Those shiny and expensive Lexuses and Lincolns on Columbia dealers’ lots are no longer immune from the demons that have driven the auto industry into the ditch.
“It has been hit hard,” said Chase Craven, general sales manager at Stivers Automotive Group, a Lincoln dealership. “It’s plain and simple, people are saying, ‘I’m not making any big purchases.’”
The reasons why the luxury-car business - once thought to be recession-proof - is down locally include a shaky economy plagued by high gas... Read Full Story
Hydrogen powered cars have finally moved from the drawing board to the road, and as tourists on a double-decker snapped photos, I got the chance to test drive two of them Thursday. When I floored it on a nearly empty street at L’Enfant Plaza, the Nissan X-Trail sport utility vehicle, switched power sources - from the battery to the hydrogen fuel cell. The Nissan and the other car I drove, a BMW Hydrogen Series 7, are the future of automobiles, according to government officials and car... Read Full Story
A top Honda Motor Co. executive said Wednesday the company’s new gas-electric hybrid will be priced lower than the Toyota Prius, its prime competitor.
The new five-door car will only be available with a hybrid powertrain. It will be smaller than Honda’s Civic and also will be priced less than a hybrid gas-electric version of the Civic, said Richard Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co.
Speaking to reporters at an industry seminar in Traverse City, Colliver said the... Read Full Story
Johnson Controls-Saft will research the commercial viability of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles under an $8.2 million federal grant announced Tuesday.
The grant will be used on research beyond the battery itself as the Glendale-based hybrid joint venture works to develop a battery that can be suitable for mass production of plug-in hybrids, called PHEVs.
“We are working on the development of the complete PHEV system, which includes high-energy capacity cells, battery management electronics... Read Full Story
General Motors and other automakers are racing to bring rechargeable electric vehicles to showrooms, the man running much of Toyota’s research says its approach is the least costly way to get great mileage and performance in the near term.
Toyota Motor Corp plans to bring a plug-in hybrid vehicle to market sometime in 2010, and Justin Ward, manager of the automaker’s advanced powertrain program in the US, said the design will be similar to that of the current Prius, the most popular gas... Read Full Story
Early versions of the Chevrolet Volt’s battery packs are powerful enough to run the high-stakes rechargeable car, but a lot of issues remain before General Motors Corp. can start selling the revolutionary vehicle in 2010 as planned. The Volt’s chief engineer is on a tight schedule to figure out how the car will handle the batteries’ weight, dissipate their heat and mechanically transfer their power to the wheels. That’s not to mention the list of issues that have nothing to do with the fact... Read Full Story
To help achieve a green Olympics, the Games’ official automobile sponsor Volkswagen is providing energy efficient and environmentally friendly vehicles.
In addition to the 5,000 vehicles the German automaker has provided for the Beijing Olympic organizing committee (BOCOG) for athletes and VIPs, Volkswagen Group (China) is also providing an Olympic “Green Fleet”.
The fleet includes 30 vehicles, “representing Volkswagen’s world-leading technology on energy conservation and emission control... Read Full Story
When Tucson’s average gas price passed $3 a gallon in January, Tucsonan Anthony Hill decided to sell his 2005 Dodge Ram SRT 1500 pickup truck and its paltry EPA fuel economy rating of eight mpg.
He’s had few takers.
“Even though I’m selling it for $8,000 less than the Kelley Blue Book value, I’ve gotten maybe five calls, and all of them were no-shows,” Hill said.
Concern over high gas prices has resulted in stagnant SUV and truck sales, hurting private sellers and leaving Tucson’s car lots... Read Full Story
With its sales of new Fords dwindling, Millsboro Ford in Sussex County gave up its 22-year-old Ford new-car franchise and changed its name to Car City of Delmarva to focus on selling used vehicles.
In New Castle County, long-time car dealer Anthony Gambacorta Sr., the owner of Gambacorta Chrysler Jeep, sold his Chrysler and Jeep franchises to Carman Auto Group, which already owns a Dodge franchise, among other brands.
Gambacorta’s 74-year-old dealership, one of the oldest in Delaware, is... Read Full Story
Just as motorists are starting to adjust to exorbitant gas prices, they face the prospect of much higher costs, fewer choices and a dearth of financing choices if they want to lease their next car. A shakeout in the auto leasing industry that revved up with Chrysler’s exit from the leasing business last month is expected to be felt quickly by consumers who enjoy switching vehicles every two or three years without down payments or other ownership obligations.
U.S. automakers are scaling back... Read Full Story
