The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating hundreds of reports that 2004-2005 Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans are fitted with defective transmissions that could dangerously fail without warning. Most alarming is that many of the transmissions reportedly fail at highway speeds. In a common complaint, the engine will suddenly surge and then all power is immediately lost. The vehicle is forced to coast powerlessly to a safe spot out of the flow of traffic. Angry owners have flooded message boards to report incidents of transmission failures which leave them stranded and stuck with $3,500 repair bills.

To date, there have been 654 customer complaints and 2,791 warranty claims. However, according to NHTSA, as many as 205,000 vehicles may be affected. The investigation, expected to take a year, will focus on the torque converter output shaft which drives the wheels. Ford Motor Co. has not yet released an official statement regarding the investigation.

[Source: Automotive News, subs. req'd]

Realizing that one of its keys to survival is retaining existing owners, General Motors is proactively enticing nearly one million customers – those loyal to now-closed dealerships – with significant financial incentives. According to Automotive News, GM started sending 950,000 letters out last week to customers of stores which have shut down or lost a brand franchise. Included in the correspondence are $1,000 to $2,000 discounts towards purchasing vehicles from one of GM's four surviving U.S. brands (the incentive amount is based on the customer's "likelihood to purchase a GM vehicle and the relative distance to the next closest dealer," according to a letter GM sent to dealers outlining the program).

General Motors has about 5,860 dealerships right now. A total of 1,839 have agreed to shut down by October of 2010, helping the company downsize to between 3,600 and 4,000 retailers over the long term. While this incentive is scheduled to end January 4, a second wave of incentives (including one targeting Saturn customers) is expected to begin early next year. In addition, GM has also issued a service offer which runs through May that includes free vehicle inspections and tire rotations to displaced customers.

The retention programs – obviously meant to move customers between stores – have dealer advocate groups up in arms. Some dealers are still actively trying to get their franchises off the "kill list," and GM has said recently that some may in fact be welcomed back into the fold. As such, Automotive News quotes Tamara Darvish, a leader of the Committee to Restore Dealer Rights as saying "This is an inappropriate time to take such an aggressive measure... If in fact dealer rights are to be restored, why would GM go in and move all those customers?"

[Source: Automotive News, subs. req'd | Image: Mark Ralston/Getty]

Volkswagen AG has announced it will be establishing a new manufacturing unit in Osnabrueck, located in VW's home state of Lower Saxony, Germany. Interestingly enough, VW will be purchasing the land, equipment, and machinery formerly owned by Karmann -- the coachbuilder and convertible roof specialists who manufactured the classic Beetle-based Karmann Ghia coupe (Karmann filed for bankruptcy protection in April, and has been struggling since).

Production of a new vehicle at the plant is slated to start in 2011. In the meantime, 200 people will be needed to open the plant next year, and VW is estimating more than 1,000 new jobs will be created by 2014. Volkswagen AG has not disclosed which model will be built at the plant, or any financial details.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

BMW's official unveiling ceremony isn't until Monday, but a few authentic shots of the all-new "F10" BMW 5 Series are floating around cyberspace. These three low resolution images only give us a frontal glimpse of the upcoming 5 Series sedan, apparently as it does a dress rehearsal for its big show at the beginning of the week.

Our first sans-camouflage observation says it looks much like the 5 Series GT, its close sibling (nobody was expecting any radical styling departure anyway). Thanks to its "sport sedan" role, the new 5 Series four-door sports a slightly more aggressive flair to its front facade and side styling. In case you were wondering, the little black buttons just ahead of the front wheels are side view cameras, just like those found on the 7 Series. We'll reserve further judgment until Monday, when they pull the rest of the tarp off. Thanks for the tip, Brandon!

UPDATE: Full official gallery of shots from BMW added.



[Source: 5post.com]

Owners of model year 2007-2008 Jeep Wranglers with automatic transmissions may have to visit their local dealers as Chrysler is recalling 161,450 of the SUVs over potential transmission overheating problems. According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA), Wrangler models manufactured between June 2006 and July 2008 with automatic transmissions were not fitted with a transmission fluid temperature warning system. If the AT fluid in the affected vehicles overheats, it may boil over and come in contact with hot engine or exhaust components – possibly leading to a fire.

To help alert drivers that their Jeep's transmission is overheating, dealers will inspect and install a visual "Hot Oil" message in the instrument cluster accompanied by an audible chime to indicate the elevated fluid temperature. The service will be performed free of charge starting in December. For more information, owners of the affected models may call Chrysler at 1-800-835-1403, NHTSA at 1-888-327-4236, or visit www.safercar.gov. Full press release after the jump.

[Source: NHTSA]

Read more →

Potential corrosion of the front impact airbag sensor has prompted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to recall up to 29,353 2008-2009 Mitsubishi Lancer and Lancer Evolution models. NHTSA is concerned that long-term exposure to a mixture of melted snow and salt thrown up by other vehicles on the road may cause the wintery mixture to adhere to the front impact sensor and lead to corrosion over time. In the event of an accident or collision, a damaged sensor may short-circuit and delay airbag deployment possibly causing driver or passenger injury. The recall is currently limited to states where heavy road salt is used in the winter (i.e., Connecticut, New York, Wisconsin, etc...).

Mitsubishi dealers have been instructed to replace the airbag sensors with a redesigned model with improved corrosion resistance. Of course, the service will be performed at no charge. While the safety recall isn't scheduled to begin until November 27, 2009, owners may contact Mitsubishi Customer Relations at 888-648-7820, contact NHTSA's Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236, or visit NHTSA on the Internet at www.safercar.gov. Full press release after the jump.



[Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration]

Read more →

With new vehicle production at a trickle, and its dealer network slashed by a third, retailers of the Saab brand are finding inventory shrinking to drought levels. Some of the remaining dealers may even run out of new vehicles before replacements arrive.

Point the blame towards the pending sale of Saab to Koenigsegg Automotive AB, and the fact that an all-new Saab 9-5 model is still sitting on the horizon. With the transaction still not complete, financial limitations have kept new vehicle production low. In addition, the Swedish assembly plant tasked to build the new 9-5 sedan is in the process of retooling. "When we close the deal and change owners we can start producing again for real as we then will have financing," Eric Geers, a Saab spokesman told Bloomberg.

Even if the deal with Koenigsegg closes as planned, the 2010 Saab 9-5 (the company's first all-new car in seven years) won't hit European showrooms until early next year. U.S. dealers will likely have to wait even longer, starving as the last of their dwindling inventory rolls away.



[Source: Bloomberg]

This isn't our first sampling of the reborn Dodge Challenger. We've driven the SE, R/T and SRT8 variants before. However, this time it's different. We've secured a Challenger SRT-8 with a six-speed manual transmission – and it's a whole different breed of bull.

The six-speed-equipped Dodge Challenger SRT8 drives exactly as it looks. Unlike the countless poseurs promising handling with oversize tires, performance with monstrous exhaust pipes, or luxury with overstuffed cabins, the Challenger SRT8 delivers only what its exterior suggests – a mountain of machismo-infused muscle-car entertainment.

We had a week with Dodge's tribute to testosterone, and it's one we won't soon forget. Contrary to its automatic-equipped siblings, the manual gearbox transforms the SRT8 from merely entertaining to positively supernatural. Make the jump to find out why this husky red coupe had us shaving twice daily.



Photos copyright ©2009 Michael Harley / Weblogs, Inc.

Read more →

While there is no question that Obama's Cash-for-Clunkers program accelerated vehicle sales this summer, a new report by the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute shows the big winners were from Japan, not Detroit.

According to the study, nearly 85 percent of the trade-ins were from General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler, yet they only sold 39 percent of the new cars moved off the lots. On the other hand, 8 percent of the trade-ins came from Toyota, Honda, and Nissan, manufacturers who accounted for 41 percent of new car purchases.

While these numbers may be justified by the large quantity of inefficient domestic trucks and SUVs that were deemed clunkers, customer loyalty also seems to have taken a big shift. About 68 percent of owners who traded in Toyota, Honda, or Nissan vehicles replaced them with another from one of those Japanese brands, while only 43 percent of consumers who traded in Detroit steel purchased another General Motors, Ford, or Chrysler product. The program cost the U.S. taxpayers about $3 billion.

[Source: USA Today | Image: Justin Sullivan/Getty]

According to Automotive News, Federal Express letters arrived at 81 of Saab's 218 dealers on Thursday stating that their franchises had not been selected to move forward and become a dealer for the post-sale entity, Saab Cars North America. The package from General Motors said that Swedish supercar maker Koenigsegg, Saab's buyer, had selected only certain stores based on its business plan requiring strong, well-located dealers showing profits and high volume.

All Saab dealers signed termination agreements in June when GM entered bankruptcy. The dealers who received reject letters today will follow the terms of those agreements. Meanwhile, the remaining 137 U.S. Saab dealers will have to wait patiently until the end of November when the sale is scheduled to close (although those close to the deal say it may take longer). Current Saab dealer contracts with GM will not expire until October 2010, at which point the remaining dealers will sign new franchise agreements with Saab Cars North America.



[Source: Automotive News, subs. req'd]