The Biggest Technological Failure of This Decade

Each on their own the engineering teams of BMW, Chrysler, General Motor and Mercedes have produced some amazing products over the years. In a rare case of teamwork, cooperation and perhaps desperation the four diverse brands teamed up on the Dual Mode Hybrid System in a project called the Global Hybrid Partnership. The combined engineering synergy resulted in a much hyped hybrid powertrain too complex to explain yet one promising the world. As with many overhyped projects the Global Hybrid Partnership began to dissolve literally as soon as the first models hit dealerships and saw some of the brands sell fewer hybrids than Ferraris Enzos.

November Sales Recap: Chrysler Coming Back

Overall auto industry sales were up once again in November, this time to the tune of 14% compared to a year ago. At the top was Chrysler benefiting greatly with the Chrysler 200 outselling its predecessor the Sebring by a significant margin, 456% to be exact. All in all Chrysler managed a 92% increase in sales. Chrysler group's Jeep and Dodge brands did well as well with improvements of 50 and 43% respectively. Coming in first in the luxury category with a surprise 47.2% improvement was Mercedes, the newly updated C class sedan and coupe along with the new M class propelled the brand to the number one spot in luxury sales for the month. Sales of the new Passat helped Volkswagen post an over 40% sales increase as well. Like in most other months of this year Honda along with its luxury division Acura saw its sales fall once again. On the other hand Toyota and Lexus were able to turn the tide and post a sales increase for the month.

2011's Most Improved Awards

As seen in previous posts Kill It With Fire likes to reward improvement, so with that in mind lets reward some of 2011's most improved vehicles with some virtual awards. Keep in mid that this is not a list of 2011's best cars but rather a list of a few cars that have made great strides compared to their previous generation.

Most Improved Sales: Volkswagen Jetta

Even though the Jetta has been Volkswagen's best selling model for many years running its overall sales were just a fraction compared to its better known mainstream competition. In fact the Jetta often struggled to find true competition as it was too upscale to compete with most compacts but wasn't much of a premium product either (see Buick Verano). For the sixth generation Volkswagen created downmarket variants of the Jetta and priced them closer inline with the competition. The result has been a sales improvement of 70% on the year. While many have chided VW for taking a "step back" with the Jetta, the public has certainly rewarded VW. The cheaper base price has helped sales, the Jetta's new crisper styling has likely helped as well.

New Jetta sales are up 70%

Most Improved Design: Hyundai Accent (5 door)

Hyundai has been making some noise over the past few years with greatly improved products with better engines, interiors and styling. The Sonata and the Elantra are perhaps the most well known examples of Hyundai's new styling direction. However while these two models have certainly elevated Huyndai's design game, the new five door Accent is actually Hyundai's best design to to date. The hatchback Accent features excellent styling, rarely seen in the compact category, without the over-styled elements seen in the Sonata and Elantra. The new Accent simply blows the old one out of the water style-wise, even the not as good looking sedan is miles ahead of the previous generation.

The Accent went from this shapeless figure

To this stylish design

Most Improved Technology Update: Chrysler 300 8 speed Automatic

The second generation Chrysler 300 debuted to generally good automotive praise as it represented a good update on its groundbreaking design, new more powerful V6 and a significantly more luxurious interior. Perhaps the biggest complaint was the 5 speed automatic gearbox that was holding back the 300 when compared to competition with their 6 speed gearboxes. Enter the new 8 speed automatic that adds 4 additional mpg on the highway (31) and improves acceleration as well that makes the 300 a significantly more competitive product.

New 8 speed auto with new shifter

Looking at Luxury Brands Selling Prices

There is always a lot of talk about which luxury brand is the best, which luxury brand sells the most, and which brands even deserve to be called luxury altogether. To clear up some of these questions let's take a look at the average selling prices of the biggest eleven brands that claim to sell luxury cars in the United States. While the manufacturers do not release their average transaction prices in the way that they do with overall sales figures here is our best attempt to see who gets the most for their cars on average. At the top is Mercedes-Benz with an average asking price of around 55,000 per vehicle. Mercedes has by far the most models available for sale in the 75,000+ range. Second is BMW which is able to average a little over 50,000 per every vehicle sold. BMW falls behind Mercedes by offering fewer models over 100,000. Up third is Cadillac that benefits greatly by moving a significant amount of its pricey Escalades every month. Following Cadillac is Audi that sells its models for comparable prices as Mercedes and BMW but moves fewer A6 models compared to the competition. Up next is Infiniti that charges around 45,000 on average followed closely by Lexus that loses ground because of a significant amount of ES sales. Lincoln is able to average a little over 40,000 thanks to Town Car and Navigator sales. Right around the 40,000 dollar cutoff Acura suffers by not having a true flagship sedan or having a coupe or convertible version of the TSX. Opening up the premium category Volvo lacks serious firepower without a V8 in its lineup. Second to last Buick is a great example of selling vehicles at a premium but not luxury prices. Bringing up the rear is Chrysler with a majority of its sales comprised by the 200 and the Town&Country minivan.

*The data represented below is an attempt to find out the average selling prices of the luxury brands based on their product mix. The figures are averaged based on sales, thus a brand selling more flagship sedans versus entry level models has a higher average price than a brand selling mostly entry level models. Because of lack of sales figures BMW's M lineup and Mercedes's AMG models were not factored in, thus those brands likely have slightly higher transaction prices than indicated here.

Best Commercials of Superbowl XLV

Amongst the usual Bud Light and Doritos commercials, Superbowl XLV brought us a heavy dose of automotive commercials not seen in the past few years. The automotive commercials much like the rest of the ads were all over the place ranging from good to not so good to very much not good. So without a further ado here are the five best automotive commercials of Superbowl XLV.

Number 5: Chevrolet Silverado HD
In this ad the Chevrolet Silverado HD is the hero as it saves the day numerous times while demonstrating its heavy-duty capabilities.


Number 4: Chevrolet Camaro
This was the best of the many Chevrolet advertisements during the game. In this ad a couple of guys are in charge of making an ad for the Camaro, they end up with the Camaro being driven by several beautiful women with the last one being a teacher.


Number 3: Kia Optima
It's not every day that something actually lives up to its hype when the word Epic is envolved, but in this case the Kia Epic Ride commercial does quite well.


Number 2: Chrysler 200
In the second Eminem commercial of the night Chrysler does an excellent job of using Detroit imagery (and 8 Mile soundtrack) to portray Motown as a place that can build luxury auotmobiles. Perhaps they should have used the 300C though.


Numer 1: Volkswagen Passat
Volkswagen scores a win in the automotive category, and perhaps overall, with its pint-sized Darth Vader and plenty of "aww" factor.

Best Looking Modern Engine Bays

With the ever growing trend of manufacturers adding more and more plastic into the engine compartment it's become significantly rarer to find modern vehicles with visually appealing engine bays. However, there are always exceptions to all trends and there are new vehicles out there with great looking engines and engine bays. Without further ado here are the best looking modern engine bays.


Ferrari 599 V12



Audi RS4 V8



Chrysler SRT8 V8



Bugatti Veyron W16



Ford Mustang 5.0 V8



Ferrari 458 Italia V8



Mercedes Benz 6.3 AMG V8

Chrysler Sebring To Morph Into Chrysler Nassau

The current iteration of the Chrysler Sebring has been an unmitigated disaster for the brand. The Sebring has done poorly both with the automotive press and the general public at large. The Sebring and its twin Dodge Avenger have routinely been described as the types of vehicles that are responsible for Chrysler brand's poor sales. Thankfully for Chrysler this is about to change as the Sebring is slated to receive a significant facelift in the near future. To further distance from the current disaster, the Sebring is rumored to be renamed Nassau. The Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep mega source of information that is Allpar reports that the refreshed and renamed Chrysler midsize sedan should be ready by this fall. Based on the Allpar pshop the lackluster styling of the current car will be improved significantly. New engines possibly featuring Fiat Multiair technology and a new interior will likely round out the facelift. While it's unlikely that the Nassau will become a class leading midsize, we could see one of the most comprehensive facelifts ever finally give Chrysler dealers a competitive product to sell.

The Dirtiest Cars for Sale Today

The current cars and trucks for sale in America are significantly cleaner than the vehicles sold in the past, emitting only fraction of the pollution of the old days. The vast majority of the models listed in the EPA Green Vehicle Guide have an EPA pollution score of at least 6. However, there are quite a few bad apples that don't fair nearly as well when it comes to pollution.

• The vast majority of "heavy duty" pickups and vans have EPA pollution score of 1, 2, or 3 out of 10 depending on configuration. (Ford F-250/350 and E-250/350 , Dodge Ram 2500/3500, Silverado 2500/3500 and Express 2500/3500, GMC Sierra 2500/3500 and Savana 2500/3500)
  
• The Dodge Avenger and Chrysler Sebring with the 2.7 V6 have a score of 3 in all states except California and Northeast.
  
• The Lexus SC 430 has a score of 3 in the same states.
  
• Toyota Scion xD has a score of 3 in the same states.