You've probably seen it a hundred times in the last year. Some talking head on TV saying that if automakers only prefabricated more fuel efficient cars, the public would buy them. Really? The 2008 income numbers are in, and the draw of fuel efficiency doesn't seem to be holding up in the grappling of lower gas prices.
Our own Green Car Advisor, John O'Dell, looked through the final income numbers for hybrids in 2008 and it was clear that their green sheen had definitely worn thin.
Pontiac PR man Jim Hopson confirms that the 2010 Pontiac G8 ST, the odd ball quasi-pickup, El Camino redux, is so dead. The company delivered the news to dealers early today.
Blame the economic and automotive meltdown of 2008 (and '09). Blame GM's woeful condition (word is, any and all programs slated to be released after the middle of 2009 are "under review"). Or blame the fact that maybe, just maybe, not enough people cared about a re-born El Camino, even in the best of times, to justify its resurrection.
For your viewing enjoyment, yet another teaser shot of the Kia Soul concept destined for Detroit. And judging from this little snippet, the slightly anticipated new concept will arrive under the Soulster nameplate.
Source: Wikipedia
Come Jan 20th, we'll not only have a new president, we'll have a new presidential limo too. GM officials confirmed to the Detroit News that it will deliver an all-new armored vehicle to the Secret Service in time for President Elect Obama's inauguration.
The current presidential limo (photo above) is based on the Cadillac DTS, but Obama's ride won't carry any specific model designation, a first according to Cadillac spokesman David Caldwell. Instead, it will simply be called the 2009 Cadillac Presidential Limousine, a vague designation that takes into statement that it's basically a one-off vehicle that has little in common with anything in Cadillac's lineup.
"The president is not riding in a medium-duty truck, nor he is riding in a sedan," Caldwell said, adding that it is a "unique" vehicle.
Well, no one was really expecting a huge showing from the Big Three, but it's the absence of several of the Asian automakers that will really make this year's show seem slow. With nothing from Acura, Hyundai, Infiniti, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan or Suzuki, the show schedule is a little light. Much of the void will be sucked up by some major debuts by Honda and Toyota along with a few interesting additions from Kia and Subaru for good measure.
The 3 Series refresh is out and the 2009 7 Series is on its way, so the 2011 BMW 5 Series is the next logical step in the automaker's product plan. We've seen various 5-Series sedan prototypes before, but this is the best look yet at the wagon.
There's nothing unexpectedly different about the shape. It follows the same path it always has with nicely rounded D-pillars and relatively thin C-pillars which keep it from looking too bulky.
In profile, it appears as though this 5 Series will have some evenhandedly spacious rear seats. The roof looks tall and the doors appear larger than usual. We know that BMW is also working on what it calls its Progressive Activity Sedan which takes the tall-roof intent to the extreme, so it's doable that some of the same thinking has been incorporated into the 5 Series wagon.
Don't expect to see the final product for quite some time. The 2011 BMW 5 Series is still at least a year away from an official unveil, so this auto may not show up until late 2010.
In the past, a new car computer came around every couple of years. But within the last seven days we've seen two that will debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas later this week.
Last Monday we reported on a new line of car PCs from Dashboard Devices that will be unveiled at CES, and now we've come crossways a company called Swiitek that's jumping into the fray with an in-dash computer designed to replace the works head unit in specific cars — despite a demand of interest even among early-adopter tech geeks.
It's no secret that we have a thing for the Nissan GT-R. We flew to Nihon to conduct the world's first test, shelled out our own money to buy one for our long-term fleet, and have stood by patiently when it was in the shop.
Needless to say, we've had our good days and bad days, but one of them have been quite as extreme as these two examples of GT-R yin and yang.
Here we have that scary blend of the words "hemi", "cuda" and "celebrity" all rolled into one. We're talking Nicholas Cage here, so it's reasonable to adopt that although any 1970 Hemi 'Cuda hardtop is already a highly sought after auction prize, this one has that little extra ounce of wall-opening leverage.
So it's not going to be a flag year for the home team at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show. Chrysler, Ford and General Motors are about as beat down as major industrial giants can get, but this is a chance for apiece company to convince the public that there's still some life in the Motor City.
Here's the latest rundown on what to expect:
