Apparently you’re not a real blog anymore unless you play some part in the giddy rush to strip Tiger Woods of any remaining shred of privacy… so as much as we’d prefer to not escalade the situation, here goes. USA Today reports that the Cadillac Escalade Tiger allegedly drove into a fire hydrant doesn’t belong to him, but is actually owned by General Motors. Huh? Didn’t GM and Tiger part ways just over a year ago? Woods’ contract with GM was originally supposed to expire this year, so perhaps Tiger was due a few perks post-contract because of its early demise. Or, maybe the Escalade was just an old-fashioned celeb loaner. Either way, maybe this will change the conventional wisdom that lending free cars to celebrities is a good decision branding-wise. Especially for firms that are going to have to use taxpayer money to pay someone to buff out those 9-iron marks.
Mitsubishi Motors and PSA sure don’t waste any time. Hours after the news of their impending nuptials were announced, the happy couple retreated to a love hotel in the Kabuki-cho district of Shinjuku and hatched further plans on top of their planned capital tie-up. Read More >
Hyundai’s new 2010 Tucson has landed in LA. Basically the same as the model dropped at Frankfurt a short while ago, it’s a total refresh of the Tucson that leaped Hyundai into the CUV market in 2005. We all know that Hyundai has built their lineup on copying the basics from Japan while adding value and flair, and the Tucson is no different. The CUV’s lines are more than a little reminiscent of the Lexus RX, for about half the price. New for 2010 Hyundai is touting the Tucson’s 31 mpg on the highway, 61 lb lighter kerb weight, panoramic sunroof, and long overdue bluetooth and larger screen navigation system. Like it’s Sonata sibling the Tucson gets only the Theta II direct injection four pot mated to their new 6 speed transmission.
Kelley Blue Book has released its annual resale value data, and according to the WSJ, Toyota, Honda and BMW remain the top brands in five-year residual value. Still, Toyota’s average residual value dropped from 42.7 percent to 38.8 percent, while Honda fell from 44.5 percent to 38 percent. Those drops mirror an industry-wide decline in residual values, which had hovered around 35 percent for some time, but have fallen to about 32.6 percent for 2010 models. But American brands have bucked that trend:
KBB estimates Ford’s 2010 models will keep 32.4% of their value after five years. That’s an improvement—for 2009, KBB put the residual value of Ford’s models at 31.7%. Likewise, GM’s 2010 five-year residual value is 31.3%, up from 29.5% a year earlier. Chrysler’s figures are 29.5% for 2010 models, compared with 29% for 2009 models.
KBB’s top ten models for five-year residual value after the jump.
See this ad for Lancia and/or world peace? Now check out the first post-bankruptcy Chrysler brand advertisement here. Noticing any similarities? It seems that there’s trouble brewing in the Fiat family, and “Don” Marchionne has strongly suggested that the new boy to the family, Chrysler, could take over some of Lancia’s profile. Automotive News [sub] reports that the Chrysler brand will appear on Lancias (A.K.A rebadging) in many international markets, and that Lancias could become a niche marque. Read More >
Today, on the last day of media access to the LA Auto show, the mystic powers that be continued VAGs green run by selecting the Audi A3 TDi as the 2010 Green Car of the Year (The Jetta TDi won last year). In the running this year were the Audi A3 TDI, Honda Insight, Mercury Milan Hybrid, Toyota Prius and Volkswagen Golf TDI. According to the LA Auto Show,
The Green Car of the Year® award is a program that honors environmental leadership in the automobile field and recognizes vehicles that are readily available to consumers during the award year. Green Car Journal/ editors perform an exhaustive review of vehicle models to identify the five finalists. The winner is ultimately decided by jurors such as Jay Leno, Jean-Michel Cousteau, Carroll Shelby, Matt Petersen of Global Green USA and the Sierra Club’s Carl Pope, along with Green Car Journal editors.
Interesting then that this same bunch of car czars chose the Chevy Tahoe two years ago for getting 1 MPG better than the gasoline version. Anyone feeling some Volt love in 2011?
We all hoped/thought that Tron was a relic left to the distant 80’s acid trips, but Audi has decided to bring it back again. Shown at the Frankfurt motor show their e-tron concept looks strangely close to production to me. Supposedly debuting two years from now as a 2012 production model buyers willing to fork out huge sums of cash will be treated to more than 3,300 ft-lbs of torque and 313hp, for no doubt very limited distances between charges.
We had been hearing for some time now that GM planned to roll out its Volt EV in limited numbers and select markets, and it comes as no surprise to hear that the first such select market will be California. The Golden State is a hotbed of support for electric vehicles and, not coincidentally, one of the more affluent car markets in the world. A number of firms, from Coda to Honda have selected California as a test-bed for their high-efficiency but not-yet-ready-for-prime-time products. In California, GM is partnering with three public utility companies, and will spend some $30m of DOE-administered stimulus money to slow-roll the Volt into reality. According to GM’s release:
As part of the research and demonstration program, Chevrolet will deliver more than 100 Volts to program participants to use in their fleets for two years. Chevrolet will also utilize OnStar telematics technology to collect vehicle performance data and driver feedback that will be reported to the DOE and used to improve customers’ experiences with the new technology.
I’m not the ‘new’ guy at TTAC. When someone starts talking to me about their 2010 C-Class or A8, my instinct is to find some darts, get a beer, and ignore the conversation. Most new cars really take the fun out of driving, and they cost way too much compared with almost everything else on the road. But there is one time during the year where ‘new’ makes me smile. That would be Black Friday. Here’s what I got.
After writing about Spyker transferring production from the Netherlands to the United Kingdom, I thought I’d seen it all. Well, now I have. Production going OUT of Germany and into the United States. After much debating, Daimler have finally decided to switch some production from Germany to the United States. According to Reuters, roughly a fifth of Mercedes-Benz C-Class models will be built in Alabama by 2014, in hopes of protecting against currency fluctuations and maintaining profit margin. Naturally, the unions weren’t happy, in fact they downed tools in protest, claiming it was a “blatantly wrong decision.” Dr Z saw it differently, especially considering the move is said to be worth $100m in incentives from the state of Alabama.
Renault may be playing Russian Roulette, but at least it seems the French automaker is finally playing nicely with Avtovaz and the Kremlin. Maybe the thought of ending up like Mikhail Khodorkovsky spurred Carlos Ghosn into action? Or maybe Ghosn came around when he found out that the Kremlin is going to put $1.7 billion into the ailing Russian car maker. The St. Petersburg Times reports that Renault will invest a mere €300 million in the form of of a technology transfer so that Avtovaz can start building the Logan, Renault’s smash hit in Eastern Europe. It’s like the Fiat-Chrysler deal, only cheaper! Renault will also help Avtovaz develop a new car to replace the Zhiguli (I’d never heard of it, either). Some of this production will happen in Russia’s far east and Renault’s Japanese subsidiary is there to help!
SAIC halted trading of its stock today due to a “major asset reorganization.” According to Dow Jones Newswire, SAIC’s board will hold a meeting before Dec. 9 to discuss the asset reorganization plan. SAIC said its shares will resume trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange after it announces a detailed plan on the reorganization. While SAIC is tightlipped, Chinese media is abuzz with speculations. Read More >
Renault has its Nissan. Jealous PSA seeks the company of a pretty Japanese bride of its own. Mitsubishi Motors Corp. confirmed to theNikkei [sub] today that it is in talks with PSA Peugeot-Citroen about some financial shibari. The capital tie-up could see PSA take a majority position in Mitsubishi Motors.
“We have been talking whether we can have deeper relationship, and a capital tie-up is one among many options,” said a Mitsubishi Motors spokesman, declining to comment on the scale or value of any potential deal. The Nikkei [sub] reported earlier Thursday that PSA could buy a stake of 30 percent to 50 percent in Mitsubishi Motors and become its biggest shareholder. Read More >
As another indication that November car sales in China will be a humdinger, Dow Jones Newswire reports that “sales of Ford brand vehicles by Ford Motor Co.’s passenger vehicle-making joint venture in China rose 152 percent in November from a year earlier.” Read More >
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