Category: Exhaust Note

There’s been a lot of talk over the last few days about a bailout for the Big Three. The Big Three have been struggling due to a lot of factors (fuel prices that favor smaller vehicles, the economy, labor and legacy costs, etc.) and some even posit that bankruptcy could be the only way out!
One of the issues at the center of the discussion is whether the Big Three deserve a bailout at all. Well, let us – your fearless VehicleVoice editors – attempt to put some clarity to this situation!

There’s been a lot of talk over the last few days about a bailout for the Big Three. The Big Three have been struggling due to a lot of factors (fuel prices that favor smaller vehicles, the economy, labor and legacy costs, etc.) and some even posit that bankruptcy could be the only way out!
One of the issues at the center of the discussion is whether the Big Three deserve a bailout at all. Well, let us – your fearless VehicleVoice editors – attempt to put some clarity to this situation!

Hey, it’s Labor Day. You’re not going to spend it inside reading our ramblings on the state of the automotive industry, are you? Go have yourself a lovely day!

Last week, GM loudly trumpeted the pending arrival of the Chevrolet Cruze compact car, to be officially unveiled at next month’s Mondial de l’Automobile (that’s Paris Motor Show to us ‘Murricans). First, they unveiled photos of the car and then revealed the real thing at the Lordstown, OH plant where the car will be built for American consumers.

This is a US-market Chevrolet compact? Yes, and you’ll see it in Paris next month. Sacre bleu!
As earlier spy photos had suggested, the Cruze, which in the US will effectively be the next generation Cobalt, is a very handsome compact sedan. It’s as appealing as the Cobalt is appliance-like. There’s some real design going on here with a sleek profile and great surface tension and great interaction between the exterior’s various design elements. GM also promises a very intriguing efficient powertrain choice in the form [...]

NextCruise was billed as a fun, eco-friendly addition to the gas-guzzling fun of the Woodward Dream Cruise. We were promised engaging displays, a glimpse into the future and the opportunity for some quality time behind the wheel of hybrids, clean diesels and alternative fuel vehicles. Did things pan out as organizers had hoped?

The future (clean diesel, in this case), craftily hides inside a Grand Cherokee.

Toyota announced today that in light of greatly diminished sales of the full-size Tundra pickup and Sequoia SUV, the company will start selling them on the international market. As with just about every other full-size pickup and SUV, these big Toyotas have suffered greatly at the hands of $4 per gallon gasoline. The situation is particularly troubling because most Tundras are built in a brand-new (and extremely expensive) purpose-built factory in San Antonio, Texas – smack in the middle of truck country.

The 2009 Toyota Tundra: Right at Home in Uzbekhistan!
It’s a rare stumble for the usually unimpeachable Toyota; the company had invested untold dollars in developing and manufacturing a true full-size pickup contender that could go toe-to-toe with the best of the Big 3 pickups, only to have the market for such vehicles tank in a matter of months. As the Tundra [...]

No doubt many of you have heard the news about the Domestic manufacturers pulling back from leasing. Chrysler has pulled out of leasing altogether effective August 1 while Ford and GM are significantly raising their lease rates on many vehicles, particularly trucks whose residuals are now in the tank.

What’s the rationale here, and what does it mean for the consumer? Well, let’s start off real quick with a one-paragraph explanation of leasing for the benefit of those of you who are still a bit confused as to what leasing is (it’s ok to admit it – there are more than a few of us!). In a nutshell, when you lease a vehicle, you’re essentially paying monthly payments that add up to the difference between what the vehicle is worth new and what the car is pre-determined to be worth (residuals or resale value) when [...]

No doubt many of you have heard the news about the Domestic manufacturers pulling back from leasing. Chrysler has pulled out of leasing altogether effective August 1 while Ford and GM are significantly raising their lease rates on many vehicles, particularly trucks whose residuals are now in the tank.

What’s the rationale here, and what does it mean for the consumer? Well, let’s start off real quick with a one-paragraph explanation of leasing for the benefit of those of you who are still a bit confused as to what leasing is (it’s ok to admit it – there are more than a few of us!). In a nutshell, when you lease a vehicle, you’re essentially paying monthly payments that add up to the difference between what the vehicle is worth new and what the car is pre-determined to be worth (residuals or resale value) when [...]

I’ve just had no luck in getting you, our loyal reader, the sort of in-person coverage of the past week’s cool automotive happening that I’d been hoping for! You’ll remember that last week, a traffic accident that shut down a major freeway prevented me from bringing you the reveal of the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro. Since Thursday, I’ve tried and failed to bring you full reports from two other automotive happenings, which I’ll get back to in a minute. I might be good at forecasting the automotive market, but a resourceful automotive journalist I am obviously not!
Had things gone differently, this story would have brought you some pics and insight from me attending a panel discussion at 2008 Comic-Con in San Diego with the creatives behind Click and Clack’s As the Wrench Turns, a new animated TV series on PBS based on those lovable Tappet Brothers who have entertained and informed us about cars [...]

What a disappointing day today turned out to be. I was supposed to represent VehicleVoice at Chevrolet’s unveiling of the long-awaited new Camaro up in North Hollywood this afternoon. Unfortunately, a three-car pileup on the I-5 North brought my northward progress to a halt, effectively making it impossible for me to get to the press conference. Beaten, I turned around and drove back to the office.

I tried to go to Hollywood to see this…
But instead all I got was this. Bummer.