Automotive News

Filed under: Car Buying, Etc.

The first quarter of 2007 wasn’t exactly a banner period for car sales, and the average price of a new car went down $550 vs. the fourth quarter of 2006, so says a study performed by Comerica Bank. That extra $550 represents 1.5 weeks less of overall family income to pay for a new vehicle than the aforementioned fourth quarter, which Comerica chief economist Dana Johnson said was attributable to higher incentives, a poor housing market, and higher gas prices.

The study shows that the average new vehicle purchase averaged $28,200 per light vehicle sale in Q1 2007, which is up 1.6% from last year’s first quarter. The good news is that the average family income rose by a healthy 3.7% during that one-year span. Americans still need 24.7 weeks of median family income to pay off their new vehicle purchase, but it’s better than the 25.2 weeks of the first quarter in 2006.

While it’s good news that our pay is rising at a higher rate than the price of new vehicles, we think a lot of it has to do with the softening demand for pickup trucks. With gas pricing going up steadily in April and so far in May as well, we’re curious to see what the next quarter will look like.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req’d]

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Filed under: Car Buying, Economy, SMART

United Auto Group Inc., the auto retailer charged with distributing the Smart fortwo when it arrives on U.S. shores in 2008, is reporting that 12,600 people have plunked down $99 to become a Smart “Insider” and reserve a spot in line to buy DaimlerChrysler’s microcar. That number of people represents about three-fourths of the 16,000 fortwos that will be sold in the car’s first year on sale in the U.S., and there’s enough time before then that the entire allotment could be, in a sense, “sold out” before it actually goes on sale. Of course, not everyone who spends $99 to reserve a fortwo will buy one, but they’ll lose their c-note if they don’t.

We expect the rate of reservations to increase sharply over the course of this summer with the cost of gasoline continuing to rise. High fuel prices have a way of making people reconsider cars that promise above average economy, and the fortwo should be able to achieve 40 mpg without breaking a sweat. The $99 reservation campaign is also helping the automaker determine how many of each fortwo will be needed next year. Customers can choose from the base Pure model, upgraded Passion model and Passion Cabriolet. If you want to reserve a fortwo and haven’t yet, visit the Smart USA website to get in line.

[Source: CNN Money via Kicking Tires]

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Filed under: SUVs, Euro, Porsche

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A group of Porsche trainees has created a custom Cayenne S emergency response vehicle prototype, which will be used by the automaker’s internal Health and Safety Services group. The interior from row two back was gutted and reconfigured to accept a stretcher, accommodate an emergency doctor, and store all the associated equipment, such as an EKG, defibrillator, etc. Four trucks have been ordered, and Porsche will place them at each of its plants and at the test track in Weissach. All the Cayenne running gear is unchanged, and performance and off-road capability are generally unaffected. Complete details can be found in the press release pasted after the jump.

[Source: Porsche]

Gallery: Porsche Cayenne Emergency Response Vehicle

Continue reading Porsche builds Cayenne S ambulance for its own emergency personnel

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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Green

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Universal Electric Vehicle first unveiled its all-electric Spyder last December at the AltCar Expo in Santa Monica. AutoblogGreen was on hand at the unveiling, but there wasn’t much to report in terms of specs and pricing. UEV recently reached out to ABG to plug those holes, and we now know that the Spyder will have a base price of $70,000, which could rise rather quickly depending on what battery option one chooses. It appears opting for the advanced lithium-ion battery pack will not only increase your Spyder’s driving range, but also its final price by some $30,000. The standard battery pack is of the oft used Nickel Metal Hydride variety.

While it won’t embarass a Tesla Roaster, the Spyder does have an effective range of 70 to 150 miles depending on the battery pack and driving habits of the driver, as well as a 100 mph top speed. It can reach 60 mph in approximately 7 seconds, no doubt a function of its 2,900 curb weight. That’s pretty hefty for a tiny two-seat roadster, but batteries aren’t light.

Check out all the Spyder’s specs here, and see it from every angle in AutoblogGreen’s high-resolution gallery of photos.

[Source: AutoblogGreen]

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Filed under: Recalls/TSBs, Safety

Evenflo Company Inc. in conjunction with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a recall of 450,000 units of its Embrace Infant car seat/carriers. The defect has to do with the carrier’s handle, which may unexpectedly release while the seat is being carried and tilt forward, potentially causing the infant to fall out.

While the defect doesn’t have anything to do with the seat’s use in a car, Evenflo has received reports of 160 injuries that have been caused by the defect, including a fratured skulls and other injuries. As such, we thought it prudent to make sure every auto enthusiast with children is aware of the defect so that the news can be passed along to other parents. Owners of the Evenflo Embrace car seat/carrier can contact the company at its website. The recall includes seats that have model numbers beginning with 317, 320, 397, 398, 540, 548, 549, 550, 556, 597, 598 or 599.

[Source: CNN Money]

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Filed under: Sports/GTs, Hatchbacks, Mitsubishi

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To celebrate the one-year anniversary of the launch of the Colt Ralliart Version-R, Mitsubishi has offered up a new special edition of the JDM-only pocket rocket. The Colt Ralliart Version-R Recaro Edition includes a set of Recaro buckets as standard equipment (how’d you guess?), and sports a few extra details as well. Version-R logos adorn the doorsill scuff plates, and prominent decals on the rear doors also come standard. The 5-speed’s shift knob is the same one found in the Lancer Evolution IX, and a choice of four colors is available, including the new Aqua Blue (they all have black interiors). Its hopped up 1.5L turbo-four makes 154 horsepower. Pricing in Japan for the Recaro edition is set at ¥2,079,000 (That’s a smidge over $17K USD for the exchange-rate-obsessed.)

[Source: Mitsubishi]

Gallery: Mitsubishi Colt Ralliart Version-R

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Filed under: Motorsports

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The world of NASCAR was rocked today when Dale Earnhardt Junior, the motorsport’s most marketable and therefore most valuable driver, announced he is leaving DEI, the race team originally owned by his father. It turns out that there may be some familial conflict at the center of Junior’s departure, as some speculate that Teresa Earnhardt, his stepmother and father’s wife at the time of his death, wasn’t willing to meet all of his demands.

Junior and his sister, Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, were negotiating with DEI to gain control of 51% of the business and complete control of the race team. The press is speculating that while Teresa was willing to give up 51% of the company to Junior, she wanted Junior’s control over the team to be tempered by a board or committee that would approve final decisions. Whatever the case, DEI’s offer wasn’t enough to keep Junior at the negotiating table any longer, and he’ll become a free agent at the end of the season. The news is even worse for DEI, as some speculate that Budweiser, Junior’s biggest sponsor, will follow him next year to whatever team that signs him.

[Source: Auto Racing Daily]

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Filed under: Spy Photos, Coupes, Sports/GTs, Japan, Nissan

Japenese car mags sometimes provide the juiciest of news for us Yanks to drool over. Take these scans from an unnamed Japanese car mag that show Nissan’s upcoming GT-R. The pictures look a bit photoshopped, as they differ from spy shots we’ve seen of the car testing at the Nurburgring in Germany and elsewhere in the world. The car in these pics is much more aggressive with an extra intake for rear brake cooling behind the doors and accompanying vent behind the wheel wells. The rear wing is also larger and a more serious looking affair.

Then again, the GT-R will come in three flavors, standard, V-Spec and EVO, so most of these shots may be showing the GT-R EVO trim that ups the car’s aggression by a factor of ten. The translation of the article accompanying these photos tell us that the standard GT-R will start at $57,000 and feature a 480-horsepower version of the VQHRTT. Whether or not the twin-turbo V6 is 3.7L or 3.8L large wasn’t mentioned. The V-Spec GT-R, meanwhile, will start at $67,000, while the top perfroming EVO spec will begin at $94,000 and feature a 530-horsepower version of the VQHRTT engine while shedding 220 lbs. from the car’s overall weight through the use of lighter seats, ceramic rotors and the like.

[Source: CarSpyShots.net via WorldCarFans blog]

Gallery: Nissan GT-R models - scans

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Filed under: Chrysler, DaimlerChrysler

Frank Stronach, founder and chairman of Magna International, has acknowledged that his company is definitely making a bid to take control of Chrysler and that they have the money lined up. Magna is partnering with Onex Corporation to make the bid based on $2 billion in cash reserves from Magna with the rest coming from Onex. Stronach doesn’t intend to borrow any money up front for the purchase and is thought to have made a bid of about $4.5 billion. Magna and Onex are also considering taking on more partners, presumably so that they can sweeten the bid without borrowing. Stronach also said that more employment bloodletting is “unavoidable” if the deal goes through.

[Source: Toronto Star]

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Filed under: Etc.

The final version of Forza Motorsports 2 for the Xbox 360 has gone gold, which in video game parlance means its ready to be pressed into discs and shipped off to stores. While the release date for the 360’s premier driving game is not until May 29th, early this morning at 5AM EST, publishers of the game released its first demo on the Xbox Live Marketplace for free. Yes, we’ve downloaded it and yes, we’ve played it. The demo offers you an assortment of about 24 cars in three different classes (think slow, fast and insane). We tried out a Ford GT in the fast class and a Maserati MC12 in the insane class. You’re only able to race around one short track, which Forza faithful tell us is the Mugello short. How does it look? Probably great if it weren’t for the 5-year-old, 27-inch TV our Xbox 360 is hooked up to. On a high-definition set it probably looks incredible, but on an old TV it looks like Gran Turismo 4, maybe a little sharper and more detailed, but not by much. 480 lines of interlaced resolution only go so far. Nevertheless, the choice of vehicles and tracks in the final version of the game will be impressive. Now we just have to scrounge up another $59.99 plus tax for another Xbox 360 game. Yeah, we can think of a few people who that’s not going to go over too well with, but epic driving games on next-gen consoles don’t come along every day.

Thanks for the tip, Matt!

[Source: Xbox360Fanboy]

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