The Washington state Supreme Court on Friday rejected the motion filed on behalf of a traffic camera company to block a public vote on the use of automated ticketing machines. In a two-sentence order, the court refused to intervene in the scheduled November 2 election in the city of Mukilteo where residents had signed a petition forcing a red light camera and speed camera ban onto the ballot. The denial of a motion for an emergency injunction came a month after the Snohomish County Superior Court also declined to stand between the voters and the ballot box (view decision).
If cars have DNA, as it is being repeatedly claimed, then perception gap must be running in the family at GM. Now, Opel has admitted that they are afflicted by the syndrome. “I agree with you that the brand has great potential to be hipper and younger,” said Alain Visser, chief marketing officer of Opel in Automobilwoche [sub]. And they are trying real hard. They engaged German songstress Lena as an advertising icon. Not the “99 Luftballons” Nena. It#s a sound-alike, Lena Meyer-Landrut of dubious Eurovision fame. Further forays are imminent. Says Visser: “After the music, we will occupy the themes of sport, art and science.” Read More >
When assessing things to buy (especially with your own money) people have different priorities. For instance, when buying a TV, some choose a bigger screen over feature (“I’m never going to use ALL 4 HDMI sockets!”). Likewise, when choosing a holiday, most people think destination is the most important criterion. But some people think the destination isn’t important as long as it’s family friendly, or the food is good, etc. Can you guess what this weekend’s “Weekend Head Scratcher” is going to be…? Read More >
When the high Yen drove Nissan out of Japan to Thailand, and to importing their Nissan March (elsewhere known as the Micra) from the Land of Smiles back to the Land of the Rising Sun, many thought this a daring, maybe even suicidal experiment. Will the notoriously nitpicky Nipponese buyer buy it? Or will “the first move by a Japanese carmaker to export a mainstay model to the home market,” as The Nikkei [sub] called it, be a resounding dud? Either the Japanese are changing, or Nissan pulled-off the impossible. Read More >
The first few months after the launch of a new product is seen as critical by car makers. This is the time they take the pulse of the market and determine whether or not the product struck a chord and is going to be a hit or not. Well, venturing bravely into new territory in Brazil, you would not be wrong if you said that Peugeot and VW swung and missed. Peugeot’s Hoggar and Volkwagen’s Amarok are going nowhere fast and are making their makers feel the blues. Read More >
The Mitsubishi Vanup turned out out to be surprisingly popular: Fark picked it up and gave our servers a bit of a workout. Well, we have more where that came from. Here’s a very well executed domestic version on the same theme, right down to the “Chevy Vanup” tailgate logo and VANUP vanity plates. But unless the owners (UO students) do something about it quick, this thing is headed for the impound yard. And how will it be described by the police? Read More >
First of all, TTAC doesn’t exactly hate Suzuki. The SX4 and Kizashi are fun little cars that don’t generally get the cred they deserve. But Road & Track’s assertion that
Suzuki’s huge success following the introduction of the Kizashi this past year should only get better in 2011
is about as misleading as they come. Even by the most generous measure, 15,331 total brand sales over eight months does not equal “huge success.” In fact, R&T’s blatant Suzy-boosting has given Autosavant‘s Chris Haak pause to reconsider the way things work at the Buff Books. He writes
Call it naïveté, call it giving folks the benefit of the doubt, call it whatever you want to. But as a long-time buff book reader (I subscribed to Motor Trend continuously between 1987 and July 2010, or about 23 years), I never paid much mind to critics that accused media outlets of providing favorable editorial coverage for certain manufacturers and vehicles in return for advertising dollars. Is the Motor Trend Car of the Year award driven by the best car, or by the best advertiser? I’d always assumed that these magazines would take the high road and provide a fair and accurate description of the industry and its vehicles so that their readers could make informed choices when considering how to part with their hard-earned money.
At home, the market is down 27 percent. Cars? Who wants them. “What, me worry?” is the mantra from Wolfsburg. Volkswagen’s worldwide group deliveries for the first eight months of the current year totaled 4.70m units, up 13.4 percent. In August alone, deliveries rose by 11.2 percent to 545,500. “As a result, the Group outperformed the global automotive market, not only for the month of August but also for the year so far,” declares a proud communiqué from Wolfsburg.
Volkswagen is exporting itself out of the crisis at home. And they are keeping busy. “This year alone we are bringing over 70 new models to market,” said VW sales chief Christian Klingler. Seventy.
In the first eight months of this year … Read More >
Remember how we used to lament how Detroit was too truck and SUV heavy? Ford agrees. They think people buy way too much of the big stuff, and it will come back and haunt us. At least in Canada Ford thinks that way. The Calgary Herald reports that David Mondragon, chief executive of Ford Canada, has said that a combination of high incentives, low oil prices and pent up demand have created a short term boom for truck sales. “That’s a segmentation shift that’s not healthy for the environment, not healthy for the economy and long term, we need to see that shift go back to a more balanced approach,” said Mr Mondragon. That’s right. He said that the boom in trucks cannot last and that Ford must be prepared for the when that happens. Wow. A Detroiter (well, a VERY northern Detroiter) is actually suggesting that they may have to prepare for when the party ends? Read More >
A long time ago, I was told a little phrase which stuck with me: “Sometimes, you may be done with history, but history isn’t done with you.” It made a lot of sense to me. Just because you’ve finished with something doesn’t mean it’s over for the other party. Seems like Daimler and Cerberus are learning this the hard way. Read More >
Looking at the VW EA128 concept instantly brings to mind that ultimate and final expression of the rear-engine sedan, the Czech Tatra T613. Introduced in 1974, it was a direct descendant of the T603, which in turn replaced the T600 and T87, dating back to the thirties (my Tatra history is here).
The T613 was styled by Vignale of Italy, and had 3.5 and 4.3 liter DOHC aircooled V8s out back. As with all big Tatras, they were built in small numbers for the party bigwigs and industry bosses. After the collapse of the Iron Curtain, Tatra tried unsuccessfully to export, and compete with the German luxury brands. Read More >
VW’s current strategy to design larger cars specifically for the US market isn’t the first time around. In the early sixties, VW gave serious thought to a six-seater rear-engine sedan to take on the Americans on their own (big) terms. Obviously inspired by the 1960 Corvair, which made a huge impression in Europe, but taken even further: the EA 128 was a fair chunk bigger and wider than the Corvair, right into mid-size territory. And with bench seats to seat six big Amerikaner. Even a wagon version (Kountry Knecht?). But where to get the underpinnings and six-cylinder engine for the AmiWagen? Where else: Read More >
Yes, despite the ever-present dangers of distracted driving and demonically-possessed Toyotas, US highways are safer than ever [full PDF report here]. Overall deaths in 2009 were at their lowest levels since 1950, even as vehicle miles traveled increased. Highway fatalities have been falling for the past four years, and in 2009 even motorcycle fatalities decreased for the first time in 11 years. At 1.13 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 2009, fatalities per VMT fell to another all-time low. Why? It could be the market-fueled arms race to stuff ever more standard safety equipment into cars, or incessant pressure on OEMs from the IIHS (and its ilk)… or, if you’re Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, you might think that
the weak economy was a contributing factor as many Americans chose not to go out to bars and restaurants after work or on the weekend.
Yes, the man tasked with keeping our highway safe believes that his ongoing success is the product of Americans moping around the house because of a down economy. Even though VMT actually increased by .2 percent over 2008. In other words, despite “talking about safety more than anyone in Washington,” Ray LaHood is both clueless about the data, and convinced that a weak economy helps his crusade. Which makes you wonder what the man means when he says
While we’ve come a long way, we have a long distance yet to travel.
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