TheDetroitBureau on Autoblog with Paul Eisenstein
Filed under: Recalls, Toyota
We’re very pleased to announce that veteran automotive journalist and Publisher of TheDetroitBureau.com, Paul Eisenstein, has joined the Autoblog team as a Contributing Editor. His editorials will appear regularly on Autoblog, beginning with this one:
Toyota: From “Benchmark” to “Troubled,” the Decline of an Icon
It’s been said that when the gods want to punish a company, they first give it 40 years of success. Okay, we might quibble with the precise number, but that certainly seems to fit Toyota. Even with last year’s bankruptcy at General Motors providing perspective, it’s hard to find any more rapid fall from grace.
It was just a year ago that the giant maker seemed to have everything going for it. It had toppled GM, the long-time automotive king-of-the-hill, to become the world’s biggest carmaker. It was routinely touted as the benchmark for what industry types like to call QRD, or quality, reliability and dependability to everyone else. Its Toyota Manufacturing System was the benchmark that everyone else set out to emulate. And as former Ford Vice Chairman Allan Gilmore was fond of repeating, the Japanese maker had “more money than God.”
Yet, it didn’t take long for things to turn upside-down following the release of the global 2008 sales numbers. Even as Toyota was savoring victory in its battle with GM, which was quickly plunging towards Chapter 11, Toyota’s financial house turned out to be in alarming disorder, the maker reporting its worst – indeed its first – loss since the guns fell silent at the end of World War II.
Paul A. Eisenstein is Publisher of TheDetroitBureau.com, and a 30-year veteran of the automotive beat. His editorials will bring his unique perspective and deep understanding of the auto world to Autoblog readers on a regular basis.
Continue reading TheDetroitBureau on Autoblog with Paul Eisenstein
Nissan Frontier tops latest round of IIHS crash tests, Chevrolet Colorado hits bottom
Filed under: Truck, Safety, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, GM, Nissan, Toyota
IIHS compact pickup crash tests – Click above for high-res image gallery
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has tested five compact pickup trucks for both rollover and side impact crashes, and overall, it would seem that the trucks’ performances were pretty dismal. Only the Nissan Frontier was given a ‘Good’ rating from the IIHS for rollover protection, with the Ford Ranger falling to second place with an ‘Acceptable’ rating and the Chevrolet Colorado, Dodge Dakota and Toyota Tacoma earning lowly ‘Marginal’ scores.
Side impact scores also failed to live up to expectations for some trucks, with the Frontier, Ranger and Tacoma getting ‘Good’ ratings and the Colorado getting the lowest ‘Poor’ rating. Equally as disturbing, though, was the performance of the Dakota, which was tested with optional side air bags (all the other trucks come standard with the bags) that failed to deploy in IIHS testing. Chrysler has reportedly identified the software glitch that caused the air bags not to deploy and is working on a fix. The Dakota will be retested with properly functional air bags at a later date.
See the results of the testing in our image gallery below and click past the break for the official press release from the IIHS.
2010 World Car of the Year finalists announced… is your favorite represented?
Filed under: New York Auto Show, Etc.
We couldn’t blame you for thinking that all of the ‘Of the Year” awards were finished for the 2010, but there’s still at least a few key bits of shiny hardware that have yet to be handed out – the World Car of the Year and World Performance Car of the Year. And while we’re not yet sure who will take home the big prizes, we do have a short(er)list of nominees for both accolades.
The field has been whittled down by 59 jurors to 10 possible winners in each category, and the top three finalists will be announced next month at the Geneva Motor Show ahead of the actual award ceremony at April’s New York Auto Show. The nominees are…
2010 World Car of the Year
- Audi Q5
- BMW X1
- Chevrolet Cruze
- Kia Soul
- Mazda3
- Mercedes-Benz E-Class
- Opel/Vauxhall Insignia / Buick Regal
- Porsche Panamera
- Toyota Prius
- Volkswagen Polo
Given the company it’s in, we’re not altogether sure why the Panamera isn’t in the World Performance Car running instead, but we digress. Speaking of which…
And yet 10,000 deaths per year means so little
Weak roofs are just one SUV design defect
Perhaps you’ve had enough recall news for the week? Well, forgive me then, but I’d just like to use the Toyota recall to demonstrate the silliness of American culture.
Today, foreign oil dependence is a hugely important talking point, and that’s it, it’s only a talking point. Nobody wants to take any real action, at least not today. It’s always about tomorrow.
Certainly, we can’t do the obvious, simple stuff than can be done today, like making our vehicles smaller and lighter to easily increase fuel economy and reduce foreign oil consumption. Our personal safety is just too important.
And safety drives the US auto industry, right? That’s why the Toyota recall scandal is SOOO important. It must be terribly important because it’s possible that a few people died due to a design defect.
Ironically, however, every year around 10,000 people die in SUV rollovers, many of which are significantly due to design defects, such as overly high centers of gravity, inadequate roof structures, defective tires, defective door latches and overly narrow tire tracks – all of which are design defects that the auto industry has known about for decades.
Dodge and Cummins reach multi-year contract extension
Filed under: Truck, Chrysler, Dodge, Diesel
2010 Dodge Ram HD – Click above for high-res image gallery
It’s tough to sell a heavy-duty pickup truck without a diesel engine offering. Ford uses Navistar, General Motors has worked with Isuzu Motors and Chrysler has Cummins. Of all the automaker diesel offerings, Chrysler’s pact with Cummins has lasted the longest (since 1989), and word from Chrysler’s official blog is that the two companies will continue to play nicely together into the future. According to a new post on the website, Cummins and Chrysler have agreed to extend their cooperation on a multi-year basis.
Cummins currently builds the 350 horsepower, 650 pound-feet of torque 6.7-liter diesel, which is optional on the Ram 2500 and 3500 and standard on the Ram 4500 and 5500 commercial trucks. Chrysler brags that the very capable powertrain is the only big diesel in the US without a selective catalytic reduction system that requires the owner to add diesel exhaust fluid. The Cummins 6.7 has been able to pass 2010 EPA emissions standards since its 2007 introduction.
Gallery: First Drive: 2010 Dodge Ram HD
Prius recall now official
In need of a software tweak
Toyota has acknowledged that the third generation Prius needs a software update to prevent a braking lag that can occur on bumpy or slippery surfaces. According to Toyota, the lag lasts for less than a second, but the brakes will work as long as the driver keeps pushing down on the brake pedal.
Toyota has already made the software update to all new Prius hybrids being sold.
2010 Vorsteiner Bentley Continental GT BR9 Edition
The recently released 2010 Vorsteiner Bentley Continental GT BR9 Edition really made its designers and engineers very proud. The newly introduced Continental BR9 Speed series is comprised of a 5-piece aerodynamic package and is made of revolutionary vacuum dry fiber technology.
The 2010 Vorsteiner Bentley Continental GT BR9 Edition designers first replaced the front bumper casing [...]
