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Thursday, July 9, 2009 02:50 PM
Jaguar finally looking forward
Today, right now as you read this, Jaguar Cars is officially taking the wraps off the restyled and reengineered 2010 XJ saloon.
The luxury car arm of India's Tata Motors has high, high hopes for the new Jag flagship that is slated to go on sale in the fall. And it's a daring car.
The 41-year-old XJ's basic look is all gone. The new car has finally joined the 21st century. After four decades of holding strong to a design created in 1968, a year before Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, Jaguar is looking forward.
Link to this postThursday, July 2, 2009 04:07 PM
PT Cruiser reprieve
Chrysler doesn't spend a nickel marketing the PT Cruiser, yet the company still sold nearly 51,000 last year around the world.
The labour costs are cheap (the PT is built in Mexico) and the tooling was long ago paid off. So every time Chrysler sells a PT it is pure profit -- a rare animal at Chrysler Group LLC.
Thus, it makes sense for Chrysler to keep building and selling the retro-styled PT and that's exactly what is going to happen.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009 06:15 PM
The cars we love
Here’s a quality study you might have missed: Strategic Vision Inc.’s 2009 Total Quality Index (TQI).
This study is less about “things gone wrong” than it is about “things gone right.” And according to the ’09 research, Volkswagen and Ford are doing many things right.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009 04:46 PM
Listen up, Detroit
Car companies that fail to zone in on building fuel efficient vehicles do not have a bright future, although government mandates may save them from their own bad decision-making, says a new study from the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI).
This begs a very simple question: Why have Detroit’s auto makers consistently opposed tougher fuel economy and emissions standards?
Tuesday, June 23, 2009 04:33 PM
Waiting on pins and needles
Moray Keith is just on the verge of heaving a big sigh of relief.
The dealer principal of the Dueck Group in Vancouver, Keith for years has been the biggest dealer in the country for General Motors of Canada. Today he's thrilled to see billionaire turnaround artist Roger Penske stepping in to take over the Saturn brand in the United States – and with any luck Canada, too.
So why no relief today?
Tuesday, June 9, 2009 01:48 PM
The high cost of fuel economy rules
Hybrid, yes. Diesel, no. And small cars? Might work in Canada, but forget about seeing a wholesale change in Americans. They love their big rides and the coming fleet-wide fuel economy rules won't change that very much at all.
At least that's the view at Global Insight, a well respected market research and forecasting group.
Global Insight's John Wolkonowicz, senior market analyst at North American Automotive Group, says fuel economy rules that call for all vehicles sold by any one manufacturer to achieve an average of 6.67 litres/100 km (35.5 miles per gallon) by 2016 will spark technological change, not a wholesale downsizing of the fleet.
Friday, June 5, 2009 01:49 AM
Bankruptcy aftermath
It's time for a little plain talk about new car warranties.
With General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC working to emerge from Chapter 11 reorganization in the U.S, a lot of consumers want to know what happens to the Canadian consumer's new-car warranty when the parent in bankrupt?
Both companies in the U.S., and their divisions in Canada, say their new car warranties will be honoured. And governments on both sides of the border say they will support GM and Chrysler in this.
Monday, June 1, 2009 05:47 PM
Angry at GM’s unions? Blame incompetent management
Among the many analyses circulating in the wake of General Motors Corp.’s bankruptcy filing are several which look at the cost of the “Government Caving on the Pension and Post Retirement (sic) Health Issues” for General Motors of Canada.
Yes, that’s the title of one very detailed analysis.
I have not run the numbers, but because I trust the source, I believe the analysis to be accurate. It’s conclusion: the government is on the hook for “$3 billion for the pension shortfall, $2 billion for the health trust and a half billion for the severance” and “that adds up to a TOTAL of $5.5 billion dollars.”
Friday, June 5, 2009 11:50 AM
Say so long to the V-8 engine
If current auto-buying trends continue, the V-8's days at the top of the engine heap will soon be over – perhaps forever.
According to the Power Information Network (PIN), we Canadians just keep buying more cars with small, fuel-efficient engines. V-8 sales keep slipping, and so do sales of cars with a V-6.
This despite an overall drop in fuel prices over the past six months. The PIN people -- who track dealer sales in real time, so they know almost instantly what Canadians are buying -- say cars and light trucks with four-bangers have grabbed another 1.5 per cent of the market this year.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009 03:59 PM
New BMW chief has his hands full
BMW Group Canada has a new president and CEO and he certainly has his hands full after barely two months on the job.
Franz Jung, 47, is here on the west coast touring dealerships and getting a first-hand feel for the lay of the land. It's not pretty.
BMW brand sales in Canada were down 16.7 per cent in April, Jung's first month as CEO. And BMW brand sales are down seven per cent on the year.
The Mini brand is a problem, too. Sales in April were down 19.7 per cent and on the year they are down 21.2 per cent.
Just for emphasis, the parent company, BMW AG, reported a first quarter after tax loss of €152-million, compared with a €487-million profit a year ago.
Driving It Home Contributors
Jeremy Cato
Jeremy Cato, Globe Auto’s senior features writer, is an award-winning print and broadcast journalist who has covered the auto industry for more than 20 years. He co-hosts the weekly television show Car/Business, which appears on Business News Network and CTV..