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11/21 Weekend rewind: Did you see these stories on Auto Motion?

November 20th, 2009, 9:15 pm by Matt Degen
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Lots of automotive news and features to get caught up on from this past week, so let’s get right into it. Here’s a recap of what you might have missed in the past days on the Auto Motion blog. Click any link to check out the whole post:

Find out news when we do: Follow Auto Motion on Twitter at Twitter.com/mattdegen

Posted in: New cars • • • • • | Post a Comment »

Tesla reportedly planning an IPO

November 20th, 2009, 3:10 pm by Matt Degen

The Tesla Model S is unveiled in Hawthorne on March 26

California electric-car maker Tesla to go public soon, according to inside sources.

Reuters is reporting that San Carlos-based Tesla is “outlining plans to sell stock and cash in on investor appetite for green technology and interest in battery-powered vehicles.”

The sources quoted by Reuters say an initial pubic offering is expected any day.

Reuters reports:

Tesla would mark the first public offering from a U.S. automaker since Henry Ford’s Ford Motor Co debuted its shares in 1956. The IPO represents a landmark in the resurgence of electric car technology that most carmakers had dismissed as impractical until recently.

The company’s chairman Elon Musk said early last year that an IPO was a possibility in either late 2008 or 2009.

But the financial market turmoil following the collapse of Lehman Bros. in the latter half of 2008 virtually shut down the IPO market. The appetite for IPOs has picked up since mid-September this year with a robust pace of new filings.

Tesla’s IPO would follow the successful debut of lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems, whose shares rallied 50 percent on their first day of trading on Sept 25.

Read the full Reuters report on Tesla.

Tesla currently produces a Lotus Elise-based roadster that runs on batteries and sells for more than $100,000.

In March, Tesla unveiled its coming car, the Model S (above). That car is a sedan that is expected to go on sale in 2011 and start at $49,900. It will compete with green cars from the likes of Irvine’s Fisker Automotive.

With the L.A. Auto Show just two weeks away, an IPO announcement could be centered around that.

Stay tuned for further developments.

More on Tesla:

Posted in: Green trends • New cars • • | 1 Comment »

My Totally Hot Car: 1934 Ford Victoria

November 20th, 2009, 10:53 am by Matt Degen

1934vic

Remember this past summer when Papa John Founder John Schnatter went on a nationwide search for a beloved car he first bought as a teen, and how happy he was after he found it years later?

We’ve got a similar story here for our latest reader-submitted Totally Hot Car.

The 1934 Ford Victoria you see here belongs to Jim Watts of San Clemente, and it’s a car that has been in and out of his family going back five decades, when his brother first bought the car for $100.

His brother went on to sell the car in the first of what would be several transactions for the family.

“My brother bought it in Texas and took it to Illinois in the service,” Watts recalls of what became his first car. “He sold it to a kid who ran a red light on the second day of having it and got t-boned by a Caddy.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Classic cars • My Totally Hot Car • | 3 Comments »

Toyota may shorten accelerator pedals in recalled cars

November 19th, 2009, 11:23 am by Matt Degen

Ever since Toyota recalled nearly 4 million cars in September, owners of affected vehicles have been anxiously awaiting a solution to what can be a serious problem: Sudden, unintended acceleration due to the gas pedal getting stuck.

An estimated 3.8 million cars are affected, and a stuck accelerator has been blamed in at least one accident that killed a family of four in August near San Diego.

Toyota has been advising owners of recalled cars to remove the driver-side floor mat, saying that it can get loose and potentially jam the accelerator pedal.

Now, a new report out of Tokyo says Toyota might go about fixing the problem by shortening the accelerator pedal in the cars.

Edmunds’ Inside Line reported the news Wednesday, citing Kyodo News in Japan.

Toyota representatives, however, have not made an official announcement on how the company will remedy the situation. The automaker has been working closely with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to find a fix, and has set aside nearly 500 billion Yen — or about $5.6 billion — to fund repairs in the recall.

Once again, the affected Toyota and Lexus vehicles are:

  • 2007-2010 model year Toyota Camry
  • 2005-2010 Toyota Avalon
  • 2004-2009Toyota Prius
  • 2005-2010 Tacoma
  • 2007-2010 Toyota Tundra
  • 2007-2010 Lexus ES350
  • 2006-2010 Lexus IS250 and IS350

If you own one of the affected vehicles and need more information, you can contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s hot line at 888-327-4236, Toyota at 800-331-4331 or Lexus at 800-255-3987.

You can also click to see Toyota’s consumer-safety page.

Question for Toyota and Lexus owners: Have you received your recall notice yet? If so, what did it say? (Respond in comments area blow.)

Stay up to date on recalls and other car news world by following Auto Motion on Twitter at: Twitter.com/mattdegen

In related news:

Posted in: Recalls • • | 1 Comment »

Like bowling? You could win a Mazda 3

November 19th, 2009, 7:50 am by Matt Degen

smile1

Ever the sharp-eyed deal spotter, my colleague Marla Jo Fisher on her OC Deals blog presents this piece of news about a local Mazda dealer offering a unique giveaway opp:

If you bowl two games at Fountain Bowl in Fountain Valley and get a frequent-bowler card, bring that card to Huntington Beach Mazda to be entered in a drawing to win a 2010 Mazda 3.

The car will be awarded Jan. 23, 2010.

Not bad, huh?

You can also use that card at one of two Mazda dealers — Huntington Beach Mazda or Tustin Mazda — to get a coupon for a free game at Fountain Bowl if you take a test drive.

For more information about the contest, consumers can visit www.ocmazda.com or call 714-848-7739.

(Read Marla’s full post and check out other deals)

Faithful readers of Auto Motion might remember that we loved this little sedan and gave it quite a good review back in June. (See: 2010 Mazda 3 has plenty to grin about.)

Earlier this year, Huntington Beach Mazda performed a major revamp of its store to make itself more appealing to car shoppers, adding amenities like a living-room-type setup and children’s play area.

In other news:

Posted in: Dealers, deals and for sale • | Post a Comment »

These cars earn highest crash-safety ratings

November 18th, 2009, 11:09 am by Matt Degen

A new batch of cars have earned the designation “Top Safety Pick” by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety for 2010.

This year, the parameters to make the cut were tougher than ever because vehicles had to show good roof strength to measure protection in the event of a roll over.

The new requirement for roof strength winnowed the winners from a record 94 in 2009 to 27 this year.

Subaru was the only manufacturer with a winner in all four vehicle classes in which it competes, the IIHS said. In total, five Subarus earned the Top Safety Pick (including the Outback, above).

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: New cars • • • • • | 1 Comment »

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