We try to cover a lot of the stories in which politics and automobiles intersect, and frankly, most of them are just plain depressing. From biofuel frauds to speed cameras, it seems that motorists as a political class tend to be reactive rather than proactive. Not so in Georgia, where 11Alive reports that a bill is moving through the state legislature that would establish a minimum fine for driving to slow in the passing lane. If there’s a cause that every driver can get behind, this is it. In case you don’t appreciate the depth of annoyance most feel about left-lane bandits, Georgia State Rep. Mark Butler is on hand to explain:

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The Lotus Elise has been refreshed for 2011 [via Autocar] to bring it more in line with its new flagship sibling, the Evora. In the process, the Evora’s ability to look more achingly beautiful in person than any photo would lead you to believe may just have been passed along. From these pictures, the Elise does seem to have lost a bit of the je ne sais quoi that put its predecessor on top of my quasi-realistic dream car list, but that’s alright. Even if the new looks don’t improve in person, the used models are more realistically obtainable. Besides, the Evora haunts my dreams more relentlessly than any car has in a while (helped not a little by rave reviews from such trusted sources as Dan Neil and evo Magazine). Don’t you worry about me.

Fiat/Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne seems ever more committed to the idea of bringing the Alfa Romeo brand to the United States, telling Automotive News [sub]:

I’m a lot more confident now that Alfa Romeo will reconstitute a product offering that is acceptable globally, and more in particular in the United States and Canada. There is a strong likelihood that the brand will be back here within the next 24 months

The MSM is abuzz with a rash of fresh (well, not really) deaths-by-Toyota. According to an Associated Press report (this one via Twincities.com,) “complaints of deaths connected to sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles have surged in recent weeks, with the alleged death toll reaching 34 since 2000.” In the past three weeks alone, people told the NHTSA about nine crashes involving 13 alleged deaths between 2005 and 2010 due to accelerator problems. Without the heightened awareness, those people would have passed away unnoticed. Other fatalities loom: Read More >

Last November, we reported that Carl-Peter Forster had stepped down as CEO of General Motors Europe, in protest over GM’s interruptus of the Opel/Magna deal. We also reported that Forster may take a job at Tata in India. All in due time … Read More >

Europe’s ACEA, the Association des Constructeurs Européens d’Automobiles, better known as the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, has finally gotten around to tallying new car sales in Europe for the month of January. Europe as defined by the ACEA consists of the EU states, plus the three EFTA holdouts, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.

First, the good news: January new passenger car registrations in Europe increased by 12.9 percent. With the exception of Germany (-4.3 percent,) the larger markets are all sputtering along nicely: France (+14.3 percent), Spain (+18.1 percent), the UK (+29.8 percent) and Italy (+30.2 percent). In total, 1,058,868 new cars were registered in Europe.

On the market share front, the Volkswagen Group maintains to be the king of the European hill with a 20.6 percent share. Next up are PSA (14 percent) and Renault (10.7 percent). The French are getting frisky: Renault added an impressive 3.1 percent to its January market share, PSA 0.6 percent. Now for the bad news: Read More >

We get a lot of mail here at TTAC, and we do make an effort to get to as much of it as we can. For example, reader kevin recently wrote in to say how much he enjoyed our past market share breakdowns, and asked us to publish a chart for December 2009. Because he asked so nicely (and succinctly), his wish has come true in the form of this chart. If you have questions, comments or requests for TTAC’s staff, just drop us a line at our contact form. If you’ve already tried contacting us with something important and haven’t heard back (yes, these things do happen), just send us one more email before you give up. We always appreciate the interest, we just don’t always have time to tame the raging inbox. Meanwhile, is Chrysler really two percentage points behind Honda already?

This Legacy wagon is ready for snow (how do they do that?),  if only there were any, here or in Vancouver. While the East is inundated, we’ve had the warmest January on record, and Stephanie is out planting in the garden. But its good to be ready, even for the unexpected: Read More >

Peugeot are going through a bit of a turbulent phase at the moment. They announced a loss of £1.02bn for 2009 (which was curbed by “Bangers for Cash”) and shareholders are pressuring management for more growth. So, Peugeot are revamping their line up, starting with the 407. The 407 was a bit bland and really only existed to sell to fleets, so PSA are going to give it a new lease of life…..by killing it. Car Magazine reports that the Peugeot 407 is going to be retired and replaced with the 508. The 508 will be showcased at the 2010 Geneva motor show. The car is still in concept phase, but is strongly suggesting that the design of the concept car will be spread across all ranges.

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“The American people are willing to forgive and forget, but they would like a little gift,” AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson tells Toyota [via USAToday]. Toyota’s answer (other than possible warranty extensions): a nice, dull little facelift for a nice, dull little cute ute. Meanwhile, Toyota’s US dealers are not thrilled with the state of affairs, gifting Automotive News [sub] such saucy quotes as:

Dealers will be talking [at the NADA convention] about how this will affect their investments as a dealer. You bet I am questioning my investment. I think they have handled this poorly.

And that was the quote that didn’t feature expletives! Will the softroader update (shown here in European spec) tame the angry beast that is Toyota’s dealer network? Given that it’s only being shown in Europe until “later this year,” the answer seems to be “not for now.”

[A significantly expanded and updated version of this article is here]

In the “streamlined decade” of the thirties, automotive aerodynamics was promoted as the great breakthrough to the modern high speed automobile. It was almost a religion, and its influence was essentially universal. By the end of the thirties, highly streamlined concepts were in every manufacturer’s styling studios. Everyone assumed the post-war era would be dominated by further developments on the air-splitting Tatra theme. But the reality turned out quite different, especially in the US.

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It’s not a question that should leave many folks on the fence, but apparently there are at least a few Detroit-area journalists who might be willing to consider the career change. “Dealers optimistic about Chrysler’s future” proclaims the Detroit News headline from NADA’s annual convention. A more accurate headline (such as USAToday‘s “Chrysler dealers face new-model drought”) probably should have included the term “punch-drunk” to better explain this unexpectedly sunny outlook. One grizzled ChryCo dealer sums up the mood with aplomb:

We’re the toughest fighters. We’ve always been 3 or 4 (in the marketplace). We’ve never been spoon-fed. We have to fight for every piece of ground… There’s light at the end of the tunnel; I just don’t like the length of the tunnel.

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BMW has ditched its long-running “Ultimate Driving Machine” tagline in favor of the vague, lifestyle-y “We Make Joy” promise. And though advertisers never tire of explaining that products themselves pale in comparison to the feelings they inspire in their owners, much of BMW’s (and most German luxury brands’) appeal comes from a projection of sachlichkeit, or single-minded obsession with something for its own sake. “The Ultimate Driving Machine” expressed the brand’s practical and emotional values in a simple, original phrase. The new line might open the brand to more non-enthusiast consumers, but it also reeks of the kind of marketing done by firms that don’t have top notch products on the market (usually because of a distinct lack of institutional sachlichkeit). For the closest analogue we could find on short notice, hit the jump.
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When VW declared that they wanted to triple their sales in America to 1 million units, many thought VW had drunk too much brake fluid. Well, it seems that the Wolfsburg Warriors’ plans of world domination (don’t worry, I’m not going to invoke “Godwin’s Law”) may be coming to fruition. Sometime. Read More >

Toyota are facing many lawsuits for unintended acceleration which may have (or not, you never know what law firm is reading this site!) caused the deaths of many people. However, let’s hope Emily Harris doesn’t get litigious.

London’s Daily Express reports that the 19 year old from the UK was refused her driving test, which left her a crying wreck. The reason? The examiner would not go in Miss Harris’s car. It was a Toyota Aygo. Read More >