Despite numerous positive crash test results and assurances from both manufacturers and safety organizations, we still hear people say they'll never trade their bank-safe SUV for one of those little tin cans on wheels. This makes some people wonder what it would take to change folks' minds about automotive safety. A first-hand account from Nick Chambers, an admitted greenie who blogs for gas2.0.org, slammed his Yaris into a dirt embankment then rolled it three times. He not only lived, but walked away from his crumpled Toyota with little more than a bump and a really sore neck. He also admits that before his little off-road excursion in the Yaris, he wasn't completely sold on small car safety. But now he says, "Yes. Yes I would trust my family to a small fuel-efficient car, and I'm miraculously alive and mostly uninjured... so no, it's not a death trap."
One of Chrysler's long term success trategies is to partner with as many other automakers as possible to share the burden of developing new cars that would otherwise sink the Auburn Hills-based company if it were forced to go it alone. For the longest time we've known that the Pentastar was in talks with various Chinese automakers to develop a small car, and so far the only fruit of that is a rebadged version of the Chery A1 called the Dodge Breeze that's been spied out and about. China Car Times is now reporting that Chrysler and Great Wall may be working together on a car that would be produced by the Chinese automaker and sold around the world as a rebadged Chrysler. The U.S. automaker has reportedly sent engineers to China to help develop the car and ensure it's up to the world standards for safety and emissions. We don't yet know if the two companies are working on an all new vehicle that might be inspired by the Dodge Hornet concept or will use an existing one in Great Wall's lineup, though more than a few of its cars on sale in China come dangerously close to being clones of other cars like the Scion xB, Opel Astra and Fiat Panda. Check out Great Wall's full line-up and let us know what vehicle you think could wear the Pentastar badge proudly.
The Chevrolet Cruze is three kinds of car: small, American and important. And with the state of General Motors, it isn't even the individual words that mean the most: it's whether The General can combine them into a reliable, fuel efficient and cost effective package. True, we don't get to drive these things while they're parked under the lights, but to have a seat in the Cruze is to imagine a GM that begs the question, "Where was all this before the meltdown?" The studio imagery we've seen so far translates nicely into real life, and the center console looks and feels substantial – in fact, it looks like it could be foreign – even if the silver mesh treatment in the show car was a bit much. The car has a compact yet full-bodied stance, and will probably look even better on the road in a color other than scarlet, and not under klieg lights. Spring of '09 will welcome this first Cruze variant to Europe, after which other regions will get it, as well as a probable hatchback and wagon. It will be powered by a 1.4-liter turbo four-cylinder that charts up to 140 hp and is said to return 40 mpg. Have a look at the high-res gallery of live shots below to get a better idea of what to expect when the Cruze goes on sale here in a couple years.
Reminding us once again that there's more than meets the eye when shopping for a vehicle are recent impact tests performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety that measure how much it costs to fix a vehicle after after a low-speed accident. Sure, we're all interested in safety and styling, but we should also be concerned with how much these low-speed impacts will cost to repair. The winner of the testing was the Ford Focus, which scored light damage all the way around. The IIHS heaped praise on Ford for designing a bumper that can truly take a bump -- a novel idea. Amazingly, some small cars like the Hyundai Elantra, Toyota Prius and VW Rabbit cost up to a third of the car's worth to fix from damage resulting from a minor impact. That's a big problem for any car, but especially so for those sold on the merits of economy. To prove that it's not too difficult for auto manufacturers to design a better bumper, the IIHS made a few simple changes to a Prius that didn't affect the looks of the car. After retesting, it made it through the impact tests with a fraction of the damage. For the complete rundown on the testing procedures and results, click past the break.
For years, enthusiasts have been clamoring for Euro-only Blue Oval models to be sold in American dealerships. This dream is finally coming true, starting with the new Ford Fiesta and next-gen 2010 Ford Focus. Mark Fields has revealed that the European Focus and Foci built in North America will share 90% of their parts compared to just 20% today. Not only will this make for better cars, it also allows Ford to realize a double-digit profit improvement on each Focus compared to what it's earning today. This is certainly a positive development, as the automaker believes that the small car segment will nearly double in the next few years. We're inclined to agree unless Exxon discovers that the Earth's core is made of crude. The other part of Ford's plan is to make its North American plants flexible enough to respond quickly to the ever-changing U.S. market, which is something Toyota, Honda and other import automakers assembling vehicles in this country have already done with great effects.
Much attention has been paid to Ford's decision to bring six Euro Fords over to the States, but the Blue Oval isn't the only automaker that has good looking, fuel efficient vehicles overseas. Honda has a variety of petrol-sipping vehicles in its Japanese home market, and is now studying whether those are worth selling here in the U.S. The Japan-to-U.S. formula has already worked well with the stylish, sporty and efficient Fit, sales of which are up 73% this year. While the Fit has been sold in the U.S. since 2006, it has also been available in almost identical trim in Japan since 2001.
So Honda is considering offering its JDM Odyssey and compact Stream wagon (above) for the U.S., which would give the brand some wagon-like choices in its lineup. For now Honda is trying not to deviate from its long-term plans, but if the gas-drag on the U.S. market persists, bringing JDM models to market here is a no-brainer if they don't require a ton of investment to meet U.S. emissions and safety standards. As you might expect, we're all for this plan. While they're at it, we'll take the JDM Civic Type-R, too.
Besides the introduction of the Dodge Challenger, there has been very little good news coming out of Chrysler lately. Sales are down 22% for the year due to a lineup that's still heavy on trucks and SUVs, but there may be some help on the way as soon as 2009. Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli has hinted that a fuel efficient new vehicle(s) could debut next year, and platform sharing with other automakers would be behind the quick turn-around. Nardelli says the Auburn Hills-based automaker has re-prioritized its capital in an effort to quickly get to market the fuel-efficient vehicles that the market demands. Debuting even a single vehicle that's more fuel-efficient than anything else in the Chrysler lineup would likely have a big effect in light of the fact that its brands offer some of the least fuel-efficient lineups in the industry.
Nardelli didn't give any details as to which vehicle could arrive ahead of schedule, but speculation is that the Dodge Hornet is on the short list. The handsome Hornet (if it looks like the concept) will be based on the Nissan Versa small car platform, and was originally slated to arrive in Dodge guise in 2010. Chrysler is also rumored to be working on alliances with Tata, Fiat, and Chery, and each automaker has plenty of small, efficient vehicles at its disposal. None of those automakers has a presence in the U.S., though, so a quick turnaround on a platform that hasn't been properly crash tested doesn't seem likely.
GM currently owns about 13% of the small car market. With demand for small vehicles increasing with the price of black gold, GM is out to increase that market share. Nevertheless, even if it doesn't increase its share, it plans to make more money off of each small car sold. How? By raising the price, naturally.
The plan is simple: make better small cars, charge more for them. The upcoming Cruze could run you a few thousand more than the outgoing Cobalt, for instance. The test is to see whether cars like the Cruze will be worth the premium. GM Global Design Chief Ed Welburn said, "In North America, we never did a good small car." The General plans to bury that piece of its history... but it's going to charge you, the consumer, for the funeral.
The idea that GM can lasso the small car market while charging a premium, at the same time as slashes its marketing budget by $1.5 billion, takes some effort to swallow. One analyst said that demand for small cars will outstrip supply, so GM could get away with it. However, until we see proof of small GM cars that take bats to the established competition, we'll have to give this plan a "Hmmm."
While the big Japanese auto manufacturers have been incrementally improving their vehicles ever since they were first launched in the U.S., Hyundai has been bettering itself in leaps and bounds. While we're not quite ready to anoint Hyundai as the second coming of Toyota, it just isn't all that shocking anymore to hear that the Hyundai Elantra is now Consumer Reports' top-ranked 2008 vehicle amongst 19 other compacts and subcompacts. Beating out such high-quality stalwarts as the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and Toyota Prius is very impressive work, and Hyundai is justifiably proud of the accomplishment. Jim Trainor, a Hyundai spokesman, told the Detroit Free Press, "As I got the note from Consumer Reports, we were ecstatic. Coming from such a highly regarded industry source like Consumer Reports, it really says a lot about what we're doing."
Besides the aforementioned Honda and Toyota models, Mazda also scored fairly well with its popular 3 sedan and hatchback. The popular-with-the-people Ford Focus managed a mid-pack rating. Holding up the rear was the Chevy Aveo, which shouldn't be too surprising given the extremely low cost of entry into that model.
Since Hyundai/Kia has dropped the idea of a pickup truck, Kia's new assembly plant in West Point, Georgia will instead turn out small cars. The first vehicle that will roll off the assembly lines in 2009 is Kia's Sorento, with body on frame construction well suited to a pickup. What doesn't seem primed for a pickup, however, is a softening market, so Kia has decided to redouble its efforts on small cars.
No details about the upcoming car were discussed, only that we should expect a Spectra-sized C-segment vehicle that may be shared with Hyundai. Hyundai CEO Kim Dong-Jin confessed to the organization losing its way slightly by slacking off on small, high volume cars and going after larger vehicles to bolster the brand images and offerings. A return to its roots will please dealers, and the Genesis Coupe will kick off a turbocharging frenzy at Kia, which will focus on small displacement forced induction engines.
