VOLKSWAGEN JETTA ACES ICY WEST VIRGINIAN ROADS

With winter storms pushing their way through the eastern United States over the weekend, many drivers were (somehow) caught by surprise.  Icy roads via freezing rain will do that to you.  Unfortunately, some people had it worse than others, like the driver of the Chevrolet Cobalt you'll see in this CNN video.  Others, like the fella' in the MKIII Volkswagen Jetta, passed the test with flying colours.  Follow this link to check it out.  While you're at it, another couple videos you might be interested in are right here at GoodCarBadCar, when The Good Car Guy was at the Milford Proving Grounds learning how to deal with situations just like those faced by West Virginians in the CNN vid.

MOTOR CITY RECALL #2

The Detroit News is reporting on another Ford recall.  (You can read all Recall-related posts, including Ford's, with a click.)  Approximately 100,000 F-series trucks, 14,000 of which are in Canada, have come under scrutiny for seats that don't meet federal standards.

Classifying recalls into different categories is a difficult procedure; one which I've yet to undertake. However, this sort of not-terribly dangerous recall does fall under the 'stupid' category.  Was Ford's heavy-duty truck engineering team - a very large team, one can assume - not aware of federal seat standards?  

Still, the 2008 F250-F550 Super Duty pickups are mighty impressive, I reckon.  

JEEP RECALL

Jeep's Grand Cherokee and slightly bigger brother, the Commander, have been recalled. But wait... slow down. Ignore this if you're ute isn't an '08 model. And there are only 1,338 Jeeps involved in the recall which relates to stalling. Stalling is no good.

More interesting news involves the tens of thousands of other Grand Cherokees on the road, many of which suffer from stalling problems, as well, according to many individual consumers at ConsumerAffairs.com.

Oh, and the windshield wipers suck, too. So says NHTSA.

AUTO IMPORTS TO MEXICO - 10-years old only

Cars and trucks are expensive in Mexico.  That's life.  It sucks. Too bad.  

However, this creates a problem for automotive dealers in Mexico who are forced to sell expensive vehicles when the very cheap automotive market (known as the USA) is directly to the north and its vehicles are permitted into your country.  

No longer.  Importing a vehicle into Mexico may grow less complicated now, but the number of available vehicles for Mexicans and foreign nationals is.... how shall I say... shrinking?  Shrunk.  

At this juncture, the only vehicles permitted for importation are 1998 models.  With the national addiction to pickup trucks, this makes the ownership of a 1998 Ford F150 a very lovely thing.  Houston-area dealers are expecting to lift their prices of trucks like the F150 and Chevrolet Silverado $500-700 dollars above what may've been around $4,500-5,500.  

Thus, a certain group of upstanding men I know (one of whom suffered the "loss" of his F-series while eating breakfast) may remain content with their current fleet of Chevrolet Suburbans until the market cools.  

MERCEDES & HONDA HAPPY IN KOREA

In a country where imported cars make up just 5% of the overall automotive market, importers are happy with whatever they can muster. For the second consecutive month, Mercedes-Benz topped the premium import badges with 597 sales on the southern half of the Korean peninsula.  Slightly more C-classes than E-classes went out dealer doors and slightly more E-classes than S-classes. 

Meanwhile, Honda was the overall leader in sales by an import brand. Only in a protectionist, high-import tax market like Korea could Honda's 227-car lead over Benz be such a huge percentage gap.  BMW trailed Mercedes ever-so slightly, whilst Lexus; Audi; and Volkswagen filled out the top six.  

Add the top six with the small numbers put forth by other imports and you get just 4,572 sales of foreign-made automobiles in a country with around 72,000,000 people.  However, that is 33.5% higher than in February of 2007.  

And here we are thinking Hyundai is just starting the process of competing with Lexus and Mercedes-Benz via its Genesis. Ha.  It appears as though, at least in Korea, the luxo-premium brands must fight for every sale.  

INFINITI IN MOTION CIRCA 2003

It started for Infiniti in 1989.  Unfortunately, Nissan's brand didn't take off like Toyota's Lexus division did. But then along came the G35 sedan and coupe.  Ill-judged cars like the four-cylinder G20 could be wiped clean off the slate.  A new dog was in the alley.  

INFINITI - WHAT OTHERS SAY

"The Infiniti's throttle finally feels right. Accelerating away from a light - even when just breathing on the gas - no longer induces head-snaps in passengers."  MotorTrend on their long-term Infiniti G35 S after an electronic update.

"In exchange for speed, spectacular dynamic abilities, and an attractive price, the G35 trades refinement and finesse. As with most deals with the devil, the source of the G35's great power is also the source of its defeat: a raspy but very strong 306-hp, 3.5L V6.  It doesn't take long to tire of the mechanical drone that accompanies every piston stroke."  Car&Driver on the Infiniti G35 S in a comparison with the BMW 328i, Cadillac CTS, and Mercedes-Benz C300 Sport.

See what GoodCarBadCar said about the G coupe and sedan in December

"With impressive power and plush, an M35 in Luxury, Sport, or AWD M35x trim still offers budget-bound Sybarites lots to like." MotorTrend, in their annual New-Car Buyers Guide.

"Immediately the drivetrain feels tighter and more polished than that of Nissan's excellent coupe. There's no slack or slop at all between your right foot and the power delivered to the rear wheels. The gearbox is very positive but very slick and you can punch through brutal shifts and still be rewarded with a seamless leap from one gear to the next." evo, on early European exposure to the G37 S coupe that the UK won't receive until next year. 

"Tonight in Geneva we saw the whole thing. Carlos Ghosn himself introduced the new FX at a club-like venue just down the road from the Palexpo. Accompanied by some choreographed theatrics, the new FX dropped from the ceiling and landed front and center ahead of its EX37 and G37 siblings, which will join it in the new Infiniti dealerships starting up in Europe this year..... Personally we'd be remiss if we didn't note that although most of the changes sound great, the second-gen FX doesn't improve on the previous generation in the styling department." AutoBlog direct from the debut of the Infiniti FX50.

"Beefiness is the leitmotif with the range-topping Infiniti FX50." Edmunds, getting quite wordy in describing the newest member of Nissan's luxury division.

"A man with gigantic bat wings strapped to his arms walked through the assembled crowd to start proceedings off. Could this be a nod to communications director Wayne Bruce we wonder? Sounds odd, but it was as brilliantly flamboyant as the rest of the evening." CAR Magazine with its description of the FX50's evening debut in Geneva.

See the GoodCarBadCar of the FX50 right here

"Jump in, start driving and by the third switchback, it's obvious the G35 Sport lives for cornering. The weighting in its steering builds up naturally, and there's ample feedback from the Bridgestone Potenza RE050A tires. In transitions, it more seamlessly flows from one corner to the next, in a way the CTS approaches but can't quite match." Road&Track in comparing the G35 S with the Cadillac CTS.

Check out all Infiniti-related articles with a simple click

"So which is it? Technically, we come down on the side of “wagon,” an empirical decision based on overall height lower than 64.4 inches. But falling for a new car is not a technical decision, and Infiniti is revving up the spin machine to distract from the obvious—our eyes tell us this is a five-door hatchback, the body style that’s famously unsalable to Americans. You spurned it as a Chevy Citation, you abhorred it as a Pontiac Phoenix, you eschewed it as a Saab 99, and you pretty comprehensively shunned it as a Lexus IS300 SportCross." Car&Driver discussing with itself the body shape of the EX35.

Which crossovers must the EX35 do battle with?

"The Infiniti QX56's cabin strives to impart the requisite luxury SUV opulence but ultimately misses the mark. Plush carpeting is underfoot, rich leather cradles your hind parts and gleaming bird's eye maple and aluminum accents abound. However, the interior is marred by some downmarket plastics, and up until the '08 model year, the instrumentation and controls had a dull, utilitarian look. When it comes to true luxury in full-size proportions, the competitively priced Mercedes-Benz GL450 offers a more convincing show." Edmunds talking about the luxury credentials of the full-size QX56.