Chrysler got a new lease on life some months back with regards to its current financial standing. Now it seems that they have totally forgotten how to redeem itself from their poor showing as the company is still mum on what it plans to do with their current product line. There has been no word on new vehicles that would be coming out and yet we are nearing the close of 2009. Has Chrysler totally lost it?

Unlike Ford which has put much of its weight on their electric car, the Volt, Chrysler has not leaked or shown any new car models to look forward to. Rather they are providing customers with perks like car leasing and specialized features. How long can they do that? Unless they start getting their act together they are better off closing the company or perhaps selling it to someone else. They do have plans of a brand makeover but time is essential. Apparently Chrysler forgot all about that.

Tags: auto chrysler, available resources, car industry, car leasing, car models, Cars, Dodge, doors, economic turmoil, electric car, Ford, makeover, market position, models, new blood, new car, new direction, new lease on life, new vehicles, quick time, rebates, signs of life, special offers, trucks, Volt, waste of time

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At least for one year, new Hyundai car owners can worry less about the fluctuating prices of fuel thanks to this partnership between Hyundai and Pricelock. Pricelock and Hyundai have joined together to implement a new program which will lock the price of fuel to $1.49 per gallon for a year on select new car models under the Hyundai brand.

This event promises to help spur car sales in the midst of a faltering market that is being affected by the governing fuel prices which have made motorists ponder about alternatives (such as hybrids and electric cars). But with a year of no worries in price fuel, the program may just work. Also, who knows what would happen after a year’s time on the fuel issues plaguing the world today?

For the Hyundai program, Pricelock will issue car buyers fuel cards, similar to credit cards, which drivers will use to purchase gasoline at any of the 165,000 participating gas stations, approximately 93% of all service stations in the U.S. Using the Pricelock card, the car buyer will be charged $1.49 per gallon for fuel, regardless of the price on the pump. Of course, if the pump price is below $1.49 per gallon, the cardholder will not use the fuel card, but instead will pay the lower pump price using cash or a credit or debit card and still be able to participate in the upside.

(Source) Press

Tags: car buyer, car buyers, car models, car owners, car sales, cardholder, debit card, electric cars, fuel card, fuel cards, fuel issues, fuel prices, gas stations, gasoline, hybrids, hyundai car, motorists, new hyundai, world today

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You can add two more vehicles added to the 2009 Ideal Vehicle Award winners circle as the Hyundai Genesis and Elantra have likewise been voted in. Yesterday, we had posted about the Ford and the Porsche that were initially given the said distinction and today, two more familiar car models join them in this special citation.

“Hyundai has created two vehicles that owners say are nearly perfect just the way they are: their ideal vehicle,” said George Peterson, president, AutoPacific. “Owners of the Genesis and Elantra indicated through AutoPacific’s survey that they are driving a vehicle that meets their expectations, meaning they desire little to no change to their vehicle.”

Hyundai’s Genesis is in the premium car category with a starting price of just $33,000. This model boasts of performance and luxury features which one would normally find in high costing cars in the market today.

For the Hyundai Elantra, it has employed a safety standard in the compact segment and is equipped with six standard airbags. Elantra includes many extras such as the standard audio auxiliary input jack that are enhancements considered as great additions to a car full of features.

(Source) Press

Tags: additions, autopacific, auxiliary input jack, award winners, car models, Cars, distinction, enhancements, Ford, hyundai elantra, luxury features, Porsche, segment, winners circle

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Among the new bumper crop of vehicles out in the market, there are certain features that people would love to change among them. But if there are two cars which have the least number of attributes that potential car buyers would change, two familiar brands popped out above the rest. The two car brands are Porsche and Ford which topped the 2009 Ideal Vehicle Awards (IVA). The IVAs are based on owners’ ratings of their new 2009 model year cars and trucks across 15 key vehicle attributes.

“In today’s economy, car buyers take many factors into consideration – styling, safety features, fuel economy and more,” says George Peterson, president of AutoPacific. “IVA winners deliver the most of what consumers are really looking for in their vehicles.”

The selection doesn’t seem that easy. Most cars offer great features while others leave it up to the buyers to modify. The Porsche and Ford Motor vehicles are equipped with one of the common and yet unique features which some would leave if the survey is any indication.

But basing it on tradition, these two car models have lived up to their name and such a selection should not really be surprising. For 2009, the top-rated premium brand is Porsche, outscoring Buick and Jaguar for the most ideal premium vehicle brand honors. The top-rated mainstream brand is Ford, outscoring Mercury for top mainstream brand results. Porsche and Ford were also the highest scoring premium and mainstream brands in the 2008 IVA rankings.

(Source) Press

Tags: attributes, Buick, bumper crop, car brands, car buyers, car models, economy car, ford motor, ford motor vehicles, fuel economy, george peterson, ivas, jaguar, mainstream, Mercury, Porsche, premium brand, safety features, two cars

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Hyundai Automotive Groups has announced that approximately 50,000 cars will be recalled due to a light switch problem. The car models affected include that of vehicles produced between September and November of 2006.

Hyundai Automotive Group consists of Hyundai Motor Co. (005380.SE) and Kia Motors Corp. (000270.SE), which together form the world’s fifth-largest car maker by sales.

“Brake lights of some of Hyundai and Kia models were found not to function when drivers stepped on brakes due to the switch flaws,” the ministry said in a statement.

Hyundai will recall a total of 37,794 cars of five models and Kia a combined 10,842 vehicles of five models, the statement said.

The cars subject to be recalled include: new Santa Fe, Veracruz sport utility vehicles, new Avante, new Sonata and new Grandeur sedans from Hyundai and Grand Carnival, new Carnival, new Sportage, new Carens and Sorento SUVs from Kia Motors, it said.

(Source) Wall Street Journal

Tags: avante, car maker, car models, grand carnival, grandeur, hyundai motor, hyundai motor co, kia models, kia motors corp, light switch, new sportage, sedans, sorento, sport utility vehicles, switch problem

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Toyota is not exempted from the declining car buying market as they found that out through figures on sales for their $64,000 Lexus LS sedan and $67,000 Lexus SC Coupe. Demand for the best-selling luxury car brand in the U.S. dropped 37 percent in the first quarter, led a 43 percent plunge in sales of the costliest car models. The company has sacrificed profit margins to stanch the decline.

Toyota had its first annual loss in six decades as the global recession decimates auto sales. Surging incentives at other luxury brands including Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, Daimler AG and Audi AG has forced the Toyota City, Japan-based carmaker to more than quadruple discounts on Lexus models in the last two years, according to Edmunds.com.

U.S. Lexus sales shrank 27 percent in Toyota’s fiscal year that ended March 31, versus a combined 23 percent drop for Toyota and Scion models. While the premium line accounts for 12 percent of Toyota’s overall U.S. volume, analysts estimate it has generated a much larger portion of profit.

(Source) Bloomberg

Tags: audi ag, bayerische motoren werke, bayerische motoren werke ag, car brand, car models, carmaker, daimler ag, down economy, edmunds, global recession, lexus ls, lexus models, lexus sc, line accounts, luxury brands, luxury car, profit margins, toyota city, toyota lexus

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Power steering in most cars today is a benefit that makes navigating entirely easier and apparently Ford Motors is aiming to make sure that this is available in all of their car models. Customers already behind the wheel of the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner, one of Ford’s first products to sport EPS, also are enjoying other clever steering characteristics that enhance drive quality.

One such EPS-enabled feature, pull-drift compensation, is a software-based technology that helps drivers offset vehicle pulling or drifting that can occur in steady crosswinds or on uneven roads.

Customer complaints about a “constant pull or drift to one side” or “steering that requires extra uneven effort” historically have been a source of customer dissatisfaction in steering, ride and handling in quality studies. Ford’s EPS with drift-pull compensation is projected to improve customer satisfaction in these areas by up to 50 percent.

The 2008 Escape, one of the first vehicles to showcase EPS with pull-drift technology in North America, substantiated this projected improvement, cutting the number of customer complaints associated with steering in half.

(Source) Press

Tags: car models, Cars, customer satisfaction, Ford, ford escape, ford motors, Mercury, mercury mariner, north america, quality studies

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Mahmoudia Motors of Jordan today announced the launch of the Volvo XC60. The XC60 is designed in accordance with Volvo’s pioneering and cutting edge preventive safety systems. The launch of the Volvo crossover, described as ‘dressed in a thrilling blend of muscular XC capability and the sporty charisma of a coupe’, took place along with the opening of Mahmoudia Motors, Volvo showroom, located in Wadi Saqra.

The big safety news of the Vovlo XC60 is ‘City Safety’ – a unique feature that can help the driver avoid or reduce the effects of the type of low-speed impacts that are common in city traffic and traffic tailbacks. If the car is about to drive into the vehicle in front and the driver does not react, the car brakes itself.

The new XC60 will initially be available with the six-cylinder turbocharged T6 engine producing 285 horsepower. Turbocharged D5 engine producing 185 horsepower and turbocharged D2.4 producing 163 horsepower are also avaialbe.

All Wheel Drive (AWD) with Instant Traction is fitted as standard on all variants. Owing to its compact dimensions – the XC60 is 20 cm shorter than the XC70 and lower than the XC90 – it continues the range of slimmed-down car models with high energy efficiency. The chassis setting is aggressively sporty without losing anything in terms of comfort.

(Source) Aim168

Tags: car brakes, car models, compact dimensions, horsepower, low speed, preventive safety, safety systems, volvo showroom, volvo xc60, xc70, xc90

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Lifan Cars, a China-based auto manufacturing company is set to further expand its car export market and has eyed the Philippines as its next target. Already exporting cars to over 100 countries, Lifan Cars is planning to make a big splash in the Philippine market via its LF520 mid-size sedan.

LF520 has been exported to over 50 countries including Russia, Vietnam, Iran, Chile and Venezuela. Lifan Cars plans to introduce to the local market at least three car models this year.

Lifan Cars is a unit of China-based conglomerate Lifan Group with operations in the financial/banking sector, real estate, football industry and research and development.

Lifan Group has also been engaged in the production of trucks, buses, motorcycles, and car engines and subsequently ventured into automobile production.

(Source) GMA News

Tags: automobile production, car engines, car models, exporting cars, lifan group, manufacturing company, mid size, motorcycles, philippines, research and development, venezuela, vietnam

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With oil price plunging since the latter part of 2008, the demand for hybrid cars has dwindled in numbers. As a car owner, why invest in a hybrid if you can manage the fuel prices for now? Throw in the fact that people are cutting down on spending as well and perhaps you can imagine how hybrids may become a thing of the past.

Toyota and Ford have held back their hybrid cars production. With an unreasonable demand, the last thing that these two car manufacturing giants would want is to keep a large inventory of these hybrid cars (the Toyota Prius and the Ford Escape).

So have we seen the end of hybrid cars as an alternative mode of transportation today? Unless oil prices fluctuate again or the financial crisis improves, it is unlikely we will see hybrids flourish in the economy. So don’t be surprised if these concerned car manufacturers focus on making fuel-based car models once again.

Via Business Week

Tags: car manufacturers, car models, car owner, car production, car sales, financial crisis, ford escape, fuel prices, hybrid car, hybrid cars, hybrids, oil price, oil prices, toyota prius

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