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Green Update: If We Build It, They Will Come

The Cars

We talked about “Volt Contenders” back in March; one of these was the Think City, a less than Volt-sized EV that may be coming to production in the US in 2011. The Detroit News reviewed a pre-production version (around $30K in Europe, not cheap!) and found the car “almost adequate” for driving around the city: good interior space, OK acceleration, easy and quick recharging. The top speed was only 63 mph, however, and so accelerating onto a freeway was something akin to exercising a death wish. Passing? Passing what? But the car is good for the city and for short hops. Still not the “electric car for the masses… [which] no one has offered yet.” Figure another two years at least for that.

Myers Motors has been around for a while. They are trying to make a splash with another pint-sized machine, this one a glorified motorcycle really, again for in-town use. The three-wheeled, two-passenger NMG2 will go on sale late in 2010, and the company is running a contest for a name (no maligna gasolina?). The car has a 60-mile range, will do 75 mph and costs less than $30K. I like it. The letter from Myers’ president (on the website) makes the point that some 70 million people commute alone and drive less than 40 miles to work. That sounds like a reasonable niche market—if they can be convinced to ride in an enclosed three-wheeler.

E-Wolf E2 Concept, Electric Ferrari-killer

E-Wolf E1 Electric Roadster, for 150-lb driver

At the other end of the madness scale is a concept from German firm E-Wolf called the E2, supposedly to evolve as a supercar in two years (544 hp, 2000 lbs, “to compete with the likes of Ferrari in the performance arena”). Well, guys, judging from the E1 which was shown at Frankfurt (150 hp, 1100 lbs, “can only accommodate drivers weighing up to 150-pounds”), you’ve got a ways to go.

More practical, maybe, is Volvo’s move to put more plug-in hybrids on the streets and a fleet of test cars. The firm announced it would start selling plug-ins by 2012 and showed a V70 with two charging ports—one in front for home charging, the other at the rear for fast-charge (1.5-2.5 hours) stations.

The Power

In order to get electric cars to a sizable market, you must have power companies that not only feed the grid but use the product. Otherwise, it’s a Catch-22. The New York Times reports that

FPL Group, the company that includes Florida Power and Light, and Duke Energy, which serves 11 million people in the South and Midwest, together operate about 10,000 vehicles. And they said this week that by 2020 all new purchases of fleet vehicles will be plug-in hybrid or all-electric.

Clearly, that is putting one’s money where one’s mouth is. The ridiculous situation with ethanol is just the opposite: Farm-state senators (Ben Nelson, D-Neb., among them) are pushing to increase the amount of blended ethanol in gasoline to 15 percent, while the automakers are fighting it, citing the many cases where too much ethanol damages or disables engines.

It isn’t bad enough that we use corn almost entirely for ethanol, which is terrible for all kinds of environmental, agricultural and economic reasons. The industry has been totally unwilling to commit to biofuels or cellulosic ethanol, and is now getting set to inhale some $787 million in federal money for biofuel research, which it would not do on its own. Instead of priming the biofuel pump, federal money is serving as a substitute for private capital and encouraging the farm states to continue their misguided policies. End of rant, for now.

Applause, however, for GM which announced last week that it was partnering with the Reva Electric Car Company of India to develop the market for electric vehicles in India. Well, why shouldn’t they, you ask, with over a billion people as a market? RECC, we understand, has done work on infrastructure, biofuels and has test marketed electrics in many countries as well as India. Working on alternative propulsion strategies and fuels, GM has also reached out to world markets. It could be an ideal combination: Volts in Mumbai!

How soon can we expect EVs to penetrate the market for short-commute cars in our cities? We know you have an opinion.

—jgoods

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Mexico, and Some Thoughts on Kia

Yrs trly has finally gone south—south of the border, that is, to take up residence in this lovely land and become Oaxaca’s Car Guru of record. Not that I intend to talk only about car stuff from this part of the world, but as I get to know the car stuff better, so will you. I moved here to get a different perspective on life in this hemisphere, and it was personally time to shift gears, as it were.

One of the first things that strikes you here is how large and awkward big SUVs like the Grand Cherokee and trucks like the F-250 appear next to the ubiquitous smaller cars. They don’t fit the streets. They spew (or appear to spew) lots of pollutants. They tower over the Beetles and the Kas, as their owners no doubt intended.

The small-car world will eventually make inroads into the U.S.A., which forever has resisted its appeal and rationale. One of the companies betting heavily on this is Kia. It just introduced the Forte Koup (above) at $16,595 ($1,100 more gets you leather, a moonroof, plus 17 more hp – a great-deal upgrade). You will, we predict, be hearing more about this car, even as certain humorists make fun of its ridiculous multinational, misspelled name.

Kia is also an interesting company, with some real successes to crow about (the Soul from Seoul, even if we don’t like its looks) and, more recently, its high rating among franchises in the UK and elsewhere, we presume. Hyundai owns 40 percent of Kia, now South Korea’s second-largest carmaker. Kia Motors America is on a big push into the U.S., having built a billion-dollar factory in Georgia three years ago.

I know you all have your opinions about cars like the Sportage, but you’ve got to admire the way Kia is pushing ahead, bringing new people to their cars. Yup, they are all over Mexico.

Which of Kia’s models do you like most—and which least?

—jgoods

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Fiat Reinvents Chrysler

Sergio Marchionne at Fiat

Detroit seems buzzing today with news about the Chrysler restructuring under Fiat. The word is that Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne, a “no-nonsense” kind of guy, is setting a rapid pace to revamp the organization, its manufacturing processes, and its product lineup for the future. For the present, Chrysler is galumphing along with its Jeep, Dodge, and Chrysler offerings that not too many people are buying.

Jim Press at Toyota

Deputy CEO Jim Press is also leaving the company, it was announced last week, and we can only speculate as to why. He was brought on by Cerberus in 2007 to bring the company to life with his long-term Toyota experience. Instead, as a “dealer guy,” he pushed more cars on dealers before the company’s fall, even though they were gagging on inventory, and then he terminated 789 of them, per new company policy. I would say this man’s life may be in danger.

Anyway, Fiat has been leaking some news about its transformation plans. We should know more on September 1. As Mr. Press departs, a new management structure will employ 23 managers, each of whom will report to Marchionne. All will have to identify value in their actions, even in sales calls. Wow, that should make the Feds happy.

The shop floor will take on a very different look.

In Chrysler factories across North America, workers are being reorganized into larger teams of about 10, from five now, and trained to perform every job instead of just one, Chrysler officials said. The number of supervisors is being reduced, and team leaders are gaining more responsibility…
If a problem is detected in a vehicle, it must be fixed immediately, stopping the line if necessary, which is similar to the approach used by Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp.
While the old Chrysler system was also based on the Toyota model, the practice was to finish the vehicle and then pull it aside to make repairs.

Judging from what we know about Chrysler quality, that repair area must have been like a parking lot. I wonder what Jim Press thought about that. Well, we wish him luck in his new job: ferrying Fiat 500s to dealers.

The Detroit News also reports that Chrysler will be “potentially selling Alfas as Dodges in the United States and putting an Alfa Romeo badge on Dodges for sale in Europe.” Let us have your opinion on that marketing maneuver.

—jgoods

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Porsche CEO Goes Bye-Bye

Yup, the big drama is over for now, and Wendelin Wiedeking got pushed out, bowing to “mounting pressure,” as Autoweek so cleverly put it. After a brilliant career at Porsche, pulling them out of virtual bankruptcy in 1993 and leading the firm to become the world’s most profitable carmaker, Wiedeking, like so many others, seemed to become a victim of hubris.

Along with Holger Haerter, the CFO who was also fired, and Chairman Wolfgang Porsche, Wendy took the company down the path of financial ruin when he tried to acquire Volkswagen (which now will take over Porsche, ha-ha!) through borrowing, stock options, perhaps some financial chicanery (“complex financial derivatives,” says the NY Times), and opening the door to Qatar to take a large position in the company. When the economic crisis hit, the strategy went into the tank, and Porsche was left holding the debt bag.

There’s no denying, however, that the guy was colorful and cut a wide swath in the European auto business, managing to get press every few days about new cars he brought out—like the Cayenne, Boxster, and Cayman—or about the sturm und drang we recently discussed in this blog. The public squabbles and soap operas produced by the Porsche and Piech clans were surely not helpful to the company’s image or finances.

Anyhow, VW’s chief, Ferdinand Piech, now holds all the cards and has most of the cash. Wiedeking will have to make do with his €50-million severance package, half of which he’s pledged to charity, possibly to make up for his other PR disasters. Rick Wagoner hasn’t done that.

Is Porsche going to do better under the Volkswagen umbrella? Will it be more secure?

—jgoods

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Consumer Reports: Honda Insight Disappoints

2010_honda_insight I can’t remember Consumer Reports ever not liking a Honda.

In a recent press release, though, the popular consumer magazine thrashes the new hybrid Insight, saying,

The Insight is the most disappointing Honda Consumer Reports has tested in a long time. The Insight is a noisy, stiff-riding car with clumsy handling that is nothing like the Fit on which it is based.

Ouch. They go on in the lengthy press release, but I’ll spare Honda more embarrassment here. Not from Jeremy Clarkson, though, who was even more blunt when he said,

It’s terrible. Biblically terrible. Possibly the worst new car money can buy. It’s the first car I’ve ever considered crashing into a tree, on purpose, so I didn’t have to drive it any more.

Ouch again. He didn’t even trash the Chrysler Sebring that badly.

Considering Honda wanted to challenge Toyota’s Prius and take a piece of its monster market share in the hybrid market, these kinds of reviews are killers. Consumer Reports didn’t even give their coveted “Recommended” designation to the Insight, which was beaten badly by the VW Jetta, Chevy HHR, Pontiac Vibe, and Hyundai Elantra Touring. In fact, the Honda ranked 21st out of 22 wagons and hatchbacks.

Number 22 was the Dodge Caliber, but heck, the Tato Nano could beat that automotive disgrace, so it doesn’t mean much that Honda barely did.

To be fair, a Honda spokesman responded to CR’s wrath by telling Edmunds InsideLine,

Feedback from customers and automotive media regarding the all-new 2010 Honda Insight has been very positive. In fact, the Insight has won several hybrid comparison tests completed independently by automotive media outlets including Car and Driver, Edmunds.com and Motor Trend.

Whatever, dude. Looks like your car sucks…. Don’t defend it, go build a new one. You’re Honda, and Honda doesn’t screw up. You’d better not start making mistakes now.

Does Consumer Reports influence your car-buying decisions? Would you consider an Insight after this?

-tgriffith

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2010 North American Car of the Year Candidates Announced

2010 Kia Forte: a potential winner!

I love Car of the Year awards. I love analyzing the candidates and then picking on the winners.

Earlier this week we shared the candidates for the 2010 European Car of the Year Award, which revealed a little gem I hadn’t heard of before called the Skoda Yeti. I hope it wins!

On our side of the Atlantic, I’m excited to read through the candidates for the 2010 North American Car and Truck of the Year awards. The list is proof that the line between cars and trucks is blurring, because the Subaru Outback is in the truck category. Hmmm.

For this list, only vehicles that are all-new or substantially redesigned are eligible. The fact that the Toyota 4Runner shows up is great news for Toyota fans: a redesign is coming by early 2010!

Here are the candidates for the 2010 North American Car of the Year:

And here are the 2010 North American Truck of the year candidates:

If I were handing out the awards, my choice for Car of the Year would be the Kia Forte. That even surprises me, but I’m digging the economical, great-looking, feature-packed, low-priced option this year.

On the truck side, I’m going with the Ford Transit Connect, especially with the future option of it being the perfect family hauler. That is, unless the new Toyota 4Runner absolutely blows me away!

What car and truck would you pick to win the coveted North American Car of the Year Award?

-tgriffith

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Tata Nano: Coming to the U.S.A.!

tata-nano So I was browsing the world of auto news this weekend, just seeing if anything struck my fancy, when I read that the world’s least expensive car, the infamous Tata Nano, could be coming to America in about two years.

If I would have been told a supermodel was coming to my house for a romantic dinner, my heart would have skipped the same number of beats as it did reading this news. It just isn’t supposed to happen. This is monumental.

This is the car once deemed so cheap it would never meet rigid U.S. emission and crash standards. This is the same car many have written off as a third-world solution to a problem more advanced societies don’t have. This is the car that has been mocked as much as it’s been called an innovation of cheapness…

And it could be sold at Jaguar dealerships. A car that makes Kias look expensive, with its base price of just $2,500, could be sold alongside $100,000 supercharged sports cars. Friends, you might want to head to your bomb shelters; the apocalypse could be here.

When the Tata Nano arrives in the U.S., will it be shunned or will it change the way America commutes? My money’s on the latter. Let’s just hope it doesn’t become an all-new Saturn Nano.

-tgriffith

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Of Hummers, Knights, and Red Bulls

When I saw our post on yesterday’s sale of Hummer to the Chinese, it was the photo in particular that gave rise to the following thoughts. One, the Chinese are welcome to it. Two, the car shown is a bad joke. Three, the size of the model’s legs indicates she needs a Hummer. Four, some people can never get enough of these cars.

knight-xv-2 Now comes a report on another, larger, more blood-curdling military-type vehicle called the Knight XV (above). Produced by a Canadian firm, this luxury armored vehicle, based on a Ford F-350, can “comfortably seat six professional basketball players.” Good to know, but what about the rest of the team? The thing is 19 feet long, weighs 5-1/2 tons, and makes the Hummer look, well, petite.

This fascination with military knock-off vehicles is not only an expression of macho, supremo-maleness. Two years ago, I was having dinner in an Italian restaurant in New York when six drunk, attractive young women emerged giggling from a private party, piled into a long Hummer limo, and sped off into the night. The Chinese seem to like doing weddings in Hummers, too.

For the company’s buyer, Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery, congratulations are certainly in order. The news was spread all over Chinese papers yesterday. No price tag was announced, and the deal should close in September. One of the papers, the Shenzhen Evening News shown below, also announced in an unrelated development that

three batches of Red Bull drinks tested positive for cocaine in Hong Kong. The density of the dissolved chemical was 10 times greater than what was discovered earlier in Taiwan, but is still harmless, according to Hong Kong authorities. However, a second round of tests conducted yesterday in Hong Kong found no traces of cocaine in Red Bull, the government announced today.

If the Chinese build cars as well as they do drug testing, we’re all in trouble.

Which would you rather have: a Hummer, a Knight XV, or cocaine-laced Red Bull?

—jgoods

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Three Weeks to Midnight

Let’s see, GM has three weeks until it must pony up a plan for saving itself to the Feds.

That means getting concessions from the UAW on: wages and work rules, paying for retiree health care, and bickering over planned job cuts and plant closings. There will be bickering not just with Ron Gettelfinger, but with the Canadians: The CAW was told by its government on Thursday to negotiate a new deal with GM.

And the deadline also means getting bondholders who hold $27 billion in GM debt to settle for a minority 10 percent stake in the new company. They want a majority stake, but Treasury won’t buy that. Moreover, there’s the small matter of the company’s cash burn rate. It plowed through $10.2 billion in the first quarter of this year, worse than some analysts expected.

The prospect of bankruptcy in turn creates an impact on sales, which are dismal. GM has to figure out how to move product, eliminate or sell brands, and close hundreds of dealerships protected by state laws—all in three weeks. Oh, and let’s not forget, it also has to negotiate a deal with Fiat to sell Opel, plus get rid of Saab, Hummer, and Saturn.

We have a cascade of really difficult scenarios, all playing out at once. I have a hunch that if GM could get the bondholders in line, some or most of the other problems might get resolved, but the probability of that happening is remote. So bankruptcy looms, as Fritz Henderson acknowledged in his online press conference this morning.

He got some puffball questions about how good the company’s cars are and put off most of the hard ones (which he more or less had to do):

I understand the concern and quite bluntly fears that people have today. We will need to take further measures in this area to lean out our management structure and simplify the work of our salaried work force, which will mean we need further moves. I anticipate communicating our plans in this regard by the end of this month.

I don’t know if it’s good or bad news, but it was also reported today that GMAC, the financing arm for GM and now Chrysler, could receive up to $7.5 billion more from the Treasury in TARP funds. This bank still looks like a big loser to many people, and though it will still need more money, don’t look to private investors.

We can all remember the wretched onslaught of TV ads from Ditech, the noisy online lender that was absorbed into GMAC and contributed mightily to the current mortgage mess. If the government wants/needs to fund the GMAC enterprise, whose failure would cause real systemic problems, they are welcome to do so.

GM stock was selling at $1.46 at 1:30 pm today.

Do you think GM will successfully emerge from bankruptcy? How?

—jgoods

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Infiniti Hits a Home Run with the Stunning Essence Concept

2009_infiniti_essence_concept

Releasing a new car concept has got to be a nerve-wracking experience for auto company execs and designers.

Hit a home run, and gain credibility within the industry and, better yet, create excitement in consumers about your brand.

Come up short, and risk being mocked by auto writers everywhere.

The Geneva Auto Show offered both examples last week and proved that even Aston Martin isn’t immune to the occasional battering by auto bloggers when a concept doesn’t quite strike the right chord.

On the other hand, the Inifiniti Essence has become an instant hit, delivering a strikingly beautiful, super-sexy supercar.

In the words of Francois Bancon, Infiniti’s General Manager for Advanced Product Planning:

An Essence owner is characterized by his or her fearless self confidence; he or she is an intellectual hero rather than just a successful money maker.

Okay, that counts me out. Still, though, I can admire the luscious curves and advanced technology behind this show-stopping car.

This front-engined, two-seat, RWD 592-hp luxury coupe concept is actually a gas/electric hybrid with 434 hp coming from a twin-turbocharged 3.7-liter V6, and 158 hp from an electric powerplant.

infiniti-essence-interior Inside, the Essence is said to have a minimalist (if Alcantara leather, machined aluminum, etched crystal, and holographic gauges count as minimalist) driver-focused cockpit. The cabin is divided into two areas separated by a large curving console between the seats that sweeps around to merge with the center of the dashboard. The result is what Infiniti calls “two very distinct cocoons.” The driver’s side is themed black, the passenger’s “cocoon” an earthy red. Luxury brand Louis Vuitton was called on to complete the unique interior.

It’s safe to say I’ve oficially become smitten with the Essence, so this bombshell really got me excited: Infiniti plans to release a model derived from the Essence in Europe in 2010. I just hope the production model is as sweet-looking as the concept!

What do you think of the Infiniti Essence concept? Have any other concepts caught your eye lately?

-tgriffith

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Maserati Grand Tourismo S: No Concession to the Times

In a time when we all seem to be giving up our dreams and dollars, turning to hybrids or even econocubes, one of the great marques steps out with a Grand Touring Sports car that puts others to shame. (More pix here.) If your portfolio is giving you fits, take $135K or so and put it where it will reward you every day.

Not only is it one of the best looking GTs anywhere, the Maserati is kind of a bargain when you look at the competition. Niched between the paltry Porsches and the over-the-top Astons, the GTS has a lot more class than either. Now, owing to public demand, our Italian friends are giving it a ZF automatic with paddles to replace the electro-clutch in the former “automatic.” This should provide smoother and faster shifting, and it’s debuting at the Geneva Show.

You’ll also get elegant 20” wheels, Bluetooth and iPod capability, and sideskirts under the doors. Standard is a 4.7-liter V8 with 433 hp and 361 lb-ft of torque, which should be enough to get your blue blood flowing. A Skyhook suspension system, like Ferrari’s, features electronically controlled damping. Since Fiat owns both Ferrari and Maserati (and Alfa Romeo), we may see more of these Mediterranean beauties here in the States.

But don’t expect prices to drop. The GT (no S) has made new sales records in all markets, and S buyers will have to be wait-listed. Said one auto analyst at the LA Show last fall, where Maserati starred,

You’re dealing with the ultra rich who, even if they take a hit, a car purchase for them is a very, very fractional piece of their net worth, Whether they’re paying $50,000 for a car or $200,000 or $300,000 for a car, it really makes no difference in their net worth.

Thank God we can all rest easy on that score.

What is it about Maseratis that turns us on—rich or poor?

—jgoods

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Yet Pontiac is the company with the slogan of “game changing performance.” ...

Pontiac has hit a homerun with the G8. So why is it being yanked?

When you think of performance vehicles, odds are names like BMW, Porsche, even Mercedes or Lexus will come to mind. Pontiac probably wouldn’t make the list.

Yet Pontiac is the company with the slogan of “game changing performance.” Of their 6 models, though, only two of them stand a chance of living up to that promise, and they’re both going away.

The RWD G8 and Solstice have given us reason to hope that the slogan would become more than just a marketing ploy, but oh my how things can change. Pontiac recently announced the discontinuation of these cars, leaving GM’s one-time ‘Driving Excitement’ brand with only front-wheel-drive midrange sedans, coupes, and unexciting crossovers. So much for GM’s claims of eventually turning Pontiac into an American version of BMW.

Without the G8 and the Solstice, Pontiac is left with the G6, the G5, the Torrent, and the Vibe. That’s certainly a lineup capable of delivering an adequate commute, but hardly reaches the performance level that Pontiac has always aimed for.

This is a sign of two possibilities:

GM is in the process of rebranding Pontiac toward the fuel efficient and practical… or
GM is in the process of phasing Pontiac out completely.

Option 1 would be a complete 180-degree shift from Pontiac’s performance history and is the less plausible outcome. Option 2 is more feasible, especially considering the talks of a possible GM/Chrysler merger. Pontiac would be left in the unenviable position of being an expendable brand simply because its main selling point, performance, would be gone.

Pontiac isn’t worth keeping around if they’re not even going to try living up to their ‘game changing performance’ claim. I’d rather see Pontiac ride valiantly and proud into automotive history than relegate itself to practicality.

What do you think- Is a Pontiac without any performance worthy of existing?

-tgriffith

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Latest Cars Reviews Blog

Green Update: If We Build It, They Will Come

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Mexico, and Some Thoughts on Kia

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Fiat Reinvents Chrysler

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Porsche CEO Goes Bye-Bye

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Consumer Reports: Honda Insight Disappoints

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2010 North American Car of the Year Candidates Announced

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Tata Nano: Coming to the U.S.A.!

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Of Hummers, Knights, and Red Bulls

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Three Weeks to Midnight

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Infiniti Hits a Home Run with the Stunning Essence Concept

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Maserati Grand Tourismo S: No Concession to the Times

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Yet Pontiac is the company with the slogan of “game changing performance.” ...

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