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Michael Harley

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STUDY: Cash for Clunkers helped Japanese way more than Detroit 3

by Michael Harley (RSS feed) on Nov 16th, 2009 at 9:02AM



While there is no question that Obama's Cash-for-Clunkers program accelerated vehicle sales this summer, a new report by the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute shows the big winners were from Japan, not Detroit.

According to the study, nearly 85 percent of the trade-ins were from General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler, yet they only sold 39 percent of the new cars moved off the lots. On the other hand, eight percent of the trade-ins came from Toyota, Honda, and Nissan, manufacturers who accounted for 41 percent of new car purchases.

While these numbers may be justified by the large quantity of inefficient domestic trucks and SUVs that were deemed clunkers, customer loyalty also seems to have taken a big shift. About 68 percent of owners who traded in Toyota, Honda, or Nissan vehicles replaced them with another from one of those Japanese brands, while only 43 percent of consumers who traded in Detroit steel purchased another General Motors, Ford, or Chrysler product. The program cost the U.S. taxpayers about $3 billion.

[Source: USA Today]
Photo by dno1967. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

Follow-up: Toyota may not produce hybrid Yaris after all

by Michael Harley (RSS feed) on Jul 30th, 2009 at 10:23AM


2009 Toyota Yaris - Click above for high-res image gallery

A Toyota insider is countering yesterday's report that the automaker is planning a Yaris-based hybrid to be built in France. Such a vehicle would be unnecessary, according to the unnamed source.

Today's Toyota Yaris is already a fuel miser. The European variant is currently quipped with a 1.33-liter dual VVT-i engine with start-stop technology allowing the compact runabout to earn an impressive 55.4 mpg (European) combined fuel economy (in the States, we get a 1.5-liter Yaris that is rated at 29/36 in EPA testing). While dropping a hybrid powerplant into a larger vehicle pays back significantly, the gains realized by building a hybrid Yaris would be negligible.

Down the road, it may be a different story as battery technology (one limiting factor) is improving quickly. The advent of lithium ion batteries will boost the case for compact and subcompact hybrid vehicles as the bantam-weight cars benefit from the lighter and more compact power sources.



[Source: Autocar]

REPORT: Tata Nano passes European crash testing

by Michael Harley (RSS feed) on Jul 15th, 2009 at 7:57AM Breaking


2009 Tato Nano - Click above for high-res image gallery

The Tata Nano, the diminutive Indian four-door econobox rumored to eventually arrive in U.S. showrooms, has reportedly passed current European impact testing. According to Autocar, the offset front and side impact tests took place at the MIRA test center last week under supervision by an inspector from Britain's Vehicle Certification Authority. A spokesperson for Tata said the company is "delighted but not surprised" with the results, as the car had already been tested in India.

Sold only in its homeland right now, Tata seems determined to expand its passenger vehicle business to Europe and North America. With that in mind, the automaker is working to upgrade the Nano to ensure the Lilliputian meets "Westernized" crash standards, including the European NCAP tests, and our own NHTSA requirements.



[Source: Autocar UK]


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