Tag: VehicleVoice

Purely from an aesthetic perspective, this C30 is a gorgeous thing. Its super-Scandinavian modernist contours, its low-slung profile, and distinctive rear styling are all very novel and very appealing. Still, sales are confirming what we long suspected – that it’s ultimately very much a niche product. We expect Volvo to sell about 4,000 examples of this Swedish hot hatch in 2008. Even if the economy hadn’t crashed this year, we doubt its sales would have been much higher.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has announced the winners of its 2009 Top Safety Picks. There are 72 winners in 2009; more than double in 2008 and more than 3 times as many as in 2007.

The Los Angeles Auto Show saw the world debut of the BMW Concept 7-Series ActiveHybrid. The concept shows the potential of BMW ActiveHybrid technology in the premium luxury car segment and is part of the BMW EfficientDynamics innovation strategy.

BMW used the 2008 Los Angeles International Auto Show to launch its new 2009 7-Series flagship. The primary changes to the 7-Series include revised interior and exterior styling and an improved iDrive system.

What are We Thankful for This Year?
From my chair in Detroit, things are bleak whether GM, Ford, or Chrysler get any loan money or not. I’ve returned from last week’s Los Angeles Auto Show, where grilling of the Detroit Three leaders by Congress was more discussed than the product on the ground in front of us, or so it seemed. Lots of opinions have been shared, some informed and some not. There are several elements of the debate that seem to be overlooked (sales decline a minimum of 2.5 MILLION units this year is not affecting only the Detroit makers, next year is going to be worse, business decisions that look unwise in the rearview have been severely compounded by a credit freeze and housing market crash, elements not in control of any automaker.), but that’s all I’m going to say about that today.

For the Rockefellers and Vanderbilts, who raise their noses up at the Continental GT (with a sticker price around $200K), we found your car at the LA auto show. The Bentley Azure T at $350K (yes, dollars). We are way beyond Mercedes Benz, BMW, and Audi now, and we are talking old money, and lots of it. The Azure T is beautiful with the burled wood, natural cowhide leather, thick strips of aluminum and a 6.75 Litre twin turbo with 500 brake horsepower. Whoa Nellie! It’s nice to know somebody still believes in authentic build materials, over engineering and unadulterated opulence. How else can four adults indulge in this kind of open top motoring?

The Place: The Capitol, Washington D.C. The Players: Three captains of industry (Rick Wagoner of GM, Alan Mulally of Ford and Bob Nardelli of Chrysler), one union leader (Ron Gettelfinger of the UAW) and a big angry Congress.
And then there’s me, your humble chronicler, the only person left behind at Vehicle Voice World Internet Headquarters and Decorative Bamboo Plantation to tell this story, because everyone else is at the L.A. Auto Show. Follow me behind the cut, and let’s talk about the Detroit 3 (plus one)’s adventures in Washington.

That’s…ominious.

Before the 2010 Mustang galloped into view droves of Mustangs and a massive, passionate owner body converged on the tarmac to pay homage to the original pony car. VehicleVoice contributors were there outside Barker Hanger at the Santa Monica airport (the day before the LA auto show) to take in this Mustang-only car show… and we must admit the turnout was spectacular.

1964.5 and later

1995 – Present Day

Hyundai’s focus at the 2009 LA Auto Show was all about green…er blue technology. Environmentally friendly technology has been a primary focus of the LA Auto Show over the last couple of seasons, and this year is no different. As Hyundai continues to gain mainstream acceptance amongst the US public, the company is striving to prove that it is no longer just a maker of inexpensive-yet-reliable vehicles, but at the forefront of the automotive game.

The engineers at Porsche believe in precision instruments, the idea that design should follow function, and the belief in ‘staying the course’. These neurosurgeons of the sports car segment have again reflected on the past to outline the future. As expected and true to Porsche form, they have moved their mid-engine lineup forward with an evolutionary design change to the new Boxster and Cayman. Nothing revolutionary, but a redesigned front and rear along with some performance upgrades.