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Runtime 8:46

Complaints against Toyota are skyrocketing.  GM CEO Ed Whitacre says the company will repay its bailout money early and the U.S. government could even make a profit.  Car prices in China continue to rise.  All that and more, plus a look at one potential cause of unintended acceleration.

Transcript and Story Links after the jump . . .

Here are today’s top headlines.  Complaints against Toyota are skyrocketing.  GM says the government will make a profit on its bailout.  And we explore one potential cause of unintended acceleration.

Up next, we’ll be back with the news behind the headlines.

This is Autoline Daily for Thursday, March 11, 2010.   And now, the news.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the complaints against Toyota are now pouring in. Ever since a widely reported accident involving an off-duty California policeman in a Lexus took place last year, sudden-acceleration complaints against Toyota have skyrocketed.  It’s the herd mentality, a socially recognized phenomenon.  Now Toyota owners are actively looking for problems in their cars.  I’ll make a prediction here.  In the next quality surveys from Consumer Reports and J.D. Power, I’ll bet that we see a surge in complaints against Toyota quality.  By the way, we’ll have a report later in the show exploring one possible cause of unintended acceleration.

In a move that could dramatically improve the public image of General Motors, CEO Ed Whitacre says the company will not only pay off its $8 billion in government loans early, when it does its IPO and starts issuing stock later this year, the government could make a profit.  In fact, a substantial profit. Whitacre says the government will make a lot of money and that the bailout will prove to be a really good investment. I’ve got to believe this would placate the critics who call it Government Motors, and would do wonders for GM’s public image.

The Chrysler Group named Laura Soave, 37 years old, to lead the revival of the Fiat brand in North America. Soave will report to Sergio Marchionne and will work with the brand CEOs to fully integrate Fiat into the marketing, sales, service and dealer network. Prior to joining Chrysler, Soave worked at Volkswagen of America as the General Manager of Experiential Marketing. Before that she worked at Ford.

Volkswagen reported its net income fell 80 percent in 2009, though it had nothing to do with Laura Soave leaving the company. According to the AP, VW earned $1.3 billion, or around 960 million Euros, last year. And things weren’t any easier for VW’s German colleague, BMW. The AP reports BMW’s profits fell 36 percent to 210 million Euros or about $286 million. Both companies expect profits to grow again this year. I’d point out that even though these are big drops, they were still profitable in an abysmal year.

And speaking of Volkswagen, the company still has the goal to pass Toyota and become the No. 1 in the world by 2018. According to Bloomberg, VW wants to set a sales record this year and so far it’s on track to do that thanks to growth in China and Brazil.

We’ve reported on this before, but car prices in China are creeping up.  According to Bloomberg, they increased nearly 1.5 percent last month compared to February 2009.  Some analysts think the prices will come down as automakers increase production to meet STRONG demand in the country. Sales are absolutely scorching right now, but look for them to cool off in the coming months.

We’ve got some spy photos of upcoming product to share.  First up, it looks like Mercedes is working on a refresh of the C-Class.  It doesn’t seem like there’s a whole lot going on here – maybe just a restyle of the front fascia and some other tweaks.

Next, we’ve got pics of the Opel Astra Sports Tourer, which looks like a station wagon version of the car.

Lastly, someone has finally managed to grab a nice shot of the next-generation Dodge Charger’s interior.  The dashboard has a swoopy look to it and a large swath of silver trim.  At first glance it looks like the center console and shifter carryover from today’s car but this may just be a test mule so there’s no way to know for sure.  Thanks to our partner Autoblog for all of those pictures.

Lastly, in related news, Ford is expected to unveil its brand-new police interceptor in Las Vegas tomorrow.  There’s no word on what it’s based on so your guess is as good as ours.  The obvious choices seem like a beefed-up Taurus SHO or maybe even an Australian Falcon, but who knows?

Coming up next, a look at one of the potential causes of unintended acceleration, which simply comes down to driver error.

We get to test drive a lot of different cars here at Autoline Daily. And we decided to take advantage of that to test out one potential cause of unintended acceleration. Take a look.

Interestingly, when I first discovered how I could easily hit both the gas pedal and the accelerator at the same time, it was almost dusk outside. When I looked down at my feet, I would have sworn that my foot was on the brake and not the gas. And while this doesn’t explain every incidence of unintended acceleration, it proves how easily this problem could simply be driver error.

Don’t forget to tune in to Autoline After Hours tonight at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Coming back for a cameo appearance is Jason Vines, with his analysis of how Toyota’s been handling its problems from a public-relations standpoint. That’s tonight at 7:00.

And that’s it for today’s top news in the global automotive industry.  Thanks for watching, we’ll see you tomorrow.

Thanks to our Partners for embedding Autoline Daily on their websites: Autoblog, The Auto Channel, Car Chat, WardsAuto.com and WWJ Newsradio 950

Runtime 7:51

Yesterday it was a runaway Toyota Prius in California, today it’s one in New York. Cadillac will try and distance itself from General Motors. Nissan unveils a new commercial van for the American market. All that and more, plus John answers viewer questions about Toyota and the Chevy Cruze in the “You Said It!” segment.

Transcript and Story Links after the jump . . .

Here are today’s top headlines. Uh oh, another runaway Toyota Prius. Cadillac dumps all references to GM. And Nissan unveils a new commercial van.

Up next, we’ll be back with the news behind the headlines.

This is Autoline Daily for Wednesday, March 10, 2010. And now, the news.

More runaway Priuses in the news. Yesterday it was a runaway Prius in California. Today it’s one in New York. The Detroit Free Press reports that a 56 year-old woman in the Westchester area was pulling out of a parking lot when it allegedly accelerated out of control and hit a stone wall. She only had minor injuries.

Meanwhile, in more Toyota news, the AP quotes Toyota executive Don Esmond as saying sales jumped 50 percent in the first eight days of March thanks to new sales incentives, and Edmunds.com says Toyota is likely to see a 30 percent increase in sales for the full month. But Ward’s reports that in China, Toyota dropped off the top-10 list of automakers (subscription required) based on sales, and a poll by the Chinese website sina.com says over 70 percent of Chinese people now say they will not buy a Toyota or Honda due to their recent quality problems.

Cadillac doesn’t want anyone to think it has anything to do with General Motors. According to Bloomberg, Cadillac will remove the GM name from its advertising and its dealerships, and will even change its email addresses from @gm.com to @cadillac.com. Cadillac will no longer participate in GM sales promotions such as the Red Tag Event. Cadillac feels that GM’s bankruptcy has tarnished the brand and wants to avoid being associated with it. I would add that it don’t need no stinking GM badges, either.

Chinese electric car maker BYD may open a North American headquarters and build an assembly plant in Los Angeles. According to Gasgoo, the company met with city officials about locating there and it has spoken to several other cities in Southern California. BYD says it will start selling its e6 electric car in the U.S. this year.

Recently we reported the power output from Ford’s new Power Stroke diesel. Ford is claiming best-in-class horsepower and torque figures, but GM begs to differ. The updated 2011 Heavy-Duty Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra offer a reworked 6.6-liter Duramax engine. Ford’s Power Stroke 6.7-liter is good for 390 horsepower and a whopping 735 pound-feet of torque but GM ups the ante with 397 horsepower and – brace yourself – 765 pound-feet of torque – 30 more than the Super Duty, with a slightly smaller displacement! Either way that’s enough power to move mountains – and both engines can run on B20 biodiesel.

Nissan just unveiled a new commercial van for the American market, our colleague Jeff Gilbert from WWJ Newsradio 950 filed this report for us.

Thanks for that report, Jeff. Coming up next, it’s time for You Said It!

And now it’s time for some of your feedback.

Tom Martin wrote in to say, “I love the concept of a connected car, but I don’t want to pay for another internet connection. I pay $40 per month for my home connection and $30 for my mobile phone connection. Just allow me to plug in my Droid and have a 7-inch screen built into the dash and the audio routed through the car audio system.”

Great point Tom. Automakers want the connected car stuff built into the car, but mobile plug-and-play technology is probably going to win out.

LEX thinks that GM is just sitting on its hands, “What is going on with the Chevy Cruze? I cannot believe that the Cruze is available in almost every other major market except in the U.S. GM could be grabbing-up all those in the market for a Toyota Corolla-sized vehicle with the Chevy Cruze. Big Ed Whitacre and his gang better hurry up and get the Cruze to market before Toyota finds a fix for their sudden acceleration problem. Big Ed, Time is a-wasting partner!!!”

Lex, I remember the day when the American market would always be the first to get the latest and greatest out of GM.

Pedro Fernandez, has this to say about all those runaway Toyotas. “I just wonder how many of these ’sudden-acceleration’ victims are just media whores looking to get their 15 minutes of fame and a chance to get rich with the ‘let’s all sue Toyota’ mentality that’s been so pervasive in the past couple of months.”

Pedro, the same thought has crossed my mind that some, some cases, may involve people who are looking for their 15 minutes.

And that’s it for today’s top news in the global automotive industry. Thanks for watching, we’ll see you tomorrow.

Thanks to our Partners for embedding Autoline Daily on their websites: Autoblog, The Auto Channel, Car Chat, WardsAuto.com and WWJ Newsradio 950

Runtime 7:53

Toyota comes out swinging against its critics.  New-vehicle sales in China surged an eye-popping 55 percent last month thanks to government incentives and a strong economy.  Could another price war be breaking out in the U.S. market between its biggest automakers?  All that and more, plus a look at some of Visteon’s latest in-car technology.

Transcript and Story Links after the jump . . .

Here are today’s top headlines. Toyota comes out swinging against its critics. Car sales in China surge spectacularly.  And a price war could be breaking out in the American market.

Up next, we’ll be back with the news behind the headlines.

This is Autoline Daily for Tuesday, March 9, 2010.   And now, the news.

In a well-publicized webcast, Toyota refuted professor Dave Gilbert’s test that showed how he could induce unintended acceleration in the company’s cars. Toyota brought in experts from Stanford University, a testing company called Exponent, as well as its own electronics experts. Toyota charged that professor Gilbert’s test rewired the car’s throttle system and could not happen in the real world. It also said it has not found any deterioration or corrosion that Professor Gilbert says could cause unintended acceleration in Toyotas. It also demonstrated how the same test would cause the same results in cars from other automakers.

Toyota also showed how ABC News edited its coverage of Professor Gilbert’s test, using a shot of a tachometer that quickly hit redline to show how dangerous this test could be. But Toyota pointed out that video clip was shot while the car was in park and not moving.  ABC News admitted it used that clip, but it only admitted it on its website, not on its nightly broadcast. Interestingly, in last night’s update, ABC News pulled the journalist who originally broke the story, Brian Ross, and had David Muir fill in instead.

But Toyota’s problems are far from over.  The Detroit Free Press reports that two top executives, Yoshimi Inaba and Jim Lentz, have been ordered to appear in court in Troy, Michigan, in a lawsuit involving a fatality with alleged unintended acceleration in a Toyota Camry.  The Associated Press says there are now 81class-action lawsuits against Toyota, which could cost the company over $3 billion, and that doesn’t even include wrongful death and injury suits.

While car sales slowly recover here in the U.S., they are booming in Asia. The Wall Street Journal reports that sales in India jumped 33 percent last month to over 150,000 units. Experts say there is a lot of pent-up demand and low-interest rate loans are available which is helping sales.  Meanwhile in China, passenger car sales were up an eye-popping 55 percent last month. The AP reports sales hit 943,000 units thanks to a strong economy and government incentives for vehicles.

And speaking of China and car incentives, Gasgoo reports the government is getting ready to offer a new subsidy for electric vehicles. It plans to offer as much as $9,000 towards the purchase of an electric car. The government wants to encourage consumers to buy alternative-energy vehicles and says it would be difficult for citizens to buy them without the subsidies due to the higher cost of EVs.

The Detroit Free Press reports the California Air Resources Board is finalizing its “cool cars” law that would require vehicles to have a special film on their windows to reflect solar energy, keeping interiors cooler, reducing air conditioning usage to save fuel and lower CO2 emissions.  But the rules have law-enforcement groups and other organizations in the state worried.  They’re concerned that the glazing can reduce cell-phone reception, hampering 911 calls and degrading signals from ankle-bracelet monitors worn by convicted felons.

And incredible as it sounds, the top three automakers in the American market are getting into something of a price war.  Toyota and GM started offering 0-percent financing and special lease rates on select models to lure shoppers into their showrooms and now Ford is following suit.  It wasn’t supposed to work this way.  With so much excess capacity closed down and with sales still very weak, a price war is the last thing these car companies need right now.

Coming up next, a look at Visteon technology that connects your car to the internet.

They used to call it telematics.  Now they call it the Connected Car.  It’s all about making your car a lot more intelligent, in all kinds of way.  The latest move is to connect cars to the internet. Mike Eichbrecht from Visteon explains.

You can also use it for Navigation.  Visteon created an automotive interface with Google Maps, similar to what you’d see on the computer.  But it was also able to add a helpful feature.

You’re also able to download and install applications.

Not only can the system do all that stuff on the internet, it can also drive multiple displays and features from just one platform, making it easier for engineers to package things in vehicles.

And that’s it for today’s top news in the global automotive industry.  Thanks for watching, we’ll see you tomorrow.

Thanks to our Partners for embedding Autoline Daily on their websites: Autoblog, The Auto Channel, Car Chat, WardsAuto.com and WWJ Newsradio 950

Runtime 7:23

Toyota claims it can prove that a professor essentially concocted a hoax when he wired a Toyota to induce unintended acceleration. The Big Three are mad at Toyota for what they see as calculated, misleading attempts to trash their quality. Chip Foose customizes a John Deere Tractor. All that and more, plus a look at MyFord Touch.

Transcript and Story Links after the jump . . .

Here are today’s top headlines. Toyota will debunk a professor’s test that shows unintended acceleration. The Big Three are mad at Toyota. And Chip Foose customizes a John Deere Tractor.

Up next, we’ll be back with the news behind the headlines.

This is Autoline Daily for Monday, March 8, 2010. And now, the news.

Big test taking place later today. The AP reports that Toyota claims it can prove that Professor Dave Gilbert of the University of Southern Illinois essentially concocted a hoax when he wired a Toyota Avalon to induce unintended acceleration. ABC News ran that test the day before Toyota executives appeared before a committee in the US House of Representatives. The timing of that piece made it impossible to verify its accuracy before the hearings. Toyota will rely on the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford University to conduct the test.

The Detroit Free Press reports that GM, Ford and Chrysler are mad at Toyota for what they see as calculated, misleading attempts to trash their quality. Toyota sent a set of charts to key congressional committee members showing that the Detroit Three had three-times the safety recalls of Toyota over the last decade. The Big Three are mad because those had nothing to do with the current investigation into unintended acceleration, and was clearly calculated to deflect criticism off Toyota.

General Motors will pay its newly appointed Vice Chairman of Corporate Strategy and Business Development, Steve Girsky, $5 million a year. According to Reuters, the compensation is mostly in the form of equity, as Girsky will have a base pay of $500,000 a year. But Girsky and his boss Ed Whitacre, are now earning some of the highest compensation in the global automotive industry.

And speaking of having it pretty good, the Detroit News reports that before he retired from AT&T, Whitacre cut a deal to for fly for free, up to 10 hours a month on AT&T corporate jets. GM got rid of its jets last year while in bankruptcy and says Whitacre doesn’t use the AT&T jets for GM business but neither company would say how he has been using the planes.

In other GM news, the company announced it will reinstate 661 dealers it dropped during bankruptcy last year. GM President Mark Reuss says they’re eager to restore those relationships, but clearly the only reason GM is doing this is because it’s being forced to by the American Arbitration Association.

Ward’s reports that GM is planning on dropping the Daewoo brand (subscription required) and replacing it with the Chevrolet brand. One of the reasons for the switch is that Chevy is a much more prestigious brand that attracts a younger, more image-conscious buyer. The other reason is that something like 98 percent of Daewoo’s production is with Chevrolets. South Korea is the only country where Daewoo-branded vehicles are sold.

Auto designer and customizer Chip Foose is best known for creating some of the most beautiful hot rods around. But Autoblog reports that he’s turned his attention to a different kind of American iron. Foose has just completed a special project for John Deere. He’s customized a vintage 4020-model tractor which the company is giving away. Swing by your local Deere dealer to enter for a chance to win this one-of-a-kind piece of equipment.

Coming up next, a look at MyFord Touch.

A week or two ago we told you about MyFord Touch, a new user interface that aims to simplify how people use in-car technology. Today, we’re talking about the other half of the story and how Ford is integrating its SYNC system with mobile devices.

Applications are HOT right now. Creating and selling these small bits of software has turned into a big business. In fact, there are more than 140,000 apps available for the iPhone alone. They range from games and other time wasters to indispensable utilities like GPS navigation and barcode scanners that automatically compare prices. Users are snapping them up as fast as developers are coming out with them, and it doesn’t look like they’re slowing down anytime soon.

Ford wants to be a part this booming business, and it’s created an API, or application programming interface, that allows its SYNC system to directly communicate with apps installed on smart phones. This gives drivers the ability to safely access their favorite programs from behind the wheel using the SYNC interface.

The company sees in-car applications as the future, but like most cutting-edge tech, it’s starting out modestly.

Pandora is an internet radio station that plays and recommends music for you based on what you like. Stitcher is very similar to Pandora except it focuses on news broadcasts and talk-radio. Openbeak is a mobile client that allows users to access Twitter.

Right now Ford is completing beta testing on an SDK, or software development kit, which will allow programmers to create applications that are compatible SYNC, so look for many more apps to be released in the future.

And that’s it for today’s top news in the global automotive industry. Thanks for watching, we’ll see you tomorrow.

Thanks to our Partners for embedding Autoline Daily on their websites: Autoblog, The Auto Channel, Car Chat, WardsAuto.com and WWJ Newsradio 950

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This week we talk about all the latest, tumultuous news to come out of the automotive world as we welcome Sharon Silke Carty, auto industry reporter for USA TODAY. This week Big Ed shakes up the entire GM management structure after dismal February sales, and Bob Lutz announces he will retire in May. Toyota’s woes continue as they issue new recalls, but has human error been addressed sufficiently or at all? John McElroy’s in studio as usual as well as David Welch of BusinessWeek and Bloomberg and Peter De Lorenzo, the Autoextremist.

Subscribe to the free podcast version of Autoline After Hours:

Thanks to our partners and friends Rumblestrip.net and WardsAuto.com for embedding tonight’s episode of AAH!


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Runtime 7:41

Toyota disputes the validity of Professor Dave Gilbert’s test for unintended acceleration. Japanese suppliers raided last week may have formed a cartel to limit competition. The winner of Autorama’s Ridler award makes history. All that and more, plus we talk to the owner of some of the most beautiful cars you will ever see.

Transcript and Story Links after the jump . . .

Here are today’s top headlines. Toyota disputes a professor’s test for unintended acceleration. More news on the raids of those Japanese suppliers. And the winner of the Autorama Ridler Award achieves a historical landmark.

Up next, we’ll be back with the news behind the headlines.

This is Autoline Daily for Friday, March 5, 2010. And now, the news.

Toyota has responded to that professor’s demonstration, who rigged up a Toyota Avalon to induce unintended acceleration. Bloomberg reports that Toyota says it’s highly unlikely it could ever happen in the real world and could only be contrived in a laboratory. It also says it rigged up GM and Ford products using Professor Dave Gilbert’s test, and was able to induce them into unintended acceleration. Bloomberg also quotes a different professor from Stanford University saying that Dave Gilbert’s test makes no effort to show that the short circuit he created is similar to the circuit in the car.

And while that is good news for Toyota, the company still faces a torrent of bad publicity. Now 60 complaints have been filed with NHTSA against the company. These involve cars whose gas pedal assembly was repaired at dealerships but drivers still experienced unintended acceleration. NHTSA says it has the authority to order Toyota to come up with a different solution. But I would point out that nobody knows what that solution should be.

So now the chairman of the subcommittee that held the first hearings on this Toyota issue is saying people should not feel very safe driving a Toyota. Bart Stupak, a Democrat from Michigan, says Toyota clearly doesn’t know what the problem is or how to fix it.

And here’s an announcement I bet they wish they could push back in the bottle. Fortune magazine came out today with its Top 50 list of the most admired companies in the world and Toyota came out as number seven. I imagine that survey took place before Toyota’s problems exploded into the headlines.

The Detroit News has more news on those raids on Japanese supplier companies. Last week, the FBI and their counterparts in Europe and Japan raided the offices of Denso, Yazaki, Tokai Rika, Sumitomo and Furukawa. Authorities also visited German company Leoni AG, and contacted the American companies Lear and Delphi, but that seems more to gather information since it did not involve raids. The Detroit News says the investigation is centering on wiring harnesses and that these Japanese companies may have formed a cartel to try and limit competition. It says they face fines, damage awards and even jail time for executives.

A Georgia car builder has made history by becoming the first woman to win the prestigious Ridler Award at the Autorama car show. According to The Detroit News, Tammy Ray of Dahlonega, Georgia, won the accolade for her customized 1933 Ford Phaeton named “Gold Digger.” Surprisingly, the car is not called that because of its bright color, Ray actually owns a gold mine in Georgia. Her hot rod took three years to build at a cost of more than $100,000. But hey, if you own a gold mine…

Two years ago we produced a miniseries all about the auto industry in California. “Autoline in LA” covered all kinds of topics from hot rods, to design, to an in-depth look at some of the OEMs based on the West Coast. One of the shows we did focused on car collectors, and one of the gentlemen I had a chance to interview was Peter Mullin, a collector of 1930s-era French cars – some of the most beautiful vehicles ever built. Now, Autoblog reports that he’s set to open a museum dedicated to these cars. The “Mullin Automotive Museum” is set to open on April 15 and will showcase his vast collection of Bugattis and other exotic autos.

Coming up after the break let’s go back in time and listen to Peter Mullin talk about one of his most exquisite automobiles.

If you want to get a better idea of what may be in store for the Mullin Automotive Museum here’s a sound bite with Mr. Mullin himself talking about one of the cars in his stunning collection.

If you’re interested in watching the entire show, you can order a DVD for less than 20 bucks. Just look in the Autoline Store for show number 1220.

Well, that’ll just about do it for Autoline Daily this week, but before we take off I have to announce the winner of our trivia contest. We challenged you to identify this concept car from the 1980s. And the correct answer is … the Buick Wildcat, the Buick Wildcat. And the lucky winner is … Phil Prince from Raleigh, North Carolina. Congratulations Phil, you’ve just won an Autoline coffee mug.

And that’s it for today’s top news in the global automotive industry. Thanks for watching, we’ll see you next week.

Thanks to our Partners for embedding Autoline Daily on their websites: Autoblog, The Auto Channel, Car Chat, WardsAuto.com and WWJ Newsradio 950

Runtime 6:42

Bob Lutz is officially retiring from General Motors effective the first of May.  Toyota and GM are dumping pension obligations for their NUMMI workers onto the lap of the federal government.  The 2011 Ford Mustang just got certified at 31 miles per gallon on the highway.  All that and more, plus it’s time for another Recall Roundup!

Transcript and Story Links after the jump . . .

Here are today’s top headlines. Bob Lutz is retiring. Toyota and GM dump their NUMMI pensions in the lap of Uncle Sam. And now Chinese car buyers are hopping-mad at Toyota.

Up next, we’ll be back with the news behind the headlines.

This is Autoline Daily for Thursday, March 4, 2010.   And now, the news.

All good things have to come to an end, and Bob Lutz made it official yesterday that he’ll be stepping down at General Motors. This continues CEO Ed Whitacre’s shakeup of top management at GM. Except for those involved in the technical aspects of the business, all other top execs associated with former CEO Rick Wagoner are being pushed out.

In what I find a disgusting development, General Motors and Toyota are dumping the pension obligations for their former NUMMI employees in the lap of Uncle Sam. Both automakers say there is no legal requirement for them to carry those pensions since it was part of their joint venture called NUMMI, and NUMMI is being shut down.  Reuters reports that they’re dumping the pensions in the lap of the PBGC, the Pension Board Guarantee Corporation. To me it’s a dangerous development when corporations can say, “Let’s do a joint venture and if it doesn’t work out we can always force the taxpayers to pay for the mess.”

Now it’s Chinese consumers who are mad at Toyota for treating them differently than Americans when it comes to recalls. In the U.S., people who bring their Toyota in for a recall are given a loaner or are reimbursed for their travel costs. In China, RAV-4 owners involved in a recall had to bring their cars in, and then they were on their own. And they are hopping mad. They want to be reimbursed for their time and money and some of them are even talking about filing a class action lawsuit.

Ford is making history with its 2011 Mustang.  The EPA just certified the V-6 model at 19 miles per gallon in the city and 31 on the highway – that’s about 7.6 L/100 km.  The company says it’s the first car to deliver 300-plus horsepower and more than 30 MPGs.  It looks like the car is going to be a real performer too, with a power-to-weight ratio of about 12.3 pounds per horsepower and a torque-to-weight ratio of roughly 13.4 pounds per pound-foot.

You hear that!?  Hey everybody, it’s time for Recall Roundup.  Yeehaw!  Here are some of the top recalls announced over the last month. Let’s round them doggies up!

Better rope up some of them Avalons and RAV-4 s over there. Toyota announced the ones with V-6 engines can leak. The oil-supply line feeding the VVT-i actuator can degrade and leak leading to abnormal engine noises and an illuminated oil-pressure light.

Next up, GM is recalling Chevy Cobalts and Pontiac G5s because the motor in the electric power steering can go out. Even though the Chevy HHR and Saturn Ion have the same power steering unit, GM says tough patooties, yer’ on yer’ own, they ain’t recallin’ ‘em.

Nissan is calling back Titans, Armadas and Infiniti QX56s because the pins holding the brake pedals on can fall out, and sometimes the fuel gauges don’t work. And you sure don’t want to run out of gas out on the range

And Honda is recalling Odyssey minivans with power liftgates that could slam shut on yer’ head. Make ‘em sound as ornery as a Brahma bull getting’ poked with an electric prod.

And that’s it for today’s installment of Recall Roundup!

Coming up next, we’ll take a look at a car that would be perfect for skiers, except that it’s not perfect for skiers.

I recently got to test drive a Mercedes C300 4Matic during one of our big snow storms and I got all fired up about this car, except for one thing.

Since we’re on our crusade to promote power-to-weight ratios, I should mention that the power-to-weight ratio for the Mercedes-Benz C300 4Matic is about 16.3 pounds per horsepower, which is a better than average number.

Don’t forget to join us tonight on Autoline After Hours, where we’ll be talking all about the management changes at GM, as well as the latest developments in the Toyota fiasco. Joining us tonight is Sharon Silke Carty from USA Today. That’s tonight at 7 p.m. Eastern Time.

And that’s it for today’s top news in the global automotive industry.  Thanks for watching, we’ll see you tomorrow.

Thanks to our Partners for embedding Autoline Daily on their websites: Autoblog, The Auto Channel, Car Chat, WardsAuto.com and WWJ Newsradio 950

Runtime 7:07

February sales beat expectations despite massive snowstorms and Toyota’s meltdown. Ford benefits the most from Toyota’s recall woes, besting Honda and Hyundai. Suzuki, on the other hand, had better hit the panic button because sales are going downhill quickly. All that and more, plus John McElroy answers your comments and questions in “You Said It!”

Transcript and Story Links after the jump . . .

Here are today’s top headlines. February sales came in better than expected in the American market. Ford gained the most from Toyota’s problems. And the people at Suzuki better hit the panic button.

Up next, we’ll be back with the news behind the headlines.

This is Autoline Daily for Wednesday, March 3, 2010. And now, the news.

Here’s the latest news on the sales front in the American market.

Despite massive snowstorms that shut down thousands of dealers for days on end, and despite all of Toyota’s problems, car sales were up 13 percent over a year ago, and up nearly 12 percent compared to last month. The annualized sales rate, or SAAR, hit 10.34 million vehicles vs. 9.14 a year ago. Not a great number, but definitely a big improvement.

And consumers definitely swung more to the passenger car side of the business. Cars were up 17 percent while trucks were up nearly 9 percent.

So how did the Detroit Three do? Ford had a fantastic month, up 43 percent, GM enjoyed double-digit growth, but Chrysler barely eked out a gain. However, let’s bore a little deeper into the details and compare sales to a month ago. Ford was up 22 percent; GM’s sales actually fell 3 percent, and Chrysler’s sales jumped nearly 50 percent over January.

In other words, Ford and Chrysler saw big sales improvements over January, while GM went nowhere. No wonder GM CEO Ed Whitacre hit the roof and demanded a shakeup in the sales organization.

Now for the Asian automakers. Nissan had a fantastic month, up nearly 30 percent, Honda enjoyed double digit gains and so did Hyundai.  Toyota was off nearly 9 percent.

And there are two interesting stories when you look at the boutique brands. Subaru’s sales were up a whopping 38 percent. I am so impressed by how well Subaru has been doing for a number of years now.

But at the opposite end of the spectrum, Suzuki’s sales fell a whopping 60 percent, and it’s not an aberration folks. Suzuki’s sales fell 32 percent compared to January. In fact, Suzuki only sold 1,375 cars last month, which is less than Land Rover! This spells disaster for Suzuki unless it turns things around fast.

And of course, we have to mention the major European brands. VW Group was up nearly 33 percent, with both VW and Audi up by about that much. BMW posted solid double-digit growth, but Mercedes-Benz barely eked out a gain.

The biggest segments in the market also tell an interesting story. In the midsize passenger-car segment, the Honda Accord easily beat out all others with big gains. The Nissan Altima, which almost caught the Accord in January, didn’t do nearly as well in February. But look at the massive increase in Ford Fusion sales.  I’m sure the folks at Ford were pleased to outsell the Chevy Malibu.

In compact cars, the Toyota Corolla and Matrix still beat out everyone else despite a drop in sales. And of course, I still think that Toyota is cheating to combine these sales together. Everyone else in this segment did well, especially Nissan.

The contest wasn’t even close in the full-size pickup segment. The Ford F-Series had a blow-out month. Truly a dominant performance. And even though the Nissan Titan showed a solid gain, the overall numbers are very weak. Looks like Nissan needs to “tighten” up its sales effort with this truck.

Ok, now that we’ve seen the numbers, thanks to our friends at Ward’s Auto.com, where we get all our numbers (subscription required).  Which brands benefited the most from Toyota’s meltdown? On a percentage basis, the biggest gainers in order are: Ford, Chevrolet, Nissan, Honda and Hyundai. That’s interesting to me because most analysts thought Honda and Hyundai would be the biggest gainers.

Coming up next, it’s time for You Said It!

And now it’s time for some of your feedback.

Nick Stevens saw our report on GM deciding not to do the Cadillac Converj and wrote in to say: “I don’t understand why the Converj would have to sell for $30,000 more than the already very expensive Volt. Do you really believe it takes $30,000 to rebadge the Volt as a Caddy?”

Nick, remember that the Converj has completely different sheet metal than the Volt, both inners and outers, at what? 12 million dollars per die set per panel? It also has a completely different interior, and a slightly different powertrain for more power. All of that extra tooling cost has to be amortized over a dinky little production run. That’s how the sticker price of the car ramps up so much.

Ralph Kercheval loved yesterday’s show: “OMG,” he writes, “A whole show with no mention of Toyota and actually nice things to say about Ford. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and it is not HID headlights!!”

Thanks for noticing, Ralph. We’re not going to chase every single little detail on the Toyota story, only the important ones. We thought new product from Geneva was more interesting, and definitely more fun.

Tom Martin took us up on our offer to get free tickets to the Washington DC auto show and wrote in to say, “John, Thank you for the two tickets to the Washington Auto Show. My wife and I attended.”

Tom, you’re welcome! And thanks for writing to us.

Don’t forget to join us tomorrow night for Autoline After Hours. Joining us for that show will be Sharon Carty who covers the auto industry for USA Today. We are definitely going to have a lot to talk about with the management changes going on at GM, so don’t miss the inside story of the shakeup at GM. That’s tomorrow night at 7 p.m. Eastern Time at www.autolinedetroit.tv

And that’s it for today’s top news in the global automotive industry. Thanks for watching, we’ll see you tomorrow.

Thanks to our Partners for embedding Autoline Daily on their websites: Autoblog, The Auto Channel, Car Chat, WardsAuto.com and WWJ Newsradio 950

Runtime 6:46

Bryan Nesbitt is being given the heave-ho as general manager of Cadillac. GM is dropping the idea of doing the Cadillac Converj extended-range electric. News is pouring out of the Geneva Motor Show. All that and more, plus a look at the electric version of the Transit Connect.

Transcript and Story Links after the jump . . .

Here are today’s top headlines. Bryan Nesbitt is out at Cadillac.  So is the Converj. And more news pours out of the Geneva Auto Show.

Up next, we’ll be back with the news behind the headlines.

This is Autoline Daily for Tuesday, March 2, 2010. And now, the news.

And now the breaking news, I should say. Autoblog broke the news that Bryan Nesbitt is being given the heave-ho as General Manager of Cadillac. The former designer was given the unusual management position last summer, but while GM’s other North American brands have posted dramatic sales gains in recent months, sales have been going nowhere at Cadillac.

And speaking of Cadillac, Bloomberg reports that GM is dropping the idea of doing the Cadillac Converj extended-range electric, which would have been based on the Chevrolet Volt. But to make it a Cadillac the price would have jumped by another $30,000, and that wrecked the business plan. GM will now concentrate on plug-in hybrid version of the XTS.

And speaking of EVs, Ford is going to replicate its North American hybrid and EV program in Europe. Ward’s reports that the Transit Connect EV, the Focus EV and three other hybrids will show up in Europe about six to 12 months after their debut in North America. Even though interest in hybrids and EVs is increasing in Europe, Ford expects to sell fewer of them there, due to the high penetration of diesel engines, which already get excellent fuel economy.

In more EV news, Daimler and BYD announced they’ll team up together to make EVs under a new jointly owned brand. Daimler will develop the car and powertrain, BYD will make the batteries and the target market is China.

Lots of interesting news coming out of the Geneva Show. Let’s start with Audi. Yesterday we reported that the German automaker was rumored to be working on an electric version of its new subcompact car, the A1. Now it’s official. The e-tron concept features an extended-range plug-in drivetrain similar to the Chevy Volt but with a twist. It has a 12 kilowatt lithium-ion battery pack that should deliver an electric-only range of about 30 miles. It also has an electric motor that puts out 61 horsepower, or 102 ponies for short bursts. But here’s where Audi got innovative. Instead of extending the car’s range with a conventional ICE the A1 e-tron sports a tiny Wankel rotary engine mounted in the back below the cargo floor. It displaces just 254 cubic centimeters! Altogether the company says the car should deliver around 124 miles per gallon.

Audi is also showing off a hybrid version of its new A8. With a 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder engine under the hood and a lithium-ion battery pack in the trunk, this electrified flagship sedan is said to deliver V-6-levels of performance and 20 percent better fuel economy. As a full hybrid it can run in EV-mode for up to 1.2 miles at speeds of 40 miles an hour or less.

Ford is making some news in Geneva, too. Ward’s reports that the company unveiled the station wagon version of its new Focus (subscription required) at the show yesterday. The grocery-getter will share the sedan and hatchback’s shapely new body and EcoBoost engines, but the company says it has no plans to offer the wagon in the U.S. On the bright side though, rumors are swirling that Ford may reintroduce a high-performance version of the Focus in the American Market.

MINI debuted the Countryman in Geneva. It’s the brands first model with four doors and its first model to measure more than four meters in length. The vehicle is offered with three gas engines that range from 98 to184 horsepower and two diesel engines that range from 90 to 122 horsepower. All-wheel drive is available as an option.

Coming up next, since we’ve been talking so much about electric vehicles, let’s take a look at the electric version of the Transit Connect.

My friend and colleague Jeff Gilbert from WWJ Newsradio 950 recently took the Ford Transit Connect on a test drive. Here are his impressions of the vehicle.

And that’s it for today’s top news in the global automotive industry. Thanks for watching, we’ll see you tomorrow.

Thanks to our Partners for embedding Autoline Daily on their websites: Autoblog, The Auto Channel, Car Chat, WardsAuto.com and WWJ Newsradio 950

Runtime 6:32

A U.S. Congressman accuses Toyota of hiding evidence in car crashes. General Motors splits its sales and marketing staffs. Honda will show a three-wheeled, single-seat concept at the Geneva Motor Show called the 3R-C. All that and more, plus John takes you on a blast down the road in the Bentley Continental Supersports.

Transcript and Story Links after the jump . . .

Here are today’s top headlines. Toyota is accused of hiding crash data. GM splits its sales and marketing staffs. And Honda unveils a cool little electric car.

Up next, we’ll be back with the news behind the headlines.

This is Autoline Daily for Monday, March 1, 2010. And now, the news.

Ed Towns, a Democrat from New York, who is also the Chairman of the oversight committee in the U.S. House of Representatives, accuses Toyota of hiding evidence in car crashes. This is based on information provided to the committee of a lawyer who formerly worked at Toyota, Dimitrios Biller. He says Toyota has a database known as the “book of knowledge” which contains design info and crash data that Toyota kept secret, the Associated Press reports.

Toyota says it is not uncommon for companies to object to certain demands for documents made in litigation, and that it will maintain the confidentiality of competitive business information and trade secrets.

Meanwhile, Akio Toyoda is in China meeting with government officials and the media, apologizing for the company’s recent recalls, Reuters reports. All this has taken a toll on Toyota’s reputation. Consumer Reports says 60 percent of Toyota owners say they would buy another. But while that’s down 10 percentage points from a couple of months ago, it’s still higher than the brand loyalty for Ford, Chevrolet and Dodge.

Automotive News is reporting changes on GM’s sales and marketing staffs. It says those duties are being split up. Sales executives for Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac will now report to Mark Reuss, President of GM North America. They had previously reported to Susan Docherty, the Vice President of marketing for GM North America. Docherty continues to report to Reuss.

The Wall Street Journal reports that GM is thinking about putting more of its own money into restructuring Opel to get financial support from European governments. GM wants money from Germany, Spain, Poland, Austria and the UK.

And it looks like it will put some of that cash into launching a compact, all-electric car for use in urban areas. The AFP reports that the new model is expected to be smaller than the company’s B-segment Corsa. Look for it to come out in about three years and be offered with both conventional and electric drivetrians.

In related EV news, Honda will show a three-wheeled, single-seat concept at the Geneva Motor Show. Called the 3R-C, it’s the company’s vision of a zero-emissions commuter vehicle. It was created by stylists at Honda’s Research and Design facility in Milan, Italy.

Speaking of auto shows, Audi will formally unveil its A1 mini car this week in – you guessed it – Geneva. As you’d expect, it’ll be offered with an array of different gasoline and diesel powertrains, but According to Autoblog, the company is also basing another e-tron concept off of it. This strongly hints that the A1 will be the foundation for Audi’s first plug-in electric vehicle.

Kia celebrated the official opening of its first manufacturing plant in the U.S. Located in West Point, Georgia, it has a capacity of 300,000 units a year for both North American and global markets. The company invested $1 billion in the plant which started building the Sorrento last November. Which begs the question, why did it take four months to celebrate its opening?

Kia also just released sketches of the new Optima, which premieres at the New York Auto Show. The company says it features a significantly longer wheelbase and will offer more space for people and cargo. The new Optima goes on sale in the U.S. and non-European markets this fall and then makes its way to Europe in Spring 2011.

Fisker, the makers of the Karma plug-in electric vehicle, will show off the aluminum space frame used on the vehicle at this month’s Geneva Auto Show. It was designed to house the battery pack and engineers benchmarked it with others to make sure it has high torsional rigidity but is also lightweight. It also exceeds global crash standards. The frame will be manufactured in Finland by Valmet Automotive.

Coming up next, I’ll take you on a blast down the road in the Bentley Supersports.

When semi-exotic sports cars show up for us to test drive, we really like to put them through their paces. Here’s a look at a car that recently showed up for us to evaluate.

And that’s it for today’s top news in the global automotive industry. Thanks for watching, we’ll see you tomorrow.

Thanks to our Partners for embedding Autoline Daily on their websites: Autoblog, The Auto Channel, Car Chat, WardsAuto.com and WWJ Newsradio 950

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This week we talk the future of car design with Bob Boniface, Director of Crossover Exterior Design and Global Electric Vehicle Design. Bob was the design director on the Chevy Camaro concept, but most recently his work can be found on the forthcoming Volt. We’ll be getting into a discussion about how and why design decisions are made, plus a discussion of this week’s news including the Toyota hearings and Fritz Henderson’s reappointment at GM. John McElroy’s in studio as usual as well as David Welch of BusinessWeek and Bloomberg and Peter De Lorenzo, the Autoextremist.

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Runtime 8:16

American suppliers Lear and Delphi are also under investigation for automotive electronics suppliers by the European Commission. Dealers in China are so ecstatic that Tengzhong lost out on Hummer, that they’ve raised the prices of their vehicles. Jaguar/Land Rover reported its first quarterly profit since being bought out by Tata. All that and more, plus a preview of this week’s Autoline Detroit about how cars and movies go together.

Transcript and Story Links after the jump . . .

Here are today’s top headlines. Lear and Delphi are also under investigation for automotive electronics suppliers. Hummer dealers in Shanghai rejoice that Tengzhong didn’t get to buy it. And Jaguar and Land Rover post a profit for Tata.

Up next, we’ll be back with the news behind the headlines.

This is Autoline Daily for Friday, February 26, 2010. And now, the news.

A little bit more information on that investigation into automotive electronics suppliers is coming out. The Detroit Free Press reports that American suppliers Delphi and Lear are being investigated by the European Commission. It quotes Lear’s chairman Bob Rossiter as saying he’s confident the company is not involved in any anticompetitive practices.

Coskata, the start-up company that makes cellulosic ethanol which General Motors invested in, was named one of the 50 most-innovative companies by Technology Review, the journal of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Other companies on the list include Apple, Google and Twitter. Coskata was named because it is producing ethanol that can be cost-competitive with gasoline unsubsidized almost anywhere in the world.

And in related news, the Detroit news reports that Toyota’s lobbyists in Washington were concerned about mandates for flex-fuel vehicles that can run on blends of gasoline and ethanol. Toyota stated that it would cost it $200 to $300 per vehicle, or up to $600 million a year. I find that strange. GM says it costs about $75 to convert a vehicle for flex-fuel capabilities and that it’s spending $100 million a year.

Thanks to the new six and a resurrected 5.0-liter V-8, The Detroit News reports the 2011 Mustang racked-up almost 11,000 preorders– that’s three-times more than the 2010 model. Surprisingly, the V-6 is accounting for 50 percent of the orders. In related news, Ford announced output numbers for its new Super-Duty pickups. The 6.2-liter gasoline V-8 delivers 385 horsepower and 405 pound-feet of torque, while the brand-new, 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel puts out 390 horsepower and – get this – 735 pound-feet of torque!

BMW is showing its 5 Series ActiveHybrid model ahead of the Geneva Motor Show. The car uses a derivative of the hybrid 7 Series’ drivetrain with some changes. It features a larger 40 kW electric motor – up from 15 in the 7 – and a larger battery pack, both of which allow the 5 to operate in electric-only mode at low speeds. Instead of a twin-turbo V-8 under the hood it features a force-fed inline six borrowed from the 535i.

Lexus too has pulled the wraps off a new hybrid model it’s showing at Geneva. The hatchback CT 200h is powered by a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine. Toyota hasn’t released output numbers for the powertrain but it’s probably pretty close to the Prius’ combined 134 horsepower. The CT 200h can run up to 1.2 miles in EV mode at speeds up to 28 miles an hour.

GM is looking for potential buyers of Hummer after its deal fell apart with Chinese company Tengzhong. According to Bloomberg, GM won’t comment on who’s interested but its still likely Hummer will be shut down.

In other Hummer news, dealers in China are so ecstatic that Tengzhong lost out on Hummer, that they’ve raised the price of the vehicles. According to Gasgoo, since GM will probably just wind the brand down, dealers are anticipating they’ll become scarce and so they raised prices. An H3 is selling for around $3,000 more and the price for an H2 just went up nearly $15,000.

Jaguar Land Rover reported its first quarterly profit since being bought out by Tata in 2008. According to Bloomberg, the company made a profit of $90 million dollars, thanks to increased sales and laying off over 2,000 workers. Even though it was good news for the company, Tata purchased Jaguar Land Rover for $2.5 billion from Ford, so it still has a ways to go before it pays off.

Coming up next, a look at how cars and movies go together. We’ll be back right after this.

The auto industry and the film industry practically grew up together. Cars have been heavily featured in movies ever since movies were first made. That’s why this week’s Autoline Detroit looks at the role automobiles have played in the movies, the funny ones, the serious ones and the weird ones. Joining me for that show are Jim Hall from 2953 Analytics, Todd Lassa from Motor Trend and the Autoextremist himself, Peter De Lorenzo. Here’s a clip from that show that I hope makes you want to watch the whole thing.

You’ll be able to catch the whole program later today on our website at AutolineDetroit.tv.

Ok, it’s Friday and you know what that means. It’s time to answer this week’s trivia question. We asked you what was the first product the Toyoda family manufactured well before it made cars? And the correct answer is they made looms. Weaving Looms. And the winner is Paul Black from Grafton, Ontario. Congratulations Paul, you’ve just won a Autoline Detroit coffee mug.

And that’s it for today’s top news in the global automotive industry. Thanks for watching, we’ll see you next week.

Thanks to our Partners for embedding Autoline Daily on their websites: Autoblog, The Auto Channel, Car Chat, WardsAuto.com and WWJ Newsradio 950

Runtime 5:58

Authorities around the world raid the offices of Japanese automotive suppliers. Honda admits that it expanded too fast and quality suffered. Fiat prepares to launch a 2-cylinder engine. Alfa Romeo gets ready to launch the Giulietta and Porsche will show the new Cayenne at Geneva. All that and more!

Transcript and Story Links after the jump . . .

Here are today’s top headlines. Authorities around the world raid the offices of Japanese automotive electronics suppliers. Honda admits it too expanded too fast. And Fiat gets ready to launch a 2-cylinder engine.

Up next, we’ll be back with the news behind the headlines.

This is Autoline Daily for Thursday, February 25, 2010. And now, the news.

And the big news, as you all know, was Akio Toyoda’s testifying in Congress yesterday. In fact, his appearance made worldwide headlines. He gave a heartfelt apology and bravely withstood the badgering he got from an outwardly polite but decidedly hostile group of Congressmen. So did we learn anything new at these hearings? No nothing at all. The only thing we can be sure of is that all this is going to lead to more regulation of the auto industry, but it will not lead to less unintended acceleration.

Reuters reports that at a press conference in Japan yesterday, Honda’s president Takanubo Ito said that all car brands suffer from unintended acceleration, including Honda. But he also says that when Honda switched from mechanical to electronic throttle controls there was no noticeable change in the number of cases of unintended acceleration. Ito added that they bombard their cars with electromagnetic interference that goes way beyond what the law requires, and says EMI is not the culprit. And so we can add his voice to the chorus of automotive executives who say electronics are not the cause of unintended acceleration.

Ito also admitted that, like Toyota, Honda also expanded too fast in the 1990’s and started seeing quality problems and recalls. He said they focused too much on expansion and not on customers. But as the complaints came in, Honda got back to basics, and largely put those problems behind it.

In other Honda news, the company announced the price for the CRZ in Japan. The car will be priced at $25,400, which is probably close to what the price will be in the US and Europe. That’s kind of pricey for the small two-seater, and Honda seems to know that too. It’s sales target is only 40-50,000 cars a year, worldwide.

Here’s yet another story related to Japan, and this one is a bombshell. A worldwide investigation into Japanese automotive suppliers, especially suppliers to Toyota, was launched yesterday. In the United States, the FBI raided the offices of Denso, Yazaki and Tokai Rica. In Europe, authorities raided a number of unnamed suppliers, the Wall Street Journal reports. And in Japan the offices of Yazaki, Sumitomo and Furukawa were raided. These are sealed investigations, meaning authorities are not saying why they’re doing this. But the Journal says this has nothing to do with the Toyota unintended acceleration cases. Instead, authorities are trying to bust up an anti-competitive cartel in automotive electronics. American and European suppliers have complained for years about how difficult it is to become suppliers to Japanese car companies, especially to Toyota.

Oh boy, there’s still a lot of news left. Coming up next, a look at the new Alfa Romeo Giulietta, the new Porsche Cayenne, and a 2-cylinder engine that Fiat is coming out with. Back in a matter of seconds.

Alfa Romeo will unveil the new Giulietta at next month’s Geneva show. The car will showcase the company’s “compact” architecture that will be used in future vehicles. The underbody is made of high and ultra-high strength materials. It features a new suspension and a new electric power steering system that is integrated with the active safety systems. It’s a flexible structure that can be used for multiple wheelbases for a family of vehicles.

Porsche will also show the new Cayenne at Geneva. It’s longer than the previous model. And it’s offered with 5 engine choices: a V6, a V8, a diesel, a turbo V8 and a hybrid. The hybrid gets around 34 MPG, that’s about 8.2 l/100km. All engines except the hybrid have the option of a 8 speed transmission with start/stop technology. The new Cayenne goes on sale this May in Europe with a starting price of 46,400 euros.

And last but not least, Fiat will show off a two-cylinder engine at Geneva. The 85 horsepower, 900cc engine will be shown in a Fiat 500, the first model it will be introduced in this September. It features Fiat’s Multiair system. Power for the new family of two-cylinder engines ranges from 65 to 105 horsepower and can reduce CO2 emissions by 30%.

One last news item, and you could consider it a gift for car thieves. A new device called the Electronic Key Impressioner, allows the user to copy car keys just by scanning the lock. Popular Mechanics reports that the device electronically maps the inside of car locks and then provides the key code within seconds via USB cable connection to a computer. So far it only works for Ford vehicles.

Joins us to night for Autoline After Hours when our guest will be Bob Boniface, one of the top designers at General Motors, and the guy who designed the Chevy Camaro Concept, the Sequel Concept Car and the Chevy Volt. That’s tonight at 7 PM eastern. Get ready with your questions for Bob Boniface.

And that’s it for today’s top news in the global automotive industry. Thanks for watching, we’ll see you tomorrow.

Thanks to our Partners for embedding Autoline Daily on their websites: Autoblog, The Auto Channel, Car Chat, WardsAuto.com and WWJ Newsradio 950