Archive | June, 2009

China Bans Renault Imports

By on June 11, 2009 in Editorials

By Brendan Moore

06.11.2009

In a surprising move, China’s quality inspection agency has banned all Renault imports into China, citing unexplained “serious safety risks” and failure to meet technical standards. The models banned have all passed Europe’s stringent emission standards as well as getting the

2008-renault-laguna

highest score possible in the crash tests conducted by the independent European crash test agency EuroNCAP.

Renault executives said they were “surprised” by the decision from the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) in China. One can imagine that is a considerable understatement.

The Renault models, all built in Western production plants, are:

Laguna

Scenic

Megane

Megane Coupe-Cabriolet

The statement from AQSIQ said, “In recent import inspections, we have repeatedly found batches of passenger vehicles made by the French Renault … do not conform with our country’s mandatory standards and relevant technical regulations, and there are serious safety risks.”

No, really. It actually happened yesterday.

Continue Reading →

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GM Introduces 2010 Lineup, and Pontiac is a Lineup of One

By on June 10, 2009 in Editorials, News

By Chris Haak

06.10.2009

p8130011Yesterday, we received word that GM had the company had posted details of its 2010 product lineup to its media website.  (Here is the link; login is not required).

Overall, there’s not much new information in the guide aside from random annual enhancements such as new paint colors, new wheels, an added USB port here, a different gear ratio there.  Of course, there are a few all-new models such as the 2010 Buick LaCrosse sedan, 2010 Cadillac SRX crossover, 2010 Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon, 2010 Chevrolet Camaro, 2010 Chevrolet Equinox crossover, and the 2010 GMC Terrain crossover (a vehicle whose style I still can’t get used to).

Conspicuous in their absence are a few things – namely, a couple of brands (Hummer, Saturn, and Saab; GM has tentatively sold Hummer to a Chinese company and sold Saturn to Roger Penske’s company, while Saab is still for sale and in Sweden’s equivalent of bankruptcy protection) and a couple of models. Continue Reading →

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2009 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid Review

By on June 10, 2009 in Reviews

By Roger Boylan

06.10.2009

82231Only a moron could love this oxymoron, I thought, on first hearing about this vehicle. Cross-breed an Escalade, ultimate gas-guzzling status symbol for the flashy and vulgar, with a Prius, frugal icon of the hairshirted? How ridiculous. But after a week with a champagne-hued Escalade Hybrid I’m disinclined to think of it as ridiculous; unexpected, maybe, or paradoxical, but no more than, say, Winston Churchill in a maroon siren suit. Because, even dressed like a giant baby, Winnie won the war. And this Escalade is an oxymoron that works.

hpim3226I first learned how good the GM hybrid powerplants are when I tested a Silverado Hybrid, the Escalade’s humble and much more affordable country cousin, with which it shares a BMW/Chrysler/GM/Mercedes-Benz-derived hybrid-powerplant combo. This 332-hp 6.0-liter V-8, with cylinder deactivation (“Active Fuel Management,” in GM-blather) and variable cam timing, makes 367 lb.-ft. of torque, and is hooked up to a 300-volt electrical system that combines the gas engine with a pair of electric motors for a total power tally of 369 hp and 380 lb.-ft. of torque, compared to the regular Escalade’s 403 hp and 417 lb.-ft. respectively.  The Escalade Hybrid’s payload is 1,369 lb., a mere 241 lb. less than the standard model’s, and its towing capacity is 5,800 lb. rather than 7,900 lb., but that’s still potent enough to haul most trailers. The two electric motors are energized by a huge battery, warranted for 8 years or 100,000 miles, sealed in a box under the Escalade’s second row of seats.

The Escalade has a solid-axle rear suspension design, which is why those annoying, if functional, little third-row seats can’t be lowered into the floor but have to be either tumbled forward, with some effort, or with somewhat greater effort physically lugged out and deposited in your garage, there to gather dust and cobwebs for the duration of your love affair with your Escalade, however long that might be. Mine lasted a week, but would have lasted much longer if the thing didn’t cost half as much as my house: MSRP is $73K, which is pretty astronomical, even given the likelihood of hefty discounts and the $2200 hybrid tax break from Uncle Sam. Is it worth it? Not for me, because I don’t have the dough, but if you do, go for it. Teaming up luxury with good fuel economy is a way of indulging yourself with a clear conscience. Continue Reading →

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Chrysler Exits Chapter 11, Forms Chrysler Group, Finalizes Fiat Alliance

By on June 10, 2009 in News

By Chris Haak

06.10.2009

pentastar_window

Hot on the heels of the US Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the Indiana pension funds’ objectionsto the sale of Chrysler, the company (at least the “good” parts of it) has exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and formed a new company called Chrysler Group LLC.  Chrysler Group LLC is owned 20% by Italy’s Fiat SpA, 55% by the UAW, 8% by the US government, and 2% by the Canadian government.  Those numbers only add to 85%, but Fiat will get the remaining 15% if the loans granted by the US Treasury during Chrysler’s restructuring and bankruptcy are repaid.

Concurrent with the formation of Chrysler Group LLC (I already dislike having to type that extra word), Chrysler LLC Chairman and CEO Robert Nardelli left the company, as he previously indicated he would do.  Nardelli sent a heartfelt thank-you/farewell/congratulations letter to all Chrysler employees (download the text of his letter here as a PDF).  In his note, he also mentioned that he would be returning to Cerberus, so he may well pop up again elsewhere in the business world. Continue Reading →

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Volvo S40 DRIVe Earns Green Car Award in UK

By on June 10, 2009 in News

By Kevin Miller

06.10.2009

19502_1_5Here in the US, “Green Car of the Year” type awards perennially go to the Toyota Prius. Occasionally, a hybrid manufactured by GM, Ford, or Honda wins, but the default winner is usually the Prius. Over here, Volvo is seldom in the running for any type of environmental awards for their vehicles.

If you live in North America, you probably wouldn’t think of the words “Volvo” and “green” in the same sentence, unless you happened to see one of the Swedish automaker’s products in the unfortunate color they call Willow Green, In the UK, however, those words go together a bit differently, as the Volvo S40 1.6D DRIVe has been named Green Car of the Year at the 2009 What Car? Green Car Awards, which took place in London earlier this week.

The S401.6 DRIVe has features a 1.6 liter diesel engine rated at 109 HP, has a fuel economy rating which equates to 62 miles per gallon, and features an exceptionally low CO2 emissions of just 104g/km . In order to achieve those figures, the Volvo features an engine start/stop system which they introduced earlier this year in Geneva. When the driver puts the gear lever into neutral and releases the clutch while at a standstill, the engine switches off. The engine restarts when the driver steps on the clutch pedal. The system will also restart the car if air conditioning is needed in the cabin. Continue Reading →

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Bankruptcy Blues? Ken Block to the Rescue

By on June 10, 2009 in Editorials, Features

By Kevin Gordon

06.10.2009

43Right now in the media, anything to do with automotive news is coupled with news about bankruptcy, bailouts, dealership closure, and the end of the automotive industry as we know it. It has been a difficult and depressing time to be an automotive enthusiast. Being that there is so much automotive news, it could be argued that it is a good time to be an automotive journalist, but one can only get so excited about the sky falling. Since everything has been so gloomy, it is a great time for a 566hp (at the wheels) Subaru WRX STi to rip through multiple sets of BFGs for your enjoyment.

Ken Block co-founded DC Shoes with professional skateboarder Danny Way in 1994. A year after the start of DC Block began competing in the Rally America National Rally Championship. Since that time he and Travis Pastrana (of supercross/freestyle motocross fame) have become the public face of United States rallying. US rallying is better for their efforts to bring the sport to light. So much so, that rally became an event in the ESPN X Games. Much like my previous rant about Formula One, rallying is one of those automotive endeavors that requires true talent and a steel set of ball bearings. Ken Block has not only become a truly talented driver, he is also an excellent marketer. To help publicize his company, he sponsors his own rally car and he has used his car to create some incredible videos.  The term ‘viral video’ is extremely overused these days; anything that grabs 100,000 views on YouTube is labeled as “going viral.” Well, DC Shoes co-founder Ken Block has been in the center of a few truly viral videos. Continue Reading →

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Will Ford Rediscover Style in Europe with the Return of the Capri?

By on June 10, 2009 in Features

By Andy Bannister

06.10.2009

ford-capri-mk1Coupés are one of the more perplexing areas of the new car market – all the rage one minute, out of favour the next.

Once upon a time in Europe almost every manufacturer had one or more coupés in its range, and some (like Fiat) had numerous swoopier versions of even its humblest little runabouts, often with bespoke bodies by the likes of Bertone and Pininfarina.

After some time in the wilderness there are signs of a renaissance in the European small coupé market, exemplified by the launch of the low-volume Volkswagen Scirocco, reviving a popular name dating right back to the 1970s.

The latest manufacturer poised to gain a slice of this cake is Ford, currently contemplating a return of the legendary Capri name.

The whole idea of a coming up with a commercially successful mainstream coupé was based on combining a stylish body with relatively humble underpinnings – in other words, persuading buyers to pay more for what they (and their green-with-envy neighbours) perceived was something special. Continue Reading →

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US Supreme Court Lifts Stay of Chrysler Sale to Fiat; Transaction Can Proceed

By on June 9, 2009 in News

By Chris Haak

06.09.2009

court_front_medLate today, the US Supreme Court lifted the stay that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg had placed on the sale of Chrysler’s assets to Fiat, which she placed on the transaction yesterday around 4:00 p.m.  Based on the text of the ruling (available here as a PDF), the reason for the stay granted yesterday had very little to do with the merits of the claims of the three Indiana pension funds, and everything to do with the Supreme Court wanting to take adequate time to decide whether to review the matter.  In the end, the Court decided that it didn’t warrant its review.

According to the per curiam decision (which means one rendered by the court as a whole, acting anonymously) (yes, I had to look it up), the denial of the stay is not a decision on the merits of the underlying legal issues, but whether the applicant [for the stay] has demonstrated reasonable probability that four justices will grant certiorari (meaning that the court would agree to hear the case, and that the case is scheduled for the filing of briefs and for oral arguments).  The Court also looked at whether there was a fair prospect of a majority of justices will conclude that the lower court’s ruling was erroneous, and what the likelihood of irreparable harm would occur if the stay was denied. Continue Reading →

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GM Says their New Dealer Agreement Supersedes all State Dealer Franchise Laws

By on June 9, 2009 in Editorials, News

By Brendan Moore

06.09.2009

gm-logo-smallThis should be interesting.

As you know, General Motors is in the throes of bankruptcy and therefore can void all the existing agreements it has with suppliers, lenders and dealers, to name a few.

GM has seized this opportunity to draw up a new dealer agreement with new terms that have infuriated many of their dealers. There are over 1300 dealer principals that have already received news of the death sentence GM gave their dealership, and thus are not involved in this fight, but many remaining dealers are screaming bloody murder.

Adding to their anger is the statement by GM executives that any dealer that doesn’t sign the new agreement by June 12 can be terminated at will. GM can legally terminate the dealers under the existing dealer agreement while in federal bankruptcy proceedings.

Automotive News has come into possession of a copy of the new dealer agreement, which they are reporting contains the following GM requirements:

Eliminate non-GM brands in the showroom

Maintain larger inventories

Sell substantially more vehicles

Upgrade dealerships and maintain high customer satisfaction scores

Not protest any store GM locates within six miles of their store for two years

GM’s lawyers have told company executives that any agreement forged in federal court will prevail over existing state franchise laws, a premise that irate dealers and their attorneys vehemently disagree with. They state that the new dealer agreement being offered by GM is overreaching and cannot trump state laws.

Continue Reading →

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US Supreme Court Grants Stay Delaying Chrysler Sale to Fiat

By on June 8, 2009 in News

By Chris Haak

06.08.2009

fiat-500-photoIn a somewhat surprising move, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg of the United States Supreme Court, apparently at nearly the last minute before a 4:00 deadline, has agreed to hear the Constitutional concerns of the Indiana pension funds that appealed the lower court’s decision to allow the Chrysler bankruptcy to proceed as ruled by Judge Arthur Gonzalez in the bankruptcy court in New York.  The Supreme Court rarely grants emergency stays of lower court decisions.  You can read Justice Ginsberg’s decision here (PDF).  If you don’t feel like clicking, it’s really short:

UPON CONSIDERATION of the application of counsel for the applicants, and the responses filed thereto,

IT IS ORDERED that the orders of the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, case No. 09-50002, dated May 31 and June 1, 2009, are stayed pending further order of the undersigned or of the Court.

Because the full court will hear the case, the sale will no longer be able to close today as the parties had hoped.

As we reported earlier, Fiat is able to walk away from the Chrysler transaction if it does not close by next Monday, June 15, 2009.  Additionally, Fiat is entitled to receive a $35 million breakup fee.  While the breakup fee may seem unusual for a company that hasn’t invested any cash in the transaction, Fiat has spent considerable time and executive resources preparing for the transaction. Continue Reading →

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