This morning, Green Car Journal confirmed the five finalists up for nomination as the 2010 Green Car of the Year®, including the Audi A3 TDI, Honda Insight, Mercury Milan Hybrid, Toyota Prius and Volkswagen Golf TDI. The winner will be announced on December 3rd at a press conference during the media preview days at the LA Auto Show which, unlike last year, we’ll actually be attending. Also unlike last year, we find the majority of the nominees surprisingly fun to drive and genuinely deserving of the accolades (“majority” being the operative word, the jury’s still out on the Insight).
Unfortunately, our humble opinion will have very little bearing as the winner of this year’s prestigious award will be chosen by a star-studded panel of judges that in years past have included the likes of Jean-Michel Cousteau, Carroll Shelby, and the Crimson Chin himself, Jay Leno. We will, however, have the exclusive privilege of sitting somewhere in the back of the convention hall and straining to hear the ceremonial address as we try to get our new camera to focus, so check back later for official updates.
Ford continues to pull the Taurus back from its dark “Five Hundred” depths and towards the favorable glowing light of positive reviews that the Fusion garners. As another example, the 2010 Taurus adopts some very basic elements and even more technological innovations from favorite Ford child: the Fusion.
A Follow Up to the 9 Detroit Auto Brands We’d Miss the Least
On December 3rd of 2008, we published an article entitled “9 Detroit Auto Brands We’d Miss the Least” encouraging the Detroit automakers to slim down and get rid of some of their brands. The argument was, that just like Aron Ralston cutting off his own arm to survive, the major US car manufacturers needed to take drastic action and cut off some major portions of their business in order to keep the business alive as a whole.
Almost 7 months later, we’re back with a follow-up to see which of our original 9 brands survived and which ones went the way of Oldsmobile and Geo. Check it:
When Chrysler came out with the 300C, automotive journalists everywhere could be heard celebrating the return of the full-size, rear-wheel-drive, V8 American sedan. “Finally!” they cried, “A return to our glory days of yore!” Many waxed poetic about its slightly retro lines, saying that it looked like a proper American car. The gangster lines, the narrow windows, the hard angles, all bold, American design characteristics.
Thanks largely to the new set of hybrid vehicle incentives approved by the federal government in late 2008, potential buyers interested in purchasing either a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid or 2010 Mercury Milan Hybrid are eligible to receive a $3,400 tax credit, the highest federal tax credit currently available. Careful not to leave SUV buyers out in the cold, both the Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid also qualify for a little piece of tax credit pie – $3,000 worth, to be exact.
“Hybrids are an important part of our strategy to deliver the best or among the best fuel economy with all of our new products, and the Fusion and Milan Hybrids have set the pace for the company, as well as our competitors,” said group vice president of Global Product Development, Derrick Kuzak. “We’re glad to see our government help promote these advanced, clean fuel-efficient vehicles to the consumer.”
Gaining their market domination back in leaps and bounds, Ford has introduced what is certain to be yet another success with their newest generation of Ford SYNC technology. Launched a mere 18 months ago in a joint effort with Microsoft, the Ford SYNC communications and entertainment system has been met with such wild success, the company has reported that Ford vehicles (including those sold under the Lincoln and Mercury badge) equipped with SYNC sell twice as fast as those without. Wisely hoping to capitalize on their market strengths, for 2009 Ford has upgraded the SYNC system to include new real-time information features which integrate the use of voice-recognition software, integrated GPS technology, and Bluetooth capabilities. “Today, Ford leads the industry leader in infotainment,” explained Ford’s group vice president of Global Product Development, Derrick Kuzak. “As we transform our vehicle lineup, we intend to continue making smart technology a key differentiator for Ford, Lincoln and Mercury products.”
Currently, Ford SYNC is only available as an upgrade option on certain models, but Ford plans to integrate SYNC software into all models by this summer and ultimately expects to have 1 million SYNC-equipped vehicles on the road by the third quarter of 2009. According to Mark Fields, Ford’s President of the America’s, by making SYNC standard on all vehicles, Ford is attempting to set the industry standard for driver connectivity by keeping pace with the rapidly-expanding consumer electronics industry. Thus, SYNC’s new features are primarily focused on keeping the driver constantly “in the loop,” and include personalized traffic, news, and entertainment reports delievered via an extensive partnership network.
O.C. Welch of Hardeeville, South Carolina has come under fire recently from both mainstream media outlets and auto blogs alike for airing what some have tagged a “racist” radio advertisement for his dealership, O.C. Welsh Ford Lincoln Mercury. Titled “Wake Up America”, Welch’s ad spot takes a jab at import cars, saying of Toyota “All those cars are rice-ready, they’re not road ready…” When asked by the locals news network if he felt as though perhaps his ad had crossed some boundaries, a patient yet slightly exasperated Welch replied, “No I don’t think it’s going too far, I think it’s a reality, and we all need a reality check.”
One of the main problems GM has is its large number of brands, and the fact that they’ve spread themselves so thin across those brands. They argue that there’s value in those nameplates, since customers want a wide selection. The thing is, they’re half the size they were in their prime, and they have more brands. Here’s a run down of the brands GM owns: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Daewoo, GMC, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, and Vauxhall. They need to lighten up their load if they want to survive.
Remember the story of Aron Ralston? He was the climber who was out in the wilderness when a boulder fell on his arm and pinned him there. He was stuck, couldn’t get loose, so he did what needed to be done, he cut off his own arm. That kind of action takes giant brass balls, but it saved his life in a case where, otherwise, he most likely would have died. It’s tough to knowingly cut off a part of yourself, but in life or death situations, it needs to be done. That’s why we’ve put together this list of the 9 Detroit Automotive Brands We’d Miss The Least, to help the execs in Detroit make the tough choices. Yes, these are drastic moves, but the fact is, this is crunch time, life or death time. Now Detroit just needs to grow a set the size of Aron Ralston. Check it out:
While there still may be little to really set the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner apart from one another, there are some notable upgrades for the newest Mariner model that make it better than ever.
Going green is the fashionable thing to do these days and looking to cash in, automakers have begun to release a flood of hybrid vehicles on to the market. Unfortunately, many of these so-called “hybrids” are considered niche market vehicles and often carry a price tag that reflects that. Both the economic and the energy crisis are a very real thing, however, and motorists looking to downsize for legitimate reasons, rather than simply because it’s trendy, run the risk of being hoodwinked by hollow hybrids.
While there are a countless number of eco-friendly options currently available that legitimately earn the right to be called hybrids, many are so expensive they seem almost counterproductive to the overall goal (yes we mean you, Toyota Prius). What few motorists are aware of is that a vehicle doesn’t have to bear the coveted “hybrid” tag in order to achieve great gas mileage, and “buying green” shouldn’t immediately translate to “mountainous debt.” So if you’re looking to find a ride that’s high in mpg’s and low in USD’s, check out our eco-friendly picks tailored to meet the needs of 5 different lifestyles.
