#Pricing

Toyota reports [ PDF] that it has increased its MSRPs by an average of 1.7%, as the automaker seeks to regain control over pricing which has taken a hit in the year since its recall scandal. Of course, the fact that the firm’s supply of vehicles is likely to be limited by the chaotic aftermath of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami was causing its transaction prices to rise anyway, but Toyota tells Automobile magazine that the MSRP increase

has no relation to any production shut downs or shortages stemming from the recent disaster in Japan

Uh huh. Whatever you say.

Somebody must have slipped Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne some Sodium Pentothal as an April Fools joke, as he’s just topped his previous high-water mark for ill-advised candor (set earlier this week). Automotive News [sub] quotes the feisty CEO admitting

The economics of EVs simply don’t work. On the 500 that (Chrysler) will begin selling in the U.S. next year, we will lose over $10,000 (per unit) despite the retail price being three times higher .

Like, Zoinks! I spent some time in a Cinquecento last weekend, and though it made a great little LeMons pace car and is honestly quite fun to drive, it’s not much car for the $15k-$19k+ Chrysler wants for a 100 HP version. Spending three times that amount for a money-losing electric version simply boggles the mind. Or do they celebrate April Fools Day in Italy?

When Chevrolet announced a few months ago that its new Cruze compact sedan would start at $16,995, more than a few people (who likely had not had a chance to personally experience the new car) were shocked. The Cobalt, which the Cruze replaced, had been priced nearly $1,300 lower—and had required incentives to sell at that price. Now Ford has announced pricing for the totally redesigned 2012 Focus, and it starts at…$16,995.

GM raised a few eyebrows when it priced its new Cruze compact at or above the base price of its closest competitors, marking a shift upwards in its pricing strategy. But with loaded LTZ versions of the Cruze crossing the $24k mark, one obvious concern was cannibalization of the forthcoming Buick version of the Cruze, the Verano. GM has yet to officially announce pricing for the Verano, but an online survey of Buick dealers has leaked to GM Inside News, showing that GM is eying a price range of $21k-$26k for the new Verano, a price point that certainly overlaps with the higher-trim Cruze models. And with the 2.4 liter four-banger from the Regal tipped as the Verano’s base engine, the case for the similarly-engined (and not all that much larger) Regal is made a little less convincing by the addition of the new compact Buick. Hit the jump for GM’s proposed trim levels.

Chrysler has announced that the 2011 Fiat 500 1.4 Pop will start at a base price of $15,500 (before destination) with Sport models starting at $17,500 and Lounge versions starting at $19,500. All models are powered by Fiat’s 1.4 liter MultiAir engine, making 101 HP and 97 lb-ft of torque… and luckily the little engine has only 2,400 lbs to move. The base model gets 15″ steelies, cloth and a CD player, while the Sport model adds 16″ alloys, remote keyless entry, cloth/vinyl sport seats and steering wheel, sport suspension and a lightly modified exterior. The range-topping Lounge trim gets 15″ alloys, a Bose stereo, the Microsoft-based “Blue&Me” hands-free media system, premium cloth seats, a glass roof, body-color side moldings and chrome accents as well as a standard automatic transmission and automatic climate-control. Check out the three versions at Fiat USA’s new site… and hit the jump for Fiat’s just-announced list of US-market dealers.

Dodge’s re-boot of its product lineup is largely complete, and with new and refreshed vehicles heading to dealerships soon, it’s released pricing on its new lineup. Dodge’s new pricing list can be found here, or hit the jump for highlights.

Notice a difference between these two pictures? No, not the fact that one is a sexy press shot and the other is a bush-league amateur snap. Both pictures show the 2011 Volkswagen Jetta, but one of them has a torsion beam rear axle, the other has a variation of the Golf’s multilink setup. One has a 2.5 liter blunt instrument of an engine and a slushbox, the other has a high-tech “twincharger” engine that won the International Engine Of The Year award two years running, mated to a dual-clutch ‘box. One has a nasty, plasticky interior, the other offers “higher quality materials and trim.” By now you’ve probably guessed that the less desirable of these two Jettas is the US version, and the fancy-pants version has just been announced for the European market…

For some people (you know who you are), the 200 horsepower provided by the 2011 Hyundai Sonata’s 2.4-liter four-cylinder base engine just isn’t enough. The traditional solution: a V6. But Hyundai, taking a page from Chrysler’s Iacocca-era playbook, has opted to offer a turbocharged 2.0-liter four instead. The specs look good: 274 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 269 pound-feet of torque from 1,750 rpm. The pricing? Even better. The Hyundai Sonata SE 2.0T lists for $24,865, only $1,550 more than the regular Sonata SE. Are these the cheapest horses new car money can buy in a midsize sedan?

As with most EVs, we knew about the CODA EV for a long time before a price was ever trotted out (the car was first mooted as the Miles XS500, and was scheduled for a 2009 launch before reality struck). And even before we knew the price, we reckoned that a Chinese-built sedan with Chinese battery cells thrown into it in Southern California would face its fair share of challenges. Now that the CODA EV has been priced at $44,900 (full specs here), we’re certain of it. Of course, Federal tax breaks bring the CODA down to $37,400, and a further California incentive could bring it as low as $32,400, or about $400 less than a Nissan Leaf… before tax breaks. Why would anyone pay $12,000 more for a Chinese fly-by-night when they could have a Nissan? CODA CEO Kevin Czinger tells Automotive News [sub] that

GM is announcing the arrival of the first “driveable Volt” in China, in a move that GM’s China boss Kevin Wale calls a sign of The General’s “long-term commitment to bringing our industry-leading technology to China.” And despite a distinct lack of Chinese demand for green vehicles, a recent survey that shows as much as 75 percent of Shanghai’s drivers plan to purchase an EV in the next three years (not to mention government plans for increased EV subsidies) is giving GM hope that its plug-in will take off there. But in order to achieve Chinese-market success with the Volt, GM will likely have to offer the vehicle at a price point well below its US-market MSRP of $41,000.