Nancap

After two recent unsuccessful attempts at marketing a convertible Cadillac to the general public, Cadillac will be making another attempt at a much lower price point. Instead of a folding-hardtop roadster that we saw with the XLR (above), we’ll be seeing a softtop convertible based on the Alpha platform and will find itself in between [...]

One of Hyundai Motor America’s top executives said the Korean-based company is struggling to keep up with increasing demand for its auto products. Hyundai’s Vice President Dave Zuchowski was in Daphne, Ala., late this week to attend the grand opening of owner Shawn Esfahani’s Eastern Shore Hyundai. “We have so much new demand that we [...]

Nissan Americas announced Wednesday, April 20, it will accelerate the U.S. market launch of the Nissan LEAF, the world’s first and only affordable, all-electric vehicle designed for the mass market. Beginning May 1, the company will reopen reservations to select consumers as both vehicle production and U.S. deliveries move into the many thousands. Nissan completed [...]

PARIS — The onus for rescuing Saab, the struggling Swedish automaker, appeared to shift Tuesday to its former owner, General Motors, whose approval is required to release official financing. Production at Saab’s plant in Trollhattan, in southern Sweden, has been at a standstill since early April after the company failed to pay suppliers, causing speculation [...]

SEOUL – SOUTH Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor and the local unit of French automaker Renault SA will recall almost 150,000 cars due to a manufacturing defect and a safety problem, officials said on Monday. The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said rear reflectors installed in Hyundai’s mid-size YF Sonata sedan and its [...]

The Nissan Leaf is the 2011 World Car of the Year. It was chosen from an initial entry list of 39 new vehicles from all over the world; then a shortlist of 10; then three finalists: the Nissan Leaf, the Audi A8 and the BMW 5 Series. This comes as Energy Minister Pat Rabbitte announced [...]

General Motors is poised to reclaim the title of world’s biggest automaker from Toyota this year. GM has stronger sales in the U.S. and China. Japan’s earthquake has curbed Toyota’s car production. That will leave some customers unable to find the cars they want and prompt them to look at other brands. THE NUMBERS: GM [...]

Lexus has just lost the title for the top luxury automaker in 2011 in the United States after being the leader for 11 years, but the head of Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus division isn’t worried. According to Detroit News, the Japanese automaker expects to lose some market shares this year due to components supply shortages [...]

General Motors Co. (GM) paid Chief Executive Officer Dan Akerson $2.53 million for 2010, when he led the automaker through an initial public offering and its largest annual profit in more than a decade. Akerson, whose pay is subject to government review, received $566,667 in salary and $1.96 million in stock awards and other pay, [...]

The Civic compact is so important to Honda that it’s peculiar the car didn’t get some expected features and functions in its redesign for the 2012 model year. Examples: No backup camera. No six-speed automatic transmission or manual-shift mode. No heated rear seats. All are available on the recently redesigned Hyundai Elantra, a standard-setter among [...]

LOS ANGELES — Hyundai and Kia, South Korea’s biggest carmakers, are running full shifts at their U.S. plants with overtime, unscathed by parts shortages that are curbing output for Japan-based competitors. Hyundai’s plant in Montgomery, Ala., aims to squeeze out 10 percent more Sonata and Elantra sedans than its 300,000-unit capacity this year, said Robert [...]

Nissan Motor Co Ltd said on Friday it would repair more than 5,000 of its Nissan Leaf cars for a software glitch that has caused a number of the new electric vehicles to fail to start. “This is not a safety issue as the vehicle will not stop running while being driven, but may not [...]

Before Chrysler’s new 200, the company’s mid-size car was on its deathbed. Last known as the Sebring, the third generation of this vehicle was roundly considered a mess. It was produced without compunction by Chrysler when the company was owned by DaimlerChrysler and later, private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management. The Sebring was ugly, stark, poor-performing [...]

Hyundai Motor Co. (005380) and Kia Motors Corp. (000270) rose in Seoul trading after Japanese rival Toyota Motor Corp. said it would halt some vehicle production in Europe and warned its U.S. dealers of a possibly tighter vehicle supply. Hyundai rose 6.3 percent, the most since October 2009, to close at 212,500 won in Seoul, [...]

MISSISSAUGA, ON /CNW/ – Often praised for having a striking exterior design, an impressive list of standard safety features and great fuel economy without sacrificing performance, the all-new 2011 Kia Optima has also been included as part of “Ward’s 10 Best Interiors” list. The Optima has received this prestigious accolade with a high score from [...]

Toyota’s Lexus brand is the latest contender to step into the Supercar arena with the 2012 Lexus LFA. Ten years in the making, the dramatically styled rear-wheel drive Lexus LFA comes to market powered by a 4.8-liter V10 engine that ignites 552 horsepower wrapped in a carbon fiber and aluminum clad body shell. Last month, [...]

General Motors Co is recalling about 2,100 Chevrolet Cruze small cars to inspect for an improperly fastened steering wheel after discovering one vehicle with the defect. There have been no crashes or injuries related to the vehicle with the problem, GM said. The possibly affected vehicles are for the model year 2011, GM said. “We [...]

Get Volvo’s technology package. It will cost you an extra $2,100. But it’s worth every penny — one of the few automobile options packages that actually give you value for dollar. I’d wager that governments worldwide, once they understand the lifesaving, property-sparing effectiveness of Volvo’s package, eventually will mandate that all, or at least some, [...]

Little more than a year after General Motors engineered a sale that saved Saab from oblivion, the carmaker is facing a fresh bout of financial troubles that threaten to spread pain across Sweden. Production has been halted since Tuesday at the Saab plant in Trollhattan, near Gothenburg, after several disruptions last week and amid disputes [...]

Hyundai Auto Canada Corp. announced today it had sold 11,668 units in March, an all-time record and an increase of 6.0% over the same month in 2010. With a total of 27,052 vehicles sold, Hyundai Canada’s year-to-date sales have risen by 5.7% compared to the first quarter last year. As the price of fuel approached [...]

Kia Canada Inc. has established three consecutive record months in 2011 including a best-ever first quarter sales volume at 12,313 units. The performance in quarter one 2011 allowed Kia Canada to surpass 10,000 units for the first time in its eleven year history during that time period. The quick start in 2011 has assisted with [...]

Combined March sales of 15,193 units by the Honda and Acura divisions represented a 6% increase over last year’s sales.  The Honda Automobile Division reported March sales of 13,804 units, up 10% from last year, led by record March Civic sales.  The Acura Division reported March sales of 1,389 units, down 24% over last year. [...]

Nissan Canada Inc. (NCI) today released March sales of 8,553 units – a decrease of 0.7 per cent over March 2010 and up 1.4 per cent calendar year-to-date. Nissan sales accounted for 7,726 units, remaining flat over the same month last year, while Infiniti sold 827 units, a decrease of 6.9. Nissan’s sales were dominated [...]

Chrysler Canada today announced the company’s 16th consecutive month of sales growth, reporting total sales of 20,971 for the month of March, 2011, compared with 19,470 in March, 2010. Total March sales represented a gain of 8 per cent over the same month one year ago. “Our March sales showed strength across the board,” said [...]

Good news for consumers fearing shortage-driven price hikes for Toyota Motor Corp. hybrids in the wake of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan. The automaker this week resumed limited production of the Prius (right), the world’s most popular hybrid, and its Lexus luxury badge’s hybrid models, the CT 200h (below, left) and [...]

Chrysler Canada today announced the company’s 16th consecutive month of sales growth, reporting total sales of 20,971 for the month of March, 2011, compared with 19,470 in March, 2010. Total March sales represented a gain of 8 per cent over the same month one year ago. “Our March sales showed strength across the board,” said [...]