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You know that second coming of the muscle car war we've been talking about for years now? Well, come this spring it's finally on. The 2010 Chevrolet Camaro, 2010 Ford Mustang and 2009 Dodge Challenger will all be available on dealer lots, and the three models detailed after the jump represent the most potent versions of each. Looks like Ford will have the edge initially, but if things start looking up for Chevy and Dodge, a more potent SRT8 or Camaro Z28 could arrive later in 2009.
So here it is, the first "surprise" of 2009, the 2010 Shelby GT500. As you might expect, it's much like last year's GT500 except for the new bodywork and a healthy bump in horsepower. Our man in Detroit has all the details on the 2010 Shelby Mustang here, and rest assured it is quite the potent pony car.
We will take a moment, however, to point out one annoying trend that we hope disappears like Madoff money in 2009: the fuel efficient muscle car. It's not that we don't appreciate a few extra miles-per-gallon here and there, but when the first paragraph of a Shelby GT500 press release talks about its improved fuel economy on the highway we just want to puke.
Remember Ford, it's a 540-horsepower, supercharged Mustang, not a Focus.
Happy New Year.
I'll make this short and sweet: As of the first of the year Ed Helwig will be taking over Straightline.
I have to say this has been a great ride. From the moment Inside Line Editorial Director, Kevin Smith; and Edmunds.com Executive Director - Community Operations, Sylvia Marino; asked me if I would be interested in managing this new blog they were setting up called Straightline three-plus years ago to this very day, it's been an absolute hoot. I busted my butt here, putting in far more time than I was being compensated for; they knew that. I also created Straightline artwork as needed, thereby not burdening the Edmunds.com art department; they knew that too. I also loved the fact that I was pretty much left alone to post whatever I wanted, so long as there was a vehicular connection of some sort. Oh every now and then I would get topic suggestions from various Inside Line editors--but very rarely did I ever receive any criticism. Yep, it was pretty much my baby, and I loved that.
Finally I'm going to miss you guys. Straightline exists first and foremost for the readers. I'm going to miss bringing a wide range of auto-related news to this site daily. I hope what I delivered opened a few eyes just a bit wider than before. If nothing else, it made for some interesting discussions, for sure.
So, I'm outta here. Well, sort of, maybe... Ed knows where I am. If he needs any help, he'll contact me, I'm sure. Plus, I'll still be commenting from time-to-time.
Happy New Year folks!
AutoObserver reviews the 2008 automotive year, one that had few if any bright spots.
2008: A Year Not To Be Forgotten, as Much as We'd Like To
2009 has to be better, right? Right???
Hopefully there will be some lessons to be learned from this.
Fisker will be showing their Karma S (for "Sunset") at the NAIAS. Not much is known at this point, other than it's a plug-in hybrid. The automaker claims a 50-mile range from a single charge of the lithium-ion battery, before the gas engine kicks in. Also claimed by Fisker is that the car produces up to 408 hp.
Here's Green Car Advisor's take: Fisker To Unveil New Plug-In Concept at Detroit Auto Show
According to the UK's Car magazine, BMW will be dropping the M Division straight 6 engine. Widely regarded as one of the all-time great engines, it will be sorely missed. Car doesn't get into as to why this is occurring, but I'm sure it's emission and/or gas mileage related.
For lovers of Bimmer inline sixes, they will remain; just not in its most macho form.
Osamu Suzuki, president of Suzuki Motors, is quite worried as to what the Detroit domino effect may have on the smaller Japanese brands.
His feeling is that it could result in fewer Japanese car manufacturers. Smaller brands like Suzuki, Subaru, Mitsubishi, Mazda and Isuzu could be impacted in a way in which they may not survive; at least as we currently know them, or at all.
Says Suzuki: "There is a time-lag between what is happening with the Big Three US carmakers and the impact that will have in Japan. It is as if tsunami waves are rolling toward Japanese shores. I believe a real wave will hit us around July or August next year, with car sales hitting rock bottom."
He went on to say that the world was "entering a period in which more than ten Japanese carmakers could be consolidated into a Japan Big Three."
Related story here: Toyota and Honda looking at tweaking supply lines (here) to avoid possible disruptions.
Nothing yet as to the specs, but it's clear by this spy image of the dashboard, that the SHO is about to return, probably in 2010. The smart money says that it will use the high-tech Ecoboost technology that Ford is about to spread around on many new models shortly.
No doubt inspired by the Lexus self-parking feature, Lincoln MKS and MKT models will offer their own version, called Active Park Assist.
The system uses ultrasonic sensors mounted on the outside corners of of the vehicles and combines them with a new electric power assisted steering setup. Active Park Assist can then manipulate the steering automatically as the sensors detect where the vehicle is relative to other vehicles. The sensors detect the distance between cars to determine if there is enough space, and then it manipulates the steering, as well as instructing the driver as to when to shift into Drive or Reverse as well as press the gas or brake.
...And, of course, Lincoln says their system is better than the Lexus version.
Images from the JDM-spec Honda Insight brochure have popped up over at Temple of VTEC (here), a Honda/Acura fan site. In addition, there's a video that shows the Insight as it progressed from the concept to what will go on sale.
No wonder Buick does so well in China. They sell a pretty nice car over there, as evidenced by their new Regal. Interesting to note a different take on the famous Buick "portholes:" They remind me a bit of those found on my dad's old '41 Special 2-door Sedanette ('41 Century pictured, but close enough).
This semi-regular column is written (in his own blood) by an automotive sage and noted malcontent, known as The Mechanic. Mercilessly beaten as a child with rolled-up back issues of old car magazines, our free-spoken hero developed a unique "for your own good" take on cars and the auto industry, along with an unfortunate habit of setting himself ablaze. Later, after a distinguished career as an automotive journalist and magazine editor, he cast off the reins of his musty oppressors, carved out his superego with a plastic spork and became The Mechanic.
Whatever happened to optimism? You know, that thing we Americans supposedly had in abundance? The stuff that got us through tough times, stiffened our resolve when faced with challenges, and fundamentally kept life pleasant?
Instead of a nation of positive thinkers, we've become a bunch of bellyaching whiners. Our new pastime is complaining.
"Oh, the economy is so terrible."
"Detroit is doomed, DOOMED, DOOMED!"
"Boo hoo, my house is no longer worth double what I paid for it five years ago."
Well, I've had enough of the whining.
The other day I ran into my neighbors Tim and Lisa at Costco. They're successful people (well, lawyers actually) with two kids in private school, a pair of year-old Audis and a 2,500-square-foot duplex in a great neighborhood. And yet they do nothing but complain. For 10 minutes I heard nothing but existential dread from both of them; meanwhile, they were shopping for a 52-inch hi-def flat-screen TV.
It was bizarre. How can you be a whiner while blowing three grand on a TV? For a moment there I thought neighbor Tim would commit hari-kari right in the aisle at Costco by slitting his wrists on the razor-sharp pleats in his khakis. And Lisa could have saved big bucks by buying his casket while she was there, too.
Me? I bought a slab of salmon the size of a surfboard. But that's beside the point. Or maybe it isn't.
Yeah, the car market has collapsed and even Toyota is hinting at layoffs, the financial services industry looks like it's been hacked apart with a machete and no one is building houses, but the national unemployment rate still hasn't even (at least officially) hit 7 percent yet. Want to know how bad things can get? In 1933, unemployment hit 25 percent.
Look, we aren't in the Great Depression. It's not even as bad right now as it was in 1982, the last time car sales were so awful. But I also understand that for all of us under 50, this is the scariest economy we've seen during our adult lives -- and the chances of sliding into real, calamitous depression aren't zero. Go ahead and shiver under your covers, feel the chill up your spine and let the dread flow through your veins, but don't crack. Man up and deal with uncertainty. Frankly, those of us determined to survive and thrive don't have time to deal with your insecurities and despair.
I don't know the future and neither does anyone else. Remember all the "experts" back in July predicting oil at $200 per barrel by December? Are they the same guys telling us bankruptcy is the only option for Chrysler and GM? Or are they the ones saying that the government needs to throw megatons of dollars at the two companies? Really, it's not worth trying to keep score.
Crying wasn't part of anyone's recovery plan back during the Great Depression and we shouldn't be bawling now. What are needed now are tough Americans, and I hope they're not all stuck in Iraq wearing desert camouflage. Tough not just in being able to stick it out and suck it up through hard times, but tough enough to retain their optimism and still enjoy life. Now is not the time to lose either our sense of humor or our faith that the Universe will play itself out as it should. I don't know how we'll pull through this, but I know damned well we can pull through this -- just as our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents did during their own hard times. And they did it without flat-screen TVs or farm-raised salmon filets that feed 30.
So happy New Year and here's a cheer for the more than 10 million Americans out there who will have faith enough to buy a new car this coming year. And here's to an economy that's supposedly in free fall, but still has people paying 20 grand over sticker for a new Corvette ZR1. For 2009 let's all resolve to remember that it's better to listen to the whine of a supercharger than the whine of cowards. -- The Mechanic, Inside Line Contributor
E-mail me at themechanic@edmunds.com.
The idea of an in-dash car computer isn't new. Clarion's attempt to market the AutoPC in the '90s eventually failed even with backing from Microsoft. An outfit called Q-PC came out with one a few years later -- and it disappeared as well. More recently, MP3Car.com has offered versions geared toward the DIY set, while Azentek Atlas CPC-1000 is the latest in this long and ill-fated line of carputers.
Undeterred by the driving public's lack of interest, Dashboard Devices will introduce three new EVN (Entertainment and Navigation for Vehicles) car computers at next week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The new 2010 Toyota Prius will debut shortly at the NAIAS, a show that appears to be heading south this year. So to help spark a little interest in the show, as well as the car, Toyota has engaged the super-cool Blue Man Group to tease you with a video until the introduction takes place.
It looks like Fiat will be getting a little help thanks to Suzuki. Their upcoming Sedici is mostly a re-badged Suzuki SX4. Besides the Fiat styling cues there are promised to be some mechanical upgrades, including a diesel option. The cute CUVster will be offered in both AWD and FWD.
Don't know if anyone else picked up on this F-150 pickup styling cue: Look at the grille. With those horizontal slab bars, I see 1948 Ford F-1 written all over it.
I like that. I've always been big on mining one's own heritage whenever possible, and that's just what Ford did here. Not only did they do that that, but they did a good job of it. The front is--as is the rest of the truck--very handsome indeed.
I also like some of the Super-Duty-inspired options; like the dash-integrated electronic trailer brake controller, and the tailgate step assist and the fold-up rear fender side step. I also like the absolutely flat rear cab floor on the Super Crew model. I like that stuff because they make sense, and make the truck easier to use as a "tool." For me, that far more important than the styling. The fact that it's easy on the eyes, is just frosting on the cake.
Now Ford needs to offer a Dodge Rambox-like rear fender storage compartment. I'd also like to see them offer, at least as on option (or as part of a premium trim package), a beefed up IRS adapted from its Expedition cousin. Then, in my eyes, it would be about perfect.
Anything I don't like about the new F-150? Yep--way too many trim levels being offered; seven, I believe. That's nuts! They need to cut that way back. In doing so, it'll save Ford a bunch of dollars, I'm sure.
Speaking of saving bucks--I think Ford should consider going back to using one cab body for all their full size trucks. That would mean having the Super-Duty trucks use the same cab/body as the F-150. It works for Dodge and GM (up to 3500 models); it can work for Ford too. Having two completely different full size pickups, that share very little in terms of body and interior components, has to be very VERY expensive.
This past year Chrysler, in what was considered a real coup, snatched two big-time auto executives, one from Lexus and the other from GM. Now, less than a year later, they are gone or are about to be gone.
Deborah Meyer had been VP of marketing for Lexus, and came to Chrysler LLC as their new chief marketing officer. Phil Murtaugh was one of the key players at GM in turning their China operations into such a success. He was to do the same for Chrysler, that being to jump-start their China relationship with Chery. Well, the Dodge/Chery deal went up in smoke thanks to the global financial fiasco. Now Murtaugh too is going up in smoke, as he will depart before next year begins. Same with Meyer, as she too "has left the building."
Not a good sign for Chrysler; wonder how long Jim Press, formerly of Toyota, will hang around?
Well, so do I. Mr. Prez-Elect, can I get a bailout too? Oh, pretty, pretty please...
So when is this "I want a bailout" madness going to end?
The Renewable Fuels Association has recently put in a request for $1 billion for financial aid to help struggling ethanol producers so they can finance current operations. In addition, the RFA -- the ethanol industry's lobby -- has also suggested to the incoming administration that it create a $50-billion federal loan guarantee program to finance investment in the ethanol producers' expansion. Give me a break.
Here's Green Car Advisor's take: First Wall Street, Then Automakers, Now U.S. Ethanol Industry Wants a Bailout
Just as suppliers are having a tough time in this depressed auto industry, so are recent transportation design graduates. Once a promising career, now many recent grads are finding it very tough out there, as car companies are simply not hiring.
"There's no question that this is a hard time, and there's no indication it's going to get better in the near term," said Larry Erickson, a former designer at GM and Ford and now chairman of the transportation design department at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, which rivals the Art Center in prestige.
I've often wondered why BMW didn't offer an AWD version of their premium 7 Series sedan. I guess a number of potential BMW customers have also wondered the same thing, as they ended up buying Mercedes S-Class 4Matics and Audi A8 Quattros.
This year BMW will have an answer for those considering alternate brand AWD models: a 7 Series xDrive, which will arrive in late 2009. Unlike other xDrive BMWs, this 7 Series will have a 30:70 front-to-rear power split (other AWD BMWs have a 40:60 front-to-rear power split), thereby retaining more of a RWD feeling when driving. The car will also get a slightly higher ground clearance; and Hill Descent Control, a feature usually reserved for off-road oriented vehicles.
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