About American Cars

Possible brake problems of Pontiac Solstice GXP and Saturn Sky Redline are being investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) following 40 complaints from owners on the poor braking performance of the said vehicles.

Autblog.com reports that many owners are having difficulty slowing the vehicle down. The results of the investigation have yet to be released and as such, there are no recalls for the vehicles yet.

This news has somehow made me wonder, how is General Motors (GM) taking care of this matter? Safety is one of the important factors car buyers consider when looking for a new car. If the results of the investigation point a guilty finger at GM, this will surely affect sales and may stain the reputation of the popular US automaker.

To please a new generation of customers this year and beyond, Ford of Europe has done some reinventions in its small car range and come up with its all new five-door Fiesta. The production version of the Verve Concept car, the stylish Fiesta is powered by a Duratec 1.6-liter Ti-VCT that combines power with fuel economy.

I have only seen pictures of the car online but I can already tell it will delight customers (especially American car fans) because of its new “kinetic design” exterior, craftsmanship and high-tech features.

Dubbed as the first product of Ford’s major global product development, the car will be sold in between 2008 to 2010. The car will be unveiled tomorrow at the Geneva Motor Show.

For more exciting details, click here.

Car owners, motorists and even car fans out there, brace yourselves as the price of gasoline continues to spiral alongside the price of crude. This is what CNNMoney.com shares following the reports of motorist organization AAA and some experts.

Causes for the price hike include the surging price of oil, low refinery output for maintenance, high-demand for gasoline during the summer season and refiners’ attempt to grow their profit margins, among others. Given that, expect to pay nearly $4 a gallon for your mileage in the next few weeks, and even higher in some states.

When things like this suddenly comes up, we are left with no choice but to continue with our lives, with or without cars. I guess it is best if we start practicing now the energy-saving tips we learned from way back.

There had been reports of massive lay offs and downsizing last year. This 2008, the trend has changed. Buyouts are fast becoming a response of companies to a weakening US economy. Take for example the case of General Motors that has recently offered buyouts to its 74,000 strong employees.

NYTImes.com reports that what prompted the popular US automaker to launch its latest “special attrition program” was its fourth quarter losses and the gloomy outlook for the United States market.

Am I smelling bankruptcy here? Or is this just another cost-cutting measure? Or better yet, there is basis on the reports that the American auto industry is in a shamble. We’ll definitely see in the next few months.

If you’ve been looking for the snazziest vintage car, you get ineterested in one of three very prized Corvettes — edition, 156, 1957 and 1958 respectively—that would be up for auction at the upcoming Bloomington Gold High Performance Auction, June 27-28 in St. Charles, Illinois.  All three Corvettes have a rich history behind it and was previously owned by famed vintage cars collectors like Tom Harmer of Rockford, Illinois and Gene Morton, who had to bring them to Alaska just in order to protect them. The 1955 serial number one car was the first production Corvette to offer a high performance V-8 engine. The 1956 serial number one car was the first redesigned Corvette produced by Chevrolet and the 1957 serial number one car was the very first high performance model Corvette to come off the assembly line. For more information about the auction, please visit this site.(image from http://www.musclecarclub.com/ )

We all know the US economy is still as strong as ever despite the occasional issues on terrorism and the coming election. However, there were reports that the US automotive industry is experiencing recession. How true?

In an event in South Korea, Nissan Motor CEO Carlos Ghosn has expressed concern for the U.S. auto industry saying that it is in a recession. He told reporters that the high cost of materials such as iron ore, precious metals and aluminum used in producing cars represent risk for the industry. But then, he also said that the U.S. auto market “will not stay in a recession for a long time.”

I believe that. While automotive sales have gone low in the past years, as long as the American economy remains in shape, the US automotive industry can weather the storm. Let’s all think positively, people.

Most of you won’t be happy to know this, but please allow me to share it with you. Taurus X, which was once popularly known as Ford Freestyle, is set to bid goodbye to American car fans by 2010. This was confirmed by Ford CEO Allan Mullaly saying that “a redesign of the Taurus sedan will happen much sooner than originally planned.”

Jalopnik.com reports that one reason for this development is that Ford would like to make the road clear for its new baby called Ford Flex MPV, also a 7-seater. Well, does it mean Ford wants consumers to prefer Ford Flex MPV over Taurus X? Looks like Ford is making some streamlining here or maybe trying to cut down on costs and production facilities. I just hope it’s for the better.

“Cannot Put GM and Chrysler back together again”, that’s the words that are coming out of the mouth’s of the Presidential Automotive task force. That may be a more realistic view of the whole picture for as we have been stressing over and over again, they’re not genies who just snap their fingers and the whole world gets better. They started out with optimism and they still have it in them, only this time round, they are a bit more realistic for they now know the full extent of the economic troubles that have led to the demise of the US auto industry.
The problem is that the whole deal is rotten, from housing, health and everything else in between are hit hard and no one authority, not even the Federal Reserve with all it’s gold and monetary resources can remedy the whole thing. The team is now leading efforts to restructure the auto giants and the figures don’t lie, one will have to go bust to give way to a better mix of the two auto giants that may make them better than the two individual units.

With dismal sales and problems left and right, America’s big 3 auto makers are really in big trouble. Waiting for the emergency bailout funds the government is going to supply, the future is truly uncertain for the previously giants of the American economy. Recession has hit and it hit hard, an most agree that it’s gonna be here for quite some time. President Obama promised to support the big three but industry analysts are saying the big three might not be three anymore in the coming years to come. Overtaken by the Japanese, the big three have given up on the ratings and re-focused their energy on their ultimate fate during this recession.
They have already closed international plants, reduced their personnel and trimmed down the hours people go to work but it still isn’t enough for them to continue operating. They are some of the biggest companies in the US but they have long been in trouble as the auto industry collapsed and got stiff competition from abroad. Their fate next year would be decided by the bailout they get and how they talk amongst themselves to revive their industry. Only time will tell, and we could only wait at what these industrial giants come to this coming year.

Corvette ZR1

American car fans are expected to be wowed by new car models from various American car makers next year.

General Motors (GM), for instance, will be officially launching Chevrolet Corvette series at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January 2008. Tagged as the �American Supercar,� the Corvette ZR1 has been reported to have a supercharged engine that can produce at least 620 horsepower. Its two other buddies, the Corvette base model and the higher performance Corvette Z06, are powered by a 6.2-liter, 430 horsepower V8 and a 7.0-liter, 505 horsepower engine, respectively.

Chrysler, on the other hand, is not one to be left behind. The famous car company will be unveiling three concept vehicles, also at the Detroit Auto Show slated in January 2008. These are the ecoVoyager, the Jeep Renegade and the Dodge ZEO. The winning factors of the new concept vehicles are their electric motors, long passenger cabins and short hoods.

How is that for a start? I�m sure I�m not the only one thrilled by now.