CarSeekBlog

Okay, we admit that power isn’t the first word that comes to mind when you think of a Toyota Prius, but maybe it should be – at least a little bit – because the automaker has just announced its new Plus Performance Package for their hybrid poster-car.

What’s in the Plus Performance Package? Well, there’s a seven-piece “ground effects” kit that not only makes the hybrid look a little cooler, but also reduces the drag coefficient, allowing it to seem a bit peppier on the road. The springs in the suspension are lowered, to reduce the overall ride height – Toyota says the suspension is actually track-tuned. As well, 17-inch wheels with a track-width-increasing custom offset are part of the package, though the tires remain the same. With the new rear sway bar added, Toyota says the Prius will turn quicker and lean less while doing so.

All this suavity will cost you, however. On most of the Prius trim levels the package costs $3,699. That price drops down to $2,999 on the Prius Five trim level, but that makes the overall price of the car $32,549 – kind of expensive for a vehicle meant to save you money on fuel.

Filed under: Technology at Work, Toyota by Mel
Tags: « performance - Toyota - Toyota Prius - trim upgrades »
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A woman in Pennsylvania has sued General Motors Co. in an attempt to force the car maker to address issues with the rear ends of more than 400,000 2007 and 2008 Chevrolet Impalas. This comes three years after dealers were instructed by GM to replace the rear-wheel spindle rods on police department Impalas because of an issue that could cause tires to wear out prematurely.

The lawsuit, which is also seeking class-action status, says that GM should make the same repair to Impalas sold to general consumers (rather than the police) because they have the same spindle rod issue. It also charges GM with “breech of warranty,” and demands that the automobile company be compelled to either repair or replace the rear spindle rods.

Specifically, the lawsuit points out that, “There are no relevant material differences between police vehicles and class members’ vehicles relating the defective spindle rods.”

GM, which built about 24,000 of the police versions of the Impala in the 2007 and 2008 model years, declined to comment, claiming it never discusses matters in litigation, but the company did confirm that dealers had been notified of the rear suspension defect. The lawsuit says this defect applies to the 423,000 Chevrolet Impalas that were sold in those two years.

The plaintiff in the lawsuit, Donna Trusky of Blakely, PA, bought her Impala in February, 2008, but according to the lawsuit the tread on her car’s back tires was so worn that safe use was “questionable” after only 6,000 miles. Her dealer supplied new tires and re-aligned the front end of her car, but never mentioned the rear spindle rods. In November, 2010, with only a bit over 24,000 miles on the car, Trusky had to replace the back tires again, at a cost of roughly $290.

Speaking about GM, the lawsuit said, “Defendant concealed the existence of the defect from class members, even those who presented their vehicles for repair of the defect.”

Ms. Trusky’s lawyers said that complaints about the Chevrolet Impala’s rear suspension issues have been filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Filed under: Chevy, GM, In the News by Mel
Tags: « Chevrolet Impala - Chevy - GM - lawsuit »
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The 2011 Honda Civic Hybrid is still a much sought-after vehicle, giving rival Toyota Prius a run its money, but this past spring, Honda introduced next year’s model – the first to sport a lithium-ion battery – at the New York Auto Show. Here’s the video review, courtesy of YouTube:

Filed under: Going Green, Honda, Media Monday by Mel
Tags: « civic hybrid - Honda - Media Monday »
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While Toyota has not announced any revised predictions for 2011 sales, the automaker announced today that it expects to sell more of it’s hybrid Prius cars by the end of the year than it did in 2010, despite setbacks in production after the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in early March.

In some parts of the United States, the supply of Toyota Priuses is only enough for a single day’s worth of sales, but the company is estimating that full production will be back by September.

Prius sales were down 61% last month because of Toyota’s inventory issues – the lowest sales level since September, 2004. As a result, industry analysts are calling the Prius the poster-child for inventory issues.

Last year, 140,928 Toyota Prius hybrids were sold. The highest number of sales for this car was in 2007, when 181,221 units left dealerships. Only time will tell what the ultimate sales total for 2011 will be.

Filed under: Buying Trends, Going Green, Toyota by Mel
Tags: « Economy - Hybrids - Prius - sales - Toyota - Toyota Prius »
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There’s only one natural gas car available in the United States and made by a mainstream auto company, and that’s the Honda Civic GX, but despite this, General Motors formed an agreement to work with Westport, a manufacturer of natural gas engines, on the joint development of small compressed natural gas (CNG) engines that could be incorporated into future GM models. When he spoke with the press last week, executive Micky Bly said that his company has no plans to be left behind on CNG technology. He also told Reuters reporters that CEO Dan Akerson has, “…has made it pretty transparent this is an area we need to get back into in the North American environment.”

While GM is primarily focused on smaller engines – as tiny as half a liter – Westport’s area of expertise is mainly with medium and heavy-duty truck engines.

GM isn’t the only American automaker hoping to overtake Honda in the CNG market, however. Earlier this spring, Bloomberg reported that Chrysler has an aggressive CNG development plan in place, and is working in partnership with its parent company, Fiat. Fiat already has six natural gas models for sale in European markets, and is likely to use its experience with that technology to aid Chrysler in complying with federal fuel efficiency standards that are likely to increase as much as 6 percent a year over the next decade. Rumor has it that there’s a CNG-powered Dodge Ram in the works that could be available in American markets by 2017.

So why is CNG suddenly so popular? There are several reasons, not the least of which is that while gasoline prices continue to soar, natural gas remains fairly inexpensive. Then, too there are those afore-mentioned increases in fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks (read: pickups, vans, SUVs).

There are also a bundle of proposed federal incentives likely to pass by the end of the year, including the NAT Gas Act that is credited to T. Boone Pickens, a Texas energy billionaire. It’s recently picked up bipartisan support in Washington, D.C., thanks to Pickens’ history as a natural gas-as-transportation-fuel activist and his ability to court heavyweight allies like the White House.

If it passes, the NAT Gas proposal could be a $4.1 billion bundle of incentives, including purchase credits of as much as $7,500 per personal vehicle and a subsidy of up to fifty cents a gallon on natural gas at the pump. Retailers willing to install CNG pumps would benefit also, receiving generous tax breaks.

Filed under: Chrysler, GM, Going Green by Mel
Tags: « Chrysler - fuel economy - GM - Going Green - natural gas »
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