The Car Exam News #36: The Cadillac CTS sedan recalled, and the Feds don’t want Bob Lutz back at GM?

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The Cadillac CTS sedan recalled again: Automotive News reports that GM is recalling over 400,000 Cadillac CTS sedans (2009-2010 model years) because of a problem with one of the rear wheels (the rear tow link). The problem could lead to one of the rear wheels becoming unstable; GM says no injuries or lost lives have been reported because of the faulty part, and about one in 20 of the cars recalled will have the part replaced. GM should start notifying customers soon about the recall.

Source: Automotive News (http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110216/RETAIL05/302169946/1260) 2/16/11

The feds may be saying just say “no” to a Bob Lutz return to GM–at least for now: The Daily Beast reported that General Motors wants to rehire former chief of vehicle development, Bob Lutz, as a consultant for the company, but that the U.S. Department of Treasury doesn’t want that to happen, because if he is paid so close to the time he retired from GM, it may be considered a “golden parachute” to the 79-year-old Lutz. This could change in about three months, though, since a year will have passed since his retirement. If GM can get Bob Lutz back on board, it will regain a knowledgeable force in the auto industry.

Source: The Daily Beast (http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-02-15/bob-lutz-may-come-back-to-gm-but-the-government-is-balking/) 2/15/11

P. Scott

The Car Exam News # 31: The Ford F-150 recalled, and Automakers could roll in the dough with Super Bowl Advertising

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A bump in the road for Ford: Automotive News reports that Ford is recalling almost 281,000 2009-2010 F-150 pickups built between January 2008 and November 2009 because NHTSA reports the door handles could possibly malfunction and come open in the event of a crash. No accidents or injuries had been reported as of January 21, however.

Source: Automotive News (http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110203/RETAIL05/302039961/1147) 2/3/11

Numbers can mean a lot: Automotive News is reporting that if a record number of viewers watch the Super Bowl this coming Sunday, the $3 million-dollar-plus ads some automakers have paid for may translate in higher sales for those automakers (some of which include G.M. and Volkswagen). If you’re watching the big game this Sunday and it’s time for commercial break–and you need to take a potty break–automakers with high-priced ads just may prefer it you hold it in awhile longer…at least until their commercials are over.

Source: Automotive News (http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110203/RETAIL03/110209926/1295) 2/3/11

P. Scott

Consumer and Car Exam News # 29: BMW & Mercedes outselling Lexus in 2011, and more new cars sold in January

The race against Lexus is getting tighter: Automotive News is reporting that BMW and Mercedes have gotten off to a better start in the sales race in 2011 than Lexus. Lexus has outsold BMW and Mercedes every year since 2000, but BMW and Mercedes have been closing the gap, especially in 2010. It is expected that the sales race between the three brands will be even tighter this year.

Source: Automotive News (http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110202/COPY01/302029988/1292) 2/2/11

January 2011 auto sales better than January 2010: The Detroit Free Press is reporting that auto sales in January 2011 were up 17.3 % over January 2010. Consumer confidence rose in January; more new car sales went to individual buyers than fleets. Nevertheless, General Motors and Toyota are still offering sales incentives to attract more customers–if you’re a consumer looking to find a good deal on a new vehicle, a G.M. or Toyota product just may look more appealing to you at the moment.

Source: The Detroit Free Press (http://www.freep.com/article/20110202/BUSINESS01/102020335/Auto-industry-sees-17-3-increase?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Auto News) 2/1/11

P. Scott

The Car Exam News #25: The Dodge chief says: "Oooh–Barracuda…returns?"

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The Return of the Plymouth Barracuda?

The Barracuda makes a comeback? Maybe so: The Detroit Free Press (Via USA Today) is reporting that Dodge President and CEO Ralph Gilles says that people are hungry for the return of the Barracuda model and the company is trying to figure out a way to do it. It would be a modified Challenger, of course, but another problem remains: Chrysler killed the Plymouth brand a decade ago, so if the Barracuda returned, it would have to be branded as a Chrysler or a Dodge. Stay tuned to see how this story plays out!

Source: The Detroit Free Press (http://www.freep.com/article/20101104/BUSINESS01/11040427/1206/A-Cuda-encore?) 11/4/10

P. Scott

The Car Exam News #24: Encouraging GM and Ford News

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Good news for General Motors

Good news for GM this week: The Detroit Free Press reports that GM will build a new, smaller Cadillac, the ATS, at its Lansing Grand River plant. The ATS will be smaller and priced lower than the CTS (pictured above). No word yet on when production of the ATS will begin.

Source: The Detroit Free Press (http://www.freep.com/article/20101027/BUSINESS01/101027034/1210/business01/GM-Lansing-plant-will-build-new-Cadillac) 10/27/10

More good GM news–and good news for Ford, too: Consumer Reports is reporting that the reliability of GM’s cars is improving–a must if it wants its recovery to continue. Recently launched vehicles, such as the Cadillac SRX, Chevrolet Camaro and Equinox, and the Buick LaCrosse V6 (FWD) have proven to be reliable from the start–something not very common to GM in recent decades. Some older GM models, like the Corvette, for example, have even improved with their reliability. GM can still do a lot better, though, as it still trails far behind the leading Asian brands (Toyota and Honda, for example) in reliability. If GM can keep improving, it just may get back on top one day…

Meanwhile, Ford continues to shine. Consumer Reports also notes that 90% of all Ford models (including Lincoln) are at least rated as having at least average reliability. Furthermore, Fords are now more reliable than Mazdas and Nissans, and just lags behind the legendary Toyota luxury brand, Lexus–quite an impressive feat. Ford has already had good news earlier in the week of record third-quarter profits of a whopping $1.7 billion dollars, so executives in Dearborn must be jumping for joy!

Source: Consumer Reports (http://blogs.consumerreports.org/cars/2010/10/consumer-reports-2010-annual-car-reliability-survey-gm-makes-big-strides-while-honda-toyota-dominate-pr.html?CMP=OTC-NEWS2) 10/26/10

P. Scott

The Car Exam News #23: Nissan begins production of the Leaf, and Cadillac axes the V8 in the STS

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Nissan begins production of the Leaf

Nissan turns a new Leaf: Automotive News reports that Nissan has began production of the Leaf electric car in Japan and will begin exporting it to the U.S. next month. Production of the Leaf will not begin in the U.S. (in Tennessee) until the late 2012. Batteries for the Leaf are currently being produced in Japan, and will later be produced in the U.S. and in Europe.

Source: Automotive News (http://www.autonews.com) 10/25/10

Cadillac axes the V8 in the 2011 STS

A V8 no more: USA Today is reporting that Cadillac is axing the 320-horsepower, 4.6-liter V8 engine from The STS, leaving the only the 302-hp, 3.6-liter V6 engine as the only choice. The V6 is more fuel efficient than V8 and only has 18 fewer horsepower, so the move makes more sense, especially with new CAFE rules taking effect soon from the U.S. government.

Source: USA Today (http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2010/10/cadillac-sts-loses-its-v-8-engine-for-2011/1) 10/25/10

P. Scott

The Car Exam News #22: Another big Toyota recall, and the Dodge Journey gets a better interior

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Another big Toyota recall

Here we go again: The Detroit Free Press reports that Toyota is recalling over 1.5 million Toyota Avalon and Lexus models worldwide (but mostly in the U.S. and Japan) due to leaking seals in the brake master cylinder in some models, while others (none in the U.S.) have an electrical problem with the fuel pump which could cause the engine to stall.

Source: The Detroit Free Press (http://www.freep.com/article/20101021/BUSINESS01/101021016/1210/Toyota-recalling-1.53-million-cars-globally) 10/21/10

The 2011 Dodge Journey gets a better interior—and more

The Dodge revision continues: Automotive News is reporting that Dodge has revised the interior in the Journey crossover. There is a new instrument panel, center stack, new steering wheel, heating and cooling vents, a U Connect Touch system with Garmin Navigation and Voice recognition, and more. By the way, for those interested in horsepower numbers, the 2011 Journey will receive the Pentastar V6 engine with 283 hp.

Source: Automotive News (http://www.autonews.com) 10/21/10

P. Scott

The Car Exam News #21: The Chevy Volt in small supply, and Chrysler’s lineup grows

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Chevy Volt to be in small supply

If you’re eager to buy a new Chevrolet Volt, you may not want to get your hopes up at first: Automotive News reports that GM will only produce 10,000 Volts in 2011–yikes! This may be a serious tactical error on GM’s part. According to the Automotive News article, Chevrolet will have a large marketing blitz to promote the Volt, but if eager customers want to go out and buy a Volt–and find out they probably won’t be able to get their grubby paws on them until 2012–they may just say “forget it” and seek out alternate vehicle options (some may turn to the Nissan Leaf–if Nissan doesn’t do the same thing GM is doing). GM may hope “pent up” customer demand will drive Chevrolet Volt sales, but they had better hope a lack of Volts doesn’t diminish it.

Source: Automotive News (http://www.autonews.com) 10/18/10

Chrysler’s lineup grows

Apparently, Chrysler/Fiat thinks the more, the merrier: The Detroit Free Press reports that Chrysler is bucking the trend set by Ford and General Motors: instead of subtracting brands from their model lineup, Chrysler/Fiat is adding new brands. The addition of the Fiat brand in early 2011, Chrysler has already separated their pickups from the Dodge brand into their own Ram brand, and after the Fiat launch, Alfa Romeo will be re-introduced in to the U.S., and five models from that brand will be sold.

That is quite a gamble for Chrysler/Fiat. However, several facts remain: if the cars have terrible build quality and reliability and no one buys them, Chrysler is once again “up a creek without a paddle.” Sergio Marchionne and his crew had better work hard–and pray they get it right.

Source: The Detroit Free Press (http://www.freep.com/article/20101018/BUSINESS01/10180318/1331/Chrysler-expands-as-others-cut-brands) 10/18/10

P. Scott

The Car Exam News #9: More Chevy Cruze News, Chevy shows the new Aveo and 2011 Honda Odyssey news

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The 2011 Chevrolet Cruze: The Lordstown Debut

There is more news about the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze this week: Automotive News reports that General Motors launched the Cruze at its Lordstown, Ohio plant. The Cruze is already the best-selling Chevrolet model globally this year—and it hasn’t even gone on sale here in the United States yet—which is very impressive. New television ads for the Cruze also debuted recently.

GM has high hopes for the Cruze, and Chevrolet needs it to deliver the goods here in the U.S. Why? Ford has an all-new Focus coming soon, Hyundai has an impressive-looking Elantra coming as well and Honda is readying a new Civic for 2012. In fact, Chevrolet wants dealers to have Honda Civics and Toyota Corollas on hand at dealerships so consumers can compare the three cars together—quite a confident move by GM. The Cruze needs to be more than just competitive, though, if GM is to become a strong company again.

Source: Automotive News (http://www.autonews.com) 9/8/10

The New Chevy Aveo in Paris

In more Chevrolet news, according to USA Today (usatoday.com), the new Chevrolet Aveo (which should go sale next year here in the U.S. as a 2012 model) will make its debut at the Paris Auto Show later this month. It will be longer and wider than the current car (and hopefully roomier, too: the current Aveo seems a bit too small, especially in the rear seat area). The Aveo is also expected to have a six-speed automatic transmission, as well.

Source: USA Today (http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/index) 9-9-10

The 2011 Honda Odyssey

The 2011 Honda Odyssey will be going on sale soon, and Honda recently showed off the redesigned Odyssey to journalists in San Diego, CA. There are not very many minivans left on the market these days (Honda, Toyota and Chrysler are the main players now–the Kia Sedona is also still around, and Nissan has an all-new Quest coming soon), but Honda still needs to make the new Odyssey a success if it wants to stay in the minivan game.

The exterior styling is polarizing, to say the least, but the Odyssey may have enough weapons to fight the current minivan battle with Chrysler, Toyota and Kia (and Nissan soon): an upgraded, 3.5 liter, 248 hp V6 engine with better fuel economy than the 2010 Odyssey, an independent rear suspension, a 16-inch hi-definition monitor with split-screen for the second row seats, and much more.

Source: Automotive News (http://www.autonews.com) 9/9/10

P. Scott

The Car Exam News #6A – The Ford Fiesta is a Top Safety Pick, the 2011 Toyota Highlander, Toyota recalls Corolla/Matrix & GM recalls the Pontiac Vibe

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The 2011 Ford Fiesta is an IIHS Top Safety Pick

The IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) announced Wednesday that the 2011 Ford Fiesta sedan and hatchback earned its award for Top Safety Pick. The Fiesta is the first minicar to earn the Institute’s Top Safety Pick award since the Institute added a roof strength requirement for rollover protection, which is quite impressive.

However, it should be noted that the IIHS is only including Fiestas built after July 2010 because Ford made distinct design changes to increase the strength of the outside door handles in order to minimize the chance of doors opening in side impact crashes. If you are a consumer in the market for a Fiesta, you may wish to inspect the manufacturer’s tag on the car (probably somewhere on the door sill or opening on the driver’s side door) to find the manufacture date of the car—if having the enhanced Fiesta it of the utmost importance to you.

Source: IIHS.org (8/25/10)

Toyota debuts the 2011 Highlander at the Moscow Motor Show

Toyotainthenews.com is reporting that the 2011 Toyota Highlander made its debut at the Moscow Motor Show. Although it is not the U.S. version, it is closer to it and the U.S. model may get the same minor design changes: a new grille, headlights, hood and front facia (the 2010 U.S. model it pictured above). The 2011 Highlander should still have the same engine choices currently offered: a 187 hp, 2.7L four-cylinder engine, a 208 hp (156 kW) 3.3 liter Hybrid/V6 engine, and a 270 hp, 3.5-liter double overhead cam V6 engine. The 2011 Highlanders should go on sale soon.

Source: Toyotainthenews.com (8/26/10)

Toyota recalls the 2005-2008 Corolla and Matrix

The Christian Science Monitor is reporting that Toyota is recalling the 2005-2008 Corolla and Matrix due to engine stalling issues (improperly manufactured electronic control modules may engines to stall while the cars are moving). Apparently, Toyota has received about 1,000 complaints about the problem. Toyota should start contacting owners about a fix for the recalled cars by the middle of September.

Source: The Christian Science Monitor (8/26/10)

GM recalls the Pontiac Vibe, the mechanical twin of the Toyota Matrix for the same stalling issue

GM has to join the recall bandwagon with Toyota: AutoGuide.com is reporting that General Motors is recalling about 200,000 2005-2008 Pontiac Vibes for the same stalling issues that 1.1 million Toyota Corolla and Matrix models have been recalled for. Like Toyota, GM will notify Vibe owners in September when the Engine Control Modules (ECM) on their vehicles will be replaced. however, since Pontiac dealerships don’t exist anymore, Vibe owners will be instructed to take their cars to other GM dealerships to be repaired.

Source: AutoGuide.com (8/27/10)

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