Edmunds.com | Inside Line | Auto Observer Your Account | Help | Directory
You are here:
![[F]](http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/townhall/webxicons/site.gif){kind=small}
Forums
Sedans Luxury Lounge
21396 messages, Last post on Nov 26, 2009 at 9:00 AM
You are in the Sedans Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
|
Replying to: blkhemi (Jul 01, 2008 5:09 pm) Besides hybrid power that can't be built beyond 250k units a year due to supply restraints, what other plans of action does Toyota have substance? The same can be asked of Nissan and Honda. What is in the works that is superior to what the domestics have and will have in the future? Well... IMO Hemi, the first steps towards achieving something are sometimes the most important steps, as long as they are in the right direction. So, with that in mind, we can look at this interesting, but very tiny, "step" in the right direction.  VW’s 238mpg 1-liter Car to see limited-edition production TM
|
|
|
Replying to: lexusguy (Jul 01, 2008 3:33 pm) Looks like a total redesign/reengineer to me! You design for the task.  Regards, OW |
|
|
On the Isuzu-Toyota issue, that may make sense for them only if GM kills it's 15 year contract with them for designing the Duramax diesel. As to that "throwback" V-Dub, for 238mpg, where do I sign up? |
|
|
Replying to: tagman (Jul 01, 2008 9:52 pm) And what does VW do? They wait 6 whole years to introduce this concept car! SIX YEARS!!!! And when they introduce it how many will there be on the roads? Only one thousand! Woope doo, sounds more like a high school science project than a plan from a very large Multinational auto manufacturer. And now you have BMW whining about CAFE: Earlier this year, the Bush administration surprised a lot of green activists by actually surpassing the already challenging CAFE standards for 2011-2015. While automakers like Toyota, Ford, and GM are quietly going about the business of hitting those targets, BMW is speaking up and saying that the targets are unattainable. The German automaker has asked the Bush administration for an alternative plan that helps out the hardest hit automakers, and the new rules are a punch to the gut for the Bavarian Motor crew. While the corporate average for cars and trucks is 35.7 mpg and 28.6 mpg by 2015, BMW has to hit 37.7 mpg and 31.7 mpg, respectively. The reason for the disparity is the sliding scale the government used to account for differences in size in each automaker's lineup. Since BMW doesn't sell pickup trucks and it has plenty of small and midsize offerings, BMW has to hit higher fuel economy standards. What the CAFE numbers don't take into account is the fact that all BMWs are RWD, and there isn't a four cylinder engine to be found (in the U.S., yet). The Bush administration says its final fuel economy numbers will become public by the end of the year, and if companies like BMW don't get special dispensations, look for there to be smaller engines on the horizion, or bigger fines. So what happened to BMW's rumored third division that will include FWD fuel efficient cars? Why is such a division not a priority right now? What about that Green Car of the Year 118d Series? So far I've heard nothing about such a car in North America? WHY NOT!! And last but not least we have MB with a low volume 2015 DiesOtto HCCI S Class that may be introduced years after lower priced high volume HCCIs are introduce by Honda and GM. Woopey Doo! The Volks at German automakers should wake up and just smell the coffee because right now the auto markets are changing far faster than what notions executives of MB, BMW, Audi and VW have about the markets. This belated German response is strikingly similar to the belated response of the Big Three with regards to their trucks, SUVs and small cars.
|
|
|
Replying to: dewey (Jul 02, 2008 7:52 am) Funny how small things look at 50K feet...the ground comes up fast if you don't have a reserve chute and your market did a hook turn! Hook turn - A sudden turn close to the ground used to build up speed for a spectacular turf surf and gentle landing. When misjudged can result in smashed bones and a lengthy stay in hospital.  Regards, OW
|
|
|
Replying to: circlew (Jul 02, 2008 8:48 am)  |
|
|
Replying to: dewey (Jul 02, 2008 7:52 am) Also, VW has very fuel efficient diesels that can power 4-passenger cars, so they don't necessarily have to go to extremes and build a 1+1 passenger layout. We are in uncharted waters at this point. Market research is not adequate, and I am willing to bet that there is a mad rush out there to collect updated market information in order to fully understand the auto buyer's' perspective on near-term and long-term purchase plans. The shift away from SUVs and large vehicles is an obvious kneejerk reaction to the gas prices. Will Americans adjust? Have we already hit bottom? Or will it get worse? Much worse? I posted in the past that the most recent Smart Cars looked to me that they would be successful. Almost everyone on the forum disagreed with me. I predicted gas would go over $4/gallon way back when ljflx was still posting. He told me it wouldn't happen, and many others thought I had lost my mind to suggest prices would go that high. Well... Perhaps the Smart Car WILL be successful, and gasoline prices are certainly already at and above $4/gallon. Will gasoline prices go even higher? Eventually they will, and prices will also go through seemingly stable periods within a range that lasts for a while... before going up again. IMO, the days of cheap gas are permanently over and are a good story to tell the next generation. VW won't be the only one to introduce something like that 238 mpg vehicle. We will see all sorts of contraptions come and go in the years ahead. I feel your frustration that it seems like it must take an act of God almighty to get some of these manufacturers to see the light and take some action NOW. How many of us are excited about the new Challenger and Camaro muscle cars? What about all the other "powerful" cars that we all talk about here? Like the Chevrolet Z06, for example, and our BMW twin turbo vehicles, and the GT-R, and the powerful gas-gussling cars that are driven by other forum members. Seems ironic. We are a schizophrenic group. On one hand we appreciate the performance and POWER!.. which guzzles gas. On the other hand, we appreciate and desire an ultra fuel-efficient vehicle, but most of them go too slow and are too small. It's all a dilemma, isn't it? Be patient. The landscape is about to change in a very big way.  TM |
|
|
Replying to: blkhemi (Jul 01, 2008 5:09 pm) Watch for many more small JDM models to start arriving here. As I said, the Japanese are the masters of small, efficient cars in a way that the Europeans are not (including Smart and the French) and the domestics absolutely are not. No US automaker has ever built a world beating small car in America. Not ever. Some of their European designed and built offerings are pretty good, but the exchange rate isn't workable. The domestics have been blindsided and are scrambling to try and learn how to build a small car. Their Japanese competitors are already designed, built and on sale, just not here, at least not yet. The Honda Fit is only the beginning.
|
|
