Industry News
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A new study finds that General Motors is dead last when it comes to relationships with suppliers. Automotive consultant group Planning Perspectives Inc (PPI), released the results of their annual study which asks the biggest suppliers to rate the six automakers who sell more than 85 percent of vehicles in the U.S. Suppliers rated GM low in many key areas such as communication skills, protection of intellectual property, unwillingness to adjust prices due to unforeseen increases, and overall trustworthiness. "As a result, GM is now the least preferred customer of suppliers," PPI said. Source: Reuters William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be rea…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com October 28, 2013 California and seven other states have signed a new pact that hopes to increase the number of zero emission vehicles on their roads to 3.3 million by the year 2025. Joining California in this pact are Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Oregon, and Vermont. The seven states have already adopted a rule like California where by 2025, 15 percent of vehicles sold must produce zero emissions. To help get to this goal, the eight states have four steps to spur sales of zero emission vehicles Amend building codes so it becomes easier to build charging stations Buy more zero emission…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com October 16, 2013 Back at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show, Aston Martin rolled out a very polarizing crossover concept with a name that hadn't been since the late eighties; Lagonda. Quick history lesson: Lagonda was brand that got its start back in 1906 building luxury vehicles. In 1947, Lagonda was paired up with Aston Martin and would continue building vehicles till the late fifties. Since that time, Aston Martin has used Lagonda as a model name for a certain number of vehicles, most notably the Aston Martin Lagonda sedan from the eighties. Now the Lagonda concept shown at Geneva wasn't well received for its awkward styling…
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The past ten years has seen a number of automakers either being folded up or taken into other automakers. But an analyst believes there is more consolidation for the automotive marketplace. Morgan Stanley auto analyst Adam Jonas said in a research note earlier this month says in the future there will only be five to six automakers in the world. This comes down to such factors as economics and technologies. “We believe the radically changing landscape of autos requires a commensurate change of thinking in Detroit if the domestic OEMs, as we have traditionally known them, are to remain relevant 15 or 20 years from now. The world has too many car companies: We cover nearl…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com October 30, 2013 The U.S. Treasury's sell off of General Motors stock isn't faring so well. According to a new report from The Detroit News, the U.S. Treasury has reported a $9.7 billion loss on the $49.5 billion bailout of GM back in 2009. This figure comes from the quarterly report from the Special Inspector General of the Troubled Asset Relief Program to Congress. The U.S. Treasury original stake in GM back in 2009 was around 60.8 percent. Since that time, the Treasury has been selling off shares in a effort to make back some of the funds used in the bailout. The Detroit News says for the U.S. Treasury to break even,…
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Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx wants to increase the maximum fine for automakers who fail to recall vehicles in a timely fashion from the current $35 million fine to a much more painful $300 million fine. The increase is part of a new transportation reauthorization bill whose primary focus is to fund maintenance for highways, bridges, and other infrastructures. On a conference call with reporters, Foxx said the fines on automakers need to be “more than a rounding error” to act as a deterrent. The department “wants to make sure there’s an ability to make it count and ensure that there’s enough of an effect across the industry,” Foxx said. The bill also includes …
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Two U.S. Senators are calling on the U.S. Department of Transportation to urge owners of General Motors vehicles involved in the ignition switch recall to stop driving them until they are fixed. Senators Edward Markey of Massachusetts and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx urging him to ask owners to stop driving their vehicles. "GM has indicated that it could take until October, 2014, before it can complete all the needed repairs. Every day that unrepaired vehicles remain on the road increases the risk of more injuries, deaths and damage," the two senators wrote. But there comes a problem with this. Earlier this mo…
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Last Thursday, Beijing Automotive (BAIC) made an interesting announcement. Reuters reports the company is looking into buying a "mid to high-end brand" in Europe or the United States. If you're wondering, they have a number of companies in mind, but don't give out any names. President Dong Haiyang told reporters at a briefing in Beijing that this would allow them to break into the global marketplace much quicker. The company already some ties in the automotive world mostly in Europe. First, the company bought the bulk of the technology that underpins the last-generation Saab 9-3 and 9-5 sedans from GM back in 2009. Then last week, the company signed a joint-investment a…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com December 7, 2013 The Suzuki Kizashi, a model that was loved by many automotive writers and journalists (your's truly included), but never made a mark on consumers, will not get a second chance. According to Drive.com.au, Suzuki is unlikely to develop a replacement model. “That’s my headache. Kizashi was a very unlucky car,” said Suzuki’s Australian managing director Masaaki Kato. “We had so many arguments about the question: how to handle Kizashi. At that time, frankly speaking, we should not have introduced the car into the market in 2009. But you see, we made a big investment to develop this car… after heavy and hard …
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In light of GM's massive 1.6 million vehicle recall and Toyota's massive $1.2 billion settlement over the unattended acceleration problem, two U.S. Senators introduced legislation to require automakers to provide more information concerning incidents that involve the loss of human life. Senators Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut introduced the Early Warning Reporting System Improvement Act yesterday. The bill would require automobile and equipment manufacturers to submit accident reports or other documents automatically to NHTSA’s Early Warning Reporting database. NHTSA cannot access this information unless they request them. The bill wo…
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Apple has formally shown its CarPlay integration system before the start the Geneva Motor Show today. The system, formally known as 'iOS in the Car' allows owners of a iPhone 5s, 5c, or 5 to control certain aspects of the phone through the car's infotainment system. According to Apple, owners will be able to plug in their iPhones to their vehicles via the USB port and control a number of functions such as making and answering phone calls, text messaging, navigation via Apple Maps, and playing music from your phone. CarPlay also allows certain third-party apps such as Spotify and iHeartRadio to be controlled as well. Now if your vehicle doesn't include a touchscreen, CarP…
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For the first time in sixteen years, J.D. Power and Associates says data from its recent vehicle dependability study shows that the average number of problems per 100 cars has increased. This year's study charted 2011 models over three years of ownership and tracked the number of problems. Looking at first-owner cars from the 2011 model year, J.D. Power reports an average of 133 problems per 100 cars (or shorten to PP100). This is an increase of six percent when compared to 2010's 126 PP100 average. The reason for this climb in problems comes down to problems with engines and transmissions. J.D. Power found that engines and transmissions problem accounted for a 6 PP100 b…
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Back in 2008, the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) came up with a new standard for light-duty pickup tow ratings. Called J2807, the standard would simplify the testing methods for determining the max tow weight a light-duty pickup could handle. The standard was to be implemented in the 2013 model year, but it wasn't. Ford in 2012 surprised everyone by saying it would not adopt the new standard for the 2013 F-150 and would wait till the 2015 redesign. GM and Ram followed suit there after. The reasoning behind this? J2807 would have likely lowered the tow ratings and that wasn't something you really wanted to market. Toyota was the only manufacturer to do it and saw it…
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Despite countless studies and reports that say Gen Y (AKA millienals) aren't interested in cars, a new study released this week says this key group are interested in cars. Deloitte LLP, a financial consulting firm published their Global Automotive Consumer Study which showed that Gen Y is very much interested in getting their own vehicle, despite not having the same love affair as their parents and grandparents. "Well over half (61 percent) of Gen Y consumers in the Deloitte report expect to buy or lease a car within the next three years," said Craig Giffi, vice chairman of Deloitte. Giffi went onto say that "almost a quarter (23 percent) expect to purchase or lease in …
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BYD, the Chinese automaker who is backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., announced plans to launch in the U.S. by the end of 2015. The automaker which had an aborted U.S. launch in 2010 and a restructure that lasted three years believes that they are more prepared now. “Back then, we had passion, but we had no brand, no history, no capital and no competitive advantage. BYD has become more fashionable and we have improved our design and safety. We don’t want to compete on price anymore, but on quality and innovation,” said Stella LI, senior vice president of the BYD's U.S. operations to Bloomberg. The plan BYD has in place is to launch up to four vehicles f…
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Google, Audi, GM, Honda, Hyundai, and NVIDIA announced at the Consumer Electronics Show today a new partnership called the Open Automotive Alliance (OAA). The overall goal of the alliance is to help speed up the development of technological innovation in the auto industry by openness, customization, and scale. The alliance will work on bringing the Android operating system from phones and tablets to vehicles, giving automakers a degree of technological development expertise that they haven't had awhile. In return, automakers will be able develop infotainment systems their standards. "Millions of people are already familiar with Android and use it everyday. The expansion…
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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has submitted revised rule to the White House and missed two self imposed deadlines. We'll start with the revised rule. On December 25th, NHTSA submitted a revised rule which could cause automakers to make backup cameras standard on vehicles. The regulation would set new rear visibility standards for light vehicles sold in the United States. Details on the regulation were not given. This is aimed at reducing the number of kids being run over and killed when a vehicle is put into reverse. Automotive News says that automakers might install backup cameras on their whole line dependent on how strict the regulations are. …
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Buying and selling vehicles in Cuba is an interesting proposition. If you own or want to buy a vehicle before 1959 (the year when Cuba underwent a revolution and became a communist nation), you don't have to ask the government for permission. If the vehicle built after 1959, then you would have to obtain a special permit from the government which allows you to buy that vehicle. But buying a vehicle in Cuba in the near future will become a much easier affair. The Cuban Government announced last week that it will eliminate the permit as a way to open up the marketplace to more people. “It’s become clear that while private sales of cars between individuals has developed s…
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If you're looking a vehicle that has the best value in the marketplace, then according to Consumer Reports, you should be looking at the Toyota Prius. The publication announced the results of their annual Best New-Car Value analysis. The analysis looks at the five-year cost for a vehicle to an owner which includes such factors as maintenance, insurance, and depreciation. That cost is factored in with Consumer Reports’ road-test score and reliability rating for each vehicle. This is the second year the Prius has been named the best value in the marketplace. Consumer Reports says the Prius has a nice balance of performance, reliability, and low estimated five-year ownershi…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com December 11, 2013 With the 2014 Detroit Auto Show just a month away, the finalists for the 2014 North American Car and Truck of Year were announced. General Motors dominated the finalists with two models in the car category (Cadillac CTS and Chevrolet Corvette) and one model in the truck/utility category (Chevrolet Silverado). Mazda takes the last spot in the cars with the new 3. In the truck/utility category, the Acura MDX and Jeep Cherokee join alongside the Silverado. The winners will be announced on January 13th at the Detroit Auto Show Source: NACOTY William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can …
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So came across this story on Lucra Cars who has built multiple cars for the Fast and Furious movies. He became noticed with the LC470 and now has the L148 that is to go into production in 2014 as a $300K 700HP LS V8 American Muscle car with European driving capabilities. Complete story is found here: http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/inside-one-man-quest-build-america-next-great-182846840.html;_ylt=AgU3y1bhJt1d8RdRsKBIa2omhvZ_;_ylc=X3oDMThzb3I0aW05BF9TAzIxNDY4NjI2MzAEYWN0A3RpdGxlBGN0A3N0YW5kYXJkBGVkAzEEaW50bAN1cwRpdGMDMARscG9zAzIEbWNvZGUDQWdCU2xPUVFFR2UyRUJCL05DQUFRTG9RQUVzdklBQmtlaEFRT1NRZ0FBdTVFQkJSVXc9PQRtaWQDdGQEbXBvcwMxBHBrZwNpZC0zNDM1Mzk0BHBrZ3QDMQRwb3MDNARz…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com October 15, 2012 The Tata Nano, introduced in 2009 as the world's cheapest car could be making its way to other countries. Ratan Tata, head of the Tata Group recently revealed in an interview that they are working on a redesigned version to be sold in the U.S. and Europe that could go on sale within three years. "The U.S. is a very enticing market. We are redesigning the Nano for both Europe and the U.S." The redesign will involve a larger engine and adding "more bells and whistles," including such items as power steering and traction control. Tata says the Nano will be under $10,000. "The Smart and the Fiat 500 have h…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com October 28, 2013 Consumer Reports has released this year's Auto Reliability Rankings, and not surprisingly Japan is on top. The top three in the rankings are Lexus, Toyota, and Acura. Following them is Mazda in fifth, Infiniti in sixth, Honda in eighth, and Subaru in tenth. That doesn't mean there weren't any surprises. Audi jumped four places to forth, while Volvo climbed a massive thirteen spots to seventh place. GMC was the only American brand to place in the top ten with spot in ninth. Outside the top ten, America, Europe and Japan saw mixed results. Scion took a big tumble, dropping ten spots to eleventh. Nissan dr…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com October 21, 2013 It has been a few months since we had any update from VL Automotive, the group who showed off a Fisker Karma with 6.2L LS9 V8 from the Corvette ZR1 called the Destino. Back in May, Bob Lutz said plans for the Destino were safe, despite the problems Fisker Automotive were having at the time. This past week, Lutz gave an update on where VL Automotive stands. Lutz tells Automotive News that VL currently has 25 Karmas on hand and that it has gotten over the hurdle of acquiring codes to access the Karma’s infotainment system. "Without getting those codes, it was close to impossible to get a working car," sai…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com October 3, 2013 Ever wonder why more automakers are jumbling letters and numbers together to name vehicles? Its because there are less names that automakers can legally use around the world. "It's tough. In 1985 there were about 75,000 names trademarked in the automotive space. Today there are 800,000," said Russ Clark, director of marketing for Chevrolet. "The truth of the matter is, across the world, there is hardly a name or a letter that hasn't already been claimed by one car manufacturer or another. You can go through the alphabet - A, B, C and so forth - and you will quickly see that almost all available letters a…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com October 16, 2013 Range Anxiety. A condition that still plagues electric vehicles. But it isn't limited to prospective customers who are worried about not having enough juice, it has now spread to rental customers. A number of rental car agencies have now started offering electric vehicles. This allows consumers to try an EV. But renters are returning the EVs much sooner and exchanging them for gas vehicle. “People are very keen to try it, but they will switch out of the contract part way through. Range anxiety makes them think they can’t get to a charging station,” said Lee Broughton, head of sustainability at Enterprise…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com October 15, 2013 On the face of it, sales for new vehicles haven't been better. Total sales for new vehicles could reach 15.5 million this year and some analysts believe that 2014 will see total sales reach 16 million vehicles. But with increase in sales, warning signs are appearing in automotive loans and leases which could put an end to the increases. Automotive News that the average loan length has gone up to 65 months (about five and a half years). While the longer length means a lower payment, it also means that many consumers will still be in the process of paying their old vehicle off when they decide to buy a new…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com October 10, 2013 Aston Martin's most questionable vehicle, the Cygnet city car has been canned after being on sale for three years. A source tells Reuters that the decision was made after the company only sold 150 Cygnets. The Cygnet was a Toyota iQ city car dressed up in Aston Martin clothing. The brand hoped to move 4,000 units per year to "environmentally conscious city dwellers". The Cygnet was also a move to help Aston Martin reduce their CO2 emissions to meet the more stringent EU rules. Source: Reuters William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] o…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com October 9, 2013 Don't own a vehicle? You are not alone. In fact, the number of people who don't own a vehicle is increasing. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials released a brief that states the number of American households that don't own a vehicle has seen a uptick. Starting in 1960, the number of households that didn't own a vehicle declined steadily, reaching a low of 8.7 percent in 2007. But since that time, the share has been rising. In 2011, the latest year for which data is available, the share had risen to 9.3 percent. While the economic fallout from the recession plays a key r…
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Hey Everyone, Not sure where to post this so please move it to the right sub-forum if it's not in the right place. Anyway, we have just revamped our entire site and are looking to add local shops to our installer directory. Inclusion is free and all I need is your business name and information (including your website if you have one) to be included. You can PM me or send an email to [email protected]. We're doing this because we're a completely online company and, even though we sell DIY products many people want someone to install it for them. So, it's a free service we like to offer to our customers. So, if you are a shop or know someone who is tell them to con…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com October 4, 2013 The Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to release their results of fuel economy audits done on twenty vehicles. Christopher Grundler, head of the EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality tells Automotive News the audits looked at a specific portion of the test cycle known as the coast-down test. The coast-down test has a vehicle run up to 80 MPH and then is allowed to glide to a stop. This test measures the aero of the vehicle, the rolling resistance of the tires, and amount of friction in the drivetrain. That data is then put into a dynamometer that an automaker uses to run its vehicle…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com September 17, 2013 Analysts are predicting that new car sales could reach pre-crash levels possibly next year. Sales in 2014 are projected to rise to 16.1 million vehicles, just shy of the 16.15 million cars sold in 2007. Part of this increase is coming from automakers building better products. Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors are real contenders in the compact and midsize marketplace. Also, Korean automakers are giving everyone in the industry a run for their money. “It would be one thing if the domestics were going to get better in cars and pull back on trucks, but they aren’t. You see a rising level of competitiven…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com September 23, 2013 Reuters is reporting that Fiat will be buying General Motor's share of Italian engine manufacturer VM Motori. VM Motori currently supplies engines for the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Ram 1500 EcoDiesel. "GM's notification to exercise its put option to sell to Fiat its 50 percent interest in VM Motori SpA is in line with the contracts Fiat entered into when it acquired a 50 percent stake in VM in 2010," said Fiat in a statement. Fiat expects to have full control of VM Motori by the end of this year. No word on what the future holds for GM products with engines from VM Motori. Source: Reuters William Male…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com August 6, 2013 New data from R.L. Polk released today shows that the average age of a vehicle in the U.S. stands at a record high of 11.4 years. That's 0.2 years higher from last year and and nearly two full years higher than in 2007. Passenger cars currently are the oldest vehicles on the road with an average of 11.4 years. Light trucks are not that far behind with an average age of 11.3 years. Interestingly, the volume of vehicles between 6 and 11 years old actually decreased somewhat, but the volume of light vehicles 12 years and older jumped by 20 percent. “Cars are just lasting longer,” said Mark Seng, a Polk vice…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com August 7, 2013 Yesterday at at the Center for Automotive Research’s Management Briefing Seminars, General Motors' Chief Economist Mustafa Mohatarem told attendees that the reason young people aren't buying cars because they're not interested. It's more to do with economic reasons. Mohatarem downplayed the reason that young kids are more interested in the internet and what's the latest hot thing in tech, and pushed the rising costs of cars, repairs, and insurance as some of the reasons why young people aren't buying vehicles. “I don’t see any evidence that the young people are losing interest in cars," Mohatarem said. H…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com August 26, 2013 When Ford announced that it was lowering the fuel economy numbers of the C-Max Hybrid a couple of weeks ago, they said the EPA's fuel economy testing was unrealistic for hybrid vehicles. The EPA has come back this week and gave a clear message: "The problem here is really not how the testing is done." Christopher Grundler, the EPA's top auto industry regulator told Automotive News that the EPA's own engineers weren't sure if their tests were accurate due to the whole C-Max Hybrid fiasco and decided to retest a few hybrid vehicles in the summer. The results? The Toyota Prius and Hyundai Sonata Hybrid had n…
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G. David Felt Staff Writer Alternative Energy - CheersandGears.com Car Wars 2013-2016 CarWars2013-2016.PDF The automotive Product pipeline for the US Market. While this report came out last year, there is some interesting assumptions / analysis made by Bank of America and Merrill Lynch. This report starts off with the basic background and thesis along with industry trends and then dives into company analysis, expected market share shifts, implications for suppliers to dealers and the all mighty conclusion. What was interesting to note is the expected decline in market share by Korean manufactures while Japan stays pretty much the same and US grows. They do see that …
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com September 3, 2013 In not surprising news, California is the place where most electric vehicles are being sold. New data from Polk says that more than more than 35 percent of electric vehicles registrations come from two California cities: San Francisco and Los Angeles. The California New Car Dealers Association says in the first half of this year, 9,700 electric vehicles were registered and represented 1.1 percent of the state’s auto sales. “A lot of the manufacturers have targeted California for the launch of their electric vehicle product. Our consumers are cutting-edge and early adopters in this area,” said Brian Maa…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com August 31, 2013 The Advance Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) loan program could be making a comeback. First introduced back in 2008 by then President George Bush, the ATVM program set aside $25 billion to fund advancements in green vehicle technology. However the program was suspended three years after due to two companies who took loans weren't able to pay them back. When the program was suspended, the Energy Department only gave out about 40 percent of the funds. “With no sunset date and more than $15 billion in remaining authority, the program plans to conduct an active outreach campaign to educate industry as…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com August 26, 2013 The past couple of years has seen the rise of diesel powered vehicles in the U.S. Automakers like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and Chevrolet have introduced diesel vehicles to acclaim. Other automakers such as Mazda and Audi are readying vehicles to join in the fun. But there are still a number of roadblocks for automakers to bring diesel vehicles into the marketplace. To fight this, The Detroit News reports that Volkswagen is urging officials to level the playing field. “We’re not feeling the love. This is one of the greenest choices... It’s time the U.S. government included clean diesel in its ‘all o…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com August 15, 2013 A new mandate issued by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will make it somewhat easier for owners to access recall information on their vehicle. Announced yesterday, the mandate will require automakers to offer a free online tool that allows an owner to search recall information via a vehicle identification number or VIN. This allows an owner to instantly determine if their vehicle is involved in recall or not. "Safety is our highest priority, and an informed consumer is one of our strongest allies in that effort. Owners and potential buyers alike will soon be able to identify whether a safe…
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G. David Felt Staff Writer Alternative Energy - CheersandGears.com Year 2013 is half way over and before even I could start sifting through the reports to see what or who was on top for best selling auto's MSN Auto's beat me to it with the top 20 selling auto's based on the first and second quarter sales reports. 1. Ford F-Series Sales through June: 367,486 Percentage change: +22 2. Chevrolet Silverado Sales through June: 242,586 vehicles Percentage change: +24.7 percent 3. Toyota Camry Sales through June: 207,626 vehicles Percentage change: -2.9 percent 4. Honda Accord Sales through June: 186,860 vehicles Percentage change: +20.4 percent 5. Ram 1500 Sales thr…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com August 8, 2013 The Chicken Tax, a fifty year-old tariff put in place to tax 25 percent on all imported trucks could be gone in the near future. The U.S. is currently in talks currently in negotiations with the the Trans-Pacific Partnership over free-trade agreements. One of the countries in the Trans-Pacific Partnership is Japan, a country that currently imposes strict restrictions on U.S. imports. The U.S. is using the elimination of the Chicken Tax as bargaining chip in the negotiations to hopefully open up and let domestic automakers come in. “The automakers see it as some leverage to getting other countries to open …
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com July 30, 2013 Interested in buying a used car? Then we got some good news for you. According to Associated Press (via The Detroit News), prices of used cars are dropping. Despite hitting an all-time high back in 2011 thanks to fewer used cars in stock, prices since then have been declining. According to to data from auction company Manheim, the average sale price of a vehicle at auction in June was $11,031, down 6 percent when compared to the peak of used car prices in May 2011. The reason? Sales of new vehicles are on the rise, which means an increase of used cars. Which vehicle segment saw the largest drop? That woul…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com July 29, 2013 Three computer scientists who were going to publish a paper on how to circumvent the security system that verifies the identity of an ignition key have been stopped by the UK High Court. Flavio Garcia, a computer science lecturer at the University of Birmingham and Baris Ege and Roel Verdult, two cryptography experts from Dutch university Stichting Katholieke were going to publish a paper at the Usenix Security Symposium in Washington DC next month. The paper was to outline how they were able to crack a system called Megamos Crypto, a system that allows a vehicle to check the identity of a ignition key. H…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com July 10, 2013 Convertibles have a small slice of the new car market. That slice seems to shinking even further. According to data from R.L. Polk, sales of convertibles last year barely reached one percent. That's a major drop when compared to convertible sales of 1.6 percent in 2009 and 2 percent in 2006. In all, 151,636 convertibles were registered last year. While that is an increase in number of registations over the past few years, it still is lagging behind other vehicles. The reason for this? Automakers are putting more development into more volume models such as midsize sedans and crossovers. "They're sitting do…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com July 3, 2013 Hydrogen, the fuel that automakers say will be available within ten years and doesn't, got some big press yesterday. General Motors and Honda announced a new partnership that will see the co-development of a next-generation fuel cell system and hydrogen storage technologies by 2020. The partnership will also look at reducing the cost of shared components that come from this and contribute to building an infrastructure for Hydrogen. The two automakers have fuel-cell development programs, but at a limited scale. General Motors launched a fleet of hydrogen-powered Chevrolet Equinoxes back in 2007. The company s…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com July 1, 2013 If you been looking at used midsize trucks and wondering why the prices are somewhat high, a new study has an answer to that. According to Black Book, the deprecation rate is much lower on midsize trucks than the whole used car market. In June, used cars as a whole saw a deprecation hit of 1.3 percent. In that same time, midsize trucks saw a 0.7 deprecation hit. Look over the past year and the margin grows wider. Used cars deprecated 13.7 percent, while midsize trucks deprecated 5.1 percent. What's the cause? Ricky Beggs, senior vice president and Managing Editor with Black Book says the reason is due to s…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com June 28, 2013 Here's a story that we're filling under the 'wait and see' file. Reuters is reporting that the Peugeot family, which currently owns a 25.4-percent stake in PSA Peugeot-Citroën automaker and 38.1 percent of voting rights is willing to give up its stake and try to revive a tie-up with General Motors. "GM faces the same overcapacity situation with Opel, and that's why PSA is trying to convince them to merge the two. The Peugeot family has now accepted that they'll lose control, so this is no longer an issue," said a person familiar with the matter. How dire is PSA Peugeot-Citroën at the moment? Well the two b…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com June 24, 2013 The federal mandate for new vehicles to come equipped with backup cameras has been delayed, once again. According to Automotive News, the mandate has been pushed back to 2015 due to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration examining the cost of implementing this mandate. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, said in a letter to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., that more analysis on how much this rule will cost automakers is necessary. Previously, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the cost of implementing the rule would be around $2.7 billion. …
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com June 19, 2013 Another automaker bites the dust. Carbon Motors, the company behind the futuristic E7 police vehicle has filled for chapter seven bankruptcy (i.e. liquidation) last Friday. The Indianapolis Business Journal says the company's bankruptcy paperworks lists liabilities of $21.7 million and assets of just $18,976. Those assets include one E7 prototype, some furniture, books, and intellectual property. Carbon Motor's business plan hinged upon getting a $310 million loan from U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program. Last March, the Department of Energy declined their appli…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com June 11, 2013 Pickup Trucks continue to be the lifeblood for the American automaker's financials. A very good thing since truck sales seems to be in very good health - in fact Automotive News says that truck sales are arguably healthier than they were pre-recession, despite the volume is still below pre-recession levels. How? The per-unit profit has increased massively, outpacing the industry average by more than double since 2005. Edmunds says the average transaction price of pickup truck stands at $39,915 – a 8 percent increase (after inflation) when compared to 2005's average transaction price of $31,059. How import…
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G. David Felt - Editorial Staff Writer Alternative Energy - CheersandGears.com 2012 Insurance Industry Top 25 Vehicles stolen This week the insurance industry released their top 25 stolen vehicles list for 2012. Interesting is only one consistent truck made the list, but two motorcycles made the list this year in addition to one very popular V6 / V8 4 door sedan. What I found interesting is the sheer amount of what I call boring cars that people seem to steal over and over. Question to you all: Are these auto's just the easiest to steal or is there another reason that you can think of as to why these mass produced yawners keep getting stolen? 2009 Nissan Altima - # …
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com May 31, 2013 With automakers and researchers testing autonomous cars more and more, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration put its regulatory hat on and announced guidelines that outline the recommended rules for the vehicles and drivers. NHTSA in its guidelines says it recognizes five different levels of vehicle automation. Those five levels are, Level 0 - No Automation: Driver is in complete control of the vehicle Level 1- Function-specific Automation: Vehicle has some features that can temporally take control of the vehicle, such as electronic stability control or pre-charged brakes Level 2 - Combi…
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com May 21, 2013 This maybe somewhat hard to believe, but German luxury models are cheaper than their Korean counterparts in South Korea. For example, a BMW 528i is around $64,000 in South Korea while Kia's flagship K9 is around $76,400. A difference of $12,400. Consumers in South Korea are taking notice of this and are going towards the Germans. Why are the German vehicles much cheaper? Lowered tarrifs. Thanks to a trade pact introduced back in 2011, duties on European products dropped from 8 to 3.2 percent. This means automakers such as BMW, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz have seen an sales increase of 25 percent in the first …
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com May 16, 2013 During a congressional hearing on crash-prevention features yesterday, the National Highway Traffic Administration's administrator David Strickland told the hearing that NHTSA was considering a new mandate to require new vehicles to be equipped with an automatic braking system. Automatic braking systems uses either or both radar and cameras to monitor the road for vehicles and objects then apply the brakes if the system detects a possible accident and of the driver fails to hit the brakes. Automakers such as Volvo and Mercedes-Benz offer auto braking systems and have been praised both by NHTSA and the Ins…
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com May 5, 2013 With the problems that Fisker Automotive is currently going through, one of companies that is somewhat effected is VL Productions? How so? Well, VL Productions showed off a vehicle called the Destino at the Detroit Auto Show this year that used Fisker Karma as a starting point, rips out the plug-in hybrid powertrain, and slips in the supercharged 6.2L LS9 V8 from the Corvette ZR1. Planned to go into production sometime in third quarter, is VL Productions worried about the future? Well not really according to one of the partners of VL Productions, Bob Lutz. Lutz tells Wards Auto that the company has already…
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com May 10, 2013 While the midsize sedan market as a whole remains the single largest segment in the U.S., sales of the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry are shrinking due to the rise of crossovers. "While the segment is still growing year-over-year, it's nowhere near what it was growing last year as the industry was launching a lot of new midsize cars," said Bill Fay, the U.S. head of the Toyota brand. The rise of crossovers are being fueled by their practicalness, ability to get in and out much easier, and improved fuel economy. The price gap between midsize sedans and crossovers has also narrowed. Kelly Blue Book says a c…
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com May 9, 2013 Another company that was a part of the $25 billion Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing loan program has suspended operations. Vehicle Production Group or VPG Autos has suspended production of their wheelchair-accessible MV-1 van and laid off nearly all of its 100 employees back in February. This news is only coming to light this week thanks to comments by former VPG Autos CEO John Walsh to USA Today. Walsh explained that VPG Autos stopped operations in February because the company's finances dipped below the minimum amount required as a condition of the ATMV loan. The Department of Energy stepped in …
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com May 2, 2013 Coda Automotive is the latest casualty in the electric car industry. Yesterday, the company sent out a press release announcing they would be filling for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in the District of Delaware. "After concluding a comprehensive review of our strategic options, the Board of Directors, management team and senior lending group have concluded that focusing on the Company’s energy storage business presents the best opportunity moving forward,” said Phil Murtaugh, CEO of CODA Holdings, Inc. “We believe the restructuring process that we have entered into today will enable the Company to complete a sal…
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com April 22, 2013 AAA recently released their annual ‘Your Driving Costs’ study and finds that average American driver is now paying $9,122 per year to keep their vehicle on the road, an increase of 1.92% when compared to 2012. Assuming a person is driving around 15,000 miles a year, that breaks down 60.8 cents per mile. The study looks at the costs of keeping a vehicle on road such as gas, maintenance, and insurance to name a few. “Many factors go into the cost calculation of owning and operating a vehicle. This year, changes in maintenance, fuel and insurance costs resulted in the increase to just over 60 cents a mile…
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com April 16, 2013 With gas prices on the rise, you would think sales of subcompact vehicles would also be rising? No. Wards Auto reports that subcompact sales are off since October, even though the price of a gallon of gas is rising and holding steady at $3.50 to $4.00 across the country. So why the drop off in subcompacts? Wards has a couple ideas to explain this. For one, the reason might lie in the boom/bust cycle that comes as a result of new or aging models in each segment. For example, the large crossover class are up a whopping 61% in the same time frame, thanks in part to new models and derivatives. But as Wards …
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com April 15, 2013 Back in October, we reported that Ford and General Motors signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop next-generation nine and ten-speed automatic transmissions. Today, both auto manufacturers have gone on the record and confirmed this joint operation. The two automakers aren't saying which specific vehicles will get the nine and ten-speed transmissions, but did say the transmissions are designed for front- and rear-wheel-drive cars, crossovers, trucks and SUVs. "Engineering teams from GM and Ford have already started initial design work on these new transmissions," said Jim Lanzon, GM vice…
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G. David Felt Staff Writer Alternative Energy - CheersandGears.com & Black-Knight It seems that just yesterday Japanese automakers and their vehicles were seemingly and unanimously praised for their quality and reliability. However, today a new series of recalls out of the land of the rising sun herald a stark reminder that not every automaker is perfect. Today, might finally be a major wake up call for some that these companies are not bullet proof. Today Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Mazda announced recalls totaling 3.4 million auto's world wide, with over 1 million in the US alone. The recall is over defective airbags. These are airbags supplied to these companie…
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com April 10, 2013 Ford, General Motors, and Ram are continuing their stance on ignoring the SAE testing procedure for towing ratings according to Automotive News. The procedure, named J2807, is designed to reflect how the pickups are really used, and are supposed to be more accurate than the non-SAE numbers, which manufacturers supply. The procedure tests a pickup’s structure, propulsion, handling, braking, and thermal-handling ability, in a set environment. This procedure also has the truck equipped and not equipped with a load. All of the truck manufacturers agreed to start this procedure in 2013. Only one manufacture…
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I LOVE it when defunct brands make a return. How this story will play out only Time knows. http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-57575495-54/detroit-electric-set-to-launch-u.s.-made-tesla-rival/
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com February 5, 2013 The trend of automakers downsizing engines and adding turbochargers to add performance and increase fuel economy has drawn the ire of Consumer Reports. The publication recently tested eleven different vehicles and found that with rare exception, “the turbocharged cars have slower acceleration and no better fuel economy than the models with bigger, conventional engines.” Consumer Reports highlights the Ford Fusion which can come equipped with either an optional 1.6L or 2.0L EcoBoost turbocharged four-cylinder. In CR's testing, the 1.6L EcoBoost Fusion posted the slowest 0-60 MPH of 8.9 seconds among c…
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I don't remember ever reading about this one (and I didn't read the article linked so I don't know), but I don't think any got built beyond the prototype. Interesting how so many of the comments sounds familiar 30 years later. PIC... Article... EDIT : Well wait, one was in the 2003 Agent Cody Banks movie :
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com March 25, 2013 For a time, young buyers that wanted a vehicle ventured towards the Japanese brand since they offered the features and content they were looking for. Now the tide is changing with younger buyers going towards American and Korean brands. Bloomberg gathered data from Edmunds and R.L. Polk which showed American automakers increased their share of retail registrations by 1.9% with 18 to 24 year olds and 1.5% with 25 to 34 year olds since 2008. Korean automakers saw the largest jump in retail registrations with a 6.8% increase in 18 to 24 year olds and 5.1% increase in 25 to 34 year olds. Japanese automaker…
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com March 26, 2013 McLaren is hard at work on their next model that will slot below the MP4-12C as the automaker’s “entry-level” model, McLaren executive chairman Ron Dennis has confirmed to Autocar. Wearing the codename of P13, sources tell Autocarthe model will likely be designed as a Porsche 911 Turbo rival. Power will come a detuned version of McLaren’s twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V8. Power is expected to somewhere in the middle of 450 and 616 horsepower. The transmission will be a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. The chassis will be the MP4-12C’s carbon fiber “MonoCell” chassis, which was developed from the start to…
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com March 6, 2013 The end is here for Suzuki automobiles in the U.S. On Thursday, a judge from U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California in Santa Ana approved Suzuki's Chapter 11 reorganization plan. The plan calls for American Suzuki's motorcycle, ATV and marine engine businesses to exit bankruptcy and become part of a new, wholly-owned subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corp, Suzuki Motor of America. Suzuki's automotive branch will go away after dealer sell off the remaining inventory. "Today's confirmation is a significant milestone and is one of the last remaining steps in our realignment and restructurin…
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com February 24, 2013 Four months after Hurricane Sandy blasted the East Coast, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) announced its revised estimates for the number of vehicles damaged in the storm's wake. The new total of vehicles damaged in Hurricane Sandy stands at 250,500 vehicles. This number is well above the estimate put out by National Automobile Dealers Association which say that 200,000 vehicles could be damaged. The majority of the vehicle losses stem from New York (150,000) and New Jersey (60,000). NICB's data also showed how massive Sandy was, with West Virginia (1,000), Maine (500) and Vermont (500) al…
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com February 14, 2013 After the whole Hyundai-Kia mileage fiasco, the EPA says it will be conducting more fuel economy audits. Jeff Alson, a senior EPA engineer said at a conference about the government’s 2025 fuel economy standard that the agency performs “routine audits” of manufacturer's mileage claims, but does admits more can be done. “We’ll probably do more of that in the future than we did in the past,” Alson said. Alson also told the conference that the EPA also needs to do a better job of communicating real-world mileage with customers. “Everybody wants a label that tells you exactly what you’re going to get, …
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com February 3, 2013 The U.S. Department of Energy announced a updated strategy to promote green cars and lower the costs over the next nine years at the Washington D.C. Auto Show on Thursday. One part of the original strategy which stated a goal of having a million electric vehicles on the road by 2015 has been eased off. "Whether we meet that goal in 2015 or 2016, that's less important than that we're on the right path to get many millions of these vehicles on the road," said a Department of Energy official. Auto experts say the strategy is more realistic since consumers aren't fully sold on electric vehicles due to th…
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com January 31, 2013 J.D. Power and Associates recently released their 2012 U.S. Navigation Usage Satisfaction Study and the results aren’t that surprising. Consumer happiness dropped 13 points in the study’s 1,000-point scale to 681, one of the lowest scores J.D. Power has ever recorded in the six years the study has been taken. Even worse was the overall satisfaction in voice controls, scoring 544 points out of 1,000. Even worse news for automakers: people are using their smartphones for navigation and point-of-interest searches.47% of the people surveyed had downloaded a navigation app to supplement their in-car system…
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com January 28, 2013 Today Diamler, Ford, and Nissan announced a new partnership to jointly develop a common fuel cell system for vehicle to be ready as early as 2017. The three companies will work together on a common fuel-cell stack and fuel-cell system. Also, the partnership will participate in the adoption of global specifications and component standards, and studying the joint development of other FCEV components. "We are convinced that fuel cell vehicles will play a central role for zero-emission mobility in the future. Thanks to the high commitment of all three partners we can put fuel cell e-mobility on a broader …
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com January 29, 2013 Ray LaHood, the Transportation Secretary of the Obama administration announced today that he would be stepping down. "I have let President Obama know that I will not serve a second term as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation. It has been an honor and a privilege to lead the Department, and I am grateful to President Obama for giving me such an extraordinary opportunity," LaHood wrote in an email. LaHood has put forth a number of initiatives during his time as transportation secretary including a campaign to reduce distracted driving, promote high-speed rail, and repair roads and bridg…
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MIDSIZE SEDANS 1 2 3
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I posted this in the Saturn Aura topic and thought it would make good banter as its own thread. With all the new entries, tell us what or rank your family sedans. Please try to exclude lux and near lux cars. This is middle class bread and butter cars. I originally started comparing Aura vs. Fusion then it brached out. Here's my pecking order, taking into account to a small degree what the buff books may say and how complete a car it is for what you get. this does not neccessarily reflect what i would buy first. 1. 07 Altima 2A. Accord 2B. Aura 2C. Passat 2.0T 3A. Milan 3B. Fusion 4A. Cam-lee 4B. Impala 4C. 07 Sebring 5A. Mazda 6 5B. Malib…
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com January 22, 2013 Last year, we reported on new legislation that wouldn't allow any rental-car company or car dealer to loan/sell any recalled vehicle before the necessary repairs have been made. Currently, only new vehicles cannot be sold unless the necessary repairs have been carried out. At the time, rental-car companies opposed the legislation, but have since agreed with it. Now dealers and smaller rental-car companies are fighting for an exemption from this legislation. Bailey Wood, spokesman for the National Automobile Dealers Association tells USA Today that dealers have a financial incentive to fix recalled c…
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The mention of this in the ELR thread got me thinking about the topic. Recently, google was licensed to operate their driverless cars on public highways in California. At least, that's the gist of what I heard a short while ago on the radio in the form of a news report. This raises all sorts of questions, and fears. The way I see it, those fears are somewhat unfounded. Yes, those pursuing this technology like to daydream about magically eliminating traffic jams and accidents in a world without human drivers. But things are unlikely to work out that way. Resistance will come from all quarters (and with good reason), it would be a long and bloody battle to enforce this vi…
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com January 21, 2013 Last month, Fisker founder and Chairman Henrik Fisker said the company was looking for "potential strategic partners". The search has led the company to China. According to Reuters, Fisker is in talks with certain Chinese automakers. Fisker's focus on China is due to the Chinese government's backing of local manufacturers in their efforts to acquire "green car" technology from abroad, as the government is trying to ramp up demand for electric cars and plug-in hybrids before the end of the decade. Sources tell Reuters that Fisker has talked with China Grand Automotive Services Co, a large dealership …
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com January 17, 2013 Former General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz has been know to speak his mind. At the Detroit Auto Show this week, Lutz told Autocar that he thinks that the technology in the Chevrolet Volt should have been put into a larger vehicle first. “Frankly, unless that customer is philosophically, religiously or economically affiliated to buying an electric vehicle, then they can’t be convinced. The first two types of buyer will buy whatever’s built, but the latter is a harder case. The obvious answer is to electrify as big a vehicle as you can, because that’s where the fuel and running cost savings make the m…
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com January 13, 2013 We're just a day away from the Detroit Auto Show starting and the leaks have been pouring out. Four automakers: Honda, Infiniti, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen have had their showings prematurely revealed within the past week. We'll start with Honda and their Urban SUV Concept. The concept is based on the Fit and has a sporty and dynamic SUV profile. Next is the Infinti Q50 (Yes, the successor to the G Sedan) which was leaked by Infiniti Canada on their site before being taken down. Luckily someone saved an image of the site and shared it. The Q50 has a similar design to the current M (or should I sa…
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com January 8, 2013 Eight months after Google became the first company to be licensed by the state of Nevada to test autonomous vehicles on public roads, Audi becomes the first automaker to be licensed. The German automaker is no stranger to autonomous vehicles. In 2010, a specially-built TTS took on the Pikes Peak Climb, finishing the course in 27 minutes. Audi will use its license to continue developing and refining its autonomous system, which the automaker equates to auto-pilot system on a plane. Audi's vision for the system would have the driver allowing the vehicle to perform mundane tasks like stop-and-go traffic …
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com January 4, 2013 The Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association lost again in court this week against Tesla. On Monday, Norfolk County Superior Court Judge Kenneth Fishman dismissed the dealers association's case on the grounds of lacking a standing to bring a case forth. This is the latest blow to the Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association efforts to stop Tesla from running a store in Boston. Back in November, the Massachusetts Superior Court denied an injunction filed by the association to stop Tesla from operating their store. "We disagree with his decision. If you read the statute, it's pretty c…
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January 2, 2013 By Drew Dowdell Managing Editor - CheersandGears.com Avis Budget Group and Zipcar, Inc. have announced an agreement where Avis Budget will aquire Zipcar for $12.25 a share or about $500 million total. Zipcar has about 760,000 members (including yours truly) across 20 metro markets in the U.S., Canada and Europe with locations at over 300 university campuses. Car sharing is now a $400 million per year business in the U.S. market alone. Avis Budget expects to gain $50 million to $70 million in savings by combining the two companies. Zipcar gains access to Avis Budget's fleet to supplement their own in times of high demand while Avis Budget gains an incre…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com December 20, 2012 The Detroit Free Press reports electric vehicles like the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt aren't garnering the same residual values as gas vehicles. The report cites data from Kelly Blue Book which estimates the 2012 Nissan Leaf will hold around 20% of its value after five years while a 2012 Nissan Sentra will hold around 30%. The 2012 Chevrolet Volt is predicted to hold around 30% while a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze will hold 38%. Auto Leasing Guide (ALG), another pricing service estimates the residual values of the Leaf and Volt about a point higher than KBB. Now, the residual value estimates don't take int…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com December 10, 2012 NHTSA is expected to finalize a long-awaited proposal to make event data recorders, the 'black box' standard on all new vehicles. Last Thursday, the White House Office of Management Budget completed a review of the proposal which has cleared the way for NHTSA to finish up the final regulation. The proposed regulation would raise the percentage of vehicles required to have a black box from 91.6% today to 100%. The incremental cost is expected to be around $24.4 million if the sales of vehicles stand at 15.5 million per year. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers agrees with the proposed rule but sa…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com December 6, 2012 A month a after American Suzuki Corporation filled for bankruptcy and announced the closure of its automotive branch, 98% of its dealers (213 dealers) have agreed to a settlement offered by the company. The settlement would compensate dealers 50% within ten days of the agreement, with the rest following after the bankruptcy proceeding. The settlements also allow former dealers to operate as a service centers to provide warranty and repair services for Suzuki vehicles. "We greatly value our relationship with our customers, and it is very important to us that they continue to receive the necessary support…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com December 7, 2012 Today, Aston Martin announced that Italian private equity firm Investindustrial has purchased a 37.5% stake in the company for $241 million. Kuwaiti firm Investment Dar still holds a majority stake in the company. Aston Martin said the deal would allow them to pour $1 billion into new product, funding development through 2018. Investindustrial beat out Indian truck and tractor producer Mahindra and Mahindra. Andrea Bonomi, Investindustrial's senior principal said that the group hopes to transform Aston Martin in a similar way to its revamp of Italian motorcycle company Ducati by expanding Aston's model…
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I hope this is allowed: http://www.autoblog.com/2012/12/06/are-battery-powered-cars-losing-their-charge/
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com December 3, 2012 Fisker would like to forget 2012 if possible. The year hasn't been good to the company with recalls, production delays, fires, delays on the new Atlantic, U.S. Department of Energy freezing a loan, and their sole supplier of batteries filling for bankruptcy. In a interview with TheDetroitBureau.com, founder and Chairman Henrik Fisker said that his company is "actively engaged in conversations with potential strategic partners." Fisker went onto to say, "“We’d like to see if we can get something done next year.” Fisker said the company is looking for "a close partnership where we could develop new platfo…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com November 27, 2012 After a controversial exit from General Motors that has left a lot of questions, former CMO Joel Ewanick has found a new temporary home at Fisker. Automotive News reports that Fisker has hired Ewanick as its interim chief commercial officer while they search for a replacement. Ewanick takes the place of former CCO, Richard Beattie who retired on Monday. "We would like to thank Richard for his valuable contribution in helping to grow the Fisker brand and sales in global markets over the past 12 months, and wish him well in his retirement, As we seek to appoint a long-term successor, there is no one bett…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com November 21, 2012 Last week, the Massachusetts Superior Court denied a request from the Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association for an injunction against Tesla to stop them from running a store in Boston. The lawsuit filled on October 16th argued that Tesla violates Massachusetts' licensing, consumer protection and franchise laws since the company runs their own stores. If granted the injunction, Tesla could only use their storefronts as a place showing a locked vehicle with no staff. “Tesla looks forward to continuing to focus on advancing the knowledge of EVs in a convenient, accessible environment. We rema…
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When a modern car, costing in the 6-figure range, uses 'old-school' body hardware or construction methods, I get severely affronted. Case in point: This is the console area of a Ferrari 360, offered from 1999-2004. The MSRP in '04 was $151K. I immediately take note of the common Phillips head screws holding down that shift plate- not countersunk, and from the inconsistent finish; they look like hardware store quality in finish. They also should be indexed. What would be far more fitting of the price range would be less-common, fully polished fasteners, such as button head screws in a slightly countersunk hole, or flush-mounted flathead hex sockets : Would look a …
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com November 5, 2012 Tesla announced their third quarter results today and it was a mixed bag. The company announced a $110.8 million loss, a figure that's significantly higher than last year's $65.1 million loss. Tesla partly blames the loss on a slower-than-expected roll-out for the Model S, which went into production in July. Tesla says they have increased production of the Model S from 100 vehicles per week to 200. The company expects to be building 400 vehicles by the end of December. As for revenues, the company exceeded projections of $48 million by bring in $50 million in revenues. Tesla didn't revise its $400 to $44…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com November 15, 2012 The National Transportation Safety Board announced their 2013 Most Wanted safety list which is used to "increase awareness of, and support for, the most critical changes needed to reduce transportation accidents and save lives." On this year's list, the NTSB put "Collision-Avoidance" technologies to be standard on all new vehicles. What the NTSB means by "Collision-Avoidance" technologies are features like rear-end collision warning, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, and advanced braking systems. Most of these features are either standard or optional on luxury vehicles or high-trim models…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com November 13, 2012 The news of Suzuki automobiles leaving the U.S. has left their dealers with a choice, either take a cash settlement or take Suzuki to court. Last week, American Suzuki Motor Corporation was authorized by a U.S. Bankruptcy Court to borrow $45 million dollars as part of a settlement with dealers. The settlement would give dealers a cash settlement, and a new contract giving the dealers the rights to operate as parts and service centers for Suzuki vehicles if the dealers voluntary surrender their agreements with Suzuki. There’s two problems with the settlement. For one, the settlements to be paid out, Suz…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com November 7, 2012 Hurricane Sandy was the largest storm in the Atlantic in US history, and the economic damage is beginning to come into view. Automotive News is reporting that around 15,000 new vehicles will be scrapped due to storm damage. About 40% of those are Nissan and Infiniti vehicles that were determined to be unfit for sale. Toyota is next with the possibility of having to scrap close to 4,000 vehicles. Other automakers that have announced they would have to scrap vehicles include, Honda/Acura: 3,440 vehicles Chrysler: 825 vehicles Hyundai: 400 vehicles Fisker: 320 vehicles Kia: 200 vehicles Gener…
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com November 5, 2012 We knew the day was coming, just when was the question. Now, that day has arrived. Earlier tonight, American Suzuki Motor Corporation has announced they would be filling for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and close up their automotive division. "In evaluating its position in the highly regulated and competitive U.S. automotive industry, ASMC determined that its Automotive division was facing a number of serious challenges. These challenges include low sales volumes, a limited number of models in its line-up, unfavorable foreign exchange rates, the high costs associated with growing and maintaining an automotive d…
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