TOLD YOU SO... KIND OF

I was going to say I hate to say, "I told you so", before I realized that I love to say "I told you so," but then I realized I don't have full rights this time around. The World Car of the Year awards have been announced at the New York Auto Show, and The Good Car Guy was sort of/kind of/almost/mostly correct.

The Audi R8 did win performance car of the year and world design of the year. I said it would, despite the Volvo C30's right to the latter. This page also said the BMW 118d would win GreenCOTY and the Mazda 2 was a deserving overall winner of car of the year. However,  the keyword 'deserving' didn't match with my call of the Ford Mondeo. On that count, I admit, I didn't tell you so.  Check out the evidence right up on in here.

HARD-TOP CONVERTIBLES STARTING TO LOOK GOOD

Hardtop convertibles are spreading like wildfire. In the modern era of carmaking, Mercedes-Benz and Peugeot started the trend with their two smallest convertibles. The trend has pushed past trendy and is now de rigeur. Ford's Euro-Focus has, in its model lineup, a hardtop cabrio. Peugeot and Renault both offer hardtops. Daihatsu has made the Copen, which looks to be a miniature version of the Audi TT... but with a hardtop.

BMW's next 3-series cabriolet will be covered in metal, and not cloth. Even GM has gotten into the game with their Pontiac G6 convertible. Mazda now offers a hardtop version of the venerable Miata, probably the best-packaged hardtop available. There are others, but yesterday I feasted my eyes upon one of the most, if not the most beautiful variations on the theme.

Volvo C70. Hot car. No, not the best handling convertible you can buy, not the fastest for the money, not the cheapest in its 'class'. However, the top is integrated wonderfully, the rear end has not taken on ungainly proportions, and the whole car has an aura of class that others can't match. Clean lines, nice detailing, proper proportions. Job well done by Volvo.

ED PEPER AND TAHOE HYBRID ON CNN AM

Kiran Chetry didn't exactly nail Chevrolet boss Ed Peper in any sort of Stephen Colbert fashion. It's not as if CNN's American Morning or others of its ilk is the place for testing the mileage claims of General Motors' most talked about SUV of the year. On the other hand, the moment where Kiran asked Mr. Peper about this 30 miles on electric power only and he confirmed it struck me as beyond odd and misleading.  

Possible? Perhaps in a controlled scientific atmosphere. Any serious amount of throttle, the sort of throttle one needs to merge with traffic, powers up the Tahoe's V8 to the tune of at least 4, but more likely 8 cylinders. 

Check out The Good Car Guy's test drive of the Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid right here, or read about dinner with Mr. Peper with a click

Ed Peper is a relatively straight talker with a kind and considerate manner-of-speaking. He's a great representative for General Motors and a believer in his brand. On the other hand, Peper didn't make use of aggressive driving maneuvers while merging the Tahoe Hybrid into a traffic circle outside CNN's New York studios.  

Therefore, he was very able to keep the Chevy silent.  The "few" trips Kiran Chetry hoped to make around the circle before the segment ended turned out to be less than one circle.  

Also, while Mr. Peper and GM love to point out that the Tahoe Hybrid falls into the price range of normal Tahoes, there's no denying that financial savings can be had with a basic Tahoe (about $35.6k) and its greater fuel consumption more easily than with the $50K Tahoe Hybrid and its impressive fuel savings.  

HOT TOYOTA YARIS NOT FOR NORTH AMERICA

Given the topic explored in the most recent posting, it is ironic that today we discover that Toyota will debut a far more sportatious Yaris. In Europe.

Yesterday I wrote about five awesome cars that are not available on this continent. The Toyota Yaris has been available in North America since the beginning of this millenium (as the Echo) in sedan, two-door, and hatchback configurations. The Yaris is becoming a fair bit cooler than the Echo could ever have dreamed of being.

We must, nevertheless, be content with 106 horsepower and a somewhat soft suspension while across the pond you would have the option to buy a Yaris fully eqipped with a spoiler, side skirts, sports exhaust, LED taillights, deep bumpers and bigger wheels.

And, oh yeah, about 24% more power. Wouldn't you think that as the Yaris increases in popularity over here that displaying a cool Yaris would be a good idea?

CHAT TO THE SOLSTICE DESIGNER

General Motors will enable you to chat with Jose Gonzalez and Justin Thompson - designers of the Solstice Coupe and Buick Invicta, respectively - tomorrow afternoon at GMnext.com. Follow this link for registration.  

Block off the 11-12 EST chunk of your day for the proceedings, as well as 3-4 for Thompson. For more on the Solstice Coupe, see today's earlier post here.  

DODGE CHALLENGER MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS etc.

You can read more about New York auto show debuts in today's previous posts here and here, but some Numbers have surfaced post-intro at the show.  Here's to keeping up to speed....

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5 - gears available in the manual transmission of the 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T, one less than the manual transmission of the Challenger SRT8

2009 - year in which the Nissan Cube will be imported to the USA (and Canada, we can assume)

375 - horsepower generated by the V8 of manual-transmission Challenger R/Ts, five more than the automatic-equipped R/T

24 - expected highway mpg delivered by the 245-bhp-V6/auto combo in the base Dodge Challenger SE

2 - extra pound-feet of torque available in the automatic-equipped Pontiac G8 GXP over and above the 400 lb-ft in the manual G8 GXP

30 - percentage increase in fuel economy of the future Ford Transit Connect taxi (many of which will be seen in NYC) over the current Ford Crown Victoria

75 - cubic feet of cargo capacity (referred to by Ford as space for 75 cubic feet of "parcels") along with the three passengers

2003 - the year the Transit Connect was voted "van of the year", six years prior to its official American on-sale date

290 - horsepower produced by the 3.5L V6 in the upcoming Nissan Maxima, 35 more than the 'old' Maxima

2,000,000 - total global sales of the first generation Honda Fit, a Good 12 winner

1.5 - engine capacity of the '09 Honda Fit's four-cylinder, identical to the previous Fit, although Honda says the next Fit's powerplant is a new design

MORE BIG APPLE VEHICULAR DEBUTS

Although the Nissan Maxima, Subaru R1e, and Nissan Denki Cube might not spark the performance car enthusiasm at New York's auto show this week, a few others have a strong opportunity. Pontiac is going to show the Solstice Coupe and Dodge has revealed the Challenger SRT8's lesser brethren. Unfortunately, it appears as though Acura has lost its sporting way with the TSX. Can anyone read the title at the top of this page?  See that part about "dowdy". Freshen your fears of Acura producing another boring product.  

Call it a musclecar, ponycar, or an all-American bruiser. It doesn't matter. When the SRT8 version of the reincarnated Dodge Challenger debuted, I wondered if it might be highly colour-sensitive (which is far better than being angle-sensitive). Regardless, like every other musclecar that ever existed - especially those of the last couple decades - the Challenger is wheel-and-bodykit-sensitive. The R/T maintains the aggression manifested by the SRT8; no question about it. The SE? It looks like a wuss. Considering its heft and lack of V8 get-up-and-go, the SE won't just look like a wuss, either. Blue isn't its colour, to boot. 

Pontiac's current showing of the Solstice Coupe doesn't lose much of the impact displayed by the Solstice Coupe Concept of 2002, seen in orange. Who knows whether Pontiac will go the historical route and charge less for the targa-topped Solstice Coupe than they do for the droptop, or if Porsche and BMW's method of upping the price of the Cayman and Z4 Coupe could strike General Motors 'excitement' division? One way or another, the Solstice Coupe has a magic about it that the roadster never has.  

Check out The Good Car Guy's test drive of the Saturn Sky, twin to the Pontiac Solstice, right here

Oh, Acura, what hath Honda wrought with thee? Sales are falling and new product emphasis has seemingly been placed on crossover utilities like the RDX and MDX. The NSX, the progenitor of all refined and reliable modern supercars, lived too long a life and we're still awaiting final word on its replacement. We have no confirmation of V8 power for the next RL but, hey, Acura added some ugly to go with the blaa for the 2009 RL. Insistence on front-wheel drive hasn't aided the cause of the TL, a car that battles in one of the most competitive and image-conscious sectors of the North American automotive market.  

Read up on the Acura Integra Memorial up in here

And now the TSX has been maimed in the same manner as the RL and is far from receiving a power boost. In fact, the TSX will suffer a loss in power, with just 201bhp in a field that Acura sees filled with the Audi A4, BMW 3-series, Lexus IS, and Mercedes-Benz C-class. Acura wants to sell more TSXs than before, but is fielding a progressively less competitive vehicle. The TSX has apparently lost some of its edge, according to Road&Track. Fine to drive, I'm sure. Happy owners, positively. But unless queries come to me with "smooth refinement" being the number 1, 2, and 3 priorities on the list - I'll direct sport sedan buyers elsewhere.