William Maley

The settlement between the U.S. Government and Volkswagen still has to be approved by a federal court judge, but we're already getting some indications of what owners are planning to do when it is approved. Car and Driver got their hands on a memorandum filed at U.S. Federal Court in San Francisco by Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein - the firm representing owners in the case. The memorandum argued for the deal to get final approval - ahead of an October 18th hearing. But this memorandum also revealed some staggering numbers. At the time Car and Driver wrote their story, more than 311,000 owners - about 65 percent of the total 475,000 vehicles eligible - have registered for the settlement benefits. This is surprising since there is no deadline at the moment and deal hasn't been approved. The firm said in the memorandum the level of response for the settlement “a landslide referendum in favor of settlement approval, by any standard.” Owners who have signed up have the choice of either having Volkswagen buy back the vehicle at a value before the scandal broke or having the vehicle if and when a fix is approved. No matter which option is chosen, Volkswagen will also hand out additional money. Source: Car and Driver View full article

Today was a sad day for the Australian automotive industry as the final Ford Falcon rolled down the assembly line at Ford's Broadmeadows plant in Broadmeadows, Victoria. The final vehicle was a Falcon XR6 finished in blue and being number 4,356,628 to roll off the assembly since Broadmeadows opened back in August 1959. The vehicle will join alongside a Falcon Ute (which ended production earlier this year) and Territory SUV in Ford's ownership. Ford held a private ceremony with its 600 workers at the plant to mark the occasion. "Today is an emotional day for all of us at Ford. We are saying goodbye to some of our proud and committed manufacturing employees and marking an end to 91 years of manufacturing in Australia," said Ford Australia CEO Graeme Whickman. Whickman's comment hits home as many of the workers will not have a job after today. Ford will be keeping around 120 workers to decommission the plant. Ford also announced that 160 workers will be redeployed to new roles in design and enginnering. Ford says they are still committed to Australian market as they will still operate design and enginnering offices in the country. “Ford will remain a major presence in Australia and we will carry forward the legacy of our manufacturing team by continuing to design and engineer world-class vehicles for Australia and the world for many years to come,” said Whickman. The Falcon is Australia's longest running nameplate. First introduced back in June 1960, Ford built 3,568,689 Falcons - that includes sedans, wagons, utes, and panel vans. During its heyday, the Falcon would compete with the Holden Commodore as to who would top the sales sheet. But sales of both models have been declining over the past decade as buyers have been turning towards smaller vehicles and SUVs. The increasing costs of producing vehicles in Australia didn't help the cause. 2017 will see Holden and Toyota end their local production of vehicles in Australia. Source: ABC, Drive.com.au, Motoring.com.au, 2, News.com.au, Wheels, 2 View full article

A couple years back, I drove the recently-redesigned Mazda3 hatchback. I really liked all the improvements Mazda made to the 3, while retaining the fun to drive nature of the previous model. What I wasn’t too keen on was the price. For a vehicle that carried an as-tested price of just over $30,000, I couldn’t fully justify paying that much for a compact. Fast forward to this summer and another Mazda3 came in. This happened to be a sedan and one that was under $24,000. The best part? I felt that it was one of best bangs for your buck. The 3 in question is the 3i Grand Touring sedan. The i is the most important part as it means this 3 is fitted with the 2.0L SkyActiv-G four-cylinder producing 155 horsepower and 150 pound-feet of torque. s models get the larger 2.5L four-cylinder. Our test sedan came with a six-speed manual. This engine is slightly slower and rougher than the 3s we drove a couple years back. But this engine is much better in terms of performance than some other compacts we have driven recently (Nissan Sentra and redesigned Hyundai Elantra). Mazda gets a lot of praise for their manual transmissions and we’re going to add some more. The gear lever moves with precision and smoothness. The clutch is easy to modulate to get a shudder free start. In terms of fuel economy, the EPA rates the Mazda3i at 29 City/41 Highway/33 Combined. Our average for the week landed around 35 mpg. I should note that the 3 went on a 388 mile round trip across the state for a track school (more on that in a future piece) that mostly involved highway driving. I was able to achieve 40.2 mpg during the trip. This trip also revealed two weaknesses of the 3. First is ride comfort. The 3 didn’t do a great job with isolating most bumps or potholes from entering the interior. This is due to the suspension setup which is tuned for delivering a sporty ride around corners. This would have been worse if our tester came with larger wheels. Second is a common fault with most Mazdas, noise isolation. During this trip, I was able to tell the condition of the road thanks to the abundance of road noise coming inside. There was also a fair amount of wind noise entering the cabin. Mazda says they have added more sound insulation to the 2017 model, we’ll be checking this out in the future. I would be remised if I didn’t talk about the 3’s handling. This is still one of the best driving compacts on sale today with little body roll, quick direction change, and steering that can rival some sports cars. At least sitting inside the 3 was a pleasant experience. The front seats provided excellent support for the long trip and controls were in easy reach. The infotainment system is still a mixed bag where it is easier to use the control knob than the touchscreen to move around the system. Also, the navigation system stumbled a few times where it showed I was traveling on another road than the one I was currently on. Let us step outside for a moment and gaze at the 3’s shape. I still think the Mazda3 is one of the best-looking compacts on sale. The front end has the large grille with chrome trim running along the outer edge and into the headlights. I also like the sculpting along the doors.The only disappointing thing is the back. In sedan form, the Mazda3 doesn’t look quite right. As I mentioned in the beginning, the Mazda3i Grand Touring sedan came with a price of under $24,000 ($23,435 to be exact). For the price, it was well equipped. There was leatherette seats, six-way power adjustments for the driver, navigation, Bose sound system, push-button start, blind spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, a backup camera, and a moonroof. The only option was a trunk mat for $70.00. The 2016 Mazda3 is a compelling choice in the compact class if you want something that is fun to drive. If you want something a bit more balanced or can handle a long drive, I’m not sure the 3 can cut it. There are compacts that are quieter and provide a smoother ride. It ultimately comes down to what you want in a compact. Disclaimer: Mazda Provided the 3i, Insurance, and One Tank of Gas Year: 2016 Make: Mazda Model: 3i Trim: Grand Touring Engine: 2.0L Skyactiv-G DOHC Four-Cylinder Driveline: Six-Speed Manual, Front-Wheel Drive Horsepower @ RPM: 155 @ 6,000 Torque @ RPM: 150 @ 4,000 Fuel Economy: City/Highway/Combined - 29/41/33 Curb Weight: 2,869 lbs Location of Manufacture: Hofu, Japan Base Price: $22,545 As Tested Price: $23,435 (Includes $820 Destination Charge) Options: Cargo Mat - $70.00 View full article

One group that has been fighting tooth and nail against Tesla and their direct sales model is the National Automobile Dealers Association. With Tesla filing a federal lawsuit against the state of Michigan over a law banning direct sales, NADA Chairman Jeff Carlson has made some comments as to why Tesla's direct sales model is bad. The Detroit Free Press reports that Carlson said the direct sales model is bad for consumers because it would lead to higher prices. Competition between dealers is a good thing for consumers. In a study commissioned by NADA and done by Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal and Economic Public Policy Studies, competition between dealers lead to an average of $700 in price reduction. "Every state has to look to their consumer and decide what’s best for them. Either they can continue to support the franchised dealers' discount of up to $700 ... or, the choice for the policy makers is they can offer the consumer a vertically integrated model that prices vehicles at retail," said Carlson. "The public policy makers are going to go to the consumers and say which (model) do you want? The discounted product? Or the product at retail?" Carlson also pointed out a memo that Tesla CEO Elon Musk sent out to all employees saying that they need to abide by the company's “no negotiation and no discount policy.” It should be noted that policy that Carlson used as an example only pertains to new vehicles. Vehicles that were used as floor models, test drives, or were damaged in transit are allowed to be discounted. We're to jump in here now and bring a little editorial. Carlson's argument of using price to say why the franchise model is better is ok. But there is another part that either Carlson forgot or neglected to mention - service. There is a reason why people don't like to go to dealerships. They don't feel like they are being treated as a person, more of a number for this month. You see in various ways from dealer markups on popular models, pushing rust proofing or extended warranties during the sales process, and we're only scratching the surface. Yes, Tesla may be a more expensive option. But at least you don't feel that you're being pressured to buy something. Before someone jumps in and says 'not all dealerships are like this' or some variation of it, we know. The problem is those dealers are so few. It's basically trying to find a strand of hay in a bushel of needles. Source: Detroit Free Press, Automotive News (Subscription Required) View full article

For the past few months, we have been reporting that Teramont was the possible name for Volkswagen's upcoming three-row crossover. But it seems the model will be named something else. Automobilwoche reports that the new crossover will wear the 'Atlas' nameplate. Volkswagen filed trademark applications for the name with the U.S. Government back in April. According to Automotive News, the Atlas name shows that VW Group of America CEO Hinrich Woebcken made good on a promise back in July that the crossover “much easier to pronounce, American-style name”. A Volkswagen spokeswoman declined to comment on the 'Atlas' name. Volkswagen is planning to show the new three-row crossover at an event on October 27th. Source: Automobilwoche via Automotive News (Subscription Required) Pic Credit: Auto Sina View full article

Before we go into this rumorpile report, we should note that we're taking a fair amount of salt on this story. You'll see what we mean momentarily. Road & Track reports that the Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 will be getting a dual-clutch transmission in the next few years. The six-speed manual would still be offered. This information comes from Mustang6G.com, a forum site which has gotten leaked information that has been proven to be correct. The site showed evidence to Road & Track about the dual-clutch and they believe it to be accurate. The problem is neither Road & Track or Mustang6G say what the evidence is - hence why we're taking a handful of salt on this story. If they had said they got a build sheet, pictures of the transmission, or something else, we might put some more weight on it. When asked about this, a spokesman for Ford said "we don't speculate about future products." Source: Road & Track View full article