News feed - Page 248 of 254 - The Weekly Driver

Recall Woes Continue For Sweden's Volvo

For the fourth time in four months, Volvo has announced a recall. The current potential problem is potential corrosion in fuel pump electronic modules in S40 and V50 models from 200-2006. A Volvo spokesperson the issue is could occur 82,000 cars worldwide. The modules can be exposed to water (from rain) and sale (from snow) which can cause corrosion. The recall is in “corrosive markets,” where inclement weather is more prevalent, including the United States, Sweden, Germany, Japan, Canada, Netherlands, Russia, China and France. Last November, Volvo, a subsidiary of Ford Motor Co., recalled 56,000 cars due to two separate

Pontiac, Citroen Get Dubious Honors In Top-10 All-Ugly Car List

Car lists are subjective. There are best sports cars, best luxury car lists and even an extreme list like the Top-10 Ugly Cars. And since everyone is entitled to an opinion, the “All-Ugly” list is a lot of fun.

Ho-Hum, It's Another Hummer (Truck?)

With Hummer, it’s all or none. You’re a fan or not. There’s no middle ground. I’m in the latter category. I don’t understand the popularity of the extreme vehicles. But the unique vehicles have a loyal following, and that following will soon expand.

Malibu Awarded North American Car of the Year Honors

Geez, a $100 million ad campaign should do something for ya. And do it did for the Chevrolet Malibu. The new Malibu, promoted extensively dating to the global telecast last October of the World Series, has been selected as the 2008 North American Car of the Year. The announcement gave General Motors Corp. the top honor for the second straight year. The Malibu was chosen by this year’s media jury from a field of 15 cars and 13 trucks. GM vehicles captured four of the final six candidate spots for the awards. The Malibu, which Chevrolet hopes will compete for

GM, Toyota Battle For No. 1 Over A Half-Million Cars

What’s a few hundred thousand cars between close friends? According the manufacturers’ respective tallies, General Motors and Toyota ended 2007 nearly tied for honors as the world’s biggest automaker. General Motors announced this week it sold 9,369,524 cars in 2007. Toyota also reported this week that it sold 9.366 million cars last year, about 3,000 fewer vehicles than GM. Toyota has steadily expanded its U.S. demand for small cars, particularly the hybrid market. Its Prius is the best-selling hybrid in the country. Toyota has also done well in the pick-up truck market, where the Tundra was named Truck of the

CarMax Makes Fortune Magazine's Top-100 List, But Only Employees Really Know

There’s a television commercial from a few years ago, a recruiting spot for the U.S. Army. It features a young soldier in training, jumping into a fox hole with a smile on his face and all the exuberance of the proverbial “kid in a candy store.”

Hyundai Earns Three Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Awards

For the first time, three Hyundai models have earned the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) Top Safety Pick award. The Hyundai Veracruz and Santa Fe received awards in the midsize SUV segment and the Hyundai Entourage in the minivan segment. All winning vehicles are recognized for their ability to protect people in front, side and rear crashes. This marks the third straight the Entourage has received the highest honor — the IIHS Top Safety Pick award in the minivan category. All three vehicles also earned five-star crash test ratings, the highest government rating under NHTSA’s New Car Assessment Program,

Subaru Debuts Redesigned 2009 Forester At Detroit Auto Show

Subaru of America, Inc., has introduced the redesigned, third-generation 2009 Forester, a crossover built on the manufacturer’s strong reputation for safety, dependability and versatility. The 2009 Subaru Forester expands that reputation. It features a bolder, more SUV-like design, and advancements in safety technology, comfort, and driving dynamics. The unveiling at the Detroit Auto Show occurred about three months before the Forester will arrive at dealerships nationwide. As with all Subaru models, the 2009 Forester comes equipped as standard with Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive. The new 2009 Forester again blends positive SUV attributes, including a high seating point and interior versatility with

Ferrari Sees (More) Red In ’07 — And It’s All Good

It would be a disastrous year for almost any other auto manufacturer. But selling 6,400 cars in a year is huge — at least for Ferrari. The Italian manufacturer announced this week that its sales total for 2007 represented a 14 percent increase from 2006. According to ANSA, the Italian News Agency, the company’s greatest success of the year came with the car maker’s announcement of its new prototype, the F430 Spider. Ferrari currently has more than 1,850 orders for its Scuderia model, including 500 orders in the United States. The manufacturer also currently has orders for 430 Ferrari 599

Left Side, Right Side? Where’s The Gas Cap?

It’s happened to all of us. You’re driving a rental car or a friend’s car (or your own car) and you stop for gas. As you’re getting close to the pumps you realize you don’t know on which side of the car the gas cap is located. This video, which claims to showcase a sure-fire way to determine the proper side, is a popular video on the site www.Metacafe.com. The video has attracted its share of attention. Plenty of those commenting say it’s an absolute truth; Others say it doesn’t hold its share of . . well, gas. One things

Ford Escape, 2008: The Weekly Driver Car Review

Ford debuted a smaller, less expensive alternative to The Explorer, its vastly popular sports utility vehicle, in 2001. In North America, it was called The Escape and in Europe it was called The Maverick. The new compact SUV was developed in conjunction with Mazda, which in turn is owned in principle by Ford. Thus, the Escape, the Mazda Tribute and Ford’s Mercury division SUV, the Mariner, are not surprisingly quite similar. A hybrid version of the Escape was introduced in 2004 and this year with the 2008 model, the Escape and its SUV siblings have all been redesigned. Why? The

The Future Is Near: GM Talks Driverless Cars

Have car, no driver required. General Motors Corp., has announced cars that drive and park themselves could be ready for sale within 10 years. According to an Associated Press article, much of the technology already exists that will allow the vehicles to operate using radar-based cruise control to lane-changing warning devices. Rick Wagoneer, GM’s chief executive, discussed driverless cars as part of his speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. In a recent interview with AP, Larry Burns, GM’s vice president for research and development, said “This is not science fiction.” The most significant obstacles facing the vehicles

Car Manufacturers’ Decree: Green Is Cool, Just Not The Color Green

Few trends are more trendy than “going green.” But in the automotive industry, the concept and the color don’t match. According to recent study from DuPont, only two percent of new vehicles built in North America in 2007 were painted green. Green was even a less popular choice than yellow, which accounted for three percent of manufacturers’ color choice. While green cars are far from the rage, cars painted white are now the North American industry leader. For the first time in eight years, according to a report on MarketWatch.com, white overtook silver as the most popular color choice, with

California Fuel Cell Partnership: Worthy Of A Good Look Or Visit

The Sacramento Auto Show was largely underwhelming this year. Electrical difficulties prompted the shut down of two display building at Cal Expo. And manufacturers’ presentations were uninspired – like the reps were going through the motions of presenting new vehicles for the umpteenth time — which they were. There were a few exceptions, including the display and energy of the presentation at the California Fuel Cell Partnership booth. The California Fuel Cell Partnership (CaFCP) is a collaboration of 34 organizations that believe fuel cell vehicles powered by hydrogen have the potential to change the future of transportation. The CaFCP web

Mazda RX-8, 2008: The Weekly Driver Car Review

Sports cars are rarely known for comfort or convenience. But Mazda does a good job of overcoming the stigma with the RX-8. It’s a coupe with four doors (sort of) and it’s about as comfortable as sports cars get. Mazda further differentiates itself in the sports car class via its signature rotary engine. It’s the system that replaces pistons pumping in cylinders with triangular rotors spinning in oval chambers. My weekly driver was the 2008 Grand Touring model, the most expensive of the three options, including the Sport and Touring. Each has a 1.3-liter, 232-horsepower engine with a six-speed manual

Cars Have Gone To The Dogs — Especially The Honda Element

It’s nice to “reconnect” with someone you used to know 30 years ago. Gina Spadafori and I were on the staff of The Hornet, the student newspaper at California State University, Sacramento. I recently contacted her after discovering her cool web site that combines two great subjects — dogs and cars. I may have seen Gina once since college, but I’ve read her work for a long time. Gina’s had a great career in journalism, specializing in writing about pets. She co-authors the syndicated column, Pet Connection, and she has written several animal-focused books. With several other journalists, Gina also