by Paul A. Eisenstein | Sep 4, 2009
When General Motors eliminated half its brands, essentially overnight, it created some significant turmoil in its product development program. For one thing, the sale of the Saturn division meant there’d be no home for the plug-in hybrid system that was supposed to...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Sep 4, 2009
Better late than never, apparently. The increasingly aggressive Hyundai Motor Co. is rapidly filling in the gaps in its line-up, and that includes everything from high-line luxury cars to hybrids. The Korean carmaker will bring a pair of electrified models to this...
by Ken Zino | Sep 3, 2009
A freshened Volvo C70 convertible will debut at Frankfurt Motor Show in mid September retaining its three-piece retractable steel roof, the signature hips at the beltline, and seating for four non-super-sized adults. The car is marketed by Volvo as both a coupe and a...
by Ken Zino | Sep 3, 2009
When the tread comes off a tire, it’s as if you have suddenly hit a patch of glare ice. When the tread comes off a Pirelli P Zero tire rated for high speeds on a Ferrari, the potential for a spectacular crash is there. The National Highway Traffic Safety...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Sep 3, 2009
It’s become a tired cliché. “Buy American,” a phrase trotted out by generations of Detroit executives hoping to win back the motorists who’ve increasingly shifted, over the years, to Asian and European imports. “Buy America,” proclaimed Lee Iacocca, hoping to head...
by Ken Zino | Sep 3, 2009
Everyone knows what happens to a car when it runs out of fuel. Nevertheless, the same cannot be said about the Highway Trust Fund, which at current funding levels will be $17 billion short of money for the 2010 fiscal year that starts next month. Minnesota Democrat...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Sep 3, 2009
For a month, at least, things almost seemed to be back to normal around the auto industry, assembly lines humming and dealers racing to write up sales orders. But now that the Cash-for-Clunkers program has wrapped up, there’s mounting concern, across the auto...
by Ken Zino | Sep 2, 2009
The Korean automaker Hyundai clearly benefitted from U.S. taxpayer cash in August as its sales increased 47% from the year before. Perhaps more significant is the movement of the Elantra model into the Top Ten U.S. seller list for the first time by jumping up seven...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Sep 2, 2009
Nobody likes to buy a new car sight unseen. So, if you’re thinking about the next-generation Hyundai Sonata, these pictures might make the decision a little easier. Officially, the Korean maker says it will begin taking orders for the next-generation midsize sedan,...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Sep 2, 2009
Struggling to boost the appeal of diesel-powered products, BMW of North America hopes to win approval from the German automaker’s board to directors to cut prices and add new features, such as all-wheel-drive. Though sales of the maker’s first two diesels, the X5 35d...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Sep 2, 2009
BMW has an alternative Vision of the future. No, the Vision show car making its debut at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, this month, won’t be rolling into showrooms anytime soon. Its diesel-hybrid powertrain is far too complicated and expensive to produce – for now. ...
by Joseph Szczesny | Sep 2, 2009
With Subaru leading the way with a big increase, vehicles sales reached a new high for the year in August. Analysts said the annualized sales rate last month topped 14 million units. It was the industry’s strongest showing since the spring of 2008 and was driven by...
