Cars Reviews

BMW’s wildly successful Mini Cooper will experience a fall in sales in coming months, despite demand for the iconic car being higher than ever. Due to the heavy demand, dealerships across the U.S. are experiencing short supplies of current stock and with rising fuel prices pushing more and more consumers towards small cars waiting lists are expected to expand dramatically.

While production will be boosted for the U.S., even the additional 2,000 to 3,000 units earmarked for this purpose will not be enough to supply the hungry market. The Mini plant in Oxford, England, is currently running three shifts, seven days a week and builds about 800 cars a day for 80 markets, reports Automotive News.

Mini has several plans in place to help meet the increase in demand. Jim McDowell, vice president of Mini, revealed that the current dealership network will expand by 13 stores for a total of 95 by 2011. He also confirmed that base prices for some 2009 models will increase but dynamic stability control will be made standard on all models. The Mini Cooper hardtop goes from $18,700 to $19,200, while the Cooper S hardtop price rises from $21,850 to $22,600; Cooper Clubman and Clubman S models get a $250 price increase to $20,850.

Additionally, a diesel Mini is being considered for the North American market, as is the possibility of building the Mini in countries that are more viable and less expensive than England in order to bring costs down and increase supply. The Mini Cooper D (pictured) averages more than 50mpg (4.7L/100km) on the highway but the vehicle won’t be launched Stateside until it can be sold in all 50 states. Read More......

Earlier this month Toyota announced it would be raising prices across its U.S. line-up, and now it seems Honda may be following suit. The cause is a confluence of factors, with a weak U.S. dollar, high raw materials costs and the global downturn in sales conspiring to make the price rises inevitable.

North America may not be alone in feeling the pinch of higher prices, either. Speaking during an interview in Tokyo Honda Chief Operating Officer Yoichi Hojo said that prices in Japan and North America may have to rise, though doing so would make it even harder to make sales targets in the softening market, according to Steelguru. The rising raw materials costs are primarily centered around a jump in the price of steel, though other materials are contributing factors.

Honda’s North American operations are central to its corporate structure, with nearly 70% of its operating profit originating on the continent. Despite the move to raise prices, the slackening sales means Honda is predicting a 32%, or ¥75 billion, drop in profits for the coming year.

Toyota’s recent price rises averaged just under 2% for the Prius and Yaris, and though Honda hasn’t yet disclosed what range of price increases it is contemplating, it would make sense for it to make similar adjustments since roughly the same materials prices and market forces apply to both car makers. A GM executive also recently opined on the subject, noting that another driving force of the increased costs are the stricter CAFE standards within the U.S. Read More......

The Saab 9-5 is long overdue for an overhaul, with the current model first hitting streets as far back as 1997, but the next-generation model due late next year may not even be built at Saab’s traditional home in Sweden. Latest reports claim the new model will be sourced from Opel’s Ruesselsheim plant in Germany with production tipped to start mid next year.

The car will then debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September before going on sale towards the end of the year. According to Automotive News, the new 9-5 will be available with Saab’s new XWD traction system and electronic limited-slip differential and will also be offered with a range of flex-fuel turbocharged engines as well as a new V6 diesel.

The reason for the move to Ruesselsheim is because the next 9-5 will be based on GM’s new FWD Epsilon II platform, which has already debuted in the all-new Opel Insignia and is produced at the German plant. To differentiate Saab as a premium product engineers will provide a stiffer suspension set-up, a new steering rack and a different range of electronics. The car’s styling will also be heavily influenced by the original Aero X concept car pictured above.

Production of Saab’s next 9-3 will remain in Sweden. The car will move to the smaller Delta platform and isn’t expected to be launched until 2011. Read More......