Detroit’s big three, General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Chrysler, have seen tough times in the past. But what they’re experiencing now is probably unprecedented. The top three US automakers are in a load of trouble. In this tough economic climate, car sales are way down. What’s worse is that GM, Ford, and Chrysler have a dearth of fuel-efficient small cars, something that the market demands right now because of the steady rise in fuel prices.
Inventories are swelling while sales are plummeting. Dealers are feeling the pinch, but not as much as a lot of autoworkers. With demand going down and with a huge volume of cars still around, the big three have shut down a lot of factories in the past few months. Workers are being laid-off left and right, and it doesn’t look like its going to stop anytime soon.
GM, Ford, and Chrysler have now even asked Congress for a loan to bail them out. The three companies have said that cash on hand is limited, and that should congress fail to give them some money, they will go under.
This is one of the most uncertain times for US automakers. What the future holds for them depends on whether they will survive this crisis or not.
The German brands are at it again. BMW started it with the release of its X3, a smaller, more compact SUV the BMWs own X5. Mercedes then got out its own compact crossover, the GLK-class. Audi did not want to be left behind and has now released its very own cute-ute, the all-new Audi Q5.
The Audi Q5 is a bit like a smaller Audi Q7. It’s still tall, but it’s shorter than the full-size Q7. Up front, it features a huge grille, typical of current Audi’s. It looks good overall, a bit bland, but handsome as well.
This car is not about looks though. Audi made sure that this SUV is as energy-efficient as possible. The only available engine in the US is the 2.0 liter V6 that produces 211 horsepower, not really all that powerful, but good enough to pull this thing through. More importantly, the engines are fuel-efficient, a must in these times of high oil prices.
Apart from the fuel-sipping engines, the Q5 also has a 0.33 coefficient of drag, ensuring that it slices through the air like a hot knife through butter, which helps improve fuel-efficiency. The Q5 is Audi’s answer to the demand for small, fuel-efficient, yet still fun-to-drive SUVs.
The name Mini leads one to think about the small, quick, and great handling British car. Well, that still applies, as the Mini brand lives on, thanks to BMW, and the Cooper S, small as it is, is as fun to drive as ever.
There is a new Mini in town though, and it is the biggest one yet. The Mini Cooper Clubman Works is basically a Mini Cooper S on steroids. It’s longer and bigger than the Cooper S, and it can properly seat 4 adults.
Under the hood, it has a 1.6 liter turbo charged inline-4 cylinder engine that produces 208 horsepower and delivers 192 lbs of torque. Sufficient braking power is provided by 12.4 inch ventilated rotors with red 4-pot calipers provided by Brembo.
One of its most distinctive features is the double rear door. It is split in the middle and hinged on the corners near the tail lamps. It is great looking, though it obstructs the driver’s rearward vision a bit. This new British icon gets great handling, thanks to German engineering courtesy of BMW. The Mini Cooper Clubman S might be bigger than the usual Mini, but it’s still as fun to drive as ever.
Everyone knows that starting something, be it a small business or a bigger enterprise is a struggle. Everyone starts out that way, and whether the endeavor succeeds or not depends largely on the determination and grit of the parties involved.
This is especially true in the world of automakers. The Japanese, before they became global juggernauts, also experienced a lot of growing pains. This was most especially true when they first entered the North American market. There were quality issues and reliability problems, and of course, the American competition. They stuck with it though, and now, the Japanese are selling huge numbers in the US.
The same can be said for Korean car makers. They started out peddling cheap cars that had lots and lots of issues, mainly quality and reliability (like the Japanese before them), but now, they have improved so much that getting a Korean car is now a serious proposition for many Americans.
Now, car makers from another Asian nation are itching to get their cars into the US market. This time, it’s from China. Chinese car makers are now the ones facing the struggles that the Japanese and Koreans once met. The Japanese and the Koreans got over their problems and are now enjoying success in the US. Can the Chinese do the same?
The market for cube-like, edgy vehicles was at one time cornered by Toyota’s new brand for the young, Scion. The xB used to be the only one of its kind, with edgy styling and a ton of customization options.
Now, here comes the competition from Korea. Kia has introduced the world to its all-new Soul. The Soul is a small, squarish crossover targeted mainly at the young and hip crowd that used to flock to the Scion xB. Though boxy overall, the Soul features some soft curves to sexy up the look a little bit. Under the hood, the base model Soul is expected to get a 1.6 liter engine with four cylinders that produces about 120 horsepower. The Higher-spec models get the 2.0 liter engine that produces about 140 horsepower and is expected to get 30 miles to the gallon.
Inside, the Souls gets standard auxiliary and USB jacks with full iPod controls integrated into the steering wheel. Kia has promised all sorts of customization options for the Soul, something to look forward to for its intended buyers.
With more cars like the Soul, Kia has shown that it has come a long, long way. Kias are no longer just cheap cars, they are now cars with Soul.