Bob Lutz showed up in LA recently for an impromptu breakfast with the Motor Press Guild, aka MPG. Bob is always good for a few juicy quotes so I hustled up the 405 in typical OC-LA rush day traffic to grab an earful.
Bob didn’t disappoint. He started with a comment about GM needing to make headway in the Smile States and then proceeded to elaborate on some recent successes in California:
GM’s retail share of market in California for Q4 2009 was 9.3%, up 0.8 percentage points (PP) from Q4 ’08.
Compact Crossover and large car sales were up 4.7 PP and 2.8 PP, respectively for the same period.
In a recent design clinic of an upcoming new Cadillac versus its European and Asian competition, the clinic attendees liked the Cadillac more after they found out it was a Cadillac than when they didn’t know it was a Cadillac. Lutz says this is the first time this has happened. Read the rest of this entry »
Hyundai has been selling cars in the US since 1986. And after a bit of a sputtering start, the last decade has seen years of steady growth for Hyundai in this market. Starting at a mere 0.6 percent market share in 1998, Hyundai reached 3.0 percent penetration in 2008 and in 2009, a year in which world-wide recession and plummeting auto sales affected virtually every auto maker in this market, Hyundai sales rocketed to a 4.2 percent share of market.
So what has Hyundai been doing right? Seems like just about everything: Quality products competitively priced. J.D. Power quality and North American Car of the Year Awards. Attention grabbing warranty programs. A job-loss vehicle return program. Depreciation lower than Toyota and Ford. High-tech powertrains. Industry-leading fuel economy. More standard features than the competition. Leadership in active and passive safety technologies. Oh, and did I mention styling? Say hello to the eye-stopping 2011 Hyundai Sonata.
Hard to believe but Ford’s midsize competitor to the likes of the Camry, Accord, Malibu, Altima and Sonata has been around since the 2006 model year. It first appeared in these pages in 2007, November 27th to be precise, in the guise of two 2008 SE models, one with a 4-cylinder and the other with a V6.
Spool ahead to 2010 and we’re got a substantially updated Fusion, one with revised front and rear styling, an even nicer interior and new powertrain offerings including the hybrid model reviewed here.
Ford’s continued evolution of its hybrid technology results in a hybrid system that transitions between gasoline and electric power and back more efficiently and seamlessly. The overall system upgrade allows the Ford Fusion and its Mercury Milan counterpart to operate longer at higher speeds in electric mode. The hybrid vehicles can operate up to 47 mph (I saw 43 mph) in pure electric mode, approximately twice as fast as some competitors. Plus, the city driving range on a single tank of gas is expected to be more than 700 miles. EPA ratings for the Ford Fusion Hybrid are 41-mpg city and 36-mpg highway, better than its Camry, Altima and Malibu hybrid counterparts. Read the rest of this entry »
More exciting auto news on the good, the bad and the ugly that showed up at Detroit. Images once again from Fotog Joe Tori who takes no credit for the “uglies.” All he does is shoot ‘em as they come. And make them picture perfect.
A clean sweep for Ford in the North American Car and Truck of the year awards with the Ford Fusion Hybrid and Transit Connect taking top honors. Both are green versions of conventional internal combustion models. The city-size Transit van will be offered in two full electric ranges (Sorry, no gas stoves offered.) sometime during the second half of 2010. The entry-level model will have 60-mile range on its lithium ion batteries and an optional 100-miler will also be available.
A MAXI MINI? What else would you call the Beachcomber concept with 4-doors, 4-seats and 4-wheel drive shown at Detroit? Unless, of course, you called it a Countryman crossover, a production model which goes on sale in the US in 2011.
So is the GMC Granite concept concrete evidence that GM is going after Scion buyers? The diminutive Granite is low, wide and aggressive. But it features impressive utility in the configuration of doors and seats. It’s powered by a 1.4-liter 4-cylinder mit turbo and teamed to a 6-speed auto trans. Will it make it to production? “No comment” from the General. Yes, says the Carmudgeon. And who you gonna believe?????????
Who can you trust if you can’t trust GM’s Vice Chairman Bob Lutz? Lutz calls the Aveo RS concept a “car guy’s Chevy.” The five-door hatchback is longer and wider and has more space than the current Aveo. It also has 19-inch wheels designed to appeal to car guys and gals. At the Detroit show the RS had a 138-bhp, turbo, 1.4-liter, 4-banger under the hood, same engine that will be offered in the 2011 Chevy Cruze small car. But Lutz says he’s looking for a bit more juice. We’d second that motion if he hopes for emotion.
Will the IQ score highly with young buyers or will they say Scionara, baby. That’s the $64,000 question waiting to be answered as Toyota prepares to beef up the Scion lineup in the coming months. The Scion IC is tiny, barely 10 feet long and seats three. But look for all the iPod, MP3, etc., ect., connectivity that is “gotta have” for youthful drivers these days.
Hocus Focus. Finally, Americans will get a version of the Euro Focus. The current car is on an older platform not shared with the Mazda3 and Volvo S40 and V50 models as it is everywhere else on this planet. But . . . this new and much improved Focus is a 2012 model that won’t go on sale until early 2011. Quality, fuel economy and other improvements will move this new model up the value and price scale resulting in improved revenue according to Ford. And for Ford’s bean counters, that’s something that should not be discounted.
Cobo Hall in Deeetroit is “the happening” this week with the auto show and tell. Here are some good ones . . . with photos from Joe “the pro” Tori who has been wigging around the halls for the past two days.
The luscious Caddy CTS-V Coupe. Unmistakably a Cadillac and one with more than a styling edge. Does 556 supercharged horses from a 6.2-liter V8 sharpen all your corners?
Fiat 500: The quintessential cinquecento. This classy and sassy retro is half the size of the Caddy next door. But it's great fun to drive and who could ask for more?
Ford Fiesta. This one is cause for celebration. A "big" car relative to the Fiat 500 but it's smaller than the Ford Focus, making it a subcompact. The styling is huggable and Ford's viral You-and-Me Tube Secret Agent pre-intro marketing campaign has created lots of buzz and awareness.
Mazda 2 is one number less than 3. The Mazda 3 is a compact. This one is the smaller subcompact sibling. It's next to the Fiesta because they share a platform. Can't decide which to buy? Try 'em both..
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a big NASCAR fan. Its comprised of 4+ left turns which are actually just two big left turns on an oval track. The term stock car is a joke, as there are countless race series’ that run cars closer to stock than the cookie-cutter cars with laughable models such as Impala and Camry (both are front wheel drive, and neither run a V8, or manual transmission). Having said that, I can understand why NASCAR is a popular sport (yes, the strain on drivers is enough to call it that). The crashes are epic. A perfect pit is a thing of choreographed beauty. Its a general shock to the senses. I’ll watch it for roughly five minutes. Read the rest of this entry »
Am I missing something here? This is the all-new Bugatti 16C Galibier? One point five million dollars of rolling auto stock?
Will someone tell me they like the styling? Please?
I think it looks like a tank. With a flying butt. Or is that just me?
And is that the malevolent Batman from Stephen King’s Shining II or the Jersey Devil staring out at me from beneath that winged hood?
When I asked the PR maven if the W engine would have eight cylinders, he shouted, “Nine, nine.” But I only count eight exhaust pipes. Go figure!
The interior? I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a cow in that “natural” color. A horse, maybe. A cow, no. Of course there is always Lady Clairol. But I looked for that brand in the drug store today and couldn’t find hide nor hair of it.
I love the wood. I would prefer a darker shade of leather. Of course, that is just my black humor showing through.
I sure as hell hope they include auto insurance in the purchase price. You’ll need lots of collision coverage. Especially with the video screen placed outside the normal viewing range of anyone except a vertically challenged 2-foot driver who wouldn’t be able to see out the windshield! Oh I get it. There’s a heads-up display that reflects into the backlight and you view the video screen through the rear view mirror. Talk about fiddling while Rome burns . . .
And note that slight-of-hand with the watch? I’d rather the video screen converted into an iPhone.
Ettore must be rolling over Beethoven in his grave.
The gud Dr. F. Piech should be sent pee-acking.
And if I ever get a chance to photograph this new Bug, remind me to use my Nikon. Otherwise my photos will be Canon Fodder.
What is a Terrain? It’s a compact crossover, the GMC version of the Chevrolet Equinox (Carmudgeon, July 8, 2009) and the new Cadillac SRX.
The following is a quote from General Motors regarding the new GMC Terrain.
“At the core of the reinvention of General Motors is a promise to deliver customers greater value with strong new products. For the new 2010 GMC Terrain, that means taking the brand’s 100 year-plus tradition of engineering and capability and presenting it in a smaller, more fuel-efficient package for today’s buyers. Read the rest of this entry »
Nobody asked me but . . .
Nobody asked me, but . . .
Nobody asked me, but . . .
Nobody asked me, but . . .