by Paul A. Eisenstein | Nov 4, 2011
With the first of its Focus Electric battery cars set to roll into a select group of California showrooms next month, Ford has announced it will charge just under $40,000 for the vehicle – potentially giving it a leg up on some key competitors. The Focus EV is part of...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Nov 3, 2011
Toyota’s ambitious turnaround plan is in for another setback, the maker issuing a terse news release indicating it will be forced to trim U.S. production due to parts shortages caused by flooding in Thailand. The announcement comes just days after Honda revealed it...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Nov 3, 2011
After an agonizingly slow start Chevrolet’s plug-in hybrid, the Volt, is finally showing signs of powering up – October sales jumping 50% over the previous month, though the battery car appears all but certain to miss its ambitious target for 2011. Despite that...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Nov 3, 2011
The annual SEMA aftermarket show in Las Vegas has always put a premium on performance, but there’s a subtle shift to small cars, this year, as Toyota underscores with the Yaris B-Spec Club Racer it’s introducing amidst an array of customized pickups and SUVs. The...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Nov 3, 2011
Ford is betting there’s a generation of young wannabe racers who’d like to do more than just watch motor sports on television so it will begin offering an “affordable,” “turnkey,” race-tuned version of its Focus ST next year. Dubbed the Ford Focus ST-R, it will take...
by Joseph Szczesny | Nov 3, 2011
Ford will use the Los Angeles Auto Show to reveal the Ford Fiesta ST Concept, the show car hinting at how a future version of its global subcompact might look when it joins the Focus ST as part of the maker’s expanding small car performance portfolio. Bold and...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Nov 2, 2011
Toyota is hoping to pump a little passion into its traditionally staid luxury brand Lexus, and is betting the new GS F Sport will be a major piece in that grand transformation. The second model to wear the “F” badge is making its formal debut at this year’s SEMA Show,...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Nov 2, 2011
It was definitely not the sort of reception Toyota executives were anticipating – but it was a clear eye-opener when they took a prototype of the all-new Camry sedan to show U.S. dealer during the spring of 2010. “They were not thrilled,” admits Jim Lentz, Toyota’s...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Nov 2, 2011
He’s already got plenty of stamps in his passport but Peter Horbury will soon add another as he trades Sweden for a new base in China. The long-time director of design for Gothenburg-based Volvo, Horbury has been named the new styling chief for aspiring Chinese...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Nov 2, 2011
Horsepower, it seems, is quickly becoming as much a push at Hyundai as fuel-economy. The maker unleashed a half-dozen high-performance concept vehicles at this year’s big aftermarket event in Las Vegas, the annual SEMA Show, and at least two of them will influence...
by Bryan Laviolette | Nov 2, 2011
So, what is the difference between a crossover and an SUV, anyway? In the past, auto writers tended to classify an SUV as one of the old-style body-on-frame bruisers. Real trucks, based on their makers’ pickup truck, capable of going off-road. They came standard with...
by Joseph Szczesny | Nov 1, 2011
Sales of new vehicles once again showed considerable strength during October after a slow summer that had many worrying the industry – along with the overall U.S. economy – might be heading into a double-dip recession. With collective sales coming in at an annualized...
