Category Archives: new vehicle

IIHS Posts a Record 115 Winners for 2012 Top Safety Pick

Posted on 27 December 2011 by Ken Zino

The independent Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Top Safety Pick has a record number of choices – 115 – among 2012 models. The best vehicles are those in IIHS’s view that do the best job of protecting people in front, side, rollover, and rear crashes. Continue reading →

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Cadillac CTS Touring Package All Show No Go?

Posted on 23 December 2011 by Ken Zino

Cadillac CTS Touring package is a new option – $2,065 or $2,810 depending on which V6 engine – that takes some showy stuff from the CTS V-series such as the Recaro seats, microfiber suede inserts for seats and steering wheel, high-intensity discharge headlamps, a ‘performance tuned’ suspension, the V-series aerodynamic spoiler and performance wheel packages. It’s an old automotive marketing trick used to boost revenue that is still widely used because it works even as it complicates build combinations. Continue reading →

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Lexus LF-LC 2+2 Sport Coupe revealed. Sort of…

Posted on 21 December 2011 by Ken Zino

In November, the Lexus Division of Toyota reported total sales of 19,458 units, up 6.7% year-over-year, the best month since March, the month of the infamous tsunami. With Lexus attempting to regain it’s top selling luxury brand spot in the U.S. that it lost this year to the Germans post tsunami, look for LF-LC to appear sooner rather than later. Continue reading →

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GM China Advanced Technical Center Nears Completion

Posted on 19 December 2011 by Ken Zino

GM intends to use Chinese battery suppliers in future electric vehicles – the latest setback for beleaguered U.S. workers who are facing grim employment prospects in the moribund U.S. economy. This is no longer a blue-collar or solely a UAW problem. College level white collar engineering jobs are at stake in advanced technologies touted by politicians as the key to returning the U.S. to global competitiveness. Continue reading →

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Buick 2013 Encore Teaser Photo – Will it Play in China?

Posted on 15 December 2011 by Ken Zino

The real challenge for all new Buicks going forward is not whether the vehicle will play in Peoria, but rather how it plays in Shanghai? Buick sold a record of 59,763 vehicles in China in November – more than 5 times what it sold in the U.S. Little wonder the head of GM advance design in China is now Chinese. Continue reading →

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Finalists in for 2012 North American Car and Truck of the Year

Posted on 15 December 2011 by Ken Zino

Cars selected were the 2012 Ford Focus, 2012 Hyundai Elantra and the 2012 Volkswagen Passat. Last year the Chevrolet Volt was the car winner. In the misleadingly named ‘truck’ category, the 2012 BMW X3, 2012 Honda CR-V and the 2012 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque made the final cut. Continue reading →

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New 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL Revealed after Press Leaks

Posted on 15 December 2011 by Ken Zino

Press leaks about the new Mercedes-Benz SL have apparently prompted an extensive official release of the all-aluminum sports car ahead of its official introduction at the North American International Auto Show next month. Continue reading →

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New 2.0-Liter Turbo Engine Debuts in the Cadillac ATS

Posted on 15 December 2011 by Ken Zino

The Cadillac version of GM’s new powerplant will be one of highest specific output automotive engines, bar none, and more than 20% higher than the next closest competitor, the Mercedes-Benz C250 1.8-liter turbo at 111.6 hp/L. The turbo four will be joined in the ATS with a normally aspirated 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine and a 3.6-Liter V6 engine when production begins next summer. Frankly, it’s the price of entry in a segment where Cadillac has failed several times with inferior offerings. Continue reading →

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Chrysler to Build 2013 SRT Viper at Conner Avenue Plant

Posted on 13 December 2011 by Ken Zino

Chrysler Group announced today that it will reopen its Conner Avenue Assembly Plant in Detroit for the production of the next generation 2013 SRT Viper. The closed Viper plant was the victim of the Chrysler bankruptcy in 2009 and was originally listed as an asset to be sold. However, there were no takers for the sale of the Viper and its entire Conner Avenue plant for only $10 million. The Viper business earned $16 million in 2008 by building 1,545 cars and engines, according to a bankruptcy filing. Continue reading →

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New Compact Acura ILX to be Built in Indiana by Honda

Posted on 12 December 2011 by Ken Zino

This means Acura ILX will be Acura’s first-ever hybrid model, as well as the first Acura model to be produced in Greensburg, Indiana, which also builds the new 2012 Civic model. The plant recently added nearly 1,000 associates to support the move to two-shift production, which started on Oct. 24, 2011, doubling the plant’s capacity to 200,000 vehicles per year. In what is a major public relations error, Honda did not even release a teaser photo of the ILX. Continue reading →

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NAIAS – Acura, Lexus, Honda Will be Out in Force in Detroit

Posted on 12 December 2011 by Ken Zino

Acura announced today that it will show three all-new vehicles at the 2012 North American International Auto Show – NAIAS – including a compact sports sedan, a redesigned RDX crossover sport utility vehicle, and a concept version of the next generation Acura NSX super car. Honda, Toyota and Lexus will also have strong new vehicles. Continue reading →

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Dodge Dart Reborn based on Alfa Romeo Platform

Posted on 6 December 2011 by Ken Zino

The new Dodge Dart will appear in modified form with a lengthened and widened platform, which Dodge claims will have segment-leading interior roominess. Dodge exited the compact car segment (or so-called c-car segment) when then owner Daimler killed the Neon back in 2005 – as gasoline was relatively cheap at just over $2 a gallon and truck and SUV sales were booming. The Neon nameplate goes back to the 1995 when Bob Lutz then at Chrysler boasted it would beat the Japanese in the economy car segment. It didn’t come close. Continue reading →

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Drag Racing 2013 Cobra Jet Mustang Revealed

Posted on 5 December 2011 by Ken Zino

The 2013 Cobra Jet Mustang has two 5.0-liter Ti-VCT engine options – a naturally aspirated engine with Cobra Jet induction system, CNC ported heads, high-lift cams and low-drag accessory drive; or a Whipple supercharged version with CNC port-matched manifold and heads, and what’s said to be a proprietary 10-rib supercharger drive system for high-rpm use without belt slip. Continue reading →

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GM Plans Four World Debuts at NAIAS. Where is Bob Lutz?

Posted on 2 December 2011 by Ken Zino

“ATS enters the biggest market segment in the global luxury car industry, both in terms of volume and importance,” said Barra.

No kidding. ATS better be good when it appears next fall.

But when I asked what GM consultant Bob Lutz was doing these days, Barra said she was trading e-mails with him about getting Lutz to drive a new Chevy Sonic, which has been on sale globally for a couple of years. While Barra called Lutz an “automotive rock star,” there was no hint in her brief response that she was spending any time with Lutz. Continue reading →

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GM Will Lend Cars to Concerned Chevrolet Volt Owners as NHTSA Volt Battery Fire Investigation Continues

Posted on 28 November 2011 by Ken Zino

General Motors announced Monday that any Volt owner concerned about safety can contact his or her Volt advisor to arrange for a free GM vehicle loan until resolution of the issue. A letter to Volt owners will go out today. The aggressive customer satisfaction move came after the National Highway traffic safety Administration announced on Friday that it would open a preliminary evaluation of Volt battery assemblies after NHTSA test results caused electrical fires up to three weeks after an initial vehicle New Car Assessment Program side pole crash test. Continue reading →

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