Car News Articles

Establishing whether or not a car is fun to drive is entirely subjective and what some might find an absolute blast, others may think is dull as ditch water. So the boys and girls at Fiat Powertrain have come up with what they call the ‘fun to drive index.’ The idea is to turn drivers’ perceptions into numbers and so make them measurable. Fiat is a little coy about exactly how it has managed to do that but if the Italians can’t find a way to measure fun then who can?

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The hatchback isn’t the only new Golf coming in 2008 – VW will also unveil the next Golf Plus quasi-MPV this autumn. As our disguised scoop photos show, there are few big visual changes in store for the Golf Plus and many of the revisions are under the skin.

We’ll see the tallboy Golf at the Bologna motor show in December 2008, before UK sales kick off in early 2009. The front end gets the same styling treatment as the Golf Mk6 hatch, but the rear is apparently going to be similar to today’s Plus model. This is borne out by the partial disguise.

VW Golf Plus: engineering changes

The VW Golf relaunch is an intriguingly modest facelift; the Mk6 due for an October 2008 Paris unveiling will be only gently upgraded from today’s Mk5, we hear, whereas the Mk7 is earmarked to be the next step-change model.

However, the Golf Plus and its hatchback siblings will receive a barrage of technical improvements, including direct-injection engines to trim fuel consumption and emissions without harming performance. Expect an expansion of the 1.4 TSI engines, which are now available in 140, 150, 160 and 170bhp form.

Click ‘Next’ to read more about the new Golf Plus and GTI

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Pole sitter Scott Dixon ran a near flawless race Sunday to earn his first career Indianapolis 500 title and team owner Chip Ganassi’s first since 2000. Dixon stayed near the front of the field all day and avoided any and all carnage on the track and pit road. Vitor Meira finished second and Marco Andretti was third. Danica Patrick, who started fifth, finished 22nd after she was involved in an accident and failed to finish the Indy 500 for the first time in her four trips there. Read more here and find out where your favorite driver finished here.

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At a recent Girl’s Weekend that introduced the 2009 Audi A4 to lifestyle media, I had the exciting opportunity to spend the weekend chatting up Heather Shaw, who is an interior designer for Audi/Volkswagen. As a Gen-Xer with one of the hottest jobs in the automotive industry, Heather is the envy of many.

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By Frank Williams
May 27, 2008 - 2,218 Views

Truck buyers shouldn’t feel like eco-pariahs just because they want to use huge trucks as commuter cars or SUVs as grocery-getters. An unknown writer on Commercial Auto Dealers‘ GMC Truck Dealer blog wants you to know that hybrids aren’t “really that much better for us than trucks.” He/she warns you hybrids make you drowsy because “with their quiet motors and lack of exhaust noise, you can’t hardly [sic] tell the car is on” which “could be a problem for people who want to drive at night or even during the day after a long shift at work.” And if the risk of pandemic narcolepsy isn’t enough to scare Prius owners back into a professional-grade Sierra 3500 Dually, “the electricity that the car uses to operate the vehicle isn’t good for our health either.” So while hybrid drivers are microwaving their tender parts, you can “just smile and walk away secure in the fact that you won’t be subject to the same potentially harmful electromagnetic fields that they encounter every day.” The anonymous writer concludes “if you want that large truck or SUV, don’t hesitate to visit your local GMC truck dealer.” And don’t worry about $4/gallon gasoline. After all, what’s a $136 fill-up compared to the peace of mind that hearing your engine and exhaust noise can bring? 

Commercial Auto Dealers »

 

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39 Responses to “
Why Trucks are WAY Better Than Hybrids ”

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• N85523 :
  
  
  May 27th, 2008 at
  10:34 am

  How ’bout that.

• ash78 :
  
  
  May 27th, 2008 at
  10:37 am

  Dually noted.

• guyincognito :
  
  
  May 27th, 2008 at
  10:38 am

  He left out the part about how you’re big ass truck can turn that Prius into a lead acid fire without so much as a scratch.

• menno :
  
  
  May 27th, 2008 at
  10:38 am

  “Lucy, you got some ’splainin’ to do…!”

  How are GM going to explain this totally IDIOTIC (and false) statement about “electromagnetic radiation” from (let’s be honest) the Prius, when their own Volt is going to be a hybrid with an even bigger battery and presumably, even MORE voltage and amperage in order to make it a 40 mile electric-only (or maybe 30 miles or maybe 20)?

  These people are imbeciles who can’t think past the end of their ….. never mind, this is a family friendly website.

  How is it that my radio in my Prius works just fine, by the way, if I’m being irradiated by electromagnetic radiation?

  Not to mention my cell phone, and my son’s mp3 player.

• driving course :
  
  
  May 27th, 2008 at
  10:39 am

  A blinding bit of PR by GM… hard to imagine why they’re not selling lots of trucks when you see the genius marketing techniques they’re utilising…

• GS650G :
  
  
  May 27th, 2008 at
  10:43 am

  Try hauling a load of stone or wood in the eco friendly ride, or pulling a boat.

  I do like the noise from these behemoths, I hear them coming when I am riding my bicycle about a 1/2 mile away. The other rides sneak right up on you.

• raast :
  
  
  May 27th, 2008 at
  10:43 am

  menno,

  Exactly.
  If somebody’s going to go down that road then they should be more concerned about residual alpha waves left over from the minds of the guys in the picture here…
  http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/gm-stock-hits-26-year-low-headed-lower/

• brettc :
  
  
  May 27th, 2008 at
  10:49 am

  Wow, that post sure makes me want to run out and buy a GMC truck for my all my driving needs. But then logic kicks in and says otherwise. Maybe GM as a company needs some logic injections or something. I like my current situation. I have a small, efficient car that I fill once a month, and I either rent or borrow a truck if I really need one. I think a lot more people will be doing the same, which is probably why GM felt the need to create that post. What a pathetic excuse for a car company.

• Frank Williams :
  
  
  May 27th, 2008 at
  10:49 am

  driving course
  A blinding bit of PR by GM…

  Actually we can’t blame GM for this one (not directly, anyway). If you click the GMC link in the article, it takes you to a site for a GMC dealer in Conshohocken, PA which looks like a post-party frathouse project.

• z31 :
  
  
  May 27th, 2008 at
  10:50 am

  driving course :
  A blinding bit of PR by GM…
  

  somehow I don’t think Lankford Buick-Pontiac-GMC is an official mouthpiece for GM.

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Stephan Wilkinson couldn’t make his date with the Ford Flex press launch. So the former Car and Driver editor and occasional TTAC contributor graciously ceded his spot to Justin, who graciously ceded his podcast responsibilities to Michael Karesh. Our ace reviewer and truedelta.com partner in crime prevention acquitted himself admirably. And why not? Michael is our kinda guy. He shares our commitment to truth, justice and Steve McGarrret. Actually, knowing Michael (or at least Michael’s age), I’m sure the consumer champion has no idea what I’m talking about, or the fact that Jack Lord spent the last two seasons believing he was the head of the Five-0 (itself a fictional agency). Fortunately, TTAC is not delusional. We know we’re not perfect or infallible or particularly good at Parcheesi (for that matter). Once again, we thank our loyal readers for pointing-out our mistakes. We will always operate from the principle that we could be wrong, and provide space for those who wish to take a contrary position to our resident contrarians. We eagerly await the day when the playas themselves take those first few hesitant steps into the light. Meanwhile, Karesh.

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I mean, how much worse can the UK’s anti-speeding jihad get? Aside from actually making shit up, oh wait, that’s what they did. Kent County’s police officers issued speeding tickets to people who weren’t speeding. (More than this and the fact that a member of the force was suspended, the police will not reveal.) So how can the Kent County constabulary act even more reprehensibly towards motorists? By not reversing the speeding fines and points illegally “awarded” to drivers. And yet, Pistonhead reports that Kent police “have dropped 200 speeding charges after allegations an officer rigged roadside checks – but do not plan to notify the rest of the motorists caught.” You must be joking. Nope. According to Motorcycle News, a serving Kent officer said that not everyone caught by the operator will be notified because “files are only kept for one year and the cost would be very significant.” Folks, keep in mind that one speeding conviction in the UK puts you two speeding convictions away from license revocation, with all of the economic hardship that implies. And ANY points on your license translate into higher insurance premiums. Not to mention the erosion of public confidence in/support for the police. What’s it going to take to get the UK government to end this self-financing holy war against its own, otherwise law-abiding citizenry?

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Chrysler LLC announced today that it has opened a design office in China, a move the Detroit Free Press calls “part of a much larger expansion by the Auburn Hills automaker to beef up its product design efforts outside the United States.” While Chrysler slashes as many as 25k North American jobs this year, it plans on recruiting 1k engineers outside from outside the United States. Chrysler’s Chinese operations are expanding to include more local suppliers, in India the local engineering staff is set to double. Arguing that Chrysler is designing models specific to rapidly growing markets abroad, VP for product development Frank Klegon points to the success of its Mexico division (which is set to add 450 new staff). “They’re already doing unique product for Mexico that’s designed and developed in Santa Fe and for sale in Mexico by themselves,” says Klegon. “It’s a resource center that we’re building upon. They started out as more of a vehicle development and test facility and moved them into design.” But something doesn’t add up here. If this is all about “unique products for unique markets,” then why is Chrysler selling a rebadged (Chinese) Chery A1 in Mexico as a Dodge?

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CTV reports that General Motors is closing its transmission plant in Windsor, Ontario by 2010. The plant currently employs 1400 workers producing ye olde four-speed automatic transmission. GM Canada’s Stew Low offered an explanation that made no mention of a warning shot over the Canadian Workers Union (CAW) bow, in advance of contract negotiations. “With the dynamic of our changing portfolio, there just wasn’t a new transmission to put into there.” Translation: four-speeds are so 1939 and you guys cost too much. The announcement caused some political scuffles. The provincial (left-leaning) NDP party implored Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty to step in and stop the rampant job losses in the automotive industry. As The Big 2.8 have shuttered plants and moved production to cheaper jurisdictions, investments from Asian automakers have not risen to produce employment break-even. It’s a shame too, since Windsor was on a roll. On the plus side, given Ontario’s more diversified economy, it appears it can shelter a contraction of the NAFTA-zone’s automotive industry with less pain than Michigan. But, unless a career at GM provides a good stepping stone to working on Bay Street, that won’t soothe any of the CAW members’ worries.

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The bio-fuel industry has an answer for critics who consider the whole food-for-fuel business a dangerous, back asswards proposition: second generation bio-fuels! Ethanol v2 proponents believe that a new range of non-food crops is the “answer” to kvetching. Only it isn’t. The New York Times reports that “biologists and botanists are warning that they, too, may bring serious unintended consequences. Most of these newer crops are what scientists label invasive species — that is, weeds — that have an extraordinarily high potential to escape biofuel plantations, overrun adjacent farms and natural land, and create economic and ecological havoc in the process.” If that’s not enough to put you off the idea, how about some specifics? “The giant reed, previously used mostly in decorations and in making musical instruments — is a fast-growing, thirsty species that has drained wetlands and clogged drainage systems in other places where it has been planted. It is also highly flammable.” Willy De Greef, incoming secretary general of EuropaBio (an industry group) says hakuna matata; “biofuel farmers would inevitably introduce new crops carefully because they would not want growth they could not control.” Geoffrey Howard, an invasive species expert with the International Union for Conservation of Nature, is not impressed. “We’ve had 100 years of experience with introductions of these crops that turned out to be disastrous for environment, people, health.”

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