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Report: Nissan won’t downsize the next Armada

Filed under: SUV, Nissan

2008 Nissan Armada

The Nissan Armada is aptly named, because in relative automotive terms, it’s not just the size of a ship – it’s the size of a whole fleet. And that, according to reports, isn’t about to change.

While many of the larger SUVs on the market are gradually being phased out or replaced by smaller crossovers, Nissan apparently plans on keeping the Armada right where it is. And that means a large, truck-based, eight-passenger colossus, because there are buyers out there who expect no less and Nissan isn’t about to lose them to the likes of the Toyota Sequoia, Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator, or a General Motors lineup that includes the Chevy Suburban and Tahoe, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade.

That doesn’t mean that the next Armada – which Edmunds expects will arrive in 2015 or 2016 – will be immune to constricting environmental regulations, so Nissan will have to get creative. A vehicle the size of the Armada has all the aerodynamic efficiency of the side of a barn, but Nissan is reportedly aiming to streamline that in order to boost efficiency, for starters.

Other measures under consideration include lighter-weight construction and more transmission speeds, but for our part we wouldn’t be surprised to see a hybrid version. One thing we’re told not to expect, however, is the Cummins diesel being developed for the next Titan, on which the next Armada will be based.

Nissan won’t downsize the next Armada originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Aug 2013 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: C7 Corvette won’t spawn new Cadillac XLR [w/video]

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Videos, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GM, Design/Style, Luxury

Between the new 2014 Chevy Corvette Stingray and the even newer Cadillac Elmiraj Concept shown off at Pebble Beach, we were already expecting some sort of chatter of a Cadillac XLR redux. During an in-depth C7 Corvette discussion with Tadge Juechter, the car’s chief engineer, Fox News asked if a Corvette-based, Bowling Green-built Cadillac will be built off the C7. Non-spoiler alert: the answer is no.

Juechter says that General Motors has “no intent” on transforming this car into a Cadillac product since the C7 has been optimized for the Corvette buyer, a consumer that’s generally a different sort of person than a Cadillac intender who might also be cross-shopping a Mercedes-Benz SL-Class or BMW 6 Series.

While we’re not ready to write off a future XLR altogether, we assume that the Corvette Cadillac experiment is most likely never going to happen again. The interview with Juechter is posted below, but the XLR discussion comes in at the 9:00 mark.

Continue reading C7 Corvette won’t spawn new Cadillac XLR [w/video]

C7 Corvette won’t spawn new Cadillac XLR [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 23 Aug 2013 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Organizers vow city bankruptcy won’t affect Detroit Auto Show

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Government/Legal, Earnings/Financials

2013 North American International Auto Show - Cobo Hall sign

Detroit’s bankruptcy is going to mess up a lot of stuff in the coming months – if not years. One thing that shouldn’t be affected, though, is the North American International Auto Show, held at downtown Detroit’s Cobo Center.

Currently in the midst of a much-needed $299-million renovation, Cobo’s operation was taken over by the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority in 2009, essentially protecting the convention center, and by extension, the auto show, from the city’s ills.

Speaking to Automotive News, executive director of the Detroit Auto Dealers Association, Rod Alberts, said he isn’t worried about the effect of Detroit’s bankruptcy on the show’s most visible municipal presence – security. City officials are committed to providing the same degree of activity as in previous years. In addition to the regular police presence, the auto show will hire its own security forces for this year’s show rather than contracting out. Not all the pressure is on the show and the DPD, though, as Alberts pointed out to AN, “‘I know we can lean on other agencies to help us out if we need to.'”

Held annually at Cobo since 1965, the North American International Auto Show is one of the premiere events on the global auto show calendar. Held every January, it has been a regular source of ~~frostbite~~ news and new vehicle introductions for media from around the world.

Organizers vow city bankruptcy won’t affect Detroit Auto Show originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Jul 2013 15:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Mazda on sales upswing in Europe but won’t build there

Filed under: Europe, Plants/Manufacturing, Mazda, Earnings/Financials

Auto sales in Europe have been a tricky proposition for some years, but Mazda has seen some success on the backs of the CX-5 and new Mazda6. According to a report form Automotive News Europe, though, that doesn’t mean we should be looking for the Japanese manufacturer to set up production operations there.

Mazda’s European CEO, Jeff Guyton, explained to AN that “Our intention is to have manufacturing scale. That gives you scale economy and quality through repeatability.” In other words, a big honking plant in one part of the world is preferable to a half dozen small factories building the same vehicles.

European sales for Mazda are up 5.4 percent in the first half of 2013, with 74,000 units sold. That kicked the Zoom-Zoom brand’s market share up from one to 1.2 percent. Small gains, but gains nonetheless. According to Guyton, Mazda would need to sell 200,000 units of just one model in Europe for local production to make sense. Mazda’s best European year saw 320,000 units sold across the entire range.

Mazda on sales upswing in Europe but won’t build there originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 20 Jul 2013 17:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cars.com performs ultimate minivan shootout. Guess who won…

Filed under: Minivan/Van, Chrysler, Dodge, Honda, Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen

Cars.com rounded up the year’s crop of new minivans for a comparison, the rare thrill being that minivans from every major maker are completely fresh for 2011. The entrants were the Nissan Quest (pictured), Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey, Chrysler Town & Country, Volkswagen Routan and Dodge Grand Caravan.

The testing format was also novel, in that Cars.com paired its own editors with reviewers from USA Today and the MotorWeek television show, plus the Weatherby family, an ‘average’ family of five – husband, wife and three kids.

After three days of testing and the tallying of numerous criteria, there was, of course, one 7-seater to rule them all. We won’t tell you which one it is, but its reviews included both “It doesn’t look like such a mommy car” and “Distressingly ugly in profile.” The Cars.com video review is after the jump, or head over to the link for the long-form skinny.

View Poll

Continue reading Cars.com performs ultimate minivan shootout. Guess who won…

Cars.com performs ultimate minivan shootout. Guess who won… originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 29 May 2011 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Study: Consumer Reports: Car buyers will pay for higher fuel economy, won’t compromise safety

Filed under: Car Buying, Etc., Safety

Toyota Prius models at a dealership

According to a survey conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, new car buyers are factoring fuel economy as a larger concern in their purchases. That’s no real surprise given that prices at the pump remain high, but the study also revealed that those same consumers are unwilling to sacrifice safety just to net a few additional miles per gallon.

The research revealed that 62 percent of buyers say they are planning to buy a vehicle with much better or significantly better fuel economy than their current ride. On average, that translates to fuel economy of 29 mpg or better. Surprisingly enough, 10 percent of those questioned said that they expected 40 mpg or better from their next purchase. That means that buyers will need to be willing to make all sorts of concessions, including making compromises on purchase price, vehicle size and the number of options.

One factor those surveyed evidently won’t give up on, however, is safety. Only 11 percent of the total respondents said they would be willing to compromise safety for greater fuel economy. Read the complete summary over at Consumer Reports.

Consumer Reports: Car buyers will pay for higher fuel economy, won’t compromise safety originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 26 May 2011 18:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Why U-Haul won’t rent you a trailer for your Ford Explorer

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Crossover, Ford

2011 Ford Explorer

2011 Ford Explorer – Click above for high-res image gallery

If you are a Ford Explorer owner who may need to infrequently tow small loads, here’s a Public Service Announcement that may be of interest. Apparently, U-Haul, which we’d guess is the first name that pops in people’s minds when the subject of a rental trailer comes up, will not loan trailers out if the lender plans on hooking it up to a Ford Explorer, regardless of the vehicle’s tow rating.

According to a spokesperson for U-Haul that spoke to Consumer Reports, it’s company policy to deny trailer rentals to Explorer owners. Why? Lawyers. Says Joanne Fried, director of media and corporate relations, “Every time we go to hire an attorney to defend a lawsuit, as soon as we say ‘Ford Explorer,’ they charge us more money.”

The issue can be traced all the way back to the Firestone tire debacle that tarnished the Explorer’s good name in the late 1990s. Though the original lawsuit has long since been settled and, more importantly, the current Explorer shares absolutely nothing but its moniker with the old truck-based model cited in the lawsuit, the name ‘Explorer’ is still enough to incite bouts of panic, sleepless nights and a bucket full of dollar signs to U-Haul’s legal team.

The corporate edict also applies to the Jeep Wrangler, unless the owner agrees only to tow the U-Haul trailer only when a hardtop is in place on the iconic off-roader. Seems more than a little arbitrary and ignorant to us, but we’re not the ones with law degrees, so what do we know?

Why U-Haul won’t rent you a trailer for your Ford Explorer originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 25 May 2011 15:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Hyundai Genesis won’t get all-wheel drive until next gen

Filed under: Coupe, Sedan, Performance, Hyundai, Luxury

2012 hyundai genesis sedan

2012 Hyundai Genesis Sedan – Click above for high-res image gallery

According to the sleuths at Car and Driver, the current Hyundai Genesis won’t come with all-wheel drive. Instead, buyers will have to wait until at least 2014 before the traction-adding tech shows up on the company’s luxury four-door. That may also mean that the Genesis Coupe and the lengthy Equus will miss out on all-wheel drive for another few years until the Korean automaker can come up with a refreshed platform. Hyundai CEO John Krafcik has long made it clear that the Genesis twins and the Equus would receive an all-wheel drive option in the future, but we were hoping that we’d see a variant of the refreshed-for-2012 model that churns from all four wheels.

As Car and Driver points out, the Genesis Sedan has seen fairly strong sales since its introduction, and the addition of all-wheel drive will likely help the model inch ever closer toward that magic 30,000 unit-per-year mark. Unfortunately, with at least three years before an all-new model touches down, buyers will have to content themselves with the rash of more powerful engines, a reworked suspension and refined visuals that Hyundai recently unveiled.

Hyundai Genesis won’t get all-wheel drive until next gen originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 13 May 2011 11:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: BMW won’t market an M3 GTS sedan… at least, not in the U.S.

Filed under: Sedan, Performance, Europe, BMW

BMW M3 lightweight sedan

BMW M3 Sedan lightweight concept – Click above for high-res image gallery

You may recall that earlier this month, BMW revealed a unique M3 Sedan that had been stripped of weight and toughened up, packing the same sort of approach applied to the hard-core M3 GTS coupe, albeit with a couple of extra doors. The one-off was made for the M Festival set to take place during the 24 Hours of Nürburgring this coming June, but naturally, speculation on its production potential has ensued.

The good folks over at M3Post pinned down Matt Russell, the guy who handles the M range (along with Alpina) for BMW North America, and asked him about the lightweight M3 sedan’s future, and according to him, there are no plans to market such a vehicle in the United States. Naturally, Russell didn’t comment on markets outside his purview, neatly avoiding comment on whether the hardcore sedan will be available somewhere. But given the short time remaining in the current M3’s lifespan and the stringencies of U.S. regulations, any such vehicle apparently isn’t fated for these shores.

Elsewhere in the interview, Russell professed his admiration for the all-wheel drive system developed by Ferrari for the new FF. Could BMW incorporate AWD into future M products? Potentially, but as with the lightweight M3 sedan, the extra heft would be an issue.

Gallery: Lightweight BMW M3 Sedan

[Source: M3Post via Motor Authority]

Report: BMW won’t market an M3 GTS sedan… at least, not in the U.S. originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 14:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: 2012 Cadillac CTS with 3.6L won’t get six-speed manual, V models safe

Filed under: Coupe, Sedan, Wagon, Cadillac

cadillac cts wagon

Cadillac CTS Sportwagon – Click above for high-res image gallery

The list of vehicles with an available manual transmission may become a bit smaller for 2012, as Inside Line is reporting that certain 2012 Cadillac CTS models will lose the ability to specify a third pedal. IL cites sources from within General Motors who say that models equipped with the 3.6-liter V6 will only be offered with an automatic transmission next year. The high-performance CTS-V sedan, coupe and wagon will still be offered with a manual transmission, as will CTS variants equipped with the torque-deprived 3.0-liter V6.

The General wouldn’t specify why the 3.6-liter-equipped models would lose the manual option, but we’re thinking that a low take rate at the dealership had something to do with the decision. And while we never like to see that owners lose out on the manual-equipped version of any vehicle, at least the CTS-V will retain row-your-own ability.

Gallery: Review: 2010 Cadillac CTS Sportwagon

[Source: Inside Line]

Report: 2012 Cadillac CTS with 3.6L won’t get six-speed manual, V models safe originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 18 Apr 2011 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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