After months of investigation regarding the German government’s support of Daimler’s continued use of R134a — in violation of a law mandating use of refrigerants “with a global warming potential no more than 150 times that of carbon dioxide” — the European Commission has given Germany two months to comply with the law, or be fined and taken to court.
Is it really necessary to beat the dead horse again? We know that enthusiasts love wagons, demand more wagons, praise wagons and don’t buy wagons. We should be lucky we have any wagons left in our marketplace. The Audi A4 and Subaru Legacy wagons gave way to the Allroad and Outback, two jacked-up, cladding-encrusted faux-crossovers that are really just wagons by another name. Volvo did the same thing too, axing the V70 wagon while retaining the XC70. And then they relented.
That’s the question that Marketplace is asking, using the Honda Accord as a yardstick. In 1989, a Honda Accord with 98-horsepower, no ABS, crank windows and no A/C. In 1989 dollars, that would set you back $11,700.
Tim Cain’s article on how the Micra now accounts for 1 in 10 Nissans sold in Canada led me down the armchair product planner rabbit hole, though my conclusion was not the “Nismo Cube Diesel in Brown” that one might expect of an auto blogger. I think that there’s a strong case to be made for the Dacia Duster to be imported to Canada as an ultra-cheap Nissan crossover.
Cars do not exist in a vacuum. Besides all the regulations they must follow, there are market realities and competitors. Some makers are able to rise above the fray and charge more for their products as there is a perception that the cars are somehow superior to others, as is the case for many a German luxury maker. Others rely on their reputation of reliability and robustness to charge a bit more for their wares, such as most Japanese OEMs. In some markets though, it would seem makers overestimate their value and simply overcharge for what they deliver. Such is the case for Honda’s latest offering in Brazil: the Fit-based City sedan.
With only days to go until the 2014 Paris Auto Show, Honda has gone ahead and unveiled its refreshed Civic and Civic Tourer, as well as the new Civic Sport.
When Johan De Nysschen took over at Infiniti, his first moves were to move the brand’s headquarters and revamp its naming structure. That led to a jumble of confusion as industry observers and enthusiasts struggled to make sense of the new naming convention. Fresh off of moving Cadillac from Detroit to NYC, we have word that De Nysschen will implement a new nomenclature for Cadillac.
You all know the story by now. Journalist gets Lincoln. Lincoln has some obvious flaws. Journalist says some over the top (but accurate) things about Lincoln. Lincoln gets mad, pulls access. TTAC’s commenters step in to save the day. But the story isn’t over.
This is the second time that Volkswagen has trotted out a butch-looking station wagon-on-stilts under the Alltrack moniker. The last version, a Passat, debuted at the 2012 New York Auto Show.
Reports of the demise of Lotus in America have been greatly exaggerated. Lotus will revive the Evora for a 2016 model year run, complete with up-to-spec airbags, while dealers will be held over by whatever remaining inventory is left from the 2014 model year (or earlier).
Ah, the joys of forbidden fruit. Shortly after the leaked photos of the new C63 AMG were revealed, the official pics and specs were released – along with a tasty two-box treat.
While other outlets heap praise on the Infiniti Q80 and its innovative “1+1+1+1” seating (where all four passengers sit single file behind one another), I instantly recalled the cinematic masterpiece “The Human Centipede” that featured a similar arrangement for a few unfortunate individuals. Go ahead. I’ll wait.
Mercedes-Benz’s next sports sedan will share an engine with the recently revealed AMG GT, as well as the car’s adaptive engine mounts.
In the hagiography of automobiles beloved by enthusiasts, the Volkswagen Phaeton is revered as an icon of technological brilliance, rejected in America by a marketplace of Philistines too self-conscious to appreciate its technological brilliance or unmatched discretion. For once, it’s an estimation not entirely divorced from reality.
But given the disastrous results that resulted in a brief, two-year stint for the Phaeton, one would expect that VW of America, which is desperately trying to rebuild their fortunes in the American marketplace, would be gun shy about reviving the Phaeton in America.
Instead, the Volkswagen Group’s terminal insecurity about the Volkswagen brand’s standing in the marketplace has led it to launch a two-pronged attack, with two luxury sedans planned for both China and the United States.
Cadillac will move its headquarters to New York City’s SoHo district, in a bid to establish itself as a distinct business unit and luxury brand, and put more distance between it and parent company General Motors.
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