Author Archives: AutoCrat

Porsche Buys More VW Shares from Suzuki

Suzuki held Volkswagen share because of a disastrous joint venture. The Japanese automaker disclosed the transaction over the weekend. Suzuki will post ¥36.7 billion (~$304 million) as a special item. Continue reading

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Auto Dealerships Support 2.2 Million U.S. Jobs

The CAR study, Contribution of New-Car Dealerships to the Economies of All 50 States and the United States, highlights the economic impact of U.S. new-car dealership from employment data, taxes collected or generated by dealerships to taxes paid by employees at the state and national level. Continue reading

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Volkswagen Shows New Tiguan Crossover at Frankfurt

After selling over 2.64 million of the first generation Tiguan SUV in one of the fastest growing segments globally – compact SUV – and with global sales forecasts increasing from 8.17 million today to 8.93 million (+9%) by 2018, VW is planning four Tiguan versions, up from two, that will start appearing next year. Continue reading

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No Fixes in Sight for Highway Trust Fund or Decrepit US Roads

Bentsen suggests a series of political impossible actions… Continue reading

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Volkswagen Polo R cars take all Eight Stages at Rally Germany

This season, it has become a tradition for the rear of the three Polo R WRCs to bear a new message at each rally. Not so for Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila, however. Continue reading

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Test Drive – 2016 Honda HR-V, a Pint Sized CR-V

The new Honda HR-V is – technically – a subcompact, a notch down in size from the compact-sized CR-V (which Honda sells a bunch of). However, the difference between the two is mostly footprint-wise. The newest littlest Honda crossover is about a foot shorter overall than the CR-V. Inside, though, the subcompact HR-V actually has more backseat legroom than its, err, bigger brother. Almost ide Continue reading

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Audi, Lagging in EVs, Inks Deal with LG Chem, Samsung

The cell modules – it is hoped – will offer high performance far beyond the only Audi EV extant, the A3 Sportback Plug-in hybrid, aka Sportback e-tron on sale this fall. Continue reading

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Enterprise CarShare, Nissan Start College Car Sharing

Enterprise CarShare and Nissan today announce a multi-year deal that supplies Enterprise CarShare fleets on 90 university campuses exclusively with Nissan vehicles. This is just the latest example of how traditional models of vehicle ownership are under attack from car sharing of inexpensive taxi services. Continue reading

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Driving the 2015 Dodge Charger Hellcat

A 707 horsepower car that can be driven around like any other car. Consider that any ’60s or ’70s-era muscle car that could run a sub-12-second quarter-mile was not street-drivable. Continue reading

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The Film – Chevy 100, An American Story – Debuts in Detroit

Do not confuse this Chevy 100 infomercial with other serious documentaries sponsored by GM and produced by Ken Burns during his long association with the largest automaker in the U.S. Chevy 100 lacks an organizing theme – other than it’s time to sell more Chevrolets. Instead, Chevy 100 is comprised of sporadic observations along with snapshots of the history of the brand, supplemented with large amounts of quick-cut contemporary footage from collectors clubs and fawning owners. Be forewarned, you will not see the history of Chevrolet, or the history of the automobile in U.S.A. that Chevrolet is such a significant part of, given justice in this treatment. Continue reading

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