has had some recent setbacks, what with last year’s natural disasters and its lengthy recall problems. But according to Bloomberg, the carmaker is back on track, and is expected to post its largest profit in five years. Toyota reports financial results for its fiscal year tomorrow, and is expected to have a $10 billion net income, which would put Toyota ahead of General Motors in earnings, according to the report.
The Japanese automaker is expected to forecast a 12 percent sales growth for next year, which would make it the largest global carmaker by revenue, though is expected to lead in earnings. Bloomberg reports that Toyota’s 2012 calendar year sales are expected to increase 21 percent, to 9.58 million units, which would be a record for the automaker. Toyota shares on the Tokyo stock exchange are up 22 percent for the year.
All the Justin Bieber in the world doesn’t seem like enough for to catch a break. First it was a 2012 spectacularly . Now a Texas fire investigator has said that a house fire originated with the plug-inhybrid, according to AutoWeek.
The fire consumed the car while doing “substantial damage” to the garage and spreading to the suburban Houston home, but nobody was injured in the blaze. According to the report, two other vehicles parked in the garage, an Acura NSX and SUV, were also damaged. Estimates of the extent of the destruction were said to be $100,000, not including the damage to the other cars – and we’re assuming not including the Karma either, given that the was a complete loss, according to the report.
The fire started within three minutes of the Karma being parked in the garage, after the owner said he smelled burning rubber. According to the report, the car had not yet been plugged in to charge. The Karma is said to be new enough that it was built after the , and the report indicates that the battery pack survived the fire intact.
Though the Fort Bend County chief fire investigator told AW that “the Karma was the origin of the fire,” and that it resembled a golf cart fire, something that happens roughly 50 times a year in the area, the incident is still being investigated.
When contacted for comment, Fisker’s response was to tell AutoWeek not to jump to any conclusions: “There are conflicting reports and uncertainty surrounding this particular incident. The cause of the fire is not yet known and is being investigated.”
The automaker then went on to speculate about “fraud or malicious intent,” stating that “fireworks were found in the garage” and that “an electrical panel located in the garage… is also being examined,” according to the report. Fisker also told AW that it believes the car’s battery pack “does not appear to have been a contributing factor in this incident.”
is crying foul over Japan’s desire to join a proposed free trade agreement among Asia-Pacific countries. The Trans-Pacific Partnership aims to reduce regulatory hurdles among its participants, but Steve Beigun, Ford vice president for international government affairs, claims the Japanese auto market is “the most protected automotive market in the developed world,” and that the industry is unnecessarily dependent on exports to survive. Beigun’s solution? Force the Japanese auto industry to restructure before allowing Japan in on the TPP. In industry speak, that means closing down factories.
That’s an odd claim given that Japan can’t possibly have a lower tariff on imported cars: zero percent. For comparison’s sake, importers looking to bring vehicles into the U.S. face a 2.5 percent tariff. But Beigun says Japan uses non-tariff barriers and currency manipulation to discourage imports. Beigun declined to elaborate on what those “non-tariff barriers” are. William Duncan, the director of the Japanese Automobile Manufacturers Association, has been quoted as saying Beigun’s assertions are “rather bizarre.”
If Japan is guilty of currency manipulation, it’s doing a poor job. The yen is currently at a near all-time high against the U.S. dollar, and Japanese manufacturers have steadily worked to move production out of their home country over the past two decades. All told, 70 percent of the machines Japanese automakers sell in the U.S. are built on American soil. So, why is Ford up in arms over Japan? It could be the manufacturer wants to put the country, and its manufacturers at a disadvantage in the markets covered by the TPP.
April was a busy month for the , with over 2,500 miles added to the odometer and a heaping helping of people and things passing through its doors. When I picked up the Countryman, I was impressed by the fact that were neatly stowed behind the front seats. However, the biggest of models didn’t fare so well when the rear seats were occupied.
On a shopping day with the kids, a relatively small amount of goods proved to be far too much for the Countryman’s diminutive trunk. As a result, I had no choice but to disperse boxes at the feet of my wife and kids, which was a decidedly unpopular move (don’t let the smiles fool you). The kids didn’t love the lack of roominess, but I can assure you that my 2,500 miles were mostly enjoyable.
I got a huge kick out of the Countryman’s spirited handling, even though I didn’t find our long-termer to have the same go-kart-like demeanor of its smaller siblings. The good news, however, was that I was able to average 26 miles per gallon during my month with the Mini, with a high of 30 mpg and a very entertaining low of just over 20 mpg. But don’t blame the Countryman for that 20 mpg number – that tank of gas was all about exploring the performance limits of our smallest long-term loaner. And even so, my own average fuel economy is higher than the dismal numbers that Editor Ewing brought up in .
One thing I didn’t like about the Countryman was a sometimes jarring ride, which we’ve attributed, in part, to the dreaded run-flat tires. The throttle was also a bit odd, as the first few degrees of pedal travel felt a bit dead. It took a few days to get used to it, and it helps to always drive in Sport mode.
The Countryman did require a non-scheduled trip to the dealership during its month in my hands. After just a few days with the car, I noticed that the fan kicked on at full blast every time I turned on the car. I didn’t think much of it at first, until I came back outside one day and discovered that the fan was still on after about 10 minutes of the vehicle being turned off. The ‘check engine’ light illuminated the very next day, so off to Motor City Mini we went. As it turned out, the engine’s thermometer was on the fritz, and the dealer replaced the part under warranty. That one issue aside, we’ve enjoyed nearly 15,000 miles of carefree Mini motoring.
Our Mini will spend the month of May shuffling between a number of staffers, with a few road trips planned as warmer weather starts to grace southeast Michigan. Stay tuned to see how the Countryman fares.
Keep your eyes locked on the official for the majority of our updates, as well as the official Autoblog Twitter account (, look for the hashtag).
Don’t judge a book by its cover. The sentiment certainly applies to cars as well, but doubly so. Years of driving and photographing new vehicles have taught us that you can’t evaluate a new model – or even judge its styling – based on photos alone, no matter how good or bad the images or the sheetmetal might seem. And you can’t really know anything until you get that car off the auto show stand and out in the wild, driving it on the street in its natural habitat.
We explain this because when we first spied the new , we didn’t think much of it: Mostly carryover front fascia, grafted-on taillights, Bangle butt. Move along, nothing to see here. But a funny thing happened when we got behind the wheel of the Malibu Eco for a week. We warmed up to it. We actually liked it.
Automobile’s Georg Kacher goes deep into the product plan, looking at the 32 models that the group’s ten brands will roll out over the next five years. These vehicles are expected to drive VW to the top of the mountain in 2018, where the flag for World’s Largest Automaker awaits.
The armada is based on three platforms: MQB for transverse FWD/AWD cars like the VW Golf, MLB for the longitudinal FWD/AWD cars in Audi’s stable, and MSB for AWD/RWD front-, rear- and mid-engined cars like the 960.
Said to be due in 2015, the discussed last year as a bridge model between the and 918, but Kacher has it listed with the MSB-M platform cars like the Porsche / and , not the front-engined MSB-F or rear-engined MSB-H cars. Yet the 960 is said to be a -fighting “four-door coupe” powered by a twin-turbo flat-six. We’ll wait for clarification on the number of doors, since in September of last year, posited the 960 as a mid-engined coupe priced “on the creepy side of €200,000.”
Other intriguing notes from the plan: for VW, a coupe is planned for 2016, the might get a coupe variant, the second-generation Scirocco “has the potential” for U.S. sales and the will be replaced; is desgining an even edgier third-generation , the will experiment with e-quattro, and the next-generation will break the same-sausage, different-lengths design mold.
The FIA’s R2 rally class offers factorry-tuned racers at privateer costs. Peugeot has unleashed its 208 R2 in asphalt and gravel versions, powered by a 1.6-liter engine with 185 horsepower and 140 pound-feet running through a five-speed sequential gearbox.
Improvements over the 207 R2 include a bodyshell that’s 40 kilos lighter; a new gearbox with reduced weight, quicker shifts and the shifter mounted on the steering column; better gas mileage; a revised Öhlins suspension with three-way adjustable dampers; and more shared parts to enable faster changes between asphalt and tarmac setups.
It will make its debut on May 10 at the Tour de Corse. If you want one, kits can be had for €37,500 ($49,061 U.S.), a turnkey model for €57,500 ($75,227 U.S.). If you just want to check it out, hit the photo gallery and give the a once-over.
Moderately obese people, who have a greater than 30, typically shave three years off of their lives, just by being overweight. (Morbidly obese people lose 10 years, according to .) And then there’s that long list of potential health problems obese people face in America ranging from asthma and diabetes to heart disease and cancer – as well as scorn and ridicule from skinny judgmental people. So it only makes sense that obese people are statistically less likely to survive a severe automobile accident.
A by the University of Buffalo suggests that the bigger you are, the more likely you’ll die from injuries sustained in an accident.
In a severe accident, moderately obese people face a 21 percent greater risk of death and morbidly obese people are 56 percent more likely to die than those of lesser weight.
“The severity and patterns of crash injuries depend on a complex interaction of biomechanical factors, including deceleration velocity at impact, seat belt and air bag use, vehicle type and weight, and type of impact,” says Dr. Dietrick Jehle, professor of emergency medicine at University of Buffalo School of Medicine.
With nearly one-third of the American population now considered obese, Jehle suggests carmakers begin testing safety equipment with big boned dummies and devise other means to help obese people better survive accidents.
“The rate of obesity is continuing to rise, so it is imperative that car designs are modified to protect the obese population, and that crash tests are done using a full range of dummy sizes,” Jehle states.
Europe’s financial situation is, well, bad. So no one was surprised to see analysts’ low expectations for German carmakers. But the numbers are out, and whaddya know? Three German auto companies have reported better results than predicted.
reported this week that its first quarter profit rose 19 percent. BMW said sales jumped 20 percent, which helped the company deliver a record total of 425,528 vehicles in the first quarter.
Last week, and blew past analysts’ expectations with VW increasing profit 10 percent and Daimler making 4.9 percent more that last year’s first quarter.
Much of the profit and sales boost is due to growing popularity of German models in U.S. and China. A couple of analysts quoted in a Bloomberg report are split on what the future holds. One says he expects BMW and VW to raise their second quarter forecasts. Another sees China’s market cooling off and gives BMW a neutral rating while rating VW and Daimler as good buys. So far this year automotive companies (including suppliers) are the best performing stocks in Europe.
There’s good reason this more than doubled it’s pre-sale estimate, and it’s not because . No, Lot 307 at Bonhams’ Hendon, U.K., sale was bid up to $65,100 because it’s an exceptionally rare early Mini, just the eighth of the iconic cars ever manufactured, according to the auction company.
The seller was clearly able to capitalize on the current collector car trend of finding unrestored survivor cars – those gems that have somehow escaped not only the ravages of time and oxidation, but five decades of enthusiastic collectors armed with an attitude that tearing it down to the base metal and building it back up, “better than new,” is the only way to enjoy vintage iron. The auction company advertised this 1959 Austin Seven (the Mini name wasn’t applied to the Austin version until 1961) as the oldest unrestored Mini, saying that only three earlier cars are known to exist, one of which is in the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust museum.
Unrestored cars have achieved their recent popularity in part because they serve as records of how the cars originally came from the factory. Production standards in the ’50s and ’60s were much more lax than they are now, and written records can be hard to come by, hence the need for cars like this to direct historians and restorers alike.
The Mini, of course, is one of the most popular cars of all time, remaining in production with few changes from 1959 through 2000. Over 5.3 million of the cars were produced over that period, before shut down production to launch its modern version of the car.
If the idea of building a four-seat hard-top convertible supercar in Holland strikes you as off-the-wall, then its racing counterpart should blow your mind. We’re talking about Savage Rivale, the markers of the Roadyacht GTS and the model it just unveiled at the Top Marques show in Monaco.
Packing upwards of 700 horsepower from a turbocharged 6.2-liter V8, the Savage Rivale GTR is said to be good for 2.8-second sprint to 62 miles per hour and a 360-km/h (234-mph) top speed. With those capabilities, the race-ready Savage is earmarked to tackle the Nürburgring Norschleife lap record for four-door automobiles, a distinction which (to the best of our understanding, anyway) currently belongs to a driven by rally ace Tommi Mäkinen for Car and Driver in 2010 to a 7:55 lap time, edging out Pikes Peak legend Walter Röhrl in the at 7:56 the previous year.
Only 69 examples are slated for production. We’re still waiting on final specifications to be released, but in the meantime you can check out the gallery of high-resolution images from its unveiling in Monte Carlo in the gallery above.
General Motors is having a hard time nailing down its European operations. The automaker reported its first-quarter earnings slid by $1 billion, down from $3.2 billion in the first quarter of last year. The drop was partially attributable to a one-time loss that included changes in accounting for the automaker’s European pensions.
While GM earned $1.69 billion in North American before taxes, Opel lost $246 million in the first quarter. Surprisingly, that marks the second best quarter for the automaker in a year. Even so, GM CEO Dan Akerson said that the manufacturer’s European operations are headed for substantial revision.
Akerson said the situation is a “four-alarm fire” while speaking during a public radio interview. The executive declined to elaborate on any plans to help stem Opel’s losses beyond saying “We’re going to have to restructure again.”
In 2011, GM lost $747 million on its European operations, and with the looming debt crisis continuing to undermine consumer confidence in the EU, the company is desperate to ward off a repeat performance. Analysts believe that yet another restructuring will be a lengthy, drawn-out process, but likely won’t result in any actual plant closings.
It’s a rare thing, but every now and then, our automotive wishes come true. has announced that it will produce the heinous Juke-R in very limited numbers after a warm reception in Dubai. The company has already received three orders so far, and Nissan says it will begin taking additional orders in the next four weeks.
Each model will be built to order using model year 2012 drivetrain components, meaning there’s a modest bump in power – 545 horsepower versus the original Juke-R’s 480. As you may recall, the first Juke-R used bits cannibalized from a . How much will the machine cost? Nissan isn’t saying, but we’d be willing to bet the Juke-R will carry an MSRP a bit higher than the GT-R.
With 545 horsepower crammed into the quirky lines of the Juke, the machine is unlike anything else on the road. Nissan has also worked up a quick video to commemorate the production announcement. The clip focuses on the showdown between the Juke-R and . to check it out alongside the full press release.
The emergence of the V40 is arguably the biggest news to come out of since sold it to . Just as with any new car – European hatchbacks especially – the aftermarket will follow shortly with modifications, and in the case of Volvo, that means Heico Sportiv.
The German tuning house specializes in Gothenburg’s finest. The firm already has a new ECU module for the T5 engine in the V40 that brings output up from 237 horsepower to 266 and from 236 pound-feet of torque to 269. Heico has released a pair of renderings previewing what it plans to do with the outside of the slick new sport-wagon.
From the teaser renderings, we can see a new set of lightweight seven-spoke alloys, new bumpers front and rear, side skirt extensions, a relatively low-key diffuser and quad ovoid exhaust tips. In other words, the V40, only slightly more so. Unfortunately, since the V40 isn’t earmarked for American showrooms, this may be as close as we’ll get.
The supermini market is a vital one for European automakers, and though its current Clio remains a popular choice, Renault is not about to rest on its proverbial laurels as its most popular model gets older and less relevant. So with that in mind, the French carmaker is apparently preparing to unveil an all-new Clio hatchback at the next major auto salon.
That show won’t be taking place until September when Renault’s home-market opens its doors at the Port de Versailles, but a pair of teaser shots have already surfaced giving us a tiny glimpse at what to expect. The images – reportedly leaked from internal documents – show the grille and a sliver of the rear 3/4. The front looks to take cues from the smaller Twingo, while the rear betrays an upward kink in the shoulder, more aggressive taillights and an altogether more sculpted shape.
Styling penned by Laurens van der Acker is expected overall to take its lead from the DeZir Concept. We’ll have to wait until after the summer to see it in full, though.
We’ve been desperately trying to put our finger on what makes the idea of a supermoto so attractive, and we may have finally figured it out. The bikes are perfect all-purpose machines, equally at home dismantling stretches of mountain tarmac as they are bashing through the woods.
Wildly controllable, lightweight and even fuel-efficient, the bikes are the perfect two-wheeled mode of transportation for the impending apocalypse. Don’t believe us? Take a look at the quick video after the jump. The clip features plenty of supermoto goodness, all shot at 120 and 300 frames per second.
That means we get to watch the bikes kick sideways in beautiful slow motion, both on dry pavement and wet mud. The video is four and a half minutes of two-wheeled goodness, and a welcome break for the middle of the week. to enjoy the show for yourself.
How much would you pay for a derelict ‘67 with a 427? If you said about thirty grand, you’d be in the ballpark – but that would still be all the money in the world for a barn find like this ‘Vette. The owner admits the car hasn’t run in over 30 years and she (the car, not the owner) clearly needs to get involved in a serious relationship with a body man.
But what if we told you that Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, the hero of the NASA Apollo program, and by all accounts a genuine good guy, was the first owner of the car? How much would that make it worth? Better hope your guess has six digits in it, because bidding on eBay Motors for this derelict but potentially highly collectible car has already shot past $120,000 – and has yet to meet the seller’s reserve price.
Before readying the checkbook, however, we might suggest actually reading the seller’s ALL CAPS description. It’s a wonderful tale that starts with the car being provided by Rathman , the famed dealership that leased Corvettes to astronauts for $1 per year. A NASA employee allegedly bought the car after Armstrong turned it in and the seller claims he’s hounded that NASA employee for 30 years trying to buy the Corvette, but it was only two months ago that he claimed his prize. There’s a whole lot more to the story, including buying a carburetor in Texas and wanting to turn the car into a National Corvette Restorers Society “Survivor.”
The bottom line, however, is that the seller is now trying to flip the , without much in the way of evidence that the car belonged to Armstrong, at least that’s presented in the eBay Motors auction. Perhaps we’re just being skeptical, but before spending over $100,000 on a car for which the majority of the purchase price is for its provenance, we’d like to see more in the way of authentication than one Protect-O-Plate photo. Since Neil Armstrong is still alive, we hope that whoever winds up restoring this Corvette does a more thorough job of vetting and presenting its history.
The venerable served the United States as the go-to vehicle for 25 solid years. Before that, various militarized models had been pressed into service since 1941, when the army first identified the need for a lightweight, all-terrain vehicle capable of carrying a few troops and all their gear into battle.
It seems the so-called Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle (MRAPS for short) aren’t going to have the same kind of life expectancy as their predecessors. According to CNN, the military is finding it difficult to cook up uses for the 20,000 MRAPS it possesses that are no longer needed for the war in Iraq, where the threat of improvised explosive devises necessitated gigantic V-shaped hulls and several tons of armor.
Due to the sheer size and weight of the machines, along with the specialized nature of their design, the military isn’t likely to continue using MRAPS in differing battlefield conditions after troops are pulled from Afghanistan in 2014. So, what will become of these 20,000 MRAPS? So far, the only option on the list is for mine clearing and explosive ordinance disposal. Thing is, they don’t need 20,000 of them for that.
In any case, one thing is for certain: Lives were saved due to the ability of the MRAPS to protect U.S. troops from roadside explosives (see above). And for that, everyone is thankful. As far as the future goes… may we suggest heavily armored food trucks? Or the circuit?
From the headlines-we-never-expected-to-see file: “Stick shifts popular again…” Yes, we thought , what with every carmaker bemoaning low take rates and reports that has decided to in both its sports car and throughout the range of models. But lo and behold, it seems that manuals accounted for 6.5 percent of new vehicle sales during the first quarter this year, the highest take rate since 2006, according to Edmunds.com numbers cited by USA Today.
This surge in popularity comes despite a 10-percent drop in the percentage of new models offering stick shifts in the past five years, according to the report. The change in consumer behavior has surprised some automakers, including , who told the newspaper that demand for a manual in the is nearly 10 percent, more than double the automaker’s original forecast.
Of course before we get too excited – or give credit to the Car and Driver – let’s keep in mind that a decade ago, when we first started to hear the groundswell against the manual from automakers, the take rate for manuals was still running above 8 percent. And we’re still faced with an inevitable demographic shift as Millennials, born after automatic transmissions became dominant, grow up. The best we can hope for is to teach those willing to learn and hope to keep the manual tranny around as long as possible.
A report by the at the university of Duisburg-Essen in Germany has revealed that , currently the number three luxury carmaker, could move up to number two in 2015, . Mercedes owned the second slot until last year, when overtook it. has held the lead in the luxury market since 2005.
“We aim to be the front-runner wherever we compete on a permanent basis,” Zetsche said in a speech earlier this month. “Wherever we are not number one, we will strive to become it,” he added.
BMW will sell 1.76 million vehicles in 2015, followed by Mercedes with 1.68 million and Audi with 1.63 million, the CAR report said. One of the reasons Mercedes could see such growth is that it intends to introduce 10 new models by 2015, including a sportier version of the A Class (above).
Audi and BMW have no plans to cede any ground to Mercedes in the World War of Luxury Vehicles as the two German brands continue to vie for number one. Audi has said it plans to sell two million vehicles by 2020, which would surpass BMW and total sales. Additionally, Audi plans to build a plant in Mexico, which could increase it’s U.S. lineup from 16 vehicles to 27.
