Recent Comments:
Prius Overload: Toyota to bump production 70% {Autoblog}
Jul 25th 2008 4:00PM Hey Corvette ZR1. So you're back, I see, and just as... uh... yourself as you always were.
Knight Rider News: KITT can transform into a pickup! {Autoblog}
Jul 25th 2008 3:44PM WTF?
Spy Shots: VW "Robust" pickup {Autoblog}
Jul 25th 2008 1:41PM The only problem with the VW coming to the United States is in its size.
If it's tiny (i.e. Ford Ranger sized) VW needs to bring it here.
If it's big (i.e. Toyota Tacoma sized) we already have too many midsized trucks.
If it's a gas guzzler (i.e. less than 19 mpg on petrol) it won't sell.
I'm reserving judgment until I hear the dimensions and weight on this thing.
Spy Shots: VW "Robust" pickup {Autoblog}
Jul 25th 2008 1:34PM "A pick up truck will be driven by people who shop at Costco and need all that space for food and whatever else they can get at Costo or Home Depot or Sears."
Was this comment really necessary, Mike?
IIHS crash tests small pickups, majority flunk {Autoblog}
Jul 24th 2008 3:33PM "And 'light F-150 truck'? You mean one about three or four generations ago, right? Because the current F-150 is massive."
Like I said, the noncommercial truck market is going to *shrink* quite a bit : )
IIHS crash tests small pickups, majority flunk {Autoblog}
Jul 24th 2008 2:55PM You're absolutely right. Testing a vehicle without its side curtain airbags is pretty much worthless. You'd might as well just write "P" for the test before you even start it.
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/earliermodels.aspx?class=58
These are their tests for compact SUVs. Note that not one without side curtains performs any higher than "marginal". Most get a Poor rating at best.
Then check with side airbags. Nearly every one of them gets a "Good" rating.
Bottom line: Don't buy a car (or four-wheeled vehicle of any kind) without side airbags, it's like buying one without front airbags in that it's stupid and risky. The only protection you have in a side-impact collision without side-curtain airbags is the windshield and the door, and neither is soft enough to protect your vital organs.
IIHS crash tests small pickups, majority flunk {Autoblog}
Jul 24th 2008 2:18PM "Among this and numerous other reasons the non-commercial truck industry will die and rightly deserves to."
SW, have you ever needed to carry several hundred pounds of camping supplies? How about a full load of garbage to the dump that the garbage guys refuse to carry because it's too bulky? Or old aluminum cans to be recycled? Or mulch? Gardening supplies? Or a 6' Christmas tree? Or...
If you answered "no" to all these questions, then you have no idea what traditional truck buyers buy their trucks for. They generally have a compact commuter car and a light F-150 truck to tow and haul. Often, a car is simply too small to handle these loads, and a truck is needed to lift the heavy weight.
To put it another way: No, the noncommercial truck market isn't going to die. It's just going to shrink quite a bit.
IIHS crash tests small pickups, majority flunk {Autoblog}
Jul 24th 2008 2:05PM This particular IIHS test was incredibly stupid.
So the Tacoma's the only truck here that got a Good safety rating, eh? And it was also the only one with full safety features like side-curtain airbags? Gee, I wonder why the others got "Marginal" and "Poor" safety ratings?
Of course it got a good rating while the others did badly. I don't see how the other trucks could even compete in safety with lopsided tests like this.
That said, I guess I've learned my lesson: Always buy a vehicle with side curtain air bags. I'll be waiting to see how the Colorado does with its (standard for 2009, if I remember correctly) side-curtain airbags. And I'd just like to be the first to say I think the IIHS shouldn't force the other three to pay the price for a retest. I can't compare four models across a lineup when one vehicle has an advantage. Sorry, IIHS.
Ford posts $8.7B Q2 loss, will convert three truck factories to car production {Autoblog}
Jul 24th 2008 1:48PM Yep, that was the first thing I saw.
2010 Ford Mustang to debut at LA Auto Show {Autoblog}
Jul 23rd 2008 6:55PM Of the three musclecars coming on sale, I have a feeling the Mustang is going to be best. About two-hundred pounds less weight, and the new engines will probably be about the same power as the Camaro's and Challenger's if not more so, and if they're the 5.0 and 3.7 we've been talking about the Mustang will probably be more fuel efficient than either of its rivals.
The IRS might be a problem, though.
