William Maley

Rumorpile: Subaru BRZ To Have More HP Than Toyota's Version? Convertible? William Maley - Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com October 30, 2011 We’re a month away from Toyota and Subaru from showing their sporty RWD coupes at the Tokyo Motor Show and the rumors still are coming in. First, the BRZ could be packing more heat the Toyota version. According to Autocar, the BRZ’s engine will have “less than 300 hp” due to a Subaru-spec ECU. Also, Autocar says the BRZ will have the lowest center of gravity of any production car due to the RWD platform. Secondly, What Car is reporting a convertible version of the BRZ is possible. Sources inside Subaru tell them that BRZ has been 'engineered from the start to work as a convertible.' They wouldn’t say however if the convertible will see the light of day. Source: Autocar, What Car

Edmunds' Report Showing Pontiac Owners Sticking With GM William Maley - Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com October 29, 2011 The big question for General Motors when they showed Pontiac the door was, would they be able to keep many owners from going away? The answer seems to be yes. Edmunds recently analyzed data to see where Pontiac owners are heading to pick up their new car. Almost 40% of former Pontiac owners stuck with General Motors, with 28.1% going with the Chevrolet. Most of that can be put on incentive programs in January and February of this year. Following behind GM is Ford with 9.4% of Pontiac owners, Honda and Toyota are next with 7.4%. Source: Edmunds Auto Observer

Swedish Automobile Signs MoU With Pang Da And Youngman For The Sale Of Saab Automobile And Saab GB October 28, 2011 - Trollhättan, Sweden: Swedish Automobile N.V. (Swan) announces that it entered into a memorandum of understanding with Pang Da and Youngman for the sale and purchase of 100% of the shares of Saab Automobile AB (Saab Automobile) and Saab Great Britain Ltd. (Saab GB) for a consideration of EUR 100 million. Final agreement between the parties is subject to a definitive share purchase agreement between Swan, Pang Da and Youngman, which will contain certain conditions including the approval of the relevant authorities, Swan’s shareholders and certain other parties. The consideration of EUR 100 million will be paid in installments. An important consideration for Swan to enter into the transaction is the commitment of Pang Da and Youngman to provide long term funding to Saab Automobile. The administrator in Saab Automobile’s voluntary reorganization, Mr. Guy Lofalk, has withdrawn his application to exit reorganization. The MOU is valid until November 15 of this year, provided Saab Automobile stays in reorganization.

Mercedes-Benz Future Engine Line Up To Include V8s, 4, and I6s? William Maley - Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com October 28, 2011 Mercedes-Benz has just signed off on their new engine line to begin showing up in 2015 and major changes are coming. A new set of three and four cylinder engines from both Mercedes and Nissan/Renault will find their way into the three pointed star. Also, big-bore V8s will be replaced by smaller V8s equipped with turbochargers. The biggest change is with their V6 lineup. According to Car magazine, a source tells them that Mercedes-Benz will be dropping their V6 engines for Inline-6s. The source also says the Inline-6 will be used for their larger vehicles and come in either a single or dual turbo setup. Source: Car Magazine

Jeep Compass & Patriot: When Two Become One William Maley - Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com October 28, 2011 Related: In Goes One Fiat; Out Comes Three Jeeps Chrysler and Fiat are busy at work getting some new small cars in their lineup and recent spy shots show what will be happening for Jeep. Car & Driver posted some shots of a jacked up Alfa Romeo Giulietta mule sitting in a parking lot. What the mule happens to be riding on is Fiat's new “Compact Wide” platform. "Compact Wide" is based on Fiat's C-Evo architecture, which happens to be the platform the Giulietta uses. The new platform will underpin the replacement for the so-so Jeep Compass and Patriot. The new Jeep model is expected to come out sometime in 2013 as a 2014 model. No information has been released on what the engine lineup could look like, though a turbocharged version of Fiat's 1.4L and Alfa Romeo's new 1.8 turbo four is rumored. The model is expected to come with ZF's new nine speed automatic transmission and have the choice between FWD and AWD. Source: Car & Driver

Suzuki Passing On LA & Detroit Shows William Maley - Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com October 28, 2011 Suzuki’s automotive branch is skipping next month’s Los Angeles Auto Show next month and Detroit’s North American International Auto Show in January. This move comes as part of the company’s effort to tighten its marketing budget. “For the upcoming season, our brand will selectively participate at auto shows where our distinctive and engaging story will resonate the most,” said Jeff Holland, spokesman for American Suzuki. In other words, Suzuki will be focusing will be focusing its marketing efforts on 20 U.S. regions where sales (and the company’s dealer network) are the strongest. LA isn’t a shock once you see that Suzuki has only sold 430 vehicles through the first nine months. Suzuki has also been hurt by the strength of yen relative to the dollar, which significantly drops the profits on small vehicles imported from Japan. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

I think it's coming to the US as a Scion. Yes, the Toyota FT-86 will be coming to our shores as the Scion FR-S

General Motors Announces $275 Million Investment For Truck Plant William Maley - Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com October 27, 2011 General Motors announced yesterday they will invest $275 million for their Fort Wayne, Indiana to build the next generation Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks. GM says the investment will create or retain 150 jobs on top of the 3,400 workers who currently build trucks at the plant. “This investment will allow us to continue building award-winning pickups that offer better fuel efficiency than ever before without sacrificing features and functionality. We remain committed to providing customers the utility and capability of our world-class full-size pickups,” said Larry Zahner, GM manufacturing manager, in a statement. Press Release is below GM Invests $275 Million in Ft. Wayne Assembly Plant Supports next-generation full-size pickups and creates or retains 150 jobs 2011-10-26 - FT. WAYNE, Ind. – General Motors will invest approximately $275 million to prepare its plant here to build the next generation of Chevrolet and GMC full-size pickup trucks, creating or retaining 150 jobs. The plant, which currently has 3,400 employees on three shifts, builds the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickups. The investment announced today is the last announcement of the $2 billion GM announced in May 2011 that will create or retain about 4,000 jobs in 17 facilities in eight states over the next 18 months. “This investment will allow us to continue building award-winning pickups that offer better fuel efficiency than ever before without sacrificing features and functionality,” said Larry Zahner, GM manufacturing manager. “We remain committed to providing customers the utility and capability of our world-class full-size pickups.” September was a very good month for GM’s full-size pickup trucks. GMC Sierra sales were up 26 percent and Chevrolet Silverado sales were up 36 percent. Sales of GM full-size pickups have increased month over month since July, contributing to a year-to-date market share gain of about one full point. “Today’s announcement is great news for the hard-working members of UAW Local 2209,” said Joe Ashton, UAW vice president, representing the GM Department. “Our members’ experience and knowledge will ensure that this next generation of trucks will exceed the expectations of our customers. This is an important vehicle program for GM and the decision to locate the work in Fort Wayne demonstrates our mutual commitment to making GM a great American company.”

I had it in Firefox and I will update you once I clear my cookies. Also it happens in Chrome, but I use Incognito browsing so It clears the cookies when I close it. Edit: Cleared My cache in firefox and tried the preview post once again... This is what I got. (Happens in chrome now too)

Because it doesn't make sense for Toyota. If they called this Celica of the FT-86, then I would be ok. Besides, Supra will probably used for another car. http://www.cheersandgears.com/topic/77039-rumorpile-how-toyota-got-it-sportyness-back/