Archives: January 2008

Don't Diss The Taurus

Posted by: David Kiley on January 30

Okay...we all know the Ford Taurus is a pretty bad looking car. It is bulbous. But dealers have to sell the darn things. We like the honesty of Ford...

Auto Country Looms Large in Presidential Election

Posted by: David Kiley on January 29

Depending on what happens Feb 5, Michigan could really matter in this year’s Presidential election. So far, Michigan is known as one of two states—the other is Florida—which attempted...

Hummer Website Tops

Posted by: David Kiley on January 23

Hummer may be a bummer, but it's website aint dummer. HUMMER.com earns the highest ranking among automotive manufacturer Web sites for usefulness in new-vehicle shopping for a second consecutive...

Who's No. 1? Who cares.

Posted by: David Welch on January 23

It was a photo finish. But General Motors edged out Toyota Motor Corp. for the global sales crown by about 3,000 vehicles, selling 9.369 million vehicles around the globe...

Japan's auto stocks take a kicking

Posted by: Ian Rowley on January 21

One aspect of being a journalist at BusinessWeek is that we're not supposed to buy shares in the companies we write about. Indeed, each year in January, BusinessWeek asks us...

Chevy's Next Impala Shows Up In Dealer Ad?

Posted by: David Kiley on January 18

Thanks www.autoblog.com for showing this unlikely picture of Chevy's next Impala, which seems to have shown up in a newspaper ad. One can only speculate how a dealer might...

VW's Sales Target: Bold or Bull?

Posted by: David Kiley on January 17

I’m not as down on the Routan name for the Volkswagen van as Welch is. Volkswagen has a history of naming problems…God knows…but this isn’t the most egregious example....

The Worst Car Name in History

Posted by: David Welch on January 17

The Routan? What’s a Routan? Believe it or not, that’s the name of Volkswagen’s new minivan, which will be built by Chrysler at its factory in Windsor, Ontario. The...

Yes, China's Car Industry Matters

Posted by: David Welch on January 16

During an interview on Sunday at the Detroit auto show, BYD Auto Chairman Wang Chuanfu admitted readily that a push into the U.S. is 3 to 5 years away....

Smart USA For Everyday

Posted by: David Kiley on January 15

The Smart fortwo is off to the races, so to speak. Seventy-four dealers and more than 30,000 $99 deposits. Smart USA chief Dave Schembri says the company’s research tells...

Cosmic Joy and Local Pain (in Detroit)

Posted by: Jim Henry on January 15

DETROIT -- Thanks to emerging markets, the global auto industry is a lot healthier than it feels in the United States, according to economists for the struggling Detroit 3 automakers....

Getting Plug-In and China Weary at NAIAS

Posted by: David Kiley on January 14

I'm as hopeful as anyone that electric plug-in vehicles are on the way. But pardon me if I can't get excited about the pronouncements of BYD Auto's plans for the...

Nissan's small cars hit big

Posted by: David Welch on January 14

How important are small cars? Just look at Nissan. The company that lost momentum during a rough 2006—when sales dropped 5%--regained it last year with a 6.6% jump. Nissan...

Honda Stays Out of Plug-Ins. But Opts in For Diesels.

Posted by: David Kiley on January 14

It's difficult to ignore. Honda is arguably the best engine company in the world. I can still recall how silky smooth that CVCC engine was in my brother's 1977 Civic....

Toyota Looks To Protect Green Turf Against GM

Posted by: David Kiley on January 13

In case anyone thought Toyota was taking General Motors’ frequent proclamations that it will be first to market with a plug-n hybrid vehicle lightly, the automaker’s CEO, Katsuaki Watanabe,...

Honda backs diesel

Posted by: David Welch on January 13

I promise I won’t ride the diesel hobby horse too much longer. But the gas-saving engines will get a boost in the next couple of years as Honda starts...

Diesel Gets a Bad Rap

Posted by: David Welch on January 09

Here we go. California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District issued a report saying that diesel emissions cause 84% of cancer risk in Southern California. Namely, diesel exhaust coming from...

Toyota Barking Up The Wrong Tree with A-Bat

Posted by: David Kiley on January 09

Toyota will show its A-Bat truck concept at next week's North American International Auto Show. It is a small hybrid concept. It's small, of course, because Toyota's two-mode hybrid...

Ford Banking on Higher Gas Prices For Years To Come Even Without Higher Cafe Regs

Posted by: David Kiley on January 09

Ford Americas president Mark Fields says that Ford is centering its products plans on gas staying above $3.00 a gallon and probably above $3.50 per gallon. Ford CEO Alan...

New Eco Cars Get Comparisons to..."Private Jets?

Posted by: David Kiley on January 09

Chrysler Eco-Voyager concept car to be shown next week at the North American International Auto Show is an electric car with a range of 300 miles. It emits only...

Toyota zips past Ford

Posted by: David Welch on January 04

Few industries revel in statistics, sales crowns and defining moments the way the car business does. So when Toyota passed General Motors last year for the global sales crown,...

Car Boy Gets His New Ride

Posted by: David Kiley on January 02

I couldn't get the car I wanted. But I did pretty well. After a few months of boring my wife and friends with my search for my next car,...