There’s nothing inherently undesirable about a four-cylinder Porsche, as long as the rest of the car is worthy of admiration. For most of the years that the 912 was offered, as an example, it outsold the 911. Throw in the 356, the 550, the 914, the 944, and the 968, and it’s probable that the Porsche of the pre-Cayenne era did more four-cylinder volume than six. Now, if the rumors can be trusted, the Stuttgart company’s future may begin to closely resemble its distant past.
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The bleak winter that plagued the start of 2014 looks to be behind the auto makers, as a record-setting SAAR and strong performances by most brands helped propel auto sales in May to post-recession heights.
Even as GM rolled out incentives to help move the Cadillac ELR, sales were down this past month, while supplies of the car continued to expand.
It’s the end of an automotive era, as the Scion xB (as well as the milquetoast xD) are set to die by the year’s end. In exchange, we’re getting a couple of new, world market Toyotas to shore up Scion’s lineup.
Come 2017, Holden will cease producing cars in Australia, ending a decades long lineage of big, rear-drive, V8 powered sedans. But their high-performance HSV division is expected to survive the transition, albeit in a very different form.
Sometime around 2012, a Ram Trucks source told TTAC about an investigation into a smaller pickup for the brand, one that could have even turned out to be a front-drive pickup. “We won’t do another Dakota,” said our source, “but maybe something else.”. By all accounts, that truck would have been based on one of Fiat’s small, unibody front-drive pickups. But now, Fiat seems to want a Dakota of its own.
The accepted hagiography of the Ford empire involves the firesale of all of Ford’s various brands in the aftermath of the financial crisis, with only the Blue Oval and the Lincoln Motor Company sticking around for the ride. But that’s not quite accurate.
After the first one, the second one, the worst one, and the star-crossed one, we’ve finally arrived at the Mk7 GTI.
Good news: it’s worth the wait.
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Hyundai-Kia will end an unofficial cap on NAFTA-area expansion with a new factory in Monterrey, Mexico.
Next Wednesday, Nissan will unveil a new compact truck, presumably the all-new Frontier/Navara.
How much power is enough? 300 horsepower? 400? 500? Let’s put it another way? How much is enough to impress people you don’t even like?
The Mustang’s been the lightest of the available ponycars since the arrival of the Pinto-based Deuce forty years ago, but if a recent blog post by a Mustang tuner is any indication, that advantage might be disappearing.
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To my mind, there have only been two truly committed “sport compacts”: the Dodge (Neon) SRT-4 and the non-smiling generation of the Mazdaspeed3. Everybody else, from the original GTI to the Focus ST, has diluted the “more power” formula with additional refinement or equipment or Euro-style panache.
The current Mazda3 has already gotten plenty of props from us and from others. Will there be a turbo model to marry the big-power attitude of the original MS3 with the refinement and room of the current car?
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Deep within the comments of a recent luxury vehicle review, a familiar, satirical exchange takes place:
Googleplex: The pixel-density on the new touch system is passable, but LCD screens in cars in 2014 are laughable. Have these people even heard of AMOLED?
MauraudStar: Panther Love knows no touchscreens, my friend.
MoparMalaise: Panther Love knows no rich Corinthian leather, either.
VivaVega: We lost the war against fuel injection in the 1980’s, and I’m not about to give up the rest of my control to electronic nannies. Spare me your all-wheel drive, your dual-clutch transmissions and the 30 years of weight gain! Why can’t someone build a simple, functional car anymore?
Will any manufacturer answer VivaVega’s question? Enter the 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage.
In the automotive world “Smart” is little more than a punchline, a symbol of bad packaging and failed branding. The current lineup of cars has dragged on for far too long, languishing without any upgrades and watching its market share recede as newer, more exciting entrants come in to play. But the next generation might be a chance for the brand to do a complete 180.
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