December 24th, 2005 by admin
Best Cars, Trucks, Vans and SUVs of 2005
Sometimes the most fun about a new year is reading the predictions, year-in-reviews and top ten lists that all the experts release this time of year. MarketWatch has released their Top 10 Autos of 2005:
All of these cars share a common trait — they were all fun to drive in the extreme! So return your seats to the upright position, and fasten your safety belt. Here are our personal top ten best cars of 2005.
Among their top picks for 2005:
- Car of the Year: Corvette Z06
- Best Sports Car: Mazda MX-5
- Biggest Surprise: Pontiac Solstice
- Bigger-Bucks Sports Car: Porsche Boxster S
- Best Sedan: BMW 330i
- Best Gas Sipper: Honda Civic Sedan
- Best Family Car: Honda Accord
- Best Wagon: Audi A4 Avant
- Proof That Detroit Ain’t Dead Yet: Ford Mustang 5.0
- Best Uber Alles Car: Ford GT
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December 22nd, 2005 by admin
SUV Comes With Distinct Styling
If you’re looking for a stylish SUV that won’t break the bank, the Suzuki Grand Vitara may fit the bill. From the base price, at just under $20K to the luxury model at around $25K this car is affordable for most people and the gas mileage is affordable as well. And, with impressive underhood horsepower, even the car enthusiast should be pleased.
The Grand Vitara incorporates a unibody chassis and adds a ladder frame construction for more rigidity. The exterior hood is sloped atop dual projector headlamps. Fender flares and built in fog lamps give the impression of a much larger SUV. The swing open rear door is right hinged for easy loading but it opens the wrong side for curb access.
The 2.7-liter power plant is adequate, producing 184 pound feet of torque. It features a dual overhead cam with a self-adjusting timing chain, not a replaceable belt. Variable induction intake increases low speed torque for more power. One downside of the Grand Vitara during test week was its fuel mileage. I averaged just below 16 miles per gallon in city and highway driving with lots of hilly terrain. Four cylinder engines are not available this year.
The Grand Vitara offers an extended powertrain warranty of 7 year, 100,000 miles as a standard feature. This new Suzuki SUV is bound to be a powerful sales pusher. Look for the Suzuki Grand Vitara to hit dealerships in 2006.
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December 19th, 2005 by admin
2007 Model Launches in New York
Look for a media blitz on the "New Tahoe" from Chevy. They’re launching the redesigned SUV in New York City with a performance by Mary J. Blige on a Chevy-branded stage.
The show will be part of Carson Daly’s New Year’s Special on NBC.
Chevy messaging will be on the ABC Studios Supersign, the Reuters Jumbotron and the ball-drop video monitors. The Chevy gold bowtie emblem will also be on the podium from which N.Y. Mayor Michael Bloomberg will push the button that drops the ball.
Blige’s performance will be part of a larger show that begins at 11:30pm on New Year’s Eve. Countdown Entertainment is responsible for the entire Times Square New Year’s Eve production.
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December 18th, 2005 by admin
Geely Will Display at Detroit Auto Show
While the American auto industry continues to show trouble, Chinese automaker, Geely, is taking this opportunity to show their 5-passenger sedan, the 7151CK at the Detroit Auto Show.
"We are absolutely determined to produce a high-quality vehicle that can be marketed to the American consumer for under $10,000,” said Harmer, an attorney and former Washington lobbyist who said he was hired for his expertise in regulatory issues. "We’re not trying to barnstorm the American market. We’re going to protect the product and the credibility of our name.”
Geely expects to sell a little more than 100,000 vehicles in China this year, Harmer said. That’s about the same number of vehicles Mitsubishi Motors sold in the United States in the first 11 months of this year. GM sold 4 million in that time. Geely also plans to export 7,000 vehicles this year, mostly to Eastern Europe and the Middle East, Harmer said.
Harmer said Geely won’t start talking to U.S. dealers for another year.
Detroit auto show co-chairman Richard Genthe said several other Chinese automakers inquired about space at this year’s show, but Geely was the only one that committed to a booth. Geely decided to bring the 7151 CK last week, Genthe said.
"We’re excited to be the first show in the Western hemisphere to showcase a Chinese vehicle,” Genthe said.
This makes history as the first Chinese automaker to display at the Detroit Auto Show. There are other Chinese automakers targeting the American market, but when some displays cost as much as $2M, Geely is the only one actually displaying at the show.
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December 16th, 2005 by admin
CorvetteBlog.com has chosen the Corvette Z06 as this year’s car of the year.
Corvette Z06 is this year’s car of the year according to CorvetteBlog.com
"We considered several cars for this award and actually narrowed our search to three vehicles," said Keith Cornett, Senior Editor of CorvetteBlogger.com. "The Corvette Coupe and the Corvette Convertible models were considered, But the Z06, with its heart-thumping 505 horsepower and relatively low super car price of $65,800 made the decision easy."
The Corvette Z06 marks the latest evolution of the Corvette icon. Rebuilt from the ground up, the latest Z06 features a 505 hp 7.0 liter LS7 aluminum block with an innovative Dry-Sump oil system. Massive six-piston front and four piston rear brakes can stop this beast 60 mph to 0 in 109 feet. The Corvette also features a strong, yet lightweight aluminum frame combined with a magnesium engine cradle allowing superior power-to-weight ratios. All these features add up to an unheard of MSRP of $65,800. out since the founding of the blog in August 2005.
While the car does look and sound gorgeous, keep in mind they didn’t put it against hundreds of cars. The contest was only between cars that were:
- made by Chevrolet
- Corvettes
Seems like a small talent pool, but, hey, it’s their contest.
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December 14th, 2005 by admin
North America International Auto Show 2005
Looking at two, very opposite, popular market trends, the next few years’ car models seem to be offering either alternative fuel technology or massive horsepower.
This article, from Auto Reviews Online, looks at the North America International Auto Show this year and offers some fascinating highlights from the models showcased:
Mitsubishi showed production models of the Raider and Eclipse Concept cars of last year. The Raider was an "imported brand’s" variation of the Dodge Dakota pick up truck, on which it is based. The styling is more Asian influenced on the exterior and the interior is more car-like than the rugged truck like interior of the Dakota. Factor in the incredible warranty advantage Mitsubishi has on the Dakota, the Raider is sure to attract attention in the showrooms later this year. The Raider will be offered with V6 and V8 power plants. The Eclipse was shown as a gas/electric hybrid at last years show, however it has been introduced as a gas powered model offered with 2 engine choices, the 162HP 2.4L 4 cylinder and 3.8L 260HP V6 motors. The styling is quite bold and should appeal to younger buyers who identify with its street rod persona.
For heavy car buffs, this is a must read. It will be interesting to see whether the market goes the way of the environmentalist or the heavy-duty horsepower route.
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December 9th, 2005 by admin
Will he lose his seat?
The Chairman of the Volkswagon group, Bernd Pischetsrieder, may be in danger of losing his job.
European sales are higher, and a restructured VW Group has gained 0.8 percentage point of market share, the largest increase of all manufacturers in Europe this year. In addition, profits are up and VW has made progress working with its German labor unions.
But with four months to go until his contract comes up for renegotiation, Pischetsrieder is plagued by other problems.
Despite the fact that Volkswagon’s future looks brighter as of late, it may be too far gone to save the Chairman’s job.
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December 7th, 2005 by admin
Unless the United Auto Workers union accepts concessions that enable GM to save money right now
Trimming the expenditures may be the only thing that can save GM. In fact, industry analysts predict that their days are numbered unless the expenses go down.
Analysts say General Motors faces bankruptcy unless the United Auto Workers union accepts concessions that enable GM to hunker down as a smaller business.
And they contend the twin crises at GM and bankrupt auto parts supplier Delphi eventually could reshape much of the state’s 125,000-employee auto industry. It’s no wonder. GM and Delphi are huge.
With 12,000 workers in the state, GM is Indiana’s largest industrial employer after drug maker Eli Lilly. Delphi is No. 3.
What remains to be seen is whether or not unions and internal struggles will prevent that from coming to fruition.
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December 6th, 2005 by admin
New Car Sales Are Up
Finally, a bit of good news from detroit… Auto sales are up this holiday season due to great rebates and incentives.
With car makers upping the ante on manufacturers’ rebates and dealers cutting prices on ’05 models, some local operations are just trying to keep up with the demand. "We’ll run out by mid-December," Towbin Dodge General Sales Manager Will Tooros says of this year’s cars and trucks. "We’re going to the Midwest where they can’t get rid of them and we’re bringing them here."
There seemed to be no shortage of buyers as the countdown to Christmas began. On so-called Black Friday, Nov. 25, some car dealers were too busy with customers to even talk about sales. Those who could break away proclaimed that there is no better time to buy a new car.
There’s never been a better time to buy a car. It really is a buyer’s market, this holiday season.
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December 3rd, 2005 by admin
Burgeoning Auto Testing Industry Comes to Rural NC
The people of Northhampton County, North Carolina have put their minds and money together to build a state-of-the-art automobile testing facility to lure auto makers into testing their newest cars, trucks, and vans in their rural setting. The center, with a projected cost of $130 million, is really a cinderella story, with a book/movie deal in the works.
Local and state officials are building the $130 million center mostly on spec, with only two companies publicly committed to the project. But they’re confident the center, where automobile and parts manufacturers and motorsports teams will be able to test experimental and alternative-fuel vehicles, could generate 300 jobs directly and thousands of others within the automobile and other industries.
And in the process, they hope the center will keep a generation of Northampton kids living at home instead of leaving for the big city.
"I’d love to come back," said 17-year-old Tim Gubitz, a Northampton East senior who wants to get an electrical engineering degree at North Carolina State University and enter the electric vehicle industry. "It’s an area that’s growing and I’d love to be a part of that growth."
Gubitz is now a student at Northampton East High School, where since 1993 members of the Automotive Team have hollowed out old cars with gasoline engines and replaced them with several 12-volt batteries and an electric motor.
"I think the forces are coming together, that our country is finally starting to see that we’ve got to change our transportation methods," said Harold Miller, a retired Northampton East teacher who jump-started that first car project. "A gas engine is just a dirty thing."
In a part of the state where students often rank near the bottom in test scores, the kids from Northampton East stunned everyone when they won a multistate electric vehicle competition on their first try. It’s a story that recently became the subject of a book and a potential movie deal.
Automakers are having a difficult year this year. Gas prices and environmental concerns are causing a consumer outcry for hybrid vehicles. And, falling sales are forcing the industry to cut thousands of jobs to keep the books balanced.
The NC training center may be much less expensive for automakers to utilize than having their own similar center, and the rural location will keep prying eyes out.
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