Chronicling the Ever-Changing Automotive Industry
Well, the 3rd quarter of 2010 is over, and sales are down, yet again, for the U.S. automotive industry. While all the other news outlets are saying sales were up 29% in September year-to-year, sales were down when viewed month-to-month. While there is 1 less day in September than there is in August, this doesn’t account for a 3.32% drop (almost 33,000 vehicles) from month to month. Read on for my analysis and graphs.
Continue reading ‘Sales Figures: September, 2010′
At the 2010 Geneva Auto Show, Lexus introduced us to the CT 200h. Production has been announced, and the new sporty luxury hybrid should be available later this year or early next year, although a specific production date has yet to be announced. The CT 200h is an odd choice for a company known for smooth, comfortable rides and no-fuss driving experiences. Read on for more details and the usual high-resolution pictures.
Continue reading ‘Luxury, Sport … and Fuel Economy? The Lexus CT 200h’
Well, it would appear that Toyota isn’t out of the recall woods yet. The automaker is recalling a total of 412,000 vehicles built between 2000 and 2007. Most of the recalled vehicles are Toyota Avalons, but about 10% of them are Lexus LX 470s. The issues are different between the two vehicles, but both can lead to loss of vehicle direction control. Toyota says that neither problem has caused any accidents. Continue reading for more details. If this reminds you of a recent event involving the Corolla, you’re correct, although Toyota says it wasn’t a defect, but will fix Corolla owners’ issues anyway.
Continue reading ’2 New Steering-related Toyota Recalls’
Ford dropped a bomb on the hybrid car market earlier this year with the introduction of the 2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid. Just to enlarge the size of the crater, they’ve announced that its base MSRP will be the same as the gasoline version of the MKZ, at $35,180. While not an insubstantial amount of money, it’s the first time a hybrid variant of a car hasn’t carried with it a multi-thousand dollar price hike.
Continue reading ‘Surprise! Hybrid Lincoln MKZ Price matches Gas version’
Lexus announced today the changes for its 2011 ES 350 luxury sedan. The ES will start at $35,525, an increase of $350 over 2010 models, and no longer does it require premium unleaded fuel. Instead, it will get 19/27 city/highway mpg on regular fuel. The aforementioned change is the big one, and the rest are fairly minor tweaks. Click past the jump for more details and a high-resolution picture gallery.
Continue reading ‘Lexus announces the 2011 ES 350′
2006 Lexus IS 350
Following on the footsteps of earlier announcements, a clarifying announcement was made by Toyota regarding faulty engines in some of their Lexus vehicles. Today, Toyota officially notified the NHTSA of its intent to recall about 138,000 vehicles in the United States, for a problem which can cause the engine to stall while driving. The automaker said that most owners who are affected will notice a rough idle or louder than normal engine noise. Read on for my analysis and specific models being recalled.
Continue reading ‘Official: Lexus Engine Recall affects 138,000 vehicles’
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David Batzek commented on Older Jeep Grand Cherokee under investigation for gas tank problem
My 99 just started rusting over last fee months (to were it was noticeable). Now today the skid plate [more]
Keren Cathey commented on Older Jeep Grand Cherokee under investigation for gas tank problem
Is there anyway for us, as consumers, to influence a recall on these vehicles? I also have a 99 Grand [more]
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Nice artical John [more]
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I also have a 1999 jeep grand Cherokee limited which has began to emit high gas fumes. It also [more]
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hi i have a 2012 nissan maxima and everytime i shut it off i hear the engine cooling fan shut [more]