William Maley

By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com January 23, 2013 The last time Jaguar did a small, entry-level luxury car, lets just say it wasn't great. Jaguar though is giving it another try. Jaguar global brand director Adrian Hallmark told Automotive News that the brand is hard at work on a new compact model. "We have to get back into that segment. I won't say whether it's with a sedan or another body style or more than one car," Hallmark said. The new models would be priced between $40,000 and $50,000. Jaguar is in the early stages of planning and which models/bodystyles are being considered. One direction that Jaguar could head is doing a successor to the much maligned X-Type. Rumor has it that the model could use a shrunken version of Jaguar and Land Rover’s Premium Lightweight Architecture. The other rumor flying around is a small Jaguar crossover. Hallmark said if Jaguar was to go down this road, the model would share a platform with Land Rover, but focus more with on-road performance. "If we were to enter a crossover segment, then it would be more road-oriented rather than off-road. It would not be cut-and-paste. It would be using that core global competence," Hallmark said. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required) William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster. View full article

By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com January 23, 2013 Infiniti's new naming nomenclature has the G sedan turning into the Q50 and the G Coupe/Convertible into the Q60. While we've seen the production version of the new Q50, we didn't know when we'll see the Q60. In a interview with CarAdvice.com.au, Infiniti's global boss, Johan de Nysschen said a production version of the Q60 will arrive in 2015/2016. “I think the coupe is an important part of the platform. Most certainly we are working right now on a coupe derivative of the car [Q50] … known at the Q60." So why the long wait for the coupe? “But, you know, there are a lot of priorities for us. I really want to look at expansion of the entire portfolio. So we probably need to prioritize a little bit the volume segments. So the coupe we can probably expect two and a half to three years down the road,” de Nysschen said. de Nysschen also hinted at a high performance version of the Q50/Q60, saying "someday in the future we will be able to offer more high performance versions [of Q50] than we have today... the dynamic capabilities of this platform are very significant. It can handle far higher power than the engines we are using at launch." Source: CarAdvice.com.au William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster. View full article

By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com January 22, 2013 Last year, we reported on new legislation that wouldn't allow any rental-car company or car dealer to loan/sell any recalled vehicle before the necessary repairs have been made. Currently, only new vehicles cannot be sold unless the necessary repairs have been carried out. At the time, rental-car companies opposed the legislation, but have since agreed with it. Now dealers and smaller rental-car companies are fighting for an exemption from this legislation. Bailey Wood, spokesman for the National Automobile Dealers Association tells USA Today that dealers have a financial incentive to fix recalled cars quickly since manufacturers are paying for the work. However Wood adds that many recalls are minor and might not justify taking vehicles out of service. "Not all recalls are the same. It could be a windshield wiper problem in Death Valley," said Wood. Steve Jordan, chief operating officer of the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association says they have no problems with fixing vehicles with a recall notice. They would like a better notice of a recall. "Philosophically, we don't have a problem fixing a vehicle that has an open recall notice -- as long as we know about it." The General Accounting Office (GAO) reports that in 2009, sales of used cars totaled 11 million. The office has urged NHTSA to require them to make repairs before selling vehicles that are under recall as “many consumers may be unknowingly putting their lives at risk by purchasing a defective vehicle.” "The agency believes that all vehicles under recall should be promptly repaired -- regardless of whether they are new, used, leased, or rented," David Strickland, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration chief said in a statement. Source: USA Today William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster. View full article

By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com January 22, 2013 We know that Chrysler has been readying a new nine-speed transmission to be used in certain models, but we didn't know how many of these gearboxes would be used. According to Bloomberg, Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said the company expects to sell around 200,000 vehicles equipped with the new nine-speed automatic. The new nine-speed will come in three models: Chrysler's redesigned 200, Dodge's Dart, and Jeep's new Liberty. The nine-speed transmission is the “future of the front- wheel drive and all-wheel drive world for Chrysler,” Marchionne said to reporters last week. The nine-speed will first appear in the new Liberty, followed by the 200 and/or Dart. Source: Bloomberg William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster. View full article