Sources
- Autoblog
- AutoMuse
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- David Leggett's automotive industry blog - from just-auto.com
- GM FastLane
- Grant's Auto Rants
- Jalopnik
- Video: Jonathon Ward talks about his Icon Derelicts in latest eGarage video
Filed under: Classics, Videos, Design/Style
There are very few things that get the unanimous approval of everyone here at Autoblog. One of them is Icon 4x4, which makes impossibly expensive yet worth-every-penny reimaginings of history's best off-roaders. For this year's SEMA Show, Icon debuted something new that had nothing to do with off-roading, yet still had our whole team salivating.
Christened a "Derelict" by Icon founder and designer Jonathon Ward, this 1952 Chevy Coupe looks like an abused artifact from a time not worth remembering. Knowing Icon like we do, however, it's anything but. The Derelict is fitted with a 6.2-liter V8 from General Motors producing 430 horsepower and an interior upholstered in gorgeous vintage briefcase leather, but the exterior is as original and rusty as it was when Icon found it. What we didn't know at SEMA is that the '52 Chevy isn't the first Derelict that Icon produced.
Our friends at eGarage have produced an excellent video about how the two Derelicts came to be, including how Jonathon Ward and his company made them. Spoiler alert: It wasn't as easy as dropping a new engine into an old car and redoing the leather. The Derelicts were meant to be high-performance yet reliable daily drivers, which requires more thought and engineering than we ever imagined.
Follow the jump to be one of the first to watch this latest video from eGarage.Continue reading Jonathon Ward talks about his Icon Derelicts in latest eGarage video
Jonathon Ward talks about his Icon Derelicts in latest eGarage video originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments - Spy Shots: Mercedes-Benz CLS Shooting Brake snapped winter testing
Filed under: Spy Photos, Performance, Wagon, Hatchback, Mercedes-Benz, Luxury
Mercedes-Benz hasn't exactly been secretive about its desire to offer a five-door hatchback version of its ultra-stylish CLS sedan. After all, the first concept for the latest CLS, which was introduced as a 2012 model, introduced us to the CLS Shooting Break Concept at the Beijing Motor Show in 2010. And yes, MB itself called the car a Shooting Break, not Brake.
Based on that concept, we have a pretty solid idea of how the CLS Shooting Brake will look. Judging by these spy shots that were snapped in Northern Sweden, there won't really be any surprises. And that's totally fine by us.
We'd expect Mercedes-Benz to deliver its super hatch in both CLS550 (with 4.6-liter twin-turbo V8) and CLS63 AMG (with 5.5-liter twin-turbo V8) flavors, which means the biggest question left to answer will be whether the company decides to call it the Shooting Brake or the Shooting Break. We, like pretty much everyone else in the world, vote for Brake.Mercedes-Benz CLS Shooting Brake snapped winter testing originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments - What we know about the 2013 Volkswagen Golf, next-gen GTI
Filed under: Coupe, Sedan, Wagon, Crossover, Hatchback, Audi, Volkswagen, Design/Style
Lighter, faster, stronger, better. That's what we can expect from the seventh-generation Volkswagen Golf, due to be unveiled at the 2012 Paris Motor Show before it hits dealerships across Europe this fall and eventually lands on U.S. shores as a 2013 model.The next GTI will be an order of magnitude better, bringing it back in line with the original hot hatch.
So what makes it special? A combination of new manufacturing processes, an all-new platform, a range of upgraded engines and what will go down as one of the greatest democratizations of active safety and in-car technology in automotive history.
What's more, the next GTI will be an order of magnitude better because of it, bringing it back in line with the original hot hatch while packed with even more standard features.
It all starts with Volkswagen's new Modular Transverse Matrix (MQB) platform, which is set to underpin every front-wheel-drive VW product from the Polo to the Passat, along with the 2013 Audi A3. To hear VW tell it, it will redefine the automaker's manufacturing processes while curing world hunger and eradicating leprosy.
Read on to find out what's got Volkswagen so excited.Continue reading What we know about the 2013 Volkswagen Golf, next-gen GTI
What we know about the 2013 Volkswagen Golf, next-gen GTI originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments - Watch an SVT Raptor be built on Ultimate Factories this weekend [w/video]
Filed under: Performance, Truck, Etc., Plants/Manufacturing, Work, Ford
There's something inexplicably mesmerizing about watching a factory in action. Seeing the innumerable complex mechanisms mesh in perfect harmony to create the products we know and love is part of what makes shows like National Geographic's Ultimate Factories so interesting. Now the program is headed to Dearborn for a look at how the Ford F-150 Ecoboost and F-150 SVT Raptor come together on the line in crystal-clear HD video. The show will also spend time with both trucks out on the company's proving grounds, which means there's a good chance we'll see the Raptor bashing over various obstacles.
Consider us excited. Last year, the Ford plant in Dearborn produced 344,446 vehicles, making it the third most productive plant in North America behind the Nissan facility in Aguascalientes, Mexico and the Volkswagen plant in Puebla, Mexico.
The show will air on Saturday, February 4 at 8 p.m. Eastern on the National Geographic Channel, but you can get a glimpse of what to expect in the video after the jump.Continue reading Watch an SVT Raptor be built on Ultimate Factories this weekend [w/video]
Watch an SVT Raptor be built on Ultimate Factories this weekend [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments - Confirmed: Passat popularity has VW hiring an extra 200 in Chattanooga
Filed under: Sedan, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Plants/Manufacturing, Volkswagen
The good people of Tennessee are no doubt thrilled to have a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga. The facility already features well over 2,000 good-paying manufacturing jobs, and now the German automaker is bolstering employment by another 200 full-time VW staffers, boosting the employment total to 2,500 full-time and temp workers.
VW says it is making the move to enable the plant to increase production from 31 vehicles per hour to 35. The boosted line rate also means that VW dealers will soon have more Passat sedans to sell, though the automaker failed to mention the sedan in the post-jump press release. Given VW's torrid sales pace in January, we're guessing the jump in factory output will be good news for the automaker's retail outlets.
VW isn't just looking for line workers - the automaker is also looking for supervisors and engineers. Hit the jump to read over the VW press release, which includes information on how to apply for a position.Continue reading Passat popularity has VW hiring an extra 200 in Chattanooga
Passat popularity has VW hiring an extra 200 in Chattanooga originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments - Official: 24 Hours of LeMons now welcomes driverless entries
Filed under: Motorsports, Classics, Etc., Technology
In an effort to stay on the bleeding edge of old crap-bucket technology, the 24 Hours of LeMons has now created a prize specifically for autonomous vehicles. The X Ceedingly Bad Idea Prize will award one million shiny new nickels to the first team that manages to pilot an autonomous vehicle to a win. We assume that carries a caveat of not killing anyone in the process. As always, the vehicle itself can't cost more than $500, though the associated technological wizardry required to keep the driverless machine on the track doesn't count toward that grand total.
Madness? Probably, but we would feel more comfortable sharing the course with a computer than some of the tactically inept drivers we've seen bashing around the track in our time. The next 24 Hours of LeMons race kicks off at New Jersey Motorsports Park on April 14-15, but you need to get your application in by February 4. Get cracking, people. In the meantime, hit the jump to check out the press release.Continue reading 24 Hours of LeMons now welcomes driverless entries
24 Hours of LeMons now welcomes driverless entries originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments - Official: Ducati heading back to Pikes Peak International Hill Climb for 2012 [w/video]
Filed under: Motorsports, Performance, Etc., Videos, Motorcycle
Ducati has announced that it will be back at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in July. The company will once again partner with the Spider Grips team using Multistrada 1200 machines. The Multistrada is the same bike that propelled Ducati to first and third place last year. Privateer Carlin Dunne took home a slew of titles when he conquered the mountain in 11:11.32, setting a new record for motorcycles in the process. He'll be back this year alongside Greg Tracy, a six-time Pikes Peak winner. In 2010, Tracy took the top win on the mountain astride a Multistrada of his own.
To celebrate the brand's return, Ducati is inviting fans and owners to join the team in Colorado in July for a gathering that should include plenty of riding along some of the state's more impressive scenery before attending the race. Sounds like a very good time to us. Head over to the Ducati site for more information.
July is still a long way off, so Ducati has been kind enough to show off a short recap film of the brand's 2011 season. Hit the jump to check out the clip as well as the full press release.Continue reading Ducati heading back to Pikes Peak International Hill Climb for 2012 [w/video]
Ducati heading back to Pikes Peak International Hill Climb for 2012 [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments - Report: Two Japanese suppliers plead guilty for bid-fixing, will pay record fines
Filed under: Government/Legal, Japan, Plants/Manufacturing
Two more Japanese auto industry suppliers, Yazaki and Denso, have been fined by the U.S. Department of Justice and four executives from Yazaki will go to jail, according to reports in the New York Times and Automotive News. Yazaki's $478 million fine and Denso's $78 million fine come on top of the $200 million penalty paid by another Japanese supplier, Furukawa Electric Company, last November as part of a probe into price fixing. Three Furukawa execs also were sentenced to prison.
The DoJ opened the investigation two years ago into collusion among firms setting prices for parts like wire harnesses and ECUs, but is said to have found evidence of such practices since 2000. Yazaki was charged with three felonies, fixing the prices of wire harnesses, instrument panel clusters and fuel senders. Denso was charged with two felonies, conspiring to fix the prices of ECUs and heating control units. Four Yazaki employees, working mainly for its North American operations in Ohio and Kentucky, were charged with violating the Sherman Antitrust Act and will serve from 15 months to two years in prison.
Both companies have pledged to retrain their employees and bolster their antitrust compliance, and both Yazaki's Chairman and CEO said they would return half their pay for three months. The Justice Department investigation continues, and said the CEO of the Original Equipment Suppliers Association, "I'm dead certain that there has to be a lot of concern out there."
Feel free to read over the official statements from both Yazaki and Denso after the break.Continue reading Two Japanese suppliers plead guilty for bid-fixing, will pay record fines
Two Japanese suppliers plead guilty for bid-fixing, will pay record fines originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments - Official: Ferrari unveils new step-nosed F2012... snow be damned [w/video]
Filed under: Motorsports, Ferrari, Racing
Few things can stand between a Ferrari and the finish line. Not rain, not sleet and certainly not snow. So while the latter fell in prodigious quantities on Maranello, where Ferrari was planning to unveil its latest F1 challenger yesterday, that didn't stop the Scuderia from showing it off to the world, through the magic of this newfangled invention they're calling the "internet".
The F2012 you see here is the fifty-eighth F1 car built by Ferrari, comprising a chassis and powertrain developed and produced entirely in-house: a rarity among F1 teams, particularly in these past few years since major manufacturers like Honda, Toyota and BMW withdrew from the sport.
The most prominent change to the car's form over the F150? Italia it replaces is the rather aesthetically challenged but aerodynamically-optimized stepped nose, which (like the one on the Caterham CT01 and expected to follow on several more) conforms to revised FIA regulations while allowing sufficient air to pass underneath the nosecone to allow the underbody aerodynamics to do their thing. The rear section is also more tapered, leading to the rear wing with the Drag Reduction System that returns from last season.
That's all well and good, of course, but what really matters is how the F2012 is going to stack up against the competition - particularly from the returning champions at Red Bull and longtime rivals at McLaren. Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa will wring out all the F2012 it has to offer, but only time will tell if they'll be able to add another trophy to the cabinet in Maranello. In the meantime you can check out their new ride in the high-res image gallery above and follow the jump for the full press release, technical details and video footage.Continue reading Ferrari unveils new step-nosed F2012... snow be damned [w/video]
Ferrari unveils new step-nosed F2012... snow be damned [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments - Report: Lamborghini kinda sorta confirms SUV concept coming in April
Filed under: Performance, SUV, Crossover, Lamborghini, Beijing Motor Show
Rumors typically have a limited shelf life. Either they come to fruition, or they just die off. But not this one. The automotive press has been anticipating a follow-up to the Lamborghini LM002 (pictured above) for decades now, but with anticipation building, they appear to finally be coming to a head this year.
Although not quite an official confirmation, a spokesperson for Lamborghini's parent company Audi has indicated that all the speculation regarding the imminent arrival of a new Lamborghini crossover are, essentially, true. The concept version is expected to debut at the Beijing Motor Show in April with a retuned version of the V10 engine in the Gallardo and an eye on the likes of the Maserati Kubang and BMW X6 - only likely higher-end in its market position.
The decision-making process in Sant'Agata Bolognese was reportedly to build either a crossover or a sedan (previewed by the Estoque concept at the 2008 Paris Motor Show) as a third model line, but the current speculation suggests that Lamborghini could build both, with the four-door sedan to follow a couple of years down the line.Lamborghini kinda sorta confirms SUV concept coming in April originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments - Video: BMW entering Super Bowl fray with two spots for new 3 Series
Filed under: Sedan, Performance, Marketing/Advertising, BMW, Luxury
In crafting its Super Bowl strategy, BMW cribbed a page from the Suzuki playbook. (Have we ever been able to say that before?) The Bavarian brand will be airing two regional commercials on Sunday, one in New York and the other in the Los Angeles area, both promoting the new 2012 3 Series.
The east coast ad promotes the Bimmer's heated steering wheel, of all the mundane features. But the SoCal spot showing off BMW Connected Drive's e-mail-reading ability is pretty darn funny, even if it is stereotypical mother-in-law humor. BMW has also created four additional commercials that it says will soon be appearing online on streaming sites like Hulu.
What's most notable here is that in none of the clips do we actually see The Ultimate Driving Machine driving, though we do see kids, a dog and twin babies.
Click past the jump to see all the videos and read the press release.Continue reading BMW entering Super Bowl fray with two spots for new 3 Series
BMW entering Super Bowl fray with two spots for new 3 Series originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments - Teased: Infiniti names Geneva-bound range-extended sports car concept EMERG-E
Filed under: Concept Cars, Hybrid, Geneva Motor Show, Europe, Technology, Infiniti, Design/Style, Electric
Infiniti has named its electric concept car headed for next month's Geneva Motor Show the EMERG-E. The company says that its showcar will be a coupe powered by a 1.2-liter gasoline engine with a range-extending electric motor. The powerplant will be mounted amidships for superior weight distribution, and the Japanese automaker promises the concept will offer impressive performance.
Infiniti has released very few details beyond saying the car's pure-electric range will be "respectable." The vehicle also promises zero-emission driving in most urban settings, so there's a good chance the concept will show off some advanced charging tech as well. The automaker is intent on making us wait until the vehicle's full unveil in Geneva before it drops any more clues, though a few more teaser images have surfaced to whet our appetite. Check them out in our gallery below.Infiniti names Geneva-bound range-extended sports car concept EMERG-E originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments - Report: Wagons West: Domestics picked up market share in California last year
Filed under: Car Buying, Ford, GM, Honda, Jeep, Kia, Toyota, Earnings/Financials
Most days, California must seem like Kazakhstan for the Big Three. Domestic products aren't so popular out West, where Toyota and Honda have long stood atop the sales charts. But not in 2011.
According to a report in Automotive News, both General Motors and Ford managed to bump Honda from its silver medal position in 2011, though Toyota still holds a commanding market share lead. In a storyline we've heard before, the twin natural disasters in Asia curbed Japanese production, causing a 4.5 point loss of market share. Toyota's market share dropped from 22.8 to 19.2 percent, while GM and Ford tied at 12.6 percent - ahead of Honda at 12.1.
Booming sales in the Golden State helped the domestics to their 1.8 point gain. New vehicle registrations in California were up 9.9 percent, according to the report. The biggest sales gains last year were made by Kia and Jeep, which were up 53 and 49 percent, respectively.Wagons West: Domestics picked up market share in California last year originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments - Official: Mercedes-Benz gets sketchy with Citan urban delivery van
Filed under: Minivan/Van, Work, Mercedes-Benz, Design/Style
Though the Ford Transit Connect may be a niche player in the North American market, the small van market is big business in Europe. According to Mercedes-Benz, it accounts for some 700,000 units annually, and that's a pie of which Daimler wouldn't mind getting a bigger slice. And so it has announced its new Citan.
Taking its name from a combination of City and Titan, the Citan will slot in below the Vario, Sprinter and Vito in order to meet the needs of workers who need to get around crowded city streets and take their gear with them. Mercedes plans to offer it in a broad range of configurations, lengths and engine options once it hits the market in the fall.
The concept was unveiled at a logistics symposium held at the Mercedes-Benz Design Center in Sindelfingen, and will be presented for the first time in public next September at the IAA Commercial Vehicle Show. In the meantime, you can check out the details in the press release after the jump and the renderings in our high-res image gallery below.Continue reading Mercedes-Benz gets sketchy with Citan urban delivery van
Mercedes-Benz gets sketchy with Citan urban delivery van originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments - Cadillac denies ATS Coupe development halted [w/video]
Filed under: Coupe, Sedan, Performance, Videos, Cadillac, GM, Rumormill, Luxury
Motor Trend launched its new "Wide Open Throttle" news program on YouTube with a bombshell: "Cadillac Puts Hold on ATS Coupe." While it certainly gave us reason to click play, there's just one problem. The report - claiming that not just the coupe, but multiple ATS variants have been delayed or cancelled - may not be accurate.
Cadillac spokesman David Caldwell gave us the usual manufacturer disclaimer about not commenting on future product, but he did tell us, "There has been no recent radical shift in strategy" for the ATS. Reading between the lines, that either means an ATS coupe hasn't gotten past the idea stage, or that GM is still working hard at bringing us a two-door version of Caddy's BMW 3 Series fighter.
"On either end of the spectrum the reporting is inaccurate," Caldwell said, referring to those who have opined that Cadillac will launch several variants of the ATS sedan that comes to market later this year, including a coupe, a convertible, a wagon, and a shooting brake.
"We do plan to do variants," Caldwell told us. "We haven't yet called our shot of how we're going to execute that."
So what do we make of all this? We're pretty sure that we'll still see an ATS-V sedan, and perhaps that could be it for ATS models if the standard sedan is not well received. If sales take off, however, don't be surprised if Cadillac does move forward with at least one new bodystyle.
Click past the jump to watch the premiere episode of "Wide Open Throttle."Continue reading Cadillac denies ATS Coupe development halted [w/video]
Cadillac denies ATS Coupe development halted [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments - Video: Subaru eschews Super Bowl for doggy ads
Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Subaru
If we had to pick a Super Bowl advertising shtick that we're most susceptible to, it might just be dogs. Especially if they are driving cars.
But this is one ad campaign you won't actually see during the Super Bowl. Subaru will be holding its second annual Subaru Game Day Dog Walk instead, wherein owners pledge on Facebook to, well, walk their dogs. While we don't really want to think about what would happen if they didn't, Subaru sees value in appealing to animal lovers. Some 70 percent of Subaru drivers are pet owners, according to the company.
Subaru has also launched two social networking app as part of its marketing effort: Dogbook for Facebook and MapMyDOGWALK.
Do we even need mention that this is a brand that shares a nickname with a TV cartoon dog?
All four commercials and the press release are after the jump.Continue reading Subaru eschews Super Bowl for doggy ads
Subaru eschews Super Bowl for doggy ads originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments - First Drive: 2012 BMW ActiveHybrid 5
Filed under: Hybrid, Sedan, Technology, BMW, First Drives, Luxury
BMW Finally Builds A Serious Full Hybrid
After having us over to drive its raging new M5 last September, BMW is now aiming to show just how efficient their F10 5 Series can be with the occasionally silent and rage-free ActiveHybrid 5. Whereas the ActiveHybrid X6 and ActiveHybrid 750i arrived somewhat lacking in state-of-the-art hybrid credentials, the ActiveHybrid 5 carries a true and undeniable full parallel hybrid powertrain starting with all the goodness you find in a 535i.
This ActiveHybrid 5 is essentially a 535i sedan that pollutes less, travels farther on each of its 17.7 gallons of fuel, is painted BMW's alternative-propulsion color of choice, Bluewater Metallic, and weighs 330 pounds more due to its electric motor, electric power unit motherboard and lithium-ion battery pack. Both CO2 emissions and range are said to improve by roughly 16 percent in a car that performs up to par with a 535i, so it's a likeable proposition. Sticking with the standard 17-inch wheel/tire setup and setting the Driving Dynamics Control to Eco Pro mode, that'd make the CO2 rate 240 grams per mile - an impressive stat that most Americans still don't care about - and an average EPA city/hwy combined fuel economy score of around 31 miles per gallon.Continue reading 2012 BMW ActiveHybrid 5
2012 BMW ActiveHybrid 5 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments - Report: Clint Eastwood stepping in for Eminem in Chrysler Super Bowl ad?
Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Chrysler, Celebrities
Last year, Chrysler made a big splash in the advertising world with its "Imported From Detroit" campaign, a marketing blitz that kicked off with a Super Bowl spot featuring rapper Eminem behind the wheel of a Chrysler 200 sedan. The campaign jumpstarted a national dialogue about Detroit, went on to win an Emmy, and the tagline has since become a cornerstone of Chrysler's marketing efforts. But according to The Wall Street Journal, the Auburn Hills automaker isn't looking to return to The Big Game with Marshall Mathers - it's going with veteran actor Clint Eastwood.
According to the WSJ, Eastwood will feature in an expansive two-minute long ad and the action will likely center on the actor "giving the country a pep talk." While seemingly every other automaker has already spilled the beans on their Super Bowl marketing efforts, the Pentastar is playing its hand close to the vest, with the WSJ unable to get Chrysler to comment on the story.
Click past the jump for a quick refresher on Chrysler's Super Bowl ad with Eminem from 2011.Continue reading Clint Eastwood stepping in for Eminem in Chrysler Super Bowl ad?
Clint Eastwood stepping in for Eminem in Chrysler Super Bowl ad? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments - Official: Honda to enter World Touring Car Championship with new Civic
Filed under: Motorsports, Hatchback, Honda, Racing
Honda has announced plans to enter the FIA World Touring Car Championship with this, a hot new racer based on the newly redesigned 2012 Civic (well, the European five-door, anyway). Details are slim about the new touring car racer, but the automaker has released a statement confirming that the Civic will be powered by a bespoke 1.6-liter turbocharged inline-four, developed by Honda R&D in accordance with FIA's Super 2000 regulations. Honda has also formed a joint partnership with Mugen and J.A.S. Motorsport to develop the new Civic.
So, how soon will we get to watch the new hatchback swap paint with other WTCC racers? Honda hopes to officially join WTCC this season, with some inaugural rounds possibly held in Japan, China and Macau. Following that, a two-car team will be entered into every race in the 2013 championship. Hit the jump for the full details.Continue reading Honda to enter World Touring Car Championship with new Civic
Honda to enter World Touring Car Championship with new Civic originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments - Video: Chevy Silverado takes shot at Ford in apocalyptic Super Bowl ad
Filed under: Truck, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Chevrolet, Ford
Chevrolet continues its onslaught of Super Bowl ads released before this Sunday's big game, clearly hoping that volume plays in its favor when the points are tallied by marketing analysts on Monday.
Today's commercial, entitled "2012," stars the Chevrolet Silverado in a post-apocalyptic world. In this ad, Chevy reminds us of its oft-repeated statistic that its trucks are the longest lasting, most dependable trucks on the road, and it does so by imagining that the Mayans were right and that 2012 is our last year on Earth.
It's a well-done spot with lots of fun things to focus on - we're even amused by the soundtrack, which isn't what we'd immediately expect to hear as the backing music following life after an Extinction Level Event.
Follow the jump to view the end of the world through Chevy's eyes.Continue reading Chevy Silverado takes shot at Ford in apocalyptic Super Bowl ad
Chevy Silverado takes shot at Ford in apocalyptic Super Bowl ad originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
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- Screen Door Factory Gets a New Neighbor!
There's gonna be a new car company in Delaware? Next to the screen door factory? Seriously, this is where we'da rather seen the car bailout money go -- to new start ups with new ideas. Referenced articles emptywheel: Biden To... - A Loan
OK, so Koenigsegg Group AB want to buy the Saab division from GM. But they need a loan to do it. It looks like about $600,000,000 is needed. So, at the current rate of 19 Saabs sold per day at... - Just One. Really?
Just one GM was returned during the 60-day guarantee? MeanwhileHe [GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz] says consideration for GM vehicles is up 15 percent and says its market share in September, 20.5 percent, is the same as last year. Consideration,... - Recall!
No, not good 'ol GD, just some Fords. One million? No, keep going. Two? Nope. Three. Think mo. Mo mo mo. Four?! Oh, stop, we'll answer for you. 4,500,000 All the way back to when Clinton was in office! Sweet... - Can't Be Real
There is no way that DeLorean Motor Company is considering building a car based on the Pontiac Solstice. That car helped kill Pontiac and Saturn. No, it did not single car-ily kill both companies, but it was a great example... - Time To Make A New Category
Not that we care all that much for Trucks* but what the hell is Chrysler thinking? A brand just around the RAM trucks? It's not like these things have been selling like hotcakes... so WTF? Is Chrysler going to spin... - Saab On The Brain?
Sorry for our rants about Saab recently (No Way), but what is up with Saab? How can this niche brand still be around? Specifics? Sure, in August and September Saab sold 19 cars a day. Two months in a row!... - No One Could Have Predicted
Actually, we didn't. But we knew this was a no go. There were no cars to sell. And it's not like people were lining up to buy any Saturns anyway. So what happens now? Saturn just closes and "the dream"... - Go, Safety!
Offset crash (then vs now): Man, give us new over old any day! - Honda Falls
How did Honda fall so far so fast? With the release of the photos of the Crosstour, one has to wonder who quit in the last few years since the original Acura TL was released. Seriously, how many ugly vehicles... - No Way
There is no way that Koenigsegg is buying Saab. Really? No, there is no way. For Alison's sake, they sold 19 each day during August. That's during the cash for clunkers sale no less. Saab is dead. GM killed it.... - An Alternative It Is
Idea maybe for a new blog, hmm? Yes? OK, enough of the Yoda talk. Can you imagine if more people did this rather than driving? 42 bikes in one car spot. Referenced articles gizmodo: How Many Folding Bikes Does It... - A New Ford
The new Ford's here! The new Ford's here! And is he more qualified than ever or what?Anybody who can keep junior high school kids not only in their seats but focused on a lesson plan can deal with any supplier... - I'll Buy That For a Dollar
Who in their right mind would buy a car company that sold 22 cars a day in July? But you say, "So what if they don't sell a lot of 'em. Profit it profit, dear Cars! Cars! Cars! writer." First...
David Leggett's automotive industry blog - from just-auto.com
- Spare tyres becoming optional extras
The sealant and compressed air can be injected through the tyre valve but the result achieved will depend on the cause of the puncture and how far and fast the flat tyre has been driven on.
In other words, tyre inflator kits only work on small punctures over short distances. A major blow-out cannot be repaired using an inflator kit. If you find yourself in a remote rural spot out of reach of a cell phone signal, you could be facing a long walk to get help.
Yet with automakers under pressure to produce more fuel-efficient cars, it is hardly surprising to see them eliminating the spare wheel, thereby shedding up to 30 pounds in one stroke. While some motorists may be surprised to discover their spare wheel is missing from the boot (trunk), automakers say it is not unsafe to go without.
Here in the UK, there is no specific legal requirement for automakers to include a spare wheel with a vehicle. The only law regarding spare wheels is that, if a vehicle carries one and the driver resorts to using it, it must pass all the laws relating to a car's other tyres, such as tread depth, condition and use.
Motorists can still opt for a spare wheel. For instance, the Ford Fiesta list price shows a spare wheel and tyre as an optional extra of £50 for all models.
- When is a target not a target?
Just how do the average CO2 rules and targets in the EU apply to car manufacturers?
The people at cleangreencars.co.uk have a helpful guide.
In 2012, only the lowest polluting 65% of each manufacturer’s range have to meet the official target of 130g/km. Full compliance is not due until 2015. The EU is fond of quoting “130g/km of CO2 by 2012”, but this is simply not the case, they point out. Many will miss the target this year, but the range of loopholes means that fines are unlikely.
Car manufacturers who make heavy cars have a higher target. Take the example of Mercedes: with an average weight of 1661 KG, its current target is 143g/km of CO2, not 130g/km of CO2.
Manufacturers who sell less than 300,000 cars in the EU do not have to meet the target anyway. So, a company that sells fewer than that can continue producing an average of, say 160g/km of CO2, without fear. The only restriction for these companies is that their CO2 has to be 25% lower than it was in 2007 – but that is largely academic. Market forces mean that any mainstream manufacturer that was producing cars with over 200g/km of CO2 in 2007 has had to cut by more than 25% anyway (the average measure is sales weighted).
There is some useful info on the cleangreencars website, including sales weighted CO2 by make and model. The handout PDF on this page is worth a look in terms of how the fines work out in practice.
- Solar windows 1, Prius mirrors 0
Just when you think you've heard it all, comes this from California... Solar windows 1, Prius mirror housings 0.
- Trip to the cinema, courtesy of General Motors
I caught the Steven Spielberg directed epic 'War Horse' last night at the flicks.
General Motors' UK PR people kindly invited me (thank you Denis Chick and Uta Deutsch, enjoyed the pre-movie tapas!), along with a few others, on the grounds that Vauxhall had provided some vintage cars for the movie.
The 1911 Vauxhall C-Type “Prince Henry” ( named after Prince Henry of Prussia who sponsored early reliability trials) and 1918 Vauxhall D Type Army Staff Car both feature. The film trailer features the Prince Henry racing against the War Horse across Dartmoor. Watch the trailer here.
Denis Chick, Vauxhall Motors’ Director of Communications said: “Steven Spielberg loved the C-Type Prince Henry but due to its non-conventional controls, an expert was on hand to drive on set to master the centre-mounted throttle and outside gear changes. Mechanics were also around 24/7 to ensure the car was always operational so that valuable filming time was not lost. It’s great that these two cars from Vauxhall’s own museum, representing the company’s rich automotive heritage, are starring alongside such notable actors.”
The 1918 Vauxhall D-Type Army Staff Car is a development of the Prince Henry and Vauxhall built nearly 2,000 for the War Office costing GBP500 each. The D-Type was manufactured in Luton.
The movie itself? Well worth seeing. Captivating tale and it's clearly a big-budget job that is slickly executed. Great cast, great attention to period detail, wonderfully directed – as you would expect from Spielberg. The war scenes are suitably horrific (but without being very graphic). The stuff shot on Dartmoor makes that part of England look pretty beautiful and is also very well done. Is the film a little bit, well, sentimental, very obviously pressing the standard emotional buttons that Spielberg is known for adeptly doing (ET springs to mind)? Yes, but that treatment works with a story like War Horse. It isn't meant to be a docu-drama about the Great War. It's a fictional tale and ultimately a nice story (albeit with some pretty dark meanderings along the way), set in the most terrible of circumstances. It's basically right up Spielberg's creative street.
Oh, and the vintage cars played their parts very well. And so, I might add, did the horses.
- Dodge Dart Mark One
There's been a lot of mention of the new Dodge Dart on j-a recently following the Alfa Romeo Giulietta platform-based car's debut - replacing the Caliber hatchback but a true successor to the Neon sedan - at Detroit earlier this month.
The name's not new, though, and was once appended to a model line rather larger and way more powerful. Here's a trip down memory lane for those of us of a certain age.
These US Chryslers didn't just stay in North America, either. Chrysler Australia built its own Valiant tagged versions of the Dart two-door coupe body shell and similar models, some also using the Dart nameplate, were also built and sold in South Africa, South America and Europe (Holland).
- Replace the blue form with the red form NOW! DVLA
The DVLA - UK equivalent of the US DMV - has just mailed me, and presumably every other (30m?) vehicle owner in the UK, a new 'red' V5C form, aka logbook, a record of the legal registered 'keeper' as we are referred to over here. I must, a leaflet enclosed in the envelope says, "immediately" destroy my old 'blue' V5C.
Turns out a batch of the old blue forms - presumably blank - has been nicked and the DVLA says it is doing this to prevent fraud.
Questions arise: who forgot to lock a door and allowed the old ones to be pinched in the first place; are they still working for the DVLA on my taxpayer dime, and how much is all this costing the poor old taxpayer anyway? We really should be told.
- GMC has a (pricier) future
It's looking increasingly like GM is going to reinvent GMC division as an upscale truck brand.
Regular readers might recall that I wondered aloud about the likelihood of GM culling the brand. For the record, I still wonder about the need for Cadillac when the company has done such an amazing job with Buick in China, plus reinventing it in the US - why not push the latter further upscale?
Back to GMC. Mark Reuss, General Motors' president of North American operations, is being reported as saying that GMC has to "pay its way". To that end, the replacement for the GMC Sierra will apparently become pricier than its twin, the Chevrolet Silverado. Let's see if GMC can make this strategy work. Ford couldn't, not at first. Now it has sort of succeeded by having a rethink: the Lincoln Mark LT failed in the US market, but is still made in tiny numbers for Mexico. What Ford does is stick a Lincoln badge on the plusher versions of the F-150 to create that vehicle. Would you pay what Ford asks for a monthly lease on a $40,000+ F-150 King Ranch? Quite a few people do.
GM's rival big earners in the 1500 GVW pick-up class are due to be replaced for the 2013 model year so we should see them soon enough - I would expect at either next month's Chicago show, or the New York in April. And a facelift for the GMC Acadia should also turn up at Chicago.
Perhaps GM is planning to show us its new thoughts for GMC division at Chicago, just as Ford used Detroit to preview its relaunch of Lincoln. Keep an eye on our daily news headlines for the forthcoming Chicago show preview list too. There might be an Elantra Coupe, the new Pathfinder and Altima from Nissan and perhaps the next Kia Sedona too. But that's all speculation at this stage, I should add.
As for GMC's future line-up, I wouldn't guarantee the Savana van will be replaced and I am now hearing that the Granite concept won't reach production after all - I couldn't really see Americans taking to a GMC-branded Opel Meriva. Don't look for the Canyon pick-up to have a successor either. So a slimmed down but better focussed range. The successors for the Yukon and XL should also be big earners, while the two models which share the Terrain badge should be merged into one when replacement time comes around 2014.
- Chery crows about sales record
One of my factors for how seriously I take a company's claims is its media-facing website. So it's worth noting that Chery Auto has suddenly lifted its game, as well as its sales.
Were I being kind, I would say that the state-run firm hasn't always had the clearest information on the releases it makes available to the likes of me. I'm all for balance and anyone learning from mistakes so feel compelled to report that Chery has lately been communicating far better. The latest news shows that.
So here's what's impressed me: in calendar 2011, the company claims it sold 'around 643,000' vehicles, of which a record 160,200 were in 'overseas markets'. It wasn't always that well worded, believe me. And here's the impressive bit, which also shows just how the company's SKD and CKD plants are doing the world over - YoY overseas markets' sales are said to be up by a combined 73 percent.
There's still some work to go. The headline of Chery's press release is as follows:
'Chery achieves export record in 2011'.
- Natural gas prices plunge: which car brands could benefit?
The UK's Financial Times reports the Nymex February gas contract falling to US$2.402 per million British thermal units earlier on Thursday. That's got me thinking about CNG-fuelled cars.
Well, Honda is in pole position in the US market with such vehicles. The old Civic sedan was available in CNG-fuelled form but the sales numbers were never anything to get excited about. Then, American Honda got clever when it came to replacing it, making the new model available in all 50 states for the first time. That was back in October. Slowly, sales have been building. If I were Honda's ad agency I would be hassling the client with suggested campaigns right now, linking the Civic to news reports of plunging traded-gas prices.
'Forget the Civic Hybrid, hey we sold fewer than 5,000 in 2011 anyway, embrace the Civic Natural Gas'. Yes, perhaps my tagline needs work. There again, maybe the car itself could do with a snazzier model name.
If Honda misses this opportunity, I wonder which other brands could grab it? Here in Europe, Fiat does fairly well in the Italian market with its methane-fuelled Natural Power models. They might even be the boost that that brand needs at home right now too.
- Curious Citroen cinemagraphs
There is something oddly fascinating about Citroen's 'cinemagraphs', still images but with one moving element inside them.
We reported on this before when Citroen issued some of these images to help promote the DS5.
Some more of these subtly animated images have been released that include actions by football players (from Arsenal). Wasn't there an episode of Star Trek in which time apparently stood still, but some people were on a different scale, whizzing around at normal pace...as I say, curiously fascinating.
- Hyundai crowbarred off its perch. By Kia.
Last week Dave and self were manning a very busy news desk whilst Graeme and Simon were over in Detroit. Which is my excuse for having taken a week longer than I normally do to glance at the major markets' monthly registrations numbers. So it is that I am only just noticing something big having happened in Korea.
After many, many years, the Hyundai Sonata has been knocked out of the number one slot. The Sonata, which is also a major seller in the USA, is proving to be less popular with the home market crowd. To be fair, car buyers' tastes in South Korea have been shifting in recent years and the car itself is getting close to the mid-point of its lifecycle.
More competition, a gradual opening of the market to foreign competitors but especially the ongoing wave of much-improved new cars are also to blame for the Sonata's fall. Its tumble isn't a big problem for Hyundai, mind. Even though sales plunged by 31 percent to 104,248 units, the larger and higher-margin Grandeur sedan (the US and Canada's Azera) turned in a stellar performance with 107,652 sales. Korea's top seller, however, was the Hyundai Avante (Elantra in some countries) with 131,016 sales.
What I started this blog to point out is this: the car that has really put the cat amongst the pigeons is the little Kia Morning (Picanto). As the country's second best selling vehicle in 2011, its 114,687 sales show just how popular little hatchbacks can be in a market that's evolving. And that number is also twice the volume done by its rival the Chevrolet Spark. Kia's Sportage also outsold its twin the Hyundai (52,018 versus 43,198) Tucson, while there were 87,452 units of the Kia K5 (Optima) delivered to Korean customers last year. The tiny Kia Ray also bounced into the top ten in December, its first month on sale, with an impressive 4,107 sales.
And the size of the Korean market in 2011? Passenger vehicle sales were up by half a percent to 1.3 million. Hyundai fell just short of the half-million mark (499,043), while second placed Kia delivered 412,873 sales. Best imports-only brand was BMW, with 23,292 sales, which just shows how much things have changed - Mercedes-Benz was only a few thousand behind in a country where foreign name cars were almost unheard of only a few years ago.
By the way, the shining example of carbon neutrality you see beaming back at you above is just-auto's very own He Who Must Be Obeyed and editorial director, the aforementioned Mister Leggett. We attended the same Kia Optima media launch event at a hotel which turned out to be near his home, thus his mode of arrival and exit. An engaging afternoon with Dave, onboard in the new-to-Europe Optima, it turned out to be. If you have a few minutes to spare and fancy reading about the car, you'll find my rambling thoughts here.
- Fiat's search for a third partner
It certainly is interesting to hear Sergio Marchionne again speaking about the primacy of industrial scale economies, of big automotive alliances and of his preference for Fiat-Chrysler to add a third partner.
PSA is being talked about as a possible suitor yet again. But the big difficulty there is that the gains would require capacity rationalisation in Europe that looks politically troublesome, especially when economies are in a weak phase. Both Fiat and PSA are relatively reliant on the weak European market, share plenty of model/segments overlap. Could be tricky to get the consolidation benefits that look good on paper.
Perhaps adding a strategic partner with a strong position in another world region would make sense? Suzuki on the rebound from VW?
Come to think of it, wasn't the diesel engine deal in which Fiat supplied Suzuki's Indian operation one of the things that put strain on VW-Suzuki's ill-fated alliance?
- The BMW 335Li does not officially exist
A long wheelbase version of the new BMW 3 Series is said to be set for a global debut at AutoChina 2012 in April.
BMW might possibly not thank for me informing you that pics of the LWB 3er are all over the web but it's so clearly a well proportioned car that I couldn't not share the news.
Might we see the 3 Series iL exported? I don't see why not. After all, BMW began to ship Shenyang-built long wheelbase 5 Series sedans abroad last month.
As is the case with other major shows throughout this year, we'll publish and republish a constantly updating list of world premieres before and during Bejing's biennial event. I'm currently sniffing around my own sources as well as nagging the official press departments for confirmations of debutantes. The list as ever will only contain models and concepts that have been announced by manufacturers. See our recent ones from New Delhi and Detroit if you missed them, each of which now serves as a handy historic record. And the current one for Geneva is here.
- 'Scandal of upbeat car industry news grows'
How great has it been to see so many positive news stories emerge from the Detroit motor show? Might there be something deeper going on?
I possibly over-expose myself to media. But as a writer the only real danger with that is if you stop reading and listening to what others are saying. Do that and you slowly start believing mostly in your own bias, and then, far worse, that most unattractive and dangerous of companions, an outsized ego. Oh the irony of having just written that sentence in a blog.
Back to the point. US media, media in other nations, just about anyone that these journalists pushed a microphone at - all seemed to ooze positivity. Remember that word? It seemed to vanish almost without trace around the third quarter of 2008 for the industry that surrounds the sales of new light vehicles in the US market. Now, life is returning. Possibly, and I will whisper it, strongly.
I've been inspired to bash out some thoughts on all this. See what you think. Considered, opposing views especially welcome.
- Marchionne generates huge scrum
I finally met James Cain from GM's financial news section yesterday in the RenCen - once I'd finished the obligatory several circuits of the place getting lost.
James was the spokesman for GM during Saab's recent and prolonged demise and was always on the end of a phone to front up to some fairly hostile Swedish reaction to GM's tough stance on licensing issues.
He also had some fascinating insight into how the iconic RenCen - this year thankfully with less motown music everywhere - was built.
Staying with the RenCen theme, last night's Automotive News World Congress dinner in the building, featured an emotional appearance by British racing driver Dan Wheldon's wife. Wheldon - winner of the Indianapolis 500 Borg-Warner Trophy in 2011 - died at the end of last year in a racing accident and the supplier paid tribute to his short life.
I've been in a few media scrums in my time, but last night's bunfight after Fiat/Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne spoke at the dinner took some beating.
Surrounded by dozens of the world's media - and four huge security guards replete with ear-pieces - the diminutive Fiat boss in trademark black jumper struggled to make himself heard above a barrage of questions.
Nonetheless, he gamely answered a bewildering array of shouted topics with the sheer mass of media present testament to his global influence. And the Detroit audience during his presentation certainly appreciated what he'd done by turning Chrysler around.
The weather's just started to get, well a bit more Detroit-like after a few glorious sunny days. Cold and raining, the forecast is predicting quite a bit of snow tonight and tomorrow, so fingers crossed the big white bird makes it out of Detroit Metro airport.
- Detroit with a difference
It was Detroit with a difference this year. Different largely because of the weather.
I’ve been covering this show for 20 years or so and the city has almost always been covered in snow and certainly freezing cold – minus 17C on one occasion.
Standing outside the Cobo Hall on the morning of the second press day, the sun was shining and it was unseasonably warm, +7C – almost unheard of. Exactly a year ago, my connecting flight through New York on the way home was cancelled because of snow storms.
The warmth this year spread through to the inside of the Cobo Hall. This was Detroit Show with a buzz about it even though there is small chance of the market returning the 16m plus of the mid-2000s. Now, the industry has shaken out and finds it can still make money in a market hovering around 13m.
No outrageous giant SUVs and pick-ups this year, the Ford Fusion and the Dodge Dart represented a softer, more environmentally-friendly approach to new modelsm though there were still cars to drool over. The new Porsche Carrera Cabriolet was one, while it was arguably outdone by the stunning Acura NSX.
Like most shows these days, most companies were talking green but there is still a heavy reliance on the internal combustion engine in the US. Petrol remains considerably cheaper than in Europe but reduced mpg and CO2 is very much at the forefront for all the carmakers with 40mpg seemingly the holy grail.
- GMC: you thinking what I'm thinking?
General Motors has four US market divisions. Three of those had new products at the Detroit show. We heard nothing about GMC. I wonder...
...in fact I've been wondering if GMC has a future ever since last year's announcement about the new Chevrolet Colorado for the Wenztville plant in Missouri. What about a replacement for the current model's twin, the GMC Canyon? On that topic there was only silence. The Canyon hasn't been a strong seller so it's reasonable for GM to replace both it and the Colorado with just one vehicle.
I still wonder about GMC, though. As a brand it was outsold by Jeep last year in the US and it has no markets of notable size outside North America. If you were GM, wouldn't you start to think about merging its products into Chevrolet? In fact, that's what's been going on for some years.
All should be resolved within this calendar year. A small crossover, a production version of the Granite concept, is expected for the 2013 model year, plus of course the most important new product is also due for 2013 - the next generation GMC Sierra pick-up (and its twin, the Chevy Silverado). The Acadia crossover is due for a mid-life facelift too, while a successor for the Yukon SUV series should also be reaching reaching GMC dealerships in early 2013.
With fuel prices where they are, GMC's higher-priced trucks must surely be big money-spinners, as indeed must the Terrain SUV be, production of which seems to keep rising. But what about tomorrow? I myself think GMC will survive but I wouldn't expect to see quite so many model lines for this division in the future. Let's wait and see what next month's Chicago motor show brings, or failing that, New York in April. If there's no new product at either of those, we'll have our answer.
- Detroit Day Two - all done
Press day two of the Detroit motor show seemed almost as crowded as the first with a number of reveals - including Buick's new luxury compact Encore SUV, Toyota's Prius plug-in, Prius C and NS4 plug-in hybrid concept - and there were still TV crews filming at Toyota and other stands late in the afternoon when I finally, shoe leather wearing thin, called it a day.
Had lunch with Edmunds.com analysts Michelle Krebs and Jessica Caldwell - Jessica reckons on a 2012 light vehicle tally for the US of around 13.7m units, vs 12.7m in 2011. Even 14m may not be out of the question.
Having admired yesterday the huge 6-litres-plus V8 diesel engines available in the full-size pickup trucks from Ford, Chrysler and GM, I asked Chevrolet marketing head Chris Perry today what the take-up rate was for his Silverado line. The answer is 40% of the heavy-duty versions, the real working trucks tradesmen over here buy. Much higher than I expected.
Spotted a 'surprise and delight' feature on Cadillac SUVs with electric tailgates yesterday. When you push the button to open the gate, the hazard lights at the back flash three times and then it begins to open. New Federal regulation? No, just a feature they thought worth including. Spotted the same on a Toyota today. As well as flashing the hazards, the Toyota also sounds a discreet toot of the horn before the tailgate starts to rise.
As a family man, trying to stuff two little kids and all their gear into a saloon, I'd really like any one of the big US minivans, Chrysler's Town and Country, Toyota's Sienna or Honda's Odyssey. Edmunds in its regular comparison tests usually ends up recommending one or other of the Japanese models depending on which is where in its model life cycle.
Top-trim versions were all at the show - electric remote control rear side sliding doors, electric liftgate, dual- or split-screen rear DVD screens, satellite radio, separate front and rear climate control, electric folding rear seats, heated and cooled front seats, bottle holders and storage cubbies galore. And separate centre rear seats far enough apart to prevent fisticuffs between siblings on long journeys - my kids would love one of these. I'm well aware we have similar 'MPVs' in Europe, smaller and more practical on our narrower roads and parking spaces and more fuel-efficient. But grumbly old diesel I4s and jerky automated manual transmission (Peugeot and Citroen)? If the auto option is offered at all (Mazda 5). If like me you want automatic, the choice of engines is limited. And none bar the Mazda have rear sliders - they apparently add a lot of weight that affects fuel economy.
If I lived here in the US, it'd be one of the American models with a creamy-smooth V6 and a proper six-speed auto. Or maybe the Mazda which is sold in the US with a meaty 2.5-litre I4 and auto option but only six seats rather than the seven we get.
I'm all but done here now. Tomorrow (Wednesday), I'm going to see the nerve centre of OnStar, GM's in-car concierge and rescue service. To see such things as how an adviser in Detroit can remotely unlock a car in Los Angeles after the owner has shut his keys in. Should be interesting.
- Navigating the RenCen
Out to Delphi's hugely impressive HQ this morning just down the road from where I'm staying in Troy and a chat with its chief technologist Andrew Brown, whose CV and various committee nominations leaves me wondering how he finds 24h in a day.
The Tier One operation is thinking up some pretty amazing ideas for driver aids that are partly driven by its own evaluation and the inexorable march of government regulation and while it might not be possible to create the accident-free car, Delphi's doing what it can to get close.
Mind you, with the way drivers weave across freeway lanes in Detroit, those driver aids are going to have go work fairly hard to cope, although having lived in Paris, I'm toughened up to some challenging driving.
I also had a long discussion with OESA boss Neil de Koker who gave a fascinating tour de force of the current US economic climate and as America braces itself for Presidential election fever.
You can't get away from electioneering here - it's everywhere - with some fairly robust TV advertising highlighting their candidate attributes - and unusual for me to hear - equally highlighting what people argue are the opposition's shortcomings.
Back to the RenCen now for the Automotive News World Congress - I echo my colleague Graeme Roberts' struggles with the layout - I did several laps of its cavernous interior before I found the right escalator/room combination. In fact, like Graeme, I passed the same people several times, all perambulating in giant circles.
People can't stop talking about the weather here - and I thought we Brits were bad enough at it - but it's an unusual auto show in Detroit that doesn't have to battle mighty blizzards in January.
[Winter is finally coming: snow and 30F temperatures are forecast for Thursday and Friday - ed]
- The USA's roads in the style of the Tube map
Ever wondered what a schematic diagram of roads in the mainland USA would look like? Nor me. But someone has and it's rather wonderful to look at.
- In the Wake of Destruction?
Otie McKinley South Central Regional Communications If a catastrophe were to strike your community, you?d be faced with two choices; turn inward and focus on your own misfortunes, or set them aside and rally for those less fortunate around you. Which would you choose? Just over two weeks ago, a devastating tornado hit the city of Joplin, [...] - Answering the Call
By Bob Ferguson Chairman, GM Foundation Vice President, Global Public Policy One of the most rewarding aspects of my job is serving as Chairman of the GM Foundation. Who wouldn?t feel good about giving money away to good causes? But, my sense of pride in working for GM really starts when I see how my colleagues from cube [...] - Photo of the Day: Frozen Malibu Bowtie
Today’s photo comes from Wickedryobi. You can check out all of Wickedryobi’s photos over at Flickr. If you’d like to see your photo in out Photo of the Day feature, just post it to Flickr and be sure to tag it “gmfyi.” - GM Named No. 1 Automotive Innovator
General Motors is ranked the No. 1 innovator among 182 companies in the Patent Board’s quarterly automotive and transportation industry scorecard. The ranking reflects the board’s analysis of intellectual-property performance and subsequent scoring based on factors like the number of patents, industry impact, and science strength. The ranking marks GM’s second-straight No. 1 ranking in the [...] - VIDEO: Celebrating 50 Years of Corvettes and Astronauts
Corvettes and astronauts go together like peanut butter and jelly. That special relationship was celebrated last week, during a parade in Cocoa Beach, FLA, during which surviving astronauts rode Corvettes representing all six design generations built since the famed sports car’s 1953 debut. The parade celebrated the 50th anniversary of Alan B. Shepard’s historic sub-orbital flight. Here’s [...] - Investing in the Future
By Catherine Glegg Vice President, Manufacturing and Labor I had a great time with our folks at the Toledo plant today, along with my partner, UAW Vice President Joe Ashton. The Toledo plant is a rich part of our history?it?s been around since 1916? but part of the New GM is looking forward and investing in the [...] - The storm is rolling in, but so are the troops
It?s been a long few days, but we are glad we didn?t wait to trek from Atlanta to Tuscaloosa to drop off supplies for the victims of last week?s tornado. A big storm came in just as we were unloading our cargo onto the dozen Silverados Chevrolet is donating to the United Ways of Alabama. [...] - Helping Alabama
One-seventh. One-seventh of the city of Tuscaloosa was destroyed during the deadly tornado that ravaged the Alabama area last week. It’s hard to imagine. When you hear that at least 39 lives were lost and 450 are missing, it?s a statistic. When you know among the lost are members of the GM family, it becomes [...] - Meet GM?s Crash Test Dummies
We all have seen crash test dummies on commercials and in videos. But in this video, we goes behind the scenes at General Motors’ Anthropomorphic Test Device laboratory to see that crash test dummies — or ATDs – are, in fact, complex, data-collecting tools that help GM design safer cars and, ultimately, save lives. - 2011 LaCrosse Earns NHTSA Five-Star Safety Rating
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has awarded the 2011 Buck LaCrosse a Five-Star overall safety rating. The news comes as the NHTSA has introduced more-stringent tests and tougher requirements for vehicles to receive its highest rating in its New Car Assessment Program. The LaCrosse erarned five stars in the Overall Frontal Crash and Overall Side [...]
- Im Memoriam -- Phill Hill
Born Phillip Toll Hill, Jr. on April 20th, 1927 in Miami, FL. Phill Hill was raised in Santa Monica, CA where he would reside his entire life. As the sole US-born race driver ever to win the coveted Formula One... - "Equillibriance"
The time value of money (i.e. that a dollar today is worth more than the promise of the same dollar at some point in the future) is one of the most important and fundamental principles of economics. As a society,... - Horse(power) Wars
By any measure, animals and roadways have never had a particularly good relationship. Aside from breaking up their natural habitats and delivering hordes of gun-toting hunters directly to their doorstep, the highway has become an outright death-trap to many a... - People's Service for the People's Car
Volkswagen has recently announced that they will begin offering a free scheduled service program starting with their upcoming Tiguan model. The program is not limited to just their new pint-sized SUV however, and will apply to all of the 2009... - Ding...You are now free to move about the cashier's office
For anyone who has experienced it, the new boarding process at Southwest airlines seems more like a bizarre study in sociology than the time-saving seat selection protocol it was no-doubt designed to be. What was likely perceived as a clever... - Loud Pipes Save Lives?
This de facto motto that Harley-Davidson had adopted is more than just a tag line. In all likelihood, there is probably as much truth and substance to it as there was to that temporary campaign they once used specifically to... - Things that make you say "hmm" - NAIAS 2008
All of us have at one time or another slid on a pair of our favorite jeans only to find an errant sock or pair of underwear balled up in a pant leg completely throwing off an otherwise comfy fit... - New Year's Resolution
If you traveled at all this past holiday season, it is an unfortunate certainty that you likely ran into some delays or other transportation-related problems somewhere along the way. To be fair, the holidays are an extreme and will burden... - Customer service with a side of 5 Series.
Every so often you come across a product that is a real game-changer. These are the items that are executed so well that competitors can actually thrive just by emulating them and offering an inferior copy. It seems that just... - Year end clearance...
Well, the holiday season is officially upon us. This is the time of year when people are thinking about travel plans, trendy gifts and dropping temperatures. One thing noticeably off that list is the purchase of a new (or used)...
- Your Ridiculously Cool Saab 900 Turbo Cutaway Wallpaper Is Here [Car Porn]I'm a big fan of the cutaway drawing and, simultaneously, the old Saab 900 Turbos. I saw one while I was out jogging yesterday and couldn't help but feel like it made perfect sense to me. I'm not planning on owning a FWD vehicle next, but if I did it would likely be one of these. More »
- COTD: It's Not You, It's Me Edition [Commenter Of The Day]Sometimes relationships are wonderful, enduring, life-sustaining things. Sometimes they aren't. Eventually you get to the point where you just know: it's not working, it's not happening, you're happier spending time away from someone than with them. More »
- This Puppy Gets Chauffeured Around In $1.6 Million Bugatti [LOLCars]Dutch gearhead website Autogespot recently posted a set of pics that takes the hot-blonde-in-a-hot-car cliche in an endearing new direction: a Bugatti Veyron spotted in West Hollywood with a golden retriever in the passenger's seat. More »
- Is The New York Times Crossword Puzzle Trolling Car Enthusiasts? [Hoons]I suspect New York Times Puzzle Wizard Will Shortz was once again showing his weakness with slang when he edited this week's über difficult Friday crossword. Otherwise, he's definitely screwing with car enthusiasts by employing a bit of clue misdirection. More »
- Officer Dan Says Don't Try Drifting At Home, Kids! [Video]If you watched all the way through Icon's Motorcycle vs. Car Drift Battle 2 video we posted, you saw one of the cops take a nasty roll during the credits. Icon has thoughtfully brought us the full story of Officer Dan's off-road excursion. More »
- An Insanely Intense Look At The World?s Cheapest Car [Car Design]Like lots of car guys, I have a very specific weakness for one particular class of automobile. For many, that weakness is for fast, powerful, luxurious, high-end exotics; for me, as a side effect of a condition known medically as "being a bit of a moron," it's cars at the extreme low end of the spectrum. More »
- British Comedian Draws Ayrton Senna On Used Envelope [Car Art]This is Noel Fielding’s take on the iconic color combination of white, red, yellow, green and black better known as Ayrton Senna driving the wheels off one of his McLarens, drawn upside down in felt-tipped pen on the back of a Royal Mail envelope for The Guardian. Fielding, who discussed his artistic influences, referred to Senna as enigmatic and spiritual and called his racing “almost like an act of poetry." More »
- BMW-Named Cold Front Kills 114 In Europe [Ad Watch]In one of the more tragic cases of fun PR gone very wrong, BMW has apologized after a Mini-sponsored weather pattern named "Cooper" turned into a brutal deep freeze that so far has killed over a hundred people in Eastern Europe. More »
- Ferrari's 2012 F1 Car Is An Ugly Fast Duckling [Formula One]Caving to the wave of backlash over its now-aborted five-seater prototype, Ferrari has hastily redesigned its F1 car overnight, resulting in this ugly little duckling, the F2012. Force India unveiled its own duck-billed racecar as well. Click through for in-depth details on these machines. More »
- M.I.A.?s ?Bad Girls? Video Brings Arab Drifting To The Masses [Video]It's called hagwalah and nine times out of ten you've seen it in grainy cell phone video shot from the side of a Saudi highway, but now it's the high-def backdrop of M.I.A.'s surprisingly car-centric video, shot in the Middle East. More »
- A Letter To My First Car [Car Culture]We all remember our first car, and although few of us still have it — even fewer of us probably were thoughtful enough to tell that car how we felt about it. But Kelcie Moseley did just that at Thought Catalog. Here's the letter she sent. Write your own in the comments below. —Ed. More »
- Panicked Driver Destroys $165,000 Of Superbikes [Video]A woman in Kuala Lumpur crashed into a store full of superbikes after having already reversed into three other cars. Frightened and confused after the initial crashes, she accelerated straight into the bike storefront, causing an estimated $165,000 in damages. More »
- What's The Greatest Dyno Video Of All Time? [Video]We live in a numbers-obsessed era. We want to see measured proof of a car's awesomeness. If we can see and hear that awesomeness being measured, so much the better. What's the best dyno pull that's ever been captured on video? More »
- Ten Car Colors That Need To Make A Comeback [Answers Of The Day]The world is a vibrant, multi-hued place — but you'd never know that by looking at most automotive showrooms. We need more intensity and variety on the streets. Right now anyone with a little creativity and enough money in their checking account can get whatever color they want. These are Jalopnik readers' picks for the colors that need to make a comeback. More »
- Chevy Super Bowl Ad: You Will Die If You Buy A Ford [Video]Dropping any artifice of civility in the back-and-forth sniping between Chevy and Ford, this year's Silverado ad comes out and says what they've only been wiling to say behind closed doors: buy our competitors vehicle and you will die. You will be dead. Six-feet under. And your family. You will all die a horrible terrible death. More »
- New Motor Trend Editor In Childish Facebook Slap Fight With Professional Internet Troll [Motor Trend]After Motor Trend's Jonny Lieberman found himself the victim of a savage Facebook LOLing by professional automotive internet troll Jack Baruth, newly-annointed Motor Trend editor-in-chief Edward Loh jumped to his beleaguered number two's defense. It's not pretty. More »
- Vermont Prisoner Sneaks Pig Onto Cop Cars In Genius Prank [Pranks]Somewhere, in Vermont's St. Albans penitentiary, there's a prisoner feeling pretty damn good about himself. Not because of a well-formed shiv or a found cigarette, but because of a really sublime prank: he snuck a pig into the state seals that adorn Vermont's police cars. More »
- Clint Eastwood's Chrysler Super Bowl Ad, The 2013 Shelby GT500 Convertible, And Ford's Boob Problem [Video]This is the Morning Shift, our one-stop daily roundup of all the auto news that's actually important — all in one place at 9:00 AM. Or, you could spend all day waiting for other sites to parcel it out to you one story at a time. Isn't your time more important? More »
- For $16,000, This Corvette Should Come With Miles Of Orange Track [Nice Price Or Crack Pipe]The 1965 Mako Shark II concept car previewed the styling direction of the C3 Corvette, albeit with greater exaggeration. Today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe '71 Coupe is claimed to be a MACO - whatever that is — but will its price take too big a bite out of its buyer's wallet? More »
- Watch Jalopnik On "Attack Of The Show" Tonight At 7PM On G4 [Blogging The Auto Bloggers]Ben Popken will be on tonight's "Attack Of The Show" on G4 at 7:00 PM EST to talk about the Heather Peters Honda Civic Hybrid case. Tune in and watch him. Remember, take a drink every time he winks. More »
![Click here to read Watch <i>Jalopnik</i> On "Attack Of The Show" Tonight At 7PM On G4](http://cache.jalopnik.com/assets/images/12/2012/02/small_229f60cc226dbadf2912f49a086369f5.jpg "Click here to read Watch <i>Jalopnik</i> On "Attack Of The Show" Tonight At 7PM On G4")
- Your Ridiculously Cool Chevelle SS 396 Wallpaper is here [Car Porn]These days the most exciting mid-size sedans are vehicles like the Kia Optima Turbo which, at least, has some spark of life. But once there were mid-size sedans with options like a 396 c.i. V8 or four-barrel carbs. You know, the good old days. More »
- COTD: Applewood-Smoked Edition [Commenter Of The Day]I am waiting for the day when someone passionate and knowledgeable completely gets on my case about my occasional offhand use of the word "barbecue." I want someone to do this. I want to be interrogated about whether I'm talking specifically about dry rub or Carolina vinegar-based or Kansas City or whatever. More »
- Kia Track'ster Concept: A Small Car With Soul [Chicago Auto Show]Kia is set to debut this tall-boy Track'ster concept at the Chicago Auto Show next week, showing off what the company's California design studio can do and giving us an idea what the next Kia Soul will look like. More »
- It's Hard To See Your Shadow When You're Hauling Ass [Video]Are you sick of all the non-automotive related thinking you have to do in relation to Groundhog Day? Sure, it's fun we entrust a marmot or whatever to handle our global weather control, but dammit, nobody even brings up cars when talking about them. Yes, Bill Murray let one crash a Ford F-150 in the movie, but beyond that, it's all shadow observations and holes in the ground. Until now. More »
- How Honda Fought Heather Peters In Small Claims Court [Honda Civic Hybrid]Little guy: 1. Honda: 0. That's the results from Round One of Honda v. Civic Hybrid Owner. Which isn't to say that Honda didn't make a valiant effort. And we've got the 120-page evidence packet they submitted to prove it. So how exactly did Honda try to take down Heather Peters? More »
- Ferrari's New F1 Car Has Horrible Aerodynamics [Formula One]Ferrari unveiled its highly anticipated F1 car for the 2012 season in bizarre conditions and many sites, Jalopnik included, are deeply confused and discouraged by the new racer. Click through for more details on this monumental failure. More »
- 2013 Volkswagen Beetle TDI: A Diesel Coupe For Menfolk [Chicago Auto Show]Volkswagen calls the 2013 Volkswagen Beetle TDI the "most fuel efficient 21st Century Beetle" because those old veedubs managed impressive fuel economy feats before safety was an issue. Legal precision aside, shoving a diesel in a new-but-not-New Volkswagen Beetle gives American men a shot at an affordable diesel coupe. More »
- Which Group B Car Is More Legendary: Ford RS200 or Audi Sport Quattro? [Video]The nearly three-decades-old Ford RS200's byzantine all-wheel-drive system is like the modern Nissan GT-R's, only in reverse. The Audi Sport Quattro had ABS and self-locking diffs when those things were still wizardry. Awesome, yes, but which one of these cars enjoys the most renown? More »
- This Is Five Hours Of Adriana Lima Waving A Flag In Slow Motion [Video]Adriana Lima is typically near the top of everyone's "most beautiful people in the world" list and usually in a catalog on the bottom of many a young man's sock drawer. Now we have the Internet. And, thanks to the ad wizards at Kia, five hours of her waving a flag in slow motion. More »
- Aston Martin V12 Zagato: Is This It? [Aston Martin Zagato]Last year, Aston Martin's V12 Zagato concept debuted to a flush, veal-complected crowd at Italy's Villa D'Este. This year, the Zagato-massaged Vantage collabo's going into production, and according to GTspirit.com, this is it. More »
- Presidents And Cars: The Answers! [Car History]Yesterday, I gave you ten fascinating facts about Presidents and cars. And by "facts" I mean half were a special type of fact many experts would term a "lie." So, as promised, today I'm revealing which ones were true, and which were imaginary. More »
- Fiery Death Awaits The Junkers Of New Zealand [Video]Burning cars, rusty cars, cars teetering on the edge of destruction gloriously pushed over the edge: these are the participants in New Zealand backyard derby racing. More »
- Lamborghini Is Full Of Expensive Surprises [Geneva Motor Show]Renders of a Lamborghini SUV have left everyone to wonder just what the Italians are up to with regards to their future plans (other than a dozen or so alphanumerically-enhanced Aventadors). The company has responded to the rumors with few details but some intrigue. More »
- Kia Super Bowl Ad: Tripping With Adriana Lima And Motley Crue [Video]Kia's Super Bowl ad throws every testosterone-filled cliché at you in the hopes of that some coolness will rub off on its Optima family sedan. Why? Because this is how things are done now. The only way to surprise us now is with subtlety. More »
- What Car Color Needs To Come Back? [Question Of The Day]We live in an age where car colors are terribly safe. Silver and gray rule the modern automotive palette. It's time to liven things up and add some brightness and contrast to the roads. What color needs to be popular again? More »
- The Ten Best High-Performance Bargains [Answers Of The Day]High-performance cars can be ridiculously expensive, but if you look in the corners and take a pass on snob appeal you can get intense amounts of speed for surprisingly little cash. These are Jalopnik readers' picks for the best budget high-performance cars. More »
- How You Can Sue An Automaker In Small Claims Court And Win [Heather Peters]Yesterday, Heather Peters proved one woman can strike a blow against a major automaker when she succeeded in a landmark California case against Honda for making false claims about fuel economy.The key? Take them to small claims court. With her help, we've created this definitive step-by-step guide to how she, like a modern-day David, took on Goliath — and how you can too. More »
- Hilarious Proof That Being A Race Car Driver Is Hard [Video]You ever look at a race car driver's neck and wonder why they're usually so thick? Watch this video of a woman trying to keep her head in one place while being battered around the Abu Dhabi Yas Marina track in a two-seat Formula One car. Whiplash! More »
- Fiat 500L, Camaro ZL1 Production Starts, And A Nissan Leaf Doesn't Explode In Flames [Video]This is the Morning Shift, our one-stop daily roundup of all the auto news that's actually important — all in one place at 9:00 AM. Or, you could spend all day waiting for other sites to parcel it out to you one story at a time. Isn't your time more important? More »
- For $5,500, is this VW a Mexican, or a Mexican't? [Nice Price Or Crack Pipe]This year, Volkswagen released a new New Beetle, and over the decades they built like a gazillion old Old Beetles. Today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe Type 1 is a new Old Beetle, but is its price old news? More »
