economy


JDM Retrofuturism: Mitsuoka launches updated New Viewt

You know that unique thing that Mitsuoka does? If not, see for yourself. And here's another example of it: the new Viewt. Originally introduced in 1993, the Viewt is a Nissan Micra underneath what kind of resembles a Jaguar MkII shell. The latest version of the Viewt underwent some slight changes to ensure compliance with Japanese safety regulations, such as integrating the bumpers into the front end panels. We consider it a testament to Mitsuoka's designs that a shrunken, ill-proportioned Jaguar clone that sits on a Nissan microcar ... Read more →

Texas truck sales uptick seen as bellweather for auto sales? Chris Shunk

When auto sales began to circle the drain in 2008, no single segment was hurt more than pickup trucks. Sales were cut in half in many instances, pummeling the domestics from Detroit more often ...

Triple Play: Mercedes reportedly files patent papers for three-seat Smart Jonathon Ramsey

Trying to give buyers more chances to get into a Smart, the company produced a four-seat hatch called the ForFour in 2004. It sold so poorly that the car was axed after just two years. In spite of ...

REPORT: Analyst urges Mitsubishi, Suzuki to exit U.S. market John Neff

Two U.S. domestic automakers have now entered and emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Other automakers that were doing well before the economic implosion are now scrambling to cut costs and get ...

REPORT: Lamborghini sees no recovery until 2011 Chris Shunk

After several years of record growth, Lamborghini, like most automakers, is struggling in a tough economy. Sales are down 30% so far in 2009, and the Raging Bull even laid off factory workers for ...

Rumormill: Could the Fiat-Chrysler deal yield a North American Ford Ka? 6 months ago on Autoblog

It's a long shot, but according to The Detroit Free Press, Chrysler's deal with Fiat could result in Ford offering the cutesy Ka for sale in North America. As you may recall, Ford co-developed the Ka's platform with Fiat (it shares its chassis with the 500), and the Italian automaker builds ...

Opel reportedly mulling reviving Wartburg as low-cost brand 6 months ago on Autoblog

Despite an uncertain future, Ward's Auto is reporting that Opel is looking at the possibility of starting a new low-cost line under the revived moniker "Wartburg." Made by East German company VEB AEW until 1991, in their most recent guise, Wartburgs were cheap transportation for the Communist set, ...

Rendered Speculation: Is this the 2011 Renault Clio? 6 months ago on Autoblog

Is this the next Renault Clio? A spy shot forum has posted grainy black-and-white renderings of what could be the basis of the 2011 hatchback. While the protruding nostrils raise eyebrows, from the front and rear 3/4-view the car has an engaging line, the Mazda-like upswept creases moving ...

Shanghai 2009: Geely IG Fantastic Concept makes us go "Awwww...." 6 months ago on Autoblog

If a local Chinese automaker wants to challenge the Smart, then they should do it with something like this, the Geely IG Fantastic (and not this, the Shuanghuan Bubble). It's kooky, and the headlights almost meet the taillights, but most importantly it's original. It also looks to be a ...

Rendered Speculation: Yet another next-gen Ford Focus photoshop 7 months ago on Autoblog

Ford's design language can be largely distilled to three words: "let it ride." 2005's Iosis Concept created the template for kinetic design, and ever since then Ford has cashed in a number of winning bets on that language. Next up is the 2010 Ford Focus, based on the Iosis Max concept, and all of ...

Honda CEO says Insight price won't be reduced further 7 months ago on Autoblog

Honda's new Insight went on sale in hits homeland about a week ago, and already it's under attack. Before it hit the market, there were rumors that it would be much cheaper than the Toyota Prius. Toyota, however, has other ideas. The Insight is 1.89 million yen ($18,853 USD) in Japan, which is ...

Daimler's Car2Go program coming to Austin, Texas this fall 7 months ago on Autoblog

Last October we advised you not to hold your breath for Daimler's Car2Go program to come to America. You can breathe again. If you live in Austin, Texas you'll be able to rent a mild hybrid Smart ForTwo by the minute this fall. Austin was chosen because of its university population and its concern ...

MINI pondering BMW-engined diesel models, including JCW? 7 months ago on Autoblog

Two weeks ago, Auto Express reported that MINI would be creating a John Cooper Works edition diesel with more than 160 horsepower and improved torque. Now, fellow UK publication Autocar looks to have the details, which includes speculation that the extra oomph will come from BMW engines now used in ...

Spy Shots: If this is it, the Mazda1 looks nothing like Kiyora concept 7 months ago on Autoblog

UPDATE: This is not a prototype for the Mazda1, it is a Chinese-market Haima subcompact based on the Mazda2. Thanks to everyone who sent in the correction When we were told that the Mazda Kiyora concept unveiled at last year's Paris Motor Show would influence Mazda's coming city car, it looks like ...

Yep, That'll Fix It: Berlin youths torching Porsches, BMWs over economy 8 months ago on Autoblog

French youth like to burn cars on New Year's - and they don't mind lighting a few the rest of the year, either. German youths apparently really get their "arson on" when the economy takes a dip, as it happens to be doing right now. According to Bloomberg, at least 29 luxury vehicles have gone up in ...

Geneva Preview: Caparo-baiting Fioravanti concept draws nigh 8 months ago on Autoblog

Fioravanti has made a habit of showing interesting things at the Geneva Motor Show. This year it will reportedly be the LF1, a car built to demonstrate the application of Formula 1 design and build techniques to a production vehicle. Done up like the Caparo T1's open-air cousin, the LF1 doesn't ...

Gordon Murray's city car prototype is "weeks away" 8 months ago on Autoblog

The T25, Gordon Murray's take on revolutionizing urban transport – and perhaps driving itself – the same way he did with supercars with his McLaren F1, is almost ready for center stage. Now that the design and engineering has been completed, T25 prototypes are expected on the roads in a ...

Geneva Preview: Rinspeed's E2 delivers a Fiat 500 with a split personality 8 months ago on Autoblog

The mad Wissenschaftlers at Rinspeed have come up with a dual-mode Fiat 500 Abarth that gets you more power and better gas mileage – just not at the same time. Rinspeed started with the 500 Abarth that has a standard 135 horsepower, and they've given it a new engine management system that ...

Mahindra profits tank 99% amidst currency woes 9 months ago on Autoblog

You think that General Motors and Chrysler are in trouble? Take a look at India's largest SUV-maker, Mahindra. It posted a whopping 99% drop in profits last quarter due to the double blow of a 26% sales dip and a "currency loss." The lack of interested car buyers is an all-too-familiar theme, but ...

Mitsubishi pulls out of Dakar and other cross-country races 9 months ago on Autoblog

Mitsubishi joins makers like Honda, Audi, Porsche, Suzuki, Subaru, and Kawasaki in pulling out of some form of motorsports because of... well, do we really need to say it? Neither the Mitsubishi Pajeros that won the Dakar Rally twelve times in total (out of 26 attempts), nor the diesel Racing ...

Hyundai planning Toyota iQ rival 9 months ago on Autoblog

It is codenamed "green baby," and it is Hyundai's answer to the Toyota iQ. A Hyundai Europe insider hinted that the car could be funkier and "more basic and functional" than the iQ. The iQ Concept had a pretty neat interior, but there really isn't much space between it and the backstop of basic ...

U.S.-bound 2011 Volkswagen Polo headed to Geneva 9 months ago on Autoblog

Volkswagen's continuing push into the U.S. market could be called Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue. "New" would be the coming mid-sized sedan, "borrowed" would be the Routan, "blue" would be BlueSport, and "old" would be the VW Polo. The version of the Polo we'll be ...

Germany's turn: scrap your used car, get a bonus to buy a new one 9 months ago on Autoblog

Last month China proposed a plan to offer consumers a cash incentive to scrap their cars and buy new ones. Germany is the latest country looking at the same option, with a law that aims to give €2,500 to people getting rid of cars that are at least nine years old and buying new ones. China ...

2010 Toyota Corolla, Matrix get standard stability and traction control 9 months ago on Autoblog

It's not every day that you get more for the same money. Yet that's what Toyota is offering with the 2010 Corolla, which will come with traction control and vehicle stability control and no price increase over the outgoing model. The MSRP of that car remains $15,350 for the base model 5-speed sedan. ...

Russia expected to be third largest global market by 2012 9 months ago on Autoblog

Russia has long been included under the "emerging markets" umbrella that carmakers have been saying would lead to future industry growth. The economic fallout put an end to those predictions, with Russia suffering just as badly – and if you include the oil sector, some would say even worse ...

Rendered Speculation: Honda to create mini-hatch for emerging markets 10 months ago on Autoblog

Lost in the jeers following Honda's move to cancel the NSX – a car it could probably sell based solely on its ridiculously wonderful exhaust note – is news that the Big H is planning an A-segment car for markets outside of Japan. Now that the microcar segment is what's cooking, and the ...

2009 Kia cee'd gets Intelligent Stop & Go 10 months ago on Autoblog

Stop/start technology is like a trial membership for hybrids: it lets drivers in on the fuel savings and lower carbon emissions without forcing them to become a card-carrying member of the hybrid brigade. Kia is will be offering buyers just such an opportunity by introducing ISG, or Idle, Stop, ...

Hyundai, Kia slash 2008 forecasts 10 months ago on Autoblog

Hot on the wheels heels of Toyota slashing its recently amended profit forecast by another 90%, Hyundai and Kia have cut their sales forecasts by 12.5% and told managers there'll be no extra fat in their paychecks this year. The combined company predicted sales of 4.8 million vehicles, that's ...

Holden to produce four-cylinder small car 10 months ago on Autoblog

Holden, known for it's massive sedans and massively appealing V8s, is on the small car bandwagon with its announcement to build a four-cylinder car in Australia to be sold alongside the Commodore. Holden currently has three four-cylinder cars, but they're comprised of rebadged Daewoo's and an Opel, ...

Gas too cheap: OPEC approves largest output cut ever 11 months ago on Autoblog

You didn't really think OPEC was going to pack up its supercar fleet and shut down the holiday mansions while $1.55 gasoline -- and that's in California -- ruled the day, did you? Oh no. OPEC hasn't merely cut production, it gutted production by the never-before-seen amount of 2.2 million barrels ...

GM prices Silverado Hybrid, Sierra Hybrid, and Pontiac G3 12 months ago on Autoblog

One day before the press converge on the LA Auto Show, General Motors has released pricing on its 2009 Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid, 2009 GMC Sierra Hybrid and the 2009 Pontiac G3. The full-size hybrid pickup trucks each feature GM's patented two-mode hybrid drivetrain with a 6.0-liter V8 under the ...

Toyota expected to post first annual sales decline in 10 years 1 year ago on Autoblog

We knew the auto industry was in bad shape and it didn't take long to extend its poisoned-tipped tentacles into the world's automotive juggernaut. In August came news that the Japanese automaker had cut its sales forecast for 2008 from 10.4 million vehicles to 9.7 million. A Japanese newspaper, ...

People turn to torching cars in bad economy 1 year ago on Autoblog

Vehicle owners behind in their payments and faced with mounting debts have begun taking matches to their cars and trucks in an effort to stop their payments and collect the insurance settlements. Unfortunately, in most cases the attempts backfire (pun intended). According to police, when ...

Oil back below $88 on Monday 1 year ago on Autoblog

Simply put, the U.S. economy is in the crapper. Stocks are yoyoing and our mortgages are a fraction of what they were even a year ago. For all that's fiscally wrong here in the States, there is one pleasant side effect: the price of a barrel of oil is dropping faster than Kimbo Slice against a two ...

Paris 2008: Mitsubishi Colt Ralliart and Colt five-door 1 year ago on Autoblog

Even for utilitarian transport, the Colt is a fine looking vehicle – Mitsu's new grille is a one-size-fits-all beautifier, and there are some nice details around the car. The dip in the headlights isn't original, but it's executed with a flavor of its own. Inside it's plastic city and ...

Paris Preview: Kia cee'd Hybrid 1 year ago on Autoblog

Kia's will have at least two new tricks at the Paris Motor Show, one of them being the Kia Soul. The other will be a Kia cee'd gas-electric hybrid. Already available in coupe, 5-door hatch, and sportwagon variants, a hybrid addition based on the five-door would be a perfect addition to the line. So ...

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Autoblog Podcast #152: Paukert Enhanced!

Chris Paukert joins the usual crew of Chris, Sam, and Dan, summarily classing up the joint.

 
 

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