The lore of NASCAR is filled with stories of backyard mechanics taking cars right off the showroom floor and winning races, fame, and glory with nearly stock cars. This is why NASCAR is called “stock car” racing after all. However, since the late 1980s, the cars have become less and less related to the showroom cousins. For 2013, Ford is trying to mend that gap, at least aesthetically, with their new 2013 Fusion racer.
Taking its cues from the production Fusion that debuted at the North American International Auto Show, the new Fusion race car adapts the cars dramatic headlight and grill treatment. To make the car look even more “stock,” the overall proportions of the stock car were mirrored. Even the character line that runs down the stock car’s side was replicated on the racer.
Little was known about the sub-Boxster model Porsche was planning to produce. Some, like myself, saw it as a successor to Porsche’s 550 Spyder and 356. Others pointed to the parts sharing between Porsche, VW, and Audi, and saw the car as a successor to the dreadful 914. We may never know how good it may or may not have been however, since reports out of Germany say that Porsche is stalling its development.
Porsche CEO Matthias Mueller sat down with German business magazine Wirtschaftswoche to discuss the automaker’s future. When pressed about the 550 successor he stated, “Possibly we need to wait until the next generation of customers before the idea of a small roadster will work for Porsche,” and that it would “dilute the brand image.” This reason is complete nonsense. He might have well said, “These are not the droids you are looking for.”
After three years of being bested by Toyota, General Motors is once again the world’s best selling automaker. General Motors sold 9,025,942 in 2011, a 7.6 percent increase over last year’s figures. General Motors even bested Volkswagen, who have made it a public goal to become the biggest automaker on the block. Toyota trailed both GM and VW though, whose sales dropped 6 percent in 2011.
If you haven’t seen these Jaguars in their very cool commercial on TV then you’ve probably been hiding under a rock! Either way the 2012 Jaguar XFR, XKR-S and XJL Supersport are beautiful cars and sound incredible in this clip. Looks like someone at Jag knows how to get people’s attention again and that’s great for the brand.
Usually when automakers “go green” their product includes electric motors and a heaping helping of tepid performance. Bentley is not one of these automakers. In order to improve their range of cars to meet new emission and mileage requirements, Bentley has engineered a new V8 engine to slot into their Bentley Continental GT and GTC.
This new twin-turbocharged motor displaces 4.0liters and produces 500hp and 487lb. ft. of torque. Direct injection, low restriction turbos, and variable valve timing also play a part in to help the Continental slash emissions and raise mileage by 40%.
Bentley is quick to point out that the V8 is just as refined as the W12 as well. So not only can you enjoy the perpetual thrust of traditional Bentley motors, but also hold your nose up to Prius drivers as well since you too are also saving the planet. But if you absolutely must have the W12, don’t worry, it is still available alongside the V8. No need to get your Saville Row suit in a bunch, the new V8 Bentley Continentals have everything you love about Bentley, with more efficiency than ever before .
It has been a long time coming, but Saab’s curtain call seems to be just around the corner. Yesterday, Saab filed with the Swedish courts for bankruptycy proceedings. Today, Saab North America announced that all Saabs sold from December 19th forward will not have warranty coverage. This move follows a significant period of financial turmoil for the brand as they continue to struggle after being sold by General Motors in 2010. It is not known at this time what will happen to Saab post bankruptcy, but suspending warranty coverage is not a promising sign of Saab returning to produce cars any time soon.
In a meeting at the 2011 Tokyo International Auto Show, Tetsuo Iwamura, Honda USA President and CEO, remarked that he was frustrated with slow sales of Honda’s Crosstour stating:
“In the case of the Crosstour, I’m really disappointed because that’s a nice car, [with] very beautiful styling, and it gives very good driving performance as well as packaging. But yet, we went a bit too far.”
Honda wanted to sell 40,000 units of the “lifestyle” crossover, but managed to move only 25,000 in 2010. This year they have only managed to move 16,679. Iwamura is confident that Crosstour sales can be salvaged with further improvements, but I have a different idea for Mr. Iwamura.
Apparently, if people were not rioting over two dollar waffle irons at Wal-Mart, they were buying cars on our nation’s most treasured holiday, Black Friday. The result of the strong sales last weekend caused November of this year to post sales at a 13.4% seasonally adjusted rate, 2% higher than the same period in 2010. In fact, this is the highest seasonal rate increase since “Cash for Clunkers” was operating in 2009. There are more factors contributing to November’s sales success than just Black Friday though.
In a press conference by Toyota Motor Corp.’s president Akio Toyoda today, Toyoda announced that the strength of the Japanese yen may cause Toyota to shift production of compact cars to other countries. Toyota is not the first Japanese car company to come out against the yen. Nissan has also pleaded to the government to weaken the yen, or they would pull out of domestic production as well.
The yen has been incredibly strong against the U.S. dollar as of late, causing profit margins to erode for many of the domestic Japanese automotive manufacturers. Coupled with lagging demand in the U.S., and supply chain disruptions due to the earthquake, Japanese brands have had a difficult set of circumstances as they struggle for sales in a tough year.
Nissan has partnered with 1991 Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard, the creator of the most famous in-game Heisman pose, in a search for the greatest off-field Heisman pose. They’re asking fans to submit a photo of the most creative or funniest Heisman pose for a chance to win a trip to the Allstate BCS Championship Game, Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, Allstate Sugar Bowl, or Discover Orange Bowl. Fans can enter the Innovate the Heisman Pose contest on Nissan’s Facebook page today through Wednesday, December 14.
Desmond Howard and Nissan will choose one grand prize winner who will win an all-expenses paid trip for two to the 2012 Allstate BCS Championship Game in New Orleans on January 9th, as well as three runners up who will win trips for two to the Fiesta Bowl (2nd place), Sugar Bowl (3rd place), or Orange Bowl (4th Place). You can watch Desmond’s video challenge to fans below!
