Houston Cars

Yep, billion with a B.  One has to wonder how long a company can continue to hemorrhage unimaginable amounts of money before it calls it a day, and shuts down for good.  Somehow though, this announcement caused GM’s stock price to rise slightly.  Investors, I will never understand you.

GM is trying to play down their massive loss, by saying that $1.45 billion of it is due to their 49% ownership of GMAC.  I say, YOU OWN THE BUSINESS, STILL A LOSS.  Who really cares whether it came from the business of selling cars, or the business of financing them?  A loss is a loss, period, end of story, good game.

Due to a tough economy, ridiculous strikes, and generally weakness in car lineups, GM’s market share slipped to 21.7% of the US car market.  Oh, how a company can fall from grace.

Unofficially, that is.  That lofty number is claimed by a Norwegian car importer - they actually say at or over 300 HP.  That number will probably be realistic for the updated drivetrain due soon. The current production models are likely to be rated slightly lower than that.

HP ratings for electric cars are always difficult, since the power feels very different from a gas engine.  Three hundred ponies in the Tesla will likely be fantastic, and feel like a much more powerful gas-powered car.  Now if only Tesla can get some of these puppies delivered, and get to work on the sedan.

Meet the brand new 2009 Honda Pilot.  In typical Honda fashion, the new Pilot sticks to the formula that made the last version a success.  However, they did go a bit out of the norm.  The first thing you’ll notice when looking at the Pilot is a big, ugly, awkward grill.  The new pilot also seems a bit more squared off in the last version.  Think of a cross between the old Pilot, a Scion xB and the new Acura RL.

Looks aside, the 09 Pilot is, well, a Honda.  The interior is upgraded, though a bit controversially.  The shifter moves up to the dash, ala the CR-V.  I’m not really sure it works there, but surely it was done as a packaging / function thing.  The third row grew a little, but it’s still tight.  Still best for your kidlets.  If you have a bit of stuff you want to hide while you continue shopping, you can make use of the underfloor storage behind the third row.  It’s only 2.8 cubit feet, but still a handy addition.

Power is up a little, to 250 HP.  That won’t touch the class leaders, but Honda doesn’t care about that.  Gas mileage also improved slightly, to 17 city / 23 highway on the 2WD model.  That’s about par for class.  I was honestly hoping Honda would throw us a surprise here, and put out some crazy numbers.  Let’s take a look at the overall specs:

2009 Honda Pilot Specs

• 250 HP 3.5 liter V6
• Variable Cylinder Management ( VCM )
• 5 speed automatic transmission
• FWD or AWD
• 18 cubic ft of cargo room behind third row
• Seating for 8
• EPA Says: 17 MPG city / 23 MPG highway ( FWD model )

2009 Honda Pilot Reviews

Cars.com reviews the 2009 Honda Pilot and has this to say -’The Pilot was an appealing choice for families in the market for a three-row crossover before it was redesigned, and it remains so in its new, more refined 2009 form. When it was launched for the 2003 model year, the Pilot was one of just a few large crossover SUVs available. Today, however, there are many worthy challengers, like the CX-9 and Acadia, that match up well with it. When automakers redesign a model, they have to be able to — at a minimum — hang with the competition, and the Pilot does that and more in the categories that matter most.’

Autblog reviews the 2009 Honda Pilot and has this to say -’Overall, the 2009 Honda Pilot isn’t likely to set anyone’s heart aflutter. It’s designed for function, i.e. hauling a bunch of people and/or stuff around in relative comfort. For what this vehicle is supposed to be, it seems very capable. It’s smoother, quieter and apparently more fuel efficient than its predecessor, and if you choose the new Touring trim level, equipped to be almost on par with its more expensive Acura sibling, the new Pilot is quite a bargain. If Honda would just take another look at the dashboard materials and the upright face, we’d probably be good to go.’

Car and Driver reviews the 2009 Honda Pilot and has this to say -’Behind the wheel the new car is better in just about every way. Gone from the steering is the slight dead spot on-center, and the ride has been stiffened appropriately, getting rid of the previous car’s somewhat mushy-soft behavior. Acceleration feels similar (figure on 0-to-60 mph in the mid-seven-second range), there’s still some torque steer when accelerating vigorously out of corners (even in 4WD models), and the steering isn’t nearly as quick nor the tires as grippy as in such sporty wannabes as the Mazda CX-9. Is this a problem? Probably not, considering the Pilot’s mainstream, family-oriented buyers’

Volkswagen executives must know something about gas prices and the truck market that I don’t.  Considering the fact that I eat, sleep, and breathe cars, I doubt it.  Regardless, VW has a pickup truck in the works.  These are the first spy shots that I know of, for this 2010 Robust pickup.  This development mule is actually wearing a Toyota truck body under it’s camo.  It’s a pretty small truck ( think Ranger-ish ), so it might actually have some potential. 

Not that I think any truck buyers would consider VW, though.  Call me crazy, but most truck buyers want dependability first and foremost.  VW doesn’t exactly spring to mind in that area.

Source.

The current S4 sports a gas-guzzling V8, of course.  Nothing less was good enough when it was released.  Times are changing though, and Audi is making (small) strides to develop more fuel efficient models.  With that in mind, the next generation Audi S4, due late this year, will dump the V8.  In it’s place will be a supercharged 3.0 liter V6, good for roughly 350 HP.  That’s 10 HP more than the current V8, for the record.

So, more power, more fuel efficient.  That’s a double win.  You do lose the snarl of a V8, but you gain the high-tech sounding whine of the blower.  All in all, not a bad upgrade from Audi.  If you just have to have a V8 ( I understand ), the RS4 should carry on with all 8 cylinders still under hood.