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Big Three report solid sales gains for June

July 3, 2012 / Staff

Ford, Chrysler an GM all had solid sales gains in June. Here are some highlights:

– The just-redesigned Ford Escape set a record with sales up 28% while the Ford Fusion sedan, which is about to get replaced by a newer version, also set a record. In addition, Ford Explorer sales were up 35% from last year.

– Combined sales of all seven Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac crossovers were up 30% versus a year ago. That’s great news for GM, since they are generally higher profit vehicles than cars.

– The Fiat had its fifth consecutive month of record sales. More Fiat 500 vehicles were sold during the first six months of this year than during all of 2011.

Let’s hope the good news continues.

Chrysler, Ford, GM

Big three crossovers Ford Explorer Ford Fusion

Initial studies not good for lane departure systems

July 3, 2012 / Staff

This is a bit of a surprise.

The high-tech, high-price systems are supposed to help inattentive drivers stay in their own lanes, not stray disastrously into nearby cars. But vehicles with the systems showed increased, not decreased, crashes in a study being released today by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a research group for insurers.

The unexpected finding that lane-departure setups increased crashes as much as 10% is inexplicable, IIHS says.

David Zuby, chief research officer at IIHS, speculates that users might find the warning sounds or vibration alerts used by lane departure systems annoying and shut them off. Or the alarms are too frequent as drivers stray slightly side to side in normal diving, and so are ignored.

That, of course, explains why they might do no good, but not necessarily why they’d do harm, he acknowledges.

The result also could be a statistical quirk, because few cars in the study had the safety feature.

This is just one study so we shouldn’t be alarmed. These things take time for drivers to figure out, but it also highlights the fact that in some ways cars are becoming too complicated to operate properly for some people.

Car Safety, Car Technology

car insurers cars too complicated?lane departure systems safety

The Mustang Boss drives great on the track

July 2, 2012 / Staff

Bullz-Eye.com headed out to Miller Motorsports Park near Salt Lake City, Utah to drive the 2013 Mustang Boss 302 on the track. It was quite an experience!

There are few things quite as exhilarating as driving a muscular sports car on a track. Driving on the open road or through winding mountain roads can be great, but pushing a beast like the Mustang Boss 302 around the tight turns of a racetrack and then flooring it on the straightaway will give you a thrill you’ll never forget.

The Boss 302 is an iconic Mustang that was resurrected for 2012 and has some cool updates for 2013.

Ford, New Cars, Sports Cars

muscle car Mustang Boss pony cars Sports Cars

Chrysler sales still on fire

June 1, 2012 / Staff

Times are good for Chrysler, which provides some good economic news for the administration on a day that the lame job numbers came out.

Chrysler sales jumped 30% in May, which extend an incredible steak of 12 consecutive months where the company has exceed 20& year-over-year sales growth. This is excellent news for the company and for anyone who defended the auto bailout.

And things might get even better for Chrysler soon:

And it comes as Chrysler prepares later this month to roll out its key new car introduction for the year, the Fiat-based Dodge Dart, above, that it aims to get the company back into the small-car game. Dart is an enlarged, Americanized version of Fiat’s sporty Alfa Romeo Giulietta.

All the company’s brands — Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram and Fiat — posted year-over-year gains in May. Fiat was up most, 128% to a record month as the tiny 500 finally gains some traction.

But the Chrysler brand was heroic — up 81%, as the 200 sedan zoomed 87% and the big 300 rocketed 140% for its best May since 2007.

If the Dart is a hit, then Sergio Marchionne and his team can really celebrate.

Check out the entire article for news on the other automakers.

Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, New Cars

Alfa Romeo Giulietta auto sales car sales Chrysler Dodge Dart Fiat Ram Sergio Marchionne small-car game

2012 Buick Verano review on Bullz-Eye.com

May 30, 2012 / Staff

The guys from Bullz-Eye.com just reviewed the 2012 Buick Verano – check out what they had to say about the ride below!

Buick is a star brand of General Motors these days, so we were looking forward to the newest offering from Buick to see where they are headed. The 2012 Verano educated us on how far Buick has strived and the depth at which Buick has recreated a storied American brand.

Exterior
As with all Buicks, the waterfall grill greets you, and then you quickly notice the sleek and aerodynamic design of the Verano FWD 1SL, and from there, it’s thumbs up for the next week. Our test model had a striking white diamond tricoat paint and 18-inch machine-faced alloy wheels. The good looks don’t end with the overall design, either, with little things like solar-tinted glass, body color chrome strip door handles, power adjustable heated outside mirrors, chrome exhaust tips, front fog lamps and projector beam halogen headlamps for a complete package that all comes together with ease. Sometimes, compact sedans are designed for function or efficiency only, but the new Verano has all of that with an exterior that is as sharp as any compact sedan on the market.

Read the full review.

Buick, Car Reviews, New Cars