The 2012 VW Beetle: Not Your Mom’s Beetle

The Volkswagen Beetle has traditionally been perceived as a bit of a woman’s car and it’s really no surprise. There’s a flower vase built into the dash for crying out loud. But Volkswagen hopes that its redesigned 2012 Beetle will appeal to a more masculine consumer base.

Women accounted for over 65 percent of U.S. buyers for the outgoing “New Beetle”. However, Rainer Michel, Volkswagen of America's vice president of product marketing and strategy, predicts that only about half of those who purchase the 2012 Beetle will be women.

Part of the reason for this change of appeal is the Beetle’s new, more powerful engine choices. The base engine will remain a 2.5-liter five-cylinder, but this one comes new and improved. This new five-cylinder delivers 170 horsepower and 177 lb-ft of torque, 20 horsepower more than its previous model.

And the 2012 Beetle comes in a 2.0T Turbo model which is powered by a turbocharged four-cylinder engine. This bad boy produces 200 horsepower and 207 lb-ft of torque to satisfy the male need for speed.

In addition to improved engine options, the design of the 2012 Beetle is also meant to draw in more testosterone. The 2012 model has been streamlined, with a more flat top and more erect windshield. The top has also been sloped back to create more headroom for the backseat. A longer, lower, and wider structure makes the 2012 Beetle tougher and more masculine than ever.

The interior of the 2012 Bug has also been overhauled, opting for a more linear, retro look. And with the available Sunroof, Sound, and Navigation package, 2012 Beetle owners can blast their favorite songs on a Fender-tuned stereo with a subwoofer and get directions on their integrated navigation system. No need to stop at the gas station guys.

A final masculine touch: the flower vase found in previous Beetle models has been eliminated.

While Volkswagen hopes the 2012 Beetle will bring in more male consumers, they also hope it will appeal to younger, more diverse buyers as well. Either way, it is clear that the Volkswagen Beetle will be flaunting a new image for the 2012 model year; it’s not just for women anymore.

Nothing like a Little Competition: the Leaf & the Volt

It seems that nothing can go wrong for either the Nissan Leaf or the Chevrolet Volt. No matter the ebb and flow of sales and production, both brands remain continuously optimistic, pledging that the future is bright for electric vehicles.

But no matter the apparent confidence of either Nissan or Chevrolet, the facts tell another side of the story.

From January of 2011 to June, Nissan sold 3,875 Leafs while the Volt’s sales numbers teetered off at 2,745. However, there is more to this reality than sales figures alone.

Because General Motors is currently expanding and updating the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant where the Volt is produced, not one Volt was built in the month of June. Production is planned to resume in mid-July but the Volt will not be widely available again until August. As of now, only 200 models are available for purchase in the United States.

Certainly this lull in production is a great opportunity for Nissan to take advantage of. As such, Nissan is planning on pumping out six to seven thousand Leafs by the end of the summer, hoping to secure its lead.

Keeping with the brother/sister mentality, Chevrolet has planned an offensive. Since summer sales for the Volt will be minimal, Chevrolet plans to use its new and improved assembly plant to supply 16,000 Volts by the end of 2011.

But estimated production numbers and 2011 sales figures cannot predict the future. It was not too long ago that Nissan was dealing with slowed production due to the March earthquake in Japan, sinking to the number two spot. But they recovered and eventually secured the lead. The Leaf is the more affordable of the two, but the Volt offers a backup gasoline system in addition to its electric battery, a more comforting set-up for consumers than electric alone.

From their short six months of production and sales, these electric vehicles have constantly been on opposite sides of the ring. There is not straddling the fence: either you are a Volt person or a Leaf person. Surely in the future, the electric car will become more mainstream and this rivalry will be diminished. Until then, the Volt/Leaf competition lives on.

Chevy Achieves Highest Brand Share in 20 Years

General Motor Co. has recently reported that Chevrolet cars are outselling trucks, SUVs, and other vehicle types. The brand share for sedans, midsize cars, and compacts peaked at just over 50 percent for the month of June (3rd month in a row) and analysts are citing the public’s desire for more efficient transport as the reason. If this trend continues, Chevy cars will attain the highest sales ratio in 20 years, nearly matching the 52 percent set in May, June, and July of 1991.

“You’ll see continued strength in passenger cars, particularly in the compact and mid-car segments. We have been a very, very strong trucks brand and frankly have under-performed in cars. It’s as simple as that. You have to go back a long way to a car performance this strong,” remarked VP of sales and service for Chevrolet, Alan Batey.

As consumers demand more and more fuel efficiency, car makers are looking toward smaller vehicles as saviors. With plans to release the new Chevy Sonic subcompact in the fall and increased improvements to the already popular Cruze and Malibu, car sales may remain augmented. All things considered there is equal optimism that truck sales will rebound given Chevrolet’s storied past.

“Although the cars will remain robust and strong, I expect the trucks will come back somewhat in the second half of the year,” Batey prophesized. General Motors speculates that, based on current numbers, they will sell 120,000 more vehicles than last year through the first six months of the year.

With the recession slowly dying, it seems that Chevy has positioned themselves nicely to begin making up for lost sales by creating an mpg-friendly lineup of mid-sized and sub compact cars.

Check out the full lineup of Chevrolet cars here

Chevrolet’s Car Sales Swell

General Motor Co. has recently reported that Chevrolet cars are outselling trucks, SUVs, and other vehicle types. The brand share for sedans, midsize cars, and compacts peaked at just over 50 percent for the month of June (3rd month in a row) and analysts are citing the public’s desire for more efficient transport as the reason. If this trend continues, Chevy cars will attain the highest sales ratio in 20 years, nearly matching the 52 percent set in May, June, and July of 1991.

“You’ll see continued strength in passenger cars, particularly in the compact and mid-car segments. We have been a very, very strong trucks brand and frankly have underperformed in cars. It’s as simple as that. You have to go back a long way to a car performance this strong,” remarked VP of sales and service for Chevrolet, Alan Batey.

As consumers demand more and more fuel efficiency, car makers are looking toward smaller vehicles as saviors. With plans to release the new Chevy Sonic subcompact in the fall and increased improvements to the already popular Cruze and Malibu, car sales may remain augmented. All things considered there is equal optimism that truck sales will rebound given Chevrolet’s storied past.

“Although the cars will remain robust and strong, I expect the trucks will come back somewhat in the second half of the year,” Batey prophesized. General Motors speculates that, based on current numbers, they will sell 120,000 more vehicles than last year through the first six months of the year.

With the recession slowly dying, it seems that Chevy has positioned themselves nicely to begin making up for lost sales by creating an mpg-friendly lineup of mid-sized and sub compact cars.

Check out the full lineup of Chevrolet cars here

With July Brings NADA’s Pick for “Car of the Month”

Now that July Fourth has passed, it is time to focus on something other than fireworks and hamburgers. How about the top rated car for the month of July? That’s right, the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) has issued its pick for July’s “Car of the Month”: the Chrysler 300.

The all-new 2011 Chrysler 300 boasts a spacious interior, improved handling, an impressive list of standard features, and a new polished design, all of which were taken into consideration by NADAguides. Presenting a truly luxury full-size sedan, the Chrysler 300 “goes above and beyond your typical feature set,” according to Troy Snyder, the Director of Product Development for NADAguides. He asserts that the 300 offers “the perfect combination” of both “luxury features and sharp design elements.”

In order to make their decision, NADAguides considered safety, fuel efficiency, pricing, engineering quality, test drives performed by the NADAguides team, and consumer interest. NADAguides first began to consider the Chrysler 300 when it entered the top 20 most researched vehicles on NADAguides.com in the first quarter of 2011.

And a “top Safety Pick” from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety certainly helped.

Hailed for its world-class craftsmanship, ride, and handling, the 2011 Chrysler 300 is available in three trims, including the 300 Limited and 300C. Among the many innovative standard features, the 300 presents best-in-class seating comfort, best-in-class horsepower coming in at 292, LED accent and ambient lighting, and real wood insets.

The Chrysler 300C trim remains the best luxury sedan in its class, which is no surprise considering its incredible list of standard features. From its 363 horsepower, 5.7L HEMI® V8 engine with Fuel Saver Technology to its Uconnect Touch™ 8.4N Garmin navigation radio, the 300C continues to be the best of the best.

With its combination of eye-catching style and sleek design features, the Chrysler 300 fits right in with the excitement and pizzazz of July. While it may not sparkle in the sky like a firework, the 2011 Chrysler 300 remains a star on the road as the NADAguides “Car of the Month.”

Self Driving Cars May Be Closer Than You Think

For some time now, human beings have wished to control everyday devices via autonomous robotic technology. Whether it’s a Roomba® vacuum cleaner that automatically keeps your house neat or simply a DVR which, when programmed, will record your favorite shows, people seemingly clamor for technology that takes the work out of activities. Although dreamed about for years, until recently automated driving was a thing for science-fiction novels. It seems now, more than ever, the chances of owning a fully functional self-driving car have skyrocketed thanks to the nearly constant innovation from companies like Google and Volkswagen.

Über-company Google has been working on self-driving cars as side project for quite awhile and have now begun to use these cars in everyday situations. Though Google has been developing the technology in California, they have moved operations to nearby Nevada due to fact that the state has become the first to allow drivers to operate autonomous vehicles. After significant lobbying from Google, the bill passed with only a small portion of opposing votes.

In Mountain View, California, Google had taken the self-driving cars on 140,000 miles of robot-controlled test drives but decided to make the switch to Nevada based on the states physical geography and penchant for innovative business growth. Some like lobbyist David Goldwater, think that Google’s strategic move will be highly successful.

“Nevada offers very good geographic opportunities, and the pro-business environment both from a tax and regulatory standpoint offered an opportunity to show what autonomous vehicles can do,” stated Goldwater, who lobbied Google’s cause but says he is not a spokesman for the company.

While the search engine giant has been forging ahead of the game in self-driving vehicles, Google is certainly not the only company making strides to make our cars drive themselves. On June 21st, Volkswagen presented its Temporary Auto Pilot or TAP system at the European Union’s research project HAVEit (Highly Automated Vehicles for Intelligent Transport). Like the name states, TAP still requires vehicle operators to drive and is quite different than Google’s fully automated driving function. In an attempt to assist drivers when facing dangerous situations, Volkswagen has bundled lane-change-assist, adaptive cruise control, and other semi-automatic utilities into TAP to make driving safer.

For those paranoid about having a computer assist with driving operation, the system may be disabled at any time. Volkswagen claims that the purpose of the auto-pilot is to “prevent accidents due to driving errors by an inattentive, distracted driver. The German auto manufacturer says that the TAP system will be active when driving at speeds of up 130 kilometers per hour (80 mph).

Based on the progress of both projects, it is not absurd to think that you may be sitting in an automated auto sooner rather than later. With safety and efficiency as top priorities innovators hope to change the driving experience for better.

Chevy Brings ‘Transformers’’ Bumblebee to Life

The 2007 action thriller “Transformers” was a box office hit, maybe because of the leading lady Megan Fox or maybe because of the unlikely hero, a yellow Chevrolet Camaro named Bumblebee. GM likes to think it was the latter.

Indeed, the 2012 Camaro will be offered in a special “Transformers” edition. General Motors Company reports that the 2LT and 2SS Camaro Coupes can be purchased with the $3,000 Bumblebee package. This special edition Camaro can be ordered in July and will be seen to U.S. and Canadian dealers in September.

So what exactly does the 2012 Bumblebee Chevy Camaro entail? You can guess that it will be painted a striking bright yellow. In order to achieve the quintessential bumblebee look, black rally stripes extend from the hood to the roof and rear deck lid. The interior is characterized by black leather with whimsical yellow stitching. And this Transformers edition Camaro would not be complete without Autobot Shield logos on the front quarter panels, center caps, and front headrests.

The debut of the 2012 Bumblebee edition Camaro aligns with the release of the third “Transformers” movie, but GM has long been thankful for the awareness “Transformers” has produced for the Camaro brand. In 2009, the Camaro was the most searched for car on the internet and Rick Scheidt, vice president of Chevrolet marketing says that “The Transformers franchise has helped introduce Camaro – and Chevrolet – to a whole new generation of fans.”

The 2012 special edition Chevrolet Camaro may not make you Shia LaBeouf or allow you to save the world, but it will give you a taste of the “Transformers” appeal. So you can get rid of that Autobot bumper sticker. Replace it with your very own Bumblebee Camaro.