No, not the silly humpbacked 911. That’s just Porsche’s latest wallet-lightening technology. Porsche’s nod to heritage is in the fact that it’s building only 356 of these 911 “Speedsters.” Because, you see, the first Porsche Speedsters were based on the Porsche 356. Oh yes, and by limiting an “exclusive” to a few hundred units means Porsche can charge $204,000 for a 408 HP 911. Which, after all, is actually the more significant nod to Porsche heritage: the 911-based Speedsters, which arose in the cocaine and yuppie-fueled 80s, have long been a high point in Porsche’s proud tradition of charging silly money for ever-so garish “special editions.” Doesn’t heritage just make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside?
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Police can stop a driver for backing up quickly on an empty road in the middle of the night, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals ruled last Thursday. At around 1:35am on July 28, 2009, city of Tomah Police Officer Jarrod Furlano watched from a parking lot as Matthew Pudlow backed up his car at East McCoy Boulevard to get into the left-hand turn lane so he could turn onto North Superior Avenue. No other cars were anywhere near. Pudlow’s car did not swerve, hit any curb or squeal its tires.
The article I’m about to write may give you one of two reactions:
1. You may shrug your shoulders and see nothing wrong with it.
Or 2. You may burst a blood a vessel.
Ready…? Read More >
China’s FAW, despite its name (First Automobile Works) only second largest manufacturer in China, joint venture partner of Volkswagen and Toyota, and owner of a large array of brands, including the Hongqi, has filed its contribution to the 12th Five-Year Plan (pretty much the only holdover from the olden days) with China’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC). The numbers, brought to us by CapitalVue, are both audacious and timorous. Read More >
As Sajeev points out, America’s police forces could well be the savior of large, rear-drive sedans in the American market. Which is hugely convenient for Chrysler, which recently spent big bucks updating its 300/Charger LX platform. Much to the chagrin of Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne, in fact. A devotee of per-platform volume-based “industrial logic,” Marchionne has publicly stated that he would never have spent the money to update a platform with so few “applications,” had he been in charge during the Cerberus era. But winning police fleet business could change all that, and Chrysler is clearly going all out for it.
The 2011 Dodge Charger has not been shown anywhere in civilian guise, but several outlets including the Detroit Free Press have snapped shots of the new sedan testing for police buyers. Given Chrysler’s well–documented struggles with fleet sales addiction, giving police fleet buyers the first look at an “all new” car is an interesting move. Discuss the looks all you want, what I want to know is will consumers go crazy for a cop car? GM obviously doesn’t think so…
Again, shameless China shows utter disregard for intellectual property. Nothing is sacred anymore. The American government fines Toyota? Great! Let’s copy that! The Nikkei [sub] reports that Toyota has been fined by local authorities in Zhejiang Province. Wait until you hear what for. Read More >
Now that GM is thinking about trademarking “range anxiety,” the only choice left to Nissan is to do something about range anxiety. (Just in case GM is successful with their trademark application, we’ll call it Arrival Angst™ … remember, you’ve seen it here first, just in case we’ll have to call you as a witness.) According to The Nikkei [sub], Nissan “will offer buyers of its Leaf electric car a service to ease drivers’ dread of having the batteries run out while on the road.” (See, even The Nikkei is staying away from “range anxiety.” Alright, let’s trademark Distance Dread™ also.) So how will that service work? Read More >
With Ford’s Ranger scheduled to expire sometime in 2011, Ford’s Derrick Kuzak spends most of a recent interview with Pickuptrucks.com proclaiming the death of the American compact pickup market. But after trotting out the numbers, and talking up the F-150 Ecoboost, Kuzak finally gets to the real reason Ford won’t be selling the new Ranger in the US market.
The new Ranger is 90 percent of the size of an F-150. In the rest of the world, compact trucks have grown over time. They’ve become dual-use [vehicles for work and family] and they’ve increased cab size, payload and towing.
D’oh!
Jonatas writes:
I’m getting serious about taking a little road trip. Something I’ve long wanted to do. I want to drive from my current home in S. Florida to my hometown in Brazil, hopefully seeing amazing places and meeting amazing people along the way. Since it is a road trip, having the right car/truck is the most important thing to have. I’m looking for something relatively cheap, reliable, economical, and somewhat common in most countries to make for easier maintenance and attract less attention. I don’t think I’ve yet found anything that checks off all the boxes but I keep finding myself looking at late 80’s, early 90’s Toyota 4Runners as they’re sold under the Hi-Lux moniker in most latin american countries. I’ve also looked at Subaru Outbacks from the 90’s but reliability seems to be an issue as well as parts availability. Land Rover Defenders are either too old or expensive. Any other possible vehicle suggestions?
As with most EVs, we knew about the CODA EV for a long time before a price was ever trotted out (the car was first mooted as the Miles XS500, and was scheduled for a 2009 launch before reality struck). And even before we knew the price, we reckoned that a Chinese-built sedan with Chinese battery cells thrown into it in Southern California would face its fair share of challenges. Now that the CODA EV has been priced at $44,900 (full specs here), we’re certain of it. Of course, Federal tax breaks bring the CODA down to $37,400, and a further California incentive could bring it as low as $32,400, or about $400 less than a Nissan Leaf… before tax breaks. Why would anyone pay $12,000 more for a Chinese fly-by-night when they could have a Nissan? CODA CEO Kevin Czinger tells Automotive News [sub] that
Price is not a decisive factor in the sale of electric cars. I think the 40 percent additional range, and 40 percent additional battery energy with all-season thermal management, is the decisive factor
Unfortunately, his basic premise is wrong. A Financial Times [sub]/Neilsen poll shows that three quarters of American consumers would buy an EV, but that 65 percent would only buy one if it cost the same as a gas car. Meanwhile, $45k still buys a lot of gas-powered car, and most major OEMs will have EVs on the market soon. We give CODA about two years .
UAW boss Bob King is taking the fight abroad, visiting Fiat’s Italian plants in order to take a look at the World Class Manufacturing system that apparently has not yet sufficiently taken hold at Chrysler’s plants to be viewed there. But the visit isn’t purely social. King tells Reuters that
We’re going to be pitching to suppliers that they should come and locate here in Michigan.
Because clearly everybody wants to do business with the UAW. Heck, American supplier firms are falling over themselves to move production to Michigan, but King just thought it would be nice to give the Italians a first crack. On the other hand, Italy hasn’t exactly been free of auto-sector labor strife itself. At least King can pitch Italian suppliers by explaining that, as majority stakeholder in Chrysler, the UAW makes Fiat-Chrysler’s US labor environment a lot less complex: all you have to do is keep the union happy. So much for Marchionne’s “culture of poverty.”
You know a car is in trouble when it’s owned by cats. This once proud luxury car had fallen into a rancid feline funk. Cats sunbathing on the roof. Scratch marks on the outside vinyl that had gone from small rivlets to rippling rapids. Even a few dozen tears in the seats from my girlfriends five siblings. The headliner could have easily turned into a canopy plaything for the cats. But thankfully the doors were kept closed at all times. No pee smells in here! In sum, it was redneck car-chitecture that had been forgotten in a rural Georgia driveway somewhere between civilization and Deliverance. The ‘extra’ family car that would prove to be my girlfrined’s future transportation for the next three years.
The Six Series has always been one of the more soberly-styled coupes on the market, favored primarily by the more conservative members of the medical and dental professions. And though the Bangle-designed outgoing model was no exception to this rule, it may end up making history as the most dynamically-styled 6-Series ever. After all, if these shots show the “concept” of the forthcoming 6-Series, and they make the outgoing model look like a concept car, you know BMW is atoning for Bangle’s excess. Next stop, Anonymityville.
Earlier this month, US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that traffic fatalities and injuries reached an all-time low in 2009. Last year’s tally of 33,808 highway deaths represented the lowest figure on record since 1950, despite a small 0.2 percent increase in overall vehicle traffic. Many local officials have taken advantage of the positive trend by crediting benefits seen nationwide to particular public policies implemented locally. Federal officials likewise used the statistics to promote their own programs that encourage the issuance of traffic tickets.
I’m a team player, and I can get into the spirit of Panther Appreciation Week, even if it’s not the result of deep-rooted father imprinting (can we have an Opel Kadett Appreciation Week sometime?). That is, with the right Panther. And there is one that did manage to stir my blood in its time: Read More >
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