After an alleged Swede,  Kai Johan Jiang a.k.a.  Jiang Dalong bought bankrupt Saab’s remaining assets for cheap, we could not help but reminding the faithful that this will not result in a resurgence of the Trollhättan industrial base. We figured that at the very best, Saab will march off to China. If Saab won’t manage to destroy investor’s dreams and money yet again. Both rise in probability.  Saab’s buyer, Chinese-controlled NEVS, has secured  an investment deal with the Chinese city of Qingdao, Reuters says. Read More >

GM is once again the top seller with government agencies, after losing that title to Ford over the past few years. A Bloomberg report based on a Freedom of Information Act request shows that GM sold 19,404 vehicles to the federal government in the fiscal year that ended September 30th, up 3.5 percent. Sales of Fords were down by 43 percent, to 10,734 vehicles.

Read More >

NHTSA is proposing to make it mandatory that hybrid cars and EVs have the ability to emit a sound when traveling below 18 mph on electric power, as a means of warning pedestrians and cyclists. The system is said to add about $30 to the cost of each vehicle, and will no doubt tie up bureaucrats for months as they debate just what kind of tone will best protect the public from the horror of low-speed injuries. So why don’t we make life easier for them and decide ourselves?

Read More >

Leaded gasoline was invented by General Motors in the 1920s. Tetraethyl lead was a cheap octane booster and antiknock agent. It prevented exhaust valve and valve seat wear and allowed much higher engine compression. It also could have been the cause of  the big post-war crime wave, researchers say. Read More >

We’ve taken a fair number of potshots at the General lately, but some times the company and its ad agencies get it right. Watch this and tell me you don’t kind of want a DTS at the end of it….

Read More >

TTAC’s Alex Dykes didn’t fall in love with the Dodge Dart in his initial meeting, although he did refer to it as “class competitive”. In its first half-year on these shores, the Alfa-Dodge has struggled to keep inventory levels down despite great advertising.

Ten or twenty years ago, Chrysler might have let this state of affairs continue for a year or two before adjusting the product mix and/or changing the marketing approach, but in the lean-and-mean era they don’t play that game. The Dart GT is meant to restart the model’s momentum, and it does it the old-fashioned way: with high content and reasonably aggressive pricing.

Read More >

Not enough that people in Belgium are losing their appetite for cars (last we looked the market was down 11 percent), now people have even less reason to go to the Brussels motor show: Belgium’s equal opportunities minister Joelle Milquet asked carmakers to keep their product specialists fully dressed. Read More >

China’s lackluster economy did not dampen the country’s appetite for Bavarian premium cars. BMW’s group sales in China rose a surprising 73 percent in December to 30,470 vehicles, Reuters says.

For the year,BMW’s group sales in in China rose 40 percent to 326,444 vehicles.

This week has been nothing less than the usual.

The top 5 vehicles were either Toyotas or Ford trucks, with a 2005 Toyota RAV4 that had galloped 425,904 miles skating right past a 2003 Ford E250 with 413,579. Eight of the top ten were either the usual Ford/Chevy/Toyota truck, or a Honda/Toyota car. Only a solitary Vulcan V6 Ford car and a Nissan Maxima interrupted the usual domination. Both of those models I’m thinking about adding to the list just because they are frequent enough to merit that distinction along with Sajeev’s beloved Panthers.

But then again, I did have one big surprise. Anyone remember the Mercury Capri?

Read More >

If you want a modern Bugatti that’s more exclusive than the Veyron, and cheaper too, here’s your chance.

Read More >

In a week’s time, we’ll have an uncovered look at Hyundai’s newest concept, the HCD-14, but the silhouette should tell you all you need to know.

Read More >

Continental Europe’s car sales may be in the toilet, but the UK’s new car market was up 5.3 percent in 2012, with the Ford Fiesta leading the sales charts.

Read More >

Three years ago, we reported that  the Chinese government was interested in buying some of Daimler’s stock. Now, it looks like it might be finally happening. Read More >

Sales of Japanese car in the world’s largest car market, China, continue to be impacted by the war of words (and occasionally sledge hammers) over uninhabited rocks in the East China sea.  Sales are inching up a bit after customers dare to come back to the showrooms of Japanese brands. Read More >

The Japanese new car market ended the year 2012 up 27.5 percent to 5,369,721 units. You may read other numbers elsewhere, but that’s because it is often overlooked that regular vehicles and mini vehicles are reported separately in Japan. At TTAC, we consolidate them as a service to our readers. Read More >