BMW has taken over the top spot from Toyota as the most valuable gloval car brand, according to autoweek.com.  Though it is expected that Toyota will be able to bounce back from their bad publicity and therefore bad brand value from the recent recalls.  Toyota is spending a lot of money and energy in marketing to try to win back their customers.  I’m sure that they will, so BMW so enjoy being on the top of this title, because it may not last for long.

Ford ranked higher on the global car brand value as well. Experts think that this is because Ford has introduced several new technologies such as the Sync, emission control, and their use of social media.  Smart techies working at Ford!

Porsche and Mercedes suffered in their rankings this past year.  That’s really not a total surprise though. These are luxury cars and people cannot afford luxury cars these days with the economy the way it has been.  Mercedes brand value fell 11%, but Porsche brand value fell 31%.  Yikes!  Not good.   But mind you, they still rank 4 and 5 on the list respectively.  Honda is third to round out the top 5.

The only thing I’m a little surprised about it is that I always consider BMW to be luxury as well.  I know that they have models that are cheaper by a lot than Porsche and Mercedes, but overall their vehicles aren’t cheap.

I guess good for BMW to take over and top the list of most valuable global car brand, but as I said earlier, very good chance this honor won’t last too long.

Wanna buy the new Porsche 918 Spyder that wowed everyone at the Geneva Auto Show?  Well, it will possibly be available soon.  It is a hybrid supercar, and Porsche wants to get 1000 seriously interested people in order to make a case to build this 918 Spyder. I would think that that won’t be a problem.  900 people have already said they are interested.  What’s 100 more?  Of course, these people are just interested. They didn’t commit to buying.  I can’t imagine that there aren’t 1000 people interested in this new Porsche.  It’s really nice looking….

A new AP poll done in March shows that Americans prefer a domestic vehicle over an Asian one.  Thirty-eight percent of Americans favor domestic vehicles with 32% saying that Asians vehicles are superior products.  Ford has become quite popular helping lead the domestic vehicles.  Big shocker is that Toyota’s loyal customers has dropped from 25% in 2006 to 15% in March.  Over 90% of GM, Ford, Honda, or Toyota customers were satisfied with their vehicles.  People willing to purchase an alternative fuel vehicle dropped from 70% in 2006 to 61% in 2010.  Interesting. I wonder why???  People are more aware of their choices and the details of these alternative fuel vehicles, and that made them disinterested?? I don’t know.

I have some crazy facts about Buick in China.  First of all, over 90% of new car sales in China are paid for in cash.  I mean actual cash, no checks. The biggest bill/coin in China is 100 Yuan, so if someone is paying like $40,000 for a vehicle (or about 280,000 Yuan) that’s alot of money to hand off at the dealership. Crazy, right?  Buick dealers in America sell less than 100 cars a year.  In the large cities in China, a Buick dealer sells over 2000 vehicles a year!  Buicks spend on average less than 20 days on a lot.

So, to sum it up, sign up to buy your Porsche 918 Spyder, buy an American car (cause that’s more preferred,) and if you go to live in China, you better have cold, hard cash to bring to the dealership to buy your car!!!

Ford is making some noise at the China Auto Show this week with their concept car called the Start.  It is a four-door vehicle with a 3-cylinder engine.  Ford’s new EcoBoost engine is in this car.  The Start is very lightweight and uses numerous elements to try to create more aerodynamics and make the car more efficient.  The gas mileage has not been disclosed by Ford, but they promise that it is “highly efficient.”  If you have ever read anything about how to make your car more efficient, aerodynamics play a part.  If they are better, you should be more fuel efficient.

The specs are that the Start has a 1-liter, 3-cylinder EcoBoost engine.  This car is considered a micro car, and really not a lot of details have been given about it.  Ford is trying to show the world that we can downsize engines by using turbos and direct injection.  Ford’s My Touch mobile system is on the dash in this car as well.

The goal of Ford was supposedly make a vehicle good for urban driving.  They want it to be practical, efficient, and I guess we will love it as well!  We’ll see about that last one for sure.  I personally am not sure I like the look of this car at all, but who knows. Maybe it will be the norm in the future.

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Lamborghini has unveiled a special edition of the Murcielago LP 670-4 Super Veloce at the China Auto Show.  There will be just 10 of these Murcielagos made.  The color and design of the cars are unique.  You will definitely stand out if you buy one of these Lamborghinis.  Lamborghini is really trying to get the Chinese market. These special editions are only available in China.  I’m not sure how many people will be dying for these, but then again there are only 10 that have to be sold.

The Murcielago LP 670-4 has a 6.5-liter V12 engine that has 670 horsepower.  This car is really light as well. The ratio of power-to-weight is 5.1 pounds per horsepower.  The top speed is 209 mph.  No price but you can just assume the price will be insane.

So if you are heading to the China Auto Show and interested in this special edition Lamborghini, buy it fast before they are all gone…..or not.

Friday the China Auto Show opens up for the press.  The Associated Press gave some facts of the China Auto Show that I found interesting. This is a huge show, by the way.  China is so important for automakers globally.  China just recently became the world’s largest auto market.  Chinese auto sales are expected to grow another 17% this year to 16 million cars and trucks. J.D. Power and Associates forecast that the passenger vehicles (cars, SUVs, and minivans) will grow to 13.55 million by 2015 which would be a 55% increase over 2009 (by the way, the U.S. sold 10.5 million vehicles in 2009.)  Wow!  So, with all of this said it’s really important that automakers make a good impression at the China Auto Show and get a piece of this pie!  990 foreign brands will be on display at this show.

So, here’s some of the highlights from the AP:

- GM’s on a high right now letting the world know that they paid off their government loan in full about 5 years early, so they are anxious and excited to show off their stuff.  

-GM will be premiering the Chevy Volt MPV5 concept here, a Chinese-made minivan, and a compact sedan.

-Toyota says it will have 50 vehicles on display.  This includes the latest Prius hybrid and an electric concept car. The sales have not taken a hit in China for Toyota as they have in the U.S. Only a couple thousand vehicles were recalled. 

-Chinese automakers will have 75 new sedans, SUV’s, and “experimental green cars.” The Chinese automakers need to compete with all the foreign brands as best as they can, so they are aggressively marketing at the China Auto Show this year. 

-Chery Automobile Co, China’s biggest domestic auto brand will have 29 vehicles at the show. 

-Geely Holding Group, which just bought Volvo Cars from Ford for a mere $1.8 million will have 55 vehicles there, including 11 new ones. 

So, I guess some news in the next few weeks will be coming from the China Auto Show. We’ll have to wait and see what the good/bad word is.

~Toyota will be coming out with a Prius hybrid minivan next year.  Not too many other details have come out other than it will most likely have a third row to allow for 5-7 people.  The price will be comparable to the other Prius hybrid models.

~Ford will be debuting a new traction control system on their 2011 Ford Explorer.  The driver will have a choice as to what traction control they want depending on the road conditions.  There will be a dial in the center of the console where you can choose one of four modes: normal roads, muddy or rutted roads, snowy roads, or sand.  This traction control system will adjust the engine, transmission, brakes, and wheel rotation speed accordingly.  This traction system will be standard on all Ford Explorers, which goes on sale at the end of the year.

~Toyota’s trouble continue yet again.  They announced that they are voluntarily recalling 600,000 Toyota Sienna minivans because there could be a problem with the spare tire.  If you own a 1998-2010 Sienna, you might want to look further into this recall.

~GM went a different route to market their cars today.  They went to the biggest baptist church in Detroit and offered churchgoers the opportunity to test drive many of their models, even the Chevy Volt.  GM was trying to interest some minorities to take a look at their cars without the pressures of showrooms and salespeople.  This is not a risk free marketing strategy though. Some may think it’s great that GM is going to the potential customer; to their communities and such. Others might think that GM is overstepping coming to their place of worship on Sundays. I’m in the middle on this one. I see both sides.

Wouldn’t it be quite bizarre if you were driving down the road and next to you was a car without a driver?  I think you would probably do a double take then hope that you don’t drive off the road.  Well, Stanford University has created a coupe that it just that.  The Audi Shelley is a self-driving car that Stanford developed to help make driving safer and possibly allow cars to drive on their own some day.  The Audi Shelley has a huge test to face this coming fall.  It will be tested at Pikes Peak in Colorado at the International Hill Climb.  This track has “steep grades and treacherous switchbacks” with 156 turns and 12.42 miles long.  This will be a good test to see how the Audi Shelley is able to do.

It’s really an interesting concept car.  It’s amazing that people can create such technology that could possibly allow a car to drive without a driver.  The Shelley is actually the Audi TTS that has been equipped with GPS receivers and can be programmed to follow any route using a digital map.  Computer “algorithms” let the car make real time adjustments to the terrain and calculate how fast it can go without spinning out of control. That’s the information that can hopefully make driving safer in the future.  We’ll see if the Audi Shelley actually makes it past a concept car, but either way it’s pretty neat.

I’m kindof embarassed to be blogging about this, but I thought that it may interest some even if you don’t want to admit to it.  Yahooautos.com came up with 5 2010 models that don’t cost a lot (though $29,000 is a lot in my book,) but supposedly they look awesome, and I guess you will look rich. I’m sure that no one will admit to wanting to look rich while driving your vehicle, but you know it’s nice to look good while you drive.  Having people turn to check out your car and then THINK you spent a fortune for it might be nice occasionally.  So here they are. Run out and buy one…or not. I’m not sold on some of these for making you look rich.

Kia Soul - $13,300-$18,195 - alright, there is absolutely no way that the Kia Soul will make me look rich.  Absolutely no way!

Suzuki Kizashi - $18,999-$26,749 - this is crazy. Suzuki will pay $100 to anyone who tests drives the Kizashi and then buys an Audi A4 or an Acura TSX. That’s a lot of confidence in your car! I like it!

Mazda MX-5 Miata - $22,810-$29,350 - most affordable sports car on the road.

Chrysler 300 - $27,260-$44,865 - this is a large sedan, and I agree. This is a really nice looking, rich looking vehicle.  Probably one of the best ones on this list.  You can even buy an aftermarket kit to make your Chrysler 300 look just like a Rolls Royce or Bentley. Alright, that’s weird, but some people must buy it.

Ford Flex - $28,950-$42,465 - I don’t particularly like the look of this SUV.

So in my opinion the only cars on this list that I think truly look rich are the Chrysler 300 and Mazda MX-5 Miata.  I am having a hard time seeing how the others will make you look rich, but maybe I just don’t know what it means to look rich while you drive!

When you think of a Buick, then don’t you think of your grandfather driving it?  I do.   So several years ago, the average age of a Buick driver was 72. Sounds about right, wouldn’t you say?  Well, now the average age is 65.  Buick is doing something right in their quest to attract younger buyers.  People in their 40s, 50s, and 60s are finding Buicks more intriguing and buying them.  Almost 29% of the Buick LaCrosse customers are under 55.  When I think younger buyers, I think 20s, but I’m not thinking that Buick can attract this age group anytime soon. Though I have a friend in his late 20s who bought a Buick LaCrosse and loved it and then got married, had a baby, and bought the Buick Enclave crossover.  He’s definitely not the norm though.

Buick is trying to get the younger buyers by adding technology to their vehicles. There are DVD players, lots of content, and navigation systems which gets the younger buyers.  They are marketing at food and wine festivals and other events that are known to draw younger crowds.  The resurgence of Buick began by the company just reintroducing a few models. Now Buick plans to expand and add a compact sedan to their mix in the next 18 months.

Good for you, Buick. I hope that you continue to get that average age number down.  I’m sorry though, but I may never be able to change that stereotype of my grandfather driving me around in his Buick.  Good memories though……

Hannah Elliott of Forbesautos.com wrote an article stating the worst cars on the road.  I immediately read the article to make sure that my car wasn’t one of them. Good news, it wasn’t.  The bad news is that 4 of the 7 worst cars on the road are made by GM.  Yikes for GM.  They just released numbers showing their sales up and things looking good, and all the while, Forbesautos.com is talking smack about them. To make matters worse, all 7 vehicles on from the Detroit Big Three. That’s awful!  Well, I’ll let give you the 7 vehicles and the reasoning for the worst car status, and you can decide what you think.

Cadillac Escalade - Consumer Reports Predicted Reliability Score-Fair, CR Value Score - rated among the worst, CR Safety Score - rated among the worst, CR Overall Score - 61 out of 100, J.D. Power Dependability Score - 2 out of 5

Chevrolet Aveo - CR Predicted Reliability Score - Poor, CR Value Score - not rated among the worst in overall value, CR Safety Score - not rated among the worst in overall safety, CR Overall Score - 36, JD Power Score-2

Chevrolet Colorado - CR Predicted Reliability Score - Poor, CR Value Score - Not rated among the worst in value, CR Safety Score - Rated among the worst in overall safety, CR Overall Score - 41, JD Power Score-2

Dodge Nitro - CR Reliability - Poor, CR Value - Rated among the worst, CR Safety - Not rated among worst, CR Overall - 33, JD -2

Ford F-250 - CR Reliability - Poor, CR Value - Rated among worst, CR Safety - Rated among worst, CR Overall - 37, JD - 3

GMC Canyon - CR Reliability - Poor, CR Value - Rated among worst, CR Safety - not rated among worst, CR Overall - 41, JD - 2

Jeep Wrangler - CR Reliability - Poor, CR Value - Rated among worst, CR Safety - not rated among worst, CR Overall - 17 (YIKES!,) JD - 2

So, there you have it. There isn’t a lot of good stuff to talk about with GM especially.  As I said, I’m just glad my car isn’t on the list!