Apparently eager to avoid uncertainties of the Congressional-mandated arbitration, GM announced that 661 of its 1,160 terminated dealers that sought arbitration would be back in business pronto. Automotive News quotes GM North America President Mark Reuss: We are eager to restore relationships with our dealers, and get back to doing what we do best — selling cars and taking care of customers,” “The arbitration process creates uncertainty in the market. We believe issuing these Letters of Intent is good for our customers, our dealers and GM.” Read More >

Instead of solving the truly pressing needs of the land, Republicans and Democrats are publicly squabbling over the relevance and veracity of the Biller “smoking gun” documents that claim to prove that Toyota hid safety problems. U.S. Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sent a letter on Feb. 26 to Yoshimi Inaba, president and chief executive officer of Toyota Motor North America Inc., that said the documents provided “evidence that Toyota deliberately withheld relevant electronic records that it was legally required to produce” in lawsuits. Towns went on to say that  the documents “shed some light on Toyota’s handling of the sudden unintended acceleration problem” and “indicate a systematic disregard for the law. Not so, says U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-California. And he has a smoking gun of his own: Read More >

It’s one of my (many) fantasies: fly one-way to Brazil, buy a brand new VW Kombi and drive it back. But alcohol is a little hard to come by here, especially since Oregon has state liquor stores.  Actually, the Kombi’s 1.4 liter motor drinks gas too, but I would have preferred a diesel. Anyway, Brazil is celebrating fifty years of domestic production of the VW bus, and today seems to be Brazil day at TTAC. So if you share my fantasy, head to VW do Brasil’s site and their special Kombi 50 Anos site and check out the current Kombi and a disappointingly small gallery of vintage shots. Read More >

Autobraz writes:

Hi, The company I work for is transferring me to their headquarters in the UK. I wonder if you could help me by using the collective intelligence of the Best and Brightest for suggestions on which car should I buy once I get there. My knowledge of the UK auto world is limited to watching Top Gear episodes and an Aston Martin, Jaguar or Pagani Zonda do not fit my budget. What I am looking for: Space: enough for weekend trips with my wife and 3 year old son. I currently own a 1.6 Ford Focus (1st Gen, made in Argentina) and has been good enough. So I guess a hatchback is enough for me. Power: Economy is more important.

Again, my 1.6 gas (should I start saying petrol?) is enough for me. I am not sure which size of Diesel engine would compare or if it is worth to choose one instead of a gasoline powered engine. Status: couldn’t care less. Second hand options are welcomed but not being versed on the country and its people I would be worried to buy one. I feel comfortable enough buying second hand in Brazil, but I know the culture here and so I can avoid bad deals. Thank you very much for the help! Read More >

The Duster moniker alone should be enough to tell you that this compact ute won’t be coming to the US, but it’s a crucial new addition to Renault’s low-cost Dacia lineup. Dacia is making serious inroads in Europe, as a combination of C4C schemes and the rediscovered love of frugality has firmly put the Renault budget brand at the top of the growth charts. CUVs are hot in Europe, but if the Tiguan’s nose-bleed price is a put-off, the Duster is available for about half the price. And you know, that’s not half bad.

Recently-reassigned Cadillac boss Bryan Nesbitt isn’t the only GM exec paying the price for weak Cadillac sales, as Automotive News [sub] reports that GM has terminated three other Caddy executives.

Cadillac’s Steve Shannon and John Howell were dismissed Monday, said eight sources familiar with the moves. Jay Spenchian, an executive director who worked on Cadillac and other brands, was also let go, the sources said.

Chrysler’s troubled relations with its dealers took another turn for the nasty this week, as culled dealers teamed up with lawmakers to criticize Chrysler’s decision to open new dealerships near the sites of several culled dealers. As with GM’s dealer struggles, this latest controversy centers around Colorado, where culled dealers are protesting Chrysler’s behavior in the Denver Post. Culled dealers have seen franchises in their former areas awarded to chains like AutoNation before congressionally-mandated arbitration had even given them the opportunity to contest their culling during last year’s bankruptcy proceedings. “This is not right,” said one dealer. “We specifically asked (Chrysler) not to redistribute the franchise before our arbitration.”

Read More >

TTAC Commentator Robstar writes:

Hello Mr. Mehta, I am currently in Brazil visiting my in-laws. I am more and more falling in love with the 1974 1.5L Fusca (what the Beetle is called here) my brother-in-law owns. I can’t imagine they go for much in the US, and I thought it might be another fun car to stick in the garage. I’m not much of a do-it-yourself’er, so I have the following questions…

1) Is it going to be impossible to find a vintage “Fusca” that is not rusted out? (I’m in the Chicagoland area)

2) How hard is it to find parts for these? Considering the production run, I’d imagine it should be pretty easy.

3) What should I be cautious of when purchasing? (Also, I only want the 4MT. Not sure if they were made in an AT form)

4) Any idea what price range these go for? How about insurance for a married male in his mid 30s.

I’d be appreciative of any discussion & insight TTAC readers can give. I’m including (scaled down) pictures of the Fusca, the car that brought about this question…thanks!

Read More >

Police in Washington state will have the power to take any car for at least twelve hours under legislation passed unanimously by the state House earlier this month and considered by a Senate committee yesterday. State Representative Doug Ericksen (R-Ferndale) introduced what he called “Hailey’s Law” which would make it mandatory for police to grab the vehicle from drivers merely suspected — not convicted — of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI).

Read More >

We’ve seen photos of the refreshed BMW 3-Series coupe and convertible, but shots of the sedan have proven somewhat more elusive. Luckily TTAC has eyes everywhere. Commenter dinu01 spied this updated 3-Series testing near Toronto. “Both front and rear emblems are taped,” he reports. “The driver did not want to be photographed and went between 150-160 km/h.” Have a spy shot of your own? Share it with our contact form, and we’ll share it with TTAC’s readers.

According to popular wisdom, the Koreans have no love lost for the Japanese. And likewise. What’s more, Koreans and Japanese car makers are bitter competitors for foreign market share. So wouldn’t it stand to reason that Korea would jump on the “down with Toyota” bandwagon with their 96 million feet? Just the opposite is true.

The Chosun Iibo, according to Wikipedia “one of the major newspapers in South Korea,” takes the position that Toyota could very well be “a scapegoat for U.S.-Japan squabbling.” Read More >

According to popular wisdom, the Chinese have no love lost for the Japanese. So wouldn’t it stand to reason that China would jump on the “down with Toyota” bandwagon with 2.6b feet? Just the opposite is true. The Chinese government urges caution, tells its auto industry to watch and learn, and to step up its quality. What’s going on here? Read More >

And the data beat goes on. I asked Edmunds if they had updated model information to filter out the spike of UA reports to NHTSA after the 9/29/09 Toyota mat recall in order to improve my attempt at coming up with a model-specific UA rate. Not only did they oblige, but they already did all the work! A big hat tip to Edmunds, who has taken a lead in the quest to make sense of the data as well as the whole UA fiasco. Read More >

TTAC’s attempt to correlate NHTSA data with sales to generate a UA complaint rate was the first, even if it was flawed. Others have now waded into the 776,482 lines of data available from NHTSA (anybody need something to do?), and while their efforts are admirable, they’re not yet good enough. UA rates by maker or brand fail to show how different the UA rate is for certain models, which is essential in tracking down the issue. The UA problem is not a make-specific problem generally, but a model specific one. More on that when we revisit that with updated stats. Read More >

With news of Bob Lutz’s planned May 1 retirement leaking to the web, the auto journalism world is falling all over itself to get his reaction. When the Chicago Tribune caught up with the man of Maximum, they asked him to describe his work at GM and compare himself to (get this) either King Midas or Jesus Christ. You know, for the purposes of journalistic inquiry. Lutz’s reply avoided the self-flattering comparisons, and revealed some of the dynamics that led him to retire:

It’s gotten a little scary. Everything has been so good since I got here [at GM] that I’ve been thinking there really is no place to go but down because not all of my ideas will succeed. No one bats 1.000. It’s been so nice that it’s been a bit disconcerting. I try to establish a climate of irreverence as well as fun. I want to talk, but I want to listen. I want people to disagree and talk me out of things, too. But I’ve gotten no resistance from anyone to anything I want to do here.

Read More >