Super Cars Sports Cars Info Site

Click above for high-res gallery of 2009 MY changes

BMW’s lineup of M-fortified vehicles now numbers nine, which is the largest it’s ever been in the sub-brand’s 30-year history. Munich has tweaked the lineup for 2009, and while nothing groundbreaking has been added, the additions and changes are worth noting. For instance, the BMW M3 Sedan gets a new rear end that sports updated taillights with two LED light clusters, and the entire M3 line gets some minor interior tweaks, new colors and crash-active headrests. The M5 and M6 soldier on with larger sideview mirrors, though BMW mentions that regenerative braking and an uncoupling air conditioner compressor - both fuel saving technologies - are right around the corner.

Of course, all M models are now offered with the latest generation of the automaker’s much maligned iDrive control system. We haven’t had the opportunity to sample the new version yet, so we’ll refrain from making fun of its user interface for now. A new, impressively large 8.8-inch nav screen is, however, available with the optional Professional navigation system package and each system has moved from being DVD-based to storing all the info on an in-dash 80GB hard drive. This fall, BMW will also be offering ConnectedDrive, the first application of unrestricted internet access in a car, across the M lineup and iPhone integration has now been worked out, as well.

Perhaps the most significant addition is the arrival of a Competition Package for the M6 Coupe. The Competition Package includes a newly tuned performance suspension that lowers the car 12 mm up front and 10 mm in the rear, an adaptable suspension control system and double-spoke forged alloy wheels. BMW claims this will be the most athletic M6 you can buy and that there will be visual distinctions to set it apart from a standard M6. Unfortunately, BMW refrained from showing us what those visual distinctions will be. You can view what they did show us, however, in the gallery below.

[Source: BMW]

Continue reading BMW updates M models for 2009

Honda cuts Odyssey and Pilot production; makes room for more Civics

Click above for high-res gallery of the 2009 Honda Pilot

Honda has got to be happy that it has a hot selling compact car to take some of the pain out of the slowing minivan and SUV markets. Hurt by the sky-high price of gasoline, both the Odyssey and Pilot, both recently redesigned, are sitting on dealers lots longer than Honda would like. In order to match production with consumer demand, Honda will close its plant in Lincoln, Alabama for two days next month and cut second shift production at the plant every Friday in August through October. Displaced workers can choose to take either unpaid time off or use paid vacation leave. Some of that unused capacity will be taken up by the Ridgeline, which will now be assembled at the Lincoln plant instead of in Ontario where it is currently being built.

The Civic, on the other hand, will see its production boosted at the East Liberty, Ohio plant and in Alliston, Ontario, where capacity will be available due to the Ridgeline’s departure. Score another point for Honda’s modular manufacturing techniques.

The Harbour Report released today reveals that the Big 3 gained major ground in closing the productivity gap with Japanese automakers building vehicles in North America last year. The report found that Chrysler had actually improved enough to tie Toyota as the most productive multi-plant manufacturer on the continent, with both automakers spending an average of 30.37 hours to build a vehicle. The most productive single plant in North America also belongs to Chrysler, as the once experimental Toledo Supplier Park takes just 13.57 labor hours to build a Jeep. For their parts, General Motors plants averaged 32.29 hours per vehicle and Ford plants averaged 33.88 hours per vehicle, both an improvement over last year’s numbers.

The news was not all good, however, as the report found that despite improving their productivity, the Big 3 are still unable to match the Japanese in profit made per vehicle. While Honda and Nissan earned $1,641 per vehicle built in North American last year and Toyota earned $922, Chrysler lost $412 per vehicle and GM and Ford lost $729 and $1,467 per vehicle, respectively. Much of those losses come from high health care costs and profit-shrinking incentives required to move less popular vehicles like trucks and SUVs. The Harbour Report suggests, however, that employee buyouts and those new contracts with the UAW that get them off the hook for retiree health care will improve the Big 3’s profit per vehicle dramatically.

Check out the lengthy press release from the Harbour Report after the jump if you’re into digging through the nitty gritty details.

[Source: The Harbour Report]

Continue reading Chrysler ties Toyota for most productive plants in North America

Just less than a year ago, the Big 3 domestic automakers’ combined market share dropped to less than 50-percent of the overall automobile market. That sobering statistic was made factual when the combined sales of vehicles from both Asian countries, such as Japan and Korea, were combined with sales from European companies, like Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. It seems that this sad state of affairs did little to stop the bleeding coming from Detroit, as last month marks the first time in history that Asian automakers alone, with a combined share of 47.8-percent, sold more vehicles in the United States than companies actually based there. Ouch.

Large pickup trucks and SUV’s have long been the last stronghold for Detroit’s struggling automakers. While the Big 3 still have a commanding lead in sales of these large vehicles, it’s the smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles which are taking the largest bite from the overall market share pie. Record-high fuel prices have put such a damper on truck sales that a shocking five vehicles outsold the F-150 last month, all of them highly practical sedans. It seems easy to see, then, where Detroit should be spending what engineering dollars it has left.

[Source: The Detroit News]

More

Lincoln books 8,600 preorders for MKS

Click above for high-res gallery of the 2009 Lincoln MKS

The first 2009 Lincoln MKS is still a couple months away from arriving at your local Lincoln dealer, but Ford has announced that 8,600 customers have already signed up for the all-new sedan. The MKS has garnered this hefty dose of interest no doubt due to Lincoln’s new design language, its well-crafted interior and large number of high-tech gizmos, but Ford’s marketing team deserves some credit, too. They began their work announcing the sedan’s starting price of $37,895 way back in November during the L.A. Auto Show, then followed up by giving would-be customers early access to a build and price tool on the Lincoln website. The marketing team is also reportedly training dealerships to be knowledgeable about the MKS months ahead of the usual timetable, which has helped salesmen secure preorders for the vehicle sight-unseen.

Preorders traditionally happen for high-end trim levels of a model, and the MKS is no different. Sixty-five percent of the 8,600 preorders have been for the high-end “Ultimate Package,” which includes features like 19-inch rims, a THX audio system, and navigation system with Travel Link. An MKS with the Ultimate Package goes for $44,180, which means Lincoln’s making some money on the MKS before it even shows up for work.

Continue reading Lincoln books 8,600 preorders for MKS

In the Autoblog Garage: 2008 Chevy HHR SS

Click above for high-res gallery of the 2008 Chevy HHR SS

Our first experience with the Chevy HHR was back in 2006 when we rented one in Los Angeles while covering the 2006 L.A. Auto Show. Being a fleet vehicle, our HHR rental failed to impress with its raspy, underpowered Ecotec four-cylinder and cheap interior materials. The HHR does, however, have a way about itself. Its retro-inspired design is just plain good looking, better than the PT Cruiser to which this vehicle is most often compared (they were both designed by Brian Nesibtt, GM’s current Executive Director of its European design center), and its outward attractiveness shows even on bare bones rental units like the one we abused in L.A.

The 2008 Chevy HHR SS would seem to be the HHR we always wanted, with more power, an upgraded interior, aggressive tweaks to the exterior and the same two-box shape and clever cargo solutions that make the base model popular. But with the market for new car sales in the U.S. as soft as it is, should Chevy be spending its time making a high-horsepower, better handling SS version of a vehicle like the HHR? Read on to find out if their effort was worth it.

All photos Copyright (C)2008 John Neff / Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading In the Autoblog Garage: 2008 Chevy HHR SS

Looks like badge engineering is alive and well at General Motors. After decades of the practice damaging its brands, GM may sell the Pontiac G3 in the U.S. The G3 is nothing more than a rebadged version of what we know as the Chevy Aveo that’s sold in Canada as the Wave. It’s rebadged and sold elsewhere in the world under various brands, but we don’t see those here in the U.S. The new subcompact would supposedly bolster the offerings at combined Pontiac-Buick-GMC dealers by adding a new fuel-efficient vehicle to the mix. Oddly enough, however, the G3 only achieves marginally better fuel economy than the already-available Pontiac Vibe, itself a slightly redesigned version of the Toyota Matrix, thanks to its diminutive four-banger and old-school four speed automatic tranny. Curiously enough, you can already EPA numbers for the G3 sedan and hatchback at the government’s fuel economy website, which could be further support for the notion that it will be sold in the U.S. soon, or may indicate that it’s sold in a U.S. territory like Puerto Rico.

More

Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Euro, Hatchbacks, Saturn, OpelOver in Europe, midsize cars like the Opel Vectra, Renault Laguna and Ford Mondeo have long been offered in multiple body configurations including four-door sedans, station wagons and, of course, five-door hatchbacks. Unlike Americans, who for some reason are averse to a fifth body opening unless the vehicle rides 4 to 6 inches higher than it should, Europeans have always appreciated the extra utility. The Opel Vectra is being replaced this summer by the redesigned and renamed Insignia, but so far we’ve only seen photos (either spy pics or official GM shots) of the four-door sedan that will likely land here later next year as the next Saturn Aura. A sharp-eyed photographer, however, has captured what may be the first shots of the new hatchback Insignia. The five-door version doesn’t look radically different from the sedan, the main variance being the shorter rear deck that’s attached to the rear glass. Will the hatchback arrive as an Aura at Saturn dealers? Highly improbable, but then so was the Astra, so anything is possible. We more likely might just get a wagon version that we haven’t yet seen.