January 2015

Tailgüten — Hauling a Super Bowl party in a VW Golf

(January 30, 2015) DENVER — Few things stir up the passions of VW fans more than a sporty station wagon and playoff football. To celebrate the Super Bowl and the debut of Volkswagen’s 2015 Golf Wagon, VWPartsVortex.com took some time to calculate how many chicken wings the new Golf Wagon can hold.

The answer? A lot — over 22,000 wings with the rear seats laid flat. They also calculated how many Oreos, regulation pro footballs, 12-packs of beer, and more the Golf Wagon can hold. You can see the results in this graphic.

Automakers find high-priced Super Bowl ads don't resonate with viewers

(January 30, 2015) IRVINE, Calif. — With the Super Bowl game just around the corner, carmakers are finding one thing tough to tackle: getting their high-priced marketing messages to resonate with viewers. According to a new survey by Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com, competing for advertising attention during the game, as well as sustaining shopper attention, is an ongoing challenge for automakers, as evidenced by viewers' limited recollection of car commercials.

Study on clean diesel technology affirms near-zero emissions

(January 27, 2015) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Diesel Technology Forum today reported the findings of the multi-year Advanced Collaborative Emissions Study (ACES) conducted by the Boston-based Health Effects Institute (HEI) on clean diesel technology.

The study concluded that exposure to new technology diesel exhaust does not cause any increase in the risk of lung cancer or other significant adverse health effects in study animals.

TrueCar forecasts strong start for 2015 auto sales

(January 26, 2015) SANTA MONICA, Calif. — TrueCar, Inc. forecasts the pace of auto sales in January expanded to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) of 16.6 million new units on continued consumer demand. New light vehicle sales, including fleet, should reach 1,446,600 units for the month, up 13.2 percent over a year ago.

On a daily selling rate (DSR) basis, adjusting for one additional selling day this January versus a year ago, deliveries will likely rise 8.9 percent.

Carfax finds that 46 million cars in U.S. have an unfixed recall

(January 26, 2015) SAN FRANCISCO — New research from Carfax suggests that millions of people may be driving, buying, or selling potentially dangerous cars due to an unfixed recall. The company’s annual research on the issue shows more than 46 million cars nationwide have at least one safety recall that’s never been fixed.

In fact, five million of them were bought and sold by potentially unsuspecting consumers in 2014.

NADA: Low gas prices to cause shift to light trucks in 2015

(January 26, 2015) SAN FRANCISCO — Low gasoline prices and pent-up consumer demand will combine to drive new car and light truck sales to an estimated 16.94 million in 2015, says the National Automobile Dealers Association. NADA’s original sales forecast of 16.4 million new cars and light trucks for 2014 was on target.

The split among the segments this year is expected to be 44 percent cars and 56 percent light trucks and SUVs because of lower gasoline prices, increased job growth and an improving housing market.

Study finds new car buyers are purchasing more out of want, not need

(January 25, 2015) ATLANTA — According to AutoTrader.com's 2015 Automotive Buyer Influence Study, 61 percent of recent new car buyers reported that they purchased their latest vehicle due to a want — not a need. The study surveyed over 2300 new and used car buyers to understand their car shopping and buying journeys. This particular finding is significant, as it points to the increasing health of the automotive market.

2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk named 'Four Wheeler of the Year'

(January 24, 2015)  AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — The 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk has been named “Four Wheeler of the Year” by Four Wheeler magazine. The award is given annually by the editors of the opinion-leading off-road enthusiast magazine.
 

Mustang also popular as internet password

(January 24, 2015) DEARBORN, Mich. — Ford Mustang is one of the most popular cars ever built, and now it has the distinct honor of being one of the most common passwords on the Internet, a recent study reveals.

According to SplashData — a company specializing in password management — the word “mustang” was the 16th most common password found on the Internet in 2014, the only car moniker that found its way into the top 25. Not only that, Mustang is a slayer of superheroes — more popular than “Batman” and “Superman” as people’s secret code for accessing their personal networks and accounts.

TrueCar finds even as prices drop, fuel economy plays big part in purchase

(January 23, 2015) SANTA MONICA, Calif.— TrueCar, Inc. found that today’s full-sized pickup truck buyer has grown increasingly interested in fuel economy and MPG ratings even in a period of falling fuel prices. Since 2010, buyers rating “fuel economy and mpg” as extremely to very important increased significantly from 55.4 percent to 71.1 percent in 2014.