Car Blog

Italian luxury goods executive buys last DTS from Detroit-Hamtramck

Nicola Bulgari, an avid car collector and vice chairman of the Bulgari luxury goods firm, prefers not to dwell on the sheer number of automobiles in his car collection.

“Is it important?” Bulgari asked. “Is it the number or the quality that matters?  It’s the quality.”

Bulgari buys each car for a reason, not just to expand his collection. So when he heard Cadillac was ending production of the DTS luxury sedan, Bulgari knew he wanted the last one off the line.

Introduced for the 2006 model year, the DTS is a significant automobile, primarily because of the Northstar V-8 engine under its hood, Bulgari said. The last DTS, made this week at General Motors’ Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant, is now headed for Bulgari’s collection.

“I like the DTS because it’s a great sedan,” Bulgari said. “It’s the last of an era. I thought it would be wonderful to own the last Northstar in a DTS. It’s one of the best engines ever designed – reliable and a performer.” Read the rest of this entry »

Saab Automobile restarted production at its production facility in Trollhattan.

A first batch of around 100 cars is planned for this first day of production since April 6 and Saab Automobile plans to increase the daily production rate in the coming weeks in parallel with the full re-establishment of the supply chain.

Attending the restart of production were Victor Muller, CEO and Chairman of Saab Automobile, Mr. Pang Qinghua, Chairman and CEO of Pang Da Automobile, and Gunnar Brunius, Saab Automobile’s Vice President Purchasing & Manufacturing. The first cars to roll off the assembly line were a silver Saab 9-5 Aero XWD and an orange Saab 9-3 Convertible Independence Edition.

With production restarted, Saab Automobile will now focus on building and delivering the thousands of cars ordered by customers around the globe. As the assembly line was fired up again, the total number of outstanding orders from markets worldwide for the Trollhattan factory amounted to over 6,500 cars. The total order bank, including around 1,600 Saab 9-4X orders, amounts to over 8,100 cars. This number includes the almost 1,300 cars that were ordered by Pang Da Automobile and for which it paid EUR 30 million up front. Read the rest of this entry »

In an effort to provide used-car shoppers with improved access to information on open safety and emissions recalls, Nissan North America (NNA) announced it will begin sharing this information for Nissan and Infiniti vehicles with Carfax.

By providing vehicle identification numbers (VINs) with open recalls to Carfax, NNA is working to ensure that customers can access this information through a convenient third-party database. Updated VINs will be provided to Carfax on a weekly basis and will enhance recall campaign awareness and encourage campaign repair completion.

“We strive to have recall campaign work completed in a timely fashion,” said John Spoon, vice president, Parts and Service, NNA. “By working with Carfax we are making it easier for customers to determine if a vehicle has an open campaign and encouraging campaign service completion.”

Millions of used car buyers and sellers every year rely on Carfax Vehicle History Reports as part of their used-car evaluations. Open recall campaign information reported to Carfax for Nissan and Infiniti vehicles will appear on Carfax Vehicle History Reports and also will be available free to consumers at recall.carfax.com.

“Carfax and Nissan North America are committed to keeping our roadways safe,” said Larry Gamache, communications director at Carfax. “Adding Nissan and Infiniti to the list of manufacturers providing open recall campaign information to Carfax helps notify car owners and buyers and gets these cars into dealerships to be fixed.”

The newest entrant in a growing Prius family of hybrid vehicles, the Prius v delivers an unparalleled blend of versatility and fuel efficiency in a comfortable, mid-size package.  A new evolution in hybrid vehicles with excellent cargo space and Prius’ heritage of environmental performance and fuel economy, the 2012 Prius v will go on sale in Fall 2011.

The new Prius v, with “v” expressing the vehicle’s versatility, will meet the needs of growing families with active lifestyles while providing the same attributes traditionally found in the Prius DNA.  Despite the spaciousness of a family friendly midsize vehicle, the Prius v will deliver estimated EPA fuel economy ratings of 44 mpg city, 40 mpg highway and 42 mpg combined.

“The Prius v brings leading-edge hybrid technology to customers who need more room and provides more cargo space than 80 percent of all small SUVs,” said Toyota Division Group Vice President and General Manager Bob Carter. “And because it’s a Prius, it produces 66 percent fewer smog-forming emissions than the average new vehicle and will have the best mileage ratings of any SUV, crossover, or wagon sold in America.  We think that’s a win-win for everybody.”

The Prius v will be utilizing the same proven Hybrid Synergy Drive system as the third-generation Prius, with the advantages of high mileage, low emissions, and never needing to be recharged.

A product of the same culture of innovation that spawned the original Prius 14 years and two-million units ago, the Prius v follows family tradition with new technologies and equipment advances that continues to raise the bar on the cutting edge automotive science. Read the rest of this entry »

The Jeep brand announced that four-time Grammy award winning artist, Lenny Kravitz, will be featured in a national broadcast advertising campaign for the 2011 Jeep Wrangler which will include a new track, “Rock Star City Life,” from his highly anticipated ninth studio album, “Black and White America.”

“The Jeep brand is pleased to feature Lenny Kravitz and his music in the advertising campaign for the 2011 Jeep Wrangler,” said Mike Manley – Jeep Brand President and CEO, Chrysler Group LLC. “Not only is Kravitz an outstanding singer, songwriter and performer, he is a long-time Jeep owner and fan of the brand. Kravitz shares and understands the core values of the Jeep brand that include an authentic style, a no holds barred-adventurous approach to life, as well as mastering the ability to withstand the test of time.”

The 2011 Jeep Wrangler campaign launched with two new broadcast commercials, “Extraordinary Adventure Swamp” and “Swamp Thing” on May 12. Both commercials debuted “Rock Star City Life,” a track from Kravitz’s upcoming album, “Black and White America.” In “Extraordinary Adventure” viewers will watch Kravitz as his journey unfolds, showcasing the unique capability of the vehicle and illustrating that adventure is never ordinary in a Jeep Wrangler.

“In my experience this is the perfect partnership for me,” said Lenny Kravitz. “The Jeep Wrangler is a rugged classic. I’ve been driving the same one for 16 years and I refuse to get rid of it – If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Additional commercials for the 2011 Jeep Wrangler will also debut exclusively on the Jeep brand’s social media outlets throughout June. Read the rest of this entry »

In auto production, more power, better fuel economy and fewer emissions rarely appear together.

But the 2012 Camaro 3.6L direct injection V6 engine achieves all three by combining the exhaust manifold with the cylinder head into a single aluminum casting.

Each integrated exhaust manifold cylinder head — a V6 has two — replaces a cast iron exhaust manifold, six bolts, a gasket and a heat shield and three bolts. By eliminating this joint, the potential for a gasket failure is eliminated. And the change reduces engine weight by 13 lbs. or 6 kg per engine. Reducing mass helps improve fuel economy and the 2012 Camaro 2LS model is EPA estimated at 30 mpg highway.

“Reducing engine mass of this magnitude doesn’t happen often,” said Ameer Haider, GM assistant chief engineer for V6 engines. “Engineering usually looks for reduction in terms of grams not pounds. It’s just like removing a set of golf clubs from your car when you don’t need them – ultimately it saves fuel. When combined with other mass reductions, the customer will see better fuel economy over time with better performance.” Read the rest of this entry »