Volkswagen has sold over 800,000 diesel cars in the United States, and the since-discontinued Jetta was a good one. Much to the disappointment of hybrid fans, Consumer Reports magazine rated it higher than the Toyota Prius and Honda Civic hybrids. With cleaner emissions than before and no restrictions on where it will be sold, the new model should continue to offer top-notch fuel economy and continue Volkswagen’s diesel sales success.
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Anonymous sources at Toyota have confirmed that one plant will located in the U.S. southeast and one will be located in Mexico. (The photo to the left shows the Toyota plant in Texas, now operating.)
A report in the Internation Herald-Trbune noted that demand isn’t the only consideration:

The concern of Toyota executives about U.S. criticism of its mounting shipments of Japanese-built autos to America is the source of the urgency behind production plans, the people said. Toyota also wants to limit exposure to currency fluctuations against the Japanese yen by building more vehicles where they are sold, they said.

But hey, if Americans didn’t want Toyotas, they wouldn’t be buying millions of them per year. It’s not that difficult a concept - build reliable cars, offer techie features in them, and invest some money in the interior to make it look sophisticated (or at least reasonably pleasing to the eye). That means no gaps in the dash panel, no cheap plastic, and a quality stereo package.
As a side note, now that the Democrats are back in power, expect this controversy to heat up. The Democrats get big bucks from organized labor, who will undoubtedly expect a return on their investment in the party. In addition, the auto controversy could stand as a launching pad for another try at a social healthcare system in the U.S. - with the justification being that foreign competitors to U.S. companies do not have to offer healthcare packages to workers.

On meeting U.S. regulations regulations, CEO Takeo Fukui  claims his engines will be just fine:

Fukui says Honda’s hybrid technology is still an important piece of its strategy, but the company thinks its new diesel engines—which it boasts are both quiet enough for consumers and clean enough to meet tough air regulations in California, New York, and several New England states—are a smart option.

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Surprisingly (or not) the new Accord Coupe does not seem to be vastly different from the current model, which was introduced in 2003.  Major stylistic changes include a longer hood and quad-exhaust pipes.

John Mendel, Chief of Operations for American Honda, called the Accord model range the “”the single-most important product in Honda North America’s lineup.”  Last year, it ranked third in sales in the U.S. market to the Toyota Camry and Toyota Corolla, respectively.

German automaker BMW AG said Friday its 2006 sales in China rose 51.3 percent amid a luxury car boom.

Even more impressive, the same report recalled:

BMW’s Rolls Royce unit announced earlier that its China sales rose 60 percent last year, though it did not release the number of cars sold.

And we thought they all drove knock-off Hondas…

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Could this be Peugeot’s rumored Audi killer? 

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“The Nissan 350Z continues to offer sports car lovers high performance excitement and dynamic driving experience. For the 2007 model year, Nissan engineers have taken the award-winning sports car one step further with the next generation of its award-winning VQ-series 3.5-liter V6. The new VQ35HR V6 produces 306 horsepower and 268 lb-ft of torque and features a twin air intake system, among other enhancements, that increases efficiency and allows for improved fuel economy.

Other new features for the 2007 350Z include a new front hood design, three new exterior colors, a new gray colored convertible top (Roadster models), interior improvements, a Bluetooth® Hands-Free Phone System (Touring, Grand Touring Coupes) and standard front seat-mounted side-impact supplemental air bags (Roadster models).

These new features enhance the already well-equipped sports car, which features speed-sensitive power steering system, LED taillights, refined optional navigation system and available RAYS® super lightweight 18-inch front/19-inch rear 5-spoke forged alloy wheels (Coupe only).

For 2007, the 350Z is again available in Coupe and Roadster body styles and in an array of models – four for the Coupe and three for the Roadster. Each provides sports car lovers high performance excitement and a dynamic driving experience, with a style all its own.”

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NASCAR driver Dale Jarrett might just agree with me. Jarrett will soon be racing for Toyota - the first foreign make to race full-time in the NASCAR premier series. In a recent sit-down with NASCAR’s web site, Jarrett offered a few insights into the modern automotive industry:

“As far as Toyota, sure, the parent company is foreign,” Jarrett said. “We could get into the argument about where the Ford Fusion is built; every one of them are built in Mexico. The Monte Carlos are built in Canada.

So we could go through all that stuff and see who is right and who is wrong, but there are a lot of Toyotas that are built in the United States. They employ a lot of people.”

But, Dale, how about the American brands and all of that tradition? Shouldn’t we be psuhing our own stuff?

“But we have to be accepting of change. If we don’t, then you would still be watching 12-inch TV screens, and that’s not a lot of fun whenever you’ve got everything else that’s out there.”

Not sure what (if any) this move could have on domestic brands. Granted, I never knew how they sold ANY Chevy Monte Carlos for all those years until I found out that they raced them in NASCAR. (Hey, I’m a New Yorker, I had never even heard of Dale Jarrett before I caught this interview on the NASCAR site.) But he makes alot of sense. Why has NASCAR been stuck with the “Big Three?” Half of America doesn’t even buy domestic products!

And with that, I’ll sit down and my bowl of Sushi-Cloudberry-Wienerschnitzel Pie.