Is Quality Job #1?

When I met my wife she was driving a '69 Mercury Cougar. Though the car was over 10 years old, it was built solidly and ran great at over 100k miles. Those were the days that American cars = great quality.


Who knew that when I bought my '94 BMW 740 that I would still be driving, and loving, the car in 2009. The car has classic good looks, is in great condition and drives great. I've looked at new cars, but none feel as solid or as comfortable as my Bimmer.


Our family also has a 2002 Buick Rendezvous. We don't drive it that often... it only has 50,000 miles, however it's showing its age. The interior is constructed of cheap plastic; it's sun-worn and the paint is peeling off many of the knobs and controls. The cup-holders have come loose and small parking lot smacks have left very visible dents in the fenders.


If the Big 3 in Detroit want to compete with Japan, Germany and Korea, they are going to have to build cars that last. Do they have what it takes to return to their glory days of the '60s?

Ok Detroit -- take this! Third-gen Prius arrives with 50 mpg combined rating

By Sam Abuelsamid on ToyotaPrius

Click above for high-res image gallery of the 2010 Toyota Prius

After teasing us for months with photos of switches and boot up screens, followed by a leak of the whole car, Toyota finally dropped the third generation 2010 Prius today in Detroit. We already heard many of the mechanical details over the past year or so, but today it was confirmed that the Prius will get a combined EPA rating of 50 mpg. That's 50 mpg under the new tighter EPA testing method, mind you. The engine has been up-sized to 1.8L with an output of 98 hp and the total net output of the hybrid drive system is 134 hp.

The basic design is still instantly recognizable as a Prius, but the body does have a bit more character than before. Nonetheless the shape is smoother with a drag coefficient of just 0.25. The peak of the roof has now been moved back 4 inches giving the car a slightly less egg-shaped profile and increasing rear headroom. Aside from optional extras like LED headlights and lane departure prevention, the most interesting new option is the solar roof. A roof-mounted photo-voltaic panel will power the air recirculation system when the car sits in the sun, reducing the internal temps and the subsequent load on the air conditioning system. The Prius goes on sale later this spring but pricing hasn't been announced yet. Hit the jump to view video of the live press conference.

Gallery: Detroit 2009: 2010 Toyota Prius

Would you buy this post-bailout car?

This Taurus is one ugly car. Does Ford think this will compete with Toyota, Honda, BMW... or Hyundai?

Detroit 2009: Ford announces full pricing for 2010 Taurus

By Sam Abuelsamid on FordTaurusPricing

Click above for high-res live images of the 2010 Ford Taurus

After Ford revealed the new 2010 Taurus this morning at the Detroit Auto Show, it sent out a press release with full pricing information for each model. As we mentioned earlier, the base price of Ford's new flagship sedan in SE trim is the same $25,995 as the 2009 model. For those looking for more toys in their car, Ford is still offering the SEL and Limited models at $27,995 and $31,995 respectively.

GM asks Congress to kickstart its heart with ambitious plan

By John Neff on GmPlanToCongress

Filed under: Government/Legal, GM

General Motors has just revealed the plan it has submitted to Congress today, and the details show just how far the largest U.S. automaker is willing to go in order to secure bridge loans from the federal government. The plan includes selling Saab, possibly killing Saturn and scaling back Pontiac, as well as reducing dealers and shedding more workers, among other things. Here's the breakdown...

• Focus on "core brands": Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac
• Launch predominately high mileage, energy-efficient cars and crossovers
• Sell Saab, HUMMER
• Sell or kill Saturn
• Reduce Pontiac to a "niche" brand
• Trim dealerships from 6,450 to 4,700
• Reopen talks with UAW to cut manufacturing costs further
• Reduce total workforce from 96,000 to 65-75,000
• Negotiate with lenders, remove $35.6 billion in debt

To do all this, GM is asking for a total of $18 billion in loans, which is considerably more than the $10-12 billion that CEO Rick Wagoner requested in front of Congress a few weeks ago. It needs $12 billion in loans by the end of next March to make it through the rest of 2009 and another $6 billion in revolving credit if conditions don't begin to improve by then. The troubled automaker also states that it needs $4 billion by the end of this month to continue operating and intends to start repaying the loans by 2011.

In exchange for government loans, GM is also open to a government oversight board that would monitor how the money is used, as well as giving taxpayers a stake in the company. Also, not only would Rick Wagoner get his salary dropped to $1, a number of other unnamed senior execs would get pay cuts, too.

Detroit Preview: Production Fisker Karma will debut in Motown

y John Neff on karma

Filed under: Concept Cars, Detroit Auto Show, Hybrids/Alternative, Green

Click above for high-res image gallery of the Fisker Karma

Just one short year after Fisker debuted its plug-in hybrid Karma show car at the Detroit Auto Show, the house that Henrik built will be returning to the Motor City to debut the production version of its ambitious project. Fisker says the production model, which is shown above in this just-released official pic, will only vary slightly in design from the show car, including a different upper grille that's a bit larger towards the outer edges and a larger lower air intake. The exhaust pipe from the internal combustion engine will also exit from an odd place: behind the front wheels. We'll also get our first view of the Karma's production interior in Detroit next month.

Fisker announced last month that it had chosen General Motors' turbocharged, direct-inject 2.0L four-cylinder as its ICE of choice, and after sampling that engine in the Chevy Cobalt SS Turbo, we're very eager to see what it will do in a hybrid set-up designed to make one very large luxury saloon move like the wind. Combined with the hybrid system's 22.6 kWh electric motor, the drivetrain as a whole is said to produce 408 horsepower and propel the car to 60 mph in 5.8 seconds and onto to a top speed of 125 mph. What sounded like vaporware 365 days ago is starting to take form, and we'll be on hand in Detroit next month to bring you more.

Gallery: Fisker Karma