Auto news blog | Summary of current auto news by the TTAC staff

Happy Fourth Of July From TTAC

By Robert Farago
July 3, 2009

Photo courtesy David Holzman

Posted in News Blog | Sign of the Times | 16 comments

YSE Car of the Week: 2005 Saab 9-5 Aero

By Justin Crenshaw
July 3, 2009

Needless to say, YSE (Your Shitty Economy) Car of the week suffered cataclysmic depreciation, thanks to General Motors. The General bought into the Swedish brand in 1989. After spending $600 million for a half-share, the General proceeded to nickel and dime the automaker to death, mostly through a non-process we know as badge-engineering. Now, if you head over to Saab’s US website, you’ll see something called the 9-5 SportCombi. To channel Mandarkian mirth, enter your zip code and start configuratoring the Aero version at . . . $42,790. All done? Now check out its predecessor, the 9-5 Aero Wagon. This example includes two out of three TTAC tokens required for automotive Valhalla: wagon, yes; stick, yes; diesel, no. This week’s YSE selection is a middle of the road, 47k mile 2005 Aero Wagon for $12,999. For Nissan Versa money, you can put what is probably the last true Saab in your garage, and enjoy some enthusiast driving while hauling around your favorite cargo. Just make sure you have one of them quirky Saab repair shops nearby.

Posted in News Blog | YSE Car of the Week | 3 comments

Will this Nice Lady Kill Opel?

By Bertel Schmitt
July 3, 2009

After a lot of arm twisting, and several deadlines set by the US court and the German government, the Opel deal finally is entering the final round—for now. After a suitor has been found, a French woman may spoil the whole wedding.

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Reuters »

Posted in Chapter 11 | Germany | News Blog | 4 comments

E85 Boondoggle of the Day: Nebraska’s Parallel E85 Universe

By Robert Farago
July 3, 2009

From the High Plains Journal:

Nationally, gas prices have risen nearly every day for the past 42 days. Some analysts expect that a return to $100 oil–and $4 gas–isn’t far behind. But Nebraska drivers are already saving money by filling up with E10.

“Nebraska drivers have already saved over $4.5 million in 2009 by buying E10,” said Todd Sneller, administrator of the Nebraska Ethanol Board. “If all the fuel sold in Nebraska in the past five years was E85, Nebraskans would have saved $2.6 billion.”

Or not.

High Plains Journal »

Posted in E85 | News Blog | 17 comments

Oh Canada! Oh Ford!

By Robert Farago
July 3, 2009

Commentator dinu01 sent us some Canadian sales data (data day at TTAC) courtesy TheStar.com. “Booming Hyundai Auto Canada, which bucked the market trend this year, broke into the top five for the first time in June as sales surged 25.5 per cent to 10,104. Its sales have shot up 21.4 per cent to 52,454 in the first six months despite the industry’s sharp downturn.” The Korean automaker’s fortunes have soared even as GM and Chrysler Canadian sales have tanked. Hmmm. I wonder what that’s all about . . .

(more…)

Posted in Canada | News Blog | Sales | 20 comments

New Chrysler Liability Warning Label?

By Robert Farago
July 3, 2009

Sean Kane of safetyresearch.net gave us the heads-up on a move to put warning labels on products manufactured by pre-C-11 Chrysler.

WARNING! This vehicle was produced prior to the date when the Chrysler bankruptcy was approved. If you buy this vehicle and are injured or killed, even if your injuries were caused by the manufacturer, you or your survivors will not be able to recover your losses by taking action against the manufacturer. If your passengers are injured or killed, even if their injuries were caused by the manufacturer, they and their survivors will not be able to recover their losses by taking action against the manufacturer.

(more…)

safetyresearch.net »

Posted in Chapter 11 | News Blog | Safety | 9 comments

Piston Slap: Email Your Questions Now

By Robert Farago
July 3, 2009

Hey. RF here. How’s it going? I’ll tell you how it’s going: it’s going well. Piston Slap has been an entertaining and informative addition to the TTAC cannon [sic]. Sajeev has proven himself a diligent and insightful advisor to the mechanically challenged amongst us. I fully expect The Divine Mr. M to syndicate Piston Slap nationwide, pouring tens of dollars into TTAC’s coffers, wetting our corporate beak. OK, so, now, the guy needs questions. Grist for his mill. Please take five minutes out of your busy day to pepper Mr. Mehta on the mysteries of mechanical malfeasance. Send your queries to mehta@ttac.com. Remember: they don’t have to be real questions. In the spirit of this website’s name, you can ask him something about which you already know the answer—just to show him up in the comments section. Anyway, Sajeev wishes his fellow Americans a happy Fourth of July weekend, and in no way hopes that you’ll have car trouble requiring his sage advice.

Posted in News Blog | Piston Slap | 8 comments