Category: BisonOriginals
01/21/2020
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Lucid to finally show off first model in April, video is up today
Lucid Motors will show off its first production vehicle in April at the New York Auto Show. The new automaker, based on Silicon Valley, is using its internal technologies, and is building a factory in Arizona; the first cars built for sale will appear around the end fo the year. Though most people today are […]
01/18/2020
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FCA clarifies Mack Jeeps, still making old stuff
A new FCA press release clarified what Jeeps will be made at the new Mack Avenue (Detroit) factory, as well as their range of old and obsolete engines and transmissions. The Jeep Grand Commander is a Cherokee-based car made in and for China, but may provide some clues as to the styling of the next […]
01/17/2020
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Hyperion Motors to debut at New York Auto Show
In April, the Hyperion Company, an aerospace R&D firm, will officially show off its new division, Hyperion Motors. The company claims its products were developed with NASA; Hyperion’s past work has been on electrolyzers, hydrogen storage, and fuel cell systems. Hydrogen cars were a popular idea when George W. Bush was President, but since then […]
01/09/2020
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Sedans failed to die in 2019
Sedans were supposed to be a dying breed in American showrooms, but like minivans, they just keep on keeping on. Toyota sold well over 600,000 Camrys and Corollas (combined), GM sold over 140,000 Malibus, and Dodge sold nearly a hundred thousand Chargers—two hundred thousand of their big cars, if you throw in the 300 and Challenger. […]
01/06/2020
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America vs Toyota, 2019
How well did American automakers do against Japan’s best in 2019? First, let’s look at totals. Toyota reported 2,383,348 sales, entirely from two (Toyota and Lexus) brands. The vast majority of sales were from just five cars and trucks: RAV4 (448,071) Camry (336,978) Corolla (304,850) Tacoma (248,801) Highlander (239,438) Toyota did poorly in the one […]
01/04/2020
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What we’re learning from 2019 sales; and how GM, FCA fared against Toyota, Honda
2019 was an interesting year for the auto industry in the United States; for the most part, sales numbers kept pace with 2018, but there were major shifts from cars to crossovers and pickups, and the most successful cars (Camry, Corolla, and Civic) were loaded up with features—given invisible incentives, really. GM came close to […]
12/31/2019
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California moving from car emissions to a bigger problem—big trucks
The California Air Resources Board (CARB), that most demonized of government agencies, has finally realized that it’s done all that it can practically do with regular, civilian-owned cars. Now it’s time for trucks. Cummins has sold over 200 electric trucks (like this one) A full tenth of greenhouse gas emissions in California come from trucks, […]
12/30/2019
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At the dealership, part 2: Meet your service advisors
Customers usually don’t talk to the mechanics (or technicians) who work on their cars; they talk to people dubbed “service advisors,” who seem like managers but are really just interfaces between customers, the techs, and, often, the company that made your car. (Why would they talk to the automaker? Because the service advisor is responsible […]
12/28/2019
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Will there be a regular cab option on the fifth generation Ram 1500?
Ram has been fairly quiet since the launch of the redesigned Ram Heavy Duty lineup. The special edition models on the aging but still successful fourth- generation Ram 1500 have kept things fresh. However, one thing that some truck fans are unhappy about it is the disappearance of a regular cab “DT” Ram 1500. Lots […]
12/27/2019
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What’s going on at Chrysler?
Updated December 27, 2019 What’s going on at FCA US—or, as many still say, though the company no longer exists, at Chrysler? The late Fiat Chrysler Automobiles chief executive Sergio Marchionne set out a strategy years ago, which set a small number of brands apart as “global”—Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Jeep, and Maserati. Lancia dropped back […]