Car Blog

Korean car manufacturer Hyundai Motor reports a 21% jump of its 3rd quarter earnings primarily because of the strong performance of its Tucson SUV and the Sonata Sedan. The net income of Hyundai is pegged at 1.92 trillion won or US$1.7 billion for the three months ending September 30 compared to last year’s 1.59 trillion.

The Seoul-based carmaker is considered as the biggest manufacturer of vehicles in South Korea and has a projected profit of 1.89 trillion won according estimates by analysts. Hyundai will most likely sell around four million units this year as they increase production in plants located in their bigger markets like China. The carmaker might achieve record earnings for 2011 and might surpass profits made by Toyota Motor of Japan.

The earnings of Hyundai affirms the competitiveness of the brand in markets overseas. Forecasts say that Hyundai might fare better than other car manufacturers as the demand lowers next year.

From January of 2011, Hyundai has delivered about 3 million units and they are most likely to hit more than four millions sold units this year. The initial goal of the company was pegged at 3.9 million vehicles.

The demand in China is huge as the monthly sales of the Hyundai Sonata hit 10,000 units every month starting last September. The company also beefed up their operations in Russia after it started the production of the refreshed Rio of Korean affiliate Kia Motors.

The sales of Hyundai in China jumped by 12% which translates to 553,000 units for the first three quarters of the year. Sales in Korea rose by 7.3% or about 510,000 vehicles. Sales in the United States increased by 20% for the first three quarters while Europe sales also improved by 9.4%.

Complaints about the 2010 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan models have taken a serious turn as U.S. Safety Regulators upgraded its preliminary investigation. The initial issue about the models revolved around the models’ wheel stud fractures that might cause the tires to pop out.

The issue involves around 317,315 medium-sized sedans from Ford Motor Co. According to the reports from the website of the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the investigation will not involve an engineering analysis.

According to the statement made by the U.S. Safety Regulators, the car company’s own investigation of the defect is still in process and therefore, the former widened its own probe to access the root of the problem and complaints.

Ford Motor Co.’s spokesman, Wes Sherwood, has said in a statement that the company gives it full cooperation to review the matter at hand. Moreover, he stressed that the company is not aware of any injury reports that might be related to the alleged wheel stud fractures.

According to the reports from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a total of 128 warranty claims and 29 wheel fracture-related complaints have been tallied. However, the NHTSA said that they know of about four incidents that involved separated wheels due to the said defect.

An engineering analysis is done to further study the cause of the problem. Should the NHTSA rule that the defects should be handled by the auto manufacturer; a recall might be in order. However, this is not always the case.

Speed lovers has another reason to smile as Shelby American might just give you a chance to drive the beefed up Mustang GT as they plan to bring back their rent-a-racer program.

Reports say that the rental program might be revived as early as next spring just in time for their 50th year anniversary. The Mustang Gts will come in their traditional black and gold configuration and white and gold finish.

Under the hood of the 2012 Mustang GT is a 4.0L naturally aspirated V8 engine that gives out 412 horsepower paired with an automatic gear box. The car manufacturer collaborated with Hertz back in the 190s to build 1,000 units of the high performance Mustang.

After forty years the program returns, although there is limited availability, the GT-H remains to be very popular. The cars have actually been put to sale. Right now, what Shelby wants to find out is if there will be a good number of interested race fans for the 2012 program before they give it a go signal.

Hertz has always been collaborating with Shelby. If the rental pushes thru, Hertz will be offering the Mustang under their Adrenaline collection. Aside from the exciting body finish, Shelby will also boost the car’s power. Most likely we can hear about the details with regard to the car and program once Shelby American takes the next step closer to the implementation of the program.

The Gallardo is the best selling version of the Lamborghini, mainly because it is the cheapest. There are lots of people who would love to own one. The problem is that they can’t really afford to have both a Gallardo and another car for everyday driving. That raises the question of whether or not you can use your Lamborghini Gallardo as a day to day car.

As to whether or not you can use the Lamborghini Gallardo as a day to day car is going to be up to you. In reality you can use any car as your day to day care if you really want to. The question is just how practical is it. For the Lamborghini Gallardo the answer is not particularly practical. The biggest problem that you are going to face is the lack of space in your car. There is virtually no trunk space and there in only one extra seat. If you always drive alone and don’t mind leaving your groceries in the passenger seat it might be an option.

The other big issue that you are going to face with using a Gallardo as your everyday car is that you will be limited in where you can drive it. Speed bumps are always going to be a problem in a car that is that low to the ground. It is also a fairly wide car so parking may be an issue. Actually parking will likely be a very big issue since most people are not going to want to leave their very expensive Lamborghini parked on the side of the street.

Comfort is going to another hindrance to using your Gallardo as a day to day car. Like all top end sports cars it has a very stiff suspension. This is great for getting around corners at very high rates of speed. It isn’t so good for driving around town. The bumpy city streets are going to make driving the Gallardo very unpleasant. You will really feel every bump, this is something that you may be willing to put up with for a short time but after a while it will really start to bother you.

Nissan just announced the official prices of the 2011 line up of their well loved Nissan 370Z including the NISMO 370Z, 370Z Roadster, and the 370Z Coupe which all have rolled out to dealerships.

Here are the MSRPs for the Nissan 370Z M.Y. 2011:

370Z Roadster Touring 7AT          $42,370

370Z Roadster Touring 6MT         $41,070

370Z Coupe NISMO (6MT)            $39,990

370Z Roadster 7AT                           $38,820

370Z Roadster 6MT                         $37,520

370Z Coupe Touring 7AT               $36,580

370Z Coupe Touring 6 Manual    $35,280

370Z Coupe 7AT                                $31,910

370Z Coupe 6MT                               $30,610

The 2011 Coupe and Roadster versions of the Nissan 370Z are still dependent on the 3.7L V6 powerplant with DOHC configuration that produces 332 horsepower coupled to either a six-speed manual gearbox that is equipped with a SynchroRev Match system or a manual shit seven-speed transmission via paddle shifters plus DownShift Rev technology. The changes for the 2011 editions of the Coupe and the Roadster will just be limited to upgrades of the Navigation Package to have a RearView Monitor and a Gun Metallic finish option for the exterior.

The Nissan NISMO 370Z is set to wow everyone with its powerful 350 horsepower engine, racing setup for its exterior and for its interior, specially configured suspension system, super lightweight alloy wheels, optimized computer module, and especially designed exhaust system. The NISMO 370 can only be availed with a six-speed manual transmission that comes with SyncroRev Match and limited to Gun Metallic color.

BMW released some details about the 2011 X3 over the internet and also dropped some camouflaged photos. With the introduction of the X1 in Europe, the German carmaker is giving the X3 some additional cabin space so we can expect the 2011 X3 to be a bit longer and wider than its current version you see on the roads.

Although the new X3 is bigger, the vehicle slimmed down a bit by 55 pounds giving it some thumbs up to the fuel economy department. BMW also made the steering of the 2011 X3 electric instead of the pneumatic type to decease the drag on the powerplant.

Consumers can not expect surprises when they pop up the hood. Buyers in the UK will be able to select from 4 engine variants. The petrol engines will be marketed as a 3.0L naturally aspirated 6-cylinder with an ouput of 268 bhp and a twin turbocharged version that gives out 302 bhp. The bigger chunk of sales in the UK though will be on the diesel variants. One will have the 2.0L 4-cylinder diesel powerplant that gives out 181 bhp and the other will be the stronger 3.0L diesel engine that outputs 241 bhp.

BMW is also planning to add more engine options in the line up including an ActiveHybrid variant on the drawing board.

The entry level unit will have its engine paired with the 6-speed Getrag manual transmission while the rest gets the 8-speed automatic gearbox with a stop-start system.

BMW also equips the new X3 with a new steering system that uses mechanical-electric technology from Thryssen Krup replacing the ZF hyrdraulic system of its older sibling.

The 2011 X3 will also get VDC or variable damping controls to improve its ride.

A year ago, the USA’s auto industry, along with the rest of the economy, was at its lowest point. To worsen the situation, Americans wanted to wash their hands off the bail out. They have reason to, having just gone through pricier loans mandated by the country’s leading lenders. Still, President Obama with the country’s Auto Task Force decided to tighten their belts and aid Chrysler and General Motors through the bankruptcy (also thanks to the Cash for Clunkers program).

While this move provided the two manufacturers with $50 billion worth of loans, and kept a lot of employees off the streets, the fiscal and political costs were pretty high. Before this move, the Congressional Budget Office and the Treasury Department of the United States already estimated a total of $30 billion in losses.

According to Detroit News, the White House seems more optimistic about the money and the industry a year after that rough estimate. This is probably borne of the positive note in President Obama’s report regarding Chrysler’s operating profit and GM’s early pay off. The figures were friendly and the bail out was a success, White house reported. The latest projection by the Treasury Department and DOT decreased from $30 billion to $8 billion. While it’s significantly less than the predicted losses a year ago, America will still lose money.

The US government will now be focusing on getting that money back once GM releases its offering to the public. It is rumored that the company will be doing just that by June this year. The US Government currently owns 60.8% of General Motors.

Infiniti announced recently that they will be releasing special Anniversary Editions of the 2010 G37 sedan, convertible, and coupe. The sedan will have 350 unit run while the convertible and coupe will only have 200 units rolling out of their factories. These anniversary editions will go on sale in the United States by mid April.

Each of the G37 special anniversary edition will be painted with a Graphite Shadow finish. The black grille is contrasted by the red leathers of the interior for the sedan variant. The convertible and the coupe get some maple hues for the interior. All editions are lined with aluminum trim.

Under the hood of the Infiniti anniversary edition G37 is a V-6 3.7L engine that is coupled with an automatic transmission with a 7-speed configuration.

The designers also installed alloy wheels, chin spoilers, and redesigned sills for the coupe and the convertible. The coupe and the sedan sports a rear spoiler. All of the models make use of 4-wheel active steering except for the all wheel drive sedan.

The Infiniti G37 Anniversary Edition has the following prices: Sedan for $43,350; coupe kicks off at $50,550; the convertible goes for $54,900.

Mercedes-Benz recently announced that they are planning to field a small SUV and a compact vehicle to their market in the United States but they have not decided on the timing of the release.

The SUV and the hatchback will be deriving its DNA from the next gen of B Class that is scheduled to debut in Europe before the end of 2011.

Benz executives hint of a stylish sedan that will roll out to their dealerships in Europe as part of the B Class vehicles that they are also considering for the US.

The schedule for the US release is not yet determined because of exchange rate issues. The carmaker though notes that the US car buyers are ready for their premium compact car. They might also inject alternative engine options for the B Class when they introduce it to the US. Mercedes Benz is considering fuel cell or electric plug in versions for the new cars.

Land Rover announced this week that it will be rolling out a new SUV by the second half of 2011. The SUV will derive its lines from the LRX concept that we will see at the upcoming motor show in Paris this fall. It will make its debut in the U.S. during the Los Angeles Auto Show in December.

The details of the SUV were not yet revealed during a breakfast meeting with Land Rover dealers in Orlando, Florida. Without the details, the tag price of the new Land Rover LRX is not yet determined. The LRX is expected to widen the market base of the brand especially since it will also be the most efficient of the cars in the Land Rover garage.

Official photos were released by the car manufacturer and we have hits that it will be coming out with diesel, gasoline, and hybrid variants.

The hybrid and gasoline LRX will head to the United States while the diesel version might be offered in the European market.