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By Chrissie Thompson, Automotive News
U.S. light-vehicle sales -- bolstered by General Motor Co.'s first gain in 21 months -- declined less than 1 percent in October as the industry showed signs of a recovery without the aid of government incentives.
The drop was the smallest this year and made October the year's strongest month aside from August, which received a lift from the federal cash-for-clunkers program. The seasonally adjusted annual sales rate was 11.2 million. The rate had not risen above 9.9 million this year without clunkers help.
“Numbers in that range certainly are not, by historic standards, good numbers. But thinking of where we've come from, it's certainly a positive signal,” said Jeff Schuster, executive director of global forecasting at the market research firm J.D. Power and Associates. “We're through the worst, and we're beginning the slow trek to recovery.”
CA woman takes to the internet to document her struggles with Volvo
To sum up: Freya Svennson of Pasadena, CA (by way of Sweden) bought a Volvo XC70; after only 61,000 miles, the transmission failed. It was fixed under the extended warranty, but the problems -- slamming into gear, uncontrolled revving during acceleration -- continued. Despite repeated attempts, the extended warranty company told Svennson that they were never able to duplicate the problem, and therefore unable to replace the transmission. That is, until the extended warranty ran out, at which point (of course), they were suddenly able to duplicate the problem, and wanted, then, to replace the transmission... not under warranty, of course, but rather at a cost of over five thousand bucks.
Well, that's when Freya went nuts -- in the good sense of the word. She went all viral-marketing on the company in order to get the word out there that Volvo was acting less than fair: She started a blog; she created videos for YouTube (see one after the jump); she printed up business cards with the name of her site and stuck them on the windshields of other Volvos, to get them to help take up the fight.
By Hans Greimel, Automotive News
Kia is replacing its Amanti large sedan with a new model called the Cadenza, which was unveiled today in South Korea. It goes on sale there this year and in North America in 2011.
The five-seat Cadenza is shorter than the Amanti but has a longer wheelbase delivering more interior space, Kia said in a release. The Korean edition has a 3.5-liter V6 engine, but the North American version's engine specifications are still being decided.
Yet another GM deal falls through as Koenigsegg pulls out of Saab purchase
Bad news for fans of Saab (i.e., me): The brand is facing an uncertain future as plans for GM to sell the brand to a Swedish/Chinese business partnership have stalled.Swedish supercar maker Koenigsegg -- up until now part of said partnership along with Beijing Automotive Industrial Holding Ltd. -- has pulled out of the deal, which GM was looking to have wrapped up by next month.
By Stuart Schwartzapfel
With the entire world moving toward greener everything, it follows that the upper crust would join in. After all, not everyone with a conscience wants to be seen driving a Toyota Prius.
That was the thought behind Eco-luxe, a swanky Manhattan event that gave journalists some prime schmoozing time with green marketers from every conceivable sector, from quintuple-filtered vodka made in low-landfill facilities to carcinogen-free water bottles. Eatery Rouge Tomate was brimming with worldly conversation, stiff cocktails and a few celebrity eco-product evangelists, such as Mariel Hemingway.
Car and Driver names its cars of the year
The expertise of the writers and editors at Car and Driver shows up right in the name -- they know fun to drive, and if they say a vehicle passes muster, you can be sure it's been put through the wringer to earn that distinction. And, for the 28th year in a row, they've compiled their 10 best cars of the year.
The requirements are fairly straightforward: Eligible vehicles are those that are all-new for 2010, all of the 2009 winners, and cars with significant updates for the new model year. In addition, all vehicles must be on sale by January 2010. The price ceiling for vehicles this year was raised to $80,000 (from $71,000), with the belief that that ceiling represents the point past which the price increases with significantly diminished performance returns. Amazingly, the aggregate MSRP for the 2010 10 best list wasn't even half that, clocking in at around $35,000.
By Dale Jewett
The first nearly 200 buyers of the Porsche Panamera in the United States are getting a little something extra--the Porsche luggage set, priced at $3,580--for free.
Porsche is giving away the specially designed luggage because the first batch of Panameras are late--they've been held at the ports while a problem with the car's key and software have been fixed. The expectant owners were sent a letter from Porsche explaining the delay.
How the EV is changing the auto manufacturing game
When the automobile burst onto the scene at the beginning of the 20th century, manufacturers popped up like summer dandelions. The notion of three auto leviathans dominating the manufacturing landscape in America would have been inconceivable at the time. It seemed like every town with a tinkerer had someone making something that was going to revolutionize the way the world moved. As some manufacturers flourished and others died out thanks to the mechanisms of capitalism over the past century, familiar makes like Packard, Hudson, Studebaker and Nash were replaced with names like Ford, Chrysler and General Motors. But it looks like that trend may be reversing thanks to an unlikely catalyst – the electric vehicle.More on MSN Autos
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Cars are cool, and we here at MSN Autos love everything about them, but we also know they're more than simply speed and style: a car is an essential tool, a much-needed accessory to help you get through your day-to-day life. What you drive is also one of the most important investments you can make, so we'll help you navigate your way through the car buying and ownership experiences. We strive to be your daily destination for news, notes, tips and tricks from across the automotive world. So whether it's through original content from our world-class journalists or the latest buzz from the far corners of the Web, Exhaust Notes helps you make sense of your automotive world. Contact us at autosblog@live.com.
Bloggers
Josh Condon has covered everything from cars and personal technology to entertaining, fitness, and science for the likes of The New York Times, Esquire, Men's Journal, Ralph Lauren's RL Magazine, and Popular Science. He spent many years in the magazine and media industries in New York before relocating to Los Angeles, California.
James Tate began a career in automotive writing as Senior Editor of Sport Compact Car magazine. Since then, his work has appeared in publications like Car and Driver, Popular Mechanics, Automobile, Motor Trend, European Car, Edmunds Inside Line, Kelley Blue Book, Stuff, and specialty publications. When not writing, Tate can be found fantasizing about vintage Porsche 911's.
Lawrence Ulrich tests roughly 100 new cars and trucks each year, attempting to park them in Brooklyn. Born and forged in Detroit, he's the former auto critic at The Detroit Free Press and Money magazine. Ulrich writes for The New York Times, Automobile, Popular Science, Maxim and more.
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