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Filed under: Car Buying , Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , Wagons/Estates , Green , Marketing/Advertising , Volkswagen We recently received a note from an anonymous source indicating that there's a mildly strained relationship between VW and some of its dealers. The source of the consternation seems to be the highly anticipated Jetta TDI , which was just recently released in the U.S. market. Apparently, Volkswagen of America has gotten complaints that some dealers are adding a significant markup on the new and desirable model -- a big problem for many automakers when a new model makes its initial introduction. The dealers are eager to make some money on the new cars while VW is concerned that customers may just look elsewhere because they feel they're being treated unfairly. What's more, some VW dealers may not be all that excited by the new model as there aren't that many available quite yet. This is a situation that's frustrating for the dealers, VW and, most...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , Wagons/Estates , Green , Volkswagen Lovers of both fuel mileage and torque can finally rest easy; Volkswagen of America is now officially selling its 50-State-approved, clean diesel engine in either the Jetta sedan for $21,990 or Jetta SportWagen wrappers for $23,590. Equipped with the six-speed DSG transmission, both Jetta gets an EPA rating of 29 miles per gallon in the city and 40 on the highway. We expect to see better real-world numbers, though we're a bit wary of VW's advertising its alternate rating of 38/44 -- a number that is impossible to compare with anything else currently available. In any case, the $2,000 premium for the TDI engine will be lessened somewhat by the Fed's $1,300 tax credit which applies to either TDI model. Look for an early test of the oil-burner on these pages shortly. [Source: Volkswagen] Continue reading Diesel rush begins: VW Jetta TDI now being delivered Permalink | Email this...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Economy , Hybrids/Alternative , Green If you're already stretched paper thin under the financial weight of a thirsty, expensive vehicle, getting out of it for something more fuel efficient might seem like an unattainable dream. Fear not, the smarties over at Consumer Reports have rightly pointed out that since depreciation accounts for nearly half of the cost of a car during its first five years of ownership, buying a used miser is the best way to save money and resources. The usual suspects top CR's lists; both the under $10,000 and $10,000-$20,000 categories are dominated by Toyota and Honda products. Honda's Insight is deemed the zenith of $10,000 sippers, with the '01-'02 Prius right on its heels. For the higher-price category, the first two slots are occupied by the Prius, and Honda's Civic Hybrid takes the next two seedings. Rankings are based on CR's own fuel economy tests, done with a flow meter and repeatable drive cycle, and...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Hybrids/Alternative , Green , Toyota To feed the insatiable demand for fuel-efficient vehicles, and follow the striking success of the Toyota Prius , the Japanese automaker will introduce a second hybrid-only vehicle in 2009. The all-new model will have a 2- to 2.5-liter engine, suggesting it will be larger than their current popular four-door hybrid (the Prius uses a 1.5-liter gasoline powerplant). The new model will be sold side-by-side with the Prius, Camry Hybrid and Highlander Hybrid . Toyota will also sell a rebadged version under the upscale Lexus brand, where it will join the LS Hybrid , GS Hybrid , and RX Hybrid . Toyota's master plan is to sell 1 million hybrid vehicles annually throughout the world, and considering the market, there's little doubt that the automaker can pull it off. Toyota's next hybrid debut is scheduled for Detroit in January, and we'll be there to cover it. [Source: Daily Times ] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Car Buying , Hybrids/Alternative , Green , Volkswagen Despite the fact that Volkswagen's 2009 Jetta TDI sedan and Sportwagen cost more and have yet to get here, plus fuel prices in the five-dollar range, customer desire for the sparkless VeeDubs is running high. Perhaps buyers don't realize that these ain't the old Rabbit rattlers that cost three cents to run and would rack up a billion miles with five tanks of fuel. TDI maintenance costs are not insignificant, but the allure of inherent efficiency has folks putting their money where their mouths are and some dealers have sold out before even taking delivery. All in all, an auspicious start for the latest TDI Jetta. Not faring as well is the Tiguan, VW's smallest 'ute. While we find the Tiguan delightful to drive and well executed besides the smallish cargo area (Jetta Wagon FTW), the launch hasn't gone as swimmingly as Wolfsburg had hoped. Maybe the TDI powertrain could add some sales sparkle to the...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , Green , Chevrolet , GM Bob Lutz revealed to the Seattle Times that the price point for his company's Chevy Volt series hybrid electric vehicle will be $40,000, or around $10,000 more than originally estimated. Lutz also told the paper that the first-generation of the Volt would generate no profit for General Motors. There's still hope for buyers who were hoping to snag a Volt closer to $30,000, as potential tax incentives on state and federal levels could trim the price substantially. Congress is currently considering proposed legislation for plug-in hybrid tax credits on the order of around $7,000. Still, there's no telling what demand there will be for the Volt, and if it's higher than the supply, we could see markups on GM's high-tech hybrid from dealers who are trying to survive this transition from a market dominated by profitable trucks and SUVs to smaller, fuel-efficient vehicles. According to Lutz...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Hybrids/Alternative , SUVs , Green , Chrysler , Dodge Click above for high-res gallery of Chrysler's hybrid SUVs Apparently hoping to avoid the ignominious fate of the full-size hybrid SUVs from two-mode hybrid partner General Motors, Chrysler is getting aggressive with the pricing of its new Durango and Aspen hybrids. At launch this fall, the Chryslers will be stickered at 45,340 and $45,570 respectively, some $8,000 below the four-wheel-drive versions from GM. GM recently had to slap $4,000 cash on the hood to entice customers to check out the Tahoe Hybrid and Yukon Hybrid. Unlike GM, however, Chrysler has chosen not to offer a two-wheel-drive variant of its hybrid SUVs. At this point we still don't know how equipment levels will compare between the GM and Chrysler models, so it's hard to do a direct comparison of these high-mpg hybrid SUVs. The last time we talked to Chrysler about the hybrids, they were not planning to implement any of the weight...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Trends , Hybrids/Alternative , SUVs , Trucks/Pickups , Green , Chevrolet , GM , GMC , Earnings/Financials click above image for a high-res gallery of the Chevy Tahoe 2-mode Hybrid We've been waiting for General Motors to step up to the plate with its own incentives now that Ford has offered employee pricing on its F-Series trucks and Dodge has offered $2.99 fuel to go along with its various incentives for the Ram. It seems that GM has finally anted up and increased the incentives for the Silverado, Avalanche and Sierra trucks, along with the Tahoe, Yukon, Escalade and Suburban. The pickups all get $2,000 in customer cash to go along with an extra $3,000 if you already own a GM product for a total of $5,000 total off the sticker price. Those shopping for an SUV will even get an extra grand. In what may be an even larger sign of the times, for the first time ever GM's hybrid Tahoe and Yukon get $4,000 off, but only if you already own a product from the General...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Hybrids/Alternative , Green , Toyota This stat might seem confusing given the fact that fuel economy is king at dealerships right now, but Toyota just reported that Prius sales were down almost 40% in May compared to the same period in 2007. While overall 2008 sales of the hybrid postercar are up a little over 2%, this just doesn't seem possible. Just over 15,000 Priuses were sold in May '08 compared to more than 24,000 in 2007. Overall sales in 2008 have slightly surpassed '07 sales through May, with a total of 79,675 units moved this year compared to 76,747 last year, but it seems like something is amiss. Then you read about a battery supply problem that's affected production of the Prius and it all starts to make sense. AutoblogGreen reports that Toyota's VP of Communications, Irv Miller, said batteries are in short supply worldwide and this is what affected Prius production and its sales last month in the U.S. He added that last year's...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Hybrids/Alternative , Green , Toyota , Earnings/Financials Click above for a high-res gallery of the Toyota Prius Toyota announced today that worldwide cumulative sales of the Toyota Prius have passed the 1 million mark. While that milestone is impressive, more astounding is the fact that sales of the gasoline/electric hybrid continue to increase year-after-year -- even without a model change. The Toyota Prius has been sold in Japan since 1997. However, it wasn't introduced into the U.S. market until 2000 (as a 2001 model). The first compact models sold in the States didn't exactly fly out of the showroom (North American sales in 2001 were only 16,000 units), but the innovative vehicles educated customers to the benefits of hybrid technology, and paved the groundwork for the current-generation Prius with its updated Toyota Hybrid System II technology. That current model (pictured above) was first sold in 2005. As owners will boast, it is often recognized...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Hybrids/Alternative , Green Click above for high-res gallery from Tesla's Flagship Store grand opening Tesla Motors has found enough time in between suing and getting sued by its suppliers to open its first dealership in Los Angeles, CA today. Located on the corner of Santa Monica and Sepulveda boulevards, the $2 million dealership sprawls 10,000 square feet and features poured concrete floors, an exposed ceiling of ductwork and beams, mirrors and potted plants. This is no Chipotle, however, as the first Tesla dealership will be staffed by salaried Tesla employees, not traditional salespeople who work on commission. Another dealership is in the works near Silicon Valley closer to the company's HQ, but we're not sure when that one will open. Clearly modeled on the highly successful Apple Store experiment, the Tesla factory store is as much about educating the public and building brand awareness as it is about selling Tesla Roadsters. And that's a...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Hybrids/Alternative , Green , Tech , GM In the fuel economy and future tech debate, the hybrid vs. diesel vs. hydrogen fuel cells vs. smaller cars and smaller engines always provokes a fair bit of discussion among Autoblog commentators. At this point, no one yet knows what's going to win since nobody knows how the volatile mix of products, timelines, prices, regulations, legislation, state standards, and gas prices will ultimately pan out. Bob Lutz's prediction is that diesels, at least as far as the US is concerned, won't be much of a factor. His reasoning is simple: "I think customers are going to say, 'Wait a minute. At equal fuel prices I'm paying $4,000 more for this." Unlike many countries in Europe, the US offers no incentive for people to buy diesels. In the States the price of a diesel vehicle is often more than $1,000 higher than that of a gasoline-engined car, and diesel fuel is just as expensive as gas (throughout California...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , Green , Crossovers/CUVs , Ford , Mazda , Mercury Ford's been cranking out hybrid CUVs on the CD2 platform for four years now, and with over 40,000 produced, it's gotten to be old hat. Since it started in 2004, Ford's managed to make the Escape, Mercury Mariner and Mazda Tribute 30-percent cheaper to build. That cost reduction, coupled with the pending introduction of the hybrid Fusion and Milan platform-mates, will allow Ford's hybrid program to actually turn a profit for the first time in 2008. The Mariner and Escape hybrids find about 21,000 owners per year, and adding the hardware to the sedans could spur sales of Ford's hybrid system, further reducing costs. We're excited to try out the sedans with the hybrid system and the potential for a winner is there if Ford manages to deliver the goods at an attractive price. [Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Car Buying , Economy , Hybrids/Alternative , Green , Japan , Hatchbacks , Subaru Subaru's parent company, Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI), has announced that the R1e electric vehicle will begin silently rolling off dealer lots come 2009, which is a year ahead of schedule. With lithium-ion batteries developed by the Tokyo Electric Power Company, the R1e will have a 50-mile range and a 62-MPH top speed. While the 'range isn't too impressive -- although plenty for typical urban commuting, and it will certainly increase -- the car can be 80-percent recharged in just 8 minutes. Prices haven't been released for the 2009 launch, but FHI says that by 2012 or 2013, it expects to be able to sell the car for around $17,500. A couple more years of mass production of the battery should allow for a price drop to about $13,100. Initially, FHI only plans to sell 100 of the cars annually, which is only 60 more than are being tested on roads right now and sounds rather conservative...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , Green , Chevrolet , GM var digg_url = 'http://www.digg.com/environment/Chevy_Malibu_Hybrid_to_launch_in_just_11_markets'; GM is predicting that the Malibu Hybrid will be in short supply when it launches next month and has taken steps to ensure that the cars that are available get sold quickly. They're doing this by limiting its availability to just eleven markets in the Northeast and West Coast, presumably the ones where they've seen the most success moving their previous hybrids, the Saturn Vue Green Line and the Saturn Aura Green Line (both of which use the same system that'll be in the 'Bu). If you live in another part of the country and are looking to plunk down $22,140 of your hard-earned dough on the greenish Malibu, you're going to need to be patient, as full nationwide distribution of the Malibu Hybrid may not happen until MY 2009. [Source: Automotive News] Read | Permalink | Email this...
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