Low-Key Chief Asserts Himself as a Leader at Toyota November 30, 2006
Katsuaki Watanabe, the least-known Toyota president in years, has been raising his profile as head of a company that may soon supplant G.M. as the world’s biggest automaker. SAN ANTONIO - When Toyota named Katsuaki Watanabe as its new president last year, many assumed he would be a caretaker chief executive, steering the giant automaker with a steady hand and a minimum of surprises until Akio Toyoda, the 50-year-old great-grandson of the company’s founder, took charge. The low-key approach of Mr. Watanabe - who rose up through the ranks as a cost-cutting manager of suppliers - seemed the safest …
First Glance: Finally, a Fuel Cell Car That Doesn’t Look Like a Science Fair Escapee
Honda’s hydrogen fuel cell technology is reportedly three times more efficient than a gas engine and twice as thrifty as a hybrid. What’s not to like? Introduced on Wednesday: Honda FCX Concept What’s the point? You don’t have to be a scientist, rocket or otherwise, to grasp the significance of hydrogen. The universe positively reeks of it. Figure out a way to pump it into cars and you will be the energy baron of tomorrow. The company line: “The FCX Concept achieves a new dimension in environmentally friendly driving pleasure not found with gasoline-engine …
Behind the Wheel: Saturn Vue and Mercury Mariner: Hybrids, Mild or Seasoned, From the Motor City
The hybrid sport utility represents a double-whammy American automotive fantasy: the go-anywhere image of an S.U.V. that’s green to boot. But do these hybrids really deliver? BERKELEY, Calif. MUCH has changed since the advent of the automobile. Newton’s mechanistic view of the universe yielded to Einstein’s relativity. Commerce shifted from heavy machinery to packets of ones and zeroes zipping through the air.But one thing remains the same. More than a century after the car kicked the horse to the curb, the most popular measure of a vehicle’s prowess is still horsepower. The postmodern digital age has not caught up …
Volkswagen announced Tiguan today (PHOTOS)
Ford Pledges Major Assets in Financing November 29, 2006
Ford mortgaged nearly all its domestic assets to raise $18 billion to pay for several more years of restructuring. DEARBORN, Mich., Nov. 27 - Executives at the Ford Motor Company have insisted they are willing to bet the company’s future on a turnaround plan put in place earlier this year. On Monday, they essentially did just that, mortgaging nearly all of Ford’s domestic assets - its plants, office buildings, patents and trademarks - along with stakes in Ford Credit and Volvo, to raise $18 billion.Ford will use the money, which includes cash and an expanded line of credit, to cover …
Behind the Wheel: Saleen S7 Twin Turbo: When Irresistible Force Meets Unlimited Wallet
The S7 doesn’t waste its time on common Corvettes. This American psycho is designed to take on European supercars like the $1.2 million Bugatti Veyron 16.4. ASK a car nut to spin a globe and pick out the sources of the world’s supercars, and his finger is unlikely to point to Orange County, Calif., where flash-frozen traffic makes a 200-mile-an-hour car seem especially over the top. Yet nestled among the malls and office parks of Irvine, a small, specialized factory is handcrafting one of the world’s fastest, rarest and priciest automobiles: the Saleen S7 Twin Turbo, a $585,000, 750-horsepower …
Behind the Wheel: Saleen S7 Twin Turbo: When Irresistible Force Meets Unlimited Wallet November 25, 2006
The S7 doesn’t waste its time on common Corvettes. This American psycho is designed to take on European supercars like the $1.2 million Bugatti Veyron 16.4. ASK a car nut to spin a globe and pick out the sources of the world’s supercars, and his finger is unlikely to point to Orange County, Calif., where flash-frozen traffic makes a 200-mile-an-hour car seem especially over the top. Yet nestled among the malls and office parks of Irvine, a small, specialized factory is handcrafting one of the world’s fastest, rarest and priciest automobiles: the Saleen S7 Twin Turbo, a $585,000, …
Around the Block: Planted Just Before the Frost
The 2007 Chrysler Aspen is a perfectly nice vehicle with perfectly awful timing. It is big and thirsty, meant for a time when gas flowed like water. TESTED: Chrysler AspenWHAT IS IT? Full-size S.U.V.HOW MUCH? Base model $30,745. As tested $41,870 including a $5,415 quick-order package (with Hemi engine and popular features); $1,595 navigation system; $1,200 rear seat entertainment system; $875 leather trimmed seats; $745 shipping charge.WHAT DRIVES IT? Base engine is 4.7-liter V-8 (235 horsepower); upgraded engine is 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 (335 horsepower).IS IT SAFE? Chrysler says the Aspen has the “highest level of standard safety equipment” among full-size …
Wheelspin: Westward Ho! To Automotive Museums November 24, 2006
Here is a list of museums in California, where the car is king, and also in Arizona and New Mexico. CALIFORNIA is where the car is king, home to freeways, the Pacific Coast Highway, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Élégance and several of the nation’s finest automotive museums. Here is a list of museums there, and also in Arizona and New Mexico. A list of automotive museums throughout the United States and Canada is at nytimes.com/autos. ArizonaFRANKLIN MUSEUM A museum devoted to preserving the history of the H. H. Franklin Manufacturing Company, with 22 restored Franklins. Open Wednesday through Friday, 10 …
Design: At Aston, Life Beyond Bond
Agent 007 has long driven products from Aston Martin. Soon he may wear the British sports car maker’s ties. MAREK REICHMAN pointed to the tie of an Aston Martin executive standing next to him. “This comes right from the cars,” he said. The focus of attention was not a grease spot on the neckwear, but the delicate silvery pattern on the tie’s red silk. Mr. Reichman, design director of Aston Martin, was explaining the inspiration for a new line of fabric and leather goods he is designing. The Ford Motor Company, which bought controlling interest in the British sports …
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