August 10, 2010

Scion Moves to Expand its Lineup
Toyota's Scion youth brand was conceived as a three-product lineup, but it will stretch to four vehicles early next year and could add other products as well. The lineup will be "a mix of evolution and revolution" in the future, said Jack Hollis, vice president of the brand. According to Automotive News, the Scion tC redesign arrives in October, and the all-new iQ minicar will arrive in early 2011. But it may not end there. Last year Toyota said it would not build the small, A-BAT pickup concept that had been a head-turner at the 2008 Detroit auto show. But Hollis said the A-BAT is not dead after all. The idea of a parcel carrier not meant for heavy hauling is attractive to Gen Y buyers, he said. Click here for a photo of the A-BAT. Also, the boxy Hako coupe concept, with its 94.5-inch wheelbase, is under study as a "creative-utility" vehicle. The Hako appeared at the 2009 New York show. Click here for a photo. "I don't think Scion needs to be reinvented, but we need to find the next dimension," Hollis said. Scion sales fell 22 percent through July of this year - after a 49 percent plunge in 2009. To read more about plans to add to Scion's product lineup, click here.

93 and Counting
Michael Fumento at Forbes writes that the jig seems to be up on the runaway-Toyota scare. Mounting evidence indicates that those Toyotas truly accelerating suddenly can probably be explained by sliding floor mats (since fixed) and drivers hitting the gas instead of the brake. That is, the media have been chasing a will-o'-the-wisp for the better part of a year, whipping U.S. car buyers and Congress into a frenzy. The media pack is so focused on the number of those deaths supposedly from sudden unintended acceleration, now put at 93 from 75 crashes, that it can't be bothered to properly investigate them - or indeed even look at them. Otherwise reporters could have told you what Fumento says he found: that most of the claims are spurious, even to the point that some of the accidents never even occurred. The NHTSA "complaint database," available on its website, amounts to a collection of anecdotes, many of them absurd. Anybody can enter anything. Many "complaints" are merely comments, and since NHTSA has no "sudden acceleration" category but rather uses "speed control," the sudden-acceleration claims are lumped in with entries. But in the media conversion process they all become runaway Toyotas. Click here to read Fumento's perspective on the misinformation reported by the media in regard to Toyota's recent recalls.

Altfuelapalooza: Are Any Gasoline Alternatives Ready for the American Mainstream?
Instead of a wholesale switch to electric cars, with all their inherent range and charging problems, a seemingly easier way to wean ourselves off gasoline is to find alternate fuel that could be used in slightly modified internal-combustion engines. However, according to Car and Driver, there are some very real reasons why most alternative fuels are not ready for prime time yet. Modern turbo-diesels are a seemingly perfect solution for the U.S. Unfortunately, diesel emissions are far dirtier than gas emissions. Since a barrel of oil doesn't go as far in a diesel car, a wholesale conversion to diesels is unlikely in America unless we suddenly figure out how to make diesel fuel from something other than petroleum. A more readily available alternative fuel is compressed natural gas (CNG). Converting a gasoline engine to run on the same stuff most of us use to heat our homes is an easy, low-cost approach. Also an option: hydrogen. It's the holy grail of synthetic alternative fuels. Whether burned in an internal-combustion engine or used to power a fuel cell, its primary byproduct is water. Click here to read Car and Driver's look at the current status and near-term future outlook of the major alternatives to gasoline.

Honda Recalls 384,220 Accords, Civics, Elements
Honda launched a third recall related to faulty ignition locks in its vehicles, on 384,220 of its 2003 and 2004 models. USA Today reports that Honda's recall involves a part inside the ignition switch that can wear out and allow a driver to remove the key from a car when its transmission is not in "park." The recall includes Honda's most popular cars, Accord and Civic, and its Element crossover vehicle. Counting the two previous recalls in 2003 and 2005, Honda has recalled 1.4 million cars because of ignition lock problems. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that at least 28 complaints have been made to Honda, 10 involving accidents with at least one minor injury. Honda says it has tried to fix the ignition problem and that this latest recall involves a different part of the ignition switch. "It's never good to have a recall. We don't accept it as a normal part of business," spokesman Chris Martin says. Like Honda, Toyota has had about a dozen recalls in the U.S. of its Toyota and Lexus brand vehicles. Its biggest recall, of about 8 million vehicles, was to fix gas pedals that could potentially stick and cause cars to run. Click here for more on Honda's decision to recall some vehicles due to a faulty ignition switch.

Top 10 Back-to-School Cars for 2010
The approach of a new school year often necessitates the start of a new (or used) car search. Choosing a ride that will make everyone happy - students, parents, friends, prospective love interests -- is as easy as finding a car that's at once affordable, reliable, versatile, fuel-efficient, safe, tech-savvy, fun, and expressive. Piece of cake, right? To lend a helping hand, every year Kelley Blue Book (KBB) puts together a list of the Top 10 Back-to-School Cars - five new, five used. New cars offer all the latest and greatest safety and technology advancements and a full warranty. Used cars typically deliver more car for the money. Each has merit. In choosing the new cars, KBB considered everything available with a New Car Blue Book Value under $18,000. For the used entries, the publication narrowed it down to 2005 model year and newer vehicles that had a KBB Suggested Retail Value of less than $12,000 (with base-level equipment and average mileage). This year, new and used were mixed together and then ranked 10 to 1. Click here to see which cars made KBB's list, and which one was crowned the best of the best back-to-school rides.

Federated Insurance Named to 2010 Ward 50® Top Performers
Federated Mutual Insurance Company and Federated Life Insurance Company have been named to the 2010 Ward's 50® lists of top performing insurance companies. Ward Group®, a Cincinnati-based consulting firm specializing in the insurance industry, reviews approximately 3,000 property and casualty companies and 800 life insurance companies each year. Insurance companies are evaluated and must pass minimum thresholds to be considered for the Ward's 50 designation. Ward then recognizes these 50 companies that have achieved outstanding financial results in the areas of safety, consistency, and performance over a five-year period (currently 2005-2009). Federated, an AIADA Affinity Partner since 1996, is one of only two organizations that have had affiliated companies named to both the property-casualty and life-health Ward's 50® group of companies every year since 2001. To learn more about Federated, call (800) 533-0472 or click here to have someone contact you directly.

Around the Web
Driving a Suzuki Kizashi from Japan to California [DriveOn]
Spy Shot: VW Sedan Appears Bigger than the Camry [Automotive News]
Interactive: 9 Dead - or Dying - Car Brands [MSNBC]
2011 BMW 5 Series Crash Test News Video [Edmunds Inside Line]