Range anxiety, hydrogen style

Posted 3:08 pm U.S. ET, June 18
WASHINGTON -- Honda's hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle, the FCX Clarity, has been known to travel thousands of miles without refueling.
But only while sitting on the back of a truck.
There are so few hydrogen fueling stations in the United States that Honda often must ship the car from California if it wants to take regulators or curious members of Congress for a spin.
And that is just what the company did this month when it put the FCX Clarity on display at an electric vehicle conference in Washington.
I was able to take a spin in the car, one of just two hydrogen-fueled cars being offered to the American public, along with the Merc ...
     Continue reading "Range anxiety, hydrogen style" » Jun 18, 2013 3:08 pm U.S. ET Post Comment  |  Permalink

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BMW X5 footprint grows, first rwd variant planned

Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, June 11
The restyled front end of BMW's X5 has a more prominent kidney-shaped grille.
BMW is putting more space between its flagship crossover and the rest of its expanding crossover lineup.
The redesigned X5 crossover, coming in the fourth quarter, is slightly longer than the current model, gets a new front end and will be available with several new safety and communications features.
And for the first time, BMW will offer an optional rear-wheel-drive variant -- the sDrive35i -- in addition to all-wheel drive. The rwd model will be powered by BMW's 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline six-cylinder engine, which delivers 300 hp.
BMW expects most rwd vehicles to sell ...
     Continue reading "BMW X5 footprint grows, first rwd variant planned" » Jun 11, 2013 12:01 am U.S. ET Post Comment  |  Permalink

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Clues to the next Wrangler: See the want ads

Posted 2:02 pm U.S. ET, May 24
Chrysler's posted job descriptions appear to show that Jeep has decided to put the next-generation Wrangler on a serious diet -- just as Ram did for the 2013 Ram 1500 pickup.
Jeep has begun searching for the extra bodies to mount its next big project: the redesign of the Jeep Wrangler. And the job opening descriptions provide some clues as to the changes planned for the off-roader's next generation.
This is supposition on my part, of course -- and a Jeep spokesman declined to comment when asked, saying the company doesn't discuss future product.
With just one exception, the job descriptions posted on the Chryslercareers.com Web site don' ...
     Continue reading "Clues to the next Wrangler: See the want ads" » May 24, 2013 2:02 pm U.S. ET Post Comment  |  Permalink

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2 million extra doors was the best call Daimler made during 'marriage of equals'

Posted 12:35 pm U.S. ET, May 17
A popular off-roading magazine calls the Daimler-era call to add two extra doors to the venerable Wrangler "the best automotive industry decision of the last decade."
It's easy to criticize the way Daimler AG ran and ultimately left Chrysler during the disastrous "marriage of equals" era. I know because I've done it on a regular basis.
But even the worst marriages can produce spectacular kids -- or in this case, products. And today, the 1 millionth copy of one of the best results of Chrysler's former bad marriage rolled down an assembly line in Toledo.
The four-door Jeep Wrangler Unlimited -- or 'JK' if you speak the language of Chrysler body codes -- hit the producti ...
     Continue reading "2 million extra doors was the best call Daimler made during 'marriage of equals'" » May 17, 2013 12:35 pm U.S. ET Post Comment  |  Permalink

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In the Land of Many Buicks, one in particular stood out

Posted 3:59 pm U.S. ET, May 17
The Buick GL8 is an office on wheels for many Chinese. (BRADFORD WERNLE)
SHANGHAI -- If you were an alien from another world and your spaceship landed in Shanghai, you would immediately conclude that Buick is a planetary titan among automotive brands.
Buick is the third-leading brand in China behind Volkswagen and Hyundai through March with 5.3 percent of the market, according to data from LMC Automotive. Sales were up 23 percent over last year.
Pretty impressive for a brand that was all but given up for dead in its home U.S. market just a few years ago. In fact, Buick fans can thank the Chinese for saving their marque. If China's Empress Dowager hadn't been chauffeured around in ...
     Continue reading "In the Land of Many Buicks, one in particular stood out" » May 17, 2013 3:59 pm U.S. ET Post Comment  |  Permalink

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Is the S in the new Mercedes S class for Shanghai?

Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, May 15
The new Mercedes-Benz S class made its world premiere today in Hamburg, Germany, but Shanghai might have been more appropriate. Why? China accounted for 49 percent of all S-class sales from 2010-2012.
By comparison, 15 percent of total S-class sales were in Europe during the three-year period and the United States accounted for 21 percent of the total, according to figures from market researcher JATO Dynamics, which calculates that Mercedes sold more than 181,000 units of its flagship worldwide during the three-year span.
How important is China to the S-class' future? Consider this: In the past, the stretch S ...
     Continue reading "Is the S in the new Mercedes S class for Shanghai?" » May 15, 2013 12:01 am U.S. ET Post Comment  |  Permalink

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Can battery rental reduce consumer jitters with EVs? Smart thinks so

Posted 2:02 pm U.S. ET, May 14
Smart is allowing buyers and lessees to rent the battery -- and lower the purchase price or monthly leases -- in the ForTwo Electric Drive coupe that went on sale this week.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the supplier of the battery used in the 2013 Smart ForTwo Electric Drive.
 
Consumers have a lot of gripes about the battery life in high-tech products.
Batteries seem to conk out way before the products do. And with age, the ability of batteries to hold a charge deteriorates. Another concern is the cost of replacing those batteries, which often seems higher than the value of the laptop or cell phone the batteries power.
Small wonder there's even more anx ...
     Continue reading "Can battery rental reduce consumer jitters with EVs? Smart thinks so" » May 14, 2013 2:02 pm U.S. ET Post Comment  |  Permalink

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Silverado hand-wringers should relax -- for now

Posted 12:15 pm U.S. ET, May 9
The exterior changes on the 2014 Silverado, which hits showrooms by early June, are striking when parked aside the outgoing model.
SAN ANTONIO -- There was hand-wringing, even some flat out panic, when General Motors unwrapped its next-generation Chevrolet Silverado in December.
Many dealers, enthusiasts and writers questioned whether the pickup's design went far enough. There was also disappointment at the lack of a sexy technology to hit back at the Ford F-150's EcoBoost V-6 or the Ram 1500's new air suspension system.
Did GM whiff on its most critical vehicle launch since its 2009 bankruptcy?
Not even close.
That's my answer after driving the new Silverado at a me ...
     Continue reading "Silverado hand-wringers should relax -- for now" » May 9, 2013 12:15 pm U.S. ET Post Comment  |  Permalink

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Ram photo shoot goes horribly, horribly wrong

Posted 12:00 pm U.S. ET, May 7
A 2014 Ram prototype pickup truck was lost at sea during a May 1 photo shoot near Moonstone Beach, just south of Trinidad, Calif. It was recovered the next day. (MATT HINTON)
I love puns, so when photos arrived of the big blue Pacific crashing against a floundering Ram heavy-duty pickup during a beach-photo-shoot-gone-wrong, my mind just raced.
"Guts. Gnarly. Ram."
"Ram 2500 --fathoms?"
"Finally, the perfect automotive camouflage: 200 million gallons of salt water."
What happened was considerably less funny for the Chrysler Group marketing team that was trying to shoot the Ram Power Wagon last week on -- or more accurately off -- a beach near Trinidad, Calif.
...
     Continue reading "Ram photo shoot goes horribly, horribly wrong" » May 7, 2013 12:00 pm U.S. ET Post Comment  |  Permalink

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For VW, new turbo brings more power, fuel economy for key models

Posted 8:00 am U.S. ET, May 3
In addition to a new turbo engine, the Beetle Turbo and Beetle Turbo convertible both receive new R-Line bumpers and trim, VW says.
A new crop of turbocharged Volkswagen Jettas and Beetles will start to show up in U.S. dealerships this month.
These cars will look like the other 2013 Jettas and Beetles from the outside, but will get more horsepower and better fuel economy than their turbo counterparts.
Why is Volkswagen willing to confuse buyers in the middle of a model year? Because the engine swap begins Volkswagen's bold plan to make turbochargers standard across most of its best-selling models.
...
     Continue reading "For VW, new turbo brings more power, fuel economy for key models" » May 3, 2013 8:00 am U.S. ET Post Comment  |  Permalink

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