As part of a new arrangement, Volkswagen is allowing more than one group to represent VW workers at its plant at Chattanooga, Tennessee. And while the UAW has managed to secure that privilege, VW is also allowing another, small group to represent workers.
At roughly 21 feet long, the Mercedes-Maybach Pullman is the successor to the legendary Mercedes 600 Pullman (aka the Großer Mercedes) – it will be made for dignitaries and heads of state and cost a bloody fortune.
Ever wondered what an Optima would look like as a wagon? Behold the Kia Optima Sportspace, bowing just ahead of its official debut in Geneva.
First, there was the five-seat Santa Fe, which in GLS V6 form was the ride of choice for our very own Bark M. back in the day. Then the Santa Fe went upmarket, so Hyundai created the Tuscon. Now the Tuscon is, apparently, going upmarket. It’s like what Chrysler did with Imperial, only in reverse!
Sometimes, the automotive marques we all know and love have to go bust. Such was the case of Duesenberg, Oldsmobile, Hispano-Suiza, and Talbot-Lago despite their heritage and today’s strong collector-car market for those brands. Unfortunately, in the 2000s, Rover had to join them. However, it wasn’t without a fight, as detailed in End of the Road: BMW and Rover- A Brand Too Far. The book explores BMW’s massive investment in the Rover Group throughout the 1990s and how it became disastrous for all parties involved. Through piecing together news reports about BMW and Rover during the period and conducting interviews with people involved in the sale, the book gives a hard look at the relationship between the Rover Group and BMW during the 1990s and why BMW ended up paying a large amount of money to get rid of Rover in 2000.
Nine years ago, I paid fifty-eight thousand dollars for a new VW Phaeton, after paying seventy-seven thousand dollars for a different VW Phaeton six months previously. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.* I was very active on a VW message board at the time and it was not uncommon for me to get random private messages from teenagers:
99VWJettaSlushbox: lol suck it u loser the FAILton is the worst VW ever
I enjoyed my Phaetons tremendously and drove them everywhere from Manhattan to VIR. However, I was virtually alone in my enthusiasm for the model. My second Phaeton, the black 2006 V8, was one of just 300 brought into the United States that year. When VW discontinued US sales before the 2007 model year, most people took that decision as conclusive proof that you can’t sell a $100,000 Volkswagen to Americans. They were correct; however, you can sell a $200,000 Volkswagen to Americans, and you can do it for a very long time.
Park Anywhere, this is a Code BROWN!!!
An autojourno told me that getting a Tesla Model S P85D for evaluation is tough, even without a Death Watch series hanging over their head. Yet Tesla’s boss went on 60 minutes admitting his concerns during Christmas 2008, concerns that paralleled ours. No matter, Death Watches are TTAC’s past. Meet our “Code Brown” instead.
And stick around: because you, dear reader, shall help us review it.
Sometimes I wish I was the President of the United States. Sure, I might have to be extremely vigilant about what I say in public (“I’m more of a Chevy guy than a Ford guy”), have to give up a good portion of my privacy (Really? You want to see how terrible I am at golf?), cannot drive a car (Great, now I need to learn how to use a trickle charger), and deal with a group of people hell-bent on obstructing my policy. (So you think my plan for requiring a minimum internet speed 100 Mbps is horrendous? Horrendous HOW?)
Last week, fellow contributor Doug DeMuro posed the question, “Has Mazda lost its zoom?” Some weeks before that, he asked readers, “When did BMW lose its edge?”
To be brief, the answer to the first is a simple “No,” while the answer to the second is – well, let’s ask BMW. Hey! Bavarians! How do you sleep at night, selling bizarre cross-coupes and sport activity whats-its and M-badged heffalumps like the 5-series Gran Turismo?
BMW, in a Rainier Wolfcastle accent: “On a huge pile of money, surrounded by many beautiful ladies.”
I see. So here’s my question – if Mazda is, as I posit, selling the strongest lineup of vehicles it’s had in decades, then why isn’t it knocking it out of the park?
Read More >
Despite its visions of having a valuation on par with Apple within a decade, Tesla’s subsistence on subsidies may be hard for some to swallow.
Get in the RC F and press the starter button hidden, out of place, next to the gauges. That little tingle crawling up your spine is perfectly normal. Point that gaping rabid spindle maw at your nearest runway, skidpad, industrial plant, Ken Block Gymkhana set, or empty freeway on-ramp. Step on the throttle, hard. Harder, firmer! (Stop giggling!) Watch that trick digital gauge, front and center, as bright as Times Square: when the needle hits about 3,700 RPM the windshield gets blurry, the blood rushes to the head, the chests of every occupant is shoved firmly against the seatbacks, and the exhaust baffles open up and the cabin fills with a WOOOOHHHHHHHH, deep and warbly and just slightly parodic of itself. At this moment, it is the Loudest Thing in the Known Universe. And it rings with the same unmistakable baritone earthquake as the last genuinely insane Lexus—the dearly departed IS F.
In September, we told you the Chevrolet SS didn’t sell as often as the dreadfully unpopular Cadillac ELR in August, the first time the SS failed to do so during the period of coexistence.
They tied in September before the ELR outsold the SS again in each of the following months.
In December, we told you that Chevrolet SS volume slid to a new low in November. With only 105 sales, the SS was outsold by ultra-rare cars like the BMW i8, Nissan GT-R, Volkswagen e-Golf, and yes, the Cadillac ELR.
Yet during the month of December, SS volume fell to yet another new low. Only 93 were sold, a 61% drop. Read More >
Sometime in the future, your next Mazda6 could be assembled and shipped to the showroom from Mazda’s factory in Salamanca, Mexico.
Hyundai is preparing to enter the U.S. commercial vehicle market through an investment plan to strengthen its current commercial business by 2020.
Deciding quality should be its focus over quantity, Honda announced it would scrap its target of 6 million units sold annually by 2017.
Recent Comments