About a year ago Bertel, Ed and I ended up in Los Angeles for a PR meet/dine with Coda. No automotive event would be complete without a drive and our electrifying dinner was no different. Bertel and Ed wisely chose to leave the driving to me (although they did toss me in the trunk and close the lid later that evening). Since that night I have struggled to erase the Coda from my mind when today it all came flooding back. Coda has filed for chapter 11 protection. I know it’s bad form to speak ill of the departed, but this is TTAC so let’s have a review style requiem for the worst EV ever made.

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I’ve loved high-turnover self-service wrecking yards since I used to hang out at U-Pull Auto Wrecking in Oakland as a teenager in the early 1980s, and so it makes sense that junkyard-related stuff became so central to the Murilee Martin Lifestyle Brand™. During the last year, as my Junkyard Find series has evolved into a near-daily thing, I became increasingly curious about the life-cycle of the vehicles in these yards. A new row of fresh cars appears one day, replacing one that was put out a few months before, and that’s all I knew. Then, earlier this year, I was able to convince the brass at U-Pull-&-Pay Self Serve Used Auto Parts to give me a behind-the-scenes look at their operation, and I chose to follow the trajectories of two cars I thought would be typical junkyard inmates: a 1991 Honda Civic Si and a 1994 Toyota Camry XLE. I visited the auction at which they were purchased, I documented the pre-yard preparations, and I visited both cars every week for their three-month stint as parts donors. After that, I watched them get fed into the cold steel jaws of The Crusher. Here’s how our Civic and Camry spent the final months of their lives. Read More >

What’s up.

It’s your boy, JB. You know, the guy who isn’t allowed on your press trips any more. I’m not sure exactly why. It has something to do with me supposedly misusing one of your complimentary hotel rooms as a place to do something besides examine the press kit. I don’t know why it’s a big deal. You’re acting like I put on a satin “dragon suit”, performed immoral deeds using a mudshark, and/or threw a TV out the window. That didn’t happen. I specifically left my satin dragon suit at home that weekend so I can say for sure that it didn’t happen. Maybe that wasn’t it at all. I don’t know. We don’t need to discuss it now. Just censure me and move on.

Plus, it isn’t like you guys haven’t made mistakes yourselves, and more recently, too. I mean, Jimmy Fallon? Curating Tweets? CURATING TWEETS? JIMMY FALLON “CURATING” TWEETS? I need you to stop reading this letter right now so you can go home, cut out a section of your garden hose and savagely beat whoever came up with that idea until they can’t walk any more. Wait. Make that “type”. Can’t type any more. That’s especially important. Because I think that idea probably originated with them typing an e-mail to someone, and until that can’t happen again none of us are safe.

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No car in recent history must have been so relentlessly covered at TTAC as the Toyota 86 and its dizzying assemblage of names and numbers. I don’t think there is an editor at TTAC who hasn’t reviewed the car at least three times. All except me. I only reviewed it twice. Something had to be done …

Dear reader, be warned: This review of a sports car with a multiple persona syndrome concentrates mostly on seating arrangements and extraneous observations in the field of bears, bodies, far-eastern religions, man-machine romance, and sex. You may miss some of the driving impressions commonly supplied. If you are interested in those, they are provided here, and here, and here. And especially here. You are welcome. Some of the more than 30 pictures may gross you out.

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[Ed: Part one of Steve Lang's updated used car buying guide is here, part two is here.]

You can rigorously apply the tests described by previous installments of this series without encountering a single setback. However when it comes to buying a used car, it pays to assume one simple salient fact: you don’t know the complete truth.

At least not yet.

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Some automakers have cars that get a stupendous mileage, but they are priced or built so that nobody wants them. We won’t name names, draw your own conclusions. A much better metric than the mileage of a car is the mileage of all cars you sell. The combined mileage of all cars sold by a manufacturer or brand used to be a top secret document. Manufacturers with stellar averages sometimes leaked theirs. But what good are these statistics if manufacturers with mediocre averages hide their data? Thankfully, last year TrueCar started tracking the MPG averages of cars sold in the U.S. And it is coming to surprising results. Read More >

China: How local brands may finally find their mojo at home

World Full Year 2012: Discover the Top 1000 (yes. One Thousand.) best-selling models!
For the first time in the history of the internet and cars, you have access to the 1000 best-selling cars around the globe. So enjoy!

Mexico Full Year 2013: The only country where Nissan is #1
There is a new #1 in the models ranking in Mexico this year, and surprisingly it’s not a Nissan…

Germany Full Year 2012: Volkswagen sovereign
What model has been #1 in Germany for 37 of the last 38 years? Click on the title above to find out…

Canada Full Year 2012: A historical year
A very significant milestone was passed in Canada this year…

France Full Year 2012: Last hurrah for the Renault Clio III
More Toyotas, less Renaults, Peugeots and Citroens… Discover more by clicking on the link above.

World January 2013 Roundup: Low-cost range brings Renault back
Renault is struggling, but its Dacia models could save them. Volvo and the VW Lavida shine…

Indonesia Full Year 2012: Someone’s become a millionaire
Record year for the Indonesian new car market, discover the best-selling models by clicking on the link above…

Italy Full Year 2012: A historical year
There are a few main reasons why this is a historical year for new car sales in Italy, and they are not all positive…

Israel Full Year 2012: No more Mazdas please, we want Fords!
Lots of changes in the Israeli new car market in 2012… Find out about them by clicking on the title above.

Indian Full Year 2012: Maruti Suzuki first millionaire carmaker…
Indian consumers bought a lot of Marutis this year, but Renault lodged the most impressive performance…

Russia Full Year 2012: Lots-of-Ladas-but-not-only
It’s a transition year for the Russian market, with the old guard passing the relay to the Lada Granta…

Europe Full Year 2012: VW Golf still the favourite, Nissan Qashqai impresses
Discover what the Europeans bought in 2012: a lot of German cars, a few French ones and a couple of locally-built Japanese…

China Full Year 2012: Ford Focus triumphs
The Yankies do in China what they couldn’t do in the States: dominate the Passenger Cars ranking… See the all-models ranking by clicking on the title above…

World: Toyota Corolla Victim of the Japan-China tensions…
Discover the Top 150 best-selling models worldwide and which car managed to pass the Toyota Corolla to become world’s best-seller in September 2012…

10 things I don’t understand…
Over the years there has been a few things I haven’t got my head around. Simple things, odd things or stupid things, a bit like a nagging voice in the back of my head. So I decided to put them all in one article – check them out by clicking on the title.

Iraq: One of the Top 10 emerging engines of growth
General Motors, Chrysler and… Iran Khodro dominate in Iraq. For more details, click on the title above…

Australia: The Toyota Camry is now the best-selling locally produced model
Big surprise in October: the Camry passes all Holdens to become the best-selling local model…

Poland: Where have all the FSO Polonez and Polski Fiat 126p gone?
Once the kingdom of FSO and Polski Fiat, Poland now buys Skodas, Dacias, Toyotas and Nissans like everybody else really…

The 170 best-selling cars around the globe over 8 months 2012
Has the Focus passed the Corolla? How do the Chinese fare? Discover it all by clicking on the title…

California: If you’re going to San Fransisco…
…make sure to drive a Toyota Prius as it is the best-selling car in that State. Discover which other models sell well there by clicking on the title above…

USA: The best-selling cars in the 10 wealthiest zip codes
Ever wondered how the other half lives? Explore what cars are bought in the Top 10 wealthiest zip codes in America. Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, Range Rover and… Toyota Prius all get a tick, American brands not so much…

USA: What Hybrid and Electric cars sell best?
This segment is up 75% year-on-year in the USA, and if all hybrid and electric cars were one model, it would rank #2 overall below only the Ford F-Series… Discover which models sell best in that segment by clicking on the title.

Russia: Big changes in the models ranking
18 months after my last update on Russia, there has been a lot of changes atop the ranking including the arrival of the Lada Granta, Hyundai Solaris and Renault Duster…

Europe: Discover the 325 best-selling models

If the top sellers are familiar, there is one Frenchie pointing its bonnet up in the Top 10 while one Nippon reaches never-seen-before heights…

The Africa Project

Today I am launching the Africa Project, to try and bring African countries to a similar level of data and car sales information as the rest of the world. If you have car sales data on any African country make sure you click on the link above and comment!

UK: Discover the Top 347 best-selling models in the Olympic country

As the London Olympics are in full swing, it’s a good opportunity to have a thorough look at all models sold in the country, from the Ford Fiesta to the Vauxhall VXR8.

World Roundup June 2012: Hyundai Santa Fe and Ford Focus shine

The new gen Santa Fe takes the lead in its native country while the Focus is in pole position in China for the very first time… Check out the other worldwide big news by clicking on the link above…

Haiti: Workhorses get a boost after earthquake

Norway: Volkswagens tough enough for extreme conditions
In Norway, cars are required to do one thing: work. Start in the morning by -30 degrees and not fail in the middle of a lonely snow-covered road in some remote part of the country… And that, Volkswagens and Toyotas can do, which is why they have dominated the models ranking in Norway over the last 12 years…

India: It’s all about Bollywood and Maruti Suzukis The Indian market is fascinating because: 1. Market growth is sustained and therefore a lot of models beat their volume records month after month, 2. The car landscape is totally unique with models designed specifically for India (Tata Nano, Toyota Etios…) and 3. They mostly speak English, so we understand them (if they speak slowly).

Many new Automotive Histories as well as updated and expanded versions of many of these articles below are at the author’s new Curbside Classic site here]

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“If you’re going to do something wrong, do it big” (Jayne Mansfield)

Can you blame me for thinking of a certain larger than life blond bombshell of the era while looking at this big topless Buick? But then I said to myself, no, it’s wrong; been there, done that. But googling  to find the vital statistics of this Buick turned up the fact that Jayne Mansfield was killed in an Electra in 1967. Holy coincidence! Or did I subconsciously remember that? Whatever. So despite the risks, I’m forging ahead, hopefully for the best, because frankly it might be a stretch to write much about this overstuffed Buick. Like Jayne, it was meant to be looked at, not analyzed. Read More >

You wake despite the hope that you would never awake, in fear that the wildest night of your life with Corvair was all just a dream…ooops; never mind. But if a car ever inspired one to emote and wax poetically, it was the Corvair, especially the 1965. So I’ll try hard to restrain myself: the 1965 Corvair was the best European car ever ever made in America. And if that alone doesn’t explain the Corvair’s inevitable failure, lets just say that in 1965 Americans were eating a lot more Wonder Bread than baguettes.

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Welcome to Havana, Oregon. Back in the eighties, living in tony Los Gatos, I used to gaze longingly at photos of old American cars and trucks still hard at work in Cuba. But within days of moving to Eugene in 1993, I came across this very truck, hauling its daily cargo of recycled cardboard. And it planted a seed in me, to document the old vehicles still earning their keep, which finally came to fruition with Curbside Classics. Although we’ve strayed from the strict interpretation of that mission a few times along the way, no other vehicle more perfectly embodies the original ethos than this 1956 F-350. Read More >

[Note: Three related Checker posts: 1967 Marathon Curbside Classic; Vintage Checker Ads; and Tomorrow's Checker? Also note that these pictures were found at a variety of sites, but it appears that the original source for most of them were posted on this Flickr account by Drivermatic. Thanks for the superb photographic resource!]

For sixty years, Checker Motors had a record unbroken run of profits building a few thousand cars per year in a small little factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In 1981, it posted its first loss, $488,326, and its owner made good on his threat to stop production of the iconic Marathon if his workers didn’t accept wage concessions. But Checker continued to stamp out body parts for GM into 2009, including for the Buick LaCrosse. The Carpacolypse of 2009 finally shuttered the ancient plant, but no need to shed a tear for the original owner’s son, David Markin: his wealth is estimated at over $100 million. And it was all due to a shrewd investment of $15,000 that his father made in 1920, which put him in the driver’s seat of Checker Motors. Let’s take a ride through Checker’s history. Taxi! Read More >

[Note: This piece first ran in May 2007. It seems particularly relevant again in light of the current Toyota unintended acceleration (UA) situation. But please note that the circumstance that caused the Audi UA may, or may not be very different, depending on the circumstances. In the early eighties, electronic gas pedals and complex engine controls and other interfaces such as with ABS/brakes were still on the horizon. Nevertheless, the rules of physics have not been repealed. And an unknown percentage of Toyota UA events undoubtedly are the result of pedal misapplication. Audi's near collapse in the American market after this incident remains a painful lesson in the power of the media, the slowness of the NHTSA, and the critical PR choices manufacturers make in the wake of a crisis like this. PN]

When I first heard about the Audi “sudden unintended acceleration” segment on CBS’s 60 Minutes in 1986, I knew instantly that they were blowing smoke. Literally. Read More >

Here’s TTAC’s and the web’s only complete guide to Toyota’s gas pedals (so far), with tear downs, pictures, analysis, explanation, the shim fix, and commentary, all consolidated into one portal:

Part 1: Exclusive: TTAC Takes Apart Both Toyota Gas Pedals: Tear down of both the recalled CTS pedal assembly and the non-recalled Denso pedal assembly. Note: Assumptions and conclusions in this initial tear down lack the more complete understanding of the importance of the friction arm aspect of the CTS unit.

Part 2: Toyota Gas Pedal Fix Explained – With Exclusive Photos: Describes Toyota’s proposed fix for the recalled CTS gas pedal assembly, with detailed photos and graphics. Explains the significance of the friction arm assembly and its limitations.

Part 3: Toyota Gas Pedal Fix Simulated – Friction Reduced, By Too Much?: TTAC simulates the fix prescribed by Toyota for the recalled CTS pedal assembly, and notes how the fix changes the degree of friction, and the possible unintended result. With detailed pictures

Part 4: Why Toyota Must Replace Flawed CTS Gas Pedal With Superior Denso Pedal: Detailed analysis with pictures of the two pedal assemblies, an explanation as to why the Denso design is superior, and a call for having all CTS pedals replaced with the Denso pedal.

Part 5: TTAC Does The Toyota Pedal Shim Fix:  Stop Gap Solution At Best: Toyota’s solution is carried out here with detailed pictures, the whole Toyota document detailing the fix, and our commentary.

Part 6: Toyota Floor Mat/Gas pedal Recall Includes Computer Reflash And Trimming Of Gas Pedals: Info on the details of the floor mat/gas pedal interference recall.

Part 7: Toyota Recall  Creates Unintended Accelerator Consequences: As predicted in Part 4 (above), the CTS shim fix reduces the carefully designed amount of friction required for comfortable and smooth pedal action to the point where pedal action may now be jerky and potentially unsafe.

(Thanks to you-know-who-you-are for access to these parts and info)

At the Wednesday press conference in Tokyo, Toyota slipped in the remark that they “will more actively use on-board event data recorders, which can, in the event of a malfunction, provide information necessary for conducting such activities as technological investigations and repairs.”

This remark was widely overlooked. It should not have been.

Five days before, the Wall Street Journal had written:

“The safety problems that have engulfed Toyota Motor Corp. are focusing renewed attention on one of the most controversial components in an automobile: the black box. The box, officially called an “event data recorder,” is a small, square, virtually indestructible container akin to those found on commercial airplanes. Tucked inside the dash or under the front seats of most newer vehicles, it records vehicle and engine speeds as well as brake, accelerator and throttle positions and other data that can help determine the causes of accidents.”

If there would have been such a black box in the Toyotas that had crashed, it would have been easy to read out whether the foot was on the gas or on the brake. Guess what: Toyota has this box. It had been in many of the crashed vehicles, says the Wall Street Journal: Read More >