The first time I heard that GM was going to split off its European operations, I was shocked. Opel has been part of GM for 90 years. Over the past decade they’ve worked hard to create a globally-integrated organization, and GME has provided the platforms for GM’s compact and midsize cars. How could they so easily get rid of such… More →
Month: May 2009
Why it won’t be as hard as it might seem to achieve a corporate average of 35.5 MPG
President Obama has proposed an increase in Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) to 35.5 MPG by 2016. CAFE is not mandatory, but manufacturers that fail to achieve the average must pay fairly hefty fines, and they don’t like paying fines. At first glance, 35.5 MPG seems a very ambitious target. After all, most cars these days have real-world gas mileage… More →
A fourth change to the Car Reliability Survey
In the past, only successfully completed repairs were included in our analysis of responses to the Car Reliability Survey. This was done to provide the most precise results possible given our often small sample sizes. Problem was, this excluded the worst problems–those that lead a person to get rid of a car–from the analysis. So, starting with this month’s survey,… More →
Changes to the Car Reliability Survey
Entering the second quarter of 2009, we’ve made three changes to the Car Reliability Survey. First, major preventative maintenance, most notably timing belts and water pumps, now should be reported on the repair survey. This change has been made to equalize results between engines with timing belts and those with timing chains. Those with timing chains generally cost less to… More →
Camaro vs. Genesis Coupe: Car and Driver throws GM a bone
As noted before in “Comparison tests, what are they good for?,” even the most even-handed comparison tests reflect a specific set of specifically weighted criteria. Then there are those that aren’t even-handed. Car comparison tests don’t come much more tilted than the “Camaro vs. Genesis” comparison test in the June 2009 Car and Driver. Let’s begin with the cover, which… More →