Ford dropping Freestar - to replace it with a crossover
Ford, who has been playing in the minivan market with such compelling entries as the Aerostar, the Windstar (their first unibody mini), and the Freestar (the Windstar with a new name) has finally decided to take its toys and go home.Oh, they'll play in the 7-seater game, just not with something they'll call a minivan.
Remember the Fairlane concept (pictured above)? Well, there's a good chance that we'll see this people mover take the Freestar's place in the Blue Oval's lineup. No word yet if this will spell the ultimate demise of the Freestyle crossover (since things could get mighty crowded for it with a Fairlane 7-seater and a Fusion crossover sharing showroom space).
It will be interesting to see if bold, non-minivan styling will help Ford succeed where 20 years of trying to improve on class leaders in the minivan segment (and failing miserably) did not.
Honda chooses Indiana site for new auto assembly plant
Honda announced today that they have chosen a site outside Greensburg, Indiana for a new $550 million auto assembly plant.
The plant, when it comes online in the fall of 2008, will add 200,000 units to Honda's capacity. The plant will be located 50 miles southeast of Indianapolis and a mere 100 miles from Honda's engine plant in Avon, Ohio.
Initial employment at the plant is expected to be 2000.
This new plant helps offset the loss of many of the GM plants that previously operated in central Indiana and joins plants by Subaru and Toyota as foreign owned auto assembly plants in Indiana.
The plant, when it comes online in the fall of 2008, will add 200,000 units to Honda's capacity. The plant will be located 50 miles southeast of Indianapolis and a mere 100 miles from Honda's engine plant in Avon, Ohio.
Initial employment at the plant is expected to be 2000.
This new plant helps offset the loss of many of the GM plants that previously operated in central Indiana and joins plants by Subaru and Toyota as foreign owned auto assembly plants in Indiana.
Smart coming to the US in 1Q08 - to be sold by Penske
In a move that really doesn't surprise anyone who has been following the rumors over the last few weeks - DaimlerChrysler announced today that they will be importing the Smart brand of city cars to the US starting in the first quarter of 2008.
In an interesting move that helps minimize their exposure if the cars refuse to sell, DCX isn't creating a brand new dealer network to sell the cars. Instead, they have decided to partner with Penske's UnitedAuto Group - though it is not immediately apparent what the exact nature of the partnership is other than that Penske's company will sell and service the vehicles. Our guess would be each UnitedAuto Group dealer in urban areas (specifically on the East and West coasts) will add special Smart showrooms within a showroom to minimize their costs rather than build dedicated facilities.
In an interesting move that helps minimize their exposure if the cars refuse to sell, DCX isn't creating a brand new dealer network to sell the cars. Instead, they have decided to partner with Penske's UnitedAuto Group - though it is not immediately apparent what the exact nature of the partnership is other than that Penske's company will sell and service the vehicles. Our guess would be each UnitedAuto Group dealer in urban areas (specifically on the East and West coasts) will add special Smart showrooms within a showroom to minimize their costs rather than build dedicated facilities.
Transformers movie spy shot - Bumblebee robot
If you are, like me, in your early 30's - you probably spent way too much time on Transformers as a kid. You are also probably as excited as I am about the upcoming Transformers live-action movie that hits July 4, 2007.Well, I have some bad news...Bumblebee, the little guy with the heart of gold (and classically an original VW Beetle) has had a makeover for the movie. Apparently since VW is not interested in the product placement of the current Beetle, the producers have restyled the little guy as a 2009 Chevy Camaro. Why they didn't go with Jazz or Hot Rod, or some other, sportier car is anyone's guess.
Well, anyway, now we have a spy shot of a full-sized robot for use in some of the shooting (most of the work will likely be done with CGI rather than physical props like this one).
Check out the movie web site here:
Transformers movie site
New Infiniti G35 sedan caught testing
Over at The Car Lounge, you can find some nice photos taken of a G35 undergoing testing in Dubai at a fuel stop.Notice the nicely upgraded interior, evolutionary styling changes (which we saw earlier this year when the car was previewed), as well as the odd-ness that is a hood cutline that just sort of got put wherever the engineers/designers needed for access to the dirty bits in the engine bay...whatever happened to making the hood cutline follow a body contour?
Anyway, take a look at the photos here:
The Car Lounge - 2007 G35 Sedan in Dubai
Saturn sets price of Sky Red Line at $27895
Recently, we reported on Pontiac's pricing for the Solstice GXP, now it's Saturn's turn.Given all the info we had at the time, we projected Sky Red Line pricing to be right around $27k. Well, Saturn is a bit prouder of the car than that. Today's announcement is that the Sky RL will start at $27,895 including destination charges. This makes for almost $900 more of a mark-up, by our calculations, than Pontiac is charging on the GXP.
They'll still sell every single one they can make.
Expect them to show up at dealers near you sometime this fall.
More spy photos of next Chrysler minivan
World Car Fans has a series of photos of a disguised Chrysler minivan undergoing testing.Ignoring the obvious photo-chop of a 300c Touring (Euro-only 300 wagon) that they pawn off as a peek at what the new mini will look like - this shows yet again a big, block-y version of the minivan theme.
Given hints given with recent show cars, expect a possible V-8 at the top engine as well as more innovations like those previewed on the Dodge Rampage concept truck (box the styling out of that concept and you could be seeing the next Caravan.
Expect an unveiling at the 2007 North American International Auto Show in Detroit this January.
Read more here:
WorldCarFans.com - More Chrysler Voyager Spy Photos
Land Rover unveils 2007 LR2
Say goodbye to the Land Rover Freelander and say hello to yet another brand moving further along the alpha-numeric highway.
Today, Land Rover announced their new Freelander replacement, the LR2. Based, at least loosely on the same small-car, unibody chassis that serves as the basis for the Volvo S40/V50/C70, Mazda3, and Euro Ford Focus, the Freelander is the first 'truck' based on this highly flexible architecture.
Power comes via a new, compact, transversely mounted 3.2l I-6 putting out 230hp and routing to the ground through a new 6-speed automatic and standard all-wheel drive. The LR2 also has Land Rover's 'Terrain Response' system with electronic controls to make off-road adventures safer.
Other features and options include: keyless starter button, bi-xenon headlamps, adaptive front lighting, rain-sensing windshield wipers and rear park distance control. Standard two-part panoramic sunroof and air-conditioning. A full-color touch-screen DVD satellite navigation system is optional. A choice of top-level audio systems includes 12-speaker Dolby Pro Logic II 7.1 Surround Sound with fiber-optic interconnects. An auxiliary audio connection (for MP3 players) is standard.
And now, the pics!
Today, Land Rover announced their new Freelander replacement, the LR2. Based, at least loosely on the same small-car, unibody chassis that serves as the basis for the Volvo S40/V50/C70, Mazda3, and Euro Ford Focus, the Freelander is the first 'truck' based on this highly flexible architecture.
Power comes via a new, compact, transversely mounted 3.2l I-6 putting out 230hp and routing to the ground through a new 6-speed automatic and standard all-wheel drive. The LR2 also has Land Rover's 'Terrain Response' system with electronic controls to make off-road adventures safer.
Other features and options include: keyless starter button, bi-xenon headlamps, adaptive front lighting, rain-sensing windshield wipers and rear park distance control. Standard two-part panoramic sunroof and air-conditioning. A full-color touch-screen DVD satellite navigation system is optional. A choice of top-level audio systems includes 12-speaker Dolby Pro Logic II 7.1 Surround Sound with fiber-optic interconnects. An auxiliary audio connection (for MP3 players) is standard.
And now, the pics!
