BMW X1 Set for 2011 U.S. Release, but Does it Makes Sense?

BMW has been teasing the arrival of its newest compact SUV for a long time, but yesterday officially confirmed it would arrive in the U.S. sometime in 2011.

The X1 shares the somewhat awkward styling of the X3, but is smaller and has less interior space and less power, all at a cost that probably will reach X3 levels once properly optioned out. Frankly, I think the arrival of the X1 should mean the demise of the X3. Why on earth would BMW offer such similar models, considering the X3 is such a slow seller? Seems to me like a GM-style mistake!

Regardless, the X1 will debut in Europe this fall with one gas and three diesel engine choices, each available in rear-wheel drive or with BMW’s xDrive AWD system. According to a BMW press release:

The X1 will set new benchmarks in the premium compact segment for efficiency, comfort, utility, and of course driving dynamics. Achieving up to 45.2 miles per US gallon on the European test cycle, the BMW Advanced Diesel-powered X1 sDrive18d will provide remarkable fuel efficiency while still achieving a top speed of 124mph.

Well, I guess 45 miles per gallon should sell a few cars… that and some more pictures of a bikini model!

Engine choices for U.S. consumers will be announced closer to launch, but I hope we can count on at least one diesel option.

Does it make sense for BMW to offer both the X1 and the X3?

-tgriffith

Related posts:

• Top 10 Best Luxury Cars Costing $50,000 or Less
• BMW Hydrogen 7 Ready for Daily Use
• With an Electric Ford Focus, Why Do We Need the Volt?
• In 2007, Toyota built 1.3 million cars in America.
• A longer wheelbase, partnered with a wider track, will be utilized to keep ...

Related posts:

• 2008 Holden VE Ute gets an Aussie Welcome and some SS Treatment
• However, I’ve had a research partner on this one, Timmins A. Dodson, whose ...
• Spy Shots: Jaguar XK diesel under development
• Gaywheels.com questions how it is that theBimmer-builders fail to offer ...
• Ferrari F430 GT2 2008 To Be Unveiled

Do these Hummers really get 100 mpg?

 

I suppose this had to happen at some point.

Creating a Hummer that gets 100+ miles per gallon is a huge public relations story for the company that has managed to build one. And bloggers love to jump on the story and say that a Hummer can kick a Prius’ butt. 

Raser Technologies unveiled their Prius-kicking Hummers (an H3 and H3 SUT) at this year’s SAE World Congress in Detroit last week, and I have to admit at first glance, the technology is impressive.

Raser customized their H3 with a system similar to that in the Chevy Volt, which runs for the first 40 miles on pure electricity, then uses a gas engine to generate electricity for driving up to 400 miles on one tank. Drive 50 miles per day and this H3 will return 185 miles per gallon. Driving 200 miles or more drops the mpg to 33 (still about double the mileage of a gas-powered H3). 

It’s pretty obvious that Raser is proving a point by creating a Hummer, the epitome of gas hogs, that can run virtually gas-free on daily commutes. They might even be hoping to secure a licensing deal by impressing the bigwigs at the Big 3 and proving that the technology for extreme efficiency in trucks and SUVs does exist.

I do have doubts that an electric Hummer can maintain the legendary towing, off-road, and all-weather capability of its gas-powered counterparts.

But…

If electric Hummers were available that had the same capabilities as gas-powered versions, would your opinion about the brand change?

-tgriffith

Related posts:

• For The Discerning Commando: Camouflage Bentley Continental GT [Her Majesty's Secret Service]

Related posts:

• Study Shows McCain Winning Over Hummer Moms, Obama Cleaning Up With Hatchback-Owning Gay Art Students [Race To The White House]
• Top Gear Back As Soon As March?
• MDORPHN
• Commenter Of The Day: Jalopnik Endorses Edition [Commenter Of The Day]
• eBay Find of the Day: The Electric Powered 1980 Commutacar

As GM sinks, who’s rising to take their place?

A diesel-powered roadster, VW's Bluesport concept could help them reach their goal

Volkswagen is one step away from world domination.

As we’ve mentioned here before, VW wants to be the world’s biggest automaker. A few years ago we all would have had a nice hearty laugh at such a notion, because GM was strong, invincible, and American. But then the wheels began falling off the ol’ GM bus, and Toyota overtook them in 2008 as the world’s biggest automaker.

Now GM (which some now call Government Motors) is poised to slip to number three, thanks to the determined and surging Germans. It could happen this year, as GM continues to reduce production by an expected 31 percent.

Looks like we’re witnessing a bit of a changing of the guard in the automotive world. I can just imagine sitting in my rocking chair when I’m 80 years old and telling stories of when a company called General Motors made more cars and trucks than any other company in the world. Who knows, if  they continue sliding like this, my grandkids may know GM only as a niche maker of heavy-duty pickup trucks. After all, to GM’s credit, those are what it seems to build best.

Is anyone out there bold enough to say GM will earn back their title of the world’s number one automaker?

-tgriffith

Related posts:

• All-New 2008 Toyota Land Cruiser Starts at $63,200
• Volkswagen Golf to replace VW Rabbit in US Market
• In the Future all Volkswagens Will Have a Hybrid Option
• Porsche Doesn’t Want to Take Over VW After All!!!
• In 2007, Toyota built 1.3 million cars in America.

Related posts:

• Lost Independent Dealerships from Montana to Philly
• Make Model: City or Highway By City: 1.) Toyota Prius: 48 2.) Honda ...
• A faster Golf GTI
• When looking to buy a car, know what you want, and follow some of these ...
• Best and Worst Car Ads of 2008

Unveiled! The Tesla Model S

Tesla today has taken the tarp off its heavily hyped Model S luxury sedan.

While they haven’t released much about the specs of the Model S, one thing is for sure: The body is beautiful, if quite a departure from the looks of its sister, the Tesla Roadster.  

The Tesla Model S is getting style comparisons to the Jaguar XF and the Buick Lucerne - the Jag in the front and rear and the Buick in the silhouette. I’m not sure I completely agree with the Buick comparison, but I definitely see some modern Jag in the design. Take a look at the pictures, and let us know if you agree.

Note the sleek coupe-like styling and glass roof! Also, the interior is said to feature a center rack consisting entirely of a touch-screen interface to control audio, HVAC, navigation, and whatever other extras Tesla loads into the Model S. 

When Tesla first announced plans for an all-electric sedan, they said it would cost around $60K. Official pricing, or even an availability date, haven’t been set. 

Will Tesla deliver on the Model S? What do you think of it?

-tgriffith

*UPDATE*

Acording to a Tesla press release, the anticipated base price of the Model S is $49,900 after a federal tax credit of $7,500. The company has not released options pricing. Three battery pack choices will offer a range of 160, 230 or 300 miles per charge. The standard Model S does 0-60 mph in under six seconds and will have an electronically limited top speed of 130 mph, with sport versions expected to achieve 0-60 mph acceleration well below five seconds.

Related posts:

• Top 10 Best Luxury Cars Costing $50,000 or Less
• The 2005 Holden Efijy Revisited
• Another Sporting Glimpse at the Audi R8
• Carbon-Fiber Wheels - Not the Ultimate Performance Material
• Audi S2: Video of a +700 bhp monster

Related posts:

• Would you buy one of these luxury cars if the price was right?
• Car racing goes very green.
• A Car Industry Revolution in the Making
• In the recent weeks, the company has announced to the public that it will ...
• Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa: World Record Price

With an Electric Ford Focus, Why Do We Need the Volt?

The electric Focus should look something like this

Here’s a quote GM doesn’t want to hear from auto analysts: “Why do we need the Volt?”

GM has spent years and untold amounts of money developing their electric Volt concept. The quote is from Bill Pochiluk, an auto analyst with Automotive Compass. He said it in response to the news that Ford is preparing to release its own electric vehicle, despite having spent almost no development dollars of its own.

Ford’s electric Focus has been developed almost entirely by outside supplier Magna International (which has built cars for BMW, Mercedes-Benz, GM, and Chrysler, so don’t write them off). The electric Focus is due in early 2011 and expected to have a 100-mile range per charge. 

Ford’s strategy seems to make a lot of sense, as GM’s in-house development of the Volt has hit many road blocks and drained the company of valuable and hard-to-come-by money. 

While GM will earn bragging rights for developing the Volt on its own (if it’s successful), the bottom line is that consumers care a lot more about price than bragging rights. In this case, I’d expect the electric Focus to come in well below the estimated $40K cost of the Volt. 

The one drawback for Ford, if it can be called a drawback, is that Magna is free to sell the same technology to other automakers. Ford doesn’t seem to mind, though, because the more successful Magna is, the more the price of their technology will drop. Ultimately, that’s beneficial for Magna, for Ford, and for anyone buying an electric car. 

The partnership between Ford and Magna is a great example of the teamwork needed to efficiently achieve and distribute innovation in the auto industry today. Ford seems to be taking advantage, while GM struggles to succeed in innovating on their own. 

It all comes back to the question above: Why do we need the Volt?

-tgriffith

Related posts:

• Top 10 Best Luxury Cars Costing $50,000 or Less
• BMW 3-Series facelift
• BMW Hydrogen 7 Ready for Daily Use
• In 2007, Toyota built 1.3 million cars in America.
• A longer wheelbase, partnered with a wider track, will be utilized to keep ...

Related posts:

• Chrysler will unveil at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show the Jeep Renegade C ...
• Ford, GM and Chrysler Sales Fall in September
• 1971 Imperial LeBaron [Down On The Street]
• The CarGurus team has published their review of the 2009 Chrysler Sebr ...
• Chrysler Vows to Add a Hybrid or Alternative Fuel Option to Every Vehicle

In 2007, Toyota built 1.3 million cars in America.

Alfa Romeo: Coming to America!

Of the 15.5 million vehicles built in America in 2007, foreign manufacturers built 6 million. That’s a number primed to grow as the U.S. automakers struggle and foreign companies see value in increasing operations here.

Cars will always be built in America, even if our homegrown Big 3 go belly up.

Even Alfa Romeo, who withdrew from the U.S. market in 1995, is coming back with new models and could possibly move production here in 2011 or 2012.

Honda has built cars in the U.S. for years, with a major operation in Ohio and another being built in Indiana. Last year 1 million Hondas were built in America and the Indiana plant will add capacity to build 200,000 more. Honda is also considering moving production of the Fit stateside, as Honda is looking for ways to keep up with demand. Honda’s overall sales were down 28% in October of this year, but sales of the Fit rose by that same percentage.

Toyota has a similar philosophy, having recently opened a new plant in Texas, and is building another in Mississippi to handle the production of Highlanders and Prius hybrids. In 2007, Toyota built 1.3 million cars in America.

BMW produced 150,000 vehicles in America last year and is investing to bring their capacity up to 240,000. Production of their X3 will move from Europe to South Carolina. Nissan is building a new plant in Mississippi, Kia is building a new plant in Georgia and Hyundai recently completed a plant in Alabama. Volkswagen will build a U.S. production plant in Tennessee, where they intend to build a car designed for the U.S. market.

All of these new plants are paying decent wages and have real advantages over Detroit, with younger workers and much lower benefit costs.

There’s a lot to be excited about in America’s future of auto production, even if that future is void of GM and Chrysler.

If automotive jobs are still in America, what are your thoughts on foreign companies providing those jobs?

-tgriffith

Related posts:

• A longer wheelbase, partnered with a wider track, will be utilized to keep ...
• Critics said that the most closely connected product for Maximum Bob at ...
• Toyota Prius’ One Millionth Offspring
• We wholeheartedly endorse the government's initiatives through this investment ...
• I first met Vaughn Gittin Jr. in a non-descript Maryland strip mall parking ...

Related posts:

• There has been a lot of buzz lately about the future of Honda's luxury/ ...
• Honda has at least figured out the production problem.
• With rumors such as these, we'll be hard pressed to wait until its expected ...
• Honda Advances the VTEC Engine