Nik J Miles

Archive for April, 2010

Based on its portfolio of aging models, a couple of years ago, I might have thought the once venerable Lincoln brand was going to end up a casualty of the economy and on a scrap pile next to an Olds 88.  After spending a few hours driving the new MKS sedan and MKT luxury crossover, I can see that the long hours spent by the Ford engineering and styling elves have been productive…very productive.

I am still a little uncertain about the naming strategy but imagine it will make more sense later, however, there is no confusion about the cars, they are now worthy of the Mark. Read the rest of this entry »

She – Thanks to high fuel prices and the environmental conscience, the popularity of sport utility vehicles has deflated like a three-day old balloon.  SUV sales, while still significant, don’t have the sparkle they did a few years ago.  However, SUVs are still important people movers and one of the best forms of transportation for areas that have adverse road conditions.

With the resent heavy emphasis on compact cars and crossovers, there had been few SUVs in the press fleets for us to drive.  When the 2010 Honda Pilot arrived at our house recently, it was assigned to make a 400-mile road trip we had to make from our home near Portland, Ore. area to Central Oregon. Read the rest of this entry »

She – As automotive journalists we are often asked to recommend cars.  During the 17 years we lived in Central Oregon the one car we probably recommended more than any other was the Subaru Outback.  In that area, the roads were often marginal, snow was a common winter occurrence and the Outback could comfortably handle all the conditions.  As an added benefit, we explained, it was more fuel efficient than the typical SUVs and less expensive.

With escalating cost of driving, there are now even more reasons to recommend the all-new fourth generation Subaru Outback.

He – Subaru didn’t actually invent the term crossover but they did create the concept when they introduced the world’s first sport utility wagon 15 years ago.  The result was the first vehicle to combine the capabilities of a rugged SUV with the attributes of a car.  For 2010, they have taken that concept to the next level.   Read the rest of this entry »

One automotive marketing technique is to develop a halo car that will produce a great deal of brand excitement and interest, generally because of its high performance.  Sometimes it is done by racing and other times simply because the car is fast, expensive and it gets a lot of coverage by the automotive press.  The halo effect then has people being drawn to the brand because of that special car, but buying something more affordable or practical.  Examples of halo cars are the Chevrolet Corvette, Dodge Viper, Cadillac CTS-V and Ford Mustang Shelby GT500. Read the rest of this entry »

A couple months ago, Nissan threw a big party at OMSI to unveil their new Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV), to be called the “Leaf” when it hits the market in the fall of 2010. It was no accident that this event was held in Portland, Oregon, as that city will be among the first to get the Leaf, well before everyone else. Seattle, Sonoma, San Diego, Tucson, Phoenix, Raleigh-Durham, Washington D.C., and Vancouver B.C. are also scheduled to get the Leaf this year.

If that sounds like a strange list of communities for a new vehicle rollout, it is. The cities were selected primarily for their health “green market” potential and the willingness of local and state governments and utilities to participate in creating the infrastructure that BEVs need to be convenient and reliable. In our case, PGE has been involved in the process from the beginning. Nissan began accepting orders for the Leaf this week, taking $99 deposits and promising late 2010 delivery in the rollout markets.

Read the rest of this entry »

She – The Mustang has been one of those feast or famine cars for us.  It had been nearly two years since we have driven one, and now we get two within a month.  First, it was the V-6 coupe and then a GT convertible.

It is hard to believe 45 years have gone by since the originals started flooding the streets.  I still remember my metallic blue1965 Mustang convertible with the white top.  It even had the rare console and Rally-Pac options.  It would be nice to have that car again, as a collector car, but I think I’d be sorely disappointed on how it drives, compared to the 2010 models we drove recently.

He – There has certainly been a renaissance of muscle cars the last few years, with the Dodge Challenger and Chevrolet Camaro both being resurected after a several year hiatus. Read the rest of this entry »

“Something great is coming” – Kizashi.

No, it not a new healthy breakfast cereal, it is a new premium sport sedan, from Suzuki.

This is a completely new area for the company most known for small SUVs and high performance motorcycles, but Kizashi is a well-designed and nicely executed deployment into one of the toughest categories in the automotive business. Read the rest of this entry »

The Jeep occupies a unique space in the pantheon of automobiles. Born of the need for an indestructible go-anywhere military vehicle, the Jeep has survived more or less unchanged since it was invented just prior to World War II. Sure, the modern version has four doors, nice upholstery, GPS navigation, air conditioning and all that good stuff, but it’s still a squared-off real honest-to-God short wheelbase Four Wheel Drive vehicle.

And there’s something about a Jeep – like the Corvette, Mustang, and other iconic vehicles, a Jeep really does mean something to its devotees. If a person drives up in a Jeep, you already know something about them. Now, Jeep devotees come from all walks of life, but you can bet that they enjoy the outdoors (at least in theory) and are more likely to have actually used that 4WD than your average crossover utility vehicle pilot.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ford has scored a huge win with the new 2010 Transit Connect. This funky-cool and infinitely adaptable vehicle is fun to drive and economical to buy – so much that it is breaking the boundary between commercial and personal vehicles.

Commercial vehicles are known for being bare-bones models – not much fun to drive, but reliable. When people want a vehicle for their own driveways, they tend to choose something with a little more flair and creature comfort.

The Transit Connect is certainly a basic vehicle, but Ford got the basics just right, and so the Transit Connect has become the hot new car for urban and suburban families as well as for the businesses that need an economical delivery and service van.

Read the rest of this entry »

As citizen-stockholders in the company, all Americans will be happy hear that General Motors today announced that the company has made its final payment of $5.8 billion to the U.S. Treasury and Export Development Canada, paying back its government loans in full, ahead of schedule. That’s a precursor to allowing the government to sell its interest in GM and get the company off the public’s hands. Whether you’re a liberal or conservative, this is good news from a major American company and all its employees.

“GM is able to repay the taxpayers in full, with interest, ahead of schedule, because more customers are buying vehicles like the Chevrolet Malibu and Buick LaCrosse we build here in Fairfax,” said Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre. “We are now building some of the best cars, trucks, and crossovers we have ever built, and customers are taking note. Our dealers are increasing their sales, we are investing in our plants, and we are restoring and creating jobs.”

The U.S., Canadian, and Ontario governments, as part of the launch of the new GM, provided loans of $8.4 billion and took equity stakes in the new company. Today’s payment of $5.8 billion ($4.7 billion to the U.S. Treasury and $C1.1 billion to Export Development Canada) completes the payback of these loans.

“GM’s ability to pay back the loans ahead of schedule is a sign that our plan is working, and that we are on the right track. It is also an important first step toward allowing our stockholders to reduce their equity investments in GM,” said Whitacre. “We still have much hard work ahead of us, but we are making progress toward our vision of designing, building, and selling the world’s best vehicles.

“We appreciate the support the taxpayers have given GM, and our great new products are tangible results of that support,” Whitacre said.

Strong sales support manufacturing, jobs

Strong sales of new Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac products are fueling a steady increase in production as GM works to meet growing customer demand.

Since the launch of the new GM last July, the company has announced investments of more than $1.5 billion at 20 facilities in the U.S. and Canada. These investments restored or created more than 7,500 jobs, and they demonstrate a strong commitment to GM’s future and to the United States and Canada.