With a few successes under Ford’s strap with the American buckle, the Blue Oval made be known its aspirations to go for the world championship belt in ferrying drunk revelers and harried air travelers with their Transit Connect Taxi in its debut in Hong Kong.
When TTAC first got the news about the 2015 Ford Mustang’s engineering changes, we were pretty excited about the prospect of not one but two high-revving naturally aspirated V8 engines, and a independent rear suspension. But our source wasn’t so hot on the exterior styling, which he described as being too round and akin to the rather bulbous Evos concept.
Ford may have squeezed even more vehicles out of their Fox platform than Chrysler got with their roughly contemporary K platform and derivatives, and the range of cars was just about as broad. Though Foxes are very plentiful in high-turnover self-service wrecking yards, I let most of them go to The Crusher undocumented. We’ve seen this ’79 Mustang Indy 500 Pace Car, this ’80 Mercury Capri, and this ’82 Mercury Zephyr so far in this series, and today we’ll add another Malaise Era Fox. Yes, there was a Fox Thunderbird with squared-off, Fairmont-style body, available for the 1980 through 1982 model years. Not many of these cars were sold, so today’s find— in Denver— is a rare one. (Read More…)
September was a great month for Subaru, with the brand up 15 percent. Ford, Chrysler, Jaguar Land Rover and BMW also posted solid gains. General Motors,Hyundai/Kia, Toyota, Nissan and Honda saw declines, as the SAAR dipped to 15.3 million units amid decreased consumer and business confidence. Table below the jump.
With the Flat Rock assembly plant on the cusp of sending cars to dealerships, the Ford Fusion could potentially sell 300,000 units this year, becoming the first car nameplate from Ford to cross that mark in a decade. But to catch the best-selling Toyota Camry, Ford will have to have capacity for 400,000 units – something that could happen as early as 2014.
Back in 2009 I wrote a blog about buying a Z4M on a whim. Four years later, I’ve made another impulse buy. Prior to moving to Seattle last summer my wife and I downsized our car stable and I purchased an $8k E39 530 as my daily driver. Given how expensive Seattle can be I didn’t want a big car payment until we got our new housing budget in check. Finding a new place took less time than expected, and soon enough, I started the research process to lease a new vehicle for my 50 minute commute.
TTAC Commentator MightyTall writes:
Hello Sajeev,
I’ve been reading your articles and enjoying your sage advice given to other people. And since you said you’re running low on submissions, here’s mine: I’m currently driving a well maintained reliable 140hp 2.0l Turbodiesel, 6-speed manual 2007 Passat station wagon … 157.000 km on the clock and no troubles. (Read More…)
According to a high ranking Volkswagen executive, within four years conventional naturally aspirated gasoline engines will be extinct at the automaker, replaced with diesel powerplants and turbocharged gasoline engines. Mark Trahan, VW of America’s executive vice president for group quality, said that the few conventional naturally aspirated engines the company sells will eventually be replaced with forced induction engines. “You have to have a turbo these days,” Trahan told The Detroit News. “We only have one normally aspirated gas engine, and when we go to the next generation vehicle that it’s in, it will be replaced. So three, four years maximum.”
Ford Oakville, Ontario, Canada Assembly Plant
The Toronto Star is reporting that Ford Motor Co. will soon announce a ~$700US million investment in it’s Oakville, Ontario plant, where it assembles the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX midsize crossovers. According to Toronto’s Globe and Mail newspaper, $135 million of that will come from the Ontario and Canadian governments, which recently divested some of their bailout related shares in General Motors. The investment by Ford follows commitments made to the Canadian Auto Workers, now under the banner of Unifor, to add 600 jobs to the Oakville facility. (Read More…)
We don’t just love pickup trucks in America, we practically worship them. The half ton pickup truck is an American icon embedded into our music, our entertainment and almost the core of our culture. If you haven’t owned or wanted to own a pickup truck, you’re probably a communist infiltrating American society and should be stopped. Despite inroads from the Japanese competition, the full-size truck market is a solidly American segment that isn’t just led by the big three, it’s dominated by them. In August, RAM took third place with 33,009 pickups sold in the US of A, more than three times the number four player: this week’s Toyota Tundra. Why is this gap so large when Toyota crushes the big three in so many other segments? Let’s explore that while we look at Toyota’s refreshed 2014 Tundra.
The C-Suites of two major auto makers are unlikely to change in the near future, despite rumors suggesting that both Ferdinand Piech and Alan Mulally are set to depart both VW and Ford respectively.
As is sometimes the case at press events, the VW Full Line Drive whence we gathered these Intramural League driving impressions had a few “competitive vehicles” included as well. The idea is that you drive the featured car back-to-back with the competitor. Having done that, you consider the merits of the respective vehicles, and you consider who paid for your hotel room, and you write the test accordingly. Volkswagen had a wide variety of “competitive vehicles” they could have chosen for the Passat and CC which, so far, have taken fourth and fifth place in our feature. The Malibu, the Accord, the Camry. The car they chose was a brand-new, $27,000, Fusion SE Ecoboost.
I’m not sure that was a good idea.
| Automaker | Aug. 2013 | Aug. 2012 | Pct. chng. | 8 month 2013 |
8 month 2012 |
Pct. chng. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BMW division | 24,523 | 16,835 | 46% | 188,997 | 164,636 | 15% |
| Mini | 6,023 | 5,718 | 5% | 44,329 | 43,632 | 2% |
| Rolls-Royce | 84 | 79 | 6% | 672 | 632 | 6% |
| BMW Group | 30,630 | 22,632 | 35% | 233,998 | 208,900 | 12% |
| Chrysler Division | 28,678 | 28,070 | 2% | 212,495 | 216,616 | –2% |
| Dodge | 52,858 | 47,348 | 12% | 413,258 | 344,556 | 20% |
| Dodge/Ram | 86,445 | 73,413 | 18% | 653,985 | 537,502 | 22% |
| Fiat | 4,190 | 4,150 | 1% | 29,585 | 28,566 | 4% |
| Jeep | 46,239 | 42,839 | 8% | 317,921 | 325,945 | –3% |
| Ram | 33,587 | 26,065 | 29% | 240,727 | 192,946 | 25% |
| Chrysler Group | 165,552 | 148,472 | 12% | 1,213,986 | 1,108,629 | 10% |
| Maybach | – | 4 | –100% | – | 32 | –100% |
| Mercedes-Benz | 26,151 | 22,689 | 15% | 203,147 | 182,087 | 12% |
| Smart USA | 993 | 753 | 32% | 6,312 | 6,281 | 1% |
| Daimler AG | 27,144 | 23,446 | 16% | 209,459 | 188,400 | 11% |
| Ford division | 212,212 | 188,608 | 13% | 1,649,821 | 1,453,536 | 14% |
| Lincoln | 8,192 | 8,141 | 1% | 53,399 | 57,078 | –6% |
| Ford Motor Co. | 220,404 | 196,749 | 12% | 1,703,220 | 1,510,614 | 13% |
| Buick | 24,650 | 18,000 | 37% | 141,880 | 122,589 | 16% |
| Cadillac | 20,255 | 14,704 | 38% | 119,586 | 90,933 | 32% |
| Chevrolet | 187,740 | 169,978 | 10% | 1,365,544 | 1,270,582 | 8% |
| GMC | 43,202 | 37,838 | 14% | 303,254 | 273,366 | 11% |
| General Motors | 275,847 | 240,520 | 15% | 1,930,264 | 1,757,470 | 10% |
| Acura | 17,051 | 15,646 | 9% | 109,182 | 101,407 | 8% |
| Honda Division | 149,381 | 115,675 | 29% | 944,267 | 847,840 | 11% |
| Honda (American) | 166,432 | 131,321 | 27% | 1,053,449 | 949,247 | 11% |
| Hyundai division | 66,101 | 61,099 | 8% | 493,116 | 479,789 | 3% |
| Kia | 52,025 | 50,028 | 4% | 378,380 | 386,809 | –2% |
| Hyundai Group | 118,126 | 111,127 | 6% | 871,496 | 866,598 | 1% |
| Jaguar | 1,723 | 1,029 | 67% | 11,134 | 8,546 | 30% |
| Land Rover | 4,938 | 3,727 | 33% | 31,972 | 28,038 | 14% |
| Jaguar Land Rover | 6,661 | 4,756 | 40% | 43,106 | 36,584 | 18% |
| Maserati | 326 | 219 | 49% | 1,862 | 1,715 | 9% |
| Mazda | 28,106 | 22,232 | 26% | 198,026 | 185,346 | 7% |
| Mitsubishi | 5,281 | 4,249 | 24% | 40,980 | 41,316 | –1% |
| Infiniti | 11,884 | 11,155 | 7% | 71,879 | 77,151 | –7% |
| Nissan Division | 108,614 | 87,360 | 24% | 782,369 | 697,426 | 12% |
| Nissan | 120,498 | 98,515 | 22% | 854,248 | 774,577 | 10% |
| Subaru | 41,061 | 28,293 | 45% | 281,652 | 217,780 | 29% |
| Suzuki* | – | 1,968 | –100% | 5,946 | 17,228 | –66% |
| Lexus | 29,792 | 24,237 | 23% | 171,238 | 150,604 | 14% |
| Scion | 7,698 | 7,722 | 0% | 48,959 | 49,747 | –2% |
| Toyota division | 194,047 | 156,561 | 24% | 1,313,525 | 1,199,163 | 10% |
| Toyota/Scion | 201,745 | 164,283 | 23% | 1,362,484 | 1,248,910 | 9% |
| Toyota | 231,537 | 188,520 | 23% | 1,533,722 | 1,399,514 | 10% |
| Audi | 14,005 | 11,527 | 22% | 101,346 | 88,392 | 15% |
| Bentley | 198 | 156 | 27% | 1,565 | 1,405 | 11% |
| Lamborghini* | 46 | 43 | 7% | 368 | 344 | 7% |
| Porsche | 3,327 | 3,026 | 10% | 28,456 | 22,279 | 28% |
| VW division | 40,342 | 41,011 | –2% | 282,913 | 286,750 | –1% |
| Volkswagen | 57,918 | 55,763 | 4% | 414,648 | 399,170 | 4% |
| Volvo Cars NA | 5,518 | 6,319 | –13% | 44,005 | 46,649 | –6% |
| Other** | 253 | 246 | 3% | 2,024 | 1,963 | 3% |
| TOTAL | 1,501,294 | 1,285,347 | 17% | 10,636,091 | 9,711,700 | 10% |
Riding on strong pickup truck and sedan sales, Chrysler Group and Ford Motor Co. both posted 12% overall sales increases from last August. It was Chrysler’s 41st straight year to year monthly increase. A number of manufacturers’ sales were constrained by tight inventory of models in high demand.
Dave writes:
Hi Sajeev,
This is the second question I’ve asked on here, and while I didn’t even follow the advice I received last time and here I am again! Last time I was asking about a sporty car, and I ended up getting a 2007 Ford Ranger, 2.3L, 5 speed, with all of 35,000 miles on it. It is a regular cab with nothing extra on it, a real throw back, manual windows, no AC, a nice basic truck with nothing to go wrong right?
Wrong. (Read More…)
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