he American automotive market is one of the world’s biggest meritocracies. If a car is good, it sells well, and if it’s not, well, it gets a shorter Wikipedia entry. Now some may argue that vehicles like the Toyota Camry are too bland and don’t deserve their success. Then again, there’s a lot to be [...]
Archive for May, 2009
10 Cars That Coulda Been Contenders
May 22nd, 2009
Tags: 2009 acura rl, 2009 chevy tahoe hybrid, 2009 ford taurus, 2009 honda s2000, 2009 hummer h3t, 2009 kia rondo, 2009 mazda 5, 2009 pontiac g8, 2009 pontiac vibe, 2009 saturn vue, slow selling good cars
Oh, Do Shut Up, Jeremy: Top Gear Guru Reviews Honda Insight
May 18th, 2009
ne would think that, in this day and age of modern technology, that the age-old practice of grinding axes would have gone the way of blacksmithing. However, Jeremy Clarkson — host and chief bombasticator of the terrific BBC show Top Gear — has proved that there’s still a place for it in his recent review [...]
Tags: Add new tag, clarkson reviews insight, jeremy clarkson, jeremy clarkson insight review, top gear jeremy clarkson
Bankruptcy: Chrysler Gets Out The Big Knives
May 14th, 2009
a title=”Automotive News: Chrysler seeks to shut down 789 dealerships by June 9″ href=”http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090514/ANA05/905149979/1078″ target=”_blank”>Automotive News is reporting that Chrysler will eliminate 789 of its dealerships by June 9 according to bankruptcy court filings. This represents 25 percent of Chrysler’s current dealerships, and thousands of jobs. Furthermore, Chrysler will not be buying back the vehicles, [...]
Video: Honda’s Crazy New “Fury” Ad
May 11th, 2009
don’t ride, but like most car enthusiasts I like motorcycles because they’re loud and look neat and have power to weight ratios that a car can only dream of. So, even though I’ll probably never ride because I want to see my kids grow up and don’t think that intubation is for me, they’re [...]
Tags: honda fury ad, honda fury commercial, honda fury motorcycle, honda motorcycle ad, honda motorcycle commercial
Explainer: U.S. Bound Fiats
May 8th, 2009
t’s been a little more than a week since Chrysler filed for bankruptcy and simultaneously announced a partnership with Italian automaker Fiat. As the bankruptcy progresses, more and more details of the deal between Chrysler and Fiat have emerged.
Inside Line posted a list of Fiat vehicles that are in the pipeline for U.S. sale, either [...]
Published in
Car Blog, Industry Crisis
Tags: alfa romeo mito, fiat 500, fiat c evo, fiat cars in us, fiat grande punto, fiat models at chrysler, fiat panda, fiats in chrysler
Toyota Posts Biggest Ever Quarterly Loss
May 8th, 2009
eems like Toyota is hell-bent on doing everything bigger than GM. Bigger trucks, bigger sales…and today, an even bigger quarterly loss.
Earlier this week, GM reported a nearly $6 billion loss in the first quarter, one heck of a kick in the pants for a company that’s flirting heavily with bankruptcy. However, suddenly GM doesn’t look [...]
Cash for “Clunkers”
May 8th, 2009
Making its way through the capitol building right now is a proposed plan that’s become known as Cash for Clunkers. The proposed program could offer up to $4500 to people willing to retire their older, less fuel efficient vehicles for a new car that runs greener and cleaner. It’s one more incentive to get people back onto dealer’s lots to help jump start an economy moving slower than the cars the proposed bill hopes to replace. But scrapping cars only helps those who have jobs and can afford to buy a new car.
Tags: Add new tag, car, carbon, cash, cash for clunkers, cash for old cars, clunkers, footprint, government buying old cars, Incentives, incentives for clunkers, incentives for old cars, new, used
Everything You Want To Know About Toyota Trucks and SUVs
May 6th, 2009
Toyota strikes again with another chronology, this time about its line of trucks, SUVs and crossovers. They’re all here, and frankly, this one is a little more interesting to me on the face of it, not because of what’s conspicuous by its absence.
With its ultra-green image, due in large part to the Prius and other [...]
Tags: toyota 4runner history, toyota crossover history, toyota cuv history, toyota fj cruiser history, toyota highlander history, toyota highlander hybrid history, toyota land cruiser history, toyota minivan history, toyota previa history, toyota ra4 history, toyota sequoia history, toyota sienna history, toyota suv history, toyota t100 history, toyota tacoma history, toyota truck history, toyota tundra history
Everything You Want To Know About Toyota Cars
May 5th, 2009
Toyota sent out an interesting release today that outlines all the changes to all of the cars it currently sells in the U.S., from inception to the present date. OK, maybe it’s not earth-shattering to know that the 1995 Toyota Avalon was introduced to replace the Cressida, or that the Toyota Solara was AutoPacific’s “Best [...]