The rest of the article talks about a sort of “aspirational fantasy” (my term, not theirs). JC Penny is trying to do it in their ad (discussed in the article) and Acura is trying to do it here. The problem is they haven’t quite got it.
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Finally, our long-promised video series makes its debut, with our very own Jack Baruth at the helm, doing what he does best; bullying PR people into paying his obscene room service bill putting today’s sports cars to the test on a closed circuit.
Managers of premium auto brands keep asking themselves (and sometime me): “What is the secret of Audi’s success?” 30 years ago, Audi had an image worse than Opel. Last April, Audi outsold Bavarian rival BMW for the first time on a global basis. These days, any large automaker that has a luxury division seeks to emulate Audi’s success. Now, Nissan’s Infiniti could be one step closer to getting its hands in Audi’s elusive secret sauce. They hired one of Audi’s key men. Read More >
I’m not afraid to admit I’m wrong (though I tend to be right nearly every single time without fail. So there.). When I saw that Mazda had asked Jalopnik readers for their thoughts on the next MX-5, I oscillated between sheer terror (at the prospect of reading a bunch of keyboard jockeys telling engineers how to do their jobs, i.e. every press launch) and total Schadenfreude.
The next MX-5 is more than likely “locked in” past the point of no return. Styling, engineering and powertrains are all but locked in, and not a damn thing can be done to change them, even though the next MX-5 will have to be tweaked a bit to become an Alfa Romeo. That’s a shame. Mazda might be wise to listen to some of the suggestions put up by Jalopnik’s readers.
A story on GM Inside News reported on GM’s trademarking of the “GNX” and “Grand National” nameplates. Let’s see how far the blogosphere can spin this one.
The newly announced GX class for Grand-Am racing will allow alternative fuel engines to race in one of North America’s premier sports car series, and Mazda plans on jumping into things with their own Skyactiv-D diesel engine.
Of course, we have no idea what kind of car this engine will go into, regardless of whether it’s a street car or a race car. We can’t really see a diesel CX-5 race car tearing up the track. A new Mazda6 may be a possibility. God forbid it winds up being a Miata.
Sourcing Canadian-market Fits from China instead of Japan is about one thing and one thing only: the globalization of the automotive business. Look, we’ve got Camaros made in Ontario, Nissans from Tennessee and Fiats—yes, Fiats—made in Mexico, so a Fit from China shouldn’t be a surprise. In this case, if globalization allows Honda Canada to be more profitable and employ more Canadians, then it’s all upside, isn’t it?
So says my occasional competitor and racing partner Brian Makse in his recent review of a Chinese-built Fit. Brian notes that Fits sold south of the Windsor strip clubs continue to be sourced from Japan. If Honda knows what’s good for them, they will keep it that way.
With apologies to Lamont “Big L” Coleman, but I’ve been waiting to use the hackneyed version of his famous punchline for some time. The only problem is that TTAC and Porsche are frenemies at best, adversaries at worst, ever since one of our resident Porsche owners said unkind things about the Panamera.
An editorial in Car and Driver given the subtitle “Deep Thoughts” tackles a favorite subject of the peanut gallery; the Decline and Fall of Honda’s Empire. Unfortunately, rather than being a critical analysis of the real problems that Honda is prone to (which author Dave Mable mentions, albeit in passing), it’s simply yet another softball lobbed at the sophists who have opinions on everything and know very little. Like C/D commenter “GolfTDI”, profiled in the above photo.
General Motors’ decision to reanimate the corpse of the Saturn Vue for rental fleets was not entirely scorned by the always-practical B&B, so your humble author has been keeping an eye out for any news regarding the Captiva “Sport”. Now, thanks to automotive industry consultant and wrongly accused Lexus-smasher Seung “Mel” Min Yu, I have some news about the pricing for GM’s insider auction of low-mileage Captivas, as well as some information regarding the imminent arrival of Captivas at your local dealer.
What motorsports we cover around here at TTAC are usually the participatory variety, the kind without corporate sponsorship (not that there’s anything wrong with that) or deep pocketed and not quite top level talent rent a riders (Baruth will tell you what’s wrong with that). Still, the Detroit Grand Prix has returned after a hiatus caused by the carpocalypse and subsequent bankruptcies and bailouts. Chevrolet has anted up for title sponsorship, and with all three domestic automakers turning a profit plus reduced unemployment in the Detroit area, there was increased demand for sponsorships and vendor space than the last time the race ran, in 2008.
A Ferrari 458, followed by a Lamborghini Aventador were on an outing in Shanghai when a local horse riding club crossed their path. The Ferrari driver demanded the right of way with the tool commonly used in China, the horn.
The horse next to the Ferrari did what many Chinese would like to do: The horse kicked the 458 into the shins, hard. Read More >
This is the list of America’s best-selling cars and trucks of may and year-to-date. Read More >
Will the Scion FR-S drift? My opinion could be summed up as: who cares? Drifting ain’t fast, yo.
Consumer Reports, however, has decided to answer this question with the same diligence they usually reserve for toaster duty-cycle measurement. In the above video Jake Fisher handbrakes his way to glory in the little Toyobaru. This is a sequel to a similar, and well-received, Subaru BR-Z test.
If nothing else, the video buries the image long-cultivated by Car and Driver, among others, that the CR guys are a bunch of lab-coat dipsticks who are too busy compiling reliability data to have any fun.
TTAC will have an FR-S track test video coming up in the next few weeks. Don’t look for me to showboat the car. For that, apparently, you’ll need to visit America’s most-respected consumer advocacy publication.
| Rank | Analyst | GM | Ford | Chrysler | SAAR | SAAR Diff | OEM Diff | Overall |
| 1 | Chris Ceraso (Credit Suisse) | 13.0% | 14.0% | 36.0% | 14.3 | 3.8% | 9.0% | 12.8% |
| 2 | Jesse Toprak (TrueCar.com) | 17.0% | 11.0% | 33.0% | 14.5 | 5.2% | 11.0% | 16.2% |
| 3 | Alec Gutierrez (Kelley Blue Book) | 11.0% | 9.4% | 40.0% | 14.2 | 3.0% | 13.6% | 16.6% |
| 4 | Jessica Caldwell (Edmunds.com) | 11.0% | 16.0% | 42.0% | 14.4 | 4.5% | 15.0% | 19.5% |
| 5 | Patrick Archambault (Goldman) | 15.0% | 10.0% | 38.0% | 14.4 | 4.5% | 15.0% | 19.5% |
| 6 | Peter Nesvold (Jefferies) | 13.0% | 12.0% | 44.0% | 14.4 | 4.5% | 17.0% | 21.5% |
| 7 | Brian Johnson (Barclays) | 16.0% | 15.0% | 42.0% | 14.4 | 4.5% | 19.0% | 23.5% |
| 8 | Emmanuel Rosner (CLSA) | 18.0% | 11.0% | 41.0% | 14.4 | 4.5% | 20.0% | 24.5% |
| 9 | John Sousanis (Ward’s) | 15.0% | 15.0% | 45.0% | 14.6 | 6.0% | 21.0% | 27.0% |
| 10 | Joseph Spak (RBC) | 16.0% | 10.0% | NA | 14.4 | 4.5% | 108.0% | 112.5% |
| 11 | George Magliano (IHS Automotive) | NA | NA | NA | 14.2 | 3.0% | 300.0% | 303.0% |
| 12 | Jeff Schuster (LMC Automotive) | NA | NA | NA | 14.3 | 3.8% | 300.0% | 303.8% |
| 13 | Itay Michaeli (Citigroup) | NA | NA | NA | 14.4 | 4.5% | 300.0% | 304.5% |
| 14 | Alan Baum (Baum & Associates) | NA | NA | NA | 14.4 | 4.5% | 300.0% | 304.5% |
| Average | 15.0% | 12.0% | 40.0% | 14.4 | ||||
| Actual | 11.0% | 13.0% | 30.0% | 13.8 |
The analysts polled by Bloomberg should wear a bullet-proof vest and avoid dark alleys for a while. To a woman and a man, the analysts were too exuberant, guessing way too high for May. Despite a respectable 13 percent gain, the market came in below the expectations created by analyst predictions, which sent car stocks broadly lower yesterday.
Today, the wayward soothsayers receive their just punishment. Read More >
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