Archive | October, 2008

New Chinese MG Lands in The Americas

By on October 19, 2008 in News

By Andy Bannister

10.19.2008

The MG brand has returned to the American continent with the surprise unveiling of a new four-door saloon by an importer in Chile.

To be known as the MG 550, the new design has emerged from the ruins of the British MG Rover company, which collapsed in 2004 and was sold off to two Chinese firms, SAIC and Nanjing, which have since themselves merged.

The 550 was under development in Britain when the venerable UK carmaker bit the dust, and has been brought to market by the new Chinese owners, with European engineering assistance. It was first shown earlier this year in Beijing wearing the recently-contrived Roewe badge (a variant of Rover, since SAIC cannot use the name, currently the property of India’s Tata Motors, owner of Land Rover). Continue Reading →

Comments { 1 }

204 Horsepower, 165 lb ft of Torque, All Electric: MINI E

By on October 19, 2008 in Features

By David Surace

10.19.2008

As if several consumers and aftermarket companies haven’t already thought it would be a grand idea to stick an electric motor in a MINI, here comes the Officially Licensed Honest-to-Lithium-Ion Deal: the MINI E, unveiled this week ahead of the LA Auto Show. If you’re about to search the house for your checkbook, I’ll go ahead and get the bad news out of the way: it’s restricted to a run of 500 units, which will be “deployed” to selected customers on a one-year lease in urban test markets in North America, and maybe the UK and Continental Europe.

This looks to be a very solid and polished product, with bossed “is-it-an-E?-is-it-a-plug?” logos peppering the roof, hood, “fuel” door (where the plug goes), and as a grille badge. The traditional “side-vent” is taken up by a numbered plaque, which shows which number out of 500 the lucky beta tester has received.

Continue Reading →

Comments { 1 }

Citroën Finally Comes Up For Air

By on October 18, 2008 in Features

By Brendan Moore

10.18.2008

While visiting the Citroen stand recently at the (still ongoing) 2008 Paris Auto Show, I couldn’t help but notice how much better the cars looked compared to years past, and further, how competitive they were with their challengers in each segment.

For those of you unfamiliar with recent Citroën history, this is unusual. Although Citroën was both a technology and style leader for many decades, that all started to fade away quickly after Peugeot acquired the company in 1974, which, coincidentally, was the same year Citroën withdrew from the North American market. Peugeot’s strategy of transforming Citroën into their budget brand meant some truly awful things happened to cars wearing the double chevron in the three decades following the acquisition of Citroën. The Citroën lineup was reduced to being carbon copies of the bottom of the Peugeot range, albeit with Citroën badges on them. Sometimes the cars weren’t very good, and even in the instance they were okay to drive, they were dull as old dishwater. The brand fell on hard times.

This undesirable situation began to change several years ago, and for 2009, Citroën finally has a lineup that is more worthy of their heritage. To be sure, Citroën no longer stuns the world with their new models, but there is now life at the marque. Continue Reading →

Comments { 2 }

Sometimes You Just Need A Minivan

By on October 18, 2008 in Editorials, Features

By Kevin Miller

10.18.2008

I’ve long been a proponent of choosing a car that is sized no larger than it absolutely needs to be. I’ve scoffed at the childless or single-child families I see running around the suburbs in their minivans or large SUVs. Our family of three (soon to be four) fits nicely in our mid-sized sedan and our mid-sized wagon. I’m unwilling to trade the poor fuel economy and roly-poly handling of a minivan or SUV for the space we would use only on rare occasions. The truth is, I’ve been so single-minded in my fervor against large vehicles that I’ve failed to see the occasions where such a vehicle would be useful.

This weekend, however, my eyes have been opened. Our family of three planned a weekend trip with another family of three to Washington State’s San Juan Islands, which involves a 75 mile drive north from Seattle to the ferry terminal in Anacortes, and then a wait for the 45-minute ferry crossing to our destination on Lopez Island. With the heavy traffic out of Seattle and the expense of driving a vehicle onto the ferry, it made a lot of sense to carpool. Continue Reading →

Comments { 5 }

Building the 2011 Chevy Volt

By on October 17, 2008 in Features

By Sam Boni

10.17.2008

With little more than two years to go to before they are expected in showrooms; can they do it? You know it takes seven years to get a new car ready for production; General Motors is hustling to get their first “E-Flex” plug-in hybrid vehicle, the Volt, ready in less than five years. Oh, and this vehicle will feature new technology never used in a production car before.

Earlier this year, some automotive journalists (unfortunately, not us) were given a rare chance by GM some time ago to get an inside peek into their design studio. Working in a separate area from the main design area, a small team of 45 designers, stylists and engineers spend all their time solely on the Volt. They are trying to keep ‘car czar’ Bob Lutz’s promise of the 2010 year-end time frame for the Volt’s production start-up alive.

The Volt’s story began at a brainstorming session in January 2006; new vehicles for the next decade were imagined, discussed and discarded. Prior to the movie “Who Killed the Electric Car?” being released, Bob Lutz imagined a new type of electric vehicle, different than the infamous EV1. It should be able to fulfill most people’s commuter needs, but also be able to take a longer trip than the battery alone would allow. Continue Reading →

Comments { 4 }

WSJ Report Says Chrysler-GM Merger May Happen Within Weeks

By on October 17, 2008 in News

By Chris Haak

10.17.2008

This morning’s Wall Street Journal proves that the only thing constant in today’s tumultuous auto industry is, of course, change.  Just two days after we reported that Chrysler and GM were likely to table merger discussions until after the market turmoil has passed, the Journal article says that GM and Cerberus have significantly stepped up the pace and depth of discussions regarding a merger.  This is due to both GM’s critical cash situation and Cerberus’ interest in getting out of the car business.  Lenders such as JP Morgan Chase, who have done business with the companies for years, are pushing for the deal in an effort to reduce their exposure to the auto industry.

According to the report, Cerberus would like to swap its Chrysler holdings for the 49% of GMAC that GM still owns (Cerberus, of course, owns the other 51% of GMAC).  Cerberus also has interest in owning a stake in the combined GM-Chrysler entity.  In other words, rather than waiting out the market turmoil before making a deal, that very turmoil has become the impetus for a deal.

For its part, some members of GM’s Board of Directors are not keen on the idea, but GM’s management has assigned teams of people to analyze Chrysler’s operations and estimate cost savings from a potential deal.  GM projects that it could realize $10 billion in annual cost savings from a potential tie-up, plus get access to Chrysler’s $11 billion cash hoard to keep the lights on a bit longer. Continue Reading →

Comments { 6 }

Ford Works To Unload Some of Its Mazda Stake

By on October 16, 2008 in News

By Chris Haak

10.16.2008

According to a report in Japan’s Nikkei business daily newspaper, Ford has approached auto parts supplier Denso (which is part of the Toyota Group of companies, and supplies parts to Toyota as well as to several other manufacturers) about the possibility of selling some of its 33.4% stake in Mazda.  The 33.4% that Ford currently owns gives Ford control of the company, so selling that stake in a cash-raising move could result in Ford giving up control of Mazda, though according to sources cited in the aforementioned article, Ford is only talking about selling less than 1% of Mazda’s stock.

Ford’s stake in Mazda is valued at about $1.36 billion, and while that is a big number, it alone will not be enough fundraising to support Ford’s cash burn for the next few years.  According to Nikkei, Ford has also approached 20 or 30 other companies about purchasing some of its stake in Mazda.  Further, according to Bloomberg, it is likely that in the next few weeks, Mazda may itself buy back part of its own company from Ford.  Mazda would likely not be going alone in the repurchase, but would likely join with other Japanese companies in the purchase to spread the risk.

Ford ceding control of Mazda wouldn’t likely have any short-term repercussions for either company, but longer-term issues might surface.  For instance, Mazda-based platforms now underpin several Ford vehicles, such as the Fusion, MKZ, and Milan.  The well-regarded Mazda3 compact car also shares its platform with the European Focus (which is going to eventually make it to the US) and Volvo S40/C30, and the Mazda2 and Ford Fiesta subcompacts are very closely related.  If Ford still retained a significant ownership stake, it might still maintain access to Mazda’s chassis development expertise, but without absolute control of the company, Mazda may feel free to move in a different direction that Ford doesn’t care for. Continue Reading →

Comments { 1 }

Batteries Included

By on October 16, 2008 in Features

By Sam Boni

10.16.2008

The Energizer Bunny may get a charge out of this. “Batteries not included” will have to be eliminated from our lexicon, as hybrids and E-flex cars are sold more routinely. Parallel and series hybrid electrics, plug-in hybrids, battery electrics and fuel cell electric cars are in the news again as we enter another auto show season, and they all rely on ‘new and improved’ batteries.

We depend on these new, eco-friendly cars to preserve the world’s climate for our own continuing existence, and cars depend on batteries more than ever before to enable humankind to accomplish that.

Alessandro Volta, the Italian physicist, is credited with devising the forerunner of the automotive battery. After studying earlier versions of electricity producing cells, he combined several single units in the ‘voltaic pile’ in 1799. The all-too-familiar lead acid battery has been used in automobiles since their infancy, in wood boxes, no less. It is powerful enough for short bursts, as in starting an engine, but when depleted, it needs a long time to recharge. It does not have much endurance power to be useful for electric vehicles. Continue Reading →

Comments { 1 }

2009 Nissan Pathfinder SE 4×4 Review

By on October 16, 2008 in Reviews

By Chris Haak

10.16.2008

Save perhaps the new-for-2009 Kia Borrego, which we have yet to test at Autosavant (though that will be remedied soon), the Nissan Pathfinder may be the best, most credible entry in the midsize traditional SUV segment.  Unfortunately for Nissan, that’s like saying you have the driest stateroom on the Titanic.  Midsize body on frame SUVs are simply a dying breed, in many cases suffering steeper sales declines than even their full-size cousins, as casual SUV buyers flee to sedans and crossovers, and only those who truly have large families or need the cargo and towing capability of the Expeditions and Suburbans of the world still buy those vehicles.

The current Pathfinder is in its third generation, tracing its lineage back to the Nissan Hardbody pickup-based version introduced in 1986.  The first Pathfinder was a body on frame two-door SUV, but Nissan elected to add rear doors in 1990 to avoid a punitive US tariff on imported two-door SUVs and pickups.  The Pathfinder’s second generation, which made its debut in 1996, switched to a unibody platform while maintaining its off road capabilities (similar to the current Jeep Grand Cherokee’s setup).  The 1996-2004 Pathfinder was unrelated to the Nissan Frontier pickup because the pickup continued to be built as a body on frame vehicle.  Finally, the current Pathfinder was first sold during the 2005 model year, and switched back to a body on frame architecture, again sharing its styling and much of its underpinnings with the Nissan pickups and other SUVs.

Nissan took an interesting approach to the current Pathfinder’s engineering a few years ago, and probably would not have done the same thing again knowing what they know today about gas prices and the lack of consumer interest in SUVs.  However, the Pathfinder shares Nissan’s F-Alpha truck platform with the full-size Armada and QX56 SUVs, the full-size Titan pickup, the midsize Frontier pickup and XTerra SUVs.  The robust frame makes for a solid foundation, but also added around 500 pounds on top of the unibody 2004 Pathfinder’s weight.  While some of that heft improved off road and towing capabilities, as well as adding a enough space for a fairly small third row, two-position seat, we hopefully won’t see many redesigned vehicles packing on 500 pounds, since that’s not a recipe for great fuel economy. Continue Reading →

Comments { 0 }

Chrysler Will Be Sold, But To Which Bidder?

By on October 15, 2008 in Editorials, Features

By Brendan Moore

10.15.2008

Chrysler LLC and its owner Cerberus were in discussions just recently with GM about selling Chrysler to the General, and although those discussions will pick up again when the current market turmoil subsides a bit, a sale to GM is by no means a done deal. First, the GM board is cool to the idea, and second, its not as if Chrysler is talking to only GM.

Renault-Nissan is there wooing Chrysler as well. The chatter in the industry is that Nissan Executive Vice President Carlos Tavares very much wants to do the deal, and the other Carlos, that is, Carlos Ghosn, the head of both Renault and Nissan, is not as keen on the romance. Ghosn is still carrying a torch for a relationship with GM, which he approached in 2006 about a merger.

Fiat Group is quite interested in Chrysler LLC, for various reasons, foremost among them access to the product not currently represented in their lineup, and, most importantly, access to the North American market again, with a ready-made dealer network. Fiat has had a number of talks with Cerberus so far.

Tata, the huge Indian conglomerate and owner of Tata Motors, Jaguar and Land Rover, is also interested in Chrysler for the same reasons as Fiat, but even more so. Tata has only the very bottom end of the market (Nano and Indica, etc.) and the top end (inhabited by Jaguar and Land Rover) and nothing in-between. Tata not only gets a U.S. presence immediately if they buy Chrysler, they also fill up that yawning product chasm. Tata could pick up Chrysler for a price that would be much faster and be far, far, cheaper than building out their product line and distribution network themselves.

And, of course, there are the ubiquitous Chinese car companies that are always interested in an easier pathway into the American market. Add to the Chinese suitors a Russian company (or two) this time around. As an example, the Russian automaker GAZ already uses a last-generation Sebring platform for one of its large sedans, and has reportedly been quite happy with it.

Cerberus is going to sell Chrysler LLC as soon as they can; they have no emotional connection to the car business, and ownership of Chrysler of Chrysler has been an unmitigated disaster for them so far. With market conditions poised to get worse, not better, Cerberus wants out. They will probably retain a small stake in the business (after all, they got Chrysler for nothing, so why not?) as part of the sale, but believe me, they want to wave a fond farewell to the “New” Chrysler as soon as possible.

COPYRIGHT Autosavant – All Rights Reserved

Comments are closed
← Older posts Newer posts →