March 9, 2010

2010 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500: America, Hell Yeah!

Ford_2010_GT500_f-yeah.JPG

Whenever I evaluate a vehicle, I always pick an appropriate soundtrack. You see, I'm all about immersing myself into the experience of whatever a given car is supposed to represent. A bad-to-the-bone pickup truck? I'll put on some Johnny Cash (or if it's a Chevy truck, Bob Seger, of course). A stylish high-performance German coupe? I'll cue up some nu-jazz, perhaps from the likes of Christian Prommer's Drumlesson or Jazzanova. So, when I grabbed the keys to the Mustang Shelby GT500 with 540 supercharged horses, the only song that could possibly come to mind was the theme song from Team America whose title we can't print here...but look at the title of this story, replace the word "Hell" and use your imagination. Expletive-filled and crass, to be sure, but then again, so is the Shelby GT500.

Continue reading "2010 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500: America, Hell Yeah!"

Posted by Ed Kim at 9:00 AM | Comments (0)



March 2, 2010

HUMMER Gals Love Consumer Brands

Women owning HUMMERs have a strong affinity for ten consumer brands in the USA.

AutoPacific's Research Suite database that annually collects the opinions of over 30,000 buyers of new cars and light trucks asked which of 27 brands a new owner would buy from. The results from AutoPacific's Consumer Brands Study clearly show the interrelationship between owners of auto brands and buyers of twenty-seven consumer brands like Walmart, Lowe's, Apple, Sony, Hugo Boss, Costco, McDonalds and more.

What the study shows is that you likely won't find a Porsche driven by a woman in a Walmart parking lot, but you are likely to find a Land Rover driven by a woman at an Apple Store. Using these data AutoPacific can develop clear profiles of the dynamics between these auto brands and consumer brands.

HUMMER Female Brands.jpg

Looking only at female buyers, HUMMER buyers were most likely to shop at Lowe's, Old Navy, The Gap, Walmart and to buy Coca Cola, Levi's, Axe, LG, HP and Hugo Boss.

Land Rover Female Brands.jpg

The only other brand that came close to HUMMER gals was Land Rover. They were tops in Polo, Methoc, Sony, Gucci, Hugo Boss and HP. They were also in the top five among Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Apple, Starbucks, Costco and Louis Vuitton shoppers.

Posted by George Peterson at 11:15 AM | Comments (0)


| TrackBack (0)


First Drive: 2011 Hyundai Sonata Delivers

Sexy and Strong. And a Hyundai.
Hyundai has is developing its sense of style, seen in Genesis and followed up with the 2011 Sonata. This Sonata offers style inside and out, interior space and functionality, and entertaining driving dynamics. Easy on the pocketbook and easy on the eyes should be a killer combination.
bl_designer.jpg

Hyundai calls this design philosophy fluidic sculpture. Aside from sounding a bit like a physics experiment, the result is an expressive sedan in a sea of sameness. Though the grille could be called over-complicated, the sculpture in bodysides and hood is refreshing, one of the youngest of automakers. The chrome strip that runs below the window line, over the front quarter panels, and all the way down to heavily detailed headlights is a particularly attractive--and difficult to manufacture--element. This Sonata looks more expensive than it is. Even better, this exterior is matched with an equally good-looking, feature-laden interior.
bl_Sonata_172.jpg

The Sonata will offer four-cylinder power only, a brave choice. The 2.4L example we drove will be followed up by a turbo 2.0L and a hybrid by the end of the year. Details will be revealed at the 2010 New York auto show, but Hyundai has promised "substantially" more than 250HP from the turbo 2.0L.

Continue reading "First Drive: 2011 Hyundai Sonata Delivers"

Posted by Stephanie Brinley at 9:00 AM | Comments (0)



February 12, 2010

Consumer Car Choices Counter to What Government Mandates

AutoPacific_VV.jpgInterest in Small Cars, Hybrids
Declines Despite Fuel Price Increase

TUSTIN, Calif. (February 11, 2010) - AutoPacific regularly tracks the impact of fuel prices on the type of vehicles Americans will consider buying. The results for the just-completed Fuel Price Impact Survey show very surprising results.

Governmental mandates and consumer desires appear to be moving at cross-purposes. At a time when Congress and the Obama Administration are mandating more fuel efficiency, fuel price increases have moderated. Consumer preferences are swinging in the direction opposite what the government desires. Consideration for small cars and hybrids, the most fuel efficient vehicles, is down dramatically, while consideration for pickups and SUVs is up dramatically. Over 1,000 respondents completed AutoPacific's January 2010 wave of its Fuel Price Impact Study.

Continue reading "Consumer Car Choices Counter to What Government Mandates"

Posted by Stephanie Brinley at 6:53 AM | Comments (1)



View older entries