Autoblog

HEY GM, BRING BACK THE EV1

A decade ago General Motors put one of the coolest cars of all time on the road, the EV1. While there were a number of hard-core EV enthusiasts who became passionately committed to the car, it never caught on with the masses. But that was then and this is now. GM should seriously consider putting the EV1 back into production.

John McElroy is host of the TV program "Autoline Detroit". Every week he brings his unique insights as an auto industry insider to Autoblog readers. Follow the jump to continue reading this week's editorial.

HOW MANY BRANDS ARE TOO MANY?

With gas prices soaring and SUV sales sinking, General Motors just put its HUMMER brand under "strategic review." That's generally the term used when a company is getting ready to dump a brand. And that begs the question, how many brands does a car company really need?

There are a number of companies that have multiple brands, like GM (Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, Cadillac, GMC, Saab, Saturn, Opel, Holden, Vauxhaul), Ford (Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo), Fiat (Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Ferrari, Maserati) and Volkswagen (VW, Audi, Seat, Skoda, Lamborghini, Bentley, Bugatti). Some of these brands are strong and successful. Some are not.

The big, successful automakers these days seem to have only two brands, a mass market brand and a luxury one. That's the model Toyota, Honda, and Nissan are following. And that sure seems to be the business model that will work best for the foreseeable future.

John McElroy is host of the TV program "Autoline Detroit". Every week he brings his unique insights as an auto industry insider to Autoblog readers. Follow the jump to continue reading this week's editorial.

FORD'S AMBITIOUS MAKE-OVER

It could be the most dramatic retooling effort since the early days of World War II, when Detroit earned its nick name as the Arsenal of Democracy. Word leaked out yesterday that Ford is calling its plant managers and top union leaders to the company's headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan to debrief them on an ambitious plan to revamp its manufacturing plants. Ford wants a crash program to change over many of its truck plants to produce fuel-efficient passenger cars.

The urgency conveyed by this development (the company will not yet officially confirm it) is due to the surge in gasoline and diesel prices that have decimated truck sales. Never has there been seen such a dramatic shift in customer demand in such a short period of time. Last month sales for the Detroit Three absolutely collapsed, and when sales are tallied for this month, the carnage is going to be worse.

Realizing that any delay could permanently cripple the company, Ford's CEO Alan Mullaly decided to embark on a bold effort to achieve a rapid change over. Hence, the unprecedented call to bring all the plant managers and top union reps together for an emergency meeting.

John McElroy is host of the TV program "Autoline Detroit". Every week he brings his unique insights as an auto industry insider to Autoblog readers. Follow the jump to continue reading this week's editorial.

THE BIG THREE COLLAPSE

Ooof! May sales were like a punch in the stomach, especially to the Detroit Three. It's been nearly three decades since we've seen their sales collapse so dramatically.

Last month the annualized sales rate of the American market, including all automakers, fell to only 14.2 million units. That means if sales keep on going like they did in May, the industry will only sell 14.2 million units this year. Remember, as recently as 2006 this industry sold over 17 million.

That drop off of nearly 3 million vehicles translates into the equivalent loss of:
12 assembly plants
6 engine plants
6 transmission plants
5 stamping plants
Dozens and dozens of component plants

That also translates into an estimated loss of about 65,000 jobs. In only two years time!

John McElroy is host of the TV program "Autoline Detroit". Every week he brings his unique insights as an auto industry insider to Autoblog readers. Follow the jump to continue reading this week's editorial.

CAR PRICES ARE SET TO SOAR

Thanks to sky high gasoline prices, most people are reeling from the cost of driving their cars. But that was just the first jolt. Now we're going to see a big jump in the cost of buying cars, both new and used.

Why am I so sure car prices are going up? Easy. All you have to do is look at the cost of the materials needed to make a car.

John McElroy is host of the TV program "Autoline Detroit". Every week he brings his unique insights as an auto industry insider to Autoblog readers. Follow the jump to continue reading this week's editorial.

FIRST-HAND LOOK AT FORD'S ECO-BOOST TECHNOLOGY

I just spent a day at Ford's proving grounds driving a number of vehicles that use Eco-boost technology, which is the centerpiece of the company's strategy to improve fuel economy. I wish I could tell you more about my driving impressions of these Fords, but all that information is embargoed for now. What I can say is that the Eco-boost technology works impressively well.

However, while the technology works well, I wonder how well Ford's strategy will work. That's because this technology does not really improve the fuel economy of an engine. It merely allows the company to use a smaller engine in place a bigger one. And sure enough, across almost the entire rev-range, an Eco-boost engine produces more torque than naturally aspirated engines that are at least one liter larger.

John McElroy is host of the TV program "Autoline Detroit". Every week he brings his unique insights as an auto industry insider to Autoblog readers. Follow the jump to continue reading this week's editorial.

WHY USE BATTERIES IF FLYWHEELS WILL DO?

Formula One could be on to something big. Next year all teams will be allowed to capture the energy that their cars produce under braking, and then re-use that energy at opportune moments, like passing on a straight.

It's really a hybrid system, but they don't call it that. They call it a Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS).

The best part of the new regulations is that they do not specify what kind of regenerative energy system the teams have to use. It seems pretty likely that Toyota and Honda will go with a battery-electric hybrid system, since that's the kind of technology they sell in their showrooms. But Formula One is also going to become the testing grounds for a completely different kind of hybrid system that does not use batteries.

John McElroy is host of the TV program "Autoline Detroit". Every week he brings his unique insights as an auto industry insider to Autoblog readers. Follow the jump to continue reading this week's editorial.

Click for more Dodge Challenger SRT-8 pics from John McElroy's drive

A couple of weeks back I wrote a bit about the new Dodge Challenger SRT-8. But to honor the embargo that the Public Relations people put on driving impressions, I had to hold the best stuff until now. And man, was it worth the wait!

Despite a sagging economy, sinking car sales and soaring gas prices, the SRT-8 version of the Challenger is going to do just fine. That, despite the fact it only averages 15 mpg and costs $40,000. No worries, mate, it's the other numbers that are going to sell this car.

Check 'em out:
0-60 mph: 4.9 seconds
¼ mile: 13.7 seconds
0-100-0 mph: under 17 seconds
60-0 mph: 110 feet

When it comes to top speed, the SRT people have had the car up to 170 mph, but that was on an oval. Since the Challenger is not speed-limited in any way except for its aerodynamic drag, they believe that out on the Salt Flats it will go even faster.

Click here to continue reading after the jump.


John McElroy is host of the TV program "Autoline Detroit". Every week he brings his unique insights as an auto industry insider to Autoblog readers. Follow the jump to continue reading this week's editorial.

SAE WRAP-UP

This is what we call SAE week in Detroit. It's when automotive engineers from all over the world get together here to share their ideas on the burning engineering issues of the day. And there's no question that boosting fuel economy and reducing CO2 topped the agenda.

I can't pretend to say I learned everything being discussed at the Society of Automotive Engineers show. This thing goes on for days, has hundreds of technical presentations, all kinds of company exhibits, and is attended by something like 30,000 engineers from almost every continent. But I did manage to pick up some interesting tidbits.

John McElroy is host of the TV program "Autoline Detroit". Every week he brings his unique insights as an auto industry insider to Autoblog readers. Follow the jump to continue reading this week's editorial.

IF THEY BUILD THEM WILL YOU BUY THEM?

I just got done driving the new Dodge Challenger SRT8 this week. And I fell in love with it. The styling snaps your eyes right to it, the proportions are gorgeous, and the performance numbers are breathtaking. But it's even more visceral than that.

The exhaust note is incredible. Put the hammer down and you get a timpani of hammers in return. The pistons pound out a symphony of sounds, and it sounds just as good backing out of the gas and it does jumping on it.

Driving this car is like driving a fighter plane. If Ford has the equivalent of the P-51 Mustang, then Dodge just built the equivalent of the P-47 Thunderbolt. It's that kind of brute.

John McElroy is host of the TV program "Autoline Detroit". Every week he brings his unique insights as an auto industry insider to Autoblog readers. Follow the jump to continue reading this week's editorial.