For the 12 year in a row, the Toyota Camry is the No. 1 best-selling car in the United States, but how long its reign continues will depend on how well its competitors can do in their attempt to dethrone the king of the showroom.
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On the same day that a Chinese firm announced that it would restart production of the 9-3, I happened to bump into the poster child for Saab’s decline and fall.
It is no surprise that U.S. automobile dealers have been in a tizzy the past few months as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has been rattling its swords threatening to ban them from marking up interest rates on car loans, a sacred profit center for dealerships. Using methodology that assumes a person’s race can be determined by their last name and their gender by their first name, the CFPB claims that certain protected classes are being discriminated against in terms of being charged higher interest rates and thus the practice must stop.
What is a surprise is that Congress is equally annoyed with the agency’s strategy and lack of transparency, and recently announced new regulations limiting their power. No matter the outcome, there is a real possibility that the unintended consequences of the CFPB’s actions will be higher car loan rates for you. Read More >
Imagine you’re going on a 27 mile hike over the course of three days.
It’s a long journey ahead. Hills nearly as big as mountains. Wet and slippery ground everywhere.
And the sun? It can beat you down to the point where you feel as ragged as a wore out mop. There will be no hiding from the obstacles ahead. None.
Now imagine if your partner for this journey came up to you, and the first words he blurted out were, “Those are some nice boots you have! But I got a killer deal on mine.””
Would you think they were, well, a schmuck? To put it lightly?
Now consider this…
| Automaker | Nov. 2013 | Nov. 2012 | Pct. chng. | 11 month 2013 |
11 month 2012 |
Pct. chng. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BMW division | 31,752 | 31,213 | 2% | 271,891 | 244,061 | 11% |
| Mini | 4,575 | 5,248 | –13% | 59,910 | 59,667 | 0% |
| Rolls-Royce | 84 | 79 | 6% | 924 | 869 | 6% |
| BMW Group | 36,411 | 36,540 | 0% | 332,725 | 304,597 | 9% |
| Chrysler Division | 21,024 | 18,766 | 12% | 282,222 | 282,454 | 0% |
| Dodge | 41,506 | 40,075 | 4% | 548,654 | 472,598 | 16% |
| Dodge/Ram | 72,761 | 65,149 | 12% | 880,469 | 742,641 | 19% |
| Fiat | 3,075 | 3,603 | –15% | 39,491 | 40,065 | –1% |
| Jeep | 45,415 | 35,047 | 30% | 437,179 | 434,260 | 1% |
| Ram | 31,255 | 25,074 | 25% | 331,815 | 270,043 | 23% |
| Chrysler Group | 142,275 | 122,565 | 16% | 1,639,361 | 1,499,420 | 9% |
| Maybach | – | 5 | –100% | – | 45 | –100% |
| Mercedes-Benz | 36,386 | 31,949 | 14% | 298,489 | 264,636 | 13% |
| Smart USA | 959 | 704 | 36% | 8,409 | 9,013 | –7% |
| Daimler AG | 37,345 | 32,658 | 14% | 306,898 | 273,694 | 12% |
| Ford division | 182,978 | 171,360 | 7% | 2,194,934 | 1,955,341 | 12% |
| Lincoln | 6,727 | 5,732 | 17% | 73,710 | 74,766 | –1% |
| Ford Motor Co. | 189,705 | 177,092 | 7% | 2,268,644 | 2,030,107 | 12% |
| Buick | 15,072 | 13,289 | 13% | 190,130 | 163,935 | 16% |
| Cadillac | 16,172 | 14,517 | 11% | 164,378 | 131,534 | 25% |
| Chevrolet | 145,089 | 128,867 | 13% | 1,793,632 | 1,684,555 | 7% |
| GMC | 35,727 | 29,832 | 20% | 407,781 | 369,960 | 10% |
| General Motors | 212,060 | 186,505 | 14% | 2,555,921 | 2,349,984 | 9% |
| Acura | 14,559 | 12,246 | 19% | 149,685 | 140,182 | 7% |
| Honda Division | 101,948 | 104,334 | –2% | 1,240,372 | 1,149,829 | 8% |
| Honda (American) | 116,507 | 116,580 | 0% | 1,390,057 | 1,290,011 | 8% |
| Hyundai division | 56,005 | 53,487 | 5% | 657,778 | 643,572 | 2% |
| Kia | 45,411 | 41,055 | 11% | 501,548 | 518,421 | –3% |
| Hyundai Group | 101,416 | 94,542 | 7% | 1,159,326 | 1,161,993 | 0% |
| Jaguar | 1,446 | 713 | 103% | 15,408 | 10,962 | 41% |
| Land Rover | 4,601 | 3,687 | 25% | 44,246 | 38,490 | 15% |
| Jaguar Land Rover | 6,047 | 4,400 | 37% | 59,654 | 49,452 | 21% |
| Maserati | 887 | 208 | 326% | 3,715 | 2,397 | 55% |
| Mazda | 20,754 | 21,691 | –4% | 260,983 | 249,793 | 5% |
| Mitsubishi | 6,071 | 3,574 | 70% | 55,804 | 53,677 | 4% |
| Infiniti | 13,152 | 11,897 | 11% | 103,223 | 107,250 | –4% |
| Nissan Division | 93,376 | 84,300 | 11% | 1,035,439 | 935,116 | 11% |
| Nissan | 106,528 | 96,197 | 11% | 1,138,662 | 1,042,366 | 9% |
| Subaru | 36,621 | 28,206 | 30% | 384,511 | 299,788 | 28% |
| Suzuki* | – | 2,224 | –100% | 5,946 | 23,412 | –75% |
| Lexus | 25,611 | 22,719 | 13% | 239,090 | 213,559 | 12% |
| Scion | 4,968 | 5,606 | –11% | 63,998 | 67,983 | –6% |
| Toyota division | 147,465 | 133,370 | 11% | 1,742,111 | 1,606,819 | 8% |
| Toyota/Scion | 152,433 | 138,976 | 10% | 1,806,109 | 1,674,802 | 8% |
| Toyota | 178,044 | 161,695 | 10% | 2,045,199 | 1,888,361 | 8% |
| Audi | 13,636 | 12,067 | 13% | 141,048 | 124,469 | 13% |
| Bentley | 320 | 212 | 51% | 2,519 | 2,078 | 21% |
| Lamborghini* | 46 | 44 | 5% | 506 | 476 | 6% |
| Porsche | 3,966 | 3,865 | 3% | 39,077 | 32,091 | 22% |
| VW division | 30,727 | 36,728 | –16% | 373,689 | 394,128 | –5% |
| Volkswagen | 48,695 | 52,916 | –8% | 556,839 | 553,242 | 1% |
| Volvo Cars NA | 4,233 | 6,141 | –31% | 56,345 | 61,967 | –9% |
| Other*** | 253 | 246 | 3% | 2,783 | 2,702 | 3% |
| TOTAL | 1,243,852 | 1,143,981 | 9% | 14,223,373 | 13,136,963 | 8% |
Sales of cars and light truck in the United States went up 9% overall to 1.24 million units delivered in November, selling at the fastest clip in almost seven years. The SAAR rose to 16.4 million units, exceeding analyst predictions of about 15.8 million vehicles. That’s the best seasonally adjusted annual rate since Feb. 2007, before the start of the global recession. November sales were the best since 2003 and close to the best November ever.
Normally, my adopted hometown of Columbus, Ohio is a pretty booooring place. But every once in a while, a young woman rams a police cruiser with her Nissan Rogue and starts an awesome police chase that ends with a full-on PIT.
Now, after this jump, we’re going to show you a few photos of this nice young lady from Facebook, along with a link to the genuinely awesome dashcam video compilation. BUT IF YOU’RE AT WORK, WAIT TILL YOU GET HOME, OKAY?
A Mustang forum has gotten their hands on a leaked edition of Autoweek, complete with pictures of the 2015 Mustang. We’ll have the reveal on Thursday, complete with technical details.
On the heels of “the biggest thing to happen in the commercial world” that is the Ram ProMaster — whose page links back to our review, of course — the Italo-American truck division has announced the introduction of the ProMaster City in late 2014.
The Great Recession has given us so much since it began five years ago with the fall of Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual, from underwater mortgages and high unemployment, to bailouts of the financial and automotive manufacturing sectors and credit freezes.
Regarding the last item, a byproduct from said freeze will flood automakers with the potential to retain and steal customers when more and more leases draw to completion in the next year.
Video contains offensive language — JB
“Sweetie, please don’t tell them I’m a car dealer.”
“They already know Steve. Oh, before I forget, Jeff will be asking you where to find a cheap transmission for his Dodge Caliber.”
“Hmmm… you know what? I think maybe I should change my name to Siri. I could have the guys pull my finger and the women…”
“No you won’t! And don’t go on about fixing Johnson Valves and torquing your nuts. And please, don’t brag about your John Holmes drill either.”
“Sigh!”
In the wake of quality and customer satisfaction with the continuously variable transmissions Nissan has been buying from affiliated supplier Jatco Ltd., the automaker is increasing oversight over the supplier. Nissan has experienced glitches as it launched a number of new models offering the CVT. The automaker is also expanding capacity around the world, putting additional pressure on their suppliers.
Earlier this year, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn singled out Jatco by name, saying that Nissan will require it to explain how it will ensure customer satisfaction on any new transmission that it introduces. He also said that customer service issues with Jatco transmissions have affected Nissan’s profitability. Read More >
For the fourth time since 2004 Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne is reported to have devised a new plan to revive the Alfa Romeo brand, this one focused on premium vehicles made in Italy for export to the world. Alfa hasn’t made a profit in the nine years since Marchionne took the reigns at Fiat.
Marchionne’s latest plan for Alfa will be based on a new rear wheel drive architecture (with all wheel drive variants) that will be developed by a dedicated group of engineers at Maserati in Modena, headed by Philippe Krieff. Krieff reports directly to Harald Wester, Fiat-Chrysler chief technical officer and CEO of Alfa and Maserati. Read More >
On the days when my Honda CB550 can be bothered to wake up and run properly for my daily commute, I’m frequently passed by everything from HEMI-powered Grand Cherokees to Vulcan-powered Mercury Sables. That’s because the Honda CB550 is only slightly more powerful than a KitchenAid mixer.
This fellow, on the other hand, has a motorcycle capable of reaching 300 km/h on the rev limiter. That’s 186mph in American money. But as you’ll see, it isn’t quite enough.
Nissan BladeGlider
Delta Wing Project 56, a company backed by racing and pharmaceuticals entrepreneur Don Panoz to develop the DeltaWing racecar, is suing Nissan, claiming that the recently revealed BladeGlider concept, which Nissan revealed at the Tokyo Motor Show, infringes on intellectual property related to the DeltaWing.
Nissan says that their delta shaped car is inspried by “the soaring, silent, panoramic freedom of a glider and the triangular shape of a high-performance ‘swept wing’ aircraft.” One of the members of the BladeGlider project is designer Ben Bowlby, who originated the concept of the DeltaWing and he’s named as a defendant along with Nissan and Darren Cox, director of Nissan’s global motorsports program. Read More >
@willstpierre tweets:
@SajeevMehta Art history teacher talked about using vellum today. Nobody else knew what it was #bringbackvellumvenom Read More >
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