The compact hybrid Prius C went on sale in Japan (where it is called Aqua) last month. If you would buy one today in Japan, you would get your car some time in late spring. Toyota already has orders for more than 60,000. In order to not let the line grow longer, Toyota is cranking up its assembly lines at the Kanto Auto Works in Iwate Prefecture. Read More >
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Let’s face it; we Americans have rarely created a small car worth considering, we have also rarely built a small car in our own backyard. Case in point: the former Chevy Aveo. While I wouldn’t say the Aveo was abjectly horrible, there was nothing to excite a shopper and it wasn’t cheap enough to compensate. While the Aveo was born out of old-GM’s need to buy every ailing car company around the world (in this case Daewoo), it’s replacement, the new Chevy Sonic, is the only subcompact car currently sold in the United States that’s actually assembled here as well. The platform used by the Sonic is far better traveled than most Americans. GM’s “Gamma II” architecture was designed by GM Korea with considerable input from Opel (as the Opel Corsa will share the platform soon) and re-skinned by Chevrolet. To make the Sonic LTZ Turbo from this multi-national compact car, Chevy dropped a 1.4L turbocharged engine and six-speed manual tranny under the hood. Unlike the Hertz-ready Sonic hatchback Michael Karesh has last year, the Sonic LTZ Turbo is the top-of-the-line Sonic attempting to please those who want a hair more shove and, paradoxically, better fuel economy. Sound like a good start? Let’s see if GM got it right this time.
The most senior Texas state lawmaker admitted last week that he voted to save red light camera programs even though he knew they had no effect on public safety.
UAW president Bob King endorsed the 54.5 MPG CAFE standard for passenger vehicles while testifying at CAFE related hearings in Detroit. Automotive News quoted King as saying “The proposed rules are sensible, achievable and needed.” The standards would have to be met by 2025 and work out to about 40 mpg in the real world.
Everybody is talking about how much the Euro is losing against the dollar. At closer look, it is not alarming. Even during normal times I have seen lower Euro rates than the current $1.27. But wait until you look at the Euro from a Japanese perspective. (Like the one I have at the moment, sitting in a pittoresk cabin half way up Mount Fuji that could use better heat.) The anemic euro might discourage people like me from coming to Japan. What it really does is discourage Japanese automakers from exporting to Europe. A lot has been said about the strength of the Yen against the dollar. It’s nothing compared to the Euro. Against the Euro, the yen turned into Godzilla. This has Japanese automakers extremely worried. They don’t really know what to do about it. Read More >
Lincoln’s free-falling sales will apparently be remedied by allowing customers to watch their cars get serviced via smart phone, if you can stomach the party line coming from Ford marketing boss Jim Farley. Also outlined were Lincoln’s idea of “luxury” and powertrain details for the upcoming MKZ
The Fiat 500’s spectacular failure – selling less than 20,000 units in 2011, despite projections of 50,000 units sold- is quickly becoming the stuff of legend in automotive circles. Sergio Marchionne told CNN Money that the goal wasn’t really based on anything but wanting to beat Mini.
“Go to the Bonhams site and start your bidding for a piece of history from the lifetime of a larger than life car connoisseur and story teller.” Is this a paid advertisement for Bonhams? Is it a late-night television informercial? Nope, it’s an article in Autoblog, encouraging people to bid on a particular auction. Who wrote the article for Autoblog? Well, if you have to ask…
Want a piece of “quirky” history? While the good folks at the Church of the One True Saab still have dreams of white knights, Saab’s heritage is being auctioned off. This caught the attention of Bringatrailer.com (“The best vintage and classic cars for sale online.”) In a lengthy piece, the organ for trailer trash collector’s online hub salivates over “the entire collection of 100+ cars belonging to the Saab Heritage Museum in Trollhaettan, Sweden” to the liquidator. Read More >
Nissan’s Scratch Guard, which was completely forgotten weeks after its announcement revolutionized the industry, has now been applied to an iPhone case. The expanding resin can fill minor scratches within half an hour. Major damage may take longer. But is the “ScratchShield” just hype?
Allegedly a basket case, Europe finished the year without major losses, at least as far as new car sales go. 13.1 million cars were registered in the EU last year for aslight 1.74 percent loss compared to 2010. That according to data released today by the European auto manufacturer’s association ACEA. If the common market EU would count as one common car market, then Europe would rank second, after China with 18.5 million, and before the U.S.A. with 12.8 million (excl. heavy trucks & buses.) But fear not, the EU does not count as one market, at least not as far as heavy metal is concerned. Read More >
GM do Brasil has been having many problems. Though dearly beloved by many Latin Americans, in Brazil its image has been severely tarnished. When GM promised a slew of new products that would substitute its ageing line, many doubted it. In fact, many doubted GM had it in them anymore. Like a phoenix, GM is being reborn. The new product onslaught is in full swing. First off the bat was the Cruze. Now, Chevrolet is really starting to put on offer its mission-critical small car, the Cobalt. Will it be enough?
First a little background. After a very prosperous and promising 90s, it seemed GM had called it quits in the 00s. Extreme penny pinching eliminated but the most basic forms of engineering and development. The interiors were the most hideous on this side of a Trabant. You get the picture. Read More >
Jay-Z may have been the biggest celebrity booster (certainly TTAC wasn’t) of the Maybach line, but the brand’s demise is going to leave Hov high and dry for new wheels. So will Hov go back to the Lexus GS that he started out with? Probably not. It’s up to the Best and Brightest to determine what will take Maybach’s place in the whip game. Perhaps something British?
We had been following the dark clouds, lawyers, and regulators circling over TrueCar for quite a while. Today, we were reminded to take another good look.
TrueCar says it is deeply sorry, and it will change the way it is doing business. Bowing to state regulators, TrueCar will change the way it discloses prices to car shopper. And it will change the way it charges dealers, Automotive News [sub] reports. Read More >
When Leo Parente, host of YouTube’s new DRIVE series, stopped me at the Detroit Show to congratulate me on something I’d written for TTAC, I was more than usually pleased. Parente is that rarest of autojournos — a winning racing driver — so his opinion is important to me. “That thing you wrote,” he barked, “about TrueCar. Good stuff.” Well, I didn’t write it, but TTAC readers are no doubt familiar with TrueCar’s recent tribulations thanks to an excellent series of articles by the other guys on the roster.
Leo inspired me to do my own in-depth piece on TrueCar’s woes, but just as I was preparing to do actual journalism, the site distracted me by hiring a bunch of female racing drivers, including Katherine Legge (above), to race in the “inaugural TrueCar racing team.” Curse them! Let’s check these ladies out.
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