Most days, California must seem like Kazakhstan for the Big Three. Domestic products aren't so popular out West, where Toyota and Honda have long stood atop the sales charts. But not in 2011.
According to a report in Automotive News, both General Motors and Ford managed to bump Honda from its silver medal position in 2011, though Toyota still holds a commanding market share lead. In a storyline we've heard before, the twin natural disasters in Asia curbed Japanese production, causing a 4.5 point loss of market share. Toyota's market share dropped from 22.8 to 19.2 percent, while GM and Ford tied at 12.6 percent - ahead of Honda at 12.1.
Booming sales in the Golden State helped the domestics to their 1.8 point gain. New vehicle registrations in California were up 9.9 percent, according to the report. The biggest sales gains last year were made by Kia and Jeep, which were up 53 and 49 percent, respectively.
Chrysler employees received some good news this week. The automaker announced it would issue profit-sharing checks worth $1,500 to each of its hourly workers for the first time since 2005. The company posted a $183 million profit for 2011, marking the first time the company has avoided a loss in six years, according to The Detroit Free Press. The earnings were due largely to a host of more compelling vehicles, including the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Dodge Durango, Chrysler 200 and 300. Each of those vehicles command a higher price tag than their less-refined predecessors.
On average, buyers have been willing to hand over $3,200 more for their Chrysler vehicles than they did just one year prior. Company CEO Sergio Marchionne said the profit-sharing checks were a reward that the company's workers had earned.
Interestingly enough, parent company Fiat isn't enjoying the same success back home. According to the report, without the earnings from the Italian automaker's stake in Chrysler, Fiat would have reported a $265 million loss in 2011. In a strange turn of fate, Chrysler has begun supporting Fiat. With Italy and the rest of Europe in the throws of a debt crisis, the automaker doesn't look to have a better 2012, either.
There's no end to the perks of being a Formula One racing driver, especially if you happen to drive for Scuderia Ferrari. As if piloting one of the fastest F1 cars on the grid weren't enough, Ferrari has gifted each of its gifted drivers his own 458 Italia, Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari and Maserati GranCabrio, to name just a few. And something tells us that if either Fernando Alonso or Felipe Massa wanted anything else from the expansive Fiat-Chrysler product range - say, a Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8, for example - that would hardly pose a problem.
That's exactly what the talented duo got the other day at the Fiorano test track at Ferrari headquarters in Maranello, where the first two examples of the new SRT8 in Europe were delivered to the pair of stars. Certainly, the Grand Cherokee SRT8 has plenty to love, what with its 6.4-liter Hemi V8 and 5-second dash to 62 mph, but Fernando And Felipe got more than that.
These two unique examples were decked out in Rosso Corso , with matte black front grille, a black offset racing stripe, black roof, carbon fiber trim and white accents. Ride height was lowered by 1.5 inches on unique forged and painted 20-inch alloys, and the interior has similarly been decked out in red leather accents and top-stitching and even yellow dials on the instruments.
Nice work if you can get it. All you have to do is convince the most victorious team in motorsport that you've got what it takes to be world champion, and you can have one too. Otherwise you can follow the jump for the press release and scope out the high-res images in the gallery above.
Continue reading Alonso and Massa get a pair of Ferrari-red Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8s
The world would be considerably less entertaining if we could all predict the future. Even so, the classic car gurus at Hagerty Insurance have cast a few chicken bones in an attempt to figure out which vehicles produced today might eventually turn collectible.
The company restricted entrants to hardware with a price tag of less than $100,000, so the list isn't populated with too many wild exotics. While vehicles like the Nissan GT-R Black Edition, Ford Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca Edition, Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and Porsche 911 are low-hanging fruit, the list also featured a few surprises.
For starters, it begins with none other than the mighty Buick Regal GS. Hagerty says the vehicle is a win because it's the first Buick with a manual transmission since the fall of the Holy Roman Empire. The Fiat 500 Abarth also makes an appearance alongside an even hotter hatch, the Volkswagen Golf R. Of course, we're simply thrilled to see the sinister Audi TT RS make a showing. Hit the jump for the full list or view each vehicle in our gallery above.
Continue reading Hagerty predicts this year's future classics
In September, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began a probe of 2002 and 2003 Jeep Liberty models. Owners were reporting that airbags were deploying when there hadn't been an accident. At the time, there were 39 complaints filed: seven to NHTSA and 32 field reports from Chrysler. Ten of those complaints resulted in injuries.
A report by The Detroit News says the probe has been upgraded - there have now been 87 complaints, with 50 of them resulting in injury. Chrysler hasn't been able to nail down a single cause of, or even a single protocol for the problem; the airbags have deployed on startup and when the car is running - sometimes it's just the driver's side unit and sometimes it's both driver and passenger bags.
There are 386,873 Liberty vehicles included in the probe from those two model years. Chrysler says it is cooperating fully with the investigation and trying to find the source of the issue, with one suggestion being "a transient voltage spike" in a circuit.
Business was a-boomin' in the auto industry last year, and while a number of factors conspired to keep cars moving through dealerships, chief among them was discounts. How do we know that? This infographic contains part of the answer.
Compiled using data from car-shopping website CarWoo!, the infographic tells us which automakers gave the most discounts last year, where they were given, who got them, and more. Which automaker doled out the most discounts? Jeep, which CarWoo! says was selling its vehicles at a 17.7-percent discount in 2011. Which automaker also posted the largest percentage gain in sales last year? Jeep, whose sales jumped over 44 percent compared to 2010.
Mitsubishi and Kia, which posted the second and third largest percent increases in sales last year, also make CarWoo!'s list by having offered high discounts of 11.7 and 12.1 percent in 2011.
Big savings didn't always equal big sales, though. Infiniti, for instance, is on record offering discounts of 12.2 percent in 2011, but still saw its sales fall 4.8 percent.
Check out the rest of what CarWoo!'s infographic has to say about savings after the jump.
Continue reading Infographic: Which automakers gave the biggest discounts?
Jeep is using the 2012 Houston Auto Show and 2012 Washington D.C. Auto Show to unveil a new production-intent concept. Based on the Grand Cherokee Laredo X model, what we have here is a mostly blacked-out version of Jeep's flagship product, with a few highlights in a finish Jeep calls Platinum Chrome.
Included in the blackout are the front grille (with Platinum Chrome mesh inserts), headlamp bezels and liftgate light bar. Platinum Chrome is also used on the lower front fascia. Unique to this model are 20-inch gloss black aluminum wheels in a split five-spoke design. This new Grand Cherokee concept will be shown in both Brilliant Black and Deep Cherry Red.
Curious why it's only known as the "Grand Cherokee Production-Intent Concept"? That's because there will be an online contest to help determine its official moniker. Will it be the Stealth, Noir, Dirty Dirty or the Back-in-Black edition? How about our personal favorite, the Grand Cherokee Emo Edition? That's for voters to decide. The winner "will have a chance to win a new 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee," says Jeep in the official press release after the break.
Continue reading Stealthy Jeep Grand Cherokee concept headed for production
Barrett-Jackson 2012, Camaro ZL1 vs Shelby GT500, Volkswagen says it's really #1, C7 Chevrolet Corvette
Episode #266 of the Autoblog Podcast is here with Chris, Dan, Zach and Drew Phillips this week. Topics include the Barrett-Jackson auction, smack talk from the Camaro ZL1 chief, Volkswagen disputing GM's claim of #1 in the world, and a C7 Corvette sighting. Your questions and comments power the end of the 'cast, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. We've embedded our Q&A module after the jump for you to scroll through and follow along, too. Thanks for listening!
Autoblog Podcast #266:
Barrett-Jackson 2012
Camaro chief says ZL1 will beat Shelby GT500
GM beats Volkswagen, or does it? And does it matter?
Chevrolet C7 Corvette spotted
In the Autoblog Garage
2012 Cadillac CTS-V Wagon
2012 Jeep Wrangler
2012 Nissan Rogue
2012 Volkswagen Tiguan SEL
Hosts: Dan Roth, Chris Shunk, Drew Phillips, Zach Bowman
Runtime: 01:07:43
Get the podcast
[UStream] Listen live on Mondays at 10PM Eastern at UStream
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes
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Don't cry for the Dodge Avenger just yet. According to USA Today, Chrysler is set to introduce new midsized sedans to replace both the Chrysler 200 and the much-maligned Dodge Avenger. The vehicles will be built on a version of the same platform that underpins the 2013 Dodge Dart. That news runs contrary to word that the Avenger is headed to the great scrap pile in the sky after the current generation runs its course. Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne is looking to shore up the company's small car efforts and spread the cost of platform development across as many models as possible.
Marchionne also made mention of introducing a new hybrid hatchback under the Chrysler 100 nameplate, though details are scarce at the moment.
USA Today reports the same platform may be used for the next-generation Jeep Liberty and Compass, which are slated to debut sometime in 2013. Marchionne says both vehicles will be trail-rated and capable of standing up to the kind of abuse Jeep buyers demand. Even so, the CEO says the vehicles will have their "origins in the architecture of a sports car."
Speaking of sports cars, Marchionne also made it clear Alfa Romeo is still coming to the States, though the Italian brand's strategy has shifted somewhat. The models headed to the U.S. market will be lightweight and powered by a turbocharged 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine offering 300 horsepower. Certainly sounds good to us.
2013 Porsche Boxster, Detroit Show Editors' Choice, Chrysler/Fiat looking for a third, Nissan NY debut, VW beats Toyota
Episode #265 of the Autoblog Podcast is here with Chris, Dan, Zach and Chris Paukert this week. Topics include the 2013 Porsche Boxster, a discussion of the Editors' Picks from the Detroit Auto Show, a possible third partner for Chrysler and Fiat, a mystery debut in New York for Nissan, and Volkswagen beating Toyota in sales for 2011. Your questions and comments power the end of the 'cast, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. We've embedded our Q&A module after the jump for you to scroll through and follow along, too. Thanks for listening!
Autoblog Podcast #265:
VW beats Toyota
2013 Porsche Boxster
Big New York debut for Nissan?
Marchionne looking for yet another partner?
Editors' Choice from Detroit
In the Autoblog Garage
2012 Cadillac CTS-V Wagon
2012 Jeep Wrangler Sahara
2012 Cadillac SRX
2012 Chevrolet Sonic LTZ
Hosts: Dan Roth, Chris Shunk, Chris Paukert, Zach Bowman
Runtime: 01:31:13
Get the podcast
[UStream] Listen live on Mondays at 10PM Eastern at UStream
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes
[RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator
