Our patent-pending China sales oracle is in top form. As predicted, the Chinese market awoke from the doldrums in June and rose 6.2 percent from a year earlier to 1.11 million units. This according to a data released today by the China Association of... 

Suzuki is not buying into the „once in a millennium tsunami.” Suzuki has a lot of its production near the waterfront in Japan’s Tokai region. Scientists give the area between Toyko and Nagoya an 87 percent chance of getting hit by an earthquake... 

Filed under: Coupe , Mercedes-Benz , New Car Reviews , Luxury Twin Turbos Add Welcomed Personality 2011 Mercedes-Benz CL550 4Matic – Some folks say there’s no replacement for displacement. We’ll agree that there’s nothing quite... 

Possibly Ed’s rant against overusage of “bias” has escaped the attention of some commenters. “Bias” is no longer a welcome word on TTAC. Usage can result in permanent banning. I am inclined to put the word “bias”... 

Filed under: Crossover , Mazda , New Car Reviews Is Zoom-Zoom More Important Than Room-Room? 2011 Mazda CX-7 – When we think of mid-size crossovers, words like “comfort,” “convenience” and “roominess” are the... 

What is luxury? Back in 1999, that was an easy question to answer in the U S of A. Three Letters: S U V . When I first started in the auction business these mastodons absolutely dominated the marketplace. You could go to the nearest Ford factory auction... 

Our patent-pending China sales oracle has spoken, and it says. The only bubbles in China are in the heads of some self-styled experts. Looking at the June and half year results of GM China, one can only conclude that all is well in the Middle Kingdom.... 

Where were we? Ah, yes. I was fleeing Nashville in defeat after my mystery car ate its water pump on Mile 417 of a 1,210-mile journey. But what was that mystery car? I couldn’t reveal it at the time, for reasons which will become apparent shortly,... 

You find some interesting historical documents in junked cars, and sometimes they’re glued to an engine’s valve cover. This ’68 or ’69 Dodge D-series pickup had a pretty pedestrian LA series engine— probably a 318— but the... 

Since 1994, the California courts have banned defendants from using scientific evidence to challenge certain charges for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI). To foil defense attorneys who had become increasingly successful with juries, the state... 

End of the year, Europeans can delight in the Made in America Opel Ampera, which is a rebadged and slightly reskinned (see picture) Volt. But don’t rush to your friendly Opel dealer to put in your pre-order: The Ampera is already sold out. According... 

The ’79 Monza wagon we saw last week was a choice specimen of Malaise Era misery, to be sure, but how did the Vega Monza compare to the Chevette? Let’s say it’s 1977, you’re a Chevrolet shopper, and you want something that doesn’t... 

Porsche wants to do what every car maker wants. Sell more cars. So what would you do if you would have to move more Porsches? Tout their speed? Their horsepower? Call up Jack Baruth and offer him “Buy 10, get one free?” No, Siree. Porsche positions... 

Germans bought 288,382 new cars in June, that’s pretty much the same (-0.3 percent) as in June 2010. A month does not a year make: In the first half of 2011, 1.62 million cars changed hands in Deutschland, that’s 10.5 percent more than 2010, say data... 

While I was celebrating my independence from TTAC on a camping road trip through the wilds of Eastern Oregon this weekend, it seems that quite a little debate was stirred up by Bertel’s publication of the top 10 best-selling American-market cars... 

The transition from exclusively gasoline-powered vehicles to the new panoply of permutations of gas and electric power has not been easy on the old emm-pee-gee. The imperfect-yet-universal (in the US market) measure of efficiency finds itself at a loss... 

In the battle for market share, Detroit is making something of a comeback. After decades of decline, the unprecedented taxpayer investment in Detroit seems to be yielding dividends in the form of solidifying signs of recovery. Of course, these firms still... 

With every holiday, I marvel at the passage of time, and at the twists and turns my path has taken here at TTAC. In reflecting on the recent past, I can’t help but feel an immense gratitude to the inscrutable workings of fate which have conspired to... 

I’m sure Aaron just about killed himself doing the usual AUWM-grade exhaustive research, but I’d say it was worth it. Murilee says check it out! See more here: Long-Awaited Ate Up With Motor Kaiser-Darrin Piece Now Live!  Read More →

If you are stuck in traffic and no legal way to turn around, what do you do? Ignore the “no U-turn” sign? Say “hey, I have an SUV” and take the median? A driver in China’s Kumming, a city famous for  ake Lamborghinis and illicit substances,...