I forgot to post this yesterday. Here’s some great stories from Friday to check out over the weekend…

- Motown Showdown: 2009 Dodge Charger SRT8 vs. 2009 Pontiac G8 GXP
- What car deserves an LS9 V8?
- Clarkson: Top Gear USA ‘canned,’ viewers ‘just don’t get it.’
- Most of Saleen sold to Michigan group
- Lawrence Marshall Chevy, Dodge, Ford: Another Massive Texas Auto Dealership Closes (thanks Cody)
- Ford Leader in Technology Patents, Study Shows
- Killer car deals out there…somewhere
- Obama defends federal car plan
- How to sell diesel to Americans
- First Look: Cadillac Converj Concept
- (F1) Bourdais stays at Toro Rosso in 2009
- Black Stig Returns from the Dead
- New coalition formed to promote diesels in the U.S.
- Citroen DS Inside Concept to debut in Geneva
- General Motors to lay off 600 at Mexico plant
- Nissan GT-R With Updated Launch Control Still Fast
- New Study Confirms Car Exhaust Increases Lightning Strikes
- GAZ-51 Custom: Russians Make A Cadillac Escalade EXT Hot!
- Thai Police Erect Fake Crash Sites To Deter Drunk Driving
- Has the auto market finally bottomed out?
- Ford says new study shows SYNC leads to fewer distracted drivers
- Shelby unleashes 750-horsepower GT500 Super Snake Prudhomme Edition
- Geneva Preview: More details on Alpina B6 GT3 come to light
- Other Perspectives: Chris Bangle – The man who saved BMW?
- BMW considering five possible variants of next 1-series, turbocharging galore

Source: Sean Martin

When my good friend Randy asked me to contribute to his new project I asked myself, “Is it my good looks? My grasp of the English language? My nunchuck skills?” Not quite.

Even though I took a course in Early American Basket Weaving in college, I could use none of that knowledge. I would be writing about the automotive industry and culture he said. How could I say no? I couldn’t. Even though I spend my days as a mild mannered communications manager at one of the world’s largest tire manufacturers, I’ll now be sharing some of my experiences and opinions with the readers of EasyAutoSales.com. I appreciate the opportunity to contribute to the site, and know that we’ll all have some fun.

A little about me: I’ve been writing for the last dozen years or so, getting my start in radio as a host and promotions/marketing director. I moved into automotive journalism a few years later, and after several years as a writer and editor for such publications as Sports Car Market, Hemming’s and quite a few others, I was snagged by one of the oldest and largest tire manufacturers in the world to be their North American PR Manager.

I’ve had the pleasure of driving everything from a Beetle to a Bugatti Veyron, and have a soft spot in my heart for European classics such as Bristol, BMW and Mercedes Benz.

Please be sure to check back often for news, commentary and reviews of some of the most powerful, exotic and advanced automobiles available. We’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s go!

Joe

A friend of EasyAutoSales, Lance Weatherby, recently wrote an article on his blog about the Wheego Whip plug-in electric vehicle. EasyAutoSales would love to share his insights with you! Check out what Lance thinks below…

This past weekend while the North American International Auto Show kicked off in Detroit I had my own little personal auto show.  I spend the weekend tooling around in a prototype of the Wheego Whip by RTEV.  It was a fun experience.  When I brought it home both of my kids exclained “cool.”  And boy did it generate a lot of attention and spark several a conversation over the course of 72 hours.

Nearly everyone that looks at the Whip says “Is that a Smart Fortwo?”  The answer is no.  The car’s platform and body is manufactured by Shuanghuan Automobile in China and then shipped to the US for final assembly at the RTEV manufacturing facility in South Carolina.  While the production car will eventually be capable of speeds of up to 60 mph, it will be launched as a Low Speed Vechicle (LSV).  LSVs are generally capable of speed up to 35 mph and allowed to travel on streets with that same speed limit.  The prototype I tested was an LSV.

The Whip is a “plug-in” all electric vehicle.  To charge it you literally plug the car into a normal 110 or 220 volt electrical outlet.  A single charge was getting me about 20 miles in the prototype.  The production vehicle is expected to get 60 on a single.

In place of the fuel input there is a male electrical receptacle.  It is so easy to charge that a fifth grader is capable of doing it.

The dash on the Wheego is straightforward.

Almost as straightforward as putting the car in forward or reverse.

Before the weekend was over we were using the Wheego as our main vehicle to run errands or ferry the kids to sports practices and sleepovers.  It’s fun to drive in a way that is a lot different from my power laden and gas loving 540.  I was mostly just hanging out in the right lane of four way streets while cars buzzed around me (in Atlanta a posted 35 mph means go 50).  But what I began to notice was that I was pulling right up to these cars at the next traffic light, pretty much making my way at the same pace.  And I spent not a penny in gas.

The Wheego Whip is expected to be available in May of 2009 at a price in the $20k range.

December means time for joy and giving. Be it a local Toys-For-Tots or Salvation Army, American’s take this time of year to give joy to others through donations and gifts. So, why not give something to you car this holiday and make everyone who sees you driving smile a little in the process. WhatOnEarth has released a set of reindeer antlers and a nose that can be affixed to your car, making your everyday sled into a petrol powered Rudoph. More information here and click below to buy a set of your own:

Dash through the snow in pure holiday style as you haul that sleigh-load around in your red-nosed vehicle. Oversized 16″ jingle-bell plush antlers clip over your closed windows, while the bright red 6″ nose attaches with sturdy wire. All pieces weatherproof and ready to roll. Spot clean.

Source: WhatOnEarth

On more than a few occasions, numerous people recently have accused Detroit of building cars Americans don’t want. People are blaming Detroit’s choice in car production for their desperate position.

Bullocks!

There are many reasons the Detroit Big-Three are failing. However, they have build exactly what Americans WANT. Note the word choice. WANT. Americans have a love affair with large trucks and fast cars. Cars like the Ford F-150, the Ford Mustang, Cadillac Escalade and Chevrolet Corvette are the American cars people WANT. They are stylish, reliable, fast and are enjoyable cars to be in. In the past 15 years the American car companies have realized they need to compete on a reliability level with Japanese automakers becuase that’s what American’s started to value in a way they never had before. However, as gas prices started to rise and the economy started to take a nose-dive, Ford, Chevy and Dodge started to build cars like the Chevy Cobalt and Ford Fusion hybrid get over 30MPH and are as reliable as their Japanese counterparts. Even their styling is starting to come along. So, why is GM, Ford and Chrysler are in such dire straits?

The simple answer is labor unions and the huge liability of unions and their pensioning system. Almost $1500 from every car goes to pay for liabilities for employees that no longer produce cars. The complex answer has to do with generally poor judgement about labor contracts and leveraging credit beyond what was reasonable for an auto manufacturer. Poor mangement decisions from a group of people who thought the car business could continue this unlimited growth have put the companies in a bad position. So, what do you think? Do American car companies make cars people want? Am I totally wrong?

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