Car-News

Ford And Volvo Sitting In A Tree…

9 November 2007

…and just getting along.

There was speculation that Ford would be selling it’s Volvo brand like it did Aston Martin, but Ford’s chief Mulally is stating that Volvo and Ford are getting along fine, thank you very much.

It may seem like a smart move because of some of Ford’s woes, and Volvo’s place in the luxury market, but Ford’s products, and financials, have been improving greatly. Though their recent announcement was basically they’re breaking even, they are gaining steam with their new product line. Ford’s quality and styling has greatly improved, and with Toyota’s blunders in those areas, American auto-makers like Ford have a great opportunity to take over the top ranks.

So, visit your local Ford dealership and take a look at what they’ve got. You’ll be impressed, and won’t really care about that Volvo.

CarKing

Technorati Tags: Ford, Volvo

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Amateur Lamborghini Design - Lamborghini Embolado

9 October 2007

Amateurs! Sitting around thinking they’re all cool and know stuff! Not being paid…losers.

Like Luca Serafini, for example. He doesn’t work for Lamborghini! And he goes and, on his own time, designs one! Please, have some respect for the professionals!

Luca’s design for his fake Lamborghini, the Embolado as he likes to call it, is inspired from another crazy Spanish bull event. If you didn’t think the running of the bulls was ballsy enough, in the Toro Embolado they do it at night, with the bull’s horns on fire. It’s like there’s no Tivo in Spain so they have nothing better to do than come up with twisted events featuring raging bulls.

So, the “amateur” design (click thumbnails for larger versions):

Did you sense the sarcasm? This thing rocks like the Flintstones!

CarKing

Technorati Tags: Lamborghini Embolado

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Ladies & Gentlemen, The Shizzle Has Landed! The XSR48 That Is.

3 October 2007

I know it’s not a car but when I saw these pictures of the XSR48 yacht I had to pass them on. I love the reflective exterior, but that Star Trek waiting room interior is really the balls!

Check it out:

xsr48

xsr48 interior

xsr48 interior photo 2

CarKing

Technorati Tags: XSR48

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The Ancient Wisdom Of The Mazda Taiki

2 October 2007

I like Mazda vehicles, but you have to laugh when a designer states “Air is a very important substance, but it is invisible.” Nothing like melding the obvious with the asinine! That’s what Atsuhiko Yamada said, as reported by SunTimes, in describing the design process for the Taiki, a concept vehicle unveiled at the Tokyo motor show.

Yamada followed his Confucius-like wisdom with “To know what is right and not to do it is the Britney Spears way.”

mazda taiki

CarKing

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Who Says The Japanese Are Small? Toyota Goes Long!

28 September 2007

450 miles! Dang!

That’s the estimated distance of Toyota’s new fuel cell without a recharge, about twice that of the current production model. Toyota ran its vehicle from Osaka to Tokyo, and in the ultimate F-Off to General Motors, they did it with the air conditioning on! Ohhh the gauntlet’s been tossed down! The only way GM can rebound would be to drive the 450 miles, with the air conditioning on AND THE WINDOWS DOWN! If they are able to successfully do that then the Japanese automaker will have no choice but to surrender.

CarKing

Technorati Tags: Toyota, Fuel Cell

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GM Announces Profits

31 July 2007

Continued from yesterday’s post regarding Ford’s profits (first time
in two years), we have the announcement from GM that they have now had
3 quarters of profits in a row! Go America!

Nay-sayers will talk about GM’s revenue being down, but keep your
focus on the big picture. The auto industry in the United States
appears to be turning around. It’s not all rosey glasses, it’s still a
fight, but these are still good signs.

To give you that “Bizarro World” feeling, GMAC (the lending arm of GM)
profits are down due to the problems we’re seeing in the mortgage
market with an increase in foreclosures. A good reminder that to turn
the economy around (truly, not the politico version) we still have
work to do.

The
News

CarKing

Technorati Tags: GM Profits

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Ford Reports Profits

30 July 2007

Two years can seem like a long time between reports of a company
actually turning a profit, but that’s just what happened to Ford. It
seems they’ve turned a corner, and have recently reported a profit of
$750 million!

As readers know I’m a huge proponent of the American auto-makers. The
idea that the Japanese make better cars is a perception (yes, built on
historical trends). The truth is that the cars being made today by the
American automakers (Ford, GM, Chrysler) are at least as good as Honda
or Toyota vehicles.

While the announcement of profits by Ford is a great sign, the
perception that American-made automobiles lack quality needs to
change, and unfortunately it may take quite a bit of time to do so. To
get there, these bits of good news, along with an increase in the
vehicles on the road, will help. It’s important because perceptions
like these can dig into the public consciousness and become “truths”
like urban legends. When the perception dies, the industry will take a
major step forward because more consumers will be open to their
products.

I still here people say “American cars suck”. These people just will
not buy an American made automobile, until they hear more and more of
us saying “Hey, these new Ford/GM/Chrysler cars are great and very
reliable.”

CarKing

Technorati Tags: Ford reports profits

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Off To The Maine Forest Rally

10 July 2007

I’m heading out shortly for the Maine Forest Rally (no, not to race in
it, so Mainers can breathe a sigh of relief) to watch and soak in some
of that Northeast rain.

Watching a rally is a bit…frustrating. What you see is very cool,
cars sliding around the corners of narrow dirt roads going faster than
you would have thought possible while not marrying a tree and having
an extended inter-species honeymoon with EMT onlookers (manage-a-trees
anyone? anyone?). Unfortunately you see each vehicle for about 3
seconds, so unless you have the attention span of a moth or Paris
Hilton (obligatory Paris Hilton joke, check!) you get the
feeling you’re watching a tennis match and you can’t see the players,
just the ball zipping by.

No less it’s a good time, especially when you know a driver so you’ve
got something to route for. And watching the drunks hanging out in the
trees gets you through the minute between each car. The rally is July
13th & 14th and will get you juiced up for the 2nd year we’ll be
seeing rallying as a part of the X-Games (an awesome addition).

Maine Forest Rally site.

CarKing

Technorati Tags: rally, Maine Forest Rally

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Cars of the Future

15 June 2007

Wired has a great article on cars of the future being developed now by
the likes of MIT, NASA and Silicon Valley start-ups.

Note the “down-sizing” of vehicles, like MIT’s CityCar. This is a
trend I think we’re already seeing. While SUVs will remain popular, at
least as a pure necessity for families, there’s a backlash occurring
against them and it’s taking the shape of the SmartCar and vehicles
like the Honda Fit and Toyota Echo. I see this continuing for some
time, and we’ll have groups of vehicle enthusiasts…those who love
SUVs, and those who like their pocket cars.

The changes coming, however, involve more than just shear size. Think
radical new engines to increase efficiency through numerous motors,
and fuel systems that will accept a number of different fuel types.

And then there’s the powdered gasoline. Sure, sounds like a great
idea, until we have scores of teenagers hooked on snorting the crap.
You know it will happen.

Article

CarKing

Technorati Tags: Cars of the Future

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Toyota Says Their Cars Suck

22 May 2007

No really! What else could it mean when a car manufacturer says to the dealerships that sell them, “Hey, build more service bays to fix our cars”?

That’s what Toyota did according to the AIADA newsletter. Of course, of course, Toyota is saying that the reason for requesting dealerships have more service bays is because there are so many Toyotas on the road, and of course, of course, some of these are getting older.

Could it have something to do with, perhaps, just a little, of course, of course, all the recalls Toyota has had the past couple of years? Maybe, just maybe, their product isn’t quite as reliable as it used to be?

Well sure it’s possible, come on, what isn’t? Truth be told, I’m sure Toyota’s reasoning is valid. Toyota’s been selling more product than Paris Hilton’s been whining about jail time. With all those cars out there, there’s bound to be some servicing in the future.

The big question is, why are some resisting? You’d be blind to not build for the future. Service and repairs can make up a huge portion of a dealership’s profit. But until dealerships stop seeing their service and parts departments as the red-headed-stepchildren of their business, this cranky and pathetic bitching will surely continue.

CarKing

Technorati Tags: Toyota

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