Archives: October 2007

Toyota Yaris: So Gay!

Posted by: David Kiley on October 30

That's not me talking. Rather, www.gaywheels.com says it was the most researched vehicle on its website. In descending order, the rest of the list was: Saab 9-3, Mazda MX-5...

Jury Still Out on GM

Posted by: David Welch on October 30

There are signs that some investors think General Motors is turning things around. The company has gotten to break even this year. GM has a few hit cars, like...

VW's Pedal-to-the-Metal Profits

Posted by: Gail Edmondson on October 26

Nine months after a management shake-up at Volkswagen, sales and profit are on a major rebound. And CEO Martin Winterkorn has hardly rolled up his sleeves yet. VW's group...

Mahindra's Bold U.S. Plans

Posted by: David Kiley on October 25

In writing on Mahindra and Mahindra this week, I ran into considerable resistance to their plans to launch three vehicles into the U.S. in 2009—a two-door pickup, a four-door...

Audi Plug-In In Tokyo

Posted by: David Kiley on October 24

Audi surprised media attending the Tokyo Auto Show by showing its plug-in hybrid Metroproject concept. It's a four-seater with three doors. The concept features a prototype hybrid system that...

Porsche Trumps VW's Union

Posted by: Gail Edmondson on October 24

It's dangerous betting against Porsche Chief Executive Wendelin Wiedeking. A master strategist, Wiedeking is on a 15-year winning streak. He's taken Porsche from near bankruptcy to the top of...

Toyota's earnings to surge yet again

Posted by: Ian Rowley on October 22

Toyota's ascent to becoming the world's biggest automaker isn't a forgone conclusion, but don’t expect the company’s execs to be sweating. Sure, the latest data, released yesterday, show that GM...

Union Balks, Management Bristles

Posted by: David Welch on October 22

After General Motors Corp. got its union workers to easily accept a concession-laden contract earlier this month, it looked like similar deals and Ford and Chrysler would be a cinch....

Part Two: Car Boy's Quest For New Wheels

Posted by: David Kiley on October 19

Everybody's comments are great. Much appreciated. Some of you think I am a lunatic for cross-shopping a Ford Focus and a BMW 1 Series. I thought I should give short...

Will Mercedes Ditch the Maybach?

Posted by: Gail Edmondson on October 18

A report surfaced recently in the Cleveland Leader that disastrously weak sales have forced Mercedes to close down nearly half its Maybach showrooms in the US this year --...

Toyota's quality slips, again

Posted by: David Welch on October 17

It’s been a rough week for Toyota. First, the company gets slapped by Consumer Reports, which said that Toyota’s quality slipped so much that it will no longer recommend...

What Will Car Boy Buy? Help Me Choose My Ride. Part One

Posted by: David Kiley on October 15

Buying a new car can be exciting, as in “I’m so glad to unload my clunker, and smell that ‘new car’ smell again. Or it can be a drag,...

New Chevy Malibu: The Car is Hot. The Ad Effort Leaves Me Cold

Posted by: David Kiley on October 12

General Motors is in the middle of trying to engineer a shift of perception about its brands and products. Perhaps the most important effort getting underway is its Chevrolet...

Civic hybrids in India--at a price

Posted by: Ian Rowley on October 12

The race to make an ultra-cheap, sub-$3,000 car for emerging auto markets has received plenty of attention of late with India's Tata and Nissan-Renault chief Carlos Ghosn among the biggest...

Newly Divorced Mercedes Talking with Fiat

Posted by: Gail Edmondson on October 11

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne Alliances have become the auto industry's holy grail, following a slew of failed takeovers. Even Mercedes, fresh from its divorce with Chrysler, is on the...

Hyundai's House of Pain

Posted by: David Kiley on October 09

Hyundai is definitely a brand with growing pains. The Korean company has taken a hard, and embarrassing step in idling its Alabama assembly plant an additional week. The truth...

Toyota's Jekyll and Hyde routine

Posted by: David Welch on October 05

Toyota’s green image took another shot today when the Union of Concerned Scientists blasted the company in a press release for opposing a Senate energy bill that would boost...

There's plenty in a name Mr. Benz

Posted by: David Kiley on October 05

The former DaimlerChrysler changed its name to Daimler AG, choosing not to revert back to the Daimler-Benz AG name it had before its troublesome 1998 merger with Chrysler. The rationale...

Daimler's Renaissance

Posted by: Gail Edmondson on October 05

It’s back to the future for German automaker Mercedes-Benz. On Oct. 4, shareholders voted to strip the name “Chrysler” from the DaimlerChrysler corporate nameplate, following the sale of 80.1%...

Web Searching Dramatically Favors "Old Reliables"

Posted by: David Kiley on October 04

Cars.com released the list of models that drew the most searches on its website in September. Yikes. It doesn’t look like Detroit advertising is penetrating much into the web...

No Blind Ambition for Hybrids.

Posted by: David Kiley on October 03

This from the AP today: BALTIMORE - Gas-electric hybrid vehicles, the status symbol for the environmentally conscientious, are coming under attack from a constituency that doesn't drive: the blind....

Porsche on a Tear

Posted by: Gail Edmondson on October 03

Who would have bet that Porsche's cars would continue to fly out of showrooms despite soaring fuel prices. In September, Porsche sold 20 percent more cars in the US, its...

Mazda gives Ford a hand

Posted by: Ian Rowley on October 03

Ford's 21% sales decline in September understandably grabbed headlines yesterday, yet Mazda, one-third owned by the struggling U.S. automaker, is thriving. In September, its North American sales, at 25,908, the...

Will Euro Style Cars Ever Catch on In Detroit?

Posted by: David Kiley on October 02

Will European style cars ever fly in Detroit? I have been pondering this question in the last two weeks as GM seems intent on making a mid-sized notchback car at...