Recent Comments:
GM Daewoo passes Kia as Korea's No. 2 automaker {Autoblog}
Jan 5th 2007 9:42AM Of COURSE Daewoo is going to do exactly as it's parent does. It'll be ruination for them within a decade, just as happened to other GM "partners" such as Isuzu and Saab. Subaru got off the hook and went to swim with Toyota, which saved them.
In late 2003 we needed a very cheap new car so we could give our 1999 Neon to our college age son. I did not wish to buy some used POS. We had bought an '02 Sonata in January and liked it, but we had the budget for a $8000 new car.
Impossible? Well, I did some on-line searching and knew of Daewoo, and knew of the GM "trick" where they yanked the rug out from under DaewooUSA (in fact, for about 6 or 9 months GM would not even sell spare parts to DaewooUSA, and DaewooUSA went bankrupt). This meant that 'virtually new' (could not be SOLD as new) Daewoo cars were available for - 1/2 price of MSRP.
We found a dealer in Ohio (a Ford dealer, no less) which carried several hundred 'virtually new' 2002 Daewoo Lanos hatchbacks, Nubira compact sedans and Leganza mid-sized sedans, essentially it seemed is if they were base-automatic models (probably an aborted shipment of cars intended for rental car use that was caught en-route to the US when GM did the dirty deed).
Picked up a dark blue automatic Nubira compact for $7800, MSRP $14,800. It was actually one of the best cars we'd ever owned for reliability, had very few problems (which is good since the only Daewoo dealer was 2 1/2 hours away - told you I'd taken a big chance). My parents still drive it (we gave it to them last year). The car will now never see 60,000 miles (and the need for a cam-belt change) and will last the duration for my retired parents.
So after having the car awhile, yeah, we knew it was pretty cheap in the interior department but mechanically it was good. The metal work was very good and paint was as good as any premium car manufacturer.
GM stole the company for pennies on the dollar and it was the only smart move GM have made in decades. Watch them screw it up, just like they did Saab & Isuzu....
The buzz is wrong: LaSorda says no Hornet from China {Autoblog}
Jan 3rd 2007 10:24AM Could this new, small Chery B-class sedan be the badge-engineered car DCX plans to sell in the US and Europe?
http://www.globalautoindex.com/news.plt?no=1615
Are these things really worth it? - What if you made a regular car with all the tricks of a Prius? {Autoblog}
Dec 28th 2006 3:38PM I feel qualified to comment since I have had a 2005 Prius for 18 months and have 32,000 miles on mine (now that my wife & I carpool, we have gone from 20,000 miles a year on two cars per year, to 20,000 on the Prius and about 5000 on the 'conventional' V6 mid-sized car, a 2002 Sonata V6).
The interior size (HUGE) in the Prius IS actually attributable to the hybrid drivetrain. Not much space is required for a small, 1.5 litre Atkinson cycle engine, and not much space is required by the traction battery (which also only adds about 135 pounds to the weight of the car - some of which is made up for by the fact that the 12 volt battery in the Prius is tiny - apparently the same 'group' as a lawn tractor - saving probably 30-40 pounds back). The 12 volt battery only need boot the computers, you see....
Here are the true to life facts about Prius.
I immediately began savings and "payback" when I bought it because my originally intended car was a 21 mpg (at best) mid-sized near-luxury V6 (I wanted a Hyundai XG350). I chose the Prius and "traded" leather & power seats & sunroof & ersatz-Bentley looks for a futuristic look, 45-50 mpg and safety (vehicle stability control).
So my 'pay-back' is immediate, right? Right.
The Prius does 'everything' that the 'conventional' V6 mid-sized car does, but it uses HALF THE FUEL DOING IT. It also pollutes significantly less.
I read somewhere that the reason that the Atkinson cycle engine (invented some 150 years ago) is not used in 'conventional' cars is due to a lack of torque (accelerative power), which is a moot point with a big electric motor combined with the Atkinson cycle.
Finally, hasn't anyone here read about the next generation Prius coming out in about 2009?!
1.8 litres, supercharged (Miller cycle), Ni-Cad batteries (thus, a smaller battery pack for more rear seat room and luggage room), and 95 (US) miles per gallon? Oh yeah, a promise of having a price differential between Prius and a conventional car, cut in half.
And no, Toyota are NOT going to get rid of Prius - on the contrary, they may end up using the name as a Brand, such as they do with Scion, and they are planning to offer other variants. I believe a city car was mentioned. I hope they do a minivan, too.
Bajaj auto-rickshaws to get fuel injectors for LGP, CNG models {Autoblog Green}
Sep 21st 2006 3:38PM Saw this car (?) picture and immediately though, isn't this the sort of car that the California attorney general wants sold in California, to the exclusion of all other types?
Of course, once the car had the required air bags, side beams, side air bags, crumple zones, anti lock brakes, vehicle stability control (especially needed with 3 wheels, I'd guess), emissions equipment and so forth, the top speed "might" be somewhere in the order of what - 20 mph? The mileage "might" drop just a tad, from a huge weight increase too, but what the heck, huh?
Wow, you Californians will be "stylin' in these three wheelers" if your esteemed (?) government has it's way.
These cars will go down well in the socialist Northeast U.S. where they follow California's every move, too. Except the passengers "might" be a tad COLD for about, say, 4-5 months of the year.
Can common-sense be FROZEN into people, I wonder?
GM increases warranty to five years/100,000 miles {Autoblog}
Sep 8th 2006 11:24AM So this warrantee is supposed to make all of the prior sins of 30 years go away?
What use is a longer warrantee when the last GM car I had (a 1997) had a warrantee worth less than the paper it was written on? The dealer didn't bother doing what they should have done, the warrantee was worthless.
So, a worthless paper which has higher numbers has what value to me? Answer: NONE.
No thanks. I'll stick to Toyota, may try a Honda, maybe Hyundai.
Iranian automaker expands, steps up hybrid effort {Autoblog}
Aug 18th 2006 1:17PM Malaysia is a more progressive Islamic country, than Iran, rwdmtparkingonly?
Like North Korea has only murdered say 10 million of it's own people, so they are more progressive communists than Stalin was, who murdered 67 million of his own countrymen?
Is that the kind of progressiveness you're speaking of?
Yes of course I knew someone would bring up the inquisition. Yes, it was a mistake for there to be a union of civil and religious government in that era. Is it less of a mistake for the Islamo-fascists now?
I can tell you that Christians are not perfect, but forgiven and you'll just scoff. I may as well not bother writing, since I'm only throwing pearls before swine.
Those people who cannot fathom the difference between good and evil, don't need to fear good, but fear the evil they don't even understand.
Iranian automaker expands, steps up hybrid effort {Autoblog}
Aug 18th 2006 11:19AM "Iran is an Islamic theocracy; under Iran's strict practice if the IKCO Samand converts away from Islam it will be executed. The Chevy Malibu has constitutionally protected freedom of religion (for now, Bush is working on turning the US into a theocracy also."
Oh, please. Give me a break, and everyone else, too. I certainly hope this was tongue-in-cheek.
If not, then such drivel is unworthy of even being put on public display. It just underlines your foolishness.
People who hate Bush so much that it blinds you are worse than fools. I don't care for the man or his politics, but this statement is nonsense.
Jesus Christ's true faithful never threaten anyone with their lives if they do not become Christian.
In fact the only religion that does this on planet earth, and has it codified in it's writings, is Islam.
Foolish people who cannot determine good from evil aren't going to be threatened or destroyed by good.
Have you seen any headlines over, oh, the past 35 YEARSs describing an Amishman or Mennonite man hijacking a plane and flying it into buildings, or shooting at Jews in their offices, or shooting at El Al aircraft, or bombing Marines while they're asleep in their barracks, or kidnapping US citizens and holding them hostage for over 400 days?
Not all Islamics aree Islamo-fascists, just like not all Germans were Nazis. But virtually ALL terrorists in the world are - guess what - Islamo-fascists.
Don't shoot the messenger, when you hear THE TRUTH.
Fascism is NOT dead, it just reared it's ugly head in the Arab and Muslim world.
Does diesel cause 9,000 fatal heart attacks a year in the UK? {Autoblog Green}
Aug 16th 2006 3:33PM OK, so now where are all the people who visit autoblog who trash my Prius and think DIESEL cars are "the answer"?
Cue the crickets.
Hyundai confirms VeraCruz large CUV will be produced {Autoblog}
Aug 11th 2006 8:07AM Looks like it is not only the Big 2 1/2 which have set irrovcable plans into place to build even bigger vehicles while gas prices continue going north of $3 a gallon, huh?
On the flip side, Hyundai (and Kia) apparently have some lower cost hybrids in the wings, including (at least, I've heard) Accent and Sonata. The Accent uses tech similar to Honda's.
What they NEED to do (along with everyone else but Toyota, which already does it) is to develop an exclusively hybrid car line to maximize the benefits of hybrid drive, and use a full hybrid system not just hybrid assist.
But, hey, why should I care? I've got my hybrid and thus Hyundai, who did have a customer in me, have lost me to Toyota.
For my future purchases, if it isn't rated at 50 MPG by the EPA I don't want to look. I've been spoiled and why should I go back to gas guzzler hell?
Ohio stockin' up on Chinese vehicles {Autoblog}
Aug 10th 2006 12:39PM See the link to peek at the MITSUBISHI branded cars that China Motor make in Taiwan.
http://www.globalautoindex.com/maker.plt?no=96&g=Mitsubishi
I'm surprised that Mitsubishi will allow a competitor to sell a car they engineered, sold as a Mitsubishi in Taiwan, in the USA as a "CMC" or whatever it might be called. (I certainly hope they don't retain the "Grunder" model name - it kind of doesn't work too well - sounds a little too close to "Grungie" IMHO).
It also looks like only the 2.4 liter four is used in the Grunder (which is quite corrct, a variant of the US built Mitsubishi Galant).
It's "official" on the China Motor website, as well. Check it out - I've copied it right from their site.
The name of the official US importing company may also surprise any of you "in the know."
Vehicle Exporting
USA
EZ-GO Division of Textron Inc.
