Tag Archives: auto news

Driving the 2012 Hyundai Veloster – a Marketing Twist Aimed at Geeks over What’s a High Mileage, High Style Econobox

For the money Hyundai is selling what it dubs a “reverse halo” vehicle. Marketing babble aside,Veloster is really just a twist on the perennial attempts by salespeople to avoid the feared “econobox” label. The purported Veloster selling points therefore involve high performance electrons in the guise of Hyundai’s Blue Link telematics system with a hands-free phone system with voice recognition, Pandora internet radio, with seven-inch touch-screen display, and video game console connectivity with 115-volt power outlet. Continue reading

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Chevrolet Corvette Recall on for 2011 and 2012 Coupes

The rear hatch on Corvette Coupes made from 24 January 2011 through 1 September 2011 could separate in a crash, thereby increasing the risk of injury. A stop sale is in place. Continue reading

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Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Runs a 7:41.27 lap at Nürburgring

The Camaro joins a production Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR (American Club Racer) that posted a 7:12.13 lap time on the12.9-mile Nürburgring Nordschleife last month, that was faster than a 2012 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, which posted a lap time of 7:19.63 back in June. Continue reading

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Household Income Continues to Fall Significantly as Federal Government Claims the Great Recession is Officially Over

Real median annual household income has fallen significantly more during the so called economic recovery period from June 2009 to June 2011 than during the recession lasting from December 2007 to June 2009. That’s right, not only do we a jobless recovery, but we have one where incomes are dropping. Since when are politicians in the business of making people poorer in a grim reversal of the American Dream?

The report is bad news for the auto industry, which remains in a severe slump caused in part by record high new car prices – now averaging more than $30,000 a vehicle, and projections of even higher prices to come because of new emissions and safety regulations. Continue reading

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Midsize Chevrolet Colorado Pickup Will Be Built in U.S.

The GM Colorado decision once again raises the Ford Ranger question. Ford Motor once dominated the compact pickup truck market in the U.S. until years of product neglect combined with an assault by Toyota and Nissan pushed it to a footnote in the segment. This first forced the closing of Ford’s Edison, New Jersey plant. The remaining plant in Minnesota did not survive the tentative Ford UAW contract that is now being voted on, and will shut down later this year. Continue reading

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Sundiro Honda Builds More than 7 Million Motorcycles in China, Leading Country. Export Business Thriving, Including to Japan

Sundiro provides one model for the next wave of Chinese exports by using an established brand name to provide assurance to customers that highly complex motorcycles and ultimately automobiles can be bought with confidence even though they are made in China. Sundiro Honda now exports hundreds of thousands of motorcycles to more than 45 countries, and is one of the largest operations of Honda’s thriving motorcycle business. Continue reading

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Volkswagen Recall for Leaking Diesel Engine Fuel Lines Active

A Volkswagen recall is now active for leaking fuel lines on Jetta, Golf and Audi A3 vehicles. The 2-liter TDI diesel engine is susceptible to a resonance that cracks the number two cylinder fuel line. The resonance is caused by the operation of the EGR system, which decreases emissions of nitrous oxides, a particular problem with diesel engines. More than 168,000 VW and Audi cars are affected by the fuel line safety defect, which because of the high pressure fuel system makes the cars susceptible to fires if the fuel line fails. Continue reading

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IndyCar Racing to Return to Detroit Next Year

Next Wednesday Detroit Mayor Dave Bing , Mark Reuss, President, GM North America,
Roger Penske, Chairman, Penske Corporation and Randy Bernard, the CEO, of IndyCar will hold a news conference where they will likely announce that Indy car racing will return to the Motor City. Continue reading

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U.S. Unemployment at 9.1% Unchanged in September

The unemployment rate during September in the U.S. remains unchanged at 9.1% where it has been stuck for months now. This means that according to the Federal government more than 14 million people are out of work. The real number – if you include people who stopped looking for work and forced part time workers – is likely 25 million people who want to work full time. Continue reading

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Ford and General Motors Now Exploring Car Sharing Deals

The two major social benefits of car sharing are said to be fewer vehicles on the road and lower emissions. Frost & Sullivan estimates that, on average, each shared vehicle replaced 15 personally owned vehicles in 2009, and car sharing members drove 31% less than when they owned a personal vehicle. Continue reading

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U.S. 2011 Deficit $1.3 Trillion, Greater Than any Year Since 1945

The 2011 deficit was equal to 8.6% of gross domestic product, CBO estimates, down from 8.9% in 2010 and 10.0% in 2009, but greater than in any other year since 1945. Continue reading

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New Jersey Stiffs U.S. Taxpayers over $271 Million Grant. Republicans, Democrats Collude on Cancelled ARC Tunnel

Well, it sounds like LaHood (an Illinois Republican appointed by Obama) had no choice. Defenders of the deal, and there are some, say that DOT maneuvered to get N.J. taxpayers some benefit from the cancelled transit investment. In their view this solves the standoff over reimbursement — interest and penalties were accruing daily that New Jersey taxpayers would have been responsible for — and maybe New Jersey residents will also get the benefit of improved transit in the state. We will see. There sure is enough political manure here in my view to help New Jersey remain the garden state… Continue reading

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White is Favorite Color for Automobiles around the World

The color white is the most popular vehicle color in the world. Roughly 21% of 2011 model year cars have been produced in white. Regional differences do exist, but white’s popularity makes it the number one choice of car buyers Continue reading

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NHTSA Probes GM Electric Power Steering Sudden Failure

Complicating matters for General Motors is the EPS system used in those vehicles is the same as that used in 2005 -2010 model year Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5 models. In March of 2010, GM recalled more than 1 million of them to fix a defect with the EPS assist motor. Continue reading

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Mercedes-Benz Superdome is the New Name in New Orleans

The New Orleans stadium is infamous as the lawless, unlit refugee area for the homeless after Hurricane Katrina caught federal, state and local government agencies completely unprepared. State taxpayers rebuilt the stadium so that the New Orleans Saints could play there again starting in 1996. About $336 million has been spent by taxpayers on the sports facility since then. Continue reading

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