Wow; I finally stumped the B&B! Well, I think it has happened before, but it’s been quite a while. The VW 412’s rear ventilation vent was too esoteric to trigger any memories. Or maybe former 411/412 owners have just suppressed their memories all too well. Ok, this is going to be a lot easier, probably way too easy. That’s ok too. Revel in your quick and ready answers!
Just weeks ago, Amp Electric Vehicles CEO Steve Burns told the New York Times
G.M. doesn’t know if we are friend or foe… They’re trying to figure it out.
What The General was trying to figure out was whether allowing Amp to sell $50k electrified versions of its Chevrolet Equinox is a good or bad thing. After all, if BMW can charge $800 per month for EV-anxious consumers to test its disappointing MINI E, why shouldn’t GM get in on the early adopter-scalping game? Two weeks ago, GM spokesfolks said
We’re pro-E.V., and it’s a good thing that there others out there moving the electric vehicle market forward.
Today, Amp is announcing that it has signed an agreement with “a major OEM” to electrify one of its SUVs… within 60 days, no less. Though the press release doesn’t specify which OEM is sponsoring the project, the fact that AMP exclusively electrifies GM products and hires former GM consultants should speak for itself. And with Tesla prepping an EV RAV-4 for Toyota, would it be shocking to find out that GM is playing the me-too game by commissioning an EV Equinox? On the other hand, maybe we should take the “SUV” label seriously and consider the possibility that Amp is electrifying a full-size GM ute? Either way, the trend towards rapid outsourced development of EVs is seriously starting to take hold…
Over the long haul of the Pony Car Wars, Ford’s Mustang has set the standard to which all others aspire. Having handily outsold the old F-Body Camaros (to say nothing of the nearest import-equivalent, the Nissan Z), Ford reigned alone over the declining muscle-coupe segment for much of the last decade. But the Pony Car cannot thrive alone, and the Mustang couldn’t keep its sales from sliding ever further… it needed some competition. Now, rather than fighting for pieces of a shrinking segment, the Camaro, Challenger and Mustang have been able to grow their sales together, revitalized by the renewed Pony Car Wars. Though our simple volume projection shows the Camaro on track to take the Pony Car crown from the Mustang, the short-term trends indicate a close battle to the finish this year. Hit the jump for summer sales comparisons…
Brad writes:
Sajeev, fellow travelers, and the best and brightest: due to my job, I spend a great deal of time on I-70 between St Louis and KC. I often see the police of one sort or another staking out the highway looking for speeders. I have been warned many times by drivers going the opposite direction flashing their lights and I usually do the same when I can.
The question is, is flashing the lights illegal or immoral or for some other reasons not a good idea?
Do you do it? How long do you keep it up, 1/2 mile, 1 mile, more?
Now that Geely has bought Volvo, their founder and chairman Li Shufu is seeking a new challenge. He’s going virtual.
Geely plans to sell cars specially designed for Internet sales at Alibaba, China’s biggest online marketplace, reports state news agency Xinhua. Read More >
Everybody is afraid of China swamping the world with low cost cars, but it hasn’t happened. As a matter of fact, Chinese car exports are downright horrendous. In the first seven months of this year, China exported 288,900 units. China imports far more cars than it exports. For the next year, more than 1m of imports are expected. This doesn’t keep Chinese car manufacturers from trying their luck abroad.
Great Wall Motor plans to make a sales push into Europe, the US and Africa despite potential obstacles to market entry, said Shi Qingke, deputy general manager of Great Wall’s international department to The Global Times, the English version of People’s Daily. Read More >
PSA Peugeot, and their joint venture with China’s Dongfeng, are planning to export cars made in China to Russia, said Gregoire Olivier, Peugeot-Citroen’s recently appointed head of Asian operations, to The Beijing News via Gasgoo.
PSA wants to sell cars made at the Chinese JV in other regions of Asia and Russia as early as next year, said Olivier. The only thing that’s keeping them from doing it right now is the lack of a logistics platform. But they are building that in Shanghai as we speak, and it should be up and running next year.
Because Olivier was recently appointed, he may have missed various memos, and will be forgiven. Here a quick update: Read More >
Over the last 24 months, the Mercedes R-Class has motivated a mere 6,469 Americans to plunk down $50k+ for a Mercedes-badged non-minivan. Now that it’s received a much-needed facelift that removes most of the slug-inspired design cues, will it sell any better? From the ash heap of history, the Chrysler Pacifica has recorded a “no” vote. What say you?
Confused by the EPA’s proposed letter-grade system for fuel economy labels [proposed rule in PDF format here]? Check out the letter grades given to the top-selling cars in America [via Automotive News [sub]].
Historically, Volkswagen has given the U.S.A. much more attention than their sales deserve. The U.S. are considered key to VW reaching their goal of becoming Nummer Eins auf der Welt (I’m sure Herr Schmitt will correct my German – he sure did.). Trouble is, their US head, Stefan Jacoby, deserted to left to work for Volvo and Geely. This means they needed to find someone new. And they may have just done that. Read More >
Wolfsburg must be fuming. Among all the good news coming in from all corners of the earth, there’s a market that insists on being the proverbial thorn in their side. That’d be my little ole Brazil, which is, en passant, the world’s fourth largest. And it’s a market where Volkswagen has been nearly forever. Well-known Brazilian automotive journalist Fernando Calmon, writing for the just-auto website, reports a major shakeup in automotive brand values in Brazil (can you feel the ground shaking a little?). Mr. Calmon, citing the Brand Finance consultancy, reports that the most valuable car brand in Brazil is… Read More >
One by one, Japanese automakers are turning their back on Nippon and establish production in low cost countries. Can’t blame them: The high yen makes exports prohibitively expensive. On the other hand, a higher and higher yen buys more and more production capacity abroad. Nissan has been on the forefront of this movement, maybe because its CEO isn’t Japanese. Now, Nissan bolsters its presence in Indonesia. Read More >
Remember the Saturn Vue? It’s back, baby, and more cannibalistic than ever. Starting in 2011, the refreshed Chevrolet Captiva will be undercutting Opel’s Antara, itself a rebadge of the same Daewoo Winstorm. Because what Opel needs right now is to prove that sometimes it’s worth paying a little extra for a German brand on your rebadged Korean Crossover. That’s what you call giving a brand a sense of purpose. Meanwhile, does anyone out there actually miss the Vue?
I can’t speak for the US market, but in the UK car market there is one segment which I can never see dying. The small, luxury car segment (A.K.A The luxury entry level). This is the area reserved for your Audi A3’s, BMW 1 series’ and, to lesser extents, Volvo S40’s and Mercedes-Benz A-Classes. The reason I believe this segment is more robust than other is because it revolves around one factor which has been around for a very long time. Vanity. In the UK, you have many (and I mean “many”) mid-20’s to early 30 men, who’ve got a half-decent paying job and want to lash out on a car with a luxury make. Very few will go with cars like the Audi A4, BMW 3 series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class, because they either scream “rep-mobile” or “old man”. They won’t go any higher up the ladder because that’ll be too costly. So the small, luxury car segment is perfect for them. The least amount of money for the most amount of badge-snobbery. This is why the BMW 1-series is so successful in the UK, despite being quite a poor car. “I can get a BMW for the price of a Golf? Sign me up!” Well, it seems a new boy is coming to the market. Only this one has a trick up his sleeve… Read More >
Contrary to English, “azul” or blue has positive connotations in Portuguese (yes Brazilians speak Portuguese not Spanish – close, but no potatoes). “Tudo azul” means everything is fine, the road is clear. Maybe a close equivalent would be that line in that old song, nothing but blue sky. According to the giant Brazilian web providers UOL’s site, August has again recorded record car sales in Brazil. The market was up 3.99 percent on the month (good for a total of more than 296 thousand), but better yet, it was up 19.82 percent on August of 2009. Year-to-date, the market is up an even more impressive 27.68 percent!
As you’ve been reading my columns, you all know we’ve been watching closely the Gol versus Uno fight for first place. Can you guess who came out on top? Read More >
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