Car Blog

The new 2011 Ford Mustang with all-new powertrains has three times more orders than the 2010 model in its first month, and half of all nationwide orders are for the car’s class-leading 30 mpg 3.7-liter V-6 engine.

“Fuel economy ranks among the top two reasons people choose vehicles,” said Steve Ling, North America Car Marketing manager. “With the 2011 Mustang lineup, we’ve found a way to offer even better fuel efficiency for V-6, GT and even Shelby GT500 performance drivers – while improving performance. And consumers are responding.”

Nearly 11,000 Mustangs have been ordered since order banks opened in late January.

Fifty percent of the 2011 Mustang orders are for V-6 models, which feature a new, high-performance, all-aluminum Duratec 3.7-liter dual overhead-cam (DOHC) Twin Independent Variable Cam Timing (Ti-VCT) engine. This new engine delivers 305 horsepower and an expected best-in-class EPA fuel efficiency of 30 mpg on the highway – a 25 percent improvement versus the 2010 model.

2011 Mustang V-6 order levels are up 19 percent versus the new 2010 model orders.

“The new engine transforms Mustang,” Ling said. “Everything people love about the car lives on, and now under the hood is a V-6 engine that uses premium technology to deliver the power, the feel, the fuel efficiency, even the sound of the best sports cars in the world.”

A first-ever Mustang Club of America (MCA) Special Edition package available on V-6 models generated three times more orders than expected. Plus, “take rates” on the California Special series – which is available on the Mustang GT and harkens back to the original 1968 feature vehicle – are triple the expected rates.

2011 Mustangs also are being equipped with record levels of technology. Navigation is specified on 18 percent of orders. High-intensity discharge (HID) headlamps are on 26 percent of vehicles. Rear-view cameras are on 10 percent – all up from 2010.

For the 2011 model, 41 percent of orders are for Mustang GTs.

The Mustang GT’s modern 5.0-liter four-valve, Ti-VCT V-8 engine delivers 412 horsepower and 390 ft.-lb. of torque. At the same time, fuel economy of 25 mpg highway is projected to be better than the previous model and unsurpassed in the segment.

Approximately 9 percent of the 2011 Mustang orders are for Shelby GT500 models, which are powered by an all-new aluminum-block 5.4-liter supercharged V-8 engine. This produces 550 horsepower and 510 ft.-lb. of torque, a 10 horsepower increase versus the 2010 model. The engine also is 102 pounds lighter than its predecessor, delivering a better power-to-weight ratio, improved fuel economy, acceleration, handling and steering precision.

“Mustang is ready for a new generation of buyers,” Ling said. “With new high-tech and fuel-efficient engines, class-leading connectivity and infotainment options as well as signature style and performance, Mustang is poised to continue its legacy as America’s favorite sports car.”

The new 2011 Ford F-Series Super Duty delivers the most heavy-duty truck horsepower. Top torque. Industry-best towing capability and payload. Fuel economy leadership. In short, the new Super Duty delivers leadership in every feature that matters to heavy-duty truck customers.

With Ford-built diesel and gas powertrains, the all-new Ford Super Duty dominates the competition in payload, conventional towing, fifth-wheel towing and gross combined weight rating in both pickups and chassis cabs. Diesel engines account for 65 percent of the Super Duty sales, with gas engines making up the remaining 35 percent.

The new 6.7-liter Power Stroke V-8 turbocharged diesel – designed, engineered and built by Ford – delivers class-leading fuel economy as well as best-in-class 390 horsepower and 735 ft.-lb. of torque – that’s 75 ft.-lb. more than its nearest competitor in the market today. Plus, the new Super Duty fuel economy improvement averages 18 percent better for pickup models and up to 25 percent for chassis cab versus the outgoing Super Duty.

Significantly improved torque – 85 ft.-lb. more than the current 6.4-liter Power Stroke diesel – is good news for the nearly 97 percent of Super Duty customers who tow and helps the 2011 Super Duty deliver class-leading towing capability of 26,400 pounds with the F-550 chassis cab. The 2011 Super Duty also has class-leading payload capability of 6,520 pounds.

“Having best-in-class numbers is powerful, but the real payoff is how those numbers deliver for our customers,” said Mark Fields, Ford president of The Americas. “For 33 years, F-Series has been the No. 1-seller in America because we listen to our customers. With Super Duty, they’ve told us how they use their trucks to tow, and on the new truck, we focused on delivering best-in-class towing capability for them with new powertrains that deliver best-in-class power and best-in-class fuel economy.”

Built to last, just the way customers like

During the Super Duty’s development, engineers put more than 10.3 million equivalent test miles on the new diesel engine, including extreme road and weather conditions. The new Power Stroke diesel is the most-tested Power Stroke ever, incorporating the most rigorous engine tests found in Ford globally.

Extensive CAD (computer-aided design) and CAE (computer-aided engineering) work was completed to identify any potential challenges before hardware was created, which not only is time-efficient but also helps ensure quality at the outset.

Customer data, including driving styles, road types and vehicle usage (towing and payload), also played a key role in developing the testing program that best replicated Super Duty use.

Components were tested in the laboratory with a regimen designed to exceed what even the most extreme-use customer might dish out. Engines literally ran continuously for hundreds of hours. Engines were started in below-zero temperatures more than 2,600 times. Plus, laboratory tests simulated 10 years of use in arctic conditions.

B20 compatibility added for 2011 model year

The strict testing work also ensured the new engine is B20 compatible, which allows customers another fueling option that uses blends of up to 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent petroleum diesel. Because biodiesel fuel varies in quality in the U.S. and Canada, durability testing cycles were run on multiple blends of the fuel to ensure the robustness of the system. This is especially important to the agricultural industry, where biodiesel is often the preferred fuel.

“These tests give us the full spectrum of Super Duty customers – from those who run their trucks at maximum power with a maximum load for long periods to those who use them more in a start-stop mode,” said Ed Waszczenko, lead engine durability engineer.

Finally, a battery of in-vehicle, real-world tests validated the work done in the laboratories. The 2011 F-450 Super Duty, for example, can tow a 24,400-pound trailer up a 6 percent grade at 47 mph, which is more than 50 percent faster than the outgoing product. The F-450 and F-550 have no competitors in the marketplace.

“That’s the difference between trucks passing you, or you passing trucks,” said Chris Brewer, Super Duty chief engineer.

Class-leading capability

Growing Super Duty’s heavy-truck leadership legacy, the 2011 F-250 and F-350 pickup trucks have best-in-class conventional towing and payload capability. The F-250 and F-350 single-rear-wheel model can tow up to 14,000 pounds with payloads of 4,050 pounds and 4,600 pounds, respectively.

In addition, the F-350 dual-rear-wheel model delivers best-in-class conventional towing of 16,000 pounds and fifth-wheel towing of 21,600 pounds as well as best-in-class payload of 6,520 pounds. With chassis cab sales accounting for up to 25 percent of the Super Duty mix, the leadership towing capability of the F-550 fifth-wheel hitch is notable: 26,400 pounds.

The improved torque also enables the driver to hold a higher gear longer, which helps with highway fuel economy. “This prevents transmission ‘gear hunting,’ and lets you stay in gear longer before downshifting, ultimately saving fuel,” Brewer said.

Quietest Power Stroke ever

In addition to its capability, the new 6.7-liter Power Stroke V-8 has the lowest NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) in the class with a notably quieter, more refined sound than ever. Improvements to the combustion system, structural integrity of the compacted graphite iron block and the single turbocharger mounted to the engine block account for many of the NVH improvements.

Specific design upgrades were made to both the piston and the piston bowl to optimize the combustion process, which features a two-stage combustion event instead of a single-injection event. Single-injection events can cause harsh, sudden and loud combustion. On the 2011 Super Duty, a starter or pilot injection of fuel begins the combustion process before the main injection.

The result is smoother combustion and a more refined sound for the customer. When at idle, two pilot injection events are used to make the firing process even smoother and aid in quietness.

The “ticking” of the high-speed injectors also is quieted by specially designed covers on the engine. Mounting the turbocharger from the center housing directly to the block provided several advantages as well in terms of NVH.

“When turbochargers vibrate, it can lead to other parts of the vehicle, such as the exhaust system, vibrating,” said Adam Gryglak, chief diesel engineering manager. “So when the turbocharger vibrates a lot, the exhaust system vibrates too, and that’s disturbing to the customer. Bolting the turbocharger directly to the block eliminates that concern.”

Using one turbocharger, instead of two operating in series or sequentially, helped resolve some NVH challenges as well. The single turbocharger eliminates air-handling noises – the whooshes – typically heard when the engine switches from one turbo to the next. Also, the single turbocharger has ball bearings that pilot the shaft in the turbo, eliminating the potential for the shaft of the turbocharger to gyrate in its housing, another potential NVH issue.

Other improvements include the addition of two resonators in the intake system as well as a third resonator near the air cleaner. These additions made it possible to tune the diesel intake system to the desired sound.

New gas engine leads in torque, horsepower and fuel economy

The 2011 Super Duty features a new, more powerful and efficient standard gasoline engine that also delivers class-leading numbers. The new 6.2-liter V-8 gasoline engine produces 405 ft.-lb. of torque (at 4,500 rpm) and 385 horsepower (at 5,500 rpm) on regular gasoline. These numbers represent an increase of 40 ft.-lb. of torque and 85 horsepower versus the current 5.4-liter V-8. The new engine also is E85 compatible.

Already cementing its ‘Built Ford Tough’ status

Nearly all the components of the 2011 Super Duty 6.2-liter V-8 are shared with the 6.2-liter V-8 engine found in the 2010 F-150 SVT Raptor, a purpose-built, high-performance off-road truck versatile enough to take on the most challenging desert adventures as well as daily commutes.

In November 2008, the 6.2-liter Raptor R not only survived its first grueling Baja 1000, it earned a podium finish.

Testing on the 6.2-liter V-8 included running multiple engines for more than 500 hours at peak torque and peak horsepower as well as customer-correlated 1,000-hour road load tests to ensure dependability for even the toughest Ford F-Series Super Duty customer.

“Having two outstanding powertrains to choose from is a real win-win for Super Duty customers,” said Doug Scott, truck group marketing manager. “Both Ford’s new diesel and new gasoline engines deliver the ‘and solution’ – best-in-class horsepower, torque and fuel economy.

“Leadership in areas that matter most to customers will help ensure the 2011 Super Duty will continue to be the undisputed leader in full-size pickup towing, payload and capability.”

Consumer Reports Names Six New Top Pick Cars for 2010

Mazda5, Chevrolet Traverse and Volkswagen GTI among the new additions

Consumer Reports names six new models to its annual Top Picks car list for 2010. Comprised of nine different car brands, this year’s list is the most diverse group of Top Picks in over a decade. The article in Spanish is available on www.consumerreportsenespanol.org.

Findings from Consumer Reports’ Annual Auto Issue, including the new Top Picks, were announced today at a Washington Automotive Press Association (WAPA) press conference in Washington, D.C.

The Mazda5, Nissan Altima, Subaru Forester, Volkswagen GTI, and Chevrolet Traverse and Silverado join the Hyundai Elantra SE, Infiniti G37, Toyota Prius and Lexus LS460L as Consumer Reports’ selections for best models of the year based on performance, reliability, and safety.

“The diversity of this year’s Top Picks reflect how competitive the industry has become,” said Rik Paul, Consumer Reports’ Automotive editor. “Today’s car buyers have more choices than ever when looking for good all-around cars.”

Consumer Reports’ Top Picks are the best all-around models in their categories and must meet stringent road test, reliability, and safety requirements. Each Top Pick scores at or near the top of its category among the more than 280 vehicles Consumer Reports recently evaluated at its Auto Test Center; has average or better predicted reliability (based on the problems subscribers reported on more than 1.4 million vehicles in Consumer Reports’ Annual Auto Survey), and performed adequately in overall safety if tested by the government or insurance industry. In addition, each model must offer electronic stability control (ESC), a proven lifesaving safety feature as standard equipment or as a readily available option. All of this year’s Top Picks provide standard ESC and curtain air bags.

In recent years, Toyota and Honda models have had their share of spots among Consumer Reports Top Picks list. But the automotive landscape continues to grow more competitive. This year, the Nissan Altima managed to dethrone the Honda Accord as the Top Pick for Family Sedan–making it the first time since 1998 that a Honda model was not selected.

The Toyota Prius retains its position as the Top Pick for Green for the seventh consecutive year, while the Lexus LS460L returns as Consumer Reports pick for Best Overall vehicle. At the time of publication, sales of the Toyota Highlander and RAV4 had been halted and currently Consumer Reports has suspended its recommendation for both vehicles removing them from contention in the Small and Family SUV category..

“The competition is quite fierce, and often the difference between a Top Pick and a runner-up can be slim. We believe all of our Top Picks this year to be exceptional vehicles that excel in a number of areas,” Paul added.

Consumer Reports’ testing procedures are the most comprehensive of any U.S. publication or Web site. More than 50 individual tests are performed on every vehicle, including evaluations of braking, handling, comfort, convenience, safety, and fuel economy. Roughly 6,000 miles of general driving and evaluations are racked up on each test car during the testing process. CR buys all its test cars anonymously from dealers. Other reviewers base their evaluations on press cars that are hand-picked by the automakers.

Here, by category, are the 2010 Top Picks.

SMALL SEDAN: Hyundai Elantra SE. The Elantra SE ($18,695) made the Top Picks list for the third time this year. It is a solid, all-around car that’s relatively comfortable, quiet, and roomy, and provides good fuel economy and plenty of features for the money. The SE comes with standard ESC, a critical safety feature that’s absent on other small cars (including the lower-end Elantras).

FAMILY SEDAN: Nissan Altima. The Altima ($23,970 to $30,335) has been a Consumer Reports top-rated family sedan for a couple of years, but lacked easily available ESC. A 2010 freshening made it better and improved gas mileage and for the first time provides standard ESC in all trim lines. It offers an appealing balance of comfort and performance, while getting some of the best fuel economy in its class: 26 mpg overall in four-cylinder models and 24 mpg with a V6. The cabin is roomy, well finished, and quiet. And the secure handling, comfortable ride, and spirited acceleration make the car enjoyable to drive.

SPORTY CAR: Volkswagen GTI. Freshened for 2010, the GTI ($27,504) is the sport version of the Volkswagen Golf (formerly called the Rabbit). The GTI is exhilarating to drive and easy to live with. It delivers the agile handling, spirited acceleration, and responsive steering of a true sports car, along with a decent ride, a well-finished interior, and the cargo-carrying practicality of a hatchback. Good fuel economy of 27 mpg overall is another plus, although premium fuel is required.

SMALL SUV: Subaru Forester. The Forester ($20,972 to $28,860) provides ne of the most carlike driving experiences of any SUV. It combines
agile handling with the most comfortable ride in its class. Passengers are treated to a spacious cabin, with a roomy rear seat and excellent visibility. The 2.5X provides an impressive 22 mpg overall with an automatic, 24 mpg with a manual. And the turbocharged 2.5XT delivers effortless acceleration and 20 mpg, but it takes premium fuel. The 2.5X has had excellent reliability, while the 2.5XT’s is average.

BEST CAR OVERALL: Lexus LS 460L. The LS ($76,572) scored an outstanding 99 out of 100 in Consumer Reports road tests, making it the highest-rated vehicle. It provides a comfortable ride and luxurious driving environment, including a roomy, well-crafted and exceptionally quiet interior. It offers a plethora of electronic amenities, including an optional self-parking system. Yet, its controls are easy to use. Its efficient 380-hp V8 and eight-speed automatic transmission deliver smooth, brisk acceleration and a relatively good 21 mpg overall. All-wheel drive and a hybrid version are available.

FAMILY SUV: Chevrolet Traverse. The Traverse ($39,920) stands out as an impressive overall package with a quiet, spacious cabin that can comfortably seat up to eight adults and leave room for cargo. It provides a pleasant ride, communicative steering, and responsive handling. The tested model returned 16 mpg overall, which is respectable for its size. Rear visibility isn’t great, but small convex side mirrors and an optional rear-view camera help.

SPORT SEDAN: Infiniti G37. The G sedan ($37,225) tops this category for the fourth straight year. It is one of the highest-rated sedans tested, with a score of 95 out of 100. It provides agile handling, blistering acceleration, a refined powertrain, a fairly comfortable ride, and a high-quality, luxurious interior. The G37 is as inviting to drive on a twisty road as it is on the highway. But compromises include a snug cabin and small trunk. Rear-wheel drive is standard; all-wheel drive is optional. Coupe and convertible versions are also available.

FAMILY HAULER: Mazda5. The Mazda5 microvan ($23,805) offers lots of practicality in a compact, affordable package. With three rows of seats and sliding rear side doors, it combines the convenience of a minivan with the maneuverability and stingy fuel economy–24 mpg overall–of a wagon. The interior is airy, with good fit and finish. It’s fun to drive, with a nimble feel and a comfortable ride. The addition of standard ESC for 2010 improved its emergency handling. If you need more room, consider the Honda Odyssey minivan.

GREEN CAR: Toyota Prius. The Prius ($26,950) received a redesign for 2010 and leads this category for the seventh straight year. It’s still the most fuel-efficient car in Consumer Reports’ ratings, with 44 mpg overall. The Prius is a pleasant car to drive, with a roomy interior, a steady ride, hatchback versatility, and excellent reliability and crash-test results. The 2010 redesign also gave it a more solid feel and a dedicated EV mode that allows it to run longer on electric power at low speeds, an advantage in slow, congested traffic.

PICKUP TRUCK: Chevrolet Silverado. The Silverado 1500 ($37,235) returns to the top of the list after a year off. The crew-cab 4WD model is a well-rounded pickup with a roomy cabin, generous payload capacity, decent ride quality, available full-time 4WD, and, on higher-end models, very good interior fit and finish. The GMC Sierra is a twin of the Silverado. Reliability has been average.

Consumer Reports’ Annual Auto Issue goes on sale March 2 wherever magazines are sold. Free highlights from the issue will be available at www.ConsumerReports.org. Subscribers will be able to access all the stories and ratings from the issue.

CTS Coupe celebrates European premiere at the Geneva Motor Show

CTS-V Coupe to follow late in 2010 – New SRX and CTS Sport Wagon will be available this summer

A newly created organization, Cadillac Europe, will be established to manage import, distribution and marketing of a selected range of Cadillac models specified for the European markets. The vehicles will be retailed through a fully authorized Cadillac sales and service network in key European markets. Specific details will be announced at a later date.

“Europe is an important market for Cadillac,” said Bryan Nesbitt, Cadillac general manager. “Re-establishing distribution of our premium offerings is good news for those who seek import exclusiveness.”

At the Geneva Motor Show, Cadillac presents the CTS Coupe for the first time in Europe. Slated to arrive in North American Cadillac showrooms this summer and this fall in Europe, the CTS Coupe is a new luxury sports coupe designed to become the visual centerpiece of the brand’s revised lineup.

The Coupe is a classic 2+2 layout bolstered with advanced technology, such as a rear-view camera system and a performance-oriented suspension, combined with rear-wheel or all-wheel drive.

The Coupe joins the CTS Sport Sedan, the 556-horsepower (415 kW) CTS-V and new CTS Sport Wagon as the foundation of Cadillac’s lineup. A high-performance V-Series edition of the Coupe will also be released this year.

In Geneva, Cadillac will also exhibit the new CTS Sport Wagon, CTS Sport Sedan and the range-topping CTS-V. The new CTS Sport Wagon will be available as of model year 2011, while the CTS Sport Sedan and the CTS-V are available now. Additionally, Cadillac will present the new SRX, a midsize luxury crossover, featuring a completely new design combined with an efficient, high-technology engine. The new SRX goes on sale in Europe with model year 2011.

The Cadillac Escalade Hybrid will also be shown in Geneva. The Cadillac Escalade Hybrid is the first full-size luxury SUV worldwide featuring the fuel-saving Two-Mode Hybrid System. This vehicle offers more than 40-percent fuel consumption reduction in city driving and dramatically reduced exhaust emissions, while offering all the advantages of a spacious luxury SUV.

Two-Mode Hybrid technology can operate the vehicle solely on battery-electric power during idling or low-speed driving situations. The permanently all-wheel-driven Escalade Hybrid also incorporates Active Fuel Management technology that enables the 6.0L V-8 engine to operate on only four cylinders in certain driving conditions to save fuel.

Source: General Motors

Rare 1913 Stevens-Duryea goes on display at Biltmore’s new Antler Hill Village

A rare 1913 Stevens-Duryea Model “C-Six” seven-passenger touring car will be placed on display for the first time beginning May 20, 2010 in Biltmore’s new Antler Hill Village. The car is one of 10 motor vehicles on the estate that was registered in North Carolina in June 1916, and the only one purchased by George Vanderbilt that remains in The Biltmore Company’s collection. This particular model is believed to be one of only 10 known existing in the world today.

Conservation work will take place over the next several months, and then the car will be on exhibit in a closed, climate-controlled space just outside Biltmore Winery in the new Antler Hill Village. Like many objects in historic collections, guests will not be able to touch the vehicle, but they will be able to see it up close and get a sense of the Vanderbilts as a family who enjoyed one of the most exciting new inventions of the 20th century – the automobile.

While Biltmore conservators enjoy the daily work of caring for objects, furniture and art in the Biltmore House collection, using their skills to conserve an automobile is especially interesting. The team will begin work on the vehicle’s interior and exterior this month, using a wide variety of techniques to prepare the car for its debut to Biltmore guests. The undercarriage and mechanical components of the car will be conserved by B.R. Howard & Associates, a team that specializes in historic transportation objects based in Carlisle, Pa.

“We are thrilled about the opportunity to work on such a rare automobile and bring another piece of Biltmore’s rich history and collection into view,” said chief conservator Nancy Rosebrock. “This car represents a great deal of history about the interests of the Vanderbilt family. The research and conservation process is very exciting for us.”

The intention is not to make the car look as it did when it was new to George Vanderbilt, but to present it as an artifact of family history that has survived, albeit with some modifications that are now part of its story. “Our approach to preserving the Stevens-Duryea will be guided by the same ethics and standards of practice we adhere to when working on any object in Biltmore House,” said Rosebrock. “Our goal is to preserve the object in its current state, not restore it to a completely new condition.” The vehicle was actually driven periodically by different members of the family until the 1970s. According to Rosebrock, stabilization of aged areas and deteriorated materials will be the first priority, followed by the cleaning of every surface, repair of damaged areas and protection of the components from further deterioration.

George and Edith Vanderbilt’s connection to their 1913 Stevens-Duryea Model “C-Six”

Archival letters indicate that George and Edith Vanderbilt were first exposed to automobile travel in the early 1900s. An excerpt from a letter dated Aug. 23, 1903, that Mr. Vanderbilt wrote to his friend William Field while traveling in Europe read:

“So you see we are covering a good deal of ground and taking you at your word and making the best of our opportunity. I am so in love with this mode of travel that I mean to order an auto like yours when I get back to Paris, with the few improvements that have been made since. It makes travelling a different thing and simply a natural transition instead of an effort.

We have decided to remain over here all winter and hope to do some more automobiling next summer…”

Mr. Vanderbilt purchased several vehicles before the eventual purchase of the 1913 Stevens-Duryea Model “C-Six.” On May 21, 1913, Chauncey Beadle, estate superintendent, wrote to Vanderbilt, who was vacationing in Paris:

“Your new Stevens-Duryea car has arrived and Mr. T. Lamar Jackson of Washington came here to demonstrate the car and explain its features to Raymond. It is a beauty and I am sure that you will not only like it, but that it embodies practically the last word in motor-car construction. Raymond is anxious to practice with the car on a few occasions before your home-coming in order to familiarize himself with the changed conditions of mechanism, otherwise your car will not be used.”

Mr. Vanderbilt had arranged with T. Lamar Jackson of Washington, D.C., (a dealer in Stevens-Duryea automobiles) to trade in his 1912 Stevens-Duryea Model “Y” for a 1913 Stevens-Duryea Model “C-Six” seven-passenger touring car, the first Stevens-Duryea offered with electric lights and a starter. The company’s slogan was “There Is No Better Motor Car.”

By June 1914, Mrs. Vanderbilt was listed on a request for vehicle licenses as owner of eight vehicles: in addition to the Stevens-Duryea, she also owned one vehicle made by Stearns, a Studebaker, a Chalmers truck, a General Motors truck, a Charron coupe and two Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

Most automobile owners in the early 20th century rarely drove their own vehicles, leaving driving and car repairs to their chauffeurs instead. George and Edith Vanderbilt relied on chauffeurs to drive their vehicles, but by 1910, however, it appears that Mr. Vanderbilt also drove and was issued a drivers license for a Stevens-Duryea by the state of North Carolina in 1913. (At that time, the state required that drivers be licensed separately for each automobile that he or she drove.)

By 1919, both Mrs. Vanderbilt and Cornelia, George and Edith’s only daughter, were driving, somewhat unusual for the era since women rarely drove in those days. A letter in the Biltmore archives to Chauncey Beadle dated February 6, 1919, on behalf of the Maryland Casualty Company, asks for a complete list of vehicles owned by Mrs. Vanderbilt to ensure that each has proper liability, property damage and collision coverage. Two days later, Beadle responded by providing a list of seven vehicles, including the 1913 Stevens-Duryea. In answer to the question about whether or not Mrs. Vanderbilt ever drove unaccompanied by a chauffeur, Beadle responded:

“Both Mrs. and Miss Vanderbilt drive their Cadillac roadsters, often unattended.”

Because of the superiority of the roads on Biltmore Estate and the adventure associated with traversing western North Carolina’s vast mountain landscape, several notable Americans, including U.S. Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan, traveled to the Asheville area to ride on the roads Vanderbilt had commissioned in the Pisgah Range, which by the early 1910s went all the way to Buck Spring Lodge, the Vanderbilt’s mountain lodge at Mount Pisgah.

George Vanderbilt was given much of the credit for improving Buncombe County’s roads. It is not surprising, therefore, that in 1906 he was elected third vice-president of the Southern Motor Federation, a regional organization affiliated with the American Automobile Federation, a major proponent of road goods.

Source: The Biltmore Company

Any timid hopes that the automotive industry was making its way out of the woods have been dashed with the latest loss in consumer confidence arising from Toyota’s biggest recall in its 70-year history.

The recall of over 8 million vehicles over sticking accelerator pedals, and further problems with loss of braking on the latest Prius, Lexus HS250 h and the Sai models, will likely cost Toyota a total of 80 -100,000 cars in lost sales to other vehicle brands in the first half of 2010, as sales of its 8 recalled models and the Prius suffer a slowdown. Adding fuel to the fire is today’s press conference announcement by company president, Akio Toyoda, that the company is considering a recall of the Corolla, the world’s best selling car.

The loss of consumer confidence and the reigning media frenzy have wiped nearly one-fifth of the company’s value off the board of the Tokyo stock exchange. Moreover, the suspension of sales of eight Toyota models in the U.S. will not only dampen first quarter sales figures, but also offer a critical leg in to competitors offering trade-in incentives. “One of the key concerns for Toyota is the loss in sales of its flagship hybrid Prius to other market substitutes,” says Vigneshwaran Chandran, Frost & Sullivan’s Program Manager, Business Strategy and Innovation Group, in a new article entitled: Total Recall: Impact Assessment of Toyota’s Quality Issues on its North American Business. “Honda is a brand high on the brand recall list for Americans and the Insight mild hybrid which is competitively priced, could become an immediate alternative for Toyota customers,” Chandran warns.

Initial estimates suggest that the accelerator fix alone will cost Toyota half a billion dollars at least, and the overall cost could spiral to at least $1.5 billion. Compounding this is the temporary sales suspension that has already cost the company more than 50,000 cars in lost sales since January and a potential loss of another 50,000 cars over next three months. The biggest expense however, may be the legal fees, with already more than 40 class-action suits filed against Toyota in the U.S. and 13 lawsuits alleging death or injury due to unwarranted acceleration.

In the longer term, Toyota faces tremendous publicity damage. Owners worry about loss of vehicle re-sale value and confidence in the brand as representing safe and reliable cars has plummeted. In response, Toyota is trying to shift some of the blame onto suppliers, while repairing all affected models. As part of its damage control campaign, dealerships are open longer, television campaigns re-iterate the strong quality record of the company and the company has used an outright apology combined with a commitment to fix things. Despite these efforts, it remains to be seen how the whole issue will affect the long-term performance of the company. This is especially true as other carmakers, including Honda and Ford, increasingly face recalls.

Toyota upped its vehicle forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2010 from 7 million to 7.2 million units in February and is trying to come back strongly in March with strong incentives, including a $1,000 discount in addition to existing loyalty cash incentives for returning Toyota owners. The company also plans to offer free oil changes, regular services and match Hyundai’s 10 year powertrain warranty program. “With an anticipated slowdown in demand due to scrappage incentives coming to an end in most developed markets, we wait to see if the recalls affect overall consumer confidence and purchase behaviour, thus slowing down the market recovery further,” says Chandran.

Source: Frost & Sullivan