Most Pontiac Drivers Will Stick with GM
Between 57,641 people with Pontiac who bought a new ride in 2010, 53.5 percent of them still not moving from the General Motors’ product. This is according to the survey from RL Polk & Co. Here is the details: 33.5 percent choose Chevrolet, 11.7 percent with GMC, 6.7 percent pick Buick, while the 1.5 percent bought a Cadillac.
Between the rest of the Big Three, Ford has the best result by catching 10.5 percent of ex-Pontiac owners, Dodge has 3.2 percent, while Chrysler and Jeep has a total of 1.7 percent share. Most of the former Pontiac owners who were not choosing General Motors (31 percent) went to the Japanese manufacturer. Toyota has 7.7 percent, Honda 7.5 percent, as Nissan and Hyundai not far adrift.
The numbers are saying that the people who already has a Pontiac will mostly remain with the big name high volume automaker when they want to buy a new car. Although some of the new chosen brands are quite different than Pontiac, They are mostly affordable, mass produced, and has its dealer networks.
Most Pontiac Drivers Will Stick with GM is a post from: Automotive News and Review
KIA is Recalling 70,000 Units of Optima Sedans
There is a report from The Detroit News said that KIA is currently recalling their 70,115 units of examples of their 2006-2008 Optima sedans. This recalling action is said to tbe because the weak shift cable which could break and will caused the car roll unexpectedly when being parked. This problem was firstly noticed by KIA in 2007, so they change their manufacturing processes to fix this issue.
Beside that, KIA also has notified all their technicians to look at the customers’ Optimas and fix the issue if there was any problem with the vehicle. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has started their investigation to the 2007 model of Optima in November after they received three reports about the broken shift cable in the cars with automatic transmission.
This problem is said to be able to prevent the owners from shifting between Park, Drive, and Reverse mode. This can even caused a park car roll away in one case. To response the enquiry from NHTSA, KIA has done some testing and evaluation of the cars and they will recall them immediately. KIA claims that this problem hasn’t resulted in any incidents.
KIA is Recalling 70,000 Units of Optima Sedans is a post from: Automotive News and Review
McLaren MP4-12C GT3 Tested in Silverstone
McLaren is unveiling the racing version of their MP4-12C. The car which is dubbed as the McLaren MP4-12C GT3 is spotted running around the Silverstone circuit in England with the new test driver, Alvaro Parente behind the wheel. This racing model is almost four inch wider than the street model. It also brought a reworked suspension which has been tested on McLaren’s in-house simulator.
The powertrain is coming from the same engine with the standard MP4-12C with 3.8 liter twin turbo V8. Only that the setup in the GT3 version has of course tuned for the track racing. While the street version has seven speed unit, the GT3 has a paddle shifted transmission designed by Ricardo. This track version of McLaren also had it brakes upgraded.
Beside those mechanical changes, the GT3 car is also gets some aero upgrades with its front splitter, additional door intake blade, fixed rear wing, and the new diffuser in the back. Hopefully this racing version of MP4-12C GT3 will be as good as what they did in the Formula One race.
McLaren MP4-12C GT3 Tested in Silverstone is a post from: Automotive News and Review
The Latest Version of Cadillac XTS Spotted
Previously, we were already talked about the upcoming XTS model from Cadillac, but that picture is still from far away. But now, the spy photographers from Autoblog had succeed to bring a close up and personal photo with the new flagship from Cadillac to give us some preview about the sedan’s interior in process.
The new Cadillac sedan is based on the XTS Platinum concept which was shown at last year’s Detroit Auto Show and will replace the STS and DTS model from Cadillac. It means that the current CTS will be able to move its market upward to allow a smaller ATS which is said to be coming in the summer of 2012. The car is expected to bring the same platform as the Epsilon II inside the Buick LaCrosse. Hopefully the front and rear wheel drive will be available.
In a glance, the interior of this prototype seems pretty similar with the CTS design, but we are of course hoping that a better material will be provided in this vehicle. The other specification of this car is including its Brembo brakes in the front side as well as the 19 inch wheels.
The Latest Version of Cadillac XTS Spotted is a post from: Automotive News and Review
NMS Loses Their Contract With Chrysler
New Media Strategies (NMS) is the company which is responsible to manage the Twitter account of Chrysler. At March 9, 2011, a member of NMS thought he was using his personal Twitter account to bring the message related to the less than stellar driving abilities of the residents in Detroit. Unfortunately, the tweet which is contained the F-word was accidentally sent out from the Chrysler’s Twitter account.
The result is that the New Media Strategies was forced to fired the employee, but now the company seems like losing more than one worker with a foul mouth. In their statement today, Chrysler said that they won’t renew their contract with NMS and they will work with a social media company when a new agency is being searched. There is no indication on why Chrysler choose to end their relationship, while it is only a problem of one Tweet.
Chrysler has recently posted their followed up message on their corporate blog. They were explaining that Chrysler did not fire the company who made a mistake. They are also explaining on why they were reacted that way by letting the NMS go. Check it out by yourself here.
NMS Loses Their Contract With Chrysler is a post from: Automotive News and Review