Your humble author hates the Lamborghini Urus with the fury of a thousand indignant suns. I am also completely over the whole self-congratulatory Pebble Beach/Monterey Historics business which is currently occupying the attention of the entire West Coast buffet-browsing crew.
Out of consideration of the fact that some of you might not feel the same way, however, heeeeere’s Urus!
Out of concern for reader sensitivities, TTAC increased the age limit of its bikini beauties
Every year around this time, the two automotive editors that do not vacation say: “Where are July’s European sales numbers? Weren’t they supposed to be here a week ago?”
No. They will be he here in September. ACEA, the trade group that tallies these things, is closed, and it tans its industry body at Europe’s and the world’s beaches. Only in Europe does the employee’s right to month long holidays stand in the way of timely data. Read More >
Should Volkswagen management miss its self-prescribed and audacious target of becoming the world’s largest automaker by 2018, as of today it would have someone else to blame than itself: Bernd Osterloh, chief of Volkswagen’s works council and therefore vice chairman of Volkswagen’s supervisory board, is against further acquisitions in the foreseeable future. “We are twelve brands now, and we need to stabilize the group first,” Osterloh told Germany’s Handelsblatt in an interview. Osterloh is especially against buying Proton (and with it Lotus): “As important as distribution and production in South-East Asia may be: Labor does not support an acquisition of Proton in Malaysia.” Read More >
Brazil was once VW’s home away from home. Here, it felt loved and welcome. It controlled 50 percent of the market. Time passed. An Italian upstart arrived and eventually robbed it of first place by being more agile. VW meanwhile grew bigger appetites and found a new home in China. Brazil, the ex-favorite, the dark, mysterious, tropical, big bosomed former love affair relies on the crumbs that fall off the table of the slanted-eye enchantress. Read More >
Its massive price tag and limited availability keeps the Bugatti Veyron out of the reach of most. But what if you really wanted to own one yet didn’t want to break the bank? Enter the Bugatti Veyron replica, which costs $40,000 (inclusive of the donor car). This particular vehicle belongs to a rich businessman in New Delhi, India. He uses it as a support car for his Lamborghini Gallardo. The roof can be folded too, which makes it the Grand Sport. Read More >
This picture of a pink Mini was sent from Shanghai by longterm TTAC correspondent Daveinchina.
When I saw the picture, my eyes fixated my palm, palm accelerated in the direction of my forehead and smacked it so loud that Frau Schmitto-san came running from the other room, inquiring (to the best of her Japanese abilities :) “Are you alright?” Read More >
The topic of young people not getting drivers’ licenses has become a topic of concern for the auto industry, particularly in, ahem, mature markets like Japan and the US. If young people never embrace the automobile as consumers, they’re not likely to become enthusiasts or collectors. Many collectors, of cars and other things, are often trying to rekindle a spirit they felt as a youth. People will gravitate to collect either a car of their youth or a car they aspired to in their youth. Zlati Meyer writes for the Detroit Free Press, often about car events. In this video produced in connection with tomorrow’s Woodward Dream Cruise, Fifty Shades of Dream Cruise, Zlati takes a lighthearted look at the greying of car culture. What do you think, will car collecting die out, or, twenty years from now will the people born in the first decade of the 21st century start Camry, Accord and Elantra clubs? If there is a Woodward Dream Cruise in the year 2030, when today’s 18 year olds will be entering their thirties, what cars will be driven, and how old will the drivers be?
There is a well traveled myth in the animal kingdom when it comes to dogs.
Seven years = One human year. In reality, dogs will often reach their version of adulthood within the first year to two years of their life.
The same is true with certain sports cars.
Here it is, the Fiat 500 Turbo that’s long been rumored. The Turbo uses a detuned version of the Abarth motor, good for 135 horsepower and 150 lb-ft. The sole transmission is a 5-speed manual, and there’s a tweaked chassis to go along with it. The Turbo also gets the same front end as the Abarth, but the more mild visual treatments of the standard car – all for $19, 500 (plus $700 destination).
A few days ago, I heard Nirvana’s “Come as you are” on a classic rock station. It’s hard to think of a grune song as qualifying for “classic” status, but we are creeping up on nearly 20 years of Nirvana. On the car front, there’s already been a re-issue of the Mustang 5.0, and now the Mopar folks are taking a similar path.
“President Obama is proud of his bailout of General Motors. That’s good, because, if he wins a second term, he is probably going to have to bail GM out again.” Sounds like our august founder, Robert Farago, sounding off about American Leyland the New GM. Nope, it’s Forbes this time, and they come to bury the General, not to praise him.
The Canadian Auto Workers union is expected to target Chrysler in the event of a strike, but will reportedly wait until Labor Day before taking action.
You’ve got to give Sergio Marchionne credit for at least one thing: he’s a masterful negotiator. The Italian-Canadian FIAT exec bluffed General Motors into paying $2 billion for the right to NOT buy the Italian company. He went on to acquire a controlling stake in Chrysler for no cash. Instead, FIAT agreed to provide the auto maker, hollowed out by Daimler and Cerberus, with powertrains and platforms. Three years after that deal, Chrysler has introduced the first car developed for North America around FIAT innards, the compact Dodge Dart sedan (pre-production review).
[Ed: Part one of Steve Lang’s updated used car buying guide is here, part two is here.]
You can rigorously apply the tests described by previous installments of this series without encountering a single setback. However when it comes to buying a used car, it pays to assume one simple salient fact: you don’t know the complete truth.
At least not yet.
I would like to take this opportunity, and also on behalf of Fiat, express my sincere gratitude to the American taxpayer. Read More >
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