William Maley

June 25, 2011 is the date it originally sold. Check out the CarFax report, it has a fishy beginning (sold new at Criswell Honda? Unless that's a combo Chevy/Honda dealer): http://www.carfax.co...1MK5E29BL527101 It's Criswell Chevrolet Honda Nissan Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Maserati Fiat Isuzu GEM Look at this entry: 04/02/2012 13,295 Auto Auction Eastern Region Listed as a manufacturer vehicle Press car I wonder. Highly doubt that. Caprice PPV press vehicle at the moment are fully decked out with lights, sirens, and push bar. I'm thinking along the same lines as GMTruckGuy.

William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com May 29, 2012 Last fall, the Department of Transportation and eight automakers began a study to assess drivers' acceptance of accident-avoidance technologies. The study, called the Connected Vehicle Safety Pilot Program put people on closed roads in cars that were equipped with the technologies and asked what did they think about it. Out of the 688 participants in the study, 92% wanted the technology in their vehicles and more than 90% believed it would improve the safety of driving in the real-world. These numbers covered most age ranges. But there is a catch. A majority of drivers said they wouldn't pay a modest amount for the technology. When asked if they would pay “more than $250” for a suite of accident-avoidance tech, all of the participants say that was too high. The study isn't finished yet - the next phase involves 3,000 test cars trying out the features on open roads in Ann Arbor, Michigan starting this fall. Source: New York Times Wheels View full article

Well, having driven the new GS sedan.. I think the coupe would be an interesting addition

William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com May 29, 2012 In the first quarter of 2012, Ford saw its market share drop 1.4 points. The reason: not enough inventory. "The market got a little bit ahead of us," said Mark Fields, Ford's president of the Americas. “Most of our production actions and capacity increases take place in the second half of this year.” Ford plans on boosting production at several of its vehicle assembly plants to counter what it says were weak dealer inventories during the first quarter of 2012. The plan includes trimming the summer shutdown period for plants and have three shifts running at Hermosillo, Mexico, assembly plant, later this year when the new Fusion goes on sale. Ford expects the production increases to result in an additional 400,000 vehicles through the rest of 2012. However, Ford does concede that it will still probably lose some market share this year. So far this year, Ford has had a 15.4% share of the U.S. industry, a drop from its 16.8% share last year. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required) View full article

William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com May 29, 2012 Inside Line reports that Lexus is working a GS coupe to compete with the Audi A5/S5, BMW 6-Series, and Mercedes E-Class. This appears to confirms a comment made by Lexus' general manager Mark Templin back in January, stating he would like to see a replacement for the SC430. Lexus has a holdup though on the GS Coupe. Currently, they're debating which powertrain to use. The GS sedan uses a 3.5L V6 (GS350) and a hybrid V6 setup (GS450h). Those two and a GS-F model with a unique drivetrain and tuning are under consideration. The coupe is expected to be introduced sometime in the first quarter of 2013 with sales beginning later in the year. Source: Inside Line View full article

Umm, I would.. I like my sport compacts very much

William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com May 29, 2012 Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne is on a mission to end to product overlapping among the divisions of Chrysler. At a media event last week and interview with Automobile Magazine, Marchionne said two vehicles will be gone. First will be the Chrysler Town & Country, leaving the lineup sometime after 2013. That will leave the Dodge Grand Caravan as the sole minivan. Marchionne said an upscale crossover will take the Town & Country's place, sometime in 2014/2015. Also saying goodbye is the Jeep Compass. The Compass will be leaving in August 2014. Marchionne is keeping quiet about its replacement, saying only that “there are a number of candidates to take the place of the Compass." Our guess: it will be vehicle based on Fiat's new CUSW platform that has been undergoing testing for the past few months. Marchionne also revealed something has been rumored since the launch of the Dart. SRT has begun work on the Dart SRT. "The only thing we're fighting over now is to determine how big an engine we stick in it," said Marchionne. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required) View full article

I'm thinking so. I think Autoblog speculated that the T6 engine that is used in the S60 R-Design could also be used. Maybe that would help alleviate some of that nose weight

William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com May 28, 2012 Volvo's marketing campaign for the new S60 is going down a dark route. Instead of talking about how safe it is, Volvo is talking about how sporty and "Naughty" the S60 is. And it appears Volvo is upping the naughty a bit, if a report and some spy shots come to fruition. Sweden’s Tekniken Svarld reports that Volvo and performance partner, Polestar are working together to build high performance S60. Rumor points to a Yamaha sourced V8 that Volvo uses in the XC90 SUV and S80 flagship. The V8 has been tuned to somewhere in the range of 400 HP. Tekniken Svarld goes onto say that the S60 could get a sequential transmission, light-weight materials, and a new body kit. Which leads us to some spy shots that Tekniken Svarld nabbed of an S60 wearing some handsome camouflage. The pictures show this S60 sitting much wider than a normal model and equipped with bigger fenders and wider wheels. Is this the high-performance S60 undergoing some tests? No one is sure at the moment. Source: Tekniken Svarld, AutoGuide View full article

William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com May 28, 2012 Last month, we reported on Porsche's plan for their lineup up to 2016. One part of the plan that was talked about was a heavy refresh of the Panamera for 2013. Car has uncovered some new information about the refresh and what could be expected. Sources who have seen the refresh say its changed so much, it almost looks like a new car. Also, it appears some changes are coming to the Panamera's powertrain lineup. The Panamera 4S will drop its current 4.8L V8 producing 400 HP and go for a twin-turbo 3.0L V6 producing somewhere in the range of 420 HP. Its unsure if the Panamera S will follow suit. There is also talk about the Panamera getting Audi's V8 TDI engine. The V6 diesel Panamera is doing well in Europe. And before you ask, the answer is no for the U.S.. Source: Car View full article

Okay.. Let's cut the political discussion here. We have a politics forum for this. Yeah, I'm a bit disappointed in this news. I think if GM melded some of the Voltec tech into the XTS, it could have propeled it in so many directions. My bet as to why the hybrid got canned; the rumors of the Omega RWD platform coming within the next couple to few years and replacing the XTS for the consumer market.

William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com May 27, 2012 The new craze with luxury automakers is building compact luxury sedans. Audi has a new A3 sedan and Mercedes-Benz is working on the new CLA. Now, BMW is joining the craze with a new 1-Series sedan. Autocar reports that BMW has begun planning a new 1-Series sedan to come out after the new 1-series coupé and convertible. The sedan will be the spiritual successor to the E30 3-Series. The report says the sedan will utlize a RWD platform using some bits from the new 3-Series. This seems a bit odd since BMW is working on a new FWD platform. Powertrains will include four and six-cylinder engines, with an electric powertrain under consideration. AWD will be an option. Source: Autocar View full article

Yes

William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com May 25, 2012 When Cadillac showed the XTS Platinum Concept at the 2010 North American International Auto Show, it was equipped with a 3.6L DI V6 and a plug-in hybrid system that produced a potent 350 HP. However, the production XTS probably won't have a hybrid version. AutoGuide had the chance to sit down with Cadillac Communications Manager David Caldwell. Caldwell said a hybrid version of the XTS, either to provide more fuel-economy or power is highly unlikely. If Cadillac was to provide more power for the XTS, they would go in a different direction. Source: AutoGuide View full article

My particular Verano felt very solid and had pretty good build quality. Others haven't been so lucky. I talked to couple of people who also drove Veranos and they saw some bad build quality; panel gaps (inside and out) and some interior pieces being broken. I'm guessing these were first runs and I think some of them had been damaged by someone.. But still.

William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com May 21, 2012 Land Rover is coming close to finishing up the next generation Range Rover as these new spy shots show. The big surprise, besides the modern art camouflage, is how much camo there is on this particular mule, giving us a clear look of what changes have been done. The overall boxy shape of the current model is still present. The difference will be in the details, with changes like a slightly more upswept beltline, an angled front end, and a sharply raked front and rear window. The big news for the next generation Range Rover will be in the weight. Land Rover has shed somewhere between 800 to 1,000 lbs thanks to a new aluminum chassis and extensive use of lightweight materials. Engines are likely to include the naturally-aspirated and supercharged variants of the 5.0L V8 and possibly a hybrid. Source: Autoblog View full article