For days, Toyota had no word from its plants in the northern Japan quake zone. Many communities in the region are still cut off. Over the weekend, Toyota sent two truck convoys up north. On Sunday, a convoy of six water tankers, two fuel tankers and nine cargo trucks reached the area which now suffers wet weather and below freezing temperatures. A second convoy arrived on Monday. Read More >
Reuters found another problem for Japanese car makers: They will miss out on China’s luxury car market. Other than the German competition, the top Japanese manufacturers export all their luxury cars to China. “With Toyota, Honda and Nissan having shut all of plants in Japan after the earthquake and tsunami, exports to China will suffer,” says Reuters. That comes at a very inconvenient time. Read More >
Even in the limited-traction wonderland of some Nordic cold-weather test facility, BMW’s 2013 i8 diesel-hybrid supercar keeps things nice and calm dynamically-speaking, barely hinting at the “rear end squirm” that Automobile noted in its drive of the prototype. Which is not to say that this video is without its noteworthy moments…
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Greg Bennett writes:
Acura is giving away a TSX wagon as part of some new media/action sports hybrid marketing bullshit. New media because it’s on FB, action sports because they’re giving it away to somebody who participates in picturesque young-people activities like kayaking or snowboarding. Ridiculously, Acura doesn’t see fit to include any form of auto racing in their list of action sports.
I want to make them pay for this oversight. And I want a new TSX wagon. But mostly I want to make them pay. If I win, I’m going to race it any way I can — auto-x, rally-x, road racing, drag strip if I have no other options.
M
Indian automaker Tata had planned to enter the European market with an upscale version of the world’s cheapest car, known as the Tata Nano Europa. Instead, it seems Tata will hold off on its European conquest until it develops this, the Tata Pixel, a shortened (112 inch-long, 1,653 lbs!), coupe-ified Nano. Autocar reports
Group chairman Ratan Tata says the car will partly replace the previously proposed Nano Europa, once its concept-only swing doors are replaced by two conventional doors and engineering of instrumentation and controls is completed.
Don’t expect the gullwing doors or iPad-alike instrumentation to make it into production, but the Pixel will remain a four-seater and features improved handling and NVH characteristics compared to the Nano. What’s not clear is whether the Pixel’s hyper-rotating wheels will make it to market, and whether they would be likely to cause an accident in the event of a steering overcorrection. Meanwhile, despite a lingering fire problem, the Nano is now selling around 9k units per month in India, and Malaysia is on tap as the vehicle’s first export market. Whether Tata can leverage the underpinnings of its radical low-cost car for a competitive mature-market offering is still very much an open question…
I know what you’re thinking: “What is a magazine publisher doing certifying pre-owned vehicles?” The answer: selling a lot of cars. Motor Trend’s Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) program, which certifies vehicles and dealers and offers some service features, sold more vehicles last year than Kia or Porsche’s in-house CPO programs, at 10,010 units sold. Which raises questions about both the nature of consumer demands and the efficacy of some of these OEM CPO programs. For one thing, it’s not at all clear why consumers seek out a new car magazine’s stamp of approval on a used car. After all, would you rather have your car certified by its manufacturer or by the magazine that picked the ’97 Malibu and 2002 Thunderbird as its Car Of The Year? Not that Motor Trend has anything to do with its eponymous CPO program, mind you, as that is operated by EasyCare. And that firm has some 2.6m current service contracts, a number that puts MT’s 10k units into perspective. But the real question here is how do CPO sales by brands like Porsche, Kia and Jaguar get beat by a magazine? Given that EasyCare also administers the official Volvo, Mazda, and Jaguar CPO programs, isn’t it a bit odd that the Motor Trend-branded program sells nearly as many cars (or, in the case of Jaguar, more)?
Honda’s in better shape than its contemporaries after QUAKEOLOPNIKPOCALYPSE or whatever our friends in the biz are calling this particular disaster. Although production will be stopped this week in several Japanese plants, the bulk of Honda’s automobiles worldwide are built, and sold, in North America. A little bird told me that Honda has weeks of Japanese-sourced parts for US production. Things are so good that the Big H can afford to donate a thousand portable generators (and five thousand gas cans) to the relief effort.
Let’s say production takes a while to come back, however. Here in the United States, that means dealers will face short supply of the Acura RL (who cares), Acura TSX (might be a problem) and Honda Fit (Uh-oh). Honda has an alternative to supply the latter. Will they take it, and make history in so doing?
High profile German companies not only shut down their Japanese operations like the Japanese colleagues. They are also recalling Germans back to Germany. Read More >
It appears that the Renault EV espionage case crazy train has rolled to a halt, as the FT reports that CEO Carlos Ghosn and his right-hand-man Patrick Pélata have apologized to the three executives they accused of spying. According to a Renault press release,
Mr Ghosn and Mr Pélata now plan to meet the executives, promising compensation for “serious prejudice” to their reputations and careers
And according to BusinessWeek, Mr Pélata will likely be offering his resignation today, as
Renault called an emergency board meeting for 4 p.m. local time that may lead to sanctions against managers involved in the case, two people familiar with the matter said. Prosecutors yesterday issued “organized fraud” charges against Dominique Gevrey, the security chief whose internal investigation led to the firing of upstream development chief Michel Balthazard and two other executives.
But, as AN [sub]’s James Treece puts it, Pélata likely won’t stay unemployed for long, as being fired for loyalty is almost a positive in the super-competitive world of high-level auto executives. The mystery now: did Mr Gevrey simply attempt to defraud Renault, or was he part of a coordinated effort to destabilize the French automaker? Gevrey won’t reveal the source of his information about espionage inside Renault, but we may yet learn more about this strange farce if he cracks under investigation.
[UPDATE via AN [sub]: Ghosn and Pélata plan to give up their 2010 bonuses and profits from 2011 stock options after they had to apologize publicly to the three men earlier on Monday, Renault said in a statement.]
From Hybrids and plug-ins to direct-injection and HCCI, a number of new technologies hold the promise of ever-cleaner automobiles. But what if, by solving existing pollution problems with these new technologies, we create new pollution problems? That’s what the Health Effects Institute’s Special Committee on Emerging Technologies (SCET) looked into in its “Communication 16,” titled The Future of Vehicle Fuels and Technologies: Anticipating Health Benefits and Challenges [via GreenCarCongress, PDF here]. The findings? Gas Direct Injection (GDI) may improve efficiency, but particulate matter (PM) emissions are still a serious concern. Urea exhaust treatment systems for “clean diesel” engines
gives rise to concerns regarding the formation of nitrogen-containing compounds, including nitro-PAHs, in emissions and possibly other toxic compounds.
EVs have their own issues, including electromagnetic field (EMF) radiation and the possible introduction of battery materials into the environment through production or crashes. Both fuels with more than ten percent ethanol (E15, E20, E85) and biodiesel (B20) have not been sufficiently studied for exhaust pollutants. And even in “regular” gas, the use of metallic additives has not yet been fully tested for health risks. As a result of all of these untested effects of new automotive technologies, the HEI’s Research Committee will begin study of tailpipe emissions from vehicles using GDI, Urea exhaust treatment and biofuels, and will also study the toxicity of lithium and other battery components used in hybrid and electric vehicles. hopefully they’ll find that the cure isn’t worse than the disease…
Autoevolution reports that CPP Global Holdings, the Vladimir Antonov-owned firm that recently bought Spyker’s sportscar business, has bought Bowler, the makers of off-road racers built on the Range Rover platform. CPP Managing Director Brendan O’Toole explains the deal as
extremely positive news for fans and customers of Bowler vehicles. I have followed the brand closely for several years and am delighted to have the opportunity to take the Bowler brand to new heights on the basis of very exciting plans. I’m looking forward to working with Drew Bowler and the exceptionally talented team at Bowler to bring these plans to fruition. This development is another step in CPP’s strategy to grow as a collection of complementary specialist automotive businesses
The big question: is this deal a sign that Antonov still has more more money than sense, or will the Saab financier actually find some synergy between his new acquisitions, possibly in the form of the Peking-to-Paris SUV concept? Spyker hasn’t mentioned its possible SUV entry for a solid year, but having lost money every year since going public, a second model line might not be a bad idea (especially one based on an already-developed chassis like the Rangie’s). But as of our last report there’s still a number of details to work out before the Peking-to-Paris makes it to production, namely whether the sports-ute will use an AMG engine or a “supercharged Ferrari” mill. Decisions, decisions…
Photos courtesy of Cars In Depth
There’s a reason why car enthusiast sites have features like Murilee Martin’s Down On The Street and Paul Niedermeyer’s Curbside Classic. People enjoy photos and commentary on cool old cars, particularly those that are still being driven. Site publishers, on the other hand, like drawing traffic and those features do draw in new readers often searching for information about a particular make, model and year. Hence after Murilee departed from Jalopnik, they started a series called Found Off The Street.
So when I saw a Porsche 928 in what appeared to be pretty decent shape sitting at a repair shop in Royal Oak, I asked our esteemed ed Ed if I could take a whack at it. The trick, of course, is to be the same but different.
Ronald writes:
Hi Sajeev,
Just about 2 years ago, the steering rack failed on my 1996 Lexus SC400 at 132,000 miles. Reconditioned rack #1 went bad in 3 weeks, and replaced with another. Reconditioned rack #2 also failed in about 2 months, and was replaced with a brand new rack.
Every time I got the car back, the steering feel was horrible even though they claimed they did an alignment (which they ended up doing every time I returned with the car). The last straw came when I was driving up a freeway entry ramp that had the pavement scraped in vertical lines, and the steering felt like a snake undulating left and right. Pissed, I finally took it to a Lexus shop where they performed an alignment and the car seemed to handle better. While satisfactory, it still was not the same as before the rack went bad. However, 2 weeks later the steering wheel was cocked to the left and the car was out of alignment. It went in yet again for an alignment at an independent shop and everything seemed fine – it was done better than by Lexus. Now two weeks after the latest alignment the steering wheel is cocked to the right and I’m beginning to feel the snake undulations again. What is throwing the car out of alignment? I live in Tampa, and the roads where I travel are in good condition, no potholes, I’m not running into curbs, and my wife doesn’t drive the car.
We’ve already seen BMW’s new smooth-and-sleek Six Series as a droptop, but is it possible that the design will gain back some of its Bangle-ian spizzarkle as a coupe? Don’t hold your breath. The new design has more old-world grace than the previous model, but as a result it looks like it’s trying a bit too hard to be a Jag or Maserati. Sure, both of those brands offer some of the most elegant touring options on the market, but isn’t BMW supposed to be just a little farther ahead of the curve than its “Olde Worlde” competition? Shouldn’t BMWs be just a little bit more architectural and a lot more coldly technical-looking? Still not sure? Hit the jump for some endless B-Roll and a gallery.
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The city council in San Bernardino, California voted 5 to 0 last week to pull the plug on its red light camera program. The action follows the lead of a growing number of jurisdictions in the Golden State that have grown disillusioned with automated ticketing machines. Most recently, Rocklin‘s cameras were shut off last Tuesday. San Bernardino officials argued it would be worth paying the private contractor American Traffic Solutions (ATS) about $110,000 to get out of the contract before its 2014 expiration date.
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