We're back from Frankfurt. I drove an Audi TT RS, Chevy Sonic and a Toyota Plug-in this week. Ask me questions about them. Warren and I compared notes of the questions people had asked before we left and we had your question on the list. I didn't see any convertibles that were new to the [...]
Warren Brown writes for the Washington Post. Warren and I were at the 2012 Volkswagen full-line event where we got to drive all of Volkswagen's cars. When Volkswagen found out it was Warren and his wife's, Mary Anne, 42nd anniversary they brought out a prototype turbo 2012 Volkswagen Beetle that Warren could take home with [...]
General Motor's Jennifer Nardicchio takes Lou Ann Hammond, CEO, Driving the Nation, on a walk around of the 2012 Buick Verano. Watch and listen at the end as the GM rep has us roll up and down the windows while there is a leaf blower outside. See if you can hear the difference.
Frankfurt, Germany - It's been a concern since it happened. Why did General Motors sell the one percent controlling interest of GM-China to Shanghai Automotive (SAIC)? Nick Reilly, who heads GM in Europe, used to work in GM-China. Reilly explained why GM-China sold the one percent controlling interest to SAIC. Reilly said that SAIC will [...]
Stuttgart, Germany - Our curator at the Mercedes-Benz museum, Wolfgang Helmin, took us through a chronological tour of Mercedes history, starting in 1886. As Helmin gave us a tour of the automobiles we were able to see the conflicts and revelations of each era through pictures on the side of the wall. This is only [...]
Every country that is doing business with China is having issues with China wanting their intellectual property. Kia is no different. Kia wants to take electric vehicles into China, but not with Korean batteries, with Chinese batteries. Access into China, for all companies, means greater market access, but at what price? The World Trade Organization [...]
Volkswagen of America Jonathan Browning, President and CEO, Volkswagen of America, Warren Brown, Washington Post journalist and Lou Ann Hammond, CEO, drivingthenation.com talk about Volkswagen of America. Volkswagen has had reliability issues in the past. How are they doing now? How are the warranty claims against current products? In July 2011, Strategic Vision Inc. (SVI) presented [...]
Thanks for having me back again. Warren and I will be at the Frankfurt auto show next week. Are there cars you want us to look at? Warren and I drove the 2012 Volkswagen full line a couple weeks ago. The same day as the earthquake in fact!! We both love the Passat, and of course [...]
The lap of a lifetime Team Cadillac gave "hot laps" at Infineon raceway, Sonoma, Ca Friday, August 27, 2011. Real-life race fan Tom Krueger suited-up, strapped-in, took a breathe and blasted out of the pits beside Team Cadillac race car driver Andy Pilgrim. One time around Infineon raceway and Tom returned with a Northern California [...]
Save a tree, create an engine Mircea Gradu, Vice President and Head of Transmission Powertrain and Driveline Engineering, Chrysler Group LLC, told me that the time when an engine is created on a napkin is gone. It was a business decision to start using the ZF transmission, to go from a 5-speed, or 6-speed transmission, to [...]