Wild Ass Rumor(s) Of The Day: Business As Usual Edition

by Edward Niedermeyer

Published: November 11th, 2008

wild ass rumor s of the day business as usual edition

These are indeed turbulent times in the automotive industry. With every new day comes a flood of bad news, and a fresh sense of ominous momentum. As we continue to serve up hefty sides of bailout beef, we thought we’d offer up a quick, palate-cleansing taste of the non-bailout, non-industry-implosion gossip going ’round the net. And you’ll never believe what insiders have to say about the Toyobaru coupe pregnancy scare!

Tabloid sweetheart, the Toyobaru coupe tops todays scuttlebut. Despite having already been dubbed several Brangelina-esque nicknames by the motor press, we now hear that it will be sold in the US as the 2011 Scion tC. I still like Toyobaru. Let’s still call it that. Anyway, Carscoop has a rendering of what it probably won’t look like, but as they say, an RWD tC plus the iQ means Scion will be kicking ass in 2011. Or at least barely competing with Kia’s Soul and Koupe. OMG, I am such a bitch!

Speaking of bitchyness, we hear that the Lexus “dedicated” hybrid (whatever that means) will be bland and uninteresting. I mean, it’s the Lexus version of the new Prius… what did you expect? Pictures from Japanese buff book Mag-X surfaced at the VWVortex forums, and everyone’s falling asleep chattering away about it. Oh yeah, there’s also a pic in there of what they swear is the new Camry too. Looks like an Avalon with some Accord influences. Thrilling stuff!

Oh yeah, Motor Trend also thinks Toyota will bring a Prius coupe stateside. Unless it’s on the Toyobaru RWD platform, they can keep it. I’ll have the CR-Z, thanks.

Want a really manly car? That Nissan GTR is for pansies, so wait and save up for the GTR Spec V that eGMCartech says will be unveiled by the end of November. And it’s brilliant. In the sense that gaining 100 hp and losing 200 lbs means you’ll pay at least $153,625 for it. But you’ll be the fastest douchebag ’round the ‘ring… and best friends with Nissan marketing. Until Nissan brings out the GTR LM (Les Mans), anyway. Then you’ll just be another pansy in the second-best GTR out there.

Edward Niedermeyer

More by Edward Niedermeyer

Comments

Join the conversation

2 of 23 comments

BlueBrat on Nov 12, 2008
I’m beginning to think it’s Scion’s mission to create a car company where all the different model-owners hate one another. Wait, your saying they failed at their marketing goal?

Like Reply
JuniorMint on Nov 13, 2008
Wait, your saying they failed at their marketing goal? You laugh at that commercial, but xB1 people really are like that. I can't tell you how many conversations I've had in parking lots with someone who started out with an identical xB but took it in a completely different direction than I did. The last one had the same tails, but different fogs and rims. Of couuuuuurse, the NEW xB is only driven by 50-somethings, who traded in the Explorer now that the kids are out of school...so there went that. If we really DO get the iQ, and the new tC doesn't bring in a whole pile of insane Subaru owners (think the tC crowd can't get any stupider? think again), we'll be just fine. but, all kidding aside, one more dog car could kill this brand.

Like Reply

Recent Comments

MaintenanceCosts Nobody here seems to acknowledge that there are multiple use cases for cars.Some people spend all their time driving all over the country and need every mile and minute of time savings. ICE cars are better for them right now.Some people only drive locally and fly when they travel. For them, there's probably a range number that works, and they don't really need more. For the uses for which we use our EV, that would be around 150 miles. The other thing about a low range requirement is it can make 120V charging viable. If you don't drive more than an average of about 40 miles/day, you can probably get enough electrons through a wall outlet. We spent over two years charging our Bolt only through 120V, while our house was getting rebuilt, and never had an issue.Those are extremes. There are all sorts of use cases in between, which probably represent the majority of drivers. For some users, what's needed is more range. But I think for most users, what's needed is better charging. Retrofit apartment garages like Tim's with 240V outlets at every spot. Install more L3 chargers in supermarket parking lots and alongside gas stations. Make chargers that work like Tesla Superchargers as ubiquitous as gas stations, and EV charging will not be an issue for most users.
MaintenanceCosts I don't have an opinion on whether any one plant unionizing is the right answer, but the employees sure need to have the right to organize. Unions or the credible threat of unionization are the only thing, history has proven, that can keep employers honest. Without it, we've seen over and over, the employers have complete power over the workers and feel free to exploit the workers however they see fit. (And don't tell me "oh, the workers can just leave" - in an oligopolistic industry, working conditions quickly converge, and there's not another employer right around the corner.)
Kjhkjlhkjhkljh kljhjkhjklhkjh [h3]Wake me up when it is a 1989 635Csi with a M88/3[/h3]
BrandX "I can charge using the 240V outlets, sure, but it’s slow."No it's not. That's what all home chargers use - 240V.
Jalop1991 does the odometer represent itself in an analog fashion? Will the numbers roll slowly and stop wherever, or do they just blink to the next number like any old boring modern car?