2009 Scion xB: One of Several Recalled Vehicles

In the latest recall from Toyota, 1,348 vehicles, including the 2010 Toyota Tundra, the 2009 Toyota Yaris, Tacoma, Sienna, RAV4, Highlander and the 2009 Scion xB and TC will be pulled back into dealerships because incorrect labels were used that may result in the vehicles’ being overloaded, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Here’s a crazy metric that the eggheads at Sportec figured out that helps put this nutso Swiss tuner 911 into perspective: 214.5 horsepower. At each wheel. At an astonishing 8200 RPM, mind you. Basically, this all-wheel-drive 911 will destroy the fabric of the universe with its tires. Einstein is spinning in his grave, and the insurance companies are running for the hills because they certainly don’t want to pay out on your life insurance policy. 0-62 MPH happens in 3.0 seconds, and 60-telephone pole will happen after an additional 4 seconds.

I’ll go ahead and answer the question in your head. The Dodge Caliber, with a final score of 49 out of 100, is the only vehicle tested by Consumer Reports that scored lower than the Honda Insight (54 points). David Champion, senior director of CR’s Auto Test Center calls it “the most disappointing Honda Consumer Reports has tested in a long time”. CR testers berated everything from its visibility to interior noise and handling. The as-tested 38 mpg fell within manufacturer’s claims and softened the blow a bit, but I have to wonder how a car with so many faults still garners a “Good” overall rating from Consumer Reports. First place was given a “Very Good”. Photos, full press release and my proposed ratings system after the jump.

OK, words don’t even begin to describe our reaction to the news that Aston Martin is considering rebranding the upcoming Toyota iQ city car as a Aston Martin. No joke. We’re like not even joking. Multiple sources are reporting that Ulrich Bez, CEO of Aston Martin, is seriously considering introducing this badge-engineered Toyota into the Aston lineup. In a press release describing the Cygnet concept, Bez describes it as “akin to an exclusive tender to a luxury yacht … allow[ing] us to apply Aston Martin design language, craftsmanship and brand values to a completely new segment of the market.”

A few days ago, at around 4pm on June 25th, Chevrolet Volt chief engineer Andrew Farah took some time out to answer questions about the car via a live webchat hosted at the official GM FastLane blog.

Farah has been involved in the development of the Volt since around early 2007, and he’s apparently the first person to drive the brand new “production intent” Volt. I was looking forward to getting some juicy news about the electrojesus car, but it turned out to be a little more like a PR stunt with none of my questions slipping past. So I added an addendum at the bottom of the transcript which includes a couple of my questions and simulated answers. Enjoy, Ridelusters.

GM is dumping its share of the joint-venture New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (or NUMMI), which GM and Toyota have operated together since 1984, although the plant dates from the 1960s. The venture was already split 60% toward Toyota parts production, and now GM and Toyota have become unable to agree on any future GM products to be produced at NUMMI. Thus, GM’s ownership stake will be left in “Old GM,” essentially abandoning the plant to Toyota. This will leave Toyota with a union plant in their group of mostly non-union American manufacturing facilities. We’ll keep you posted about what Toyota’s plans for the facility are. Press release after the jump.

No, that’s not a typo – Mahindra & Mahindra, the Indian truck manufacturer famed for its Jeep replicas, is still on track to bring their “Pik-Up” stateside by the end of the year. You may remember it as the rather homely pickup formerly known as the “Appalachian,” whose moonshine-y sounding name must have been a casualty of the Hindi-to-English translation game. However, even the Pik-Up name might fall by the wayside as Mahindra’s American distribution partner, Global Vehicles USA of Atlanta, wants to use alphanumerics to designate North American trucks. In any event, why consider a Mahindra truck? A powerful and frugal 2.2L turbodiesel making 140 HP and 236 ft-lbs of torque will make it the only compact pickup in the US to offer a diesel, a fuel economy of more than 30 MPG on the freeway, and its mid-$20,000 price range should make it appeal to a wide variety of tradespeople.

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:

Late this summer, the 2010 Lincoln MKZ will receive a luxurious upgrade with the release of the Executive Appearance Package. Looking to project a more austere air, the Executive Appearance Package’s biggest selling point is the addition of genuine walnut appointments, available in either Dark Charcoal or Cashmere color. Other interior accessories also include Scotland’s Bridge of Weir (we’ve never heard of it either, but it was capitalized, so it seemed important) leather upholstery seats leather-trimmed seats, unique tuxedo stitching , unique console armrest insert, Genuine Swirl Walnut wood instrument panel accents, Genuine Swirl Walnut wood console, and premium front and rear floor mats with the Lincoln star. Exterior options also receive the 1% treatment with comically named paint choices, including Sangria Red and Tuxedo Black (among others).

The MINI E UK Research Consortium has won a £25m grant from the UK Government’s Technology Strategy Board in order to launch a 12-month field study of the MINI E’s real-world sustainability. Spearheaded by MINI’s parent company, BMW Group, the MINI E UK Research Consortium is comprised of several corporate, academic, and government organizations, including energy provider Scottish and Southern Energy, Oxford Brookes University’s Sustainable Vehicle Engineering Centre, the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), as well as both the Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council.

Joining similar projects already underway in the U.S. and Germany, the UK test project will bring BMW Group one step closer towards achieving Strategy Number ONE: mass-producing the electric plug-in MINI E within the next five years.