Learn the History of the 4-door VW Beetle

Whether you have a few minutes to spare and you’re looking to kill some time or you’re just interested in automotive history, Jason Torchinsky of the car-lover’s site Jalopnik has put together a wonderful but brief history of four-door Volkswagen beetles that you should take a few minutes to read through. It’s an intriguing story, and you might be surprised to learn just how many other manufacturers have worked with VW to produce those 4-door beetles. Check it out below:   Yesterday, we reported that Volkswagen was either toying with the idea of a new, rear-wheel-drive electric four door Volkswagen Beetle, or our emotions, or both. Interestingly, the most interesting part of that is the four-door aspect, because there has never been an official four-door Beetle. There’s been some sort-of close attempts, which you now have to sit down and learn about because it’s mandatory. The most important thing to realize is that, for whatever reason, Volkswagen in the air-cooled era was just not that into four-door cars. The first four-door car Volkswagen built was actually built before they were really Volkswagen as we know the company, and was the second car they ever designed: the wartime Kubelwagen, based on the KdF Wagen (you know, the Beetle) chassis. If we don’t count VW’s commercial vehicles and the passenger vehicles based on them, the Type 2 vans and microbuses, Volkswagen wouldn’t sell a four-door car until 1968, when they sort of went four-door crazy, in a very, very limited way: they introduced the Type 4 line, which included just one four-door option for what was supposed to be their large, upscale family car, and somehow they couldn’t even bring themselves to make the station wagon version four-door. Click Here to Continue Reading

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Dodge, Chrysler Having a Rough Time Lately

For those of you who are fans of anything that Dodge or Chrysler manufacture,  you should know that things aren’t going well for either of those brands in regard to how Fiat Chrysler (the company that owns Chrysler and Dodge) is likely viewing them these days. The fact of the matter is that they’re just not performing nearly as well as the car manufacturer’s other brands like Jeep, Ram, Maserati, and more.   The fact is that Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) has as a lot of brands, some of which generate way more customer excitement than others. For instance, there is Jeep, one of the most valuable automotive brands in the world. Then there's Ram, the pickup truck that was brand split off from Dodge in 2009. It sells trucks that haul in loads of profits. Then, on the Italian side, there are Alfa Romeo and Maserati, which sell exciting, snarling Italian luxury and performance cars. Chrysler and Dodge play support roles, and only have a significant presence in North America. Simply put, Fiat Chrysler has better places to invest its money. The Chrysler name doesn't resonate much with consumers even in the United States. The fact that it shares a name with its parent company that just a decade ago narrowly avoided bankruptcy doesn't help, said David Zatz, a blogger who follows Chrysler closely. Click Here to Continue Reading

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Chevrolet Has Found a Way to Simulate the Effects of Sleepy Drivers

For those of us who work late nights only to wake up early in the morning, driving while sleepy is all too regular of an experience. And although we might view those groggy drives as nothing more than a burden that needs to be done to get the kids to school, make it to work on time, or just to get somewhere else, driving while drowsy is actually rather dangerous. In fact, four to ten percent of all accidents involve sleepy drivers according to estimates. To show just how difficult it makes driving, Chevy has created goggles that simulate the way it feels to drive while sleepy. When considering how dangerous driving while sleepy is, look at it this way - these goggles go completely dark for a full second every 5 seconds. That’s 20 percent of the time you wouldn’t be able to see.   We’ve all done it to some degree. Whether it’s after a busy week of work with little rest, following an all-nighter studying for an exam, or even returning from a vacation filled with constant activities, the majority of us have gotten behind the wheel of a car while overtired. According to the National Sleep Foundation, 40 to 60 percent of adults admit to drowsy driving. While many view being exhausted behind the wheel as simply an inconvenience, the dangers of it are very real. AAA estimates that as much as 4 to 10 precent of total accidents can be attributed to sleep deprived drivers. Luckily, Chevrolet safety experts are on a mission to make car owners aware of just how hazardous drowsy driving can be. To demonstrate, the good people at Chevy invited me to Citi Field where they’d set up a driving course of orange cones in the stadium’s parking lot. Continue Reading at NY Daily News

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Tariffs on German Cars May Lead to Lost Jobs in the US

Because of the tariffs that President Donald Trump has been threatening to put in place, BMW countered with a threat of its own - if the US government puts those tariffs into place, American jobs will be lost. In fact, a number of auto groups have recently announced that putting those tariffs into place would mean hundreds of thousands of people losing their jobs both domestic and foreign.   BMW has reportedly warned federal officials that U.S. tariffs on European auto imports would raise its cost of doing business in the country and potentially force it to cut production at its Spartanburg, S.C., plant. Reuters reported over the weekend that the automaker is growing concerned about President Trump's threat to place a 20 percent tariff on all European cars entering the United States. The German company aired its concerns in a letter it sent to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross last week. “The domestic manufacture of automobiles has no apparent correlation with U.S. national security,” BMW wrote. The German car manufacturer added that imposing duties would not increase U.S. growth and competitiveness. The BMW plant in South Carolina is the company's largest in the world, and it ships more than 70 percent of its annual production to other export markets. Continue Reading at The Hill

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While Toyota and Nissan Saw Dips, Honda Sales Rose in June

Regardless of the fact that Toyota is the best selling Japanese car importer in the United States these days (and have been for a very long time), their sales fell a little bit in June compared to previous months. Nissan had a relatively similar story, as well, and so did its luxury offshoot Infiniti. On the other hand, Honda saw some growth in their June sales. What’s worth nothing in this conversation, however, if that Toyota’s overall sales were still substantially higher than Nissan’s or Honda’s.   Toyota sold 209,602 units in June, down 0.3% on a daily-selling-rate basis, Wards Intelligence data shows. There were 27 selling days in June 2018 vs. 26 in June 2017.However, the No.1-selling Japanese automaker in the U.S. ended the year’s first half up 3.0% on volume. Toyota sold 1.189 million units in January-June 2018 compared with 1.155 million units in first-half 2017.In what has been the case all year – and the case for most automakers in the U.S. in 2018 – light trucks rose last month while car sales declined.Total Toyota light-truck deliveries were up 8.7% on a DSR basis in June, while passenger-car sales fell 12.6% for the month.The automaker says it set light-truck records in the first half for Toyota Motor North America and the individual Toyota and Lexus brands. Click Here to Keep Reading

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GM Finds Success In Chinese Market With Inexpensive Baojun Model

China has always had a taste for imported foreign cars in the past decade, but GM has really caught the lightning by the tail with its Baojun, a brand made specifically for China with a price that can go as low as $6,000. It turns out that this success came from a brilliant market reading, with GM successfully predicting that the smaller cities in China would be interested in buying cars as the middle class expands. The low price tag, domestic naming and production all combined into a package Chinese consumers couldn’t turn down. As GMC has retreated from Europe, India and Russia, this is a much-needed win for the Detroit automaker company.   For much of the past decade, sales of global automakers were buoyed by demand from China, whose residents have eagerly snapped up locally produced versions of pricey foreign cars such as Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen’s Audi, and BMW’s namesake sedans. Yet General Motors Co. has not only fared well with its premium-priced Buick line, it’s killing it with Baojun, a made-for-the-mainland brand that sells for as little as $6,000. There was a method to the down-market move. GM figured the next wave of car buyers in China would come from the smaller cities, especially in the interior of the country, where the middle class is growing and people are buying more cars. Baojun sales are up tenfold since 2013, to 1 million cars last year, more than Chevrolet and not far behind Buick. GM rode the postwar economic boom in the U.S., when legendary company Chairman Alfred Sloan Jr. had a brand for “every purse and purpose.” Click Here to Read More

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German Prosecutors Jail Audi CEO Over Evidence Tampering Concerns

German prosecutors working on the Volkswagen Group “Dieselgate” scandal have done the unprecedented: they have arrested and jailed the seated CEO of a major automaker. The rationale the authorities gave was that while monitoring Audi CEO Rupert Stadler’s phone, there were suspicions that he might be attempting to cover up evidence of emissions cheating on an operational level. While this is not entirely unexpected, considering Group board member Wolfgang Hatz has been jailed for over half a year with no trial date, it is certainly disruptive to business. Audi has set in place Abraham Schot, Audi board member for sales and marketing, as interim CEO, where he is expected to continue being pragmatic and similar to Stadler in leadership style.   The Volkswagen Group diesel-emissions scandal has reached a climax. In an unprecedented move by prosecutors in Munich on Monday, Audi CEO Rupert Stadler was jailed. Prosecutors had monitored his phone and suspected that Stadler was attempting to “obfuscate” the investigation into alleged cheating devices fitted on some Audi models. They claim that Stadler had received an email in late 2015, months after the scandal broke, that hinted at manipulated exhaust systems. Not stopping their sale immediately, the prosecutors allege, amounted to fraud. Hauling an acting CEO off to jail is the maximum possible disruption the prosecutors could have inflicted on Audi. Stadler may be set free within days; however, there is no guarantee. Former Volkswagen Group board member Wolfgang Hatz has been jailed for over eight months now—without a trial date. Click Here to Read More

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