Autoblog

While domestic sales continue to slide, the auto market in China is thriving. Both General Motors and Ford have reported double-digit sales growth for the first-half of 2008 in the world's most populace country, with GM moving 590,126 Buick, Chevrolet, and Cadillac vehicles for a total sales increase of 12.7 percent, while Ford sold 172,411 units for 21 percent jump in growth. With China recognized as the second-largest vehicle market outside the United States, and with their economy forecasted to grow by at least nine percent this year, automakers in Europe, Japan, and the U.S. are investing heavily to expand sales and production in the Chinese market. It is worth noting that vehicle sales in China have been nearly immune to the increase in global oil prices as governmental controls keep diesel and gasoline prices among the world's lowest.

[Source: Detroit News]

Fiat's new diminutive retromobile is selling like proverbial hot-cakes, proving right early indications of the car's initial market popularity. With an initial run of 58,000 planned for this year, the Italian automaker has already received orders for 51,000 units from its dealers in Italy alone, and another 6,000 from France... just three weeks after the car's Italian launch and one week after debuting in France. Geez, does thing emit iPhones out its tailpipe?

To meet the surging demand, this year's production will increase from 58,000 to between 65 and 67,000 units, while subsequent years' production, originally earmarked at 120,000, will be increased to 140,000. In order to support the increased output, Fiat's plant in Tychy, Poland – where Fiat also produces the Panda supermini and upcoming Ford Ka following its launch next fall – will be considerably expanded, leapfrogging Fiat's largest Italian plant in Melfi to become the conglomorate's second largest worldwide, behind the Belo Horizonte plant in Brazil.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

When we drove the Edge in San Francisco last year, we came away rather impressed by Ford's newest entrant into the highly competitive CUV market. Apparently, we're not alone.

Consumer demand for the Edge has continued to increase since its launch, causing Ford to raise its sales forecast from 100,000 to 120,000 sales annually. Case-in-point: May saw the highest number of Edge sales so far, with 12,701 units sold. If those numbers remain constant, Ford should be able to exceed its revised sales goal, if only by a couple of hundred vehicles.

Knowing how important the Edge is to Ford's success, this is good news for the Blue Oval boys. Let's just hope it can be sustained.

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

In the first quarter of 2006, there were 53,328 subcompacts sold. In the first quarter of this year, 107,942 little engines that could have tootled off of dealer lots. That's a 95.1% increase. At the current pace, according to Ward's Auto, B-segment vehicles will nearly double their last year's sales of 274,272 units. That would put them at levels not seen since 1995.

Until recently, sales of subcompacts consistently declined. In 1998, 120,216 only of them were sold, which was a 26-year low, and a huge drop from the 567,210 cars sold just three years prior to that. It's a small market compared to other segments, but it's a noteworthy trend because of the multitude of factors that could be driving it. A Global Insight analyst said that "auto makers missed the ball when they aimed the latest crop of B-cars at the youth market," because Gen Y would rather have trucks or SUVs. (Has anyone told Scion or Honda that?) But if that's the case, who's buying them and why?

[Source: Sema via Winding Road]

It will soon cost you a lot more to distort your face like putty and suck the plugs right out of your scalp while going deaf. What? Er, make that WHAT!? Right. Well, Brammo Motorsports has a hit on their hands with the Ariel Atom, and they've been forced to add more people to keep the skeletal rocket's production humming along. The $6,000 price increase spares us Dads, by appearing June 18th. That still leaves time for your loved ones to get you a 300 horsepower suggestion of a car. Six grand is a steep price bump – for that price you can build a very nice LoCost. There's also competition sneaking up on the Atom, like the KTM X-Bow and other cars that share the same bare-minimum-with-brawny-motor ethos.

Even bumped by six large, the price is still a bargain considering what the car can do. You'll run with some serious company – and there lies another hidden cost of all these cars – where to drive them? Over the road motoring may hold its own visceral charms, giving you a glimpse of how Frogger feels, but really, the only place to use these things is a track, and track time costs money. Maybe they'll knock some dough off the bottom line if you go without the floormats or radio ... err... perhaps you could charge all your buddies $10 bucks for three laps around the company parking lot at lunch?

[Source: Winding Road]

click the image above for the gallery

Here's Top Gear's cure for their idiot dyno test that proved nothing. As much as we love Top Gear, their derision of the GT500 for producing a "mere" 447 horespower on a chassis dyno is pure BS. A 10-percent loss through the drivetrain is stellar, yet the spin from our snarky British friends was that it was somehow subpar. Kenne Bell has the antidote, and it's available in several stages of tune, from streetable to antisocial.

Since the GT500 is factory-equipped with a supercharger, the engine internals have been beefed up for boost, and a water to air intercooler is in place. The Kenne Bell system replaces the stock Eaton blower with its trademark Twin Screw system. The throttle body is also upsized to 75 millimeters versus the stock 60, but the rest of the intake tract remains stock. Rounding out the Stage 1 tuning is an ECU flash, and the end result is 606 horsepower at the rear wheels. Take that, Hamster and Clarkson! Changing out a few other intake components and fiddling with the drive pulley's diameter will net you Stage 2 or 3 tuning, delivering up to 692 horsepower on the rollers. Maybe this kit will serve to quiet some of the carping from the Top Gear pundits, but we think they just don't understand muscle cars. It's a different flavor of performance, that's for sure, and the Kenne Bell upgrades add even more spice.

Thanks for the tip, Drew

[Source: Mustang Life]

Alan Mulally went to Ford to kick ass and chew bubblegum, and now he'll be able to afford more Hubba Bubba. It's really a stock option bump -- from $5 to $6 million -- as a reward for taking FoMoCo by its earlobes and attempting to drag it out of the mire it's stuck in. We have seen more focus out of Dearborn as Mulally rallies the troops, and the compensation is recognition that the good fight is being waged. Intent on keeping its four-star general focused, the board has also allowed Mulally's immediate family and guests access to Ford aircraft for personal use, even without the presence of the CEO. While it may seem egregious – it makes sense. Rather than chaperone people around, Mulally's time is better spent running Ford. Also, since his family hasn't completed a relocation from Seattle, it allows them to get together with a less heroic effort. Even CEOs want to see their spouses and children, so while there are hefty expenses associated with flying the corporate jets around, a distracted, ineffective CEO is far more costly.

[Source: autonews - Sub Req'd]

Porsche's sales figures are in for the 2006 fiscal year, and profits are up by over ten percent to a staggering €7.27 billion. Production grew by nearly thirteen percent over last year, putting out more than 100,000 cars over the year.

Some would be inclined to attribute the record sales, profits and revenues to Porsche's drifting away from its core values with the Cayenne sport-ute, but the bulk of the success is attributed to the 911 and the new Cayman, pure sportscars through and through, while Cayenne sales dropped.

While most sportscar-makers are owned by larger automotive conglomerates – Ferrari by Fiat, Lamborghini by VW, Aston Martin by Ford (for now) – in Stuttgart, it's the other way around. Porsche's increasing financial success has enabled them to buy an increasing stake in the VW Group, in turn giving Porsche partial control over the full range of brands including Volkswagen, Audi, Seat, Skoda, Bentley, Lamborghini and Bugatti.

Porsche isn't planning on resting on its tire-treads either, with ambitious plans to expand in growing markets in Russia, China and the Middle East, and new models on the way .

(Follow the jump for the full press release.)

[Source: Porsche AG via Motor Authority]