Last week, in our post on Hyundai’s new DI (Direct Injection) Theta II engine, we questioned Honda’s long-standing engine technology leadership. We also assumed (wrongly) that they would be joining the DI club shortly, given the advantages DI technology affords. Turns out we weren’t the only ones wondering, except that in the case of auto, motor und sport, they weren’t asking it rhetorically, but the person in the know: Honda CEO Takanobu Ito. In an interview with Europe’s leading car magazine (print edition), Ito gave DI a pass with his answer to the question: “Honda was once the leader with its internal combustion engines. Did your competitors overtake you with gasoline Direct Injection?” (Read More…)

Anonymous writes:

I have a 2008 Kia Sorento with the 3.3L, about 11k miles.  The other day, I took it to my local mechanic for an oil change. Drove it all over town during the course of the following couple days.  Then, last night, as I am about 3/4 mile from home, my low oil pressure light goes on.  At that point, I roll down my window to listen to the car and can hear a grinding type noise (valves sticking?) on acceleration.  I limp the rest of the way home and turn off the engine.  This morning, I call the mechanic and they send the service manager right over.  No oil on the dipstick whatsoever.  He adds oil to the engine and drives it down the street to the shop.  They inspect, and tell me it is a bad o-ring on the cone filter that caused all the oil to leak out over the course of 2 days, and that it is possible that they had not tightened it sufficiently when the changed the oil.    They said no other damage had been done, replaced the o-ring, changed the oil and filter and sent me on my way.

So my question is this…what is the possibility that other (long term) damage could have been done?  Should I have the vehicle checked out by another mechanic, or even the Kia dealership?  Should I not even inform the dealership, as they may use it as a way to deny future warranty claims?  The vehicle is no longer making the grinding type noise, and seems to be fine.  I may drive it lightly the next few days just to be sure.

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We noted earlier that Chrysler’s turnaround is dependent on Ram and other truck-based models to maintain the steady profit increases projected in its five-year plans. CEO Sergio Marchionne confirmed the importance of body-on-frame vehicles to Chrysler’s US lineup in a recent interview with Automotive News [sub]. “I think it will be very stupid for us to assume the same type of European style and sizing which has driven the automobile portfolio of Fiat Group will prevail in the U.S.” Marchionne tells AN’s Luca Ciferri. Marchionne says Chrysler’s US lineup of full-sized pickups, SUVs, large cars and minivans will see their fuel efficiency improve to keep up with pressures on the market, but that the US linup will not suddenly downsize or work away from its traditional strengths. Marchionne even aknowledged that the Ram brand would continue to be a crucial profit center, just as Fiat Professional-branded  commercial vehicles drive much of Fiat’s profit in Europe. But as another report in Automotive News [sub] explains, the truck market is continuing to erode underfoot. Chevrolet truck marketing executive John Schwegman explains that

in 2005, buyers who chose pickups “primarily for image” accounted for 200,000 to 250,000 annual sales. That fell to about 100,000 in 2008. This year, he says, only about 50,000 personal-use buyers will drive home full-sized pickups.

(Read More…)

There was, back in the 70s, a Saturday morning cartoon in which the heroes could push a button on the dashboard of their van and turn it into a fire truck, dune buggy or stretch limo – whatever they needed. They don’t really make this vehicle. I know because I’ve looked. I need one. On [...]

North of your border (not mine), GM dealers are slightly annoyed. In fact, they’re fuming. Topnews.us reports that Bob Slessor, owner of a dealership for GM has sued the firm after he was informed that his dealership would be closed before the end of 2009. And don’t think he’s the only one, 12 dealers are submitting multi million dollar lawsuits against the automotive arm of the U.S government. The lawsuits hinge on the way GM approached these dealer closures. Bob Slessor claim that GM used “high handed and oppressive” tactics. The plaintiffs are looking for a permanent injunction against their terminations and $1.5 million in punitive damages. The report didn’t state whether that figure was in U.S or Canadian dollars.
(Read More…)

Just because GM has released photos of the US-spec Cruze ahead of its LA Auto Show debut, doesn’t mean they couldn’t pull an Alfa and change that ridiculous name. After all, Cruze will mark the eightieth name used by GM on a mid-sized or smaller car since 1968, according to our in-house historian. And it’s hardly the kind of name you want to build on, or make part of your company’s heritage. But then, given GM’s small-car history, what is?

Alfa Romeo was founded in Milan some 99 years ago, but as a division of Fiat, it’s pulling up its roots to relocate its remaining 232 Milan-based employees (out of 20,000 employed there twenty years ago) to the mothership’s hometown of Turin. CEO Sergio Marchionne explained that the move is strictly business, saving the company costs by consolidating operations, but the move has one minor rub: Alfa had planned to revive the “Milano” nomenclature for its 147 successor. Obviously this proud reference to a local heritage that no longer exists caused a few problems with employees, prompting Fiat to hastily announce a last-minute name change. Rather than Milano, the name Giulietta will be used for the new hatchback. But the last minute irony-avoidance maneuver pushed back the launch of the new Alfa, which was supposed to debut with official images today. As Automotive News [sub] reports, “the decision left some monthly magazines scrambling as they had already received pictures of the car, which was badged the Milano.” Whoops! Time to re-order those decklid badges… unless the decision to go with Giulietta was inspired by the discovery of boxes of unused badging. Fiat made another such last-minute name change in 2003, when the ill-advised name “Gingo” was dropped in favor of “Panda” because its was deemed too similar to Renault’s Twingo.

Hidden deep down in a story written by the Houston Chronicle about Rice Business School students visiting Warren Buffett, there is a startling prediction by the Oracle of Omaha.

Jan Goetgeluk, president of the business school’s Finance Club, asked what Buffett thought of the peak oil theory.

Reports the Houston Chronicle, to the dismay of the many oilmen amongst its readers: “Buffett told him that in 20 years, he believes all the cars on the road will be electric. He’s already invested in a Chinese company working on the technology to make it happen.”
(Read More…)

Pundits keep repeating that the biggest obstacle to Chinese companies buying Western brands is the culture gap. Adept at building monstrous bridges, the Chinese are tackling the culture thing. They even switched from Chinglish to Americanisms. Asked by reporters whether BAIC would consider approaching Saab alone, BAIC CEO Wang Dazong said: “I would just say, ‘stay tuned a little bit’.”

And who says Americans just plan for the next quarter, while Chinese plan for eternities? Wang Dazong sounds like GM is inhabited by slowpokes. Or by folks who had too much weed:
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When cars and politics collide, the results are rarely pretty. No wonder the political discussions here at TTAC so often rate amongst our most heated and community standards-challenging. Modern cars are machines of great power, facilitating a great deal of freedom but also carrying undeniable consequences, and their position in modern society demands a constant re-evaluation of their terms of use. Some of TTAC’s gripes on car-related policy may lead some to believe that we harbor ulterior political motivations for our coverage, but the truth of the matter is that our principles are simple and directly car-related. If our political coverage sometimes seems petty, it’s because American motorists have relatively little to complain about. In Russia, however, motorists find themselves under assault by import bans, draconian tax increases and corrupt traffic police. And as the New York Times documents, it takes a lot to push motorists into political awareness, but once pushed their eloquent defense of their automotive rights is nothing short of inspirational.
(Read More…)