The Car Exam News # 20: Toyota to debut larger Prius at the Detroit Auto Show, and the U.S. won’t get the new Ford Ranger

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Toyota to debut larger Prius at the Detroit Auto Show

Toyota ups the ante in the hybrid sweepstakes: The Detroit Free Press is reporting that Toyota is going to introduce a brand-new Prius model at the Detroit Auto Show in January. The new Prius, to be sold alongside the current car, will be larger and is said to have “more comfort, better styling and more versatility.” The new Prius should be a 2012 model. After seeing a teaser photo, it looks like the new Prius model could be styled like a crossover utility vehicle or small van.

Source: The Detroit Free Press (http://www.freep.com/article/20101015/BUSINESS01/10150378/1331/Toyota-to-show-new-Prius-hybrid-at-Detroit-auto-show) 10/15/10

The U.S. won’t get the new Ford Ranger

Looks like we’re stuck with the F-150: Automotive News has reported that Ford will not sell the all-new 2012 version of the Ford Ranger pickup in the United States that it will be selling in 180 other countries around the world. This will be the first time in almost 30 years that Ford will not be selling a compact pickup in the U.S. market.

What is Ford’s reasoning? Apparently, the new Ranger is apparently too close in size to the current Ford F-150 pickups, so Ford is gambling on U.S. customers purchasing a base model F-150 instead. The Car Exam says this may backfire: not everyone wants a large truck, so Ford just may lose a pool of would-be Ranger buyers to the likes of Toyota and Nissan.

Source: Automotive News (http://www.autonews.com) 10/14/10

P. Scott

The Car Exam News #18: LaHood wants to axe all cell phones for drivers, Toyota’s Prius line grows gets its own brand, & the Orange County Auto Show

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LaHood wants to axe all cell phones for drivers

All drivers may have to forget about gabbing on their cell phones while driving: Automotive News is reporting that U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood wants to push for a complete ban of cell phone use (including “hands-free” cell phones) by drivers in all cars. Talking and texting by drivers is a dangerous trend that has caused many traffic accidents over the years that could have been avoided had those drivers been paying attention to the road. LaHood’s push for that ban could also affect other potentially distracting technology for drivers, including GM’s OnStar and Ford’s “Sync” systems. The question is, though, if such a measure actually ever passed legislation, how would it ever be enforced? Would special technology have to be created to carry out such a monumental task? There still would be many drivers—such as there are now—who would completely ignore the law and continue their dangerous behavior. How would they be stopped?

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

Toyota’s Prius line grows gets its own brand

The Prius will finally stand alone: The Detroit Free Press reports that Toyota informed is U.S. dealer that it would be expanding the Prius hybrid line by two additional models and separating it into its own brand. What will the new models consist of? A larger, “Camry-sized” Prius, as well as a Prius close in size to the current car (a plug-in vehicle should also debut sometime in 2012). These move show that Toyota is serious about dominating the hybrid market—and trying to make an attempt to do the same with electric cars. Toyota’s recent hookup with electric car company, Tesla, is definitely by design.

Source: The Detroit Free Press (http://www.freep.com/article/20101008/BUSINESS01/10080382/1210/business01/Toyota-Prius-to-expand-into-a-brand-with-more-varieties) 10/8/10

The Orange County Auto Show this weekend

If you in Orange County, California, or in the Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernadino or Northern San Diego Counties, then it may be worth your time to take at trip to the Anaheim Convention Center to attend the annual Orange County Auto Show. Many new models are on display, including the new Chevrolet Volt, the Nissan Leaf, the all-New Honda Odyssey, the all-new Kia Optima, a brand new Ferrari, and even the upcoming 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca model. Guests can also test drive new cars from General Motors, Toyota, and Ford, and other attractions including—a Swimsuit International Model Search competition on Saturday, October 9, and a myriad of other activities for families to participate in. The show official runs Thursday, October 7 through Sunday, October 10. Go to the website: http://www.motortrendautoshows.com/Orange_County/ for more details.

P. Scott (10/8/10)

The Car Exam News #10: Toyota plans new hybrids, Fiats in Chrysler showrooms soon & Chrysler names a "new" car

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Toyota plans new hybrids

Toyota thinks more hybrids are a good thing: according to the Detroit News, Toyota is going to bring seven new hybrid vehicles to it worldwide market by 2012. Some of those vehicles include an electric plug-in model of the Toyota Prius, an electric RAV4 SUV and a small car (both the RAV4 and the small car will be built in conjunction with Tesla).

Toyota has already sold over 2 ½ million hybrids across the world, and it aims to sell more. Toyota wants to sell about 20,000 plug-in Priuses per year to begin; however, Toyota had better hope the needed infrastructure is in place to support its sales goals.

Source: The Detroit News (http://www.detnews.com/article/20100913/AUTO01/9130419/1148/auto01/Toyota-plans-new-hybrids-for-2012) 9/13/10

Fiats at Chrysler dealers by February 2011?

The Automotive News is reporting that Chrysler wants dealers who will the selling the Fiat 500 to have their Fiat showrooms built and running by the end of February 2011—that’s only about six months away. 165 dealers will be chosen in October to sell Fiats at their dealerships, so that won’t be a great deal of time to get things going. Dealers will have to get started building their Fiat dealerships as soon as they have been selected if they hope to meet the deadline. Also, Chrysler dealers must be trained to sell the Fiats, so it will be interesting to see how many will actually meet the initial deadline.

Source: Automotive News (http://www.autonews.com) 9/14/10

The 2011 Chrysler 200 to replace the Sebring

USA Today is reporting that Chrysler’s new replacement for the Sebring will be named the 200. How different will the 200 be? According to Chrysler’s press release (shown on Autoblog.com), Chrysler says, “Virtually every system in the sedan is new or upgraded for 2011, giving the Chrysler 200 its own identity and space in the highly competitive mid-size sedan segment. Exterior and sheet metal upgrades include: front and rear fascias and fenders, grille featuring the new Chrysler brand winged badge, hood, rear decklid and exterior mirrors, new projector headlamps and fog lamps, new LED taillamps and a LED center high-mounted stop light.”

The press release also states a 2.5 liter 4-cylinder engine, as well as the new 283 hp Pentastar V6 engine with a six-speed automatic will be available. It sounds as if the Chrysler 200 is heavily-reworked Sebring. Hopefully, the current Sebring’s unattractive styling has been heavily-reworked, too.

Sources: USA Today (http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2010/09/chrysler-dealers-to-see-14-new-or-improved-cars/1) 9/14/2010 and Autoblog (http://www.autoblog.com)
9/14/2010

P. Scott