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After owning a Toyota Tacoma for a few months and racking up a few thousand miles around suburbia it was time for a real test a road trip! So, with sleeping bags, fishing gear, bicycles, five gallons of water, maps of the West, 21 gallons of 91 octane, a fresh oil change, new oil filter and some personal effects, we set out to gobble up some pavement and go see the West… the Grand Tetons, maybe even some Buffalo.

(more…)

Seattle is known for rain and coffee, but the city gets its share of beautiful days complemented by a scenic backdrop of mountains, trees, and water. Infiniti picked this town for a media introduction of the latest G37 coupe. We were lucky enough to miss a ten-day rain trend and drove Infiniti’s new G37 coupe through a perfect day of high 70s, clear skies, and dry roads. We reported on the Coupe Concept from the 2006 North American International Auto Show that gave us our first hint of the new generation and the formal production reveal at the 2007 New York Auto Show; now we bring you our first driving impressions.

The G37 takes the same second-generation FM rear-drive platform of the G35 sedan and that the next-generation Nissan Z and GTR will take. This is a bit backward compared with the first-generation launch schedule, when the boy-racer 350Z launched a couple of months before the G Coupe. The G coupe also introduces a new-generation of VQ engine. Larger displacement, larger bore, and variable valve timing and lift are among key elements for wringing 330HP from a 3.7L DOHC 24v V6 that betters its predecessor’s fuel economy for a 18/24 city/highway rating.

(more…)

General Motors’ Director of News Relations, Tom Wilkinson, sent the following email to Industry Analysts today concerning the AutoPacific/IntelliChoice Motorist Choice Awards. I think you will be interested in his spin on General Motors’ performance.

“We know some of you have seen the release on the Motorist Choice Awards from IntelliChoice and AutoPacfic, and that several of you work for the companies that produce the awards. But in case you missed it, we wanted to forward a copy of the release, along with a few observations.

For starters, we think the awards reflect the ongoing progress GM has made in solidifying its leadership in trucks, and the challenges we know we face in becoming a leader in cars. We think we are continuing to make real progress here. But we also know we cannot underestimate the competition.

Like others, we noted that these awards often defy conventional wisdom, and that brands and vehicles that fall at midpack (or below) in other rankings rose to the top here. As we have said before, we think it is getting harder and harder to find substantial differences in quality or reliability, which leaves customers a wide range of vehicles to chose from — and fall in love with.

(more…)

After owning a Toyota Tacoma for a few months and racking up a few thousand miles around suburbia it was time for a real test; a road trip! So, with sleeping bags, fishing gear, bicycles, five gallons of water, maps of the West, 21 gallons of 91 octane, a fresh oil change, new oil filter and some personal effects, we set out to gobble up some pavement and go see the West… the Grand Tetons, maybe even some Buffalo.

(more…)

This article appeared in the July 26th web-release by the British business magazine The Economist. VehicleVoice commentary is peppered throughout.

Ford: A costly distraction

July 26th 2007: From The Economist print edition

Ford is selling off its premium brands. Who will buy them?

Ford’s High Hopes for the Premier Automotive Group Never Materialized

WHEN Jacques Nasser, Ford’s boss in the late 1990s, bought two premium European car brands, he had high hopes for his new luxury-car division, which came to be known as the Premier Automotive Group (PAG). By 2005, the firm predicted, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo would sell 1m cars a year, earn more than $1 billion annually and account for about one-third of Ford’s profits. But eight years on the PAG is consistently losing money and sells about one-third fewer cars than predicted—and Ford itself is haunted by the spectre of bankruptcy.

New Ford Regime Under Alan Mulally Puts PAG on the Block Piecemeal

After some initial hesitation Alan Mulally, the chief executive brought in from Boeing last September, decided to put bits of the PAG on the block. In March he sold Aston Martin for $848m, and in June he appointed three banks to field potential buyers for Land Rover and Jaguar. The bidding period ended on July 19th with an unexpectedly high number of potential suitors, thought to include Cerberus Capital Management (the private-equity group that bought Chrysler in May), TPG Capital, Ripplewood Holdings and One Equity Partners (a private-equity firm where Mr Nasser now works), along with India’s Tata Motors and the Mahindra Group.
Click here to find out more!

(more…)

General Motors’ Director of News Relations, Tom Wilkinson, sent the following email to Industry Analysts today concerning the AutoPacific/IntelliChoice Motorist Choice Awards. I think you will be interested in his spin on General Motors’ performance.

“We know some of you have seen the release on the Motorist Choice Awards from IntelliChoice and AutoPacfic, and that several of you work for the companies that produce the awards. But in case you missed it, we wanted to forward a copy of the release, along with a few observations.

For starters, we think the awards reflect the ongoing progress GM has made in solidifying its leadership in trucks, and the challenges we know we face in becoming a leader in cars. We think we are continuing to make real progress here. But we also know we cannot underestimate the competition.

Like others, we noted that these awards often defy conventional wisdom, and that brands and vehicles that fall at midpack (or below) in other rankings rose to the top here. As we have said before, we think it is getting harder and harder to find substantial differences in quality or reliability, which leaves customers a wide range of vehicles to chose from — and fall in love with.

(more…)

VehicleVoice staffers had been looking forward to the Mazda CX-9 to see how the new Mazda flagship stacks up against competition. One of a plethora of new Crossover SUVs, Mazda is venturing into uncharted, for them, territory.

Mid-Size or Large Crossover SUV… a Tweener?

The CX-9 is a “large” Crossover SUV - not the size of the Tahoe-sized GM Lambda Crossover SUVs like the GMC Acadia, Saturn Outlook and Buick Enclave, but still big enough to have a relatively comfortable 3rd row seat. AutoPacific carries CX-9 in our Premium Mid-Size Crossover SUV segment (what a mouthful). It may actually deserve to be categorized in the Large Crossover Segment. We’re taking a look at it.

Styling is Modern, but Blends in With Other Contemporary Crossover SUVs

(more…)

Seattle is known for rain and coffee, but the city gets its share of beautiful days complemented by a scenic backdrop of mountains, trees, and water. Infiniti picked this town for a media introduction of the latest G37 coupe. We were lucky enough to miss a ten-day rain trend and drove Infiniti’s new G37 coupe through a perfect day of high 70s, clear skies, and dry roads. We reported on the Coupe Concept from the 2006 North American International Auto Show that gave us our first hint of the new generation and the formal production reveal at the 2007 New York Auto Show; now we bring you our first driving impressions.

The G37 takes the same second-generation FM rear-drive platform of the G35 sedan and that the next-generation Nissan Z and GTR will take. This is a bit backward compared with the first-generation launch schedule, when the boy-racer 350Z launched a couple of months before the G Coupe. The G coupe also introduces a new-generation of VQ engine. Larger displacement, larger bore, and variable valve timing and lift are among key elements for wringing 330HP from a 3.7L DOHC 24v V6 that betters its predecessor’s fuel economy for a 18/24 city/highway rating.

(more…)

This article appeared in the July 26th web-release by the British business magazine The Economist. VehicleVoice commentary is peppered throughout.

Ford: A costly distraction

July 26th 2007: From The Economist print edition

Ford is selling off its premium brands. Who will buy them?

Ford’s High Hopes for the Premier Automotive Group Never Materialized

WHEN Jacques Nasser, Ford’s boss in the late 1990s, bought two premium European car brands, he had high hopes for his new luxury-car division, which came to be known as the Premier Automotive Group (PAG). By 2005, the firm predicted, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo would sell 1m cars a year, earn more than $1 billion annually and account for about one-third of Ford’s profits. But eight years on the PAG is consistently losing money and sells about one-third fewer cars than predicted—and Ford itself is haunted by the spectre of bankruptcy.

New Ford Regime Under Alan Mulally Puts PAG on the Block Piecemeal

After some initial hesitation Alan Mulally, the chief executive brought in from Boeing last September, decided to put bits of the PAG on the block. In March he sold Aston Martin for $848m, and in June he appointed three banks to field potential buyers for Land Rover and Jaguar. The bidding period ended on July 19th with an unexpectedly high number of potential suitors, thought to include Cerberus Capital Management (the private-equity group that bought Chrysler in May), TPG Capital, Ripplewood Holdings and One Equity Partners (a private-equity firm where Mr Nasser now works), along with India’s Tata Motors and the Mahindra Group.
Click here to find out more!

(more…)

General Motors’ Director of News Relations, Tom Wilkinson, sent the following email to Industry Analysts today concerning the AutoPacific/IntelliChoice Motorist Choice Awards. I think you will be interested in his spin on General Motors’ performance.

“We know some of you have seen the release on the Motorist Choice Awards from IntelliChoice and AutoPacfic, and that several of you work for the companies that produce the awards. But in case you missed it, we wanted to forward a copy of the release, along with a few observations.

For starters, we think the awards reflect the ongoing progress GM has made in solidifying its leadership in trucks, and the challenges we know we face in becoming a leader in cars. We think we are continuing to make real progress here. But we also know we cannot underestimate the competition.

Like others, we noted that these awards often defy conventional wisdom, and that brands and vehicles that fall at midpack (or below) in other rankings rose to the top here. As we have said before, we think it is getting harder and harder to find substantial differences in quality or reliability, which leaves customers a wide range of vehicles to chose from — and fall in love with.

(more…)