Autoblog

Ending speculation about what new products Chrysler will be rolling out in 2010 is none other than Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli. Now confirmed are redesigned full-size sedans in the form of a new Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 as well as a new Jeep. While none of these vehicles is likely to be particularly fuel efficient, the man behind the scenes at Chrysler also stressed that new fuel-saving models are on their way by means of the automaker's recent partnership with Nissan. We believe that the new vehicle will be a version of the Dodge Hornet concept that we've seen everywhere these last few years.

The redesigned 300 from Chrysler and the Charger from Dodge will be extremely important launches. We expect the square-jawed styling to be radically different since Ralph Gilles, who has promised more "organic" styling, is now head of design. Lastly, we're still a bit skeptical that Chrysler will be able to launch an electric car by 2010, we'd love to be proven wrong. A hybrid drivetrain for the Charger and 300, though, seems like a real possibility.

[Source: The Detroit Free Press]

Looks like that Moraine, Ohio plant that was going to be shut down next year is actually going to be shuttered on December 23rd, just in time for Christmas. This is the plant responsible for production of the GMC Envoy, Chevy Trailblazer and Saab 9-7X. The General had already slowed the plant to just one shift as SUV sales, particularly sales of old SUVs like these, continue to tumble, but the plant was expected to remain open until at least early next year. On Friday the remaining 1,100 workers were gathered and told of the revised plan.

The closure isn't a total surprise, as General Motors had already announced that the Dayton-suburb plant would be closed so the company could focus more on production of small cars. That initial announcement seemed to indicate a 2010 closure, but the company has continually revised the closing date until this most recent word came. Moraine is one of four GM plants that are going to be shut down. When Janesville, Wis.; Oshawa, Ontario; and Toluca, Mexico join Moraine in closure, a total of 8,350 workers will be looking for new jobs.

[Source: Detroit News]

We've seen before how companies in China can take a radical concept design never meant for mass production, modify it a bit and offer it for sale. The latest evidence of such activity can be seen in the Jeepzter. Ostensibly a replica of the Jeep Hurricane concept from 2005, the Chinese replica does away with the dual 5.7L HEMI V8 engines for a single 650cc unit. That lone powerplant sits up front and powers the rear wheels, not all four like the concept. Of course, it goes without saying that the ridiculous turning ratio of the Hurricane has been lost in transformation, as well.

In reality, what we have here is a normal run-of-the-mill off-road utility vehicle with a plastic body cribbed from the classic Jeep concept. We're a bit fuzzy on how this sucker is "street legal" as claimed in the Craigslist ad, so we'd definitely check with your local authorities before actually making a purchase. If you just want to have a Jeep Hurricane-looking thing sitting in your garage, though, now is your chance. Thanks for the tip, toddo!


[Source: Craigslist]

At 9AM Eastern on Monday morning, a fleet of 23 diesel-powered Audis will roll out from Manhattan's Tavern on the Green on a trans-continental trek to demonstrate diesel efficiency. I'm in Manhattan this afternoon preparing to spend the next week in an Audi Q7 TDI on the way to Denver and will be checking in regularly from the road as we pass through Washington, Cleveland, Chicago, Memphis, Dallas and Amarillo along the way. Audi plans to launch its fifty-state-legal Q7 TDI in the US market next spring and it seems likely that some of the other vehicles on this trip may not be far behind.

I'll be on the first two legs and Sebastian, Damon, Drew and Jonathan will take over for the second week of the trip to Los Angeles. You can also follow along at the Audi Mileage Marathon site where there's a Twitter feed following the participants as they cross the continent. There is also a live map showing our location on the road along with two blogs, including one from Audi of America boss Johan de Nysschen. Twitter users can follow audimarathon to see what some of the 200 participating journalists are saying.


[Source: Audi Mileage Marathon]

Speculation about Ferrari building a sedan has repeatedly cropped up over the past couple decades, and Ferrari denies it every time it does. As Aston Martin, Porsche and now Lamborghini have been working on four-door cars lately, the idea that Ferrari might has gained even more traction. It looks like the Sultan of Brunei will have to continue relying on Pininfarina and other coach builders for his four-door Ferraris. Today in Paris, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo applied full carbon brakes to that theory as he stated in no uncertain terms that as long as he was holding the top office at the sports car maker, "We will never do a four-door." Wtih Ferrari selling its sports cars and GTs as fast as they can be built, Montezemolo is content to let corporate sibling Maserati handle the task of building exotic Italian four-doors.

While Ferrari owners are by definition people of considerable means, they and the company are still not immune to modern realities when it comes to both fuel prices and environmental regulation. At this years Detroit Auto Show, Ferrari displayed an F430 Spyder that could run on E85 ethanol. Similarly, the F1 side of the house is currently developing a kinetic energy recovery (KERS) hybrid drive system that, like current semi-automatic transmissions, could migrate to production vehicles. According to Montezemolo, Ferrari will not be building a V10 engine either as an upgrade to the V8 or downgrade from the V12.

[Source: Automobile]

Chrysler's in-house performance tuning arm, MOPAR, will be showing off a mildly customized version of the Jeep Patriot called the Back Country at next month's Paris Motor Show. The run-of-the-mill Patriot and Compass models, which share a platform with the Dodge Caliber, have had their interiors redone a bit for the new '09 model year and the small improvements appear to make a major difference, at least in appearance. We'll reserve final judgement until we get inside one for ourselves. At the upcoming Paris Motor Show, attendees will see a few mods to the new model, including an Optic Green paint color, blacked-out B-pillars, and a new "platinum chrome" light bar on the outside. MOPAR makes good use of its own accessories catalog with a cargo basket on the roof that sports extra off-road lights, splash gaurds and some 18-inch five-spoke alloys. Joining the refreshed interior are satin chrome details and a scuba-like fabric covering parts of the seats. This concept above goes to show that the Patriot is a decent looker and just a few minor tweaks away from being a real Jeep. Now, if they'd just take care of that Compass...


[Source: Carscoop]

When we recently posted on Aston Martin dragging Lagonda out of its crypt, one of the assertions was that "they've reportedly ruled out the possibility of a sport-ute." That might have been nothing more than a semantic turn, as Car & Driver is reporting that the first Lagonda will be "something SUV-ish."

Aston Martin CEO Ulrich Bez said the new car will have historical influences at the same time as it is "future-orientated," but the giveaway for C&D seems to be in his line that it will be "truly versatile" and "suitable for both existing and emerging markets." We can't tell if anyone actually came out and told the mag that the car would be an SUV, but an Aston source is quoted as saying it "wouldn't be an SUV in the same way as BMW X5."

So back to the semantics of no "sport-ute" and "SUV-ish" -- this sounds like it could be a brutish, hi-luxe sedan, or even a wagon suitably forceful enough to put space between it and the Rapide. Since Aston's looking at its long-term future, we imagine it will want something that won't leech sales, and that leaves a number of options. Which one the company settles on, however, we won't know until the concept shows up at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show.

[Source: Car & Driver]

The window sticker on a 2008 Navigator shows a mighty low 12 mpg in the city and only 18 on the highway, so Ford went back to the drawing board to improve on that number for this year. The Blue Oval's blinged-up luxury sled boasts a fuel friendlier average of 14/20 for 2009, a marginal improvement, but an improvement nonetheless. Ford says those numbers are good enough to put the Blue Oval at the head of the luxury SUV space that includes the Cadillac Escalade, Lexus LX570 and Nissan QX56. Ford was able to increase fuel economy by almost 15% on the big SUV by implementing some of the same engineering tricks employed on the 2009 F-150, which itself gets up to 15/21 in SFE trim. Changes were made to the idle speed and the transmission, as well as some fancy software engineering that regulates gas consumption by using aggressive deceleration fuel shut-off.

Ford also made standard several items that were previously only available as options, including a power lift gate, heated and cooled front seats, PowerFold third-row seats, cap-less fuel filler, Rear View Camera, flexible fuel-capable V-8 engine, SYNC and the stunning 14-speaker THX II-Certified audio system. The 2009 Navigator will also be available with Ford's new and improved navigation system with Travel Link. Ford hasn't announced any improvements for the Expedition, but we'd expect Ford's blue collar version of the Navigator will receive similar fuel economy enhancements. Hit the jump to view Ford's press release, which includes the full list of now standard features.

[Source: Ford]

CNBC's Phil Lebeau got a sneak peek at the new EVs Chrysler is developing, and it looks like Auburn Hills is pulling a Tesla, among other things. The yellow Dodge EV you see here is basically an electrified Lotus Europa. Presumably equipped with lithium ion battery power, the Dodge EV has a reported operating range of 150 - 200 miles and can be plugged in to household 110 or 220 outlets. Figure a four-hour charge on the latter, and 8 or so on the former. Zero-to-sixty is said to be under 5 seconds. Like we said, this is basically Chrysler's Tesla, right down to the Lotus-sourced donor vehicle.

We'll see the Dodge EV introduced formally later this afternoon, along with range-extended EV versions of the Chrysler Town & Country (can you say, "killer app"?) and Jeep Wrangler. With regard to timing, Chrysler says it would like to have "at least one" of these vehicles on the market by the end of 2010, the unofficial official year of the electric/plug-in car.

Look for all three prototypes to head to D.C., where they'll be showcased for Congressional leaders who have a say in whether or not Washington will show Detroit the money they've been asking for.

For now, you can watch the preview unveiling of the cars on CNBC by watching this video. Chrysler's got something planned for 1PM today, so we expect to have a lot more info and photos then. Stay tuned.

UPDATED: Full details now posted here.


[Source: CNBC]

When you produce one of several bad-ass SUVs available to consumers, there's no need to mess with a successful formula. So while the Range Rover is due for some cosmetic tweaks, they're very subtle. Spy shots show the upper-crust truck with the stiff upper lip in action at der Nurburgring, reportedly vetting some powertrains that may not make it to North America. We may see the rumored 5.0-liter V8, but probably not the 3.0-liter diesel. No surprise. The tape job covers up the small changes to the front fascia pretty well, though the grille looks a little different upon closer inspection. But we just can't get over the image of a Rangie screaming around the track like an angered top hat, no matter what the styling changes are.

[Source: World Car Fans | Photo: Automedia]