Talking About Automobiles
Thursday, June 26, 2008
2008 Mercury Grand Marquis Features Revealed
The 2008 Grand Marquis is a 4-door, 6-passenger family sedan, available in two trims, the GS and the LS. Both trims are equipped with a standard 4.6 liter, V8, 224 horsepower, flexible fuel engine that achieves 15 mpg in the city and 23 mpg on the highway. A 4 speed automatic transmission with overdrive is standard. Most reviewers find its performance generally smooth and strong around town.
Little has changed over the past decade with its exterior styling, but it gets a flashier grille and tail lamp treatment. Both trims come with 16-inch steel wheels with faux chrome wheel covers.
The Grand Marquis offers space to seat six and a spacious cabin. It comes standard with an AM/FM stereo with single CD player; cup holders; dual ashtrays, map pockets; day/night rearview mirror; sliding driver and passenger visors; premium cloth seats with eight-way power lumbar and recline control, and carpeted floor mats.
The Grand Marquis has scored well in tests by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The Grand Marquis has an anti-lock braking system and auto on/off headlamps with delay. All-speed traction control is an additional option for the GS but comes standard on the LS.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Nissan's Smyrna Plant Achieves Major Milestone
"Over the past 25 years, Nissan's Smyrna plant has placed its mark on this community, the southern United States, and the automotive industry," said Greg Daniels, senior vice president, U.S. Manufacturing, Nissan North America. "We are extremely proud of what we've accomplished over the past quarter of a century and are looking forward to the next 25 years."
Nissan was the first foreign automaker to convey vehicle assembly business to the southern region of the United States.
"Nissan's decision to begin manufacturing in Tennessee 25 years ago was a watershed event for our state and our nation. With Nissan's continued success and the passage of time, it's easy to forget what a bold, innovative move that decision was and how it transformed our state's economy. The launch of the Smyrna facility was literally the first step in an explosion of automotive manufacturing in the southeast U.S. and the impact of the Nissan team is still being felt today,” says Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen.
"After 25 years, Nissan's investment in Tennessee continues to reap benefits for our state each day. From the thousands of good paying jobs to the additional employment provided by Nissan suppliers to the quality of the vehicles rolling off the assembly line, all of us in Tennessee are proud of Nissan's contributions to our state's economy," says Matt Kisber, commissioner, Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
All-new 2009 Dodge Journey Crossover Bags Ward's 'Clever Utility' Achievement Award
The all-new Dodge Journey stood-out from the pact and claimed one of the most prominent title this year; the “Clever Utility” award presented by the world-renowned Ward’s Auto Interior Show. Panelists from the awarding body presented the all-new 2009 Dodge Journey crossover an extraordinary achievement award, "Clever Utility," for its carefully planned and elegantly incorporated interior features at the 2008 Ward's Auto Interiors Show. The show is the annual auto interior event of the publication
"'Extreme functionality' sums up one Ward's judge of the Dodge's flexible interior. To start, the Journey has more hiding places than a Nancy Drew mansion. Flip forward the front passenger-seat cushion to reveal a nicely sized compartment for keeping valuables out of sight. There are also concealed compartments under the floor in the rear cargo bay and ahead of the second-row seats -- the latter specially lined for potential use as an ice chest," says David E. Zoia, Editorial Director - WardsAuto.com.
A significant goal for the 2009 Dodge Journey's design team was conveying a crossover with a convenient, flexible interior, with seating and inventive storage features usually instituted in the high-quality and best-selling Chrysler and Dodge minivans.
"The all-new Dodge Journey right-sized crossover is designed to satisfy buyers' rapidly changing demands by offering a unique combination of versatility and flexibility," said Joe Dehner, Vice President - Small, Family and Premium Vehicle Design, Chrysler LLC. "The 'Clever Utility' special achievement award validates what our designers and engineers sought to accomplish, and we are honored by Ward's judges for this recognition."
Friday, May 9, 2008
BMW Victorious
BMW has successfully secured its spot as the world’s number one manufacturer of competent high-performance power units with six awards for five engines gained at this year’s “International Engine of the Year Awards”. The 3-liter inline six engine with Twin Turbo and High Precision Injection is behind the group’s successful campaign by notching the overall ranking in this most prominent international engine contest for the second straight time and counting.
History repeats itself! The 300 hp engine engaged in the BMW 3 Series and 5 Series, the BMW 1 Series Coupe and Convertible, as well as the latest BMW X6, repeated last year’s win in the 2.5 to 3-liter engine category.
If we will recall the history, only one engine had formerly ever succeeded in recurring overall victory at the “International Engine of the Year Awards”: the 5-litre V10 high-revving engine employed in the BMW M5 Sedan, M6 Coupe and M6 Convertible received top honors in 2005 and 2006.
In addition to this, according to the Auto Channel, this year, the 500 hp high-end power unit won the “Above 4-liter” category. BMW M GmbH was triumphant in posting another winner: the 414 hp V8 engine in the new BMW M3 won the category for engines in the 3 to 4 liter category. Furthermore, the 2-liter four-cylinder diesel with Variable Twin Turbo technology outfitted in the BMW 123d got the award for “Best New Engine” of the 2008. And the 1.6-liter four cylinder with Twin Scroll Turbocharger and direct gas injection employed in the MINI Cooper S took over to repeat last year’s victory in the 1.4 to 1.8 liter class.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Labor Leader Dies At 91
Last year, the United Auto Workers union made the news when they assembled to strike against General Motors. It was during that time when the solidarity of the union was seen, although not for the first time. Today's UAW president Ron Gettelfinger has seen his share of bargaining with the Big Three and other automakers but even Gettelfinger looks up to someone.
That someone happens to be the former president of the United Auto Workers union, the late Douglas A. Fraser. Fraser passed away late Saturday at the
During his time as the president of the UAW, Douglas Fraser has been known to be popular with the rank and file workers. "Everybody thought he was wonderful," said Winnie Fraser. "He was a good guy, and he really was (wonderful)," she added according to The Auto Channel.
Gettelfinger said that Fraser was a "voice of reason". "He could interject humor in a very tense situation. He was realistic. He was abreast of what was going on. I was always relieved when on the other end of the line was Doug. He would always make you feel good before you hung up that phone," he added.
Sure, we are to talk about automobiles around here. But we have to talk about the guys who gave much to the industry. In fact, without Fraser, the Chrysler 300 would not have been possible. Why? It's because along with Lee Iacocca, Fraser had a major involvement in keeping Chrysler from bankruptcy.
So I honor this great man with this humble post.
Friday, February 15, 2008
VW Welcomes New Age Of Online Marketing
Tom Roberts, the Volkswagen site Account Director at Tribal, has this to say: "Buying a new car can be a confusing process. Using clean white space and featuring the most progressive car configurator currently available online, we built this site to be the most simple yet most comprehensive, intuitive and engaging experience in this market."
"Our research shows that people looking for a new car now do the majority of their research on the internet, with visits to showrooms more than halved, down from five to two on average,” said Marianne Nicholas, Volkswagen's Relationship Marketing Manager.
"The challenge for us was to respond to this change and ensure our website is equipped to give buyers and owners the information they need at the touch of a button. The old site has seen a massive rise in visits over the past three years - up from 500,000 in November 2004 to 1.4 million in November 2007, which clearly indicates the importance of the web in a customer's buying process. Our new site offers the most realistic experience on the web of what it's like to sit in and walk around a Volkswagen car - it's a richer, more responsive experience and heralds a new approach in the web's role in selling cars," she noted.
Key site facts:
- This site is the result of 18 months' work with a dedicated team of 50 people
- It is one of the largest websites to be built in Flex, providing a richer experience - in fact, the 15 strong Flex team hired by Tribal to build this site is thought to be one of the largest and most advanced Flex teams in the world
- The site uses dynamic feedback, which allows car buyers to search and modify their preferred car in 'real time', which is more responsive and provides a much richer customer experience
- It will allow people to book test drives directly on line
- Taking into consideration all the different options customers can configure their car with, the site offers well over one million different combinations of Volkswagen
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Tata Motors Owns Jaguar, Almost
We know that Ford is struggling as of today. The automaker has placed a lot of confidence on its large vehicles. SUVs and light trucks have been racking up sales for American automakers. But that was when the price of petroleum is still low and the
But today, the economy is slumping and the price of petroleum fuel is skyrocketing. This meant trouble for American automakers like Ford. The
The automaker is now focusing on their core business which means they are shipping out their luxury marques such as Aston Martin which was sold early last year. After Aston martin was sold, Ford is now looking to sell its two British luxury marques in the form of Jaguar and Land Rover.
The two British luxury brands have been performing at s subpar level as few consumers in the
The said Indian automaker is Tata Motors. You might have heard of the name as the company has unveiled last month what would be the world's least expensive vehicle. If the Indian automaker succeeds in acquiring both luxury brands, it would really be a good boost for the company.
One advantage that they can get from acquiring the two luxury brands is that they would have a wide retail network where Tata Motors can easily market their own vehicles. Another advantage they may have is the technological prowess which Jaguar and land river represents. Tata Motors will be able to use those technologies on their vehicles.
To reap those benefits though, Tata Motors would have to shell put about $2 billion. Wow!
