Renault is gearing up to produce a range of cars positioned below Dacia, including a competitor for the Tata Nano.
Find News by Subject:
Category: News Blog
For many of the brand’s faithful, a front-driver BMW is a revolting prospect. It’s the four-wheeled equivalent of tofu-based bacon or a cigarette without nicotine. But BMW is banking on small cars in a big way – their new front drive architecture, dubbed UKL, will underpin as many as 12 front-drive products from BMW and Mini. And frankly, not doing a front-drive range would be a display of poor judgement on the part of management.
That GM will launch an electrified Sail in China is no secret, at least not to TTAC readers. You won’t be surprised to hear that GM launched one at the Guangzhou auto show. The car is not the interesting part. The interesting part is the brand behind the car.
One of the most popular cars in our TWAT talks is the Nissan Cube; the much maligned, slow-selling compact is looking like a shoo-in for our ignominious honor, but Nissan seems to think that a price hike is just the ticket.
For 2013, the Cube will start at $17,550, a $1,790 increase over the 2012 model. Of course, the Cube is built in Japan and the rising yen has a lot to do with the price hike. But it’s not going to help dealers move units any quicker.
Opel’s cutsey Adam city car will be offered as a privateer rally car for competition in the R2 class (which is fairly close to stock, albeit with some substantial changes like a sequential gearbox). The R2 will be the first tier in a multi-stage rally car program and Opel has apparently committed to rallying through 2016. Hopefully they last longer than Mini.
At some point between now and Christmas, you will have a chance to see an old movie.
If you have toddlers, it will likely be Grinch related. Adolescents and tweens will get A Christmas Story. Teenagers? You probably don’t want to know.
But as for those of us who are single, or older, or just pain sentimental, this holiday movie classic will likely feature two towns that symbolize American community.
You wouldn’t know it from the outside, but the Honda CR-Z is getting an interesting tweak for 2013; a KERS-like overboost feature that adds an extra hit of power from the revamped hybrid system.
Still car-less after Sandy? Thinking of buying a used one? Or rent one over the Thanksgiving weekend? Good luck. Read More >
With the TWATs under way and awards season about to gear up, I would like to take a moment to highlight the one car I’ve found that ticks all the boxes for me personally. It’s the Fiat 500 Abarth.
Alas, no wagons among them, but Audi is launching four new diesel powered models for 2013, marking one of the biggest pushes for diesel in the North American market.
Well, it’s official; the 2014 Ford Fiesta will be the first small American car since the Geo Metro to be powered by a 3-cylinder engine.
Earlier in the year, GE bought 12,000 Chevrolet Volts, and the company was promptly accused of “crony capitalism” and of “forcing its employees” into unwanted cars. The subtext was that the GE purchase propped up GM’s Volt sales. Now GE does the same with Ford, but at a smaller scale. Read More >
GM wants to thin out its South Korean workforce while shifting production to Europe’s higher-wage locations. Korean unions already see it as a declaration of war. Read More >
Earlier this year, Subaru was denied approval for a new factory by the Chinese government. The rationale behind the move was that Fuji Heavy, parent company of Subaru, and Toyota, were already too cozy, and that a Subaru factory would give Toyota one too many joint ventures in China. And then the boycott happened.
Consumer Reports tested the latest offerings of Detroit automakers, did not like the Dodge Dart, was frustrated by the Cadillac XTS, was underwhelmed by the Lincoln MKS, and put off by the Chevrolet Spark. CR ended up recommending a Japanese Lexus ES instead. Read More >
Recent Comments