William Maley

William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com January 20, 2012 The Chinese market has a love affair with rear-seat legroom. Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, Mercedes, and other manufacturers sell LWB versions of their vehicles in the market. Now, another company is joining LWB crowd. Ruf, a German tuner of Porsche vehicles is building LWB version of the Panamera for China. Called the RUF Panamera XL, the company takes a base Panamera and adds 15.7 inches to the wheelbase. The look, well, um, won’t change any one's opinion. No word on price, but if you have to ask... Source: CarNewsChina View full article

William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com January 20, 2012 Cadillac is hoping the third time is the charm with their entrance into the European market. The company told Autocar this week, they will build a RHD CTS-V for the United Kingdom as a start to a renewed commitment to taking markets outside U.S. more seriously. Currently the CTS-V is only offered in LHD, which means UK customers are locked out. “We’re geared up for right-hand drive now. We’re working on it.” GM Marketing Chief Joel Ewanick said to Autocar. Alongside the CTS-V’s conversion, Cadillac includes the ATS, its 3-Series warrior, as part of their commitment. Ewanick has faith in GM’s European success this time around, saying “we’ve signed in blood.” “There wasn’t a commitment to the product before and we didn’t design cars to the market demands. The Germans do this very well. There is now a full resource commitment and a vision to get this right. Bankruptcy refocused GM,” Ewanick said. Ewanick told Autocar new Cadillacs would be developed with global markets in mind, but also said there was no rush to get new models to market and would be replaced under normal lifecycles. Source: Autocar View full article

William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com January 19, 2012 Tesla CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that a prototype of the all-electric Model X crossover will be revealed on February 9 at Tesla’s design studio in California. Originally to be shown at NAIAS, the Model X will use the Model S sedan’s aluminum-intensive platform. Power is expected to go to all four wheels possibly by utilizing the Model S’s electric drivetrain at the rear wheels while adding one to two electric motors up front to power the front wheels. Besides the pure EV, the Model X will seek to stand out in the crossover market by having a large interior. In a filling with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in May, Tesla said that it was “designing the Model X to incorporate the functionality of a minivan with the consumer appeal of a sports-utility vehicle.” Source: Left Lane News View full article

William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com January 19, 2012 It’s been a long time coming, but the day has come. The next generation Corvette has been caught on camera, undergoing some testing in Canada. The heavily camouflaged prototype reveals some details on what to expect on the C7 Corvette. Designwise, the C7 Corvette will retain the classic long-nose, short-deck configuration of its predecessors, but have a distinct wedge shape. Also, the C7 Corvette will keep the front-engine layout, squashing rumors of mid-engine car for now. There is still a lot of speculation on what will be powering the next generation Corvette. Rumor has it that a 5.5L twin-turbo V8 is in the cards, along with a seven speed transmission. When will we see the next generation Corvette, sans camouflage? Rumors point to next years Detroit Auto Show. Source: Inside Line View full article

William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com January 19, 2012 Mazda is heading back to basics with their next generation Miata roadster. Road & Track has learned the new Miata will be lighter than the current model thanks to a new lightweight chassis and a new 1.3L four-cylinder engine that will utilize Mazda’s SkyActiv technology (high compression ratio, direct injection, and reduced internal friction). Design of next Miata will keep the proportions of the current model and have Mazda’s Kodo design language. The front will get a large grill and narrow headlights and a character line extending from the headlights, down along the sides of the car, and ending near the door handles. The Miata will keep its soft-top while a hard-top model is expected. We’ll see the next Miata sometime this or next year. Source: Road & Track View full article

William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com January 19, 2012 Volkswagen currently sells four diesel models in the U.S.; the Golf, Jetta, Passat, and Touareg. Now, there’s word that a fifth diesel is joining the lineup. Autoblog has been told by Volkswagen that a diesel Beetle will premiere at next month’s Chicago Auto Show. No details about the diesel engine in the Beetle have been release, but bet on the 2.0L engine in the Golf, Jetta, and Passat ending up in the car also. More interesting is Volkswagen could offer the diesel engine in the upcoming Beetle convertible. We won’t know if this will actually happen or not until the drop-top Beetle is shown. Source: Autoblog View full article

Think Cruze/Verano Size

William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com January 18, 2012 According to a report from research firm R.L. Polk & Co, the average of age of a vehicle on the road stands at 10.8 years last July. The report says the average age of passenger vehicles stands at 11.1 years, while for light trucks, it’s 10.4 years. Polk says the median age of cars has been on the rise for the past 16 years because people are keeping their cars longer due to various reasons. Most recently, the economic downturn has caused many Americans to keep their vehicles even longer, waiting for a better occasion to buy a new car. Polk says for this year, the average age will still be around the 10 year due to higher unemployment rates. But, Polk also expects the age to level off with sales increases for new cars. Source: R.L. Polk View full article

Yes

William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com January 18, 2012 2012 is going to be an interesting year for the three pointed star. This is the year that will see the new SL roadster and GL SUV being launched. This is also the year when Mercedes will begin introducing to the US their FWD compact luxury cars. Car & Driver and Automotive News have learned about which models Mercedes will be bringing over within the next few years. First up is a sleek compact four-door sedan nicknamed the CLC. Spy shots of the CLC show it having the shape of the larger CLS. Power will come from a new turbocharged 2.0L four-cylinder engine with direct injection, producing 210 HP and going through a new dual-clutch gear box. Next is the A-Class. Design will be similar from the A-Class concept shown at the New York Auto Show last year. The question is will the U.S. get the three-door, five-door, or both when the model is introduced sometime this year. Following that is a crossover on the A-Class platform, sources tell Car & Driver. The crossover will likely carry cues from the GLK SUV. Finally we get to the B-Class, Mercedes-Benz’s compact MPV will not be coming in its regular form, but possibly as an extended EV. Joachim Schmidt, Mercedes-Benz’s global sales boss told Automotive News that the U.S. could get a B-Class with a range extender. Source: Car & Driver, Automotive News View full article

I would own one of these in a heartbeat..

No thats a Challenger done by Steve Saleen's new company, SMS Supercars http://www.smslimitedusa.com/570.html

William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com January 18, 2012 Last week, we reported on the Volkswagen BlueSport being delayed to company not being able to find enough sales to justify building it. The delay is causing headaches for both Audi and Porsche who were going to build sister models. Now, it looks like Porsche could be pushing back or even ending the project. Porsche CEO Matthias Mueller told German publication Wirtschaftswoche the company plans on delaying the mid-engine sub-Boxster for the time being due to worries that the car could dilute the brand's image. ''Possibly we need to wait until the next generation of customers before the idea of a small roadster will work for Porsche,'' Muller said. Source: Wirtschaftswoche via Automotive News Europe Related: Volkswagen BlueSport’s Future Is In Trouble View full article

William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com January 18, 2012 The Saab story is only getting worse and worse. Last week, Saab reportedly sent 100 new vehicles to the crusher as part of the receivership process. The crushed cars include some pre-production 9-5 SportCombis and 9-4Xs. Reports say that Saab was able to save one of the 9-5 SportCombi for the Saab museum, which conflicts with reports of the Saab museum being closed and going into liquidation. The museum, which has a collection of 120 different Saab vehicles are now up for sale. According to BringATrailer, if you want your chance to get your hands on a piece of the museum, you have to submit a bid by January 20th. Source: Autocar, BringATrailer View full article

William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com January 17, 2012 You have to wonder what Sergio Marchionne was thinking when he set a goal of 50,000 500s to be sold for 2011. Marchionne said he was "incredibly naive" to pick that goal. Fiat only sold 19,769 500s for 2011 (39.5% difference). So what was Marchionne thinking when he came up with that number. In a interview with CNN Money, Marchionne said the goal wasn’t based on anything but wanting to beat Mini, noting sales for the Mini brand totaled 45,644 vehicles. “It was a number that we said would be in excess of what Mini was selling in the United States. It was that simple,” Marchionne said. Critics point out that Fiat's first-year goal was ambitious to a fault and that Mini was able to reach their 40k+ vehicles sold thanks to the brand being sold in the U.S. for 10 years. Marchionne said "we set ourselves up for a fall," but insists that the future of Fiat in the U.S. is still very strong. Source: CNN Money View full article