 for their Euro today. A higher yen making Japanese cars more expensive should hurt Japanese car exports, don’t you think? Let’s see. Read More >

Minicars, that Japanese specialty with a pint-sized (0.66 liter) enginelet, still commands a market share of more than 30 percent in Japan. It used to be more. Toyota didn’t play in that segment, that’s what Daihatsu was for. Today, The Nikkei [sub] reports that Toyota will enter the minicar market. Wait a minute, wasn’t that what Daihatsu was for? Oh, they still are … Read More >

Rumors of Mitsubishi’s demise in America are greatly exaggerated. That was the essence of Mitsubishi Motors President Osamo Masuko, in an article at AutomotiveNews [sub]. “We have never thought about withdrawing from the U.S. market, and we will not do so.” And the sales target is 200k vehicles, four times of current levels. And what is the target date for that rebound? Not stated.

What was stated by Masuko is that the current crop of duds in the lineup will have to be replaced: “I cannot speak about it too concretely, but from what we know at the moment, it is not possible to continue with the models that we have had,”. Quadrupling sales without a specific plan for new models? Sounds even more ambitious than VW’s American re-conquest. Read More >