William Maley

Volkswagen Wants An Answer From Suzuki William Maley - Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com October 25, 2011 The Volkswagen and Suzuki relationship hasn’t brought forth anything during its two years of existence besides an upcoming episode of The Jerry Springer Show. Suzuki wants the alliance to end while Volkswagen has gone on record saying that it would be open to continuing the alliance. Now, Volkswagen is looking end this situation, regardless if the alliance survives or not. German magazine Wirtschaftswoche reports that VW CEO Martin Winterkorn states that the company will seek a resolution for the conflict, even ending the alliance by the end of the year. Sources tell Wirtschaftswoche that a large part in the deterioration of the alliance is due interpersonal issues, mostly caused by Suzuki Vice President Yasuhito Harayama. Source: The Truth About Cars, Left Lane News

Yesterday.. Sitting at an intersection, a Peugeot 308 drives by. Don't see many of those around.

So What Are The Trade-Ins For The Chevrolet Volt & Nissan Leaf? William Maley - Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com October 24, 2011 For the first nine months of 2011, more than 10,000 EVs were sold with most of them being the Nissan Leaf. But there arises an interesting question; what are buyers of the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt trading in? The LA Times obtained some information from automotive research firm R.L. Polk & Co. The number one trade-in for both vehicles? The Toyota Prius. GM says the Prius is the most frequent car traded in, with 7% of trade-ins. Nissan says the Prius makes up about 18% of trade-ins for a new Leaf. Other facts from R.L. Polk & Co., say a high number of German cars (about 6%) were traded in during the first six months of 2011 for a Volt and 38% of trade-ins for a Nissan Leaf were a Toyota product. Source: LA Times

It extends even farther then that. A couple UK sites say BMW ponder this during the E46 generation, but was thrown into the garbage.

Rumorpile: BMW Coupe To Be Named 3 Series or 4 Series? William Maley - Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com October 24, 2011 A week ago, BMW did a big rollout for the next generation 3-Series starting with the sedan. Now spy shots have emerged of the coupe undergoing some testing. Design wise, the coupe will share a family resemblance with the sedan. The coupe will have its headlights stretched inward to meet up with the grille, a lower intake that flares wide at each corner of the car, and share the same design cues for the trunk with the new 6-Series. Engines will be same as the sedan with the choice of the between the new N20 2.0-liter turbo four, offering 240 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque for the 328i and N55 turbocharged 300-hp six-cylinder for the 335i. Transmissions on offer will be a six-speed manual and a eight-speed automatic. The big question is whether the coupe will be named the 3-Series or the 4-Series. This rumor has been going on for the past year after reports came out saying BMW was looking towards a naming scheme wherein vehicles like sedans and wagons would have odd numbers while coupes and convertibles would use even numbers. Whatever it’s called, we’ll see the coupe version sometime next year. Source: Car & Driver

I'm betting the Allroad will have the 2.0T along with the supercharged six. Wouldn't make sense with just one engine choice.

bath

Maybe the production version will be a little bit lower.. But we'll have an answer soon

Audi Bringing Back The Allroad? William Maley - Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com October 23, 2011 The original Audi Allroad was an Audi A6 Avant with higher ground clearance and a version of Audi’s Quattro system with low range. Audi sold the Allroad in the US between 2001 and 2005 and hasn’t sold one since. But Audi is planning to bring back the Allroad to the U.S., albeit a smaller size. Car & Driver has been told by Audi, they’re bringing the A4 Allroad. The A4 Allroad will have unique bumpers and lower-body cladding, which will be available unpainted or in body or contrast colors. Engine in the A4 Allroad was rumored to be the 2.0T producing 211 HP and found in the regular A4. But Car & Driver has learned it will be a supercharged six (3.0T found in the A6 and A7) because Audi considers the Allroad to be a halo vehicle for the US. Source: Car & Driver

Nissan Not Ready To Give Up In The Full Size Truck Wars William Maley - Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com October 23, 2011 Nissan’s Titan pickup truck has been on sale since 2004 and hasn’t been a real sales success. So far in 2011, sales of the Titan have reached 15,348 trucks. That’s a far cry from 2005 when Nissan sold 86,945 trucks. However, Nissan’s new chairman of the Americas told Automotive News they’re going to being sticking out – and expects to. "We're going to need two or three cycles to be as professional as the people who have been doing it for 50 or 60 years.We still think we can do well in that segment," he said. "The first go in the segment wasn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination,” said Colin Dodge, who became the chairman of Nissan Americas in June. Dodge believes one of the contributing factors of the Titan’s poor sales lies in the powertrain. Currently, the Titan only offers one engine; a 5.6L V8 which produces 317 HP. Other competitors like the Ford F-150 offer a range of V6 and V8 engines. With "very efficient powertrains, the right powertrains with the right power, I think we can still excel," Dodge says. The next generation Titan will be coming out sometime in 2013. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

Are You The Hyundai Veloster Turbo's Engine? *UPDATED* William Maley - Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com October 22, 2011 Since the Hyundai Veloster has come out, the rumor of a more powerful turbocharged engine has been running around. This week, Hyundai has announced a new turbocharged 1.6L I-4 and this could be the rumored Veloster turbo. The new Gamma 1.6T GDI engine, as Hyundai calls it, should be good for 204 hp and 195 lb-ft of torque from 1750 to 6000 rpm. Like the 1.6L GDI currently in the Veloster, the 1.6T takes advantage of gasoline direct-injection to help boost efficiency and lower emissions. Hyundai says the new engine will meet both the stringent California ULEV-2 and Euro5 emissions standards. When reached for comment, Hyundai said they "can't comment on future product," but didn't deny the engine wouldn't come stateside. Update: Tonight at SEMA, CEO John Krafcik announced the Veloster Turbo with the 1.6T will be shown at NAIAS in January alongside the updated Genesis Coupe. Source: Motor Trend

I need to go there..badly. Sounds like they are still in business..haven't been back to A2 in over 10 years...need to go visit my alma mater. Tios Well, I know where I'm going next time I'm in A2

The Continuing Story of Saab, Part 412.5: Three Ring Circus William Maley - Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com October 22, 2011 Saab’s goal of getting out bankruptcy is turning very nasty. First, Autocar is reporting the court-appointed administrator placed in charge of the company's reorganization affairs, Guy Lofalk has asked the Swedish court to terminate the automaker's reorganization process. Lofalk doesn’t have enough confidence in Saab getting enough funding to continue with the process. This move would end the Saab’s protection from creditors while it looked for money. Saab is upset with Lofalk’s decision and has applied to the Swedish court to remove Lofalk as its administrator. “In our view Lofalk has overstepped all possible areas of his mandate as administrator. He is basically focused on a change of ownership of Saab and not on the reorganisation itself, which is what he was appointed to do by the court,” Saab CEO, Victor Muller said in an interview with Swedish Radio P4 West. Mueller also told Radio P4 West that he believes Lofalk’s talk with Pang Da and Youngman have changed their minds from buying a 50-percent stake in the company to a full takeover of the company. Reportedly, the two companies offered made a takeover offer today. Saab refused the offer and the two companies have backed off completely. “We have had some very clear indications that the Chinese investors were not going to fund [saab] as they agreed last week in writing. Last weekend Lofalk went to Beijing to meet with both Pang Da and Youngman. Clearly [those meetings] caused them to change their minds and go for an effort to make another kind of deal. That is unacceptable,” said Muller. Saab has been looking to other investors to help raise money. On Thursday, Saab said it had obtained financing from North Street Capital, a U.S. private equity firm. Under that arrangement, North Street was to lend Saab $60 million and buy $10 million worth of shares in Swedish Automobile. “[This is] definitely not the end of Saab. In the past two or three years Saab has been declared dead by so many people, so often and so far everybody has been wrong and they will remain wrong. Saab will not go down,” Muller said. Source: Autocar, Inside Line

66 House Members A Send Letter To Stop EPA & California William Maley - Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com October 21, 2011 66 House of Representative members have sent a letter to House Appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers, R-Ky., urging the house to include a provision prohibiting the Environmental Protection Agency and California from moving forward with new fuel emissions limits. "A one-year 'timeout' is necessary as EPA and (California) are setting national fuel economy standards without explicit authorization by Congress, under laws not designed to regulate fuel economy," said the letter signed by Reps. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton; Joe Barton, R-Texas; Tim Walberg, R-Tipton; Darrell Issa, R-Calif.; and others. Back in July, the House Appropriations Committee approved an amendment in July that would bar EPA and California from implementing the new fuel economy mandate. Their effort is being supported by the National Automobile Dealers Association, which has raised concerns about whether Americans will buy more fuel-efficient but more expensive vehicles. On Thursday, a group of eight CEOs from U.S. environmental, science and public interest organizations urged the NADA to drop its efforts. "These standards are supported by major automakers, the United Auto Workers, California and other clean car states, and numerous consumer, environmental, business and national security organizations. By continuing to oppose these standards, NADA is trying to sell Congress, dealers and the American people a lemon," said the letter from the CEOs of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Sierra Club, Environment America, the Safe Climate Campaign, the Union of Concerned Scientists and others. Source: The Detroit News

Cadillac XTS Struts It Stuff At LA William Maley - Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com October 20, 2011 The Cadillac XTS will appear in the flesh at next month's LA Auto Show. The car will have Cadillac's new CUE infotainment system which will also appear the new ATS sedan and SRX crossover. We don't know what engine will be under the hood, though a version of the 3.6L DI V6 is a safe assumption. Source: Inside Line

No Chrysler 300 Wagon For Anyone William Maley - Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com October 20, 2011 Those who were wanting a return of the Chrysler 300/Dodge Magnum wagon might have to let those dreams drop. Chrysler-Lancia CEO Saad Chehab told Autocar there will no Chrysler 300 Wagon. The reason is due to “sales in the US for estates are too slow to justify the development costs,” even though the previous 300 wagon was popular. Source: Autocar

Not that I have come accross.. Only first drives