Want to have bragging rights to the highest motorized street legal Porsche in Porsche’s recorded history? Don’t want to have a tuned one (Uwe Gemballa is still missing, Auto Bild has already written him off.) No problem! If you have the cash, Porsche will set you up with a 620 hp 911. But no dawdling around: If you want to be one of the 500 people who can drive to work in that brute, you better get in line right now. Read More >
Threesomes can get burdensome to keep together. Didn’t we report in January that Ford, Mazda, and China’s Changan want to end the ménage-a-la-trois and forge their individual joint ventures? It was quickly dismissed as “speculation.” Just because it’s a speculation doesn’t mean that it won’t come true. Read More >
Japan is the land of crazes. There is a small, but steady imported car craze developing in the land of the supposedly closed car market. Imported car sales rose 2.6 percent year on year to 11,642 units in April, the sixth straight month of increase, says The Nikkei [sub], citing data by the Japan Automobile Importers Association. Read More >
Eggcrates, so many eggcrates. What a popular material to fill in the blank spaces. Now which car did this one come from? As usual, it’s either going to be too easy or too hard. Well, the interior of the Bronco II went fast; talkingtoanimals nailed it on the first guess, but it kept folks guessing for a while. On your mark, get ready, set, go!
When something that sounded too good to be true (say a cheap, compact, diesel-powered pickup) keeps getting delayed, you eventually just make your peace with the whole “too good to be true” part. That’s the only explanation for our recent lapse in Mahindra coverage: the news is depressing enough as it is. We last updated our Mahindra tag back in December, with news that a “Middle Spring” launch would be the latest of several delays for the Indian pickup venture. A news clipping [PDF] touting a March launch is still available at the Mahindra USA website. The latest from an actual human being? Mahindra’s US distributor John Perez tells Automotive News [sub]:
I don’t want to speculate anymore
Ruh Roh!
The Wall Street Journal [sub] reports that GM and Google are discussing new ways to connect the internet giant’s Android mobile phone operating system with GM’s Onstar system. OnStar’s president Chris Preuss has hinted that “big news” is coming next week, spurring speculation about the features that a partnership with Google could yield for Onstar. If such a plan is in the works, GM’s timing is quite good. Ford had previously enjoyed an exclusive license to Microsoft’s technology which underpins its Sync system, but that agreement recently expired, prompting deals between Microsoft and automakers like Fiat and-Hyundai-Kia. By becoming the first US-market OEM to partner with Google, GM could enjoy an advantage in Detroit’s burgeoning technology wars… at least until distracted driving becomes a capital crime.
Chrysler has announced pricing for the new Jeep Grand Cherokee, arguably the most important vehicle it will launch this year. The cheapest option, the Laredo 4×2 (which isn’t even mentioned in Chrysler’s release), starts at an MSRP of $30,995 (including destination charge, confirmed via Twitter)… at least until ChryCo rolls out the $5k cash back it’s offering on the outgoing model. Hit the jump for trim levels and corresponding pricing.
As expected, the Loan Guarantee Committee decided not to decide anything in their meeting at the Economics Ministry in Berlin. Opel had requested €1.3b in state aid from Germany. They are making the rounds in Europe to collect another €500m. Countries that committed money, such as the U.K., will only pay if Germany pays. Read More >
Slowdown in Chinese car sales? Unheard of, as far as Beijing is concerned. In the beginning of the year, Beijing had 4m cars. By the end of the year, the Chinese capital is expected to have 5 million cars on the roads. That’s the educated guess of the government, as reported by Gasgoo. Read More >
“Edgy” ads are in for marketers looking to reignite America’s love affair with the minivan. If you thought Toyota’s “Swagger Wagon” Sienna spot seemed strange, check out this inexplicably surreal ad for Dodge’s Caravan. The ad’s creator Wieden + Kennedy was hired to give Dodge a hipper image, but thus far it has singularly failed to capture the magic of its previous auto work, like Honda’s “Cog” spot. Maybe that’s why Chrysler Group decided to go with Gotham for its forthcoming corporate image-enhancing ad campaign.
President Obama has weighed in on a crucial matter facing legislators attempting to overhaul America’s financial system: whether or not auto dealer finance should be subject to regulation by the new Consumer Protection Agency. Unsurprisingly, he has come down on the side of regulation, specifically echoing concerns voiced earlier by the Pentagon. The National Automobile Dealers Association has vowed to fight attempts to regulate dealer finance.
Statement by President Obama on Financial Reform
Throughout the debate on Wall Street reform, I have urged members of the Senate to fight the efforts of special interests and their lobbyists to weaken consumer protections. An amendment that the Senate will soon consider would do exactly that, undermining strong consumer protections with a special loophole for auto dealer-lenders. This amendment would carve out a special exemption for these lenders that would allow them to inflate rates, insert hidden fees into the fine print of paperwork, and include expensive add-ons that catch purchasers by surprise. This amendment guts provisions that empower consumers with clear information that allows them to make the financial decisions that work best for them and simply encourages misleading sales tactics that hurt American consumers. Unfortunately, countless families – particularly military families – have been the target of these deceptive practices.
Not suitably impressed by the recent 446,000 mile Neon? How about a 1980 Fiat Brava with a half-million miles, on its original engine no less! It just goes to show that anything can be kept going forever, with the right attitude, perseverance and a (full time?) dedicated mechanic. 818now.com has the full story on Gil Cormaci (is chauvinism at work here?) and his stereotype defying Fiat that recently rolled over its odometer for the fifth time. Read More >
Bloomberg reports that Ferrari workers walked off the job for four hours yesterday, in protest of planned job cuts and production idling. Ferrari has announced that it plans to eliminate 120 office jobs and 150 production jobs, or nearly ten percent of its workforce. The Italian sportscar firm has also said it will put 600 workers on a week-long furlough next week, as it idles production of engines for its sister brand Maserati at a Maranello plant. Last year, Ferrari built about 4,500 engines for Maserati, about half of the 2008 number, as sales of the brand fell.
Yesterday, we greeted news that Detroit had reached wage parity with transplants by noting that it hardly makes the UAW look great in the eyes of its membership. Sure enough, UAW boss-in-waiting Bob King is firing back in today’s Detroit Free Press, arguing that a return to a 16m unit market would yield “astronomical” profits to GM and Chrysler. As a result, he said,
There was equality of sacrifice, there’s got to be equality of gain. It’s our responsibility to make sure that in that turnaround, our members are treated fairly
TTAC Commentator Daanii2 writes:
Hello, I enjoy your Piston Slap column. My question is this: my 1994 Honda Accord gets less than 10 miles per gallon. In fact, in mixed city and highway driving it gets about 7 miles per gallon. The figures are supposed to be 20 in city, 27 on highway, and 23 combined.
Is the car just drinking gas because it’s old? It has less than 100,000 miles on it. It has been maintained fairly well (although the paint has peeled and looks like crap). The idle is a bit rough, and seems to be getting rougher.
If something can be done to get better gas mileage, I’d like to do it. If it’s time to put the car out to pasture, though, I’ll do that too.
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