Cadillac Considering Four-Door Converj

Last month GM unveiled the Cadillac Converj Concept that combined the Volt's powertrain with a much sexier shell.

Although the Converj Concept is a coupe, GM is reportedly considering a four-door version for production. A four-door Converj would keep its coupe-like roofline, meaning it would be dubbed as a four-door coupe. Four-door vehicles simply sell better than two-doors so it would make for a stronger business case. According to Bob Lutz a production version of the Converj will not differ much from the concept, much in the same way that the production Camaro is very similar to its concept.

Even if the Converj is eventually given the green light, don't expect it to be released before 2013. Also who knows how much it would actually cost. The Volt is expected to start around $40,000, so a Cadillac version would definitely cost much more.

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Plug-In Toyota Prius Will Average 65 MPG in 2010

Toyota unveiled the all-new 2010 Toyota Prius at the Detroit Auto Show last month. Initially the new Prius will only be offered with the current nickel-metal hydride batteries, but sometime in 2010 a plug-in Prius will be introduced.

According to Bill Reinert, Toyota Motor Sales USA’s national alternative-fuel vehicle manager, the Prius plug-in hybrid has been averaging 65 mpg in combined gas and electic mode testing.

“That is real-world driving,” Reinert told Automotive News. “I ask my guys to drive them as you drive your normal Prius.”

The non plug-in hybrid 2010 Prius gets an estimated combined 50 mpg.

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Detroit 2009: Lincoln MKS latest to get EcoBoost V6

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Sedans/Saloons, Lincoln

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Lincoln MKS with EcoBoost

Following the release of the flagship MKT and Flex CUV, the Lincoln MKS is now the third vehicle to receive the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 for the 2010 model year. Mated to a six-speed automatic transmission, the twin-turbo engine is rated at 355 bhp and 350 lb-ft torque, all while providing 16 mpg city and 25 mpg highway. Those who opt for the EcoBoost will also get a host of other options including 19-inch wheels, steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters, all-wheel-drive, push-button start, ambient lighting, HID headlights, rain-sensing wipers, and a rear window power sunshade. More info on the EcoBoost can be found in the press release after the jump and there are plenty of high-res images in the gallery below.

Gallery: Detroit 2009: Lincoln MKS with EcoBoost

Gallery: 2010 Lincoln MKS with EcoBoost

Continue reading Detroit 2009: Lincoln MKS latest to get EcoBoost V6

Detroit 2009: Lincoln MKS latest to get EcoBoost V6 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Matt Dillon Demonstrates A Non-SS Impala Can Hit 106 MPH [Car Crime]

Matt Dillon didn't Crash his rented 2009 Chevy Impala while traveling 106 MPH through Vermont, but the actor did receive a ticket for the Wild Things he did on the road.

The 44-year-old actor was taken into custody last night after exercising poor judgment while driving more than 40 MPH over the posted speed limit. Had he been going slower he could have gotten by with a ticket but, at those speeds, it's considered reckless driving and excessive speeding. Bummer. On the other hand, we're assuming the rental car he used was a non-SS 2009 Chevrolet Impala, proving the vehicle can actually beat 100 MPH.

Maybe he was just prepping for the sequel to Herbie: Fully Loaded?

[E! Online]

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1919 Ford Model T Touring [Down On The Street]

Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. We're going to end 2008 with the oldest DOTS car yet.

How about 89 years old and parked on the street? Granted, this West End car doesn't live full-time on the street, but every so often it spends a few days doing so, along with its 1924 garagemate. At that point it's used to run errands, go grocery shopping, and so on, though it seldom leaves the island and its 25 MPH speed limits. The owner is a regular Jalopnik reader, and he agreed to let me know the next time his old Fords would be getting some street time.


Got to love the uncomplicated controls. Ignition switch and ammeter. Period. The Model T was 11 years old by 1919, and old Henry- in between foamy-mouthed fulminations on the Elders Of Zion- was working double-time to get costs down. You could get the '19 Touring for just $525, or about $6,500 in today's bucks (the '08 model went for $850). And hey, this was the first year of the electric starter, so broken wrists became optional!

First 400 DOTS Vehicles • DOTS FAQ

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English Senior Caught Speeding By Camera, Politely Accused Of Being A Man

Caught by speeding cameras doing 52mph in a 40mph zone, 59 year-old Kent native Pauline Synnott was dismayed when she received a traffic citation in the mail. Photographic evidence had clearly recorded her violating traffic laws, however, and Synnott reluctantly admitted to police in a responding letter that she was indeed guilty as charged. Prepared to pay the $100 fine and accept the three penalty points that would be assigned to her driving record, Synnott was shocked when she received a second letter from the police suggesting that she was misrepresenting herself as a woman.

According to an excerpt of the letter, published in The Sun, Kent Police, “From the copy of the photograph, it appears that the driver was male. I have therefore enclosed herewith a further set of forms and would ask you to complete them again with name of the driver.” [Pictures of Synnott in original article at TheSun.com]

Apparently, the vehicle Synnott was driving at the time she committed the infraction was registered to her partner, 65-year-old Roy Watkins, and her admission of guilt to the police didn’t jive with the driver information they had on file. Understandably, both Watkins and Synnott are outraged over the indignity, and Synnott especially is downright embarrassed over being mistaken for a man. Although the police apologized for the mistake, the couple is currently seeking “compensation”, and Kent officials have admitted they are “Working with the couple to resolve this matter.”

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Better Than Public Transportation Part 1: Car Sharing

Public transportation sucks. That just how it is. It’s a rigid, poorly run system that very commonly goes into debt. But everyone in the city can’t own a car, it’d be a congestion nightmare. There needs to be a solution, a free market solution that doesn’t rely on the government to mess it up. Luckily one is starting get popular.

I’m always interested in free market solutions to social problems…like pay-as-you-drive car insurance and privately owned bridges and streets. So I love hearing about how popular this new idea is getting. Instead of the bloated system of buses and trains, many people are turning to an efficient, well run alternative that allows you to go anywhere for a very small fee, Car Sharing. Car sharing is growing exponentially in some major US cities.

How car sharing works

Car share companies are basically car rental companies, except they allow people to rent their cars for very short periods of time, down to an hour or less sometimes. Different car sharing companies work in different ways, but generally it’s a decentralized system, with no major hub. Most of the financial transactions are done online. Sometimes there’s a monthly fee, and you generally pay online in advance. You reserve a vehicle in advance as well, although often times the car is available the moment you make the reservation.

The companies usually have arrangements with various parking lots around the city so they can be used as pick up and drop off points. The rates for car sharing companies are generally similar. For example, a popular service in Philadelphia, Philly Car Share, charges $3.90/hour or $39/day, plus 16¢/mile, they offer free rides on rail transit, and everything is included (even gas).

Car sharing strikes the perfect balance between the convenience of owning a car, and the cost savings of using public transportation. It gives you 24-hour access to a network of great, reliable cars and trucks without the hassles of owning a car. Gas, insurance, cleaning, and maintenance costs are all included in the carsharing fee.

There are eco benefits to car sharing as well. As more city dwellers turn to car sharing instead of owning a car themselves, there will be less harmful emissions and less traffic. Plus the cars that car sharing companies use are newer, more fuel efficient cars; that in itself decreases the impact on the environment. Car sharing means less pollution, less traffic congestion, and more available parking. It also means more transportation options for people who can’t afford to own a car. It’s a great solution to a common problem in all major cities, all thanks to the free market.

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Toyota Concept Pick Up-Truck A-BAT’s For Both Teams

Toyota A-Bat Concept

Introduced in 2007 at the Detroit auto show, the Toyota A-Bat pick-up truck/sedan synergy is now creeping slowly, hesitantly towards production. Although nothing has been green-lighted, Toyota executives have confirmed for Auto News that they’ve begun accepting supplier bids for the A-Bat’s construction components. So does this mean the freaky little A-Bat is destined for U.S. roadways? Not necessarily.

According to Toyota, the process of accepting supplier bids is a common industry practice used to evaluate the approximate cost of production, and doesn’t necessarily indicate Toyota’s future plans. Although preliminary design plans for the Toyota A-Bat indicate a vehicle that would lean heavily on body parts/design cues from both the Toyota Camry and 2010 Toyota Prius, the overall architecture of the A-Bat is expected to cost more to build than the Toyota Tacoma’s platform. As a result, the A-Bat’s future as a production model currently hangs in the balance. Despite it’s promising future as what could prove to be an engineering breakthrough for Toyota, if the final estimate of the Toyota A-Bat’s production costs exceed Toyota’s projected budget, the A-Bat project will be shelved.

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Detroit 2009: Chevy Spark playing to a familiar Beat [w/VIDEO]

Filed under: Concept Cars, Detroit Auto Show, Geneva Motor Show, Videos, Hatchbacks, Chevrolet

Click above for a high-res image gallery of the Chevy Beat/Spark unveiling

While details remain sparse, General Motors rolled out its three-door Beat Concept from the 2007 New York Auto Show, promising that a version of the car will be produced beginning in 2010 for foreign markets, and for the US in 2011. Oddly, unlike the three-door sub-Aveo - sized hatch that rolled on to this morning's main stage, the production Spark figures to be a five-door hatchback capable of delivering 40 miles-per-gallon in the city. Officials indicate that a production version of the Spark will roll out at the Geneva Motor Show in March, and AB readers have already seen development prototypes running around.

Interestingly, the leaked shot that we showed you yesterday clearly shows a five-door vehicle. Perhaps it will roll onto display stands later in the show, but for now, GM has chosen to parade the 2007 three-door showcar around. We'll do some poking around, but in the meantime, take a gander at the high-res gallery of shots below and click through to the jump for the press release.

Gallery: Detroit 2009: Chevy Spark, aka Beat

Continue reading Detroit 2009: Chevy Spark playing to a familiar Beat [w/VIDEO]

Detroit 2009: Chevy Spark playing to a familiar Beat [w/VIDEO] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 11 Jan 2009 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GMAC Resumes Car Loans To Customers With Crappier Credit [Carpocalypse Now]

Crappy credit? Still want a GM product? That's no longer a problem. Thanks to yesterday's $6 billion bailout, GMAC plans to expand credit criteria from a minimum 700 FICO score to 621 or above.

GMAC's just put out the following press release letting 'mericans know it's back to the free-wheelin' spending-without-saving days of 2007, as they've expanded retail auto financing to customers with a 621 FICO score or above. That's a decent-sized expansion from the change to requiring a 700 FICO score or higher just two months ago. Dealers across the nation are expected to be rejoicing throughout the day. All this is thanks to the decision by the Feds to release $6 billion from the TARP fund to GMAC to shore up their books. Full press release from GMAC below:

GMAC to Expand Retail Auto Financing: Customers to benefit from greater access to low cost funding

DETROIT, Dec. 30 / — GMAC Financial Services will immediately resume auto financing for a broader spectrum of U.S. customers as a result of expanded access to funding as a bank holding company. The company will modify its credit criteria to include retail financing for customers with a credit bureau score of 621 or above, a significant expansion of credit compared to the 700 minimum score put in place two months ago.

GMAC's application to become a bank holding company was approved by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors on Dec. 24, 2008. The company also announced that it received an investment from the U.S. Treasury Department as part of the Troubled Assets Relief Program.

"The actions of the federal government to support GMAC are having an immediate and meaningful effect on our ability to provide credit to automotive customers," said GMAC President Bill Muir. "We will continue to employ responsible credit standards, but will be able to relax the constraints we put in place a few months ago due to the credit crisis. We will immediately put our renewed access to capital to use to facilitate the purchase of cars and trucks in the U.S."

At this time, GMAC will not finance higher risk transactions characterized by a credit bureau score of 620 or below. The company will utilize both GMAC Bank and funding from other sources to resume its traditional spectrum of prime-based credit, appropriately pricing for risk and requiring down payments where necessary.

"The majority of GMAC's auto financing has been in the prime arena," Muir said. "Therefore, opening access to credit for those with CB scores of 621 or better will allow us to return to more normal levels of financing volume, and should help in efforts to stabilize the U.S. auto industry."

GMAC's expanded financing policy and improved retail financing rates will apply to both new and certified used vehicles. Dealer wholesale financing remains a priority for GMAC, and is unchanged.

About GMAC Financial Services

GMAC Financial Services is a global finance company operating in and servicing North America, South America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. GMAC specializes in automotive finance, real estate finance, insurance, commercial finance and online banking. As of Dec. 31, 2007, the organization had $248 billion in assets and serviced 15 million customers. Visit the GMAC media site at http://media.gmacfs.com/ for more information.

SOURCE: GMAC Financial Services

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