About Brendan Moore

Brendan Moore is a Principal Consultant with Cedar Point Consulting , a management consulting practice based in the Washington, DC area. He also manages Autosavant Consulting, a separate practice within Cedar Point Consulting. where he advises businesses connected to the auto industry. Cedar Point Consulting can be found at http://www.cedarpointconsulting.com.
Author Archive | Brendan Moore

Last Impressions of the 2013 New York Auto Show

By on March 28, 2013 in Editorials

The second day of press days is over, and when I left, workmen were putting up everything needed to accommodate the hordes of paying customers during the public access part of the show over the next week.

I am going home exhausted; nothing new there as I always leave all the big shows exhausted. There’s a lot to see, lots of press conferences to attend, lots of writing, lots of thinking about what to write, etc.

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New York – 2014 Bentley Flying Spur

By on March 27, 2013 in News

The 1% will be happy to know they now have more choices.

With a sticker that starts at $200,500 and climbs rapidly from there, the newest Bentley is not going to be on a lot of grocery-getter lists. It’s huge and its expensive. It is the Number 2 car in the Bentley lineup with the Mulsanne sedan at Number 1, and the Continental GT Coupe at Number 3.

If you go to the New York Auto Show, you will see one in purple. Well, not purple.

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First Impressions of the 2013 New York Auto Show

By on March 27, 2013 in Editorials

Where is the energy?

The show just seems subdued this year. I’ve been coming to this show for a long, long time, and it seems quieter, with less excitement in the hallways and on the show stands. There is plenty of nice iron everywhere (always is at the New York Show), as usual, and lots of ogling of same, but its all low-key and muted.

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New York – 2013 Audi A3 Sedan Reveal

By on March 27, 2013 in News

The folks at Audi held a North American “reveal” of the new A3 sedan last night before the start of the New York Auto Show this morning, and we were invited to see just what the Audi folks have going for their newest interpretation of the A3 model line.

First, let me just tip my hat and note that Audi does a great job coordinating these press events, and their treatment of scruffy auto journalists is top-notch. They never load up the attendance list so that you can’t get to any of the executives, and, in fact, everyone is quite accessible to the aforementioned scruffy auto writers.

Let’s move on.

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Long Term, The Price of Gasoline Will Keep Rising

By on March 14, 2012 in Editorials

On March 6, 2007, I wrote the following post for Autosavant:

“Within the context of buying a new car or truck, people often ask me whether I think gasoline will be $4 a gallon or $5 a gallon soon. In case you have the same question, here is the general answer I give them:

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Review: 2012 Buick Regal GS

By on March 5, 2012 in Reviews

The Opel Insignia is a pretty good car, but it’s not sold in the U.S. The new Buick Regal, which is based on that same Opel, is also a pretty good car, and it is sold here, and, it’s sold here with a six-speed manual transmission. That’s not a misprint; this is a new Buick sedan that has a six-speed manual transmission.

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Review: 2012 Buick LaCrosse eAssist

By on February 28, 2012 in Reviews

When this car was dropped off for me, I walked around it and thought, “Hmm, some Jaguar, some Lexus, and some of their own styling all blended together. Not a knockout, but definitely okay.”

I got in the car and thought the same thing, except with the addition of Audi.

Ten years ago, the average age of a Buick purchaser was somewhere in the seventies, and now its in the fifties. GM moved it down 20 years in 10 years. That’s still not where you want to be if you’re a car manufacturer, but it is progress.

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Review: 2012 Kia Optima SX

By on December 27, 2011 in Reviews

By Brendan Moore

My goodness, the hits just keep coming from Kia. Here we have the exuberant and pretty 2012 Kia Optima SX, a car that is sure to give serious heartburn to its competitors like the Honda Accord and the Toyota Camry.

Why? Because it does things better than those cars, it’s less expensive and it’s much better-looking – in a nutshell. That’s why. No mystery here.

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Review: 2011 Acura TSX Wagon Tech

By on December 15, 2011 in Reviews

By Brendan Moore

The last of the 2011 models for me, and I’m going to sneak it in under the wire here. Late though it may be, we want to include it since there are not a lot of Acura Wagons around in terms of press loaners, and it is in a segment (actual station wagons) that doesn’t have a great many possibilities for the prospective buyer. It’s a niche product, but a niche that Autosavant readers are partial to, so here we go.

In the interests of full disclosure, I should lay my cards on the table right now and state that I am a fan of wagons. Call them what you will; wagons, combis, estates, breaks, familiales, touring models, whatever, I’m a fan. I wish their numbers had not decreased to the point of almost being extinct in America, but tastes change, and now people that want a vehicle with some carrying utility buy a truck, an SUV, a crossover, a minivan, an “activity vehicle” like a Kia Forte or a Toyota Venza that straddles a couple of different vehicle types, and it seems, if all else fails, then, a wagon.

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Review: 2012 Hyundai Genesis 5.0 R-Spec

By on December 4, 2011 in Reviews

By Brendan Moore

Hyundai wants you to think only good thoughts when you think of them; they certainly don’t want you to think that they make pretty good cars, “but.” The Korean automaker is really not interested in having any sort of qualifier come after their name anymore when their cars are being discussed. For instance, qualifiers like, Hyundai makes good cars, but they don’t have a sports car. Or, Hyundai makes good cars, but they don’t have a true luxury car. Or, Hyundai makes good cars, but they don’t make a sports sedan.

With that in mind, Hyundai has really expanded their lineup in recent years, and the results have sent competitors in nervous paroxysms. Consumers have noticed, too, and the Hyundai lineup is doing very well in terms of sales. “Value for the money,” quality, and yes, even styling seem to be recurring themes when consumers are asked what they like about their Hyundai.

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