According to an article posted on The Recorder Online by Chris Demorro, the Toyota Prius, the most popular hybrid is not actually that efficient. "Their ultimate 'green car' is the source of some of the worst pollution in North America; it takes more combined energy per Prius to produce than a Hummer."
Continue reading "Toyota's Prius is Less Efficient and Environmentally Friendly than a Hummer?" »
Well according to Dan Neil at the L.A. Times the answer is yes. He wrote an article today that discusses his opinion about Toyota's smallest car (in the U.S.), the Toyota Yaris.
Continue reading "Can Toyota Still Manage to Build an Awful Car?" »
It's the same old story, it seems like every automaker is trying to attract younger buyers that will continue to buy from the brand for years to come. As an automaker's age demographic increases they run the risk of eventually running out of buyers. It's a simple argument when we are younger we have many more years to buy cars as we age those "years" decrease. If your average buyer is 65 or above the chance of them returning to buy another car is a lot smaller than if they are in their 30s.
Continue reading "Can Buick Attract Younger Buyers with its New Enclave?" »
AutoBild, recently did a comparison of the BMW Z4 and the Opel GT (Saturn Sky) in Europe to see if the cheaper by $14k Sky could hold its own against the Z4.
Continue reading "Saturn Sky vs. BMW Z4...Does the Price Actually Matter?" »
There have been rumors circulating since last September that Toyota is planning on introducing a car smaller than the Yaris to compete with the upcoming Smart, in the U.S. Well spy photographers have noticed a few Peugeot 107's driving around Michigan.
Continue reading "Does Toyota Really Need a Car Smaller than the Yaris in the U.S.?" »
Volvo is interested in the demand for its new hatchback that will be coming to the U.S. soon. Users have been able to build the hatch online for months, but without seeing the actual price at the end. Now Volvo has added the approx. price after the car is configured.
Continue reading "How Much Would You Pay for a 2008 Volvo C30?" »
According to a story on USA Today, Californians seem willing to pay as much as $4,000 more for a hybrid vehicle with the state issued carpool stickers than for hybrids that don't have it.
Continue reading "California Carpool Stickers Add Value to Hybrids" »
According to recent reports, Porsche is trying to take out a $46.67 billion loan to finance its bid to take over Volkswagen. Recently Porsche announced that it was going to raise its current stake in VW to above 30%. This was seen as a way to stop any future takeovers of the VW brand.
Continue reading "Porsche is Planning on Taking over VW as Part of its Attack Against Toyota?!" »
Recently Hyundai released photos of their upcoming rwd sedan, the Genesis concept car. This car is the automaker's first attempt at trying to sell a "premium" vehicle.
Continue reading "Should Hyundai Form a Premium Luxury Brand Like Lexus?" »
According to GM Vice President Bob Lutz, President Bush's proposed fuel efficiency increases could raise car prices by as much as $5,000.
Continue reading "According to GM, New Fuel Standards Could Raise Car Prices by $5,000?!" »
According to an article on Leftlane News it looks like gas prices will be over $4 a gallon in the U.S. this summer.
Continue reading "It Looks Like We Will be Paying $4 a Gallon for Gas this Summer..." »
According to Reuters and Autoblog, Ford's new CEO Alan Mulally earned $28.18 million dollars last year while the company posted a $12.7 billion loss last year.
Continue reading "New Ford CEO Pockets $28 Million for 4 Months of Work!" »
Japan's number 2 automaker, Honda has always been known for its fuel-efficient and reliable vehicles. The New York Times has posted an article about Honda's recent commitment to safety as well. "It wants to join Volvo as an automaker best known for safety."
Anyone who has seen an episode of Queer as Folk or maybe even Queer Eye for the Straight Guy may easily be able to know that
Everyone already knows the apparent risks of driving while talking on a hand-held cell phone. Lawmakers also know about the percentage of deaths and accidents that are caused each year by drivers who were not paying attention because they were talking on their phones. That is why a number of states in the U.S. have made it illegal to drive while using a hand-held cell phone.
Now, according to the Wall Street Journal lawmakers are proposing legislation that would make it illegal to send text messages from your phone while driving.
Continue reading "Texting While Driving Could Soon be Against the Law" »
It seems like every week there is a new story about the current gas issue. Well now comes word that a legislator in California, US is proposing that the state should tax gas guzzling vehicles. The higher taxes on the gas-guzzling vehicles would then go to those people that buy fuel-efficient vehicles like the Toyota Prius.
Continue reading "Should the State of California Place a Tax on Gas-Guzzling SUVs?" »
Apparently the environmentally friendly Toyota Prius has failed emissions tests in the state of Georgia. 2007 is the first year that drivers of the 2004 Prius are required to get emissions tests and drivers of the cars are finding out they are not passing the tests.
Five years ago VW unveiled its 222 mpg concept car, dubbed "1-Liter Car". The company is now looking at reviving the project.
Continue reading "Volkswagen Tries to Build a 200-MPG Car...Again" »
According to a new study, ethanol-based fuels (E85) are just as harmful or worse than regular fuel to humans. The study was directed by Stanford Associate Professor Mark Jacobson, at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. According to Jacobson ethanol does decrease some of the pollutants, but it also increases others.
Continue reading "Ethanol-Based Fuel is Worse for Humans than Regular Gas!" »
Apparently Ford's quality is now on par with Toyota and Nissan, according to a new report released today. The RDA Group has released a report on the quality of 2007 model year vehicles. The group concluded that Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles have the same quality levels as Toyota and Nissan in the first-quarter 2007 model-year Global Quality Research System report.
Continue reading "Ford Quality is on Par with Toyota and Nissan?" »
In Eastern Europe and India automakers are already selling cars for $7,000, which is far below the lowest priced car in the U.S. Cars such as the Renault Logan and Hyundai Santro are selling very well. The plant that produces the Logan is running 24 hours a day just to keep up with demand.
According to a study by the SUV Owners of America, SUVs are safer than passenger cars by 5-7 percent. The study consisted of 1997-2005 vehicles.
Kelly Blue Book has compiled their list of the top 10 coolest cars under $18,000. Today as the average car price is well into the $20,000's it is good to know that there are cheaper alternatives that are still cool to own.
Continue reading "What are the Coolest Cars Under $18,000?" »
Apparently Honda is having this exact dilemma in Canada. New Canadian regulations have been imposed that give buyers of fuel-efficient vehicles a $1,000 rebate. If the vehicle falls below the fuel-economy threshold of 6.5 liters per 100 kilometers, the car is eligible for the rebate.
Continue reading "Would You Sacrifice Your Safety for Better Gas Mileage and $1000?!" »
Everyone has heard about the housing crisis in the U.S. that is being caused by the mortgage industry meltdown. Well now Vice Chairman of GM Bob Lutz, says that it is effecting the auto industry as well.
Continue reading "Bob Lutz Blames the Housing Mortgage Meltdown for Weak GM Sales" »
Well apparently not everyone is happy with the power of the Mazda Mazdaspeed 3. According to Mark Phelan of the Detroit Free Press, the car has too much power that it inhibits the overall driveability of the car.
Continue reading "Does the 2007 Mazdaspeed 3 Have Too Much Power?" »
For the first time ever, Toyota has sold more cars and trucks worldwide than GM, in the first three months of this year. Toyota's sales for the first quarter rose 9% to a record 2.35 million compared to GM which only rose 3% to 2.26 million vehicles.
Continue reading "Toyota is Number 1 for the First-Time Ever!" »
The once long-neglected GM division, Saturn is finally starting to make a comeback . Thanks to an influx of new models that have been supplied by Opel, the division is starting to finally see a surge in sales. Sales increased 20.5 percent during the first quarter of this year, which is a stark contrast to the other domestic automakers.
Fiat's recently revealed 500 has been a great success for the company and they expect to be sold out of the new small car until 2008. Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne recently stated that the car could make it to the U.S. by 2010.
Continue reading "Fiat May Re-Enter the U.S. by 2010 with the New Fiat 500" »
Road & Track has put together as many details that they could on the new 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STi and the Mitsubishi EVO X. They also posted pics of what they expect the cars to look like when they are released early next year.
Continue reading "2008 Mitsubishi EVO X vs 2009 Subaru WRX STi Who Will Steal the Crown?" »
Gas prices are expected to reach $4 a gallon in some parts of the U.S. this summer. Because of the ever increasing gas prices, automakers are expecting consumers to continue to flock to smaller more fuel efficient cars, such as the Mini or Honda Fit. Next year the Smart ForTwo will make it to these shores and GM has also shown three new small Chevy concepts at the New York Auto Show. Will these cars that are smaller than the current popular subcompact cars, such as the Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris sell?
Continue reading "When is Small too Small? Are the New Microcars Too Micro for U.S. Tastes?" »
Now that GM is the Number Two automaker in the world, many analysts are discussing what the automaker needs to do in order to get back on top. Alex Taylor at Fortune wrote an article on what he suggests the automaker do to gain back their title.
Continue reading "Should GM Kill off Hummer, Buick and Pontiac?" »
Automakers have just released their April 2007 U.S. sales figures. Here is the list of the top 10 best selling vehicles last month (in order by number of sales). The bottom of the list may surprise you.
Continue reading "What are the Top 10 Best-Selling Vehicles in the U.S.?" »
Airbags have been in our cars for two decades. Recently automakers are trying to put as many airbags as they can into their new vehicles. But is it merely for added safety or another marketing tactic? Airbags are popping up in every area of the car from the side air bags to knee airbags. Are automakers going a little overboard or are the new airbags a welcome addition?
Continue reading "How Many Airbags Do We Actually Need to Be Safe?" »
According to the Detroit Free Press, a proposal has been created to give automakers until 2020 to raise the fuel efficiency of their vehicles. By 2020 automakers in the U.S. would be required to raise the average fuel economy of their cars and trucks to 35 mpg.
Continue reading "Washington Proposal Gives Automakers in the U.S. Until 2020 to Achieve 35 mpg" »
Edmunds.com has posted a list of the most wanted cars in 2007 based on reader feedback. Out of the 32 categories you may be surprised