ON THE TABLE

Tuesday, October 5, 2010 at 04:46PM
Editor

October 6, 2010

 

(smart USA)

Smart USA, Penske Automotive Group. Smart USA has announced today the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. for the collaboration of a new vehicle for sale in the United States. Pursuant to the terms of the deal, smart USA would obtain the rights to procure and distribute a five-door, gasoline powered, B-segment vehicle from Nissan for sale through the smart USA retail dealership network in the United States. This new vehicle is expected to be available for retail sale in the fourth quarter of 2011. Jill Lajdziak, the President of smart USA said, “The new vehicle will expand smart USA’s product lineup, offering five-seat capacity while maintaining the core principles of efficiency and conservation.” Penske Automotive Group Chairman Roger Penske added, “We are proud to be a partner with both Daimler and Nissan, two companies focused on bringing high-quality, fuel efficient products to the U.S. market.” Editor-in-Chief's Note: Anyone who knows Roger Penske and his chief smart lieutenant Jill Lajdziak knew that they would not let the smart car program die on the vine. Logistically, Daimler couldn't provide the new product cadence necessary in order for the smart program to continue here in the U.S. beyond its current offerings, and that program - and its dealer network - couldn't survive on the current 2-seater alone. So this is a shrewd move. Now the question becomes can they promote and market this new smart car with enough weight to make a difference? There are going to be a lot of B and C segment cars in this market over the next 24 months, and smart is going to have to establish a reason for consumers to take a closer look. - PMD

(Chrysler)
Dodge has taken the wraps off of its 2011 Dodge Charger. Cleaner, smoother, more aerodynamic and more efficient, the new Charger is a huge improvement over the previous generation. Built at the Brampton Assembly Plant in Brampton, Ont. (Canada), the 2011 Dodge Charger arrives in showrooms in the fourth quarter of 2010.

 

(GM)
Okay, all of you enthusiasts out there who said: "If Cadillac ever builds a CTS-V Wagon, I'm there." Here's your chance. The Cadillac CTS-V Wagon will be available at U.S. Cadillac dealers later this year, with pricing from $62,990, including destination. The 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Wagon accelerates from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 4.0 seconds, a superb grocery getter by any measure. “The Cadillac CTS-V Wagon is a limited production offering for connoisseurs who are interested in the unique combination of V-Series performance with wagon style and capability,” said Don Butler, vice president, Cadillac marketing. Like the CTS-V sedan and CTS-V Coupe, the CTS-V Wagon features a supercharged 6.2L V-8 delivering 556 horsepower (415 kW) and 551 lb.-ft of torque (747 Nm). Power is delivered to the rear wheels through either a standard six-speed manual, or a six-speed automatic transmission. Other high-performance features include standard Magnetic Ride Control, Brembo brakes, and 19-inch forged-aluminum wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires. The CTS-V Wagon can accommodate up to 58 cubic-feet of cargo and is now available for ordering from Cadillac retailers in limited quantities for 2011.  

(GM)
Yes, it's that time of year again, and guess what? A special edition of the 2011 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible will be showcased in the annual Neiman Marcus “Christmas Book.” Only 100 special edition convertibles will be built, each offering luxury appointments inspired by Neiman Marcus combined with the performance attributes of the Camaro SS.  This is the 84th edition of the luxury retailer’s catalog of ultimate holiday gifts. Neiman Marcus debuted the Christmas Book and the special edition Camaro Convertible Tuesday at its flagship store in Dallas. The Neiman Marcus Edition is defined by its exclusive Deep Bordeaux exterior color, accented by subtle, “ghosted” rally stripes. “The tri-coat, metallic paint shifts in response to natural light,” said Tom Peters, Chevrolet Design director. “In low light, it appears almost black with a touch of deep violet. In sunlight, a little bit of red and burgundy appear.” The Deep Bordeaux color is complemented by a color-matched fabric top and windshield frame finished in matte silver, both also exclusive to the Neiman Marcus edition. The interior of the Neiman Marcus Edition Camaro Convertible features exclusive leather interior appointments including amber-colored leather seating surfaces offset by black leather side panels and red stitching. Red accents also appear on the center console, steering wheel and shift knob. The Deep Bordeaux color also appears on the dash and door panels. All Neiman Marcus Camaro Convertibles will be equipped with the 6.2-liter, V-8. When paired with six-speed manual transmission, the engine delivers 426 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque; with the six-speed automatic, the engine delivers 400 horsepower and 410 pound-feet of torque. The Neiman Marcus Edition Convertible also has exclusive, 21-inch, polished aluminum wheels wrapped in Pirelli P-Zero ultra-high performance tires. Other features include Brembo disc brakes, LED halo-ring headlamps, Bluetooth connectivity, rear parking assist, and a 245-watt, Boston Acoustics sound system. “Neiman Marcus provides a great platform to showcase the new Camaro Convertible,” said Tom Peters, Chevrolet Design director. “And, it enabled us to create a special edition car that combines the powerful design and performance of the new Camaro with an element of exclusivity, craftsmanship and customized luxury.” The Neiman Marcus Camaro Convertible has a - holy shit! - retail price of $75,000, and will be ready for delivery in the spring of 2011. Reservations for one of these limited-edition cars will be accepted beginning at noon, EDT, on October 19, 2010. To place a reservation, customers can call 1.877.662.6276. For more information on the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book, please visit: www.neimanmarcus.com/christmasbook.

Publisher's Note: For longtime readers of AE you will find the name on the column below familiar. Tom Pease has been writing his pithy and often funny letters to us almost from the beginning and we consider him to be our unoffical West Coast correspondent. Tom attended a ride-and-drive event for the Nissan Leaf over the weekend and we thought you'd enjoy his brief take on the new electric car. - PMD

A Quarter Mile in the Nissan Leaf

By Tom Pease  

Los Angeles. The Leaf, for the four of you who might not have seen the commercials, is Nissans entry into the field of hyper-eco people movers that includes the Mini-E, the Chevrolet Volt and the upcoming Ford Focus EV.  The drive event took place in Santa Monica, the nexus of eco-friendliness of SoCal where the Prius seems to be the default vehicle - you’re more apt to see a unicorn than a Hummer on Montana Avenue.

At first we were taken through several tents showing us Nissan's long history with electric vehicles, the underpinnings with the battery pack and the various apps that allow you to see what your range will be.

Those apps are many and quite cool: you can sit down in the car and tell it where you want to go during the day and it will give you notice whether you have the juice to get those errands done, all to reduce the feeling of “range anxiety,” a perceived hurdle to electric car ownership.  The Chevy takes care of this by adding a small gas engine to charge the batteries when you can’t plug it in.  The Nissan is 100% electric - when it’s dead it’s dead.  Therefore it does everything but scratch at your front door and mewl to let you know it needs a charge, including phoning you to remind you to plug it in.

We were also shown the various charging options using the now industry standard plug GM proposed.  It comes standard with one that plugs into your home outlet and charges in about 14 hours. The optional 200 amp system (electrician installed) brings the charge time to 8 hours and there’s a system that would be part of the upcoming infrastructure that would charge the batteries up to 80% capacity in 30 minutes.  The nice young man explaining all of this put it this way: if you were going from Santa Monica to San Diego to visit friends you would stop along the way have a coffee and be back on the road.  What he didn’t mention but is in the fine print on the brochure is that this special port is only available on the upscale (and pricier) SL.  If you’re in the standard SV while your buddies are cruising the gas-lamp district you’ll be flipping channels at the Motel 6 in Carlsbad.

What was my first impression of the actual car?  It’s bigger than I expected.  The photos play up the cuddly factor, which is admittedly high.  But the car itself is pretty roomy, with seating front and rear that fit my 6’ 3” frame.  The interior is very high-tech with all the electronic gizmos you’d want including keyless go, Bluetooth and iPod connectivity and ones that you might not want, like a trackball-like gearshift and an eco-display that rewards efficient driving with little trees.  It also features plastics made of recycled soda bottles, which is the eco-friendly way of saying hard and cheap-feeling.  

There are two modes of driving: regular or “eco”.  In the interest of truth in advertising it really should be regular and “sloth”.  In eco mode it feels as if there’s a piece of granite under the accelerator and the regenerative braking becomes so aggressive it feels as if there was a small public library tied to the bumper.  I shut it off after half a block.  In regular mode it’s fairly zippy, at least on the short course and the round-the-block trip I took.  In either mode there’s electric steering that made me think of the steering on the ’78 Marquis a friend had.  It’s that responsive.

The nice young woman who was my host told me that Edison and Nissan are working with cities and companies to try to get rapid charging stations put in city structures, corporate parking lots, grocery store parking lots and street spaces where one could swipe a credit card and not only pay for the space but charge the car.  At the end of our drive she showed me a few of the gadgets on it, including the updated daily list of charging stations available.  It showed that indeed there were stations close by, at Santa Monica City Hall.  I pulled out to find more.  I pulled out, and out, and out to find that there weren’t any.

So much for that trip to San Diego.

I like this car.  I think it would be perfect for a lot of the people in the group I was in: 50-something Westsiders with disposable income, short commutes and homes with garages that can be set up with charging stations.  Those with apartments with street parking need not apply.  But heck, if 25,000 people in Los Angeles get one of these or one of the others and it works for them then wonderful.  I can’t see myself buying the Leaf new and I wonder who would buy one used when the 100k mile battery warranty is near to being up.  But I’m sure I’ll be seeing a lot of these on Montana Avenue...

 

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Publisher's Note: Check-out John McElroy's daily news show covering everything about the auto biz by clicking on the graphic below. Good stuff guaranteed. - PMD

 

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Article originally appeared on Autoextremist.com ~ the bare-knuckled, unvarnished, high-electron truth... (http://www.autoextremist.com/).