Mitsubishi Lancer Evo: another one bites the dust. Yesterday, Automotive News reported that the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution (Evo) will be discontinued following the end of its product cycle this year, effectively removing the slim chance that this Japanese automaker had in making a go of it in the United States. … Read more
US plant will become BMWs largest. Workers and BMW brass stand next to a BMW X4. BMW Spartanburg is the sole production plantfor the company’s crossovers. Another new model, the BMW X7, will follow in 2019. BMW’s entire line of crossover sport utility vehicles are built in Spartanburg, SC, the … Read more
Spring 2014 Charlotte AutoFair is sponsored by OldRide.com. The spring meet for the Charlotte AutoFair is just days away, a four-day automotive extravaganza produced by the Hornets Nest Region of the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA). As always, the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, NC, is the venue for … Read more
If youve been holding back on buying a new pickup truck consider this: March 2014 may be the start of something big, as in incentives, and on a wide variety of vehicles. Chevy Truck Month General Motors has thrown the gauntlet down as it intends to make March a Chevy … Read more
Mid product cycle updates loom large for compact Focus. The Ford Focus is an instantly recognizable name, with more than 1 million units sold annually worldwide. Ford has said that the Focus is the best selling vehicle in the world, a claim that Toyota disputes. What is beyond dispute is … Read more
Next generation GMC and Chevrolet pickups will include more aluminum. Fresh off of a new design, the next generation Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickup trucks wont hit the market for about another five years. When those trucks arrive, theyll likely include vast amounts of aluminum, following a path … Read more
Chinese company purchases Fisker with the intent to restart production. If you are a Fisker Karma fan cheer up: a Delaware bankruptcy judge approved the sale of Fisker Automotive to Wanxiang Group, a Chinese auto-parts consortium. Wanxiang’s bid of $149.2 million was accepted, an amount that includes $126 million in … Read more
Chrysler presses Canada for financial support. ***Update: Chrysler Withdraws Financial Assistance Request to the Federal and Provincial Governments in Canada*** It was supposed to have been settled by now. If everything was done according to plan, Chrysler would have identified the brand slated to receive the next generation of its … Read more
A two-seat, three-wheeler from Louisiana. Cheaply priced cars are hard to come by and are typically imported from abroad. We’ve been waiting for years for a sub-$10,000 model from China or India, but neither country appears ready to enter the fray or at least not with a rockbottom model. Well, … Read more
Concept truck features a 2.8-liter Cummins Turbo Diesel engine. GM will be muscling back into the small pickup truck segment this year, by reintroducing its Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon models. That move will put the sales squeeze on the two remaining models in this shrinking class: the Toyota Tacoma … Read more
Feb. debut for hybrid and natural gas models. More than four decades after its US launch, the Honda Civic is larger and heavier than the original model. No longer classified as a subcompact, it vies with the Toyota Corolla for segment leadership, the brands best selling model behind the Accord … Read more
Automotive executives have enough worries to keep them awake at night. Recalls. Upgraded IIHS crash standards. Federal fuel requirements. Persnickety consumers, especially young people that seem disinterested in buying a new car. Deloitte Survey and Report A recently released Deloitte LLP report will be carefully studied by these same executives … Read more
Fall 2014 release for RC line. Toyota introduced two sport cars at the 2014 North American International Auto Show in Detroit this week: one was the Toyota FT-1 concept, the other was the production-bound Lexus RC F. Suffice to say the concept received more buzz than the model that will … Read more
For the fourth consecutive year the Ford Motor Company has finished on top of the Polk Automotive Loyalty Awards as presented by IHS Automotive at the Automotive News World Congress in Detroit this week. Polk recognized 33 winner across a variety of categories including eight featured categories and 25 segment-level … Read more
Cadillac has been invading German territory since 2002 when it released the first generation CTS sedan. That model line expanded to include a coupe, wagon and high performance variants, matching what BMW and Mercedes-Benz offer. Still, Cadillac needed a vehicle to slot below the CTS and beginning in 2013 it … Read more
Audi fans may want to pay close attention to what the automaker is revealing at the Detroit auto show this week. The newly redesigned A8 sedan makes it debut as does the Q3, a compact crossover utility vehicle. Also getting press time is the Allroad Shooting Brake concept vehicle, a … Read more
How to do you define a large crossover? That definition includes models that offer seating for at least six or seven, are powered by V-6 engines and offer generous storage room. GM builds more large crossovers than any other manufacturer, but it divides that production among three brands. Chrysler sells … Read more
Small SUVs, better known as crossovers, are among the top selling models of our day. For 2013, the segment continued to grow with each of the top manufacturers fielding at least one model. The best selling small crossover was the Honda CR-V, one of three Honda models that topped 300,000 … Read more
Compact cars are nearly as popular as midsize models, small front-wheel drive models that typically retail for under $20,000. Also known as C-segment models, these vehicles are produced by every full line manufacturer and are typically sold as sedans with hatchbacks usually part of the mix as well. Top Selling … Read more
You need to go back at least three decades to find large sedans among the top selling models in the US auto industry. By the 1980s, midsize sedans along with minivans became the family vehicles of choice, models that were smaller, lighter, efficient and more affordable than the flagship sedans … Read more
2013 Midsize Sedans The Toyota Camry was threatened, but it did not lose its place as the top selling car in America in 2013. That threat came largely from other midsize models as its competitors launched new or updated vehicles in a bid to siphon sales from the Camry. Alas, … Read more
Mary Barra’s appointment as GM CEO surprised some industry analysts when Dan Akerson announced his retirement last month. But for close observers Barra was already one of a handful of possible Akerson replacements, with Dan hinting as much last summer. Barra’s ascendancy, as significant as it is, may be rivaled … Read more
With 2013 now behind us, it is time to look ahead to 2014. Four consecutive year-over-year sales increases has the auto industry brimming with confidence and US sales are now approaching pre-recessionary levels. Still, more than $17 trillion in national debt and a terrible roll out of Obamacare will continue … Read more
If you are a Lincoln dealer, the arrival of the 2015 Lincoln MKC crossover cannot come soon enough. Since Mercury was dropped by Ford at the end of 2010, Lincoln dealerships have been thirsting for new product. Moreover, the existing Lincoln line has long been weak from top to bottom … Read more
The Honda Ridgeline will live on. All six of the largest car manufacturers in the US have at least one pickup truck model to offer. Pickups are profitable and if you want to maintain a strong overall presence in the market, you need to be in the game. The Weakest … Read more
Making a case for federal auto industry bailouts. The U.S. auto industry was careening toward disaster when the executives of the General Motors Company, the Ford Motor Company, and Chrysler met with legislators in Washington, DC, in late 2008 to ask for federal assistance. Barack Obama had just been elected … Read more
Chevrolet is a classical American brand with a French name, but its success in Europe has always been hampered by Opel, a German brand owned by GM. Beginning in 2005, GM sought to expand Chevrolet’s presence in Europe, selling Chevrolet and Opel (or Vauxhall) models side-by-side, often rebadged products at … Read more
It was almost anticlimactic when the Ford Motor Company released photos of the 2015 Ford Mustang earlier today in advance of its global introduction. Whether it was done on purpose or by accident, the first photos of the new pony car were published just days ago when the Dec. 9, … Read more
Lexus does not offer diesel engines in the US, instead it follows a hybrid strategy to provides a family of five fuel efficient models ranging from its base CT Hybrid up to its $120,060 LS Hybrid. 2014 Lexus CT 200h The CT Hybrid (CT 200h) five-door hatchback has received a freshened look … Read more
Electric vehicle enthusiasts are likely familiar with the $7,500 federal tax credit for purchasing a new EV. That credit1 will eventually be phased out manufacturer by manufacturer as each one’s quota is reached, but it will still be in effect in 2014 and probably well beyond. What won’t be around much … Read more