This is the first in an infrequent series of pieces that take a step back from breathless blogging. They look at a phenomenon over the longer term, they have more in-depth research, they are hence a bit longer. We will run them on weekends, when some may have the time for 1,200 or more words.

Imagine, if you dare, you live in China’s capital, Beijing. It’s a nice place, actually. The population of Australia crammed into one sprawling city. Good food. Nice people. Great nightlife. As cities go, it covers a lot of space. Beijing proper is a bit less the size of Kuwait.

Now imagine you have your eyes set on a new car. Chery QQ, Chevy Escalade, whatever. What do you have to do to get behind the wheel? You have to win the lottery. Not to buy the car, a QQ goes for a few grand. You need to win the lottery for the same thing that keeps felons employed back home: A small piece of blue and white tin, a license plate.

Your chances of winning are rotten. Imagine you go to Vegas, you put a chip on a single number. If that number comes up on the first spin of the wheel, you may buy a car. If not: Better luck next month, ta-dah!

Next! Read More >

The sun is shining into the shrouded windows here at TTAC HQ, seriously tempting me away from the computer for the first time since Oregon’s long, grey winter set in. In celebration of the fine weather and the impending weekend, we continue our March sales coverage by taking a look at the cars we call “weekend toys.” There’s no real rhyme or reason to this “segment,” as it spans a variety of sizes and price points. So rather than seeing this as a segment of directly-competing models, just think of it as an update on the world of (relatively) irrational vehicle purchases. The chart above represents the most popular vehicles that we think qualify as sufficiently irrational… hit the jump for an extended chart, including the higher-priced, lower-volume models.

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Saab’s inability to pay suppliers led it to request a release of some of its debt collateral by Sweden’s National Debt Office, reports Reuters. The NDO has loaned Saab €400m, but with its Russian backer Vladimir Antonov still unable to inject cash into the company, Saab was forced to ask for some of its NDO loan collateral in order to cover its supplier debts. But, according to another Reuters report, NDO spokesfolks say

It is clear what the problem is and everyone possible is trying to solve the problem… a solution to the problem had seemed in sight, but that in the end it did not work out.

The NDO says it will keep working with Saab, and the automaker predicts a resolution by next week (without offering any further details). After a year of independence from GM, the Swedish brand could well be reaching the end of the line.

Better get used to this: Barely had Toyota announced that it will reopen its Japanese plants, then Toyota U.S.A. chimes in and says: “We are shutting down.” Welcome to the supply chain gang. Toyota is running its N.A. vehicle plants on what they call “a reduced schedule.”

Meaning: Read More >

If there’s one factor that most dims enthusiasm for cars, it’s probably traffic. The frustration, misanthropy and waste engendered by traffic are such that it would come as no surprise to learn that traffic-related stress causes a number of health problems. But, according to a study by the World Health Organization [PDF here], you don’t even need to be stuck in traffic to be negatively affected by it. According to a WHO press release,

Traffic-related noise accounts for over 1 million healthy years of life lost annually to ill health, disability or early death in the western countries in the WHO European Region. This is the main conclusion of the first report assessing the burden of disease from environmental noise in Europe, released today by WHO/Europe. Noise causes or contributes to not only annoyance and sleep disturbance but also heart attacks, learning disabilities and tinnitus.

Traffic: the not-so-silent killer?

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Philip writes:

As spring descends on Texas & a young man’s (OK, middle aged man’s) fancy turns to cars deficient in practicality but full in spirit, I bring to you the following dilemma for your consideration.

The parameters are simple, manual is a must, RWD is preferable, A/C is mandatory (this is Texas), price point should be less than $30K, pre-owned and pre-loved is fine.

The choices are narrowing down to classic marques and Japanese hot imports. In no particular order; Porsche 911, Lotus Elise, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and Subaru WRX-STI. Each has unique advantages and drawbacks. Cachet versus all-out performance, specialized services versus the local franchise dealer, low-tech tradition versus hi-tech cutting edge.

This is my case for you to ponder. Or perhaps there’s even a car or two I have overlooked (I already have a BMW 325)? Your input, knowledge and experience would be greatly appreciated.

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This is a good one from TheTycho, now doing business as Carnewschina.com. We are instructed to ignore the flowers. Probably the byproduct of the camera in a Chinese “hand phone”, as they call it.

So there’s that army convoy, each truck pulling one cannon. Minutes later …. Read More >

When we worked on the Phaeton launch in 2001, we said it had “more computers than a small company.” It had 56. Today’s cars have anywhere between 30 and 100 computers on board. They are small microcontrollers that typically chat with each other via a CAN bus. You don’t take just any microcontroller for the job. They need to hold up to the harsh environment inside of a car. Their makers need to hold up to the harsh environment presented by the purchasing departments of automakers that squeeze them for every penny. As a result of both, there are only a few players in this field. This is the story of one of them. Read More >

“I know some of these big guys, they’re all still driving their big SUVs. You know, they got their big monster trucks and everything. You’re one of them? Well, now, here’s my point. If you’re complaining about the price of gas and you’re only getting eight miles a gallon–(laughter)–you may have a big family, but it’s probably not that big. How many you have? Ten kids, you say? Ten kids? (Laughter.) Well, you definitely need a hybrid van then. “ — President Obama, speaking at a wind farm to a worker.

In what’s been called “a modern equivalent to ‘let them eat cake’,” the President instructed Americans with large families to buy a hybrid van during a speech yesterday.

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MG has been building its 1995-era MGF (now MG TF) at its Longbridge, UK plant off and on since 2007, but it’s been a purely knock-down assembly affair, with kits being shipped in from Nanjing, China. But a new British-built MG is about to go into production since the brand was bought by Nanjing Auto in 2005 (Nanjing has since merged with SAIC). Called the MG6, the new compact sedan isn’t completely built at Longbridge (UK workers build and fit the engines, as well as installing the front suspension and subframe, exhaust system and electrics, but bodyshells are shipped from China), but it was designed and engineered at SAIC Motor’s European technical center in the Midlands.

Is that British enough for you?

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Remember carmageddon? When the world came to an end? When luxury was definitely not PC? When we would only drive small cars or none at all, forever and ever? For BMW, it’s just like a bad dream. Munich’s BMW Group sold more vehicles in March than ever before in any month of the company’s storied history, the company tells us in an email. BMW sold a total of 165,842 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce in March, 17 percent over March in the prior year. BMW exceeded even its own pre-crisis sales high of 152,721 vehicles, recorded in December 2007. Who’s buying all those cars? Read More >

Call it synchronicity, ESP, or plain dumb luck. Yesterday, only half in jest, I called upon the city of Beijing to issue its sought-after license plates to buyers of EVs and hybrids.  Little did I  know that the day before, Beijing had decided to do just that. Well, no quite. No hybrids.

Beijing’s media, from Beijing Youth Daily to the China Securities Journal, all report that buyers of pure plug-ins, and pure plug-ins only, will enjoy privileges the regular Beijinger can only dream of: EV buyers will not have to win the lottery to drive a car, they can drive on any day of the week, and they pay no tax. Doesn’t sound exciting to you? It could very well turn Beijing into EV city. Here is why: Read More >

It is the morning after a 7.4 magnitude tremor,the strongest aftershock so far, located in approximately the same area as the devastating March 11 quake, rattled northern Japan. Most of the increasingly quake-blasé Japan shrugged it off.

Then in the late Japanese morning, a bit of good news from and for the automotive sector. Toyota Japan will re-open for business on April 18. Read More >

We’ve already asked the cui bono question about Japan’s post-tsunami parts paralysis, and though opinions vary about precisely cui will be doing the bonoing, it’s clear that some are already doing better than others. For more clarity on the developing picture, hit the jump for TTAC’s roundup of the latest parts paralysis news. Read More >

How things change in a few years! Just a few short orbits of the sun ago, automakers like GM were some of the biggest boosters of ethanol subsidies. Now, the Detroit News reports

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers – the trade association representing General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co., Chrysler Group LLC, Toyota Motor Corp. and eight others – opposes a bill sponsored by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, that would require 90 percent of all vehicles to run on E85 – a blend of 85 percent ethanol – by the 2016 model year.

Shane Karr, vice president for government affairs, said the mandate “would cost consumers more than $2 billion per year” for flex fuel vehicles if automakers passed on the full cost “even though consumers will have little or no access to alternative fuels. Therefore, such a mandate is essentially a tax with little consumer benefit.”

In the face of this new opposition, the Renewable Fuels Association has even taken to employing the rhetoric of market economics to justify market-manipulating ethanol subsidies. And it doesn’t seem to be convincing anyone. If anything, Harkin’s bill may just hasten the death of existing subsidies, which are under pressure as both Democrats and Republicans seek to trim the federal budget.