Chrysler Group LLC CEO Sergio Marchionne threw down the gauntlet for Jeep during an interview on Detroit’s WJR-AM at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show, proclaiming that the Rubicon-rated brand will move 1 million units onto the trails and highways by the end of this year.
Acura might be next to jump on the B-segment crossover train, with a new model based on Honda’s Vezel apparently under consideration. Automotive News reports that Acura is considering such a model for China, and possibly other markets, given the popularity of models like the BMW X1 and Audi Q3. The vehicle in question would be built in China for the Chinese market, but there’s no word on whether it would be produced in Japan for other markets. The SUV-X concept, above, previewed such a vehicle, but was shown only on the Chinese auto show circuit.
“You can have any car you want. So long as it’s a Toyota or Honda.”
My parents had offered to split the costs of a new car with me back in 1994. That matching policy eventually included an awful lot of disclaimers and exclusions.
“No V8! No V6! No turbo! No stick! No convertible! No small car! No! Nein! Nyet!”
I eventually settled on a red Toyota Camry Coupe that served me well for 12 years and nearly 240k miles. It’s still on the road, which is funny because my brother, who had an equal bent on the Toyonda reliability supremacy, did something unusual recently.
He bought an Audi. Then he did something even stranger than that… he bought another.
A year ago, Qoros, the startup car company based on the business model of building cars in China with European engineering and Israeli capital, showed it’s first car, the compact Qoros 3 Sedan at the Geneva International Motor Show. In two months, Qoros will again use the Geneva show to debut a new car, this one the Qoros 3 Hatch. It is based on the same modular platform as the Qoros 3 Sedan and draws heavily on that model while showing what the company calls a “youthful evolution” of the company’s signature design elements in a more sporty direction. Read More >
Rivaling Jack’s tales of his harem in the “Most Unpopular Subject Matter on TTAC” Sweepstakes is my constant references to rap music. What I perceived to be a wink-and-a-nod to younger readers who enjoy hip-hop was succinctly summed up by one commenter who wrote “It wouldn’t be a Kreindler piece without a [deleted perjorative for white wannabe rappers] reference”. Although I resolved to tone down the “shout-outs”, an recent piece by Bloomberg demonstrates that there is a time and a place for a knowledge of hip-hop music.
With Nissan product boss Andy Palmer confirming that the IDx concept car will go into production, the auto world is rejoicing over the prospect of another affordable sports car. But Palmer also let slip some interesting news about the next Z, which will also see a reduction in engine size.
The launch of the Chrysler 200 means Chrysler has to make some decisions about its future; and the most likely course of action for them is to kill off the Dodge Avenger, right away.
Ever wonder how product planning really works? It turns out that product planners aren’t just hired to sit around and tell car companies what to build. Apparently you have to do things like work with data and make Excel pivot tables. Which is why I’m still working here. But the 2015 Hyundai Genesis gives us an interesting example of what drives product planning decisions.
The 2014 edition of the North American International Auto Show was supposed to be one for the record books. With the industry roaring back to life amid record sales, profitable home team brands and free from the yoke of government ownership, great things were expected from this year’s show. Instead, many felt it fell flat. Aside from the 2015 Ford F-150, possibly the most significant introduction of the decade, the product introduced at the show was interesting, but hardly memorable.
Despite rapid SUV/crossover sales growth and the continued ascent of the pickup truck market, slowing passenger car sales were a drag on the Canadian auto industry in December 2013. Sales of utility vehicles jumped more than 20%, trucks were up 10%, and even full-size minivans were up 10%.
Remember the time when you bought sport utility vehicles because you needed them? These were the original “off-roaders”, boxy beasts with live axles, low-range gearboxes, locking diffs and other very masculine stuff that’s perfect for adventures that require a farm tractor to rescue you from the mud. It was also very practical, because it basically looked like a huge box on wheels, with a smaller box in front for the engine. It was great.
When I think of an off-roader, I think of the Jeep Cherokee, before it became a jacked-up Alfa Romeo hatchback devoid of manly stuff like big levers to select 4WD modes. It even rides comfortably, which, of course, means it is a piece of junk, since it won’t be able to go rock-crawling and it won’t show your pals that you are the manly man by being noisy and uncomfortable.
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Photo courtesy of media.ford.com
Last week, Ford’s Global VP of Marketing and Sales, Jim Farley, told a panel discussion at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that Ford has access to data on its customers’ driving habits via the GPS system installed in their cars. “We know everyone who breaks the law, we know when you’re doing it. We have GPS in your car, so we know what you’re doing. By the way, we don’t supply that data to anyone,” he said. The next day Mr. Farley adjusted his statement to avoid giving the wrong impression saying that the statement was hypothetical and that Ford does not routinely collect information on, or otherwise track, drivers through their GPS systems without those drivers’ consent and approval. That approval comes from turning on and opting into specific services like 911 Assist and something called Sync Services Directions, a system that links the GPS system to users’ cellular phones. So that’s that, right? Read More >
It’s become a great tradition of the Detroit Show: Acura shows next year’s TL with chrome trim. So here we go!
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Presumably this is, somehow, the next Maxima. But how much is actual production body shape and how much is gingerbread?
In the words of Robert Plant, “Does anyone remember laughter?” Does anyone remember when these cars were serious business and hugely desired and not easy meat for V-6 Camrys during freeway rolls? Does anyone remember when showing up somewhere behind the wheel of a pink-trimmed frogeye STi or an Evolution VIII RS was a naked-steel statement of sporting intent? Remember when these cars cost less than the German cars that couldn’t catch ’em?
Well, anyway, here’s the WRX STi, and it’s powered by a twin-turbo flat-six making 482 horsepower.
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