Engine#12 » street

Review: Chevrolet Cobalt XFE

admin — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:53:58 +0000

With my previous Chevrolet Cobalt XFE encounter in mind, visiting three dealerships in search of an XFE tester came as no surprise. Ironically, the dealer formerly associated with “Mr. Big Volume” (a.k.a. Bill Heard) had one XFE-badged Cobalt that survived last month’s Cash For Clunkers shopping spree. Like the surprisingly respectful staff at [...]

Ford Not Jumping On $2.5 Billion Volvo Offer

admin — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 07:05:14 +0000

The Wall Street Journal reported today that Geely has offered Ford $2.5B for Volvo, making the Chinese automaker the “leading contender” for the Swedish brand. Leading? Are there other contenders we don’t know about? According to the WSJ, “the offer is higher than Ford or outsiders had expected for a brand that has lost more [...]

Jaguar & Land Rover’s Long Road

admin — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:09:22 +0000

Jaguar and Land Rover make no bones about it: Times are tough. But they are digging in for the long haul.

GM Plots to Replace Opel with Chevy

admin — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 19:32:21 +0000

Clearly, GM’s top suits missed the memo about the end of empire. While the artist formerly known as the world’s largest automaker clings to dreams of holding onto Opel with your (and German) tax money, the company has unveiled plan B: Chevy attacks! The Wall Street Journal [sub] reports that “Brent Dewar, recently named to [...]

Stunning Moto Martin Z1000R and Bakker Barracuda

admin — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 21:49:00 +0000

Spotted for sale on the USA¹s Ebay site is this stunning Moto Martin Z1000r.Restored in the UK and shipped out to the states four years ago this bike is thought to be the same Mocheck built bike that UK ferry…

First ride: Harley-Davidson CVO Street Glide

admin — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 19:51:00 +0000

The half-faired Street Glide tourer gets an upgrade treatment including higher spec strereo, enough chromed goodies to keep plating and polishing companies in work for a millennium or more. The 110cu-in (1802cc) lump should see you arriving at your destination…

Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl talks Harley trikes

admin — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:31:00 +0000

When it comes to rock stars, they don’t come much cooler than Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana etc) – or so we thought until we saw the ad he recently made for Harley. Grohl says he got into bikes while…

What’s Wrong With This Picture: Spot the Whale, Pimp, Mutant Beemer and Escape Edition

admin — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 19:49:26 +0000

Board Chairman Whitacre: GM Must Be America’s Number One! Again! (But Not Still)

admin — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 08:54:00 +0000

Wall Street Journal had a little post-BOD meeting chinwag with New GM’s federally-appointed Chairman of the Board. Clearly, Edward E. Whitacre Jr.’s busy not kicking ass and not taking names. Whitacre told the WSJ that “GM’s business plan needs to be ‘tweaked.’ Among areas he cited as needing rapid improvement are advertising, revenue and net [...]

Opel Watch: Who’s on First?

admin — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 06:07:33 +0000

Want to handicap the bidding war for Opel (and German bailout money)? Then be careful in your choice of news sources.
Germany’s mass-market tabloid BILD today declares that “RHJ is in the lead” for Opel. Magna has only “slim chances” to win. BILD’s supposed sources are in Berlin’s Ministry of Economics.
Also today, the Wall Street Journal [...]