Automotive News

Filed under: Economy, Euro, Mitsubishi

Click image for gallery of the Colt Black Hawk CZT

When we hear the words “Black Hawk,” we immediately think of helicopters being built at the Sikorsky plant in Stratford, CT. In the UK, however, that moniker is being applied to a pair of special edition Mitsubishi Colt 3-door hatchbacks with sporting pretensions. Both cars get decked out in black paint with double racing stripes plus privacy glass.

The lower-end Colt Black Hawk is more of a show pony. It wears 16″ alloys and is powered by an economical 1.1L 74-horsepower 3-cylinder that gets over 41mpg in the combined cycle. Higher performance is available in the better-equipped Colt Black Hawk CZT, which sports a 147-horsepower 1.5L turbo four capable of delivering a 0-60 time of around seven seconds and a 132 mph top speed. There’s not much of a penalty in terms of fuel consumption, either. The CZT, despite its larger engine and additional power, still gets a respectable 34.5 mpg combined.

In addition to the bigger engine, the CZT sports features like exclusive 17″ alloys, fog lamps, sport seats, 4-wheel disc brakes, and a CD player. The Black Hawk is limited to 400 cars, and the Black Hawk CZT will be rarer still, with just 200 cars being offered. UK pricing can be found in the press release after the jump.

[Source: Mitsubishi Motors UK]

 

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Dallas, May 17, 2007 - Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and National Presenting Sponsor DaimlerChrysler’s Road Ready Teens program have delivered a sober message during the 2006-2007 school year through a dynamic multimedia school assembly show encouraging secondary school students to make smart choices about not using alcohol and driving safely.

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Filed under: Etc., Chrysler, GM

No one knows yet what Cerberus is going to do with Chrysler. However, the possibilities probably include quite a few things that wouldn’t be normally expected in the car business — such as GMAC and Chrysler Financial working closely together.

Cerberus hasn’t made any mention of such, yet — that comes from GM CEO Rick Wagoner in his first public comments since Cerberus was announced as the winning Chrysler bidder. Cerberus bought 51% of GMAC last year, and now runs Chrysler Financial. Wagoner’s comments, however, were very open and non-committal — specifically, he said “I think it’s possible you could see opportunities for Cerberus-owned Chrysler Financial and Cerberus-owned GMAC to seek out opportunities to work together.” GM isn’t looking for such a tie-up, it is simply open to “potential synergies” should such cooperation be shown to be in everyone’s interests. He did appear sure that such a proposal — for working together — would be coming in time. If Cerberus did combine the two, it would rule the auto loan market, taking the number one spot from Ford Motor Credit.

[Source: Automotive News, sub req’d]

 

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Filed under: Chrysler, DaimlerChrysler

There aren’t that many people in the world who have a stronger emotional connection to Chrysler Corp. than Lee Iacocca, father of the minivan and savior for Chrysler during the early ’80s. In an article featured in BusinessWeek, Iacocca reveals his feelings and thoughts about Daimler AG’s sale of Chrysler to Cerberus Capital Managment, a private equity firm.

In no uncertain terms, Iacocca comes right out and says, “Daimler screwed Chrysler royally.” He argues that Chrysler was healthy, even powerful, before the merger, and has been left half dead by Daimler, which retreats back across the Atlantic to Germany as we speak (our eloquent prose, not his). Nevertheless, Chrysler’s ex-CEO is optimistic about his old employer’s fate, and makes a case for Cerberus being exactly the right kind of private equity firm to buy Chrysler.

Thanks for the tip, Alison!

[Source: BusinessWeek]

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Filed under: Etc.

Victor Muller and Maartin de Bruijn (re)founded Spyker cars on January 1, 2000. De Bruijn, who was head designer, left in 2005, and ever since, Muller has played the role of designer in addition to his position as CEO and marketing chief. After seven years at the head of the company, Muller is stepping down from the role of CEO and will focus on the design and branding of Spyker Cars. His replacement will be interim CEO Michiel Mol, currently the director of racing for the Spyker Formula 1 Team.

[Source: Spyker]

 

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Filed under: Car Buying, Economy, Green, Hatchbacks, Honda

The Canadian province of Ottawa government is learning the hard way that one does not mess with Honda Canada. We reported last month that the automaker was irritated its Fit just missed qualifying for a federal ecoAUTO rebate of $1,000 CDN that was established to promote the purchase of fuel efficient cars. The rebate applies to new cars that use less than 6.5 liters of gas for every 100 kilometers driven. The Honda Fit uses 6.6 liters/100km, which means shoppers who purchase a Fit aren’t eligible for the $1,000 rebate. Honda claims it designed the Fit to be both safe and environmentally responsible, and refuses to sacrifice one attribute for the other.

One of the Fit’s direct competitors, the Toyota Yaris, consumes 6.4 liters/100km, and is thus eligible for the rebate. As such, according to this report, Toyota is practically the only automaker in Canada not upset about the federal rebate program that officially began on March 19th. Perhaps that’s because sales of the Yaris in Canada grew by 15% in April, the first full month the rebate was offered. Sales of most its competitors that weren’t eligible for the rebate reportedly fell, some by double digits.

Though it has voiced its concerns to Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, Honda is stepping out and fighting back. The company has bought ad space in newspapers across Canada and is publishing an open letter that criticizes the Canadian government’s rebate program. If any Canadian reader finds the ad, we’d love to know everything that’s said, but one quote from Honda president Hiroshi Kobayashi will be, “At Honda, we offer pride of ownership because we do not sacrifice safety for the environment.” Honda is also offering its own $1,000 rebate on the Fit to match the government’s offer, even making it retroactive for those who purchased a Fit all the way back to March 19th.

You hear that? It’s Honda’s Kobayashi saying, “Eat it, Flaherty!”

Thanks for the tip, Rob!

[Souce: The Globe and Mail]

 

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Filed under: Spy Photos, Sedans/Saloons, Honda

It appears Honda had a whole hoard of 2008 Accords out on the roads the other day for spy photogs to catch. The first shots we brough you were of the base four-cylinder 2008 Honda Accord sedan. The latest batch of pics reveals the 2008 Honda Accord EX, the sedan’s most uplevel trim. Painted in a deep (and dirty) black sporting alloy wheels that Temple of VTEC believes emulate the BMW 5-Series, this Accord EX is a more interesting sight to behold than its base model brother that was wearing a dull silver paint. It appears that despite being an EX model, however, this particular mule is also a four-cylinder model since it’s only sporting one tailpipe out back.

One interesting styling note a few commenters pointed out on our original spy shots that is even more evident in this new batch is how far out the new Accord’s headlights protrude from the body. Looking at the car head on they’re not very noticeable, but from a 3/4 perspective one can see how the surface of the front fenders is interrupted by these bug-eye headlights.

It appears that only the V6 models have yet to be snapped, but knowing Priddy and crew, it’s only a matter of time.

[Source: Temple of VTEC]

 

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Filed under: Aftermarket, SUVs, Auction Action, Ford

Here’s another one of those eBay finds that makes us reach for our wallets. It’s a rare 1998 Saleen Explorer XP8, the famous Ford tuner’s first foray into the world of SUVs. While some might argue that performance tuning should never be applied to these beasts of burden, Saleen went the extra mile to tap every ounce of the Explorer’s potential. Saleen’s tuned Explorer could be had with a 4.0L V6, the famous 5.0L V8 once used in the Mustang, or a supercharged version of the 5.0 making 268-horsepower. It appears our eBay find carries the naturally aspirated 5.0, which is just fine. It’s backed up by a Racecraft suspension that lowers the SUV a full two inches, which tucks the sharp 18-inch Saleen wheels made out of magnesium tightly into the fenders. Like any Saleen, the XP8 sports a full signature Saleen body kit with a rear spoiler balanced at the top of the rear hatch. The Explorer wears its new suit well, and proudly proclaims its origin with a pair of Saleen graphics above the rocker panels. eBay item #290115445535 ends in just 6 hours or so, and the price for this prime example with only 45,567 miles is $11,600. The reserve has not been met, which doesn’t surprise us. While not a top of the line supercharged Saleen XP8, this example nonetheless appears to be in pristine condition (as much as one can tell from pictures).

[Source: eBay]

 

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Filed under: Trends, Etc.

England’s Education Secretary Alan Johnson has published a list of tomes intended to catch the interest of teenage boys. Monies have been set aside so that schools can take their pick of 20 titles from the 160 book list, and house those selections in their libraries. Absent from the register are works considered classic, such as Dickens, Shakespeare, or others from literary history. High on the new list is “I Know You Got Soul” by Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson. Clarkson’s book, rather than being total fluff, celebrates elegant engineering and design work covering everything from Ferraris to the Hoover Dam. Clarkson delves into the history behind some of his favorite machines, and we would have gladly traded the Car Craft hiding in the leaves of our literature textbooks for Clarkson’s work. As such, we fail to see how presenting history and engineering in an engaging manner is going to harm students.

[Source: Daily Mail]

Continue reading Jeremy Clarkson deemed literary giant by UK libraries

 

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Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal

Joshua Steven Solberg of Austin, Minn., is charged with disorderly conduct for putting, uh, well, dog doo, in an envelope along with the payment for his parking citation. Police say he then dropped the foul-smelling package in the fee payment drop box at the Law Enforcement Center. An office employee later discovered the envelope (fairly quickly, we guess) while going through the drop box contents. She claims liquid leaking from the envelope contaminated her hands and desk and caused her to misse work due to an illness she blames on the fecal-laced fine.

Police went to chat with Mr. Soldberg, who admitted adding the bonus material to his payment because he was upset. Pissed, we’d say.

All of us who have paid our speeding taxes and parking dues know what it feels like to write that check, but still, we also know not to include our names, driver’s license numbers and home addresses when including dog poop in the envelope.

[Source Rochester, Minn. Post-Bulletin via AP]

 

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