There’s only one thing worse than realizing you’re a cynical bastard: realizing you’re a cynical bastard and the world really IS that corrupt. Oh well. The truth hurts, both giving and receiving. In this case, I had high hopes for the Tata Nano. As the son of a Romanian immigrant for whom car ownership was proof positive that America is the world’s greatest country, I believe that the motorization of the world’s largest democracy would unleash that nation’s creativity, productivity and prosperity. But when Tata “launched” the Nano two days ago, without a factory to produce it, I smelled a rat[tan]. The next day, there it was: Tata’s in not-so “secret negotiations” for a billion dollar UK bailout for their ill-advised—not to say hubristic—purchase of Jaguar and Land Rover. So, there’s your timing then. Oh, and the announcement on Autobloggreen this morning that the NSFA (Not Safe For America) Tata will export the micro-car to America (with a few mods, ’natch) in 2011 or 2012 (or 2020) is not to be taken seriously. The argument that Tata’s pie-in-the-sky promise to do the same for Europe actually weakens the case, not strengthens it. Or maybe that’s just me being cynical again. One can only hope.
OK best and Brightest, I really need your help! My car was totaled last week by a DUI driver and I’m in need of a car. I’m trying to decide which car to buy. A NEW Altima Coupe or a 2007-2008 CPO [Certified Pre-Owned] G35. My top concerns are reliability and material quality (and comfort). I’ve see a number of 2007 CPO G35’s with low miles (17K) on dealer sites requesting $24-26K. I’ve seen some 2008 CPO’s for $25K, but they seem to be off rental which I obviously don’t want. Some questions…
Cars.about.com‘s Aaron Gold is what I’d call a pushover. So Chevrolet pushed him over.
I know a lot of people are going to fall in love with the Camaro, and I’m glad — this is a gorgeous car, and I can’t wait to see it on the road and listen to it go by. I’d even like to try a second date, if Chevrolet will let me borrow another one (not that they’re likely to after reading this review). But a long-term love connection with me and the Camaro? I’m afraid it ain’t gonna happen. So much for getting everything you want. — Aaron Gold
Rumors have simmering for some time now that say Porsche is considering extending its once-focused brand downmarket. Again. And though the Roxster rumors prompted a repudiation of volume-chasing from Zuffenhausen, word is filtering in from the German auto press that Porsche might be considering a neo-914 project with VW. Or, as the starry-eyed fools at Motor Authority put it, “work on the next-generation Boxster and what has been thought of as a 914 revival may be a sort of cover for the even more secret work on the 356’s modern spiritual successor.” What they mean (I think) is that the new baby Porsche could be a rebadged VW, true to tradition. The Bluesport Concept, in this case. Of course that means cannibal trouble for the proposed Audi version, but that was coming anyway (VW “needs” to share the platform with “at least” three brands). Meanwhile, CAFE doesn’t just loom for Porsche, they’ve been fined every year since 1991. Oh yeah, and the lovable Boxster has loaded over $6K onto its base MSRP since its 1997 debut. So I’ll break with site tradition and say Porsche should keep stretching that brand. Let’s face it: the Bluesport ain’t coming stateside as a VW, so we can’t expect a true “performance bargain” out of the Bluesport platform. A sub-$40K Porsche? That might be worth dreaming of.
Results from the IIHS’ latest small SUV roof crush test are making the rounds of the autoblogosphere, and as usual the spoonfed information is being dutifully regurgitated in the name of consumer safety. What goes largely unreported is the fact that the IIHS is gleefully moving the roof crush goalposts, a unilateral decision with little benefit to consumers and a host of unanticipated consequences. Current roof crush standards mandate that vehicle roofs must support 1.5 times the weight of the vehicle, and have been in effect since 1973. The IIHS has been campaigning for years to increase government roof strength standards, and an uprated standard of 2.5 strength-to-weight ratio is currently being considered by the NHTSA. So where does the 2.5 standard rate with the IIHS? “Marginal” is the score that the IIHS gives to vehicles meeting this not-yet approved standard. Huh?
President Obama wasn’t indulging in hyperbole last Sunday when he told 60 Minutes that “the only thing less popular than putting money into banks is putting money into the auto industry.” The Freep reports that a new Polk survey shows that 61 percent of Americans now oppose giving GM and Chrysler more money. More tellingly, support for a continued bailout of the auto industry peaks at only 16 percent in the manufacturing-heavy Great Lakes region and drops to as low as 4 percent in favor in New England. And there’s little room to argue that lack of support is based on ignorance or misperception. About the same percentage of people who opposed more loans also recognized that denying them would have dire economic consequences. One Polk analyst describes the emerging consensus on Detroit’s predicament as “it’s a problem, but it’s not a problem for taxpayers.” Cold.
TTAC spoke and Nissan listened. Or something like that. In any case, Pistonheads reports that the Japanese automaker has heard complaints that their 911-slayer is harder riding than a tea tray down a gravel ski trail. Nissan will offer a more comfortable version of their GT-R. “The GT-R Spec-V firm suspension will get replaced by a softer, more refined setup and will include ripple control shock absorbers to help iron out the bumps. There’ll also be a wider choice of interior trims to help entice a more upmarket clientele, with aluminium and wood grain finishes both options on the new Spec-M.” So the scream “OH, NO! GODZILLA!” will now become “I say, isn’t that the Japanese sports car that lapped the Nurburgring rather quickly?”
Dagens Industrihas published a letter from Saab’s union bosses which accuses GM of playing silly buggers with the brand’s accounts. As Saabs United says, “The report tends to support the idea that GM are handy at shuffling results around to suit their reporting needs.” [Thanks for the TTAC translation to commentator Naser Rouholamin]
Recently, the future of SAAB has been the subject of many allegations and much debate. Specifically we are thinking about such claims as “using tax money for playing monopoly”, or “SAAB has always made a loss, hence there is no point in saving it now”.
In order to rebuke the latter claim one must realise that not even GM would have kept Saab afloat the last 20 years from pure goodwill.
I own a 2000 Mazda MPV, 165,000 miles, and it has been a wonderful vehicle up until this winter. Mechanically it is very sound, the motor, tranny and suspension are all very good. While it has been too cold to do anything about it, I have accrued the following list of problems though:
1. Radio went kaput (not a fuse, etc.); needs replacement.
2. Drivers door window gearing broke a tooth: will stick every 4″ when rolling up; needs replacement.
3. Passenger side door lock motor gearing stripped; needs replacement
4. Tires are now 75% gone.
5. Large crinkle in the front left fender (does not interfere with anything).
My wife is insisting that we replace the vehicle, so my options seems to be:
1. Fix everything with bone yard parts and sell (I was a mechanic in a past life, would do these repairs myself).
2. Fix nothing and try to sell.
3. Try to get it traded in for our next vehicle.
4. Donate and try to scarf a tax deduction.
As the Japanese fiscal year draws to a close on March 31, The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) is already looking forward. And there’s a decline ahead. JAMA expects domestic sales of automobiles, including minivehicles, to slide 8 percent from the (not yet announced) level in the current fiscal year to a 32-year low of around 4.29 million units in fiscal 2009, the Nikkei [sub] writes.
If their projection is accurate, domestic auto sales will be just about half of their former 7.8 million glory reached in fiscal 1990. It was downhill from there.
Japan is expected to close out the current fiscal year with al 12 percent minus. 4.66 million units are expected to be sold, a level not seen in 28 years.
The Chinese government wanted to create demand for an extra million vehicles per year with their “cars to the countryside” program. It goes like this: farmers who replace their three-wheeled vehicles for light commercial vehicles receive a maximum subsidy of 5,000 yuan ($731). Not enough to spur consumption? “For cost-sensitive farmers, a 10-percent subsidy is enough and would be effective to boost demand,” said Tan Jijia, an auto analyst at Pacific Securities Co. He was wrong. There is another problem . . .
According to the About page at PostCardFilms.com, Mariessa Jonasz “can be seen in the television show “I Didn’t know I Was Pregnant,” which aired on Discovery Health.” Folks, we’re talking about women who didn’t know they were pregnant until they gave birth. How creepy is that? Not quite as unsettling as the news that Mariessa is married to this PR film’s narrator, Jedrzej Jonasz. Mr. Jonasz’ credits include a Canadian TV documentary called “Why is it sexy?” The mind boggles. And the question remains: how did this entirely unlikely pair blag their way into a brand new BMW (even for a few days) and (presumably) flights, hotel, meals, museum tickets, gas expenses and (for all we know) a per Diem budget?
Our regular CS FirstBoston mole has sent us an update on their analysis of the U.S. new car market. Bottom line: it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets even worserer. So, he asked rhetorically, is this a good time for the taxpayer to “loan” money to Chrysler and GM? Only if you define “good” as “worst possible.” Sorry, was I talking about ROI? My bad. In terms of bailing out automakers without a hope in hell of turning a profit for years to come, these are the good old days.
• We are slashing our forecast for 2009 light vehicle sales to 10.4 million units, down from 12.0 million units previously. Details of the changes in the factors that plug into our demand model and account for the revision are as follows:
Many a member of TTAC’s Best and Brightest have publicly pined for the day when they can order their new car over the internet, bypassing those son of a bitch bastard dealers [not paraphrasing]. Our contacts within the Chrysler Listens consumer advocate board report that the three-headed marketing mavens are sounding out the possibility of losing all those pesky middle men and women eating into their [theoretical] profit. Not one, not two, but three polls sound out the possibility of online ordering or, to use their phrase, “reservation.”
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