J.D. Power and Associates released today the annual U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study rankings and what do you know… Porsche is on the first place, edging out Lincoln, which came on the second place.

For Porsche this is an impressive result because at the same study in 2009, the German sports car manufacturer was on the 11th place. Lexus finally ended its 14-year reign last year, fell to third, in a tie with Buick behind Lincoln. “It’s not ‘What happened to Lexus?’ … the entire industry has gotten very competitive,” said David Sargent, vice president of global research for J.D. Power and the chief author of the study. “No one brand stands out like it used to.” Ford, Mercury and Lincoln — finished in the top 10 this year, while Hyundai got on 11th place and Cadillac on 12. Mercedes-Benz finished on the 9th place, climbing 10 spots. Its main rival Audi plummeted, slipping to No. 26 from No.12 a year earlier. For those who don’t know, this study consists of measuring problems experienced by original owners of 3-year-old (2007 model year) vehicles, covering 198 different problem symptoms. The score is reflecting the number of problems per 100 vehicles and the lower the score, the better the apparent vehicle dependability.

(more…)

Tags:car news, Porsche, porsche vehicle dependability study
No Comments »

If you love your children and the little fellow loves sports cars then you should read this. In order to celebrate the first Ferrari dealership in Moscow, this kid-sized Ferrari F40 can be yours for an impressive $25,000.

The small car was designed and built by the same company that does wind tunnel models for the Ferrari Factory F1 Team. As you imagined, the car is not powered by the impressive 471 hp twin-turbocharged 2.9 liter V8 and it carries a more modest 80cc Honda single-cylinder engine, enough we’d say for this little car. Photo gallery after the jump!

(more…)

Tags:car news, Ferrari, kid-sized ferrari f40
No Comments »

According to the latest reports, it appears that the Nissan LEAF Electric Vehicle will be sold in Japan for between Y3.5 million-Y4 million, the Mainichi Shimbun reported Wednesday. This means $38,600 to $44,190. The Japanese manufacturer also plans to launch the car in Japan, Europe and the U.S. this autumn. The new Nissan Leaf will even cheaper than Mitsubishi’s i-MiEV electric model, priced at around $44,300.

(more…)

Tags:car news, Nissan, nissan leaf price
No Comments »

There is a proposal before the state of Michigan for Saab’s North American headquarters to move to the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak. Hence, the Michigan Economic Growth Authority is considering tax breaks for Saab Cars North America’s $2.4 million investment.

According to this proposal, up to 60 jobs will be created. The Royal Oak headquarters would handle sales, marketing, advertising, technical assistance and customer support. Last month, Detroit-based General Motors Co. sold Saab to Dutch sports car maker Spyker Cars NV.

(more…)

Tags:car news, Saab, saab detroit hq
No Comments »

By the end of the tenth year, Robert Bosch GmbH expects that it will have more than doubled its revenue for its automotive technology division to 45 billion euros ($61.7 billion).

The supplier made this forecast with consideration of the growth opportunities that it has seen in Asia’s developing economies as well as with the increasing sales of electric cars. To help it achieve this target, Bosch is anticipating sales gains in China, India, Russia and Brazil and in Southeast Asia. Bernd Bohr, head of Bosch’s vehicle technology division, told sales and marketing staff at an internal company event that there are significant opportunities in making the shift to focus on growth in Asia. Bohr also told them about the potential of electric vehicles in the long term. Initially, Bosch had sought for its automotive division, which includes after-sales, to get past the 45-billion euro mark by 2015. But these plans were all but ruined due to the financial crisis and the resulting plunge in global car and commercial vehicle sales. Peter Tyroller, Bosch’s sales chief, said that this goal is pushed back to 2019.

(more…)

Tags:bosch, bosch double revenue, car news
No Comments »

Nissan Motor Corp. may soon join talks between Renault SA and Daimler AG, the Nikkei business daily reported on Wednesday.

Shares of the carmakers are believed to rise due to reports that they are in talks about an equity tie-up and as part of a longer-term partnership. When asked about these reports, Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn, who also leads its Japanese alliance partner Nissan, didn’t divulge much except to say that he was open to equity exchanges. At a company event in India, Ghosn said that he can’t comment on a matter that has yet to be decided. Renault holds a 44% stake in Nissan. According to the Financial Times Tuesday edition, two unnamed sources say that the two companies are set to discuss taking equity stakes in each other to forge long-term cooperation. Meanwhile, Nissan spokesman Yosuke Nagatomo declined to comment. Renault and Daimler, maker of Mercedes cars, are known to have begun talks about working together to cut costs, pool technology resources and build scale as the crisis-hit industry moves to become more efficient. Ghosn added that the Renault-Nissan alliance is talking with Indian vehicle maker Ashok Leyland about a possible passenger car project.

(more…)

Tags:car news, Nissan, nissan daimler renault talks
No Comments »

About 412,000 of Honda Motor Co. vehicles in the US will be recalled over risks that brake pedals may feel soft and slip closer to the floor over time.

Customer complaints have led to this recall of about 344,000 Odyssey minivans and 68,000 Element SUVs for the 2007 and 2008 model years. In a statement, Honda said that there’s a possibility that air would enter the unit that controls braking and stability system. This may lead to the “soft brake pedal” or “low brake pedal” after several months or years. According to Honda spokesman Chris Martin, the US Transportation Highway Safety Administration has received reports of several crashes and three minor injuries related to this issue. Honda clarified that not all vehicles included in the recall have this issue but because it wants to assure customers about their cars’ performance, the carmaker chose to recall all positive units. Of course, everyone’s a bit jumpy when it comes to recalls. Toyota currently faces scrutiny over vehicle safety issue in light of safety problems affecting Toyota Motor Corp vehicles.

(more…)

Tags:car news, Honda, honda element recall, honda ofdyssey recall, honda us recall
No Comments »

As part of the talks between Daimler and Renault over a possible cooperation, there have been discussions about mutual equity stakes, the Financial Times reported.

Two sources have told the newspaper that the alliance could go beyond working on small cars. The paper said the stakes would probably be below 10% in each other. The two companies have made no attempts to cover up the possibility that they could cooperate to cut costs, pool technology resources and build scale during this difficult economic period. Renault-Nissan still does not have top of the line cars, despite attempts with the Safrane, Vel Satis or Korean-built Samsung models. Continued after the jump!

(more…)

Tags:car news, Daimler, daimler renault mutual equity stakes, Renault
No Comments »

Porsche Automobil Holding SE’s debts may have decreased but it still hasn’t gotten to a point where it’s ensured that next year’s 5 billion euro ($6.8 billion) capital increase would leave it free of debt and poised to merge with Volkswagen AG.

At the end of Porsche’s fiscal first half on Jan. 31, its net financial liabilities dropped to 6.1 billion euros. At the end of November, liabilities of about 11.4 billion euros were recorded at the end of November due partly to a 3.9 billion euro disposal gain used to pay down debt. In its half-year report, Porsche said that the capital increase at Porsche SE is scheduled for the first half of 2011. Continued after the jump!

(more…)

Tags:car news, Porsche, porsche debt pile
No Comments »

Adrian Hallmark, a former Volkswagen executive, takes on the role as Saab’s executive director of sales immediately after it was announced.

Hallmark is responsible for aiding Saab to recover from its near collapse earlier this year. He will report directly to Saab CEO Jan Ake Jonsson and he will be working from Saab’s headquarters in Trollhattan, Sweden. In a statement, Jonsson said that in the next 16 months, three new products will be launched — the 9-5 sedan, the 9-4X and the 9-5 SportCombi. Jonsson described Adrian’s contribution to be “vital” in optimizing the sales of these new products. General Motors Co. had been poised to shut down Saab this year but instead, it agreed to sell it to Dutch supercar maker Spyker Cars NV. Meantime, Saab’s 2009 sales dropped 58% to 39,903. Last year, Saab built only 20,791 cars last year. But then again, it still isn’t anywhere near this year’s target of boosting output to between 50,000 and 60,000 units and to 120,000 units by 2012. Hallmark, 47 years old, gets Saab’s global sales operations from Knut Simonsson, who will remain Saab’s brand and marketing executive director.

Tags:adrian hallmark, car news, hallmark saab sales, Saab
No Comments »