Car

In today’s eco-friendly marke, the Toyota Prius stands as a symbol for environmentally responsible drivers. Its unique styling is instantly recognizable and the car has consistently sold out year after year. The 2010 model year Prius will be a redesigned version of the vehicle, but don’t expect any major changes to the car. After all, considering the resounding success that the Prius already enjoys, it would be foolish to mess around with such a winning combination.

(Read the full post about ‘2010 Toyota Prius’…)

In the coming year or so, Hyundai is looking to introduce seven new vehicles into it’s sales lineup. One of these is the 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe, a stylish and sporty coupe that is arguably the most anticipated of the forthcoming seven models. Hyundai aims for the 2010 Genesis Coupe to compete against such luxury coupes as the Infiniti G37 while having a price tag that is quite a bit smaller.

Pick Your Power
The Genesis Coupe will be available with a choice of two engines, a turbocharged four cylinder and a 3.8 liter V6. The four cylinder engine boasts 212 horsepower and its V6 big brother pumps out a little over three hundred horsepower.

(Read the full post about ‘2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe’…)

GM spinoff Delphi has been struggling to exit bankruptcy for over three years. The Wall Street Journal reports the supplier is in danger of being liquidated completely. At the heart of Delphi's problems: $14.5b in pension liability, underfunded by $3.3b. Under the terms of its spinoff, General Motors retained responsibility to fund those pensions– an agreement that has cost GM $11b in cash and writedowns. A tsunami of red ink prompted the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp to press GM to take over $1.5b of the liability next month. GM CFO Ray Young says basta! "[Delphi has] to understand there is only so much that we can do.

(Read the full post about ‘Delphi Doomed?’…)

The Detroit Free Press reports that early August sales estimates show a 14.4 percent drop in new metal moved. But don't turn off your pacemaker yet; the biggest shocker is that Detroit is bearing the overwhelming brunt of the downturn. Estimates from Edmunds show that Chrysler sales dropped 34 percent, GM slid by 27.5 percent and Ford endured a 16.3 percent drop compared to August a year ago. Toyota continues to shed sales but grow market share, slipping by half the industry average at 7.2 percent. The winners in August were Honda, which posted a 0.9 percent increase, and Nissan which defied the market to bump sales by 2.3 percent.

(Read the full post about ‘Surprise! August Sales Sucked!’…)

The Detroit Free Press reports that GM has finally chosen a Volt battery supplier from its dueling development partners LG Chem and Conti. But in the interest of squeezing as many "Volt On The Way" headlines into future news cycles, it isn't saying which has been chosen. Both the battery partner and the final look of the production Volt will be previewed by the end of the year, probably whenever some bad news emerges that GM wants the public to ignore. In the meantime, this news means one thing, according to GM auto authoritarian Bob Lutz: "the Volt is real … and test work is progressing nicely." Perhaps not as nicely as Toyota's plug-in Prius though, which just had its delivery date bumped from 2010 to 2009.

(Read the full post about ‘Volt Birth Watch 80: One Tough Cell’…)

Well, here it is, courtesy of LeftLane News. Maybe. The Chevy electric - gas plug-in hybrid sure doesn't look like the show car that GM's been advertising (as if you could go down and buy one). On the other hand, the Volt shown here isn't a Malibu-a-like, which is a good thing. (Unless you ascribe to Ye Olde German "Different Length of Sausages" School of Model Design.) On the other other hand, the Volt pictured lacks the Toyota Prius' instantly identifiable "quirkiness" and attendant green cred. In fact, in this guise, the Volt's front end shares more than a little gestalt with the current Ford Fusion. So, over to you, our Best and Brightest.

(Read the full post about ‘Volt Birth Watch 79: Production Volt Spied on Transformers Set’…)

OK, so this isn't specifically about cars, but it could have ramifications for anyone who uses gasoline. Cars.com reports small-engine mechanics around the country are reporting an increase in damage in boat, lawnmower, chainsaw and other small engines. The culprit? They're saying it's the ethanol blended into gasoline. Apparantly it creates a gummy substance that "clogs valves and causes small metal parts to rust, destroying carburetors and other crucial components". The bad thing is, even if you drain the tank, this residue remains behind and does its damage.

(Read the full post about ‘Ethanol May be Harmful to Your Lawnmower’…)

Aaaand we’re back, thanks to a new hard drive. We’re still trying to assess the data loss but it’s likely everything since the last backup was destroyed, based on the drive’s horrible scratching noise, which sounded like a school of piranhas chewing on a blackboard. Anyway, onto more nostalgic car news.

In his most recent column for The Telegraph in response to the 100 Ugliest Cars, Top Gear host James May reveals that he has just purchased a Datsun 120Y. You may know it as the B210 or Sunny, but we just call it brilliant!

(Read the full post about ‘Captain James “Slow” May, Datsun Owner’…)

If I had a shotgun, I would be in jail right now. Since Chrysler LLC refuses to acknowledge TTAC's existence and won't give us access to their press cars (unlike Audi, Bentley, Aston Martin, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and a lot of others), we have to bug dealers for test drives. Seeing dealerships in the greater Oklahoma City Metro area receiving Dodge Challenger SE's (the V6 4-speed auto-only versions), I went a-hunting. Fowler Dodge: "you cannot drive a Challenger until you sign the paperwork to buy one, even the $25,000 model, because people want NO miles on them, as they are collectors items." David Stanley Dodge possessed no less than six Challenger SEs.

(Read the full post about ‘Driving the Challenger is a Challenge’…)

Say what you want about Detroit, it still has some class. The media may already be counting the bailout billions, but the once-big three will be waiting until after Labor Day to visit Washington, hat in hand. Per Emily Post's corporate welfare etiquette, natch. The Wall Street Journal also reports that the Detroit three will speak with a single voice during upcoming meetings with federal loan officers. As in no screwing over Chrysler for a better deal. Of course that means the projected $50b will have to be split three ways. And then there's that damn CAFE ramp-up to worry about.

(Read the full post about ‘Bailout Watch 13: One Bailout to Unite Them All’…)