Sep 05
Future Products Models
The Geneva Motor Show, which closed last week, featured a record number of small cars, hybrids and other alternative-fuel vehicles as the auto industry put on its most environmentally-friendly face in decades. Don’t expect the same as the New York Auto Show opens this week. AutoWeek reports, "Instead of a long list of world debuts for hybrids and other gasoline-saving technologies, the show will concentrate on redesigns of current models, a few doses of high-horsepower V-8s and, of course, some new names and models never seen by the public.".
Read More
Sep 05
Future Products Models
The New York International Auto Show opens for a 10-day run on Friday. Seeking pre-show publicity, automakers have offered an early glimpse of many of the vehicles we’ll see there. "With American car sales falling and some automakers predicting the numbers could be the lowest since at least 1998, the industry is looking toward 2009," according to the New York Times. The emphasis in New York won’t be on concept cars and technologies for the distant future, but instead, models "arriving at showrooms this year.".
Read More
Sep 05
Future Products Models
Dodge took the automotive press by storm, and dominated the 2008 Chicago Auto Show, with the debut of its upcoming Challenger muscle car. The Challenger appeared in Chicago in SRT8 trim with a top-of-the line 6.1-liter V8 rated for 425 hp..
Read More
Sep 05
Future Products Models
Business Week reports, "Pontiac is unveiling a hardtop coupe version of its eye-catching Solstice roadster at this week’s New York International Auto Show." The Solstice Targa features a 31-pound removable roof panel "which culminates in a rear spoiler.".
Read More
Sep 05
Future Products Models
The automotive press has had a week to react to GM’s introduction of the Pontiac G8 Sport Truck, a cross between a sport coupe and a pickup truck that calls to mind the El Caminos of the ‘70s and ‘80s. But that doesn’t mean they know what to make of it.
Read More
Sep 05
Future Products Models
MSNBC comments that this weeks New York Auto Show "with its focus on muscle and power, signified nothing less than the end of an era for some who attended its preview days last week." The centerpiece of the show was the 2009 Dodge Challenger, "a reinvention of Dodge’s iconic muscle car meant to appeal to baby boomers with the cash to indulge their nostalgic fantasies." The Challenger will compete against other retro muscle cars in the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro and a refreshed 2009 Ford Mustang. "These historic cars may make auto enthusiasts’ hearts flutter, but they’re entering a dying market for muscle cars," according to John Wolkonowicz, a senior automotive analyst with Global Insight Group. New fuel economy regulations have automakers "struggling to find ways to squeeze more mileage out of their biggest, least fuel-efficient vehicles," and killing off many sporty offerings altogether. "Twelve sport coupes have been killed off in the last six years, including the Honda Prelude, the Toyota Celica and the Acura RSX.".
Read More
Sep 05
Future Products Models
The British International Auto Show opens next week, and for 2008 it indeed goes "international." While U.S. automakers are struggling, a tiny Mexico-city based automaker plans to introduce its first high-end sports car in London next week, and while no one has yet driven a working prototype, the little car puts some impressive numbers on paper.
Read More
