The rotary engine and Mazda have had a tumultuus, on-and-off relationship that rivals an Old Hollywood marriage. Market conditions and government regulations have made mass production of the rotary a constant challenge, and the death of the Mazda RX-8 looked like the final nail in the Wankel’s coffin.
Today, the Moscow Motor show opened its doors its doors to the public. This time, it is the Russian of more modest means who has the attention of the world’s carmakers, keen to profit from one of Europe’s few growing markets,” says Reuters, reporting from the show. Read More >
Electric cars haven’t taken the market by storm, despite a hurricane of propaganda, and despite of tsunamis of government subsidies. Now, India is joining the fray. India will spend some money to entice its citizens to go electric. Like the U.S. and China, India expects them to do so by the droves. Read More >
| Sales Forecasts August 2012 | ||||||
| Forecast TrueCar | Forecast Kelley | |||||
| Units | YoY | Share | Units | YoY | Share | |
| Chrysler | 142,593 | 9.60% | 11.4% | 142,600 | 9.60% | 11.2% |
| Ford | 191,456 | 9.50% | 15.3% | 191,600 | 9.60% | 15.1% |
| GM | 227,087 | 3.90% | 18.1% | 225,950 | 3.40% | 17.7% |
| Honda | 133,458 | 62.10% | 10.6% | 129,450 | 57.30% | 10.2% |
| Hyundai/Kia | 117,212 | 17.60% | 9.3% | 119,662 | 20.00% | 9.4% |
| Nissan | 97,022 | 6.00% | 7.7% | 105,000 | 14.70% | 8.2% |
| Toyota | 182,896 | 41.30% | 14.6% | 176,950 | 36.70% | 13.9% |
| Volkswagen | 47,069 | 32.80% | 3.7% | 53,500 | 50.50% | 4.2% |
| Industry | 1,255,392 | 17.20% | 100.0% | 1,273,000 | 18.70% | 100.0% |
When U.S. August sales numbers will be announced next week, TrueCar expects them to be up strongly. The Santa Monica forecaster predicts August new light vehicle sales to be in the neighborhood of 1,255,392 units, up 17.2 percent from August 2011. TrueCar’s forecast would translate into a Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate (“SAAR”) of 14.2 million new car sales, up from 12.1 million in August 2011. Read More >
In rapper parlance, the word “ignorant” often denotes someone or something that is offensively ostentatious, lacking in taste, discretion or refinement. It’s a great descriptor for the Cadillac Escalade, and according to an Automotive News report, things aren’t going to change when the next generation debuts.
In the most recent installments of the never-ending rumors on Lincoln’s long march to China, Chinese media claimed that the Lincolns would be built at a new Ford plant in Hangzhou. Dearborn denied everything. Yesterday, Ford confirmed for the first time that Lincoln would be coming to China. Today, Ford broke ground at the Hangzhou plant, while someone says that Lincoln had been in China on the say, and that it did not work out. Read More >
Japan’s automakers released global production and sales data for July today. It is an ancient Japanese tradition, which is also shared by large European carmakers, but shunned by most American globals. GM for instance reports only quarterly on a global basis, and keeps observers guessing in between. July data released by Japanese large automakers shows a strong rebound after last year’s multiple disasters. Honda looks especially strong, while Toyota’s march towards regaining the title “World’s largest automaker 2012” appears unstoppable. Read More >
Now that we’ve finally got real pictures of the 2014 Mazda6, powertrain details have emerged as well. For anyone who thought the 2.0L Skyactiv 4-cylinder was underpowered, there’s good news.
Anyone can write a world-class review of an interesting car. Something like a McLaren M4-12C or a Ferrari 458 lends itself well to Clarksonian prose, full of overwrought similies and hyperbolic commentary on the driving experience. Writing a great review of an utterly boring, utilitarian car that captures the reader’s attention? Now that takes work.
When we speak of hoopties, we generally mean the four-wheeled variety. However, persuading a nowhere-near-complete Malaise Era Project Hell Bike to transport you to a race track 350 miles distant should, in my opinion, stretch the definition to include two-wheelers as well. My cousin Sam, aka Judge Sam of the 24 Hours of LeMons Supreme Court, decided that he needed to hit the fast-forward button on his ’74 Shovelhead project in order to get from his home in Minnesota to the Chubba Cheddar Enduro in proper fashion. The bike wasn’t quite ready and the journey was an extremely arduous one, but it was worth it. Read More >
Overlooked in the announcements by General Motors and Chrysler that their factories will not be hosting any presidential campaign events such as photo ops or speeches by either the Obama or Romney campaigns is the fact that GM, which for 30 years has supplied both major US political parties’ national conventions with hundreds of new vehicles used as courtesy cars, will not be doing so this year. Frankly though the Big 3 are rather notorious for the casual way in which they provide complimentary cars to high profile celebrities, and though I was familiar with the practice of providing courtesy cars for major sporting events, I had no idea that GM has been doing so in connection with the big political conventions.
Whether you drive a $30,000 or a $1,500 a car, one variable in life stays constant.
You want to minimize your costs.
There had been consistent rumors of an entry-level Porsche, below the Boxster. Porsche CEO Matthias Müller discounted the rumors, again and again. Just to be sure, Müller denied rumors of a discount Porsche again today, but he also admitted that plans for a low price Porsche were not mere rumors. The plans exist. Somewhere on a shelf at Porsche. Read More >
While foreign cars are still a bit underrepresented in Japan, fueling fierce allegations of trickery by unions, democrat lawmakers and grossly underrepresented Detroit carmakers, foreign carparts do not have this problem. With the yen stuck at abnormally high level, Japanese carmakers more and more buy their parts cheaper overseas. Read More >
There have been many rumors of an impending launch of the Lincoln brand in China, and so far, they had been rumors. Now, the rumor becomes reality. Ford will launch its Lincoln brand in China within two years, says Reuters. Ford is not banking on big iron alone. Ford, says Reuters, “is also developing a low-cost car under the mainstream brand to appeal to more price-sensitive consumers in the fast-growing cities in western China. This vehicle will compete with GM’s Sail car.” Read More >
Recent Comments