TCC TOPS OFF DETROIT SHOW
COVERAGE
The Detroit show opens
to the public on Saturday, and before you brave the crowds at Cobo, get the
first look at what you’ll see at the 2002 North American International Auto Show
today at TheCarConnection.com. Click into our five galleries of news and photos
and see the latest concepts and production cars, including the Chrysler
Pacifica, BMW 760Li, Chevrolet Bel Air and Ford GT40. And if you missed last
week’s reports, hop over to the Los Angeles show index for our trio of reports
from the West Coast’s year opener:
2002 Detroit Auto
Show by TCC Team (1/7/2002)
2002 Los Angeles
Auto Show by TCC Team
(1/7/2002)
FORD AXES PLANTS,
VEHICLES
In a long-anticipated announcement, Ford says it will
cut 22,000 jobs in North America and 13,000 in the rest of the world in the next
few years. Ford estimates that the total savings could reach $9 billion by
the mid-decade, with $2 billion to come this fiscal year. The plant
closures include the Ranger's Edison, N.J. plant, and Oakville, Ont., which
builds F-150 trucks. Both are to be closed by 2004. Others are a
Cleveland, Ohio, engine plant around the same time; The St. Louis sport-ute
plant at an undetermined date; and a Wayne, Mich., forging plant. The plant
cuts will mean the death of four cars: the Ford Escort, the Mercury Cougar, the
Mercury Villager and the Lincoln Continental.
Special
Report: Ford Cuts by TCC Team
(1/10/2002)
WAGONS HO! COMEBACK
CONFIRMED
Wagons: Comeback
Confirmed? by TCC Team (1/10/2002)
ALTIMA, TRAILBLAZER GET COTYS
The Nissan Altima proved something of a dark-horse
winner as it was named top choice in the annual North American Car of the Year
voting Sunday. The Altima bested the retro-styled Ford Thunderbird and
Cadillac's new and edgy CTS sedan. The Chevrolet TrailBlazer, meanwhile, took
top honors as the North American Truck of the Year, outpolling Jeep's new
Liberty and another Chevy product, the multi-purpose Avalanche. The Altima,
declared Nissan Senior Vice President Jed Connelly, "is the first big step" in
the automaker's turnaround program. Meanwhile, Gary Cowger, president of GM
North America, said the award for TrailBlazer is especially well-received, since
it was the result of voting by 49 of North America's top automotive journalists,
including TheCarConnection.com Publisher TCC Team.
’02 Detroit Auto Show, Part I by
TCC Team (1/7/2002)
BUSH PLANS FUEL-CELL
INITIATIVE
A new federal
braintrust charged with helping fuel-cell development is to be announced today
by the Bush Administration. The new Freedom Cooperative Automotive Research will
replace the Clinton Administration’s Partnership for a New Generation of
Vehicles (PNGV), which sought to push automakers to build an 80-mpg vehicle. The
new research panel will assist in the development of an infrastructure that can
deliver hydrogen fuel for fuel cells, which produce electricity that can then be
used to power vehicles instead of internal-combustion engines. The committee
will also target sport-utility vehicles for fuel-cell development.
Autonomy: GM Asks "What If?" by TCC Team
(1/7/2002)
NISSAN TAGS AN AFFORDABLE
Z
Hoping to catch consumers—and competitors—by
surprise, Nissan announced plans to position its own reborn 350Z as an
affordable sports car. The base model, which hits showrooms next summer, will
start at $26,269. The high-performance Track edition will come in at $34,079.
“On an ongoing basis,” declared executive vice president Jed Connelly, “we
expect half our volume will be priced under $30,000. The two-seater, with its
standard 280-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 and six-speed manual transmission will
“offer $50,000-performance for under $30,000 — just as promised,” Connelly
declared during a preview at the North American International Motor
Show.
MINI COMPACT, MINI
PRICING
When it goes on sale in
March, the MINI Cooper and Cooper S will sport appropriately small pricetags.
The base 115-hp MINI Cooper is set to retail for $16,850 including destination
charges, while the supercharged 163-hp MINI Cooper S will sticker at $19,850.
Atop those prices, MINI will offer three packages: the Premium and Sport each
cost $1250, while the Cold Weather package goes for $500. A CD player is
standard on all models, the company says.
FEDS, STATES WORKING ON NEXT-GEN
LICENSES
Federal and state
governments, according to the AP, are studying a technically advanced driver’s
license that could contain driving record and fingerprint information. The news
service reports that the combined effort has the government setting standards
for the kind of information that could be encoded on licenses and for the
delivery of the information, which could allow states to more easily share
information during traffic stops. Many states such as Georgia already put some
information such as digitally encoded fingerprints on
licenses.
AUDIT SAYS NHTSA TOO DEPENDENT ON
CARMAKERS
In another ripple of
consequence from the Firestone recall of 2000, an audit of the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says the agency relies too heavily on auto
and tire manufacturers in reporting product defects. In a report filed by the
Department of Transportation’s inspector general, the NHTSA process doesn’t use
its own accident databases and other sources of information when determining if
a recall is necessary. The agency’s reputation came under fire during the
Firestone recall, when it was revealed that questions over the safety of
Firestone tires on Ford Explorers had been raised as early as the
mid-1990s.
Firestone Forced
into Recall by Marty Padgett (10/8/2001)
EARNHARDT LAW CHALLENGED IN
FLA.
The hastily written law
that prevented newspapers and independent sources from viewing autopsy photos of
Dale Earnhardt is hindering medical examiners and could hamper criminal
investigations, according to a group filing affidavits challenging the law. A
handful of newspapers, including the Orlando Sentinel, are fighting to overturn
the law, which makes seeing or copying autopsy pictures punishable by five years
in prison and a $5000 fine, if done without a court order. The law was passed
after the death of Dale Earnhardt nearly a year ago, at the request of his widow
Teresa. The case will be argued Feb. 5 in front of a Broward County Circuit
Judge.
BIKERS OVER 40,
BEWARE
The Insurance Institute
for Highway Safety (IIHS) says that motorcyclists over 40 years old are dying in
higher numbers. In a marked change from decades past, when younger riders were
killed in accidents more frequently, the IIHS says the number of older riders in
fatal accidents has risen 150 percent in the past decade, while deaths of those
under 40 has dropped 30 percent in the same time. Fatalities are dropping
overall — the IIHS says 2789 riders died in 2000, while 3128 died in 1990 —
while registrations continue to rise.
GM GETS (VIRTUALLY) UP CLOSE AND
PERSONAL
General Motors has
begun rolling out a new Internet service that will let consumers get
up-close-and-personal, and learn a lot more about their individual cars in the
process. MyGmLink.com will provide more than 80 pages of personalized
information, some so precise it responds to the vehicle's specific VIN number.
Among other things, owners will be able to check service manuals, locate service
centers and get e-mail recall notices. They'll also be able to post some
information of their own, including pictures and any nicknames for their cars.
The program is already in place for many Pontiac and Chevrolet models, and
should cover all U.S. GM brands shortly. By year's end, a range of additional
countries will get access to the service, including Japan and Australia. "We're
trying to build a one-to-one-to-one relationship" between factory, dealer and
customer, said the project's director, Stu Dressler. He admits the automaker has
some ulterior motives: MyGMLink could help drive business to GM dealers and
parts distributors, and increase loyalty rates, which translates into repeat
buyers.
ONSTAR GOES CUSTOM
Meanwhile, GM's OnStar unit will launch its own
customized service, [email protected] Users with the right services and equipment
will be able to check and set their home alarms, monitor video cameras linked to
the Web, even close their garage doors or adjust thermostats by remote control.
Asked about the potential for outsiders to breach the new system, Mark Hogan,
director of the eGM unit operating OnStar, asserted "It is a concern you are
raising, but we have put security systems into place to protect our
customers.”
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