By Chris Haak

05.22.2009

The Tesla Roadster, now ramping up its production, isn’t quite as hard for journalists to get a test drive in as it had been a year ago, but it’s still a pretty good catch when an auto writer has a chance to take one for a spin.  Yesterday, two of us from Autosavant attended a media event at which a Tesla Roadster was available for [chaperoned] test drives.

I figured that I wouldn’t have a chance to drive the car because I didn’t want to wait in line while missing the chance to drive other desirable vehicles at the event, but later learned that the Tesla PR representatives were compiling a sign-in sheet/waiting list for drives in the car.  I added my name to the list and got an estimated time of 1:00 (about two hours after getting onto the list).

Meanwhile, I heard anecdotal stories of how the charge was holding up remarkably well – at 11:00, it was at 60%.  Yet I managed to foolishly violate rule #1 in scheduling test drives of electric cars:  go for your drive early to ensure there is adequate power. Continue Reading

By Chris Haak

05.21.2009

Congratulations from the staff of Autosavant to Kristen M. from California (also known as “Contestant A”) for winning the Autosavant Dream Garage contest.  Her winning entry, which was a list of the ten cars that she’d love to have in a dream garage, and which spans three-quarters of a century with some of the most rare and beautiful cars ever built (or, in the case of the Cadillac Converj, something that hasn’t even really been built, except as a concept car).

Her entry for the Dream Garage contest is reproduced below:

• 1936 Bugatti 57SC Atlantic Coupe
• 1938 Delahaye 165 Figoni et Falaschi Cabriolet
• 1948 Tucker Sedan
• 1957 Jaguar XKSS
• 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO
• 1967-9 Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 Stradale
• 1992-8 McLaren F1
• 2006 Pininfarina Ferrari P4/5
• 2008 Superformance Brock Coupe
• 2012 Cadillac Converj

Some of the comments about her list included: Continue Reading

By Chris Haak

05.20.2009

In its first generation, the Nissan Xterra continued the body-on-frame, Hardbody/Frontier pickup-based tradition that the original Nissan Pathfinder began from 1986 through 1995.  The Pathfinder then moved to a unibody architecture unrelated to the Frontier pickup and added comfort and convenience features, which created an opening below it in Nissan’s SUV lineup.  The 2000 Frontier-based, body on frame Xterra filled that gap.  Then in 2005, an all-new, larger, body on frame Pathfinder hit the market, and was again based on the Frontier pickup.  Now in its second generation, the current Xterra also hit the market for the 2005 model year.

The Xterra is marketed as a back-to-basics, off-road-capable SUV.  It’s certainly a traditional SUV, with a high ground clearance, aggressive, chunky styling, large tires, and a ladder frame.  The original 2000 Xterra was marketed under the tagline, “Everything you need, nothing you don’t,” and its simple interior seems to echo that sentiment nine model years later.  The problem is, the rest of the market has moved on to nicer interiors and additional luxury features in the meantime. Continue Reading

By George Straton

05.20.2009

Let’s ponder for a moment two places where you can find Dub-size wheels (having radii 20 inches or greater):

1) A Hummer H2 where each wheel supports about 1600 lbs. Vehicle length 203 inches x vehicle height of 80”. Proportion of vehicle height to wheel diameter = 3.48.

Continue Reading

The new rules match California’s desired requirements and will make for a nationwide standard, but our writer asks, “Wouldn’t an increased gas tax do the trick a lot more efficiently?”

By Brendan Moore

04.19.2009

Most, if not all of you are aware that this increase will be announced today; you know because it was leaked by the Obama administration everywhere yesterday, and it was front-page news in all the major newspapers, internet sites and on television.

And the internet sites of newspapers and auto blogs are filled with comments about the plan to increase the mileage and emissions requirements, with a wide spectrum of viewpoints. There are people that say global warming doesn’t exist, people that say that we have plenty of oil, there are people that say, yes, there is global warming but this will wreck the economy, there are people that say, yes, force those auto companies to make those fuel-efficient cars, it’s about time, there are people espousing their belief that the fabled 100 mpg carburetor or special engine or special fuel injection has existed for years and the auto companies have simply withheld it from the public because they’re in cahoots with the oil companies, etc.

Whew.

Don’t you just love the public?

Just to refresh your memory, the new plan calls for average fuel standards for all new passenger vehicles would rise by 10 miles a gallon over today’s performance to 35.5 miles per gallon between the years of 2012 and 2016. That’s cars and trucks together. But, the new required fuel mileage for trucks is only 24.1 mpg, which is a mere 2.2 mpg over the current standard. The new standard for cars is anywhere from 39 mpg to 41 mpg (depending on whose numbers to believe) – the old standard was 30.2 mpg.

The future vehicles are also expected to put out a combined 30% fewer emissions.

Quickly, what does having two very different mpg standards, one for light trucks and one for cars, mean in the real world?

Continue Reading

By Chris Haak

05.19.2009

Nissan’s entry in the compact segment has long been overshadowed by competitors from Honda (the Civic) and Toyota (the Corolla), and after the launch of Nissan’s own Versa, the Sentra suffered even more indignity as its little brother cannibalized many of its sales.  In 2008, the Sentra just missed the 100,000-unit barrier, while the Versa had over 85,000 units sold.  Meanwhile, the Civic sold 331,095 units and the Corolla/Matrix sold 371,390 units.  So why is the Sentra lost in the shuffle?

The first problem the Sentra has is its looks.  It shares many of the previous-generation Maxima’s styling cues, including its grille design and C-pillar shape.  Yet, what more or less worked for the longer Maxima doesn’t for the Sentra.  The Sentra has the appearance of a full-height older Maxima that’s three-quarters of its length.  It’s a tall, stubby-looking car, and its appearance certainly isn’t doing it any favors in the sales race.  While the Civic’s looks are a little too spaceship-looking “out there,” at least it has attractive proportions.  The new-for-2009 Corolla doesn’t have the Civic’s handsome proportions, but fortunately for Toyota, also doesn’t have the Sentra’s awkward ones.  The 16-inch alloy wheels look rather small on the car; I’m not sure if that is due to the tall body or to having only four lug nuts per wheel.  Perhaps the issue is the relatively short wheelbase relative to the car’s length.

The Sentra is pretty big for a compact car, with expansive headroom for even the tallest drivers.  I haven’t driven a Corolla in about nine months, but the Sentra’s interior felt more spacious to me.  I have only sat in a 2010 Taurus briefly, but it felt like the Sentra beat it in headroom.  Legroom was about par for the class, with a quantitative comparison against the Civic showing only fractional differences in most length dimensions, but the Sentra having about three inches more hip and shoulder room both front and back than the Civic.  The Sentra is also three inches taller than the Civic, though externally they’re nearly the same width.  The Sentra is three inches longer than the Civic, but has a shorter wheelbase.  Just as the Versa is large for its class, so is the Sentra. Continue Reading

By Andy Bannister

05.18.2009

Global leaders are usually associated with some of the world’s most expensive and luxurious cars, but the lack of a prestige badge hasn’t put off Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who was happy this week to be spotted taking the wheel of his humble Lada Niva 4X4, a staple of that country’s motor industry for over 30 years.

The Prime Minister – who was previously Russian President – was seen by journalists driving his newly-acquired camouflage-coloured Niva at his residence on the Black Sea. Back in March, Mr Putin told workers at troubled AvtoVAZ, manufacturer of cars wearing the Lada brand, that he had bought one of their products.

Politicians being seen in a home-grown vehicle isn’t normally news, but the decidedly proletarian image of the Lada – especially in a country where the super-rich wouldn’t dream of being seen in a domestic product with its roots firmly in the Soviet era – does rather put Mr Putin in a class of his own.

VAZ started life assembling a sturdy, no-frills version of the Italian Fiat 124 sedan back in the early 1970s, and a car derived from that original Lada remains in production today, although the company has also graduated to a range of rather more modern hatchbacks such as the front-wheel-drive Kalina. Continue Reading

By Brendan Moore

05.18.2009

As the old adage goes, there’s a silver lining to every dark cloud, and that adage is going to be proven by low pricing for new cars over the next 18 months, as dealers close, whether it’s from their brand going under, or, their franchise not being renewed by either Chrysler or General Motors.

Yes, your local dealer’s financial Armageddon is going to be very good news for the astute new-car buyer. The dealers that get a death sentence from GM or Chrysler will be forced to liquidate their new-car inventory, and as their date with death gets nearer, the retail pricing at their lots is going to get lower and lower.

If those dealers are selling invoice or below because they have to make that inventory go away before they close up, that will put competitive pricing pressure on all dealerships selling the same product, resulting in a great deal of margin compression nationwide. So, even if you don’t have any dealers going under in your burg, the retail pricing is still going to drop because of this nationwide price deterioration.

There is also another major factor is this downward pricing, and that is the retail incentives that GM and Chrysler are expected to offer on discontinued models/brands. These incentives, paired with the desire by the dropped dealers to minimize their inventory losses, should make for an extremely potent combination vis-à-vis lower consumer pricing.

Wait, there’s more!

Continue Reading

By Kevin Miller

05.17.2009

The Soul is Kia’s newest vehicle; a small, boxy runabout with a unique style. While it’s in the same basic vehicle class as the Scion xB, it sports a style all its own. The Korean company chose the name Soul for its little boxy vehicle. Not Seoul, like the capital of its homeland, nor Sole, like the bottom of a shoe or boot (which the little vehicle resembles from certain angles), or a bottom-feeder (which the Soul will be in the market).

When I first sat in the Soul in Detroit last January, I was intrigued. It appeared to be a stylish little box, with a better-looking-than-expected interior and an aggressive stance thanks to its wheels-at-the-corners design. At the Detroit show, the Soul begat the Soul’Ster Concept, and my article about that concept was written in an optimistic, upbeat voice. I eagerly anticipated the opportunity to review the little vehicle, which I’ve finally had the chance to do. Unfortunately, the more time I spent in the Soul, the less optimistic I felt. Continue Reading

By Chris Haak

05.15.2009

Bankrupt automaker Chrysler LLC released two lists of dealers yesterday.  One is a list of 2,392 dealers that it would like to retain as it reorganizes in Chapter 11, and the other is a list of 789 dealers who will not make the cut going forward, if the bankruptcy judge approves Chrysler’s motion to terminate their Sales and Service Dealer Agreements effective on or about June 9, 2009.  The copy of the form letter that Chrysler sent to dealers is available here for download; the worst part is that they apparently didn’t bother to mail merge anything other than the name of the dealership at the top of the letter:  “With regret, this letter is to inform you that on May 14th, 2009, we are filing a motion in bankruptcy court rejecting the Sales and Service Agreement(s) between Chrysler Motors LLC and the dealership listed above.”

In Chrysler’s own words, they explained why the decision was made. “It is with a deep sense of sadness that we must take steps to end some of our Sales and Service Dealer Agreements,” said Steven Landry, Executive Vice President, North American Sales and Marketing, Global Service and Parts. “The decision, though difficult, was based on a data-driven matrix that assessed a number of key metrics. In total, 789 dealers, which represents 14 percent of our sales volume, will be rejected and, subject to the court approval, they will discontinue selling Dodge, Chrysler or Jeep vehicles on or about June 9.

The 789 dealers represent just under 25% of Chrysler’s total current dealer population of 3,181 dealers.  Obviously, the fact that losing 25% of the dealers only cuts 14% of the company’s sales volume, shows that those who didn’t make the cut weren’t performing as well in terms of sales volume relative to those that Chrysler would like to keep – at least on an average basis. Continue Reading