Latest Cars News Blog: сентября 2009

Toyota overtakes Dodge as third best-selling truckmaker in U.S.

Filed under: Trucks/Pickups, Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, GMC, Nissan, Toyota

As we all know by now, auto sales are down, dropping by around 18% in 2008. Pick-ups actually fared worse, posting a decline of 26.5% over the same period. Still, the Ford F-150 and Chevy Silverado maintained their positions as the two best selling vehicles in the United States, and these two manufacturers managed to post incremental increases in total pick-up truck market share after all was said and done.

Those increases came directly from the competition, especially Dodge. The full-size Ram truck managed to see its piece of the pie dwindle by almost one full percentage point. Dodge's drop in overall market share allowed Toyota, for the first time ever, to grab the bronze medal behind Ford and General Motors. However, it's not particularly good news for the Japanese upstart, which owns just 8.52% of the market after seeing Tundra sales fall by over 30% in '08 and well short of its stated goal of 200,000 units per year. The last place trophy goes to Nissan, as its 34,000 sales represent a meager 2.11% of the market.

These market share figures include both full-sizers and their smaller brethren, and it was the Toyota Tacoma and the aging Ford Ranger that made the biggest upward moves among the mid-size pick-ups. Again, the biggest loser award goes to Dodge, which saw its Dakota sales fall nearly 65%, and its Mitsubishi Raider stablemate, which posted an insignificant 2,900 total sales.

[Source: PickupTrucks.com]

Toyota overtakes Dodge as third best-selling truckmaker in U.S. originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 13 Jan 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Hybrid Jeep EV, An Electric Wrangler Prototype

On Tuesday, on behalf of Chrysler LLC and Chrysler’s in-house hybrid technology design team, Chrysler ENVI, CEO Bob Nardelli unveiled a series of three “production intent” electric vehicles, one of which Chrysler intends to begin mass producing by 2010. Unfortunately, the consuming public will be held in suspense as to which of the three makes the production cut - at least until 2009, when preliminary models become available for commercial and fleet sales. While we await the final decision with bated breath, RideLust has decided to profile each of Chrysler’s ENVI vehicles individually, beginning with the most rugged [read: least like the loathsome Prius plug-in], the Jeep EV.

Jeep EV photo gallery after the jump

Tagged by Chrysler suits as an extended-range electric-vehicle [ER-EV], the Jeep EV is essentially a hybrid version of the Jeep Wrangler [though it bears an uncanny resemblance to the Jeep Commander from the rear]. In keeping with the Jeep Wrangler’s legendary off-road capability, the Jeep EV is equipped with a body-on-frame electrical drive train that individually powers each of the Jeep EV’s four wheels. To keep it green, the Jeep EV [like all 3 of the Chrysler ENVI vehicles], is tri-powered by an electric motor, a lithium-ion battery, and small gasoline engine integrated with an electric generator. By itself, the electric motor generates a whopping 268-hp and 295 lb-ft of torque, making it at least as powerful as any standard Jeep. Unlike any standard Jeep, however, the Jeep EV can average approximately 400 miles off of 8 gallons of gasoline, and another 40 miles relying completely on electric propulsion, consuming no fuel and producing zero emissions.

According to Chrysler, the Jeep EV was entirely engineered with to be the ultimate off-roading vehicle, intended to “…[provide] nature ambassadors with the ability to roam the planet and take care of it at the same time.”

We say: So, where do we sign?

Drunk Maryland State Cop Abducts Man, Takes City Cops On High Speed Chase With Cruiser [Car Crime]

It's two-thirty in the morning, you're a raging drunk cop, stuck at the Taco Bell drive-through desperately in need of cheesy double beef burritos and some jerk won't hurry up. What to do?

While we can't be certain this was the exact scenario posed to off duty Maryland State Trooper Bruce Anthony Wrzosek, 22, we can be certain it's a reasonable assumption of the problem he faced as he sat idling in his marked cruiser. Obviously he couldn't just sit there and wait, so instead he turned on his lights and started yelling at and assaulting people in the cars ahead of him. Things got out of hand and Officer Wrzosek threw a 20-year-old man into the back of his cruiser for some reason. At that point a Baltimore city cop showed up and asked Wrzosek to park his cruiser and get out. Instead he took off with his lights and sirens blaring and took the cops on a brief high speed chase.

After blowing a 0.20 BAC in a field sobriety test Wrzosek was arrested and he's been summarily fired from the force. He's also been charged with kidnapping, second-degree assault, false imprisonment and alcohol-related traffic violations. He's currently being held at Baltimore City Jail on $500,000 bail, but we suspect he'll make a run for the border as soon as possible. [Baltimore Sun]

The Cheapest Import Hatchback Your 1978 Dollars Could Buy: Mazda GLC [Classic Ad Watch]

$3,480 sounds cheap, but the '78 Chevette Scooter went for $2,999. Still, the Mazda GLC was a good deal. Can you imagine a carmaker using the word "little" in their marketing today?

AutoblogGreen for 01.12.09

Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Green

click to visit AutoblogGreen

Tired of seeing the word "Detroit" yet? Of course not; we've only finished Day One at the NAIAS, and we have a full schedule of press conferences that continues today. Will we see any surprises like the Chrysler 200C EV, the Cadillac Converj or the VW BlueSport? Stay tuned to this very site - and AutoblogGreen, of course - throughout the day, and you'll know as soon as we do.

More headlines after the jump.

Continue reading AutoblogGreen for 01.12.09

AutoblogGreen for 01.12.09 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 12 Jan 2009 06:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fisker Sunset Concept Heading To Detroit [Detroit Auto Show]

Fisker will be unveiling a new concept at the Detroit Auto Show, the romantically named Sunset. What is it?

Other than the cheeseball name and its resemblance to the hybrid Fisker Karma, as evidenced by this picture, details are scarce. Henrik Fisker, who struck out on his own after designing the BMW Z8 and the current Aston Martin range will unveil the Fisker Sunset on January 12. The lack of a B-pillar on the driver's side of this tease, combined with the name, hint at a convertible. This would give the company the chance to claim the first production drop-top hybrid, but there's no way to be sure this is what the Sunset is. Whatever it is, we expect music by Enya, a rose-tinted dry ice and laser show and maybe even some interpretive dance designed to convey just how emotional the Sunset is about shrinking polar ice caps. [source: Fisker]

Donks, Boxes, Bubbles, and Hi-Risers: A RideLust Pictorial, Dirty South Style

Interestingly enough, I have nothing snarky to add to any of these photos, and largely because I was raised in the South - the Philly Ride Share program horrifies me more than donks do. I’d like to note, however, that back in high school I dated a guy who drove a brand new ‘94 Camaro that I had to practically pole vault to get into, and up until a few hours ago, that’s what I believed a true donk to be. As I was going through these pictures, though, I realized that “monster cars” like Jason’s Camaro have been almost completely replaced by these shiny new chrome jobs, painted colors like bitchass-purple.

Oh, these kids today.