Ford Overtakes GM In North American Production

General Motors (GM) has been the largest manufacturer in the united states since 1923. Due to the anticipated Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing GM will shrink substantially. Currently, GM has the following brands on the auction block....Hummer, Saab, GM Europe, and Saturn. In addition, they will discontinue the Pontiac brand.

Ford will displace GM as the largest North American auto producer this year. Ford’s North American output is actually expected to fall by 17.7 percent to 1.9 million units this year. But that number should keep the Blue Oval ahead of GM. GM is planning to sell or close the brands mentioned above.....also GM will cut production at 13 of its North American plants for up to 9 weeks this summer. GM North America should produce approximately 1.7 million vehicles this year.

Since the recession hit, GM financial problems have magnified. In 2008, Toyota overtook GM as the world's largest auto manufacturer. So it appears that GM will loose the second largest manufacturer in the world to Volkswagon.

Chrysler’s bankruptcy will also clear the way for Honda to move up to the number three spot. In fact, Chrysler will produce just over 900,000 vehicles this year – a decrease of more than 50 percent from last year – sliding the automaker all the way down to number five. Toyota should finish just ahead of Chrysler with approxximately 904,000 units produced.

Volkswagon CC

I would like to introduce you to a new car most people have not seen! The 2009 Wolkswagon CC, the CC stands for comfort coupe. It may be Volkswagon's most attractive car out of the current available models. Obviously, styling is the issue here! What is unique about the Volkswagon CC is that it is that Volkswagon is calling the car a four door coupe. Mercedes started this with the introduction of the Mercedes CLS coupe, which is another four door car that Mercedes refers to as a coupe. The reasoning behind this designation is that the vehicles have a coupe like silhouette. See the Car and Driver article.

The CC is based on the Passat architecture, so many of the parts are shared with the Passat. It only seats two in the back seat versus three in the Passat. The engines available are the 2.0 liter turbo four cylinder with 200 hp, a 3.6 liter V6 is an option and is rated at 280 hp. The acceleration for the four cylinder is 7.4 seconds 0-60 and 6.6 seconds for the six cylinder. The transmissions are a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic.

The bottom line is that the CC is a more stylish version of a Passat. It basically drives well, with a firm Germanic ride. It is a competent vehicle and available for approximately $1200 less base price than a Passat, but can get expensive with a number of options. The CC will attract a lot of attention since it is an attractive car.

I do think that the cars designation as a coupe is rather absurd, nothing but a marketing gimmick.

Volkswagon Beetle

Probably everyone at some time or another has been exposed to a Volkswagen Beetle. The people's car was produced from 1938 until 2003. The car was originally known as the "Kafer", which is German for "beetle". In 1933, Adolf Hitler gave the order to Ferdinand Porsche to develop a "Volks-wagon, and production began in 1938. Yes, the Third Rich was responseable for the development of the Beetle. War broke out before large scale production could commence and manufacturing capacity was switched over to war production. The car was designed to be as simple as possible mechanically, so less could go wrong.

After WWII, this car ultimately became the longest running and most produced automobile of a single design with over 21 million produced. The Beetle was produced in a number of countries. In Britain, it was known as the Type 1 or by engine size 1100, 1200, 1300, 1500 or 1600.

The Beetle was a benchmark for American compact cars such as the Chevrolet Corvair, Chevrolet Vega and Ford Pinto. It is also considered a German equivalent of the Austin/Morris Mini. The Beetle also was voted the fourth most influential car of the twentieth century. The original Beetle was rear drive with an engine in the rear.

Show below is a version of the New Beetle, which was introduced in 1998. It is not the same car since it is based on the Volkswagon Rabbit and has front wheel drive. Strong public reaction to a concept car persuaded Volkswagon to produce the new Beetle. The New Beetle was designed by J. Mays and Freeman Thomas at the company's California design studio. The New Beetle is related to the original only in name and appearance.

Volkswagon Jetta TDI

These are frugal times so I thought I would post an inexpensive new car. Yes it is a diesel but it is not like the diesels produced in the 1980's. Those cars had substantial amount of soot exhaust, made a lot of noise, and were slow to accelerate.

The Europeans have been producing diesels in Europe for a number of years. Actually, diesels account for approximately 60% of the new car sales in Europe. The diesels produced in Europe today have low emissions, are more refined, and are comparable to a gasoline engine in acceleration.

Now we get to the diesels strong point - fuel economy! The Jetta TDI is rated at 29 MPG city and 40 MPG on the highway. The car should average approximately 33 MPG in mixed driving. The acceleration 0-60 is 8.1 seconds, with the motor horsepower at 140 hp. The motor was also named to Wards 10 Best Engines see the attached Car and Driver article.

The sedan has an attractive base price of $22,640 for the sedan. When compared to hybrids that can take up to 9 years to payback the additional cost - this car is an exceptional buy for a green machine.