Just One Man’s Opinion
29
Aug
It’s time to update the world leader board, Volkswagen says it’s passed Ford Motor Company to become the third-largest automaker in the world. VW, which owns Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley, Skoda, Bugatti, Seat and its own VW brand, delivered 3.31 million vehicles in the first half of 2008. While Ford, who owns Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo and [...]
28
Aug
Love those heated seats? So do I! When it comes to cold winter mornings, it’s nice to get those heated seats goin’. But I guess this explains why we’re not getting pregnant during the winter time. According to Drive, a published study in New Scientist magazine found the use of heated seats has a drop [...]
27
Aug
MG is dead in the U.S., again. NAC, the current owner of MG, had plans to build the next generation TF roadster in Oklahoma and sell in the U.S. But according to Gary Hagen, marketing director of NAC MG, said, “The deal fell through”.
TF’s did recently start building in MG Rover’s old Longbridge, England plant [...]
27
Aug
According to Ludwig Willisch, the new M divison boss, said: ‘Based on current numbers, there is most likely insufficient demand for the M3 CSL.’ BMW has decided not to come out with a new E92 M3 CSL. The CSL models typically are about 100kg lighter in weight and up the horsepower to 450-480hp, which makes [...]
26
Aug
Will it work this time? Cadillac will offer a 4-cylinder sedan in 2010. The new car will be smaller than the CTS, maybe the BLS from Europe will come to the U.S. The BLS shares its platform with the Saab 9-3 and is powered by a turbo four-cylinder. Currently Caddy is considering a V6 along [...]
22
Aug
I wasn’t the first in the line to get the original iPhone, but I’m glad I got it. Now with the new iPhone software 2.0, it’s even more fun with all the apps. What’ the have to do with cars (besides bitching at the blonde driving with her cell phone to her ear)? You can [...]
20
Aug
GM is upping the warranty game on used vehicles sold in the U.S. Under the GM Certified and Saturn Certified programs, you will now get 12-months or 12,000-mile “bumper-to-bumper” warranty. The certified vehicles were on a 3-month or 3,000-mile warranties after the new car warranty expired. GM also increased the mileage limit of vehicles eligible [...]
12
Aug
While out-of-town, a few news items came across the news that I thought I’d share. Being that I happen to be in sunny Phoenix area this week, I found the news of convertibles yesterday, very fitting. First up is news is from Toyota, the Solara that was discontinued this month is now alive for another [...]
8
Aug
Calling all truckers, your Olympics are coming up. Yes, that’s right, the American Trucking Association for the past 71 years has held the annual National Truck Driving Championships. Nearly 400 truckers compete for the gold in what sounds like a real world obstacles. They include alley docking, rear and front line stops, scales stop, driving [...]
5
Aug
How bad is auto financing right now? I guess pretty bad, HSBC said it will stop making new auto loans through U.S. dealerships and direct-to-consumer channels, according to autonews.com. Or to put it another way, “we ain’t given’ out loans to the U.S. for cars anymore”.
HSBC will take about three years for most of its [...]