Tag Archives: auto news

Toyota Increases Fuel Economy and Equipment While Cutting Prices on 2012 Camry – a Gambit to Reestablish Leadership

A beleaguered Toyota Motor Corporation is counting on a revised 2012 Camry sedan to brush aside safety and quality concerns that have haunted it for the past two years. These, along with the Japan earthquake will relegate it to the third largest automaker in the world for 2011 after it assumed the number one spot in 2008 and held it for three years. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, design and styling, new vehicle, news analysis | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

CBO Says 2011 U.S. Budget Deficit Third Highest in History

CBO projects that real GDP will increase by only 2.3% this year and by 2.7% in 2012. Worse, under current law, federal tax and spending policies will impose substantial restraint on the economy in 2013, so CBO projects that economic growth will slow that year before picking up again, averaging 3.6% per year from 2013 through 2016. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, economy, results | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Porsche Recalls 911, Boxster, Cayman Models for Seat Belts

In a filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Porsche said the mounting holes in the seat belt anchor plates are too small and the anchor plate may not be able to rotate about the fastening bolt as designed. If this happens, the seat belt may not fit properly around the occupant, or may potentially loosen increasing the risk of injury during a crash. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, recalls, safety | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Revised Porsche 911 Debuts at 2011 IAA Frankfurt Motor Show

In a nod to the Japanese and the global video game culture, the instrument cluster has five round instruments – one of them a high resolution multifunction screen – shame on you Porsche. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, marketing, new vehicle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ford and Toyota to Develop a New Hybrid System for Light Trucks and SUVs as well as Future Telematics Standards

Both companies of course are heavily invested in fuel thirsty larger trucks, with Ford’s best selling vehicle the F-Series pickup rated at 16 mpg on the EPA city test cycle. The F-Series has been the U.S.’s best selling truck for the past 34 years with year-to-date sales of 313,000 units. Toyota before the Great Recession invested billions in full-size trucks and SUVs. Both the Tundra pickup and Sequoia full-size SUV have been sales disasters. Continue reading

Posted in alternative fuels, electric vehicles, environment, fuel economy or emissions, news analysis | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Department of Interior Breaks U.S. Laws But Gets Taxpayer Funded Pass from Environmental Protection Agency Fine

The settlement, which basically grants DOI immunity from further prosecution for its illegal actions, is the latest example of the federal bureaucracy protecting itself from itself. If a private corporation were involved in this matter huge punitive fines would have been levied and the prosecution of executives would have been a distinct possibility. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, environment, safety | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

GM’s Woodward Test Resulted from Real Durability needs of the Street Racing that the Woodward Dream Cruise Honors

In the hay day of the Detroit Three, who were really the Big Three in the 1960s, General Motors used Woodward Avenue not only as a rolling marketing clinic about what kids were driving, but also as a model for a durability test still in use. Continue reading

Posted in aftermarket, auto news, marketing, news analysis, racing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Retro Cadillac Ciel Convertible Unveiled ahead of Pebble Beach

While the exterior is said, with no little bombast, to be pushing the Cadillac’s Art & Science philosophy into a “new stratum,” it’s really the handsome interior that distinguishes the car and shows how far from “luxury” mass produced “luxury cars” have strayed. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, concept, design and styling | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Amerigon Gets Taxpayer Funds for Thermo Energy Recovery

Amerigon will share the $8 million grant with project partners including Ford, BMW of North America, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)/California Institute of Technology, and Faurecia Emissions Controls Technologies. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, energy, engineering, environment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lexus 2013 GS 350 Debuts at Pebble Beach

The 2013 Lexus GS changes from previous rounded Lexus designs by way of its more angular sculpted exterior. Lexus said it will lead the rest of the lineup in an “entirely new direction” that appears derivative of front and rear themes developed by Ford of Europe, Audi, BMW and Cadillac. Overall, the new GS sheet metal represents a “significant extension of the Lexus L-finesse philosophy that is the core of all Lexus product design,” according to Lexus. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, design and styling, marketing, new vehicle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Infiniti JX Concept at Pebble Beach Teases 2013 Model

Previous attempts to use CVTs with V6 engines have failed – so this appears to be a daring move on Infiniti’s part prompted no doubt by impending fuel economy regulations. This potentially sets up a Lexus – clearly the luxury hybrid leader with more applications coming – versus Infiniti, which eschews hybrids in favor of parent company Nissan’s CVT technology. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, marketing, new vehicle, news analysis | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Treasury Receives $2 Billion TARP Repayment from American International Group. U.S. Taxpayers Still out at Least $51 Billion

During the financial crisis and Great Recession caused by Wall Street financiers, the U.S. Government’s support for AIG totaled approximately $180 billion. After today’s repayment, the taxpayers remaining outstanding investment in AIG through Treasury is $51 billion. Not one of the involved executives has been prosecuted for what were various forms of financial fraud that lead up to the near collapse of the global financial system and the ongoing Great Recession. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, economy, fools 'n frauds, news analysis, results | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mini Shows $52,000 Goodwood Version at Pebble Beach

The Mini “Inspired by Goodwood” – how about MIBG? – has luxury accouterments at a luxury price of $52,000 (but that includes $700 in handling and delivery fees), when advanced orders begin later this month. MIBG will be produced in a limited edition of 1,000 units – 140 of which will be available to U.S. punters – and is said to combine driving fun with the same craftsmanship, select materials, styling and all-round ‘typical British understatement’ that are hallmarks of Rolls-Royce.
Continue reading

Posted in auto news, design and styling, marketing, new vehicle, performance | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Milestones: 100 Millionth Chevy Small Block to be Built in 2011

From 1929 and 1955, Chevrolet only offered six-cylinder engines – in spite of Ford Motor’s runaway success with the Flathead V8 introduced in 1932, and Oldsmobile’s Rocket V8 of 1949. Chevrolet chief engineer Ed Cole set out to design a V8 that was powerful, lightweight and affordable. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, engineering, performance, racing, transportation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

World Record for Tailfins as 298 Cadillacs Parade in Vermont?

The previous record of 102 Cadillacs on parade was set on Aug. 18, 2002, in Leimuiderbrug, the Netherlands of all places. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, awards, people | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment