The price for the upcoming Buick Verano, the brand's first compact since the 1990s, will be $23,470, including shipping charges, General Motors said today.
The price is considerably lower than the Japanese compact sedans that GM is pitting the Verano against in the entry-luxury segment: the Acura TSX ($30,495 with shipping) and the Lexus IS 250 ($34,170 with shipping).
"Given some of the great features the car is going to have, that's about the price we expected," said Sam Slaughter, dealer principal at Sellers Buick-GMC in suburban Detroit, which was the nation's top-selling Buick store last year. "We don't want it to be the el cheapo car that's going after the beer-can market."
Still, the Verano price is "going to be a little tight" with that of the Regal mid-sized sedan, the next car up in Buick's lineup, said Lynn Thompson, a Springfield, Mo., dealer who sells Buick, GMC and Cadillac. The base Regal has a sticker price of $27,530, including shipping.
Buick last marketed a compact in the United States when the Skylark was sold from the 1992 to 1998 model years.
The Verano, which goes on sale by year end, will be offered in three models. The top model will have a sticker price of $26,850 including shipping. All three models will get a 2.4-liter, four-cylinder engine combined with a six-speed automatic transmission that delivers 180 hp.
The Verano is hitting the market at a time when more U.S. consumers are shifting to smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles.
GM has touted the Verano's quiet cabin and standard features not typically found on a car in its price range, such as a 7-inch color-touch radio display with IntelliLink, the infotainment system for Buick and GMC.
Higher-end Verano models will receive the same leather used in Buick's flagship LaCrosse sedan, and touches such as push-button start, a heated steering wheel and heated seats that activate automatically in colder temperatures.
The Verano "expands the brand's reach," Tony DiSalle, Buick's U.S. vice president of marketing, said in a statement. "We're inviting new customers into the Buick family, giving us the opportunity and privilege of building longtime Buick loyalty."
GM hopes to build on the success of the Chevrolet Cruze compact, which is built on the same platform as the Verano. The Cruze, which replaced the Cobalt in Chevy's lineup last fall, was the top-selling U.S. compact sedan in July and August.
The Cruze starts at $17,470, including shipping.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story said it had been decades since Buick marketed a compact car in the U.S. market. Buick sold a compact, the Skylark, as recently as the 1998 model year.
Showing posts with label new car. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new car. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Audi to unveil production version of A8 hybrid
Audi will unveil a production version of the A8 hybrid sedan at the Frankfurt auto show.
Audi said the A8 hybrid uses a four-cylinder gasoline engine for the first time in the A8 range. The 245hp 2.0-liter unit is combined with a 54hp electric motor powered by a lithium ion battery pack weighing 37kg.
The car has a range of 3km while driven on battery power alone.
Audi says the A8 hybrid will reach 0-100kph (62 mph) in 7.7 seconds and it has a top speed of 235kph (146mph). It uses 6.4 liters of fuel per 100km (44 UK mpg; 36.5 U.S. mpg) and has CO2 emissions of below 148g/km.
The hybrid has an aluminum construction, which Audi says will make it one of the lightest sedans in its category, weighing 231kg, about 40 percent lighter than a comparable steel construction.
The car will go on sale in Europe in late 2012.
Audi said the A8 hybrid uses a four-cylinder gasoline engine for the first time in the A8 range. The 245hp 2.0-liter unit is combined with a 54hp electric motor powered by a lithium ion battery pack weighing 37kg.
The car has a range of 3km while driven on battery power alone.
Audi says the A8 hybrid will reach 0-100kph (62 mph) in 7.7 seconds and it has a top speed of 235kph (146mph). It uses 6.4 liters of fuel per 100km (44 UK mpg; 36.5 U.S. mpg) and has CO2 emissions of below 148g/km.
The hybrid has an aluminum construction, which Audi says will make it one of the lightest sedans in its category, weighing 231kg, about 40 percent lighter than a comparable steel construction.
The car will go on sale in Europe in late 2012.
Friday, August 26, 2011
New Cafe Rules Not All Bad: Turbo Usage Expected To Triple
If you want to get substantially better fuel economy out of a car or truck, your options for doing so are somewhat limited. You can lighten the vehicle, but doing so is likely to reduce overall strength or substantially increase the price. You can add a hybrid drivetrain, but that adds weight, increases complexity and adds to the price. You can downsize the engine, but few drivers are willing to accept a significant reduction in power just to gain a few more mpgs. There’s another choice, though, and it’s one that’s being rapidly embraced by manufacturers as the best and most cost-effective solution: downsize the engine, and then turbocharge it.
In the old days, turbos had a questionable reputation for reliability. Formula One engines of the 1980’s, for example, were small displacement, turbocharged four-cylinders that ran massive amounts of boost to create power. Calling these engines fragile is an understatement, and spectacular engine failures were common. Even on road cars, turbos often experienced bearing problems related to oil circulation, and engine failure was far more common than on less stressed, normally aspirated cars.
Not so with the new generation of turbocharged cars. Ford’s EcoBoost, for example, runs a modest amount of boost, but pumps the additional air into an engine that already has high compression and gasoline direct injection. High compression and turbocharging used to be a recipe for disaster, but today’s knock-sensing technology makes such a setup possible. The end result is more power, plus better fuel economy, from a smaller displacement engine.
Turbo and component supplier Honeywell sees the writing on the wall. Their vice president of engineering, Steve McKinley, summed it up by saying, “Engine downsizing coupled with turbos is the quickest way to make a significant improvement in the overall fuel efficiency of the U.S. automotive portfolio while maintaining performance levels.” In other words, now would probably be a very good time to invest in Honeywell stock.
GM agrees with this philosophy, too, and offers a 1.4-liter turbo option for their Cruze compact sedan. The upcoming Sonic will have a forced-induction engine choice, too, and don’t be surprised to see turbocharged fours replacing V-6s and I-6s throughout many manufacturer’s product lines.
More power from less gas? What’s not to like about that?
Source: Left Lane News
In the old days, turbos had a questionable reputation for reliability. Formula One engines of the 1980’s, for example, were small displacement, turbocharged four-cylinders that ran massive amounts of boost to create power. Calling these engines fragile is an understatement, and spectacular engine failures were common. Even on road cars, turbos often experienced bearing problems related to oil circulation, and engine failure was far more common than on less stressed, normally aspirated cars.
Not so with the new generation of turbocharged cars. Ford’s EcoBoost, for example, runs a modest amount of boost, but pumps the additional air into an engine that already has high compression and gasoline direct injection. High compression and turbocharging used to be a recipe for disaster, but today’s knock-sensing technology makes such a setup possible. The end result is more power, plus better fuel economy, from a smaller displacement engine.
Turbo and component supplier Honeywell sees the writing on the wall. Their vice president of engineering, Steve McKinley, summed it up by saying, “Engine downsizing coupled with turbos is the quickest way to make a significant improvement in the overall fuel efficiency of the U.S. automotive portfolio while maintaining performance levels.” In other words, now would probably be a very good time to invest in Honeywell stock.
GM agrees with this philosophy, too, and offers a 1.4-liter turbo option for their Cruze compact sedan. The upcoming Sonic will have a forced-induction engine choice, too, and don’t be surprised to see turbocharged fours replacing V-6s and I-6s throughout many manufacturer’s product lines.
More power from less gas? What’s not to like about that?
Source: Left Lane News
Monday, June 27, 2011
The scramble for scarce tires
Automakers pay more as supply tightens
North American automakers are struggling with a nagging shortage of tires, caused in part by tire plant closings and rising demand for low-volume specialty tires.
Automakers are paying much higher prices -- double-digit percentage increases from a year ago -- as tire makers gain pricing power.
"We have been bombarded from every side for additional tires, and we can't keep up," said David O'Donnell, Continental Tire's vice president of original equipment in the Americas. "We are at maximum capacity, and all shifts are maxed out."
The shortage doesn't appear to have significantly crimped production plans, though automakers are scrambling to secure supplies. Earlier this year, Dan Knott, Chrysler Group's senior vice president of purchasing and supplier quality, said the company was short of premium tires for some nameplates.
"The tire shortage will not clear up over the next year," Knott predicted. "It's going to take awhile."
Automakers pay as little as $75 per tire for low-end models to as much as $300 or more for high-performance tires.
To meet demand, Continental will expand plants in Illinois and Brazil and will build a factory somewhere in North America. But this will take time. The new lines in Illinois and Brazil won't hit full production until 2013, O'Donnell said.
Continental is investing $224 million to expand its plant in Mount Vernon, Ill., plus $210 million to expand its plant in Camacari, Brazil.
Other tire makers also are maxed out. Michelin is running its North American plants at full capacity, although it has met some requests for more tires, Vice President Rob Murray said in a recent interview.
The shortages come at a time when demand is rising. According to a forecast by consulting firm IHS Automotive, automakers in the United States and Canada will buy 62 million tires for new vehicles this year.
That's up from 55 million tires in 2010. By 2016, North American demand for original equipment tires will rise to 79 million units, IHS estimates.
Fewer tire factories
Bruce Harrison, IHS Automotive's director of North American consulting, says the shortage won't be solved any time soon.
"There are a lot more tire sizes in the marketplace now, and it doesn't look like that trend is slowing," Harrison said. Producing extra tire sizes and low-volume specialty lines reduce a standard tire plant's capacity.
To make things worse, tire makers had been cutting back on North American production capacity before the recession. In 2006 and 2007 alone, four U.S. tire plants were closed, according to The New York Times.
Plant closures eliminated about 71 million units of U.S. capacity, John Baratta, president of replacement tire sales for the United States and Canada at Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, said in a June article in Automotive News' sister publication Tire Business.
Meanwhile, tire manufacturers were opening factories in China that flooded the U.S. market with cheap tires. But in September 2009 the Obama administration slapped a three-year tariff on imported Chinese tires.
The tax started at 35 percent of a tire's value declining to 30 percent and 25 percent in the second and third years. The import tax expires in September 2012.
Tire prices have "moved up very sharply" since 2009, said Saul Ludwig, an auto analyst at Northcoast Research, an equity research firm in Cleveland. Increases in the cost of rubber and other materials used in tire manufacturing, including steel, have tightened supplies and driven costs higher.
Soaring costs
Since 2005, the combined prices of natural and synthetic rubber, carbon black, steel cord, fabric and other materials have risen nearly every year, with jumps of 56 percent in 2010, and 47 percent in 2009, Bridgestone's Baratta said.
Continental, Michelin North America Inc., Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and other major tire makers have raised prices several times in the past few years to offset rising raw-materials costs.
Automakers and tire companies don't disclose original-equipment prices. But rising prices for replacement tires suggest what's going on in the original-equipment market.
For example, Michelin said the company has raised prices three times over the past year on car and light-truck replacement tires: an 8.5 percent increase on May 1; a November 2010 increase that the company wouldn't quantify; and a 6 percent increase last June.
Despite the headaches, automakers appear to be muddling through. During an interview last week, Tony Brown, Ford's group vice president of global purchasing, said Ford's vehicle production plans this year will not be affected by tight supplies of tires or other components.
"We have enough tires," Brown said. "We will deliver the production plan, with the tires to support those plans."
North American automakers are struggling with a nagging shortage of tires, caused in part by tire plant closings and rising demand for low-volume specialty tires.
Automakers are paying much higher prices -- double-digit percentage increases from a year ago -- as tire makers gain pricing power.
"We have been bombarded from every side for additional tires, and we can't keep up," said David O'Donnell, Continental Tire's vice president of original equipment in the Americas. "We are at maximum capacity, and all shifts are maxed out."
The shortage doesn't appear to have significantly crimped production plans, though automakers are scrambling to secure supplies. Earlier this year, Dan Knott, Chrysler Group's senior vice president of purchasing and supplier quality, said the company was short of premium tires for some nameplates.
"The tire shortage will not clear up over the next year," Knott predicted. "It's going to take awhile."
Automakers pay as little as $75 per tire for low-end models to as much as $300 or more for high-performance tires.
To meet demand, Continental will expand plants in Illinois and Brazil and will build a factory somewhere in North America. But this will take time. The new lines in Illinois and Brazil won't hit full production until 2013, O'Donnell said.
Continental is investing $224 million to expand its plant in Mount Vernon, Ill., plus $210 million to expand its plant in Camacari, Brazil.
Other tire makers also are maxed out. Michelin is running its North American plants at full capacity, although it has met some requests for more tires, Vice President Rob Murray said in a recent interview.
The shortages come at a time when demand is rising. According to a forecast by consulting firm IHS Automotive, automakers in the United States and Canada will buy 62 million tires for new vehicles this year.
That's up from 55 million tires in 2010. By 2016, North American demand for original equipment tires will rise to 79 million units, IHS estimates.
Fewer tire factories
Bruce Harrison, IHS Automotive's director of North American consulting, says the shortage won't be solved any time soon.
"There are a lot more tire sizes in the marketplace now, and it doesn't look like that trend is slowing," Harrison said. Producing extra tire sizes and low-volume specialty lines reduce a standard tire plant's capacity.
To make things worse, tire makers had been cutting back on North American production capacity before the recession. In 2006 and 2007 alone, four U.S. tire plants were closed, according to The New York Times.
Plant closures eliminated about 71 million units of U.S. capacity, John Baratta, president of replacement tire sales for the United States and Canada at Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, said in a June article in Automotive News' sister publication Tire Business.
Meanwhile, tire manufacturers were opening factories in China that flooded the U.S. market with cheap tires. But in September 2009 the Obama administration slapped a three-year tariff on imported Chinese tires.
The tax started at 35 percent of a tire's value declining to 30 percent and 25 percent in the second and third years. The import tax expires in September 2012.
Tire prices have "moved up very sharply" since 2009, said Saul Ludwig, an auto analyst at Northcoast Research, an equity research firm in Cleveland. Increases in the cost of rubber and other materials used in tire manufacturing, including steel, have tightened supplies and driven costs higher.
Soaring costs
Since 2005, the combined prices of natural and synthetic rubber, carbon black, steel cord, fabric and other materials have risen nearly every year, with jumps of 56 percent in 2010, and 47 percent in 2009, Bridgestone's Baratta said.
Continental, Michelin North America Inc., Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and other major tire makers have raised prices several times in the past few years to offset rising raw-materials costs.
Automakers and tire companies don't disclose original-equipment prices. But rising prices for replacement tires suggest what's going on in the original-equipment market.
For example, Michelin said the company has raised prices three times over the past year on car and light-truck replacement tires: an 8.5 percent increase on May 1; a November 2010 increase that the company wouldn't quantify; and a 6 percent increase last June.
Despite the headaches, automakers appear to be muddling through. During an interview last week, Tony Brown, Ford's group vice president of global purchasing, said Ford's vehicle production plans this year will not be affected by tight supplies of tires or other components.
"We have enough tires," Brown said. "We will deliver the production plan, with the tires to support those plans."
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Chrysler prepares to build Dodge small car
Chrysler Group LLC said it plans to begin test production in the second half of this year of the small car that will trigger U.S. government requirements to increase Fiat S.p.A.'s ownership stake.
Tooling for the small Dodge brand car will be installed at Chrysler's Belvidere, Ill., assembly plant in August, said Fred Goedtel, head of Chrysler's vehicle assembly operations.
"We'll start pilots in the fall" and official production begins "sometime" in the first quarter, he said.
Design work on the car, which is the vehicle Chrysler expects will trigger the final government ownership milestone, is done, said Ralph Gilles, head of Chrysler design.
"The company is really focused on it," he said of the vehicle.
Fiat is moving fast to consolidate control over Chrysler.
The Italian automaker is buying the U.S. Treasury Department's final stake in the U.S. automaker that was acquired as part of Chrysler's 2009 bankruptcy reorganization.
That purchase will raise Fiat's stake to 52 percent. Chrysler must test and commit to building a vehicle in the U.S. that achieves 40 mpg for Fiat to gain another 5 percent stake.
Its deal with the U.S. and Canada allowed Fiat to gain as much as 35 percent in Chrysler without paying cash in exchange for giving management experience and technology to Chrysler.
Fiat was also required to achieve various performance milestones.
The 40 mpg vehicle is the final such milestone. Fiat also exercised an option to purchase 16 percent of the company after Chrysler repaid the U.S. and Canadian government loans in May.
Sergio Marchionne, chief executive officer of both automakers, has said he expects Fiat will get its final 5 percent tied to the 40 mpg car by year's end.
The small Dodge car is based on Fiat's Alfa Romeo Giulietta, Marchionne has said. Gilles said the new Dodge model's name was decided earlier this week.
But he declined to provide the name.
Tooling for the small Dodge brand car will be installed at Chrysler's Belvidere, Ill., assembly plant in August, said Fred Goedtel, head of Chrysler's vehicle assembly operations.
"We'll start pilots in the fall" and official production begins "sometime" in the first quarter, he said.
Design work on the car, which is the vehicle Chrysler expects will trigger the final government ownership milestone, is done, said Ralph Gilles, head of Chrysler design.
"The company is really focused on it," he said of the vehicle.
Fiat is moving fast to consolidate control over Chrysler.
The Italian automaker is buying the U.S. Treasury Department's final stake in the U.S. automaker that was acquired as part of Chrysler's 2009 bankruptcy reorganization.
That purchase will raise Fiat's stake to 52 percent. Chrysler must test and commit to building a vehicle in the U.S. that achieves 40 mpg for Fiat to gain another 5 percent stake.
Its deal with the U.S. and Canada allowed Fiat to gain as much as 35 percent in Chrysler without paying cash in exchange for giving management experience and technology to Chrysler.
Fiat was also required to achieve various performance milestones.
The 40 mpg vehicle is the final such milestone. Fiat also exercised an option to purchase 16 percent of the company after Chrysler repaid the U.S. and Canadian government loans in May.
Sergio Marchionne, chief executive officer of both automakers, has said he expects Fiat will get its final 5 percent tied to the 40 mpg car by year's end.
The small Dodge car is based on Fiat's Alfa Romeo Giulietta, Marchionne has said. Gilles said the new Dodge model's name was decided earlier this week.
But he declined to provide the name.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Ford to ask buyers to pay more for smaller engine in new Explorer
New Ford Explorer
When Ford Motor Co. starts selling its re-engineered Explorer sport-utility vehicle, it will ask U.S. buyers to do something unusual: Pay more for less.
Bucking an automotive tradition of charging extra for more horsepower, Ford will ask buyers of its redesigned 2011 Explorer to pay a premium for a small, 4-cylinder engine when the vehicle goes on sale in December. The Explorer's standard engine will be a 3.5-liter V-6 with 290 horsepower, 53 more ponies than the optional 4-cylinder.
The V-6 version of the new Explorer will have a base price of $28,995, including delivery, or about $1,000 below the current Explorer. The Limited model will have a starting price of $37,995. Pricing on the optional EcoBoost engine, which will be available in early 2011, has not been released.
Ford hopes to convince consumers they should spend to save when it unveils the Explorer at events in New York, Chicago and other locations today. The smaller engine has technology Ford said will give the seven-passenger SUV the same fuel economy as Toyota Motor Corp.'s Camry sedan that gets 19 mpg in city driving and 26 mpg on the highway. That's more than 30 percent better than the 2010 Explorer.
“We really want to make a statement that the old baggage on fuel economy with the Explorer is gone,” Jim Holland, the Explorer's chief engineer, said in an interview. “To get great fuel economy it takes technology, and it's our view that people will pay for that.”
The automaker will be challenged to command a premium for the more efficient engine because U.S. gasoline prices have fallen 34 percent from their peak of $4.11 per gallon two years ago, said Jim Hall, principal of automotive consulting firm 2953 Analytics in Birmingham, Mich.
“Why would you want to pay more for fuel economy when gas prices are going down?” said Hall. “People have very short memories.”
Smallest ever
Ford won't say how much extra it will charge for the smallest engine ever to power an Explorer. Ford charges a $3,000 to $6,000 premium on its Flex model for V-6 engines using the same direct-fuel-injection and turbo-charging technology as the 2.0-liter, 4-cylinder going into the Explorer, Hall said. The Explorer engine is likely to be less because it won't be packaged with all-wheel-drive like on the Flex, he said.
“The market will determine which really is the base engine,” Hall said. “If the market says, ‘Forget it,' they may have to lower the cost of this engine.”
The Explorer's 4-cylinder engine won't tow as much as the V-6, Ford said. The front-wheel-drive, 4-cylinder version that is most fuel efficient will have the least off-road capabilities, traditionally a key characteristic of the model.
Buyers of the Explorer will be willing to make those trade- offs for better fuel economy, Holland said. Ford says poor gas mileage is the No. 1 reason shoppers reject the Explorer, which saw sales fall 88 percent during the past decade, from 445,157 in 2000 to 52,190 last year.
‘More Responsible'
“The impact of rising gas prices has really stuck with people,” Holland said. “People now buy more expensive light bulbs to be more efficient. We're moving to a point where people make the choice to be more responsible.”
The Explorer's improved fuel economy will be central to a marketing campaign that will reach more than 50 million people through social media such as Facebook, said Jim Farley, Ford's global sales and marketing chief.
“Fuel economy is the core truth we have to get at,” Farley said at a recent media briefing on the Explorer. Many of the 140,000 Explorer owners who trade in their SUV annually are “disappointed and want more on fuel economy.”
Wind tunnel
To improve the Explorer's mileage, Ford cut its weight by about 100 pounds by switching the SUV from a heavy pickup-truck frame to the same chassis as the Taurus sedan. Designers also sculpted the shape in a wind tunnel to lower wind resistance.
The Explorer with the 4-cylinder engine will be the most fuel-efficient mid-sized SUV on the market, according to Derrick Kuzak, Ford's product-development chief.
In the 1990s, the Explorer was the top-selling utility vehicle in the U.S. market and earned as much as $10,000 per vehicle for the Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker.
“As goes the Explorer, to some extent, so goes Ford,” Farley said. “It's the backbone of the brand.”
Ford expects to sell more of the new model, especially with optional equipment such as the 4-cylinder engine, Farley said, while declining to reveal a sales goal. Analysts estimate annual sales for the new Explorer may top 100,000 units.
“What's more important than the number we sell is that people see the value and that they're willing to buy the better, more highly equipped versions,” Farley said. “That's the key for us.”
Thursday, July 22, 2010
2011 Honda CR-Z
2011 Honda CRZ
It’s true that hybrids are fantastic when it comes to fuel economy. But is it too much to ask for driving enjoyment to go along with bragging rights at the fuel pump? Luckily for us, Honda provided the 2011 CR-Z hybrid with sharp handling to match its miserly fuel consumption. This futuristic-looking 2-passenger coupe is a genuine delight on a twisty road – so long as you don’t put a premium (pun intended) on horsepower. A 113-bhp 1.5-liter 4-cylinder is coupled to a 13-hp electric motor, whose battery pack is located beneath the cargo floor. The CR-Z is high-tech, but not rapid. Expect a 0-60 mph time of approximately 9 seconds—the same ballpark as many economy cars. Yet the ride and nimble handling make up for the lack of straight-line punch.
On sale in late August, and priced under $20,000 for the base model, the Honda CR-Z hybrid won’t be gathering dust on dealer lots.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Free New Car Price Quotes and Advice on buying a New Car
When Purchasing a New Vehicle there are a few things you may wish to do before walking into the car dealer. Know the questions to ask when buying a car. Be sure you are prepared with all the information you can get. Spend time deciding what it is you want and stick to it. There are a few tips listed below to help you prepare for your next vehicle purchase. Use the tool below to get a Free price quote on a new car and have an accurate price on what your new car will cost.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
