August 16, 2010

Four-Cylinder Engines Are Smaller, Quieter, and Gaining New Respect
As automotive earth saviors go, electric cars and hybrids are widely presumed to be the chosen ones. But as carmakers and consumers seek real, affordable gains in miles per gallon, it will be the once-humble 4-cylinder combustion engine that takes them there - far more than electrics or hybrids, which are years away from selling in numbers that would rein in the nation's greenhouse emissions and appetite for oil. As the New York Times reports, the new allure of 4-cylinder engines certainly defies the odds. From the '70s through the '90s, as Japan rode small cars to world-changing success, Detroit's compacts were poor ambassadors for the 4-cylinder. When trucks, particularly brutish SUV's, became King of the Hill in the new millennium, buyers reflexively chose a V-6 or a thirsty V-8. Today, though, American buyers shifting to smaller cars and lighter crossovers are discovering downsized engines strong enough to meet their needs. So far this year, 47 percent of new vehicles have 4 cylinders under the hood, according to J. D. Power & Associates, a remarkable jump from 30 percent in 2005. Over that time, the market share of burly V-8s has fallen to 16 percent, from 26 percent. Click here to read the New York Times complete report on engine trends among American consumers.

GOP Senator Seeks Probe into GM IPO Plans
The Detroit News reports that Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) asked the Treasury Department's oversight arm to ensure taxpayers get the maximum return on the $50 billion bailout of General Motors. Grassley, the top Republican on the Finance Committee, wrote to the special inspector general who oversees the $700 billion Wall Street and auto bailout fund, asking him to ensure the government was moving to get as much as possible from GM's forthcoming initial public offering. "Taxpayers have an enormous financial stake in GM," Grassley wrote to Neil Barofsky, special Treasury Department inspector general, noting that the government swapped $43 billion of its $50 billion bailout for a 61 percent majority stake in GM. Grassley wants Barofsky to "determine whether Treasury and GM are taking the necessary steps to ensure that the IPO results in the highest possible return for the American taxpayer." Grassley also wants Treasury to analyze how much the government "must obtain in return for the sale of the GM stock in order to avoid a taxpayer loss." Grassley in April was harshly critical of GM ads touting the company's repayment of $6.7 billion in government loans - with interest. Click here for more on Sen. Grassley's letter to the Treasury Department regarding GM's IPO.

Five Cars with Surprisingly High Insurance Costs
If you buy a more expensive car, and you might expect the insurance premium to be quite a bit higher. But according to The Car Connection, that's not always true. Instead, the most expensive cars are often those models most often involved in accidents. Insurance companies know they're more likely to have to pay out a claim on cars that, for whatever reason, tend to be involved in more crashes than others. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), an auto safety research lab funded by a consortium of insurance companies, publishes a list of the cars that cost its members the most money in claims each year. The Institute doesn't publish numbers until it has three years' worth of data on each model, so the current list is for 2008 model year cars. But the list is an excellent predictor of the cars that will be most expensive to insure next year...and the worst of the bunch may surprise you. Three of the top five can be bought new for under $20,000. They may look cheap up front, but these cars will cost you in the long run. Click here to check out the list of vehicles with the highest insurance costs.

Tucson Sticks to the Recipe
Ezra Dyer at the New York Times writes that you won't find much mechanical difference between the Hyundai Tucson and its rivals, except among those that offer upgraded power options. So the Tucson's main standout feature is a subjective one: its styling. This is one good-looking little wagon. Hyundai calls the Tucson's design "fluidic sculpture." Note that fluidic sculpture is not to be confused with Druidic sculpture, the design language that informed the late Kia Amanti. As Dyer understands it, Hyundai's goal is to create a small wagon that avoids the damning label of "cute." The Tucson isn't cute, which Dyer says he means as a compliment. Its headlights are pulled back in a sneering visage, crisp creases define the fenders, and the side glass spears down to a sharp point at the rear of the vehicle, a visual inference of motion. This Tucson was designed at a Hyundai studio in Frankfurt, and it does evince a certain European tautness of line. The interior is handsome, too, especially in the fully equipped Limited version that he tested. The two-tone color scheme includes leather seats in a caramel hue that reminded him of recent BMW and Infiniti interiors. Click here to see a photo gallery of the Hyundai Tucson. For Dyer's review of the highs and lows of Hyundai's newest version of its Tucson, click here.

Nissan's Marketing Pays Off
According to Automotive News, aggressive incentives and ad spending have helped Nissan North America Inc. rack up a bigger sales gain this year than rivals Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai-Kia. Now Nissan plans more of the same. Al Castignetti, Nissan Division vice president, told dealers last week at a Las Vegas business meeting that the brand decided in July to add $100 million to its national marketing budget to stoke the sales fire. The funds will begin hitting the market this month. "We dialed back our spending last year, like everybody else, and this year we've been really getting back into the marketing game," Castignetti says. In last year's recession, the Japanese automaker cut its U.S. ad budget 42 percent to $690.9 million, down from $1.19 billion in 2008, according to Advertising Age. By comparison, Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group reduced its 2009 budget by 22 percent, from $513 million in 2008 to $402 million last year. "The success of the Koreans has been well noted lately, but Nissan has really been moving ahead in sales," observes Jack Nerad, Kelley Blue Book market analyst. He believes Nissan is reaping the benefits of what he calls "the return of the value shopper to the marketplace" - an increase in consumers looking for a low monthly car note. Click here to read more about Nissan's marketing success.

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