Marty Padgett's Inside Scoop on Auto News and Sequoia

Lexus Tops J.D. Power VDS; Mercury, Cadillac Follow

By Marty PadgettMarty Padgett, August 7th, 2008

Lexus sits atop the J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS) once more this year, for the 14th year in a row. The upscale Toyota brand tops Mercury, Cadillac, Toyota, and Acura, which rounded out the top five among automakers showing the fewest problems per 100 vehicles studied after the first three years of ownership. Power reports that Lexus owners lodged 120 problems per 100 vehicles after three years of ownership. In its study of 2005 model-year vehicles, Power found that overall, car owners log 75 percent more problems in the third year of ownership than in the first 90 days. The kinds of problems that crop up most often? Wind... Lexus sits atop the J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS) once more this year, for the 14th year in a row. The upscale Toyota brand tops Mercury, Cadillac, Toyota, and Acura, which rounded out the top five among automakers showing the fewest problems per 100 vehicles studied after the first three years of ownership. Power reports that Lexus owners lodged 120 problems per 100 vehicles after three years of ownership. In its study of 2005 model-year vehicles, Power found that overall, car owners log 75 percent more problems in the third year of ownership than in the first 90 days. The kinds of problems that crop up most often? Wind... Read More

Posted in: 2008, Toyota, Sequoia

Toyota's Prius Headed to Mississippi

By Marty PadgettMarty Padgett, July 10th, 2008

Toyota is suffering a sales slump in the U.S.--and part of the cure will be building the Prius hybrid in its yet-unopened plant in Mississippi. This morning's Wall Street Journal reports--and Toyota confirms in a press release below--that the plant in Blue Springs, Miss., which had been planned initially to crank out 200,000 Highlander crossover vehicles, will instead be built to manufacture the next-generation Toyota Prius. The plant has been running behind schedule as Toyota slowed its build schedule to accommodate sluggish car sales. Earlier this year, Toyota also cut the forecast for building Highlanders at the plant from 200,000 a year... Toyota is suffering a sales slump in the U.S.--and part of the cure will be building the Prius hybrid in its yet-unopened plant in Mississippi. This morning's Wall Street Journal reports--and Toyota confirms in a press release below--that the plant in Blue Springs, Miss., which had been planned initially to crank out 200,000 Highlander crossover vehicles, will instead be built to manufacture the next-generation Toyota Prius. The plant has been running behind schedule as Toyota slowed its build schedule to accommodate sluggish car sales. Earlier this year, Toyota also cut the forecast for building Highlanders at the plant from 200,000 a year... Read More

Tags: Miscellaneous

Posted in: 2008, Toyota, Sequoia

Big GM SUVs Get Aero Treatment

By Marty PadgettMarty Padgett, September 27th, 2005

General Motors executives are confident the 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe will sell regardless of record fuel prices. In part, they say, it’s because they did their homework on aerodynamics. And that’s what gives the full-size Tahoe, with its estimated 20–mpg fuel-economy rating, better EPA ratings than the mid-size ’06 Kia Sorento. John Cafaro, the top designer on the full-size truck project, says the new SUVs spent a lot of time in GM's wind tunnel, where experts who had worked on vehicles such as the Chevrolet Corvette uncovered new ways to improve the Tahoe's coefficient of drag. "They know all kinds of tricks," Cafaro... General Motors executives are confident the 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe will sell regardless of record fuel prices. In part, they say, it’s because they did their homework on aerodynamics. And that’s what gives the full-size Tahoe, with its estimated 20–mpg fuel-economy rating, better EPA ratings than the mid-size ’06 Kia Sorento. John Cafaro, the top designer on the full-size truck project, says the new SUVs spent a lot of time in GM's wind tunnel, where experts who had worked on vehicles such as the Chevrolet Corvette uncovered new ways to improve the Tahoe's coefficient of drag. "They know all kinds of tricks," Cafaro... Read More

Tags: Industry, Enthusiasts, Reviews

Posted in: 2008, Toyota, Sequoia