Sunday, 19 May 2013 06:35

Tesla CEO Elon Musk found the perfect scapegoat for lost Tesla sales and a 13 percent drop of the company’s stock: John Broder of the New York Times. Musk told Reuters that “Tesla has lost about $100 million in sales and canceled orders due to the Times story, which said the sedan ran out of battery power sooner than promised during a chilly w...

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Sunday, 19 May 2013 06:35

Normally, I wouldn’t consider an 18-year-old Suzuki Cultus badged by a now-defunct GM marque to be worthy of inclusion in this series, but this particular example— which I found at my favorite Denver self-service wrecking yard— has been converted to electric power and is thus sort of interesting.
The valuable stuff that electric-car geeks...

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Sunday, 19 May 2013 06:35

GM’s CEO Dan Akerson asked for a big raise. He thinks his work at GM is worth a paycheck of $11.1 million this year, up 20 percent from last year,  Reuters reports, citing documents. The embarrassing part: Akerson and GM have to ask its white House sugar daddy for approval.

As part of GM’s government-funded bailout, the salaries of  GM ...

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Sunday, 19 May 2013 06:35

The Tesla vs. New York Times controversy has finally left the news cycle, forgotten in less time than it takes a Model S to juice up at a Supercharger station.  Meanwhile, BMW is ready to introduce its new range of “i” vehicles, which will conveniently dodge the whole question of range anxiety.

Select European outlets were invited for...

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Sunday, 19 May 2013 06:35

Late night conversation with Kreindler, “Hey Steve! Do you know what one of our top articles of all-time is?”

“The one where Bertel put a sex toy on the front of the page?”

“Hah! No, the one about changing your oil.”

“Really?! Well if Yahoo (recent!) and Jalopnik (recent!) want to feature my work, I guess I...

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Sunday, 19 May 2013 06:35

We continue our round-the-world-travels, exploring what the main car markets in the world looked like in 2012. We have gone through the Chinese, European, Russian, Indian, Israeli and Italian markets already, now let’s have a look at Indonesia…

Not really interested? That’s ok, you can check out the...

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Sunday, 19 May 2013 06:35

The Honda CR-V might be a major success in Europe and America, but in India, it performs very poorly, selling in double digit numbers every month. Since the time of launch, Honda has sold 13,739 units of the CR-V in India. Honda launched the CR-V here ten years ago in 2003, and it still isn’t in the groove. India is  d-d-d-diesel dominated, ...

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Sunday, 19 May 2013 06:35

Myanmar was once a pariah state known for its brutal military government and mistreatment of human rights activists like Aung San Suu Kyi. But democratic reforms and an easing of trade sanctions by Western governments means that doing business in Myanmar is now feasible – and GM is the latest automaker looking to establish a footing in the...

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Sunday, 19 May 2013 06:35

Wake up, little Susan, wake up

Uh-oh: Susan Docherty, dispatched from China to Europe to teach the Eurotrash the proper appreciation and respect for Chevrolet and Cadillac, has come up with a strategy that assures the destruction of Cadillac outside of the U.S. Cadillac’s global aspirations hinge on its success in Europe, Docherty told WardsAuto. Ag...

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Sunday, 19 May 2013 06:35

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. Unlike the poorly interpreted plans for Mazda to be a “premium” brand, PSA really is planning to take Peugeot upscale, despite having zero brand equity, an upscale Citroen line and zero exposure to the profit center of the future, low-cost cars.

The announcement came as PSA announced a...

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Sunday, 19 May 2013 06:35

Click here to view the embedded video.

For those of you with a love of geography but without the resources to actually set foot in the country, let me tell you about Japan. It is a nation famously made up of thousands of islands but, in reality there are just 4 main islands where most of the people live – 5 if you count Okinawa. The largest...

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Sunday, 19 May 2013 06:35

Three years ago, at a groundbreaking ceremony for an LG Chem Battery plant in Holland, Michigan, President Obama promised that this and other pants will be “a boost to the economy in the entire region.”  Instead, the plant has become an example for what is wrong with state-directed command economy. It also is yet another chapter in the Chevrolet Vo...

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Sunday, 19 May 2013 06:35

Chrysler will be the first truck maker to offer a diesel engine on a quarter-ton pickup, when the Ram 1500 gets an oil-burner in Q3 of this year.

The diesel will be the same 3.0L VM Motori engine as used in the Grand Cherokee, good for 240 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque in that application. USA Today, which broke the story, reported that Ram...

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Sunday, 19 May 2013 06:35

The United States and the European Union will begin talks on a free-trade agreement, which may take as long as two years to complete. The deal is expected to be worth some $613 billion annually, and could have some interesting implications for the auto sector.

The first and most obvious possibility is the end of import duties for passenger cars and...

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Sunday, 19 May 2013 06:35

As a journalist, if you ask an OEM rep about any given car’s redesign or next generation, you’ll undoubtedly be met with a terse “we don’t comment on future product plans”. But if you’re an analyst? Different story.

Yesterday, Morgan Stanley was kind enough to send TTAC a copy of their US Auto Product...

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Sunday, 19 May 2013 06:35

The U.S. transportation system is in danger of falling apart, and will take down the economy with it, Bill Shuster, chairman of the House of Representatives Transportation Committee, said today while Reuters was keeping notes:

“If we don’t deal with this issue at some point, as I said, we will reach a tipping point and the...

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Sunday, 19 May 2013 06:35

BMWtook a break from the arduous job of creating new variations of its Mini, and went to a party. Even that was strictly business, Mini was the official partner of the Grammy after party at the Chateau Marmont, a  hotel famous for its dead celebrities.

John Belushi infamously died of an overdose in a bungalow of the Chateau. In 2004, photographer...

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Sunday, 19 May 2013 06:35

Those who watched the State of the Union address last night and have an interest in autos may have noticed a conspicuous absence; Barack Obama failed to mention his goal of putting 1 million EVs on the road by 2015.

Obama last mentioned the figure in 2011, stating

At the California Institute of Technology, they’re developing a way to turn...

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Sunday, 19 May 2013 06:35

Toyota swept J.D. Power and Associates 2013 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study  with its Lexus brand on top and by earning seven segment awards—more than any other automaker in 2013. General Motors received four segment awards and had Buick in place 6 and Chevrolet barely above average, while Volkswagen is an also-ran.

The study measures long-term...

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Sunday, 19 May 2013 06:35

Mercedes-Benz has finally released production photos of the A45 AMG – and while it couldn’t be more different than the rest of the rear-drive, V8 AMG lineup, it looks enticing in its own way.

Motivation comes from a 2.0L turbocharged 4-cylinder engine with 360 horsepower and 339 lb-ft of torque. A 7-speed DCT gearbox is enlisted to put...

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