Last Cars Reviews Blog: car industry news

Показаны сообщения с ярлыком car industry news. Показать все сообщения

Land Rover’s New Offerings: Tata for Now

We wrote a rather contemptuous piece back in March panning Land Rover’s LRX concept for its ugly styling, squashed-down rear end and exaggerated front end. Our readers, however, had other ideas. Of the 14 comments they made, 11 were positive about the car’s looks and design. Shows to go you.

Well, now the company has announced that the LRX will go into production late next year as a 2011 model (shown here)—and we hereby acknowledge what we should have known all along: Nobody can presume to predict what the public will like when it comes to car design. De gustibus, and all that.

Based on our small sampling, maybe Tata Motors (LR’s new owner) is making a smart move. The LRX 2-door + hatch will be the smallest, lightest and “most efficient” in the Land Rover line, though power plants have yet to be determined. They talked hybrids and “electrification” when the concept was introduced in 2008. It will be branded as a Range Rover and priced, it is said, “below the $60,495 Range Rover Sport.”

The company needs a shot in the arm. In addition to its happy LRX news, Tata announced it was going to close one of three Jaguar-Land Rover plants in England by 2014 since “combined sales of the two brands dropped 52 percent in its first fiscal quarter.”

Overfinch Range Rover "shooting brake"

Of course, one way to boost sales is to go to a niche market—for example, how about hunters and drinkers? TopGear reports that specialty maker Overfinch has taken the big supercharged V8 Range Rover, fitted it out with a Holland and Holland walnut gun cabinet and a “self-replenishing drinks cabinet” so customers can drink, drive and shoot, all from the comforts of a £140,000 vehicle.

Let’s give them some other markets to think about. What about cars for those who refuse to give up texting? Cars for the visually impaired? What others can you suggest?

—jgoods

Share this post:

Read More!

An Exciting New Buick Concept and Some Good News for GM Workers

buick-avant

Luxury is getting smaller.

General Motors is touting its new small premium Buick Avant concept on the new Lab website, where the Avant is described this way:

Ultimately, we wanted to create a dramatic expression of a new kind of Buick. We designed six exterior themes and four interior concepts as proposals. Each utilized some of the features we developed, and took the Buick aesthetic in a new direction.
This vehicle is intended to be a stunning object, something that fits into the consumer’s everyday life, yet elevates the everyday to a compelling experience.

Sounds OK, I guess, but what about features? Try these: Doors that can open traditionally or slide open for easy access in tight spots. A sliding luggage rack in the back that “presents luggage to you” rather than reaching to get it. Finally, there’s the micro pergola roof that allows it to either be transparent or not let any light through at all. Pretty sweet, I think.

In other GM news, the company is adding third shifts and increasing production in its Fairfax, KS, Lansing-Delta Township, MI and Ft Wayne, IN factories. In all, the move will add about 2,400 jobs while consolidating production of GM’s fullsize heavy duty pickups along with the Chevy Aveo, Malibu and Traverse.

Perhaps these are signs that General Motors is starting to right the once-sinking ship.

How’s that new Buick Avant concept looking to you?

-tgriffith

Share this post:

Read More!

Porsche Headquarters Raided in Market-Manipulation Investigation

This spring when we were reporting on the convoluted attempts of Porsche to take over Volkswagen, I mentioned some of what I had written to the guy who works on my GTI. He told me, in effect, “You haven’t heard the half of it,” and went on to describe dark rumors of financial manipulation, derivative squeezes, and other things.

I didn’t pursue it or ask where he got his information. Just shooting the car-talk breeze, you know. Turns out, as we learn today, that Wendelin Wiedeking, former Porsche CEO, and Chief Financial Officer Holger Haerter are part of an investigation of alleged insider trading and market manipulation. Officials raided the company’s Stuttgart headquarters (above) this morning, seizing documents. Imagine this kind of uproar in a firm of such echt-Deutsch rectitude. Why it’s like a Swiss bank turning over its depositors’ names to the IRS!

The irony of ironies, of course, is that Porsche itself is currently in the process of being gobbled up by VW, and the stock of both companies is taking a beating. Reports Bloomberg:

Volkswagen common shares extended their decline in the past six days to 36 percent [our emphasis] as Porsche SE exited the stock and short-sellers increase bets that losses may widen.

The ongoing Wiedeking story promises more twists and turns than the Nurburgring. We’ll keep you posted. Today the putative victor, VW CEO Martin Winterkorn, announced in an interview that Porsche would have to sell 150,000 units by 2012. How the heck are they gonna do that, you may ask, when the company now sells about 75,000 cars a year?

Good luck, Marty. Maybe you should ask Wendelin before he goes to jail - he did bring Porsche out of the doldrums in 1993 when he came aboard.

Give us your ideas about how Porsche will get to 150,000 units in three years.

—jgoods

Share this post:

Read More!

Hyundia Innovates Again - Could It Backfire This Time?

2009_hyundai_elantra Hyundai is building a reputation as an innovator… from offering a 100,000-mile warranty to allowing customers to return their cars if they lose a job.

Now the company is even defying the U.S. government’s rules by getting a jump-start on the cash-for-clunkers program. Slated to start on July 23, Hyundai dealerships will allow customers to bring in clunkers right now to take advantage of up to $4,500 off the purchase price of a qualifying new car.

It’s a bold move, considering the government could potentially pull the plug on the program or make a sudden change as to which cars qualify. Hyundai is playing the odds, though, letting people bring in their ‘94 Explorers and giving them $4,500 off a $14,000 Elantra.

According to a Hyundai study, 11 percent of car buyers were waiting until the government’s program took effect to buy a new car. It could be a brilliant move, capturing customers who might otherwise shop for other brands when they all begin offering the program.

John Krafcik, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor America, said,

We appreciate what Washington has done getting the program completed, but it’s clear that the wait has left many potential car-buyers on the sidelines. We thought it was imperative to get funding to our dealers so that they could implement the program right away and satisfy the demand they’ve been hearing from consumers.

Don’t get too excited, though, if you have a 20-year old Toyota clunker that is rated at 25 miles per gallon; you won’t qualify. Congress has taken an otherwise good idea and put so many restrictions on it that many interested people won’t have cars that qualify.

If you have an old American-built SUV with a seized transmission, though, you’re in luck, because Hyundai will probably give you $4,500 for it today.

Have a question about whether your car qualifies? Let us know and we’ll get you an answer!

-tgriffith

Read More!

Will You Get Free Stock in General Motors?

gm-stock-prices As taxpayers, you and I bailed out General Motors and Chrysler. What are we getting in return? As of right now, nothing but the warm feeling in our chests of knowing we contributed to saving a couple of poor, helpless, and starving corporations.

Feels good, doesn’t it?

I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather have the government choose where my charitable donations go than trying to sort through the endless array of worthy charities that save starving children or house hurricane victims.

Seeing bloated auto executives on the street would break my heart, and since we didn’t let that happen, Republicans have proposed a way to give back to us: They want to give us stock in return for our investments in GM and Chrysler.

Hallelujah! The U.S. government has given $50 billion to General Motors alone. There are 120 million Americans who submitted tax returns for 2008. By my calculations, that should translate to about $417 in GM stock for each of us.

It makes sense to me for the people who paid the tab to gain ownership. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., the proposal’s author, said,

This is the fastest way to get the stock out of the hands of Washington and back into the hands of the American people who paid for it.

Let me give a virtual chest bump to Lamar - good thinking, bro! General Motors stock last closed at around 75 cents per share, so I figure we’re all entitled to 556 shares.

Maybe if the company recovers, we’ll all be able to cash in and go buy a new Toyota.

Would you be for a plan that transfers ownership of GM and Chrysler to the American people?

-tgriffith

Read More!

The Death Watch Continues

GM's Cars of Tomorrow To nobody’s surprise, bondholders said no to GM’s magnanimous final offer of a 10-percent share in the reorganized company. It’s now virtually certain that the courts will take over in the next few days. Said Bloomberg,

The exchange offer was opposed by both institutional and individual investors, who said they’ve been treated worse than a union retiree-medical fund.

My God, worse than a retiree-medical fund run by a union? What could be more demeaning than that? Still, the outcome of the swap offer last night clearly demonstrated that investors felt they were being, shall we say, shortchanged. They were in no position to buck the government—already lending GM $19.4 billion and promising at least $30 billion more. Canada is also in for $9 billion.

As we reported earlier, GM’s bankruptcy route will likely be similar to Chrysler’s, though the issues are a good deal more complex. In Germany, Opel and Vauxhall assets are being pooled and segregated from the parent company to prepare for sale to Fiat or Magna, along with some government loan guarantees.

What the implications are, long- and short-term, of two-government ownership is hard to say. We can say it will be a rocky ride.

With the U.S. government owning about 70 percent of GM, you know who will be calling the shots, though they claim a hands-off approach. Can they call the right ones? Tell us what you think.

—jgoods

Read More!

Cars of the Future: Made from Basalt Rock?

edag-open-source-light-car I’ve often wished cars had a driver-to-driver communication system built right in. Something where I could type in the license plate number of the car I accidentally cut off and talk directly to the driver.

“Whoa, sorry, red Honda - that was totally my fault.”

Of course, a system like that isn’t likely, and would probably end up creating a heck of a lot of road rage and distracted drivers.

This is what I was thinking about when I read about a new concept car that EDAG is showing at the Geneva Auto Show. Called the Open-Source Light Car, it’s truly an example of forward thinking and advanced technology.

With an all-electric drivetrain that packs motors into each wheel, a chassis built from melted basalt rock that has been turned into fibers, and polycarbonate and OLED (organic light-emitting diodes) surfaces for the body, this is car is exceptionally strong and light. Not to mention futuristic.

The headlamps, brake lights, and turn signals are built into the OLED surfaces and are completely invisible when off. The dashboard is similar and lets the driver position the gauges wherever he or she chooses.

Here’s where things get even crazier (or smarter, depending on your point of view): The rear of the car also serves as a large gauge alerting drivers behind it to the car’s current speed, braking force, any upcoming road work, etc. It’s like a traveling highway safety sign that communicates to other drivers without actually having to talk to them.

While this concept is way more visionary than practical, it shows the possibilities of what could happen as the automobile evolves.

Do you think a large display in the rear of a vehicle would contribute to safety or become a safety hazard?

-tgriffith

Read More!

From the makers of Jaguar: the world’s cheapest car!

tata-nano

It doesn’t seem quite natural that the owner of British luxury icons Jaguar and Land Rover is also maker of the world’s cheapest car.

That’s what Tata Motors is set to do, though, as the already infamous Tata Nano goes on sale in India this April for about $2,500, or to put it another way, about the same price as the navigation system on Tata’s Jaguar XJ. How’s that for a contrast in vehicle offerings?

The Nano, which won’t be available in the U.S., is expected to bring the freedom of automobiles to the people of India. Tata hopes that the low price will be enough to lure Indians away from their mopeds and scooters and introduce them to a vehicle capable of hauling their families in dry comfort.

I use the word “hauling” loosely, however, as the Nano is powered by a rear-mounted 33-horsepower two-cylinder engine and isn’t much bigger than Apple’s same-named MP3 player. Still, though, for the price buyers get a four-door hatchback that can seat four people and has a CVT transmission helping deliver an estimated 54 U.S. miles per gallon.

On a car this cheap, though, corners must also be cut. The base Nano has no airbags, radio, or power steering and reaches a top speed of only about 75 miles per hour. Plus there’s no air-conditioning to help deal with the brutal Indian summer heat.

While the Nano isn’t likely to make an impact in America, the technology behind it could represent a new era in the world of small cars. Plus, it sure beats driving a motorcycle in a monsoon in India.

If the Tata Nano were available where you live, would you consider buying one?

-tgriffith

Read More!

Wake Up, Folks, We’re Going to Have an Auto Industry

My compadre tgriffith got all steamed last week about the chintzy buyouts GM and Chrysler have offered their workers. For $20,000, much less than one year’s pay, and $25,000 toward an already-depreciated, devalued car, GM workers sign over their rights to receive all retirement and health care benefits.

The company wants to shrink the number of its long-term employees, since it pays far less for new ones. Well, would you take that offer if you knew there might be a bailout coming? And why would you take it anyway?

One year ago, GM was offering its entire hourly workforce buyouts of $140,000 for those with 10 years of service or more, $70,000 for those with less. Buyout offers have been a fact of life in the car industry for years.

A Little History, Please
Those who commented on tgriffith’s post, with the exception of Randy, have no idea how the auto industry works, much less the UAW. They don’t know that both company and union are carrying $47 billion in retiree health care costs, and that is the biggest obstacle to an agreement right now, the union having given way on most issues since 2007. New workers at the Big Three and the transplants are paid roughly the same.

Detroit has a 70-year history with its workers, whereas the transplants in this country virtually just arrived. In better times, the UAW and the Detroit companies made expensive and expansive deals each is having trouble living up to now.

The larger point is that everyone knows President Obama is committed to having a viable auto industry, and he has created a task force of his top economic advisors to bring that about. Messrs. Geithner, Summers, Bloom & company will have their hands full, but they aren’t stupid people.

Through bankruptcy, formal or informal, the companies will get remade and restarted. Wagoner, Nardelli, and their top brass will go, many jobs will be lost, and you and I will pay for it. Why? Because the alternative is much worse.

Four Big Potholes Ahead
I see four very big economic problems that will have to be solved. If not, you’ll see the much worse alternative. I’m not even looking at the energy side, which may or may not give us the new cars we all like to write about.

U.S. automakers and their dealers are swimming in inventory, and the problem will get worse. With sales tanking and factories still producing, though at a lower rate, inventories will grow this year. Nobody sees demand increasing enough to catch up for a long time. Prices will continue to drop, including those for hybrids.

Health care costs are at the root of much of the cost problem for the industry and the nation. With retiree benefits cut, unions have assumed more and more of the health care burden. With fewer employees, they will have less clout and may even cease to exist. We desperately need a national health care policy that will spread the risk, cut the costs, and reduce the advantage the imports have.

Finally, there are two other predicaments we have often written about here: one, the expensive and inefficient dealer network and other structural problems in the industry, like its enormous fixed costs; and, two, the supplier network which serves all car manufacturers. A cascading failure of suppliers could well bring down all the companies, foreign and domestic. And another million jobs would be lost.

So, we’re looking to the feds and Mr. Obama’s people to come up with brilliant (or at least workable) solutions. To solve these massive problems, there will have to be fundamental reform in the industry, and that means a kind of bankruptcy or “reorganization.” The costs may not all be borne by taxpayers. There has been recent talk about other financing options, maybe the banks, maybe foreign companies. One China firm was reportedly talking to Chrysler, though the firm denies it.

Bottom line: Let’s start thinking about how to help the industry survive. Worker buyouts aren’t the answer. (If they were, why didn’t more folks take them?) Besides, we may all be getting a very nice discount voucher on a new car soon.

Would a $10,000 discount on a $30,000 U.S.-made car or truck tempt you?

—jgoods

Update

We just got word that Ford signed a deal with the UAW permitting the company to substitute its stock for up to half the payments owing into the health retiree fund (VEBA), subject to member and court ratification. For Ford, that comes to $13.2 billion.

This effectively means that GM and Chrysler will follow suit—something they had been hoping to achieve in their talks. I think Ford beat them to the punch simply because they are in better financial shape. The union would be crazy to offer this deal to their competitors, who are edging ever closer to bankruptcy. It’s like buying health insurance from a firm that’s sure to go under.

But they will probably make this final concession in order to get a deal from the Feds.

What should happen, as I said above, is universal health care, but that’s impossible in the urgency that faces the industry now. Maybe the government will backstop the union, as it seems to be doing for the banks, so as to take the health care burden off their back when and if times improve.

As some wag said in a comment on the NY Times story, “I wonder if the Ford stockholders, management and board would ever accept a deal similar to this for their families’ future?”

GM shares rose from their lowest since the Great Depression to $1.84 today.

Read More!

Trade You a Dodge Ram for a Fiat 500?

Yesterday Chrysler and Fiat announced a “strategic alliance” wherein Fiat would take a big stake, cost-free, in the American company. Bells rang, whistles blew, cheers went up—mainly from the Cerberus boardroom. That company happily is giving away 35% of Chrysler, which it bought (80%) for $7.4 billion from Daimler Benz less than two years ago. And everyone loves the deal.

New Fiat 500

But enough of high finance. Most of us hope the deal works out. Chrysler would gain access to a range of excellent FWD, low-emission small cars that, rebadged and rebodied, it could begin selling relatively quickly. The company would finally have access to the European and South American markets. It would get critical help rebuilding and, maybe, succeed in convincing the Feds to cough up the conditional $3 billion in March that it needs.

Fiat gets a heckuva deal. Mainly it gets access to the U.S. market, both for manufacturing and distribution. Here’s how The Economist put it:

Fiat has little to lose. If Chrysler stages a miraculous recovery with its help, Mr Marchionne [Fiat’s CEO] would have pulled off something similar to Carlos Ghosn’s Renault-Nissan alliance at almost no cost other than diverted management time. With a rumoured option to increase its stake in Chrysler to 55%, the deal is potentially transformative for Fiat. And if things do not work out and Chrysler slides into bankruptcy, Fiat has no liability exposure but would be in pole position to pick up the assets it needs to implement its North American strategy at fire-sale prices.

Alfa 8c Competizione

What do you, the buyer, get? The potential to buy everything from the successful Fiat 500 to an Alfa Romeo. With Chrysler’s production capabilities, costs would be reduced. That could create real economies of scale, so that the Alfa might finally be priced within our reach—and have a sales and service network to boot. I want one.

The big question is whether there is time enough for Chrysler and Fiat to put this all together before the money runs out. Do you think they can do it?

—jgoods

Read More!

The result: An entry-level sedan that failed miserably and a mid-size sedan ...

Expect great things from Jaguar under Tata

It’s been a while since we’ve last heard from the new owners of Jaguar. The luxury automaker struggled while under Ford ownership, and new owner Tata Motors has been pretty quiet about their plans for the storied brand.

That has caused some fear in Jaguar loyalists as they wonder how in the world the same company that builds the world’s cheapest car can possibly succeed in doing justice to the elegance of the once-British car company.

Ford really didn’t do any favors to Jag though, attempting to bring the essence of Jaguar luxury to the masses. The result: An entry-level sedan that failed miserably and a mid-size sedan that has ended up on more than one list of ugly cars.

There was even talk at Ford of building a Jaguar SUV.

Tata Motors doesn’t have any experience building luxury automobiles, but I won’t let that stop me from believing they are going to be the savior Jaguar fans have been hoping for.

First of all, Tata plans on moving Jag back up market by deciding against an entry-level sub $40K vehicle. They’ve also firmly backed away from creating an SUV, a move that makes sense considering they also own the SUV king: Land Rover.

Here’s what to watch for in the coming years from the new Jaguar:

- New V8 engines in early 2009

- A Supercharged XF-R in mid 2009

- A redesigned XJ in 2010 (look for XF design cues)

- In 2011, 2012 and beyond, watch for a possible XF coupe and a smaller roadster to compete with the Porsche Boxster and BMW X4

I think these are exciting times for Jaguar. I predict that we’ll see Jags that are truly luxurious with the performance to match. Tata Motors is a company with a lot to prove, and I’m willing to bet that they won’t let us down.

What do you think: Will Jaguar return to glory under Tata?

-tgriffith

Read More!

The Korean car company has recently announced the production of an 8-speed ...

The Genesis may be a candidate for Hyundai's new transmission

The Genesis may be a candidate for Hyundai's new 8-speed transmission

No one can argue that the best way to save fuel is to build cars that use less of it.

The first function of fuel economy is weight: the lighter the car the higher the MPG.

The second function is RPM. The more an engine revolves per minute, the lower the MPG the car achieves.

Since there’s a limit to how light a car can be, I’ve always wondered why cars didn’t have an extra gear or two for highway speeds. At 70 MPH, my 5-speed manual Suzuki SX4 gets about 25 MPG. Why not have a sixth gear so I could decrease the engine speed and achieve 30+ MPG? Sure seems like I could save a lot of gas cruising the highway at 2000 RPMs rather than 4000.

Enter Hyundai.

The Korean car company has recently announced the production of an 8-speed automatic transmission, for introduction in 2010. Designed to maximize engine torque and improve fuel efficiency, vehicles equipped with this tranny should see a dramatic improvement of highway MPG ratings.

I believe technology such as this is the immediate answer to decreasing our use of oil, and applaud Hyundai for their forward thinking.

What makes the most sense to you: efficient gas-powered cars or hybrid/alternative fuel vehicles?

-tgriffith

Read More!

Last Cars Reviews Blog

Land Rover’s New Offerings: Tata for Now

Related posts:

Related posts:

An Exciting New Buick Concept and Some Good News for GM Workers

Related posts:

Related posts:

Porsche Headquarters Raided in Market-Manipulation Investigation

Related posts:

Related posts:

Hyundia Innovates Again - Could It Backfire This Time?

Related posts:

Related posts:

Will You Get Free Stock in General Motors?

Related posts:

Related posts:

The Death Watch Continues

Related posts:

Related posts:

Cars of the Future: Made from Basalt Rock?

Related posts:

Related posts:

From the makers of Jaguar: the world’s cheapest car!

Related posts:

Related posts:

Wake Up, Folks, We’re Going to Have an Auto Industry

Related posts:

Related posts:

Trade You a Dodge Ram for a Fiat 500?

Related posts:

Related posts:

The result: An entry-level sedan that failed miserably and a mid-size sedan ...

Related posts:

Related posts:

The Korean car company has recently announced the production of an 8-speed ...

Related posts:

Archives