Car News Articles

Watch CAR’s big video review of the London motor show 2008 – it’s our main verdict as part of CAR’s 58 video reports from the British International Motor Show. Associate editor Tim Pollard is your guide to the cars and stars at the London show in Docklands’ Excel arena. Scroll down the page to the video player to see his verdict on the Ford Focus RS, Renault Megane R26.R, Lotus Evora, Honda OSM and plenty of other key new cars at the show.

Click here for CAR’s A-Z of London motor show reports

Click here for CAR’s video homepage on the London motor show

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Prepare to feel perturbed, because this is a hot Subaru Impreza you’re going to struggle to get your hands on. CAR Online’s spies have spotted the new Spec C Impreza testing at the Nurburgring, and the bad news is it’s a Japanese-only model built to homologate the Scooby for Group N rallying.

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Kannapolis, N.C., has long been famous for being Dale Earnhardt’s hometown, but a report in the nearby Salisbury Post says Kannapolis is taking down its “Dale Trail” banners honoring the seven-time Cup champion because billionaire developer David Murdock requested an image change so he can parade a special guest around town this weekend. (Read the Salisbury Post story here). Apparently Murdock, who owns the North Carolina Research Center, a science research park being developed in Kannapolis, wants the town to be known more for its science breakthroughs than NASCAR. David Poole of the Charlotte Observer says an e-mail he received from a city official saying the banners came down because they were torn and dirty and Kannapolis isn’t trying to dismiss Earnhardt’s legacy. Read his blog here.

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The 2008 Acura TL Type-S didn’t rock my world. I was really expecting sparks to fly, but I’m a few weeks away from giving birth and probably a bit crabby, which undoubtedly affects my worldview. While the car performed relatively well, there were too many things that disqualified it from being my perfect mommy-mobile. In short, the TL was fine, but not fabulous.

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GM’s June sales stats were on the catastrophic side of dire. But they would have been a lot worse if not for the automaker’s end-of-the-month zero percent fire sale. So… July. Now what? This time Marketing Maven Mark LaNeve is going all Amway on us (minus the multi-level marketing). He’s hoping the automaker’s [remaining] workers will spread some octo-branded love to a family member, friend, casual acquaintance or anyone with a pulse, really. The Wall Street Journal reports that GM employees can give one employee discount away between now and the end of July. “During this challenging period for people across the country, there’s no better time than to talk up our great products and give someone you know an additional incentive to buy GM,” LaNeve’s intercepted email opined. The current shitty challenging U.S. new car market is “the perfect opportunity to pass this on” an unnamed (what is it with the WSJ and anonymous sources?) GM spokesfolk added. Yes, OK, but HOW MUCH? Seems the Journal forgot to mention this little factoid. We reckon it’s about three percent off dealer invoice. Anyone? Bueller? 

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I was delighted when I read CSJohnston’s comment under the last Podcast intro. Responding to the question “What is a Ford?” he wrote “One could sum up Ford as ‘honest.’” Well, exactly. Although plenty of members of our Best and Brightest have upbraided me for suggesting that car companies should not be devious, misleading or spin-obsessed, I am a firm believer that a business must earn its customers’ trust. This they do by treating them with honesty, integrity and respect. When Chrysler installed Bob Nardelli at the head of Chrysler, I figured that was the end of that. Bob’s cost-cutting at Home Depot was a cynical betrayal of his customers, who were left pressing buttons for attention, rather than turning to find a helpful staff member. By the same token, the chances of finding GM CEO Rick Wagoner alone and unannounced at a BPG dealer are only slightly higher than getting strike by lightning as you’re fending off a shark whilst holding a winning lottery ticket. Ford CEO Alan Mulally strikes me as the most consumer-focused of the 2.8’s helmsmen, but he’s never said anything directly to Ford customers via the media. The truth will set you free, but first you’ve got to do the same. 

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According to a report in yesterday’s Chicago Sun Times, the City Council issued 345,206 sweeper tickets in 2006. At $50 a pop. And despite the fact that Chicago is fast becoming the most surveillance-intensive city in the U.S., initiating a camera-fest to rival London’s Big Brotherhood, the Council has approved plans to install cameras to automatically ticket parking scofflaws. “Every sweeper would be equipped with a pair of cameras — one to capture the image of the “illegally parked vehicle and its surroundings,” the other to take a clear picture of the license plate. Video evidence would be forwarded to the city’s Department of Revenue daily, then mailed to motorists along with the $50 tickets.” Strangely, the paper’s City Hall reporter seems as fixated on the presence of paper warning signs as the Council, rather than examining the civil rights issues involved. Anyway, Traffic Committee Chairman Pat O’Connor (40th) swears to God it’s got nothing to do with raising more money for the City. “I truly don’t look at it so much as a revenue things as much as it will make people move their cars.”  

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Our contacts at Ford tell us there’s big trouble brewing for The Blue Oval Boys. Two independent sources report that FoMoCo is ceasing production of the fresh-out-of-the-box Flex in their Oakville, Ontario plant. Apparently, the factory has built some 13k xB-shaped CUVs since production began on June 3– and sold [a lot] less than a thousand. Our correspondent tells us “the 500 additional employees that they were hiring for a third shift have been canceled… The CAW [Canadian Autoworkers Union] is not too pleased.” If true, Ford’s beancounters will share their dismay; the automaker spent over $1b converting Oakville to, wait for it, flexible manufacturing. While we seek further confirmation, a TTAC tipster working at a supplier for the Ford Edge (also made in Oakville) says dropping sales are leading to a severe cutback. “Our schedulers are trying to get some hard numbers so they can work out our shifts.” You want hard numbers? Although Edge sales are up 16.8 percent year-to-date, they fell off a cliff in June, down 19.9 percent. The same fate befell the Lincoln MKX (the Edge’s twin under the skin), up 4.2 percent year-to-date, down a whopping 34 percent in June. We will keep you up-to-date with new info as we receive it. One thing is for sure: when Ford reports its financials on Thursday, there will be Hell to pay. [thanks to our sources]

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I’m scrabbling for grip on the very edge of a Pikes Peak hairpin, a 1000-foot cliff just inches from my right front wheel. I’d feel like a driving hero, but in truth I’m doing about eight mph. I’m in a hired Chevy 4×4. And it’s not even race day on Pikes Peak.

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