Tag Archives: zino

Dodge Viper Bests Chevrolet Corvette Lap Time at Nürburgring

A Porsche 997 GT2 RS posted a 7:18 lap time last year, but the Porsche at $350,000 in Germany is roughly three times more expensive than the ZR1, which begins at with an asking price of more than $110,000 in the U.S. No current production 2011Viper exists so Chrysler’s Street and Racing Technology (SRT) division used a 2010 model. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, news analysis, performance, prices, racing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Business of Plugging In Adds EV Experts to Panels

The Center for Automotive Research is holding a timely conference – The Business of Plugging In, an electric vehicle conference – this October that will discuss the emerging plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) against a background of contentious budget debates in Washington about subsidies for automakers, global warming, emission regulations, and tax policies. Continue reading

Posted in alternative fuels, auto news, economy, electric vehicles, energy, environment, marketing, new vehicle, news analysis, people | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

OnStar Reverses Tracking of Ex-Users after Privacy Uproar

The OnStar privacy about face does not address what will remain an issue about OnStar’s data collection and reselling of current subscriber information. In the U.S. automakers and other marketers assume customer information is their property to do what they will with. This is the exact opposite of laws in place in Europe that stipulate the customer, not the company, owns and controls their information. Continue reading

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

First 2012 Chevy ZL1 Camaro Brings $250 K in Charity Auction

The first 2012 Camaro ZL1 offered to the public sold for $250,000 at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Las Vegas last Saturday evening. The car was offered by Fairway Chevrolet-Buick-GMC in Las Vegas, with 100% of the auction proceeds benefitting the YMCA of Southern Nevada.

Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports and chairman of Hendrick Automotive Group, placed the winning bid and is expected to take delivery of his new Camaro in the first quarter of 2012. Hendricks’s son, Greg, is the president of Fairway Chevrolet. Continue reading

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

New Porsche Paint Shop for New 911s at Zuffenhausen

The opening of the new paint shop this week in Zuffenhausen coincides with the start of production of the new Porsche 911, arguably the most famous sports car in the world since its 1964 début. The revised 911 bodies are painted inside and out in a dust free environment at the enclosed plant, which is located in a densely populated urban area of Stuttgart. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, energy, environment, fuel economy or emissions, manufacturing, news analysis | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

European Automakers to Standardize EV Charging by 2017

At the moment and for the foreseeable future, the small numbers of owners of EVs in Europe face conflicting recharging methods. If the automakers have their way, the European Commission will endorse the concept and force it on all involved. Continue reading

Posted in alternative fuels, auto news, electric vehicles, energy, environment, new vehicle, news analysis, transportation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

U.S. September Sales Up from ‘10. SAAR Weak at 12.9 Million

This is the first time the retail selling rate would be above 10 million units since the 10.8 million-unit rate in April, if the J.D. Power and Associates projection holds up. Nonetheless, sales are far, far below the 16-17 million unit SAARs of last decade as a jobless recovery continues with record levels of long-term unemployment. Continue reading

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

Auto Industry Reputation Shows Big Gains as Airlines, oh, Crash

The latest Harris Poll that measures how the public perceives twenty-two of the nation’s largest industries shows huge shifts during the last two years. The biggest changes since 2009, when the survey was last conducted, are a huge improvement in the auto industry reputation as measured by the number of people who think that the auto industry is doing a good job of serving consumers, while there is also a “very large increase” in those who think the airline industry is doing a bad job. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, customer satisfaction, labor issues, marketing, news analysis, results | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ford UAW is Next Labor Contract Fight. Strike Possible?

If the GM UAW contract sets the pattern, as it has in the past, a combination of job creation and increased pay for new union hires (the shrinking UAW desperately needs the revenues) will occur and signing bonuses will be given to existing workers under a new Ford UAW deal. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, economy, labor issues, people | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Car Spy – New Chrysler Products based on Fiat Platform

The car caught here is based on Fiat’s compact line, which also includes Alfa Romeo versions. The Alfa Romeo brand will be reintroduced to the U.S. starting in 2013, as part of the Fiat 500 franchise. Fiat dealers in the U.S. only have the 500 to sell until then. Whether the actual Alfa Romeo Giulietta – a four-seat compact makes it is unclear. An Alfa two seater is thought to be the first comeback car. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, new vehicle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Hyundai Recall Active on Veracruz and Santa Fe SUV Airbags

The recall appears to have been prompted by a request for an explanation about a high number of warranty claims by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Continue reading

Posted in auto news, customer satisfaction, news analysis, quality, recalls, safety | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

GM UAW Contract Offers Profit Sharing, Some New Jobs

A new four-year labor contract that will be voted on by GM’s UAW workers this week and next includes modest increases in wages for new hires over four years – but not veterans – and the protection or creation of more than 6,000 plant jobs in the U.S. at GM and its component suppliers. Long time employees will be compensated going forward largely with profit-sharing based on GM’s results in North America. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, economy, labor issues, manufacturing, transportation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

GM and SAIC to Develop New Electric Vehicle in China with U.S. Taxpayer Supported GM’s EV Knowledge and Technology

“The policy is not written, but the pressure is real,” said Mike Dunne in an interview with AutoInformed. “All the western automakers have the same story – GM, Volkswagen, Ford – all have now reluctantly agreed to do so as a condition of further market expansion.” Continue reading

Posted in alternative fuels, auto news, economy, electric vehicles, new vehicle, news analysis, transportation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Toyota Prices 2012 Prius Plug-in Hybrid at $32,760 and $40,285

With its tiny battery, plug-in Prius has a pure electric power range of a mere 25 miles and runs off of its gasoline engine at full-throttle. This is apparently enough to qualify for a federal taxpayer subsidy under consideration via a direct tax credit of about $2,500 in these deficit ridden times. Continue reading

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

GM Board Meets in China. New Investment Coming Tomorrow?

At about the same time the UAW reveals details of its new contract with GM tomorrow U.S. media, General Motors Vice Chairman Steve Girsky will be holding a conference call for media from Shanghai.

The latest communication from GM will likely detail plans for further job creation via new investment in China, GM’s and the world’s largest automarket. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, economy, manufacturing, news analysis, people, transportation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment