2010 Jaguar XJ

Today's post is on the new 2010 Jaguar XJ. The current XJ model has seen lackluster sales even though the model had been thoroughly redesigned in 2003 then updated for the 2008 model year. The problem was that the new model looked almost identical to the prior model built from 1997 -2003. The new 2010 Jaguar is a bold attempt to redefine the style of Jaguar. The new XJ will launch at one of the most difficult times for luxury manufacturers with sales down 28% versus the same period last year.

Like the current sedan, the new XJ is built of an aluminum and magnesium body that is rived and bonded together. Actually, the XJ is slightly lighter than an Jaguar XFR, which weighs 4400 lbs. Jaguar claims that using aluminum reduces the body weight by 300 lbs.

Power will be provided by three engine choices in the U.S., 385 hp, 5.0 liter V-8 and 470 hp and 510 hp 5.0 liter supercharged versions of the same engine. These engines correspond to the three models Base, Supercharged and Super Sport. Apparently, all models will be offered in standard and long wheelbase. The ZF six speed automatic is the only tranmission offered....with paddle shifters as standard equipment.



The interior is gorgeous but very different that prior Jaguar models. There is plenty of hand stitched leather, wood and chrome trip. The top of the line Super Sport model gets a leather headliner.... and the Supercharged model gets Alcantara as a headliner.

Here is an intersting feature the traditional guages have been replaced by thin film transistor screen. An optional 20-speaker, 1200-watt Bowers & Wilkins stereo and available TV screens in the rears of the front-seat headrests.


SUMMARY:

Jaguar is positioning itself to be a serious competitor to the German luxury carmakers Mercedes, BMW and Audi. If the new XJ is anywhere near as good as the XF, it will win some hearts and minds. Personally, I like the new front styling....it is bold and agressive. Although, the rear styling is very conservative. I cannot wait to drive the car....especially in the XJR model.

U.S. Automakers Improving Customer Satisfaction

The last year has been a tumultuous year in the automobile business. The bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler have highlighted a depression like period in the auto business with sales down by approximately 40%.

A recent survey indicated that the American automobile manufacturers were doing a better job with customer satisfaction than a year ago. That is surprising due to the problems that the automobile industry have been dealing with. Even mighty Toyota lost $5 billion dollars last year....so that shows you it was an extremely challenging year for most automobile manufacturers.

• 1. Cadillac
• 2. Lexus
• 3. Buick
• 4. Honda
• 5. Lincoln/Mercury
• 6. BMW
• 7. Mercedes
• 8. Toyota
• 9. Volkswagen
• 10. Hyundai

It is noteworthy in this survey that the American brands took three out of the top five spots. GM is generally viewed by the American public as having unreliable cars....but the rankings of Cadillac and Buick show that they are among the best. The Chevrolet and Saturn brands were middle of the pack....with Pontiac among the worst. The Pontiac brand will be discontinued next year.

Ford has been increasing their quality and customer satisfaction over the last few years. Chrysler did improve customer satisfaction over last year....they are still down at the bottom of the pack with Chrysler being the highest rated and Jeep at the bottom.

The Americans have a perception that the Japanese are the most reliable vehicles manufactured with good client satisfaction. Toyota is in eighth place in this survey.....Nissan is in 21st place.

Volkswagen has substantially improved moving up to 9th place...they have placed in last place in a number of prior year surveys

• 11. Chrysler
• 12. Saturn
• 13. Chevrolet
• 14. Ford
• 15. GMC
• 16. Dodge
• 17. Kia
• 18. Mazda
• 19. Pontiac
• 20. Jeep
• 21. Nissan

SUMMARY:

The list did not include all manufacturers but should be viewed as a general gauge. Customer satisfaction is a good indicator of a manufacturers ability to build cars that satisfy the owners.

James Bond's Aston Martin

I thought that a little bit of nostalgia was in order....especially after the Magnum P.I. Ferrari. These are the kind of cars that people really enjoy! They have such a persona built by the movies or television.

Today's post is about the most famous Bond car ever...the Aston Martin DB5. The DB5 was actually featured in five films Goldfinger, Thunderball, GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies and Casino Royale. This DB5 is equipped with some of the most unusual options.

• Bullet proof windscreen
• Bullet proof windows side and rear
  
• Revolving front license plates with Goldfinger, or JB007
  
• Defensive smoke screen
• Defensive oil slick
• Rear bullet proof armour
• Two machine guns that popped out of the turn indicators
  
• Passenger ejection seat

My personal favorite option is the ejection seat....the roof falls off then the seat ejects the bad guy. The original cost is for the James Bond Aston Martin is unknown.


SUMMARY:

This is the most popular James Bond ride....but you can see the other James Bond automobiles via Wikipedia. The Aston Martin DB5 is a fine nostalgic ride!

Magnum P.I. Ferrari

As I have mentioned in previous posts, Ferrari builds some of the worlds most beautiful automobiles. The attention to style and design is exquisite! Most of you have seen the popular 1980's television series "Magnum P. I." at one time or another....the series is currently in syndication around the world.

The Magnum P.I. television series ran between 1980-1988. Tom Selleck played the roll of Thomas Magnum. He was a private investigator that handled security for the 200 acre beach front Hawaiian estate of the wealthy writer Robin Masters.

Magnum was an ex-Vietnam veteran with a background as a Naval Seal and Naval Intelligence. As one of his perks....he drove the red Ferrari 308 GTS that belongs to the elusive Robin Masters. The Ferrari 308 GTS then became known as the Magnum P.I. Ferrari due to the series popularity. The convertible Ferrari was the perfect pick against the lush backdrop of Hawaii....making the car extremely popular with fans and collectors.

The Ferrari 308 GTS added a lot to the television series....with a good looking private investigator driving the beautiful Ferrari supercar....just add some beautiful women and some action. As much as the car made the television series....the television series made Ferrari a household name in the U.S. and the rest of the world. This is a case where the art form television....helped to put Ferrari on the map.

Actually, there were a number of Ferrari's used ....the first season was a Ferrari 308 GTS. Magnum drove a Ferrari GTSi in seasons two and three......seasons four thru eight a Ferrari GTSQv was used. A number of cars were actually used during the filming of the series. The cars were sold at auction at the end of each season....several were crashed in stunt scenes.

SUMMARY:

Another Ferrari work of art! The Ferrari 308 GTS is not exactly a superstar in terms of performance but it sure looks good. A used Ferrari 308 GTS in good condition sells for approximately $28,000. USD.

GM Now Sells New Cars On Ebay

General Motors has just launched a new sales campaign on Ebay....GM will be selling new cars on the Ebay motors site. The campaign is a test program and limited to only California.

The program is designed to help GM recapture lost market share in California which has dropped substantially lately. The program is limited to California since GM would like to build its market share there. Currently, GM only has a 13.5 percent market share in the state, GM's national market share is 19 percent.

Previously, Ebay has listed only used automobiles for sale. GM is closing almost 40% of of their existing dealer network by the end of 2010....they are now looking for more cost effective sales channels.

Approximately 90% of the California GM dealers have signed on to the Ebay plan. The test runs thru September 8th......if the new marketing works GM plans to extend the program to other states.

The new site www.gm.ebay.com sells the Buick, Chevrolet, GMC and Pontiac brands. I was somewhat surprised that Pontiac was listed since they are going to discontinue the brand next year. The former brands Hummer, Saturn and Saab are all brands that have been sold and will not be sold thru the site.

The website allows consumers to search for available models at existing local dealerships. Some of the additional features of the site are that can do research, compare prices across models and dealerships, determine the value of their trade-in and check whether they qualify for the federal "Cash for Clunkers" program.

In addition, the site allows the customer to pay the discounted price shown or make an offer as to what they are willing to pay, then negotiate with the dealer online.

SUMMARY:

I am enthused that GM has decided to think outside of the box with the new Ebay marketing. A car purchase is a major purchase decision for most consumers. I don't think that online car shopping will replace the dealership experience.

Generally, consumers have used the Internet to gather information about the car and pricing. When someone is interested in buying a car that they have never driven....they need to touch the car and feel the car. It is difficult to tell whether your interested in a car until you have driven the car, see the available colors in person and examine the options.

2010 Nissan Leaf

As I have mentioned in some of my previous posts.....a number of companies are developing hybrids, plus-in hybrids, and electric cars. Today's post is on the 2010 Nissan Leaf which is scheduled to delivered to dealers in the fall of 2010. It is an electric car that is scheduled to be sold in the United States, Europe and Japan.

The Leaf uses a front mounted electric motor driving the front wheels....with 80 kws of power and 280 nm of torque. It is powered by a 23 kwh lithium ion battery. Nissan estimates that the crusing range if 100 miles before the batteries will need to be recharged.

The Leaf has no engine to recharge the batteries so after 100 miles the Leaf will need to stop at a recharging station. The somewhat similar Chevrolet Volt will travel 40 miles on battery only before the gasoline motor turns on to recharge the battery....but it has an estimated range of 300 miles before it will need to be refueled.

The Leaf has a top speed of approximately 90mph (145 kmh). A special quick charger option can recharge in battery up to 80% capacity in approximately 30 minutes.

Pricing has not been announced but it is anticipated that the Leaf will sell for approximately $30,000 USD plus options. Nissan will probably receive U.S. government approval for the $7500 income tax credit.

The Leaf has an interesting feature that will allow the owner to remotely turn on the air conditioning or heating.

SUMMARY:

It appears that electric revolution in automobiles has started....the first salvos are being fired.

Can You Believe This Car Gets 230 Miles Per Gallon?

I have done a couple of posts on this ground breaking green vehicle! Unfortunately, it has been one of the least popular posts that I have done with this blog. GM announced today that the mileage estimate for the new 2011 Volt will be an estimated 230 mpg in the city. The mileage for the new Chevrolet Volt is 4.8 times the city mileage for the 2010 Toyota Prius which gets 48 mpg. This is truly a paradigm shift in fuel economy if this turns out to be correct!

The Volt is a true plug in vehicle......it is a totally different vehicle than the Toyota Prius which is a gasoline-hybrid. The Volt actually runs on electricity all the time.....the gasoline motor actually runs to recharge the batteries normally during highway driving conditions. The Toyota Prius does use electricity to run at lower speeds but the gasoline engine turns on to propel the car much of the time. GM also noted that the highway miles per gallon will also be in the triple digits.

The Volt was designed with an objective of running 40 miles on electric power without the engine turning on. According to a survey by the U.S. Department of Transportation, nearly 80 percent of U.S. drivers commute 40 miles or less daily.

GM estimates that the Chevy Volt will save about 500 gallons (1,892 liters) of gasoline based on 40 miles of daily driving and 15,000 miles annually. For drivers that commute 60 miles (96 km) per day or 21,000 miles annually, about 550 gallons (2,081 liters) of gasoline could be saved.

Pricing for the Volt is estimated at $40,000 USD plus options. The Volt would be eligible for a $7500 federal tax credit. It is anticipated that the price would drop for future generations of the Volt as GM when production ramps up.

SUMMARY:

The most technologically advanced car that GM has ever produced! The race will be on to see who comes to market first with the first plug in vehicle. Chrysler, Ford and Mercedes and Toyota are all developing plug-ins and electric cars.