Classic Auto Express

So, Consumer Reports has finally lifted the “don’t buy” warning off of the Lexus GX 460, which is definitely good news for Toyota, who has been battling a myriad of problems over the past six months regarding safety issues. The Lexus, if you haven’t been following, was labeled as a safety risk by Consumer Reports due to unprecedented roll over problems during routine cornering. Apparently, however, the Lexus division has fixed the problem after recalling the vehicle, and the GX 460 is now on sale again in Lexus dealerships across the world.

Automobile transport companies have noticed the drop in not just GX 460 models shipping but all Toyota vehicles over the past six months, and this is a good indicator of what consumers are really looking at. Because, let’s face it, Detroit is definitely leaving Japan in the dust after all these problems that Toyota has been having – look at Ford and all their progress! Also, Consumer Reports has said that both the Acura MDX and the Buick Enclave are both better choices – and not just because of the safety features inherent in both vehicles.

So, next time you’re out shopping for an SUV, take some time and think about what you’re buying. Even though Lexus (and Toyota) have fixed the problem, just make sure that they have really fixed it.

The Lexus GX 460

Ford has recently posted their Quarter 1 2010 earnings, and they’ve beaten the estimates that top analysts have…well, estimated. Ford posted a whopping $2.1 billion in earnings this past quarter, reaping the benefits of a recovering automotive market and the dwindling competition from Toyota, which shot itself in the foot with all their safety problems. It marks the fourth consecutive quarter of Ford turning a profit, which is its longest streak since 2005; compare these numbers with their posted $1.43 billion loss in the first quarter of 2009.

They’ve also gained market share at a record pace – in fact, Ford hasn’t gained this much market share, this quickly, in 33 years – that’s right, since the late 1970’s. Their actual revenue – how much they took in in the first quarter – topped at $28.1 billion, which beat the analyst’s estimates of $20 billion, if only by a million dollars or so. Sales in cities such as New York City have helped the company find their sweet spot, and with new vehicles coming out soon such as the Fiesta, in addition to their focus on a global marketing strategy that will help standardize their sales across the globe, Ford has really been looking fit these past few months.

And, let’s not forget – Toyota’s shortfalls and Ford’s focus on excellence in the wake of the economic collapse have also helped considerably.

The new Ford Fiesta - the "global car" we hinted at.

Apparently the auto industry is having a great time, and automobile transporters are as well, because sales are up, baby, way up!

According to numbers released for the first quarter of 2010, new vehicle sales hit 2,544,829 vehicles, which is up a whopping 15.7% from last year’s first quarter numbers. Experts are now saying that the auto industry is actually mirroring the economy as the economy picks itself back up by its bootstraps. However, both have a long way before they’re 100% again.

To use a sports metaphor, it’s like an athlete who broke his leg in a big game can now put his weight on it. But he can’t walk, let alone run, on it quite yet.

To be honest that’s a good analogy, because the economy, while showing signs of improvement, is still limping along, and until it heals completely it’ll keep limping. But until it’s back on its feet for good, we can rest assured that there are no signs of a re-break any time soon. And let’s delve into some more numbers here:

Ford sales were up 40% over last year, and truck sales (which were down last year) were actually up 2 to 1 over cars this year, and Chevy sold 38% more models than it did last year at the same time. Nissan actually gained some important market share within the imported vehicle market while Toyota lost some (probably because of all the bad press – but we digress), and Chevy picked up 337,000 new customers.

That’s good news. Let’s hope it keeps getting better.

Sales are up!

Hey, here’s some good news coming out of Detroit – the first from Chrysler, anyway (Ford is doing well, I hear). Apparently, Chrysler’s numbers are up for the first quarter of 2010 – to the tune of $143 million, no less, which is no small feat coming from a company who had to be bailed out by the government and then bought out by a European company before it could get back onto its feet.

That $143 million, though, is profit – their total revenue for all of the first quarter of 2010 was $9.69 billion, which was up 2.7% from last year’s first quarter numbers. That’s good news. In fact, that’s great news, because it shows that the government’s plan for bailing out the company was a good one, and that the company is not going to fail, and that people are going to keep their jobs.

Yay!

It also means that the goals that the company (and the government) has set for itself could be attainable in this year, and they could even go so far as to paying back some of the money that the government loaned them. At the very least, they could open up a production facility or two and let some people work for them again – you know, try to stimulate the economy or something like that.

But that’s just my idea.

Anyway, Chrysler is looking up again – and so is General Motors, and so is Ford (but when weren’t they?). Hooray!

Could be.

Every time I think of a car that drives itself I think of the 2004 rendition of “I, Robot,” starring Will Smith. I don’t know why, but I do, and this newest news article reminded me once again that I need to watch that movie. I liked it, I thought it was good. But that’s beside the point. The point, ladies and gentlemen, is that cars that steer themselves may be closer than we think.

I mean, we already have cars that park themselves, so why not cars that actually drive themselves? The newest cars would actually accelerate themselves and brake themselves with a sophisticated set of sensors that would also alert the car to all cars around it. And you know what the kicker is? Making these cars that drive themselves requires little more than a minor software upgrade to the systems that are already installed into the car right now.

That’s insane.

The largest obstacles right now are primarily political, but experts are saying that these “robocars” could revolutionize the way we drive over the next decade. Will it be that soon? My money is on no, but hey, I’ve been wrong in the past.

These new driverless cars could also eliminate congestion on major freeways as robocars would not need to slow down in order to merge – everything would be done automatically as opposed to optically (as it is now with human drivers). That’s incentive enough right there for my endorsement. I mean, imagine driving down a freeway in Los Angeles, on your way to work, without traffic. Convinced yet?

I had to throw that in there. But remember - THE CAR DRIVES ITSELF!

And people say that the government doesn’t care.

This week, Congress is looking at the new Access to Repair Parts act, which supporters are claiming is great for consumers because original manufacturers (i.e. Ford, Toyota, General Motors) are trying to monopolize the market for aftermarket crash repair parts. However, automakers (i.e. Ford, Toyota, General Motors) are saying that the bill is bad because they (the automakers) are trying to put out a great product and push out cheap knockoffs that could conceivably have safety issues.

However, analysts who have…you know…analyzed the bill, are saying that the bill could save insurance companies over $2.8 billion in repair costs, which could save you a good chunk of change as well. However, there is always the concern that aftermarket parts aren’t up to snuff, and many opponents of the bill (i.e. Ford, Toyota, General Motors) state that they don’t want the bill passed because it has no provisions for the safety of the aftermarket parts.

Which is true – the current bill has no provisions regarding the safety or the quality of the aftermarket parts, which could be bad for the guys in D.C. as they’re struggling with the public’s outcry over the recent health care bill – but we don’t want to delve into politics too much, so we’ll let you to decide.

However, Congress should look at making aftermarket parts safe to put into vehicles, using the NHTSA as the regulatory agency that has power to hand out punishments to companies who don’t comply with the law. But that’s just my idea…

Warning: Political Content

General Motors is now in bed with the “recall” camp by calling for a recall of 5,000 heavy-duty vans that were put out in the 2010 model year. Apparently, the 2010 Chevy Express, GMC Savana 2500, 3500 and 4500 models have all been recalled, but really only fleet vehicles have been affected as that’s where the market is for those types of vehicles, so most consumers won’t be too affected by this, and even then most fleets in places like Columbus, Georgia, have yet to update their fleets to the new models.

However, the problem is that the alternator that was installed in the vehicles could catch fire and the engine could explode.

Yes. Catch fire and explode.

I’m sorry, but I kind of had to laugh at that. I mean, are the people in Detroit doing this on purpose just to mess with us? I guess not, considering that Toyota is located in Japan, but still, I mean…catch fire? Really?

I don’t mean to harp on them, and really, it’s not that big of a deal. The recall is relatively minor – only 5,000 vehicles total – and while most fleets will have to have their vehicles replaced and rental agencies won’t be able to rent them out, there weren’t that many on the market to begin with, so it’s not a huge deal in the long run. GM won’t lose too much face, because recalls are actually fairly common, but any recall right now immediately raises red flags for people considering what happened with Toyota.

I mean, maybe it’s just me, but I like my cars to not catch fire randomly. Maybe I’m just odd that way.

But we’ll be keeping an eye on the story if it develops into something more major (which it most likely won’t), so rest assured that you’ll be getting the low-down on all GM recalls (and any others as well).

On Today's Menu: Recall!

Maybe, maybe not, but you never know.

In their latest faux pas, Toyota’s Lexus brand put out their new GX 460, and only 5,000 were sold before Toyota released a stop work order on the vehicle after it received the rare “Don’t Buy: Safety Risk” warning from Consumer Reports. The Lexus GX 460, as it turns out, has a tendency to roll during unusual – but routine – turning conditions. The decision to recall has yet to be made, but at the moment Toyota is not producing any more, and now they’re looking at every SUV that they manufacture, under all different brand names, to make sure that no other vehicles are having the same difficulty.

This is Toyota’s new plan in dealing with safety issues. If they find one, they correct it as soon as possible, which is a heck of a lot better than their old solution: do nothing until they get beaten over the head with safety-related complaints, and then chalk everything up to something it’s not, all in an effort to avoid a recall. And then, once things get really bad, they wait until the government slaps a huge fine on them before they actually do anything about the safety issues.

But not anymore! Now, Toyota is trying to get ahead of the curve by stopping the production of the Lexus GX 460 until the problem can be solved as well as checking all their other SUV’s for safety problems. But it seems to me that this is still reactionary planning – what Toyota needs to do is actually make a car that’s great out of the gate, like they are so used to doing.

So come on, Toyota, let’s get the ball, huh? Because right now, someone dropped the ball and the rest of the company is playing hot potato with it, when someone just needs to pick it up and get things going again, and get Toyota’s reputation out of the gutter.

This is kind of cool, I think: apparently, General Motors and the Department of Energy have teamed up to develop a biofuel crop filled with the jatropha plant. Jatropha is a weed which, when refined, produces an oil that can be used as biodiesel and that can power a vehicle. It withstands frost and grows in a temperate climate, which makes it ideal for cultivation in North America. The Department of Energy is saying that this could replace corn and sugar as the main fuel for biodiesel, and as it is relatively easy and cheap to manufacture and refine, it could be the next step in the future of biodiesel.

For now, GM is planning on two Jatropha crops in India, with one of them being near GM’s main production plant in the country, and vehicles could start running on it in as little as five years. We’ve been talking about biodiesel as a major player in the future of alternative energy – even amidst all the focus on electric power – but GM is the first to really see it as being feasible. If this works out (and from the initial findings it definitely looks to be), this could be the big player in the next few years. So if you start seeing cars running off of some cool looking plant, you know that GM was the first to think of it, and the United States was the first to offer it for sale.

And people say we’re not innovative…

The Jatropha Tree

Well, this is pretty cool news, if I do say so myself. The Chrysler Group is unveiling eight new models that will have dealer-installed live TV at the Denver Auto Show, including the Chrysler Town and Country and the Ram 1500, 2500, and 3500 trucks. The Jeep Commander and the Jeep Grand Cherokee will also have live TV capabilities as well as the Dodge Grand Caravan, Nitro and the new Dodge Journey which is coming out this model year.

Drivers won’t be able to watch TV (obviously), but backseat passengers sure can. The service comes from Flo-TV and the option will be $629 to install, which overall isn’t that bad. There will be cable network channels as well, though it is still to be determined as to which channels will come in and which you won’t be able to get.

But this is pretty cool. I mean, if your kids are screaming in the backseat, turn on some SpongeBob. Uncle Bob demanding to see some Denis Leary? Put on some Rescue Me (sorry, it’s one of my favorite shows at the moment). This is just another step in the integration of technology and our daily lives, which is always welcome by citizens of this fine country of ours, and if it means some peace and quiet while you’re driving your kid’s soccer team to their respective homes, great.

Also, Chrysler is the first auto maker to provide live TV in their vehicles – this could be a great stepping stone for Chrysler, which hasn’t been looking too hot lately. Word has it that Ford and General Motors are also looking at deals with Flo-TV, but their lips are sealed as of yet. We’ll bring you more on this as it develops.

See? SpongeBob. (that’s actually the Flying Dutchman and SpongeBob, but you get the gist anyway)