The Mazda3 is a great success story. The first generation sold for the past five years was purchased by nearly 2-million owners around the world. One out of every three Mazdas sold worldwide is a Mazda3. In the US, its sales increased each year for the last five years. In 2008, the last year in the first generation Mazda3 lifecycle, it singlehandedly represented 44 percent of Mazda North American Operation’s sales volume. (more…)
Last time we met at this Suzuki hitching post was in July, the 30th to be exact, and I stated the following:
“Suzuki believes that what the world is missing is an affordable, world-class, sports sedan . . . a European sports sedan with the QRD (quality, reliability, durability) of a Japanese sedan. One that will attract a new (read Suzuki) buyer.
“Development targets included the Alfa 159, Acura TSX and VW Passat, with upscale design, craftsmanship, performance and a premium interior being key characteristics. A car designed for American and European enthusiasts. One with an extremely rigid structure, standard dual-zone heating and air conditioning, extensive sound deadening and meeting 2014 safety standards, including eight standard airbags, standard stability control and available all-wheel drive, a rarity in this class.” (more…)
Is it possible for a car to get too big for it’s britches? Case in point: the new for 2009 Toyota Corolla XRS. The 2009 Corolla is the 10th generation of the best selling passenger car in history and the longest-running Toyota car model sold in America. Note the word car here because the Toyota Land Cruiser has the distinction of being the longest running name plate of all time in America having first touched our Pacific shores in 1958, 10 years before the Corolla. (more…)
Back in the ‘80s and ‘90s safety critics didn’t worry about pedestrians not hearing a diesel coming as they do with current electric vehicles. From three blocks away you could hear diesel clatter, see a trail of thick black smoke and smell heavy oil.
For the past two decades American automakers have pretty much given up on diesels except for some of their heavy-duty trucks. (more…)
Mazda designers and engineers faced a serious dilemma as they gathered to create the next Mazda6. The current model didn’t have the broad appeal of its direct family sedan Asian competitors—Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and Hyundai Sonata—because it was smaller on the outside and on the inside. It also trailed these competitors in quality and power. (more…)
It’s gonna come up at some point anyway so let’s deal with the hyperbole surrounding the 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid right now. Here’s what Chevy says: “First example of GM’s two-mode hybrid system; results in 50 percent improvement in city fuel economy (2WD), giving it the same city fuel economy as a 2008 Toyota Camry midsize car, but still providing all the utility customers expect in a full-size SUV. (more…)
Take a practical and functional Nissan Sentra compact 4-door sedan and send it to a Jose Canseco athletic club for a 2-week “treatment” and what do you get?
I knew I was in trouble two seconds after I finished organizing all the material I had been gathering on Chrysler’s fifth-generation minivan: The stack of paper was about two inches high, and that didn’t include electronic data stored on my computer. But I guess that should be expected when you’re dealing with an automotive transportation legend. (more…)
Nobody asked me, but . . .
