TOYOTA YARIS 2006 AND 2007 RECALLED - 1.3 MILLION WORLDWIDE

The number that will take prominence is the 1,300,000. True, 130,000 is a large number as well. The Toyota Yaris of model years '06 and '07 will fall under a NHTSA Recall because, in a front impact, the seatbelt could cause a foam pad to ignite. 

Fires are bad. NHTSA's got your back.

For more on the Toyota Yaris, check out The Good Car Guy's three part review of a Canadian-market Yaris 5-dr hatch. 130,000 American Yaris's/Yari/Yarisees are involved in this Recall. The other 1,170,000 are spread across the globe.

TOYOTA WILLINGLY PSEUDO-RECALLS '04 SIENNA

Had I known that poor carpeting was valid reason for NHTSA issuing a Recall notice, I'd have reported issues in my first apartment. That stuff was nasty.

See, Toyota is willingly "conducting a safety improvement campaign" free of charge without the actual Recall banter being thrown around the internet. If you're the owner of a MY2004 Toyota Sienna, you may have noticed that the floor carpet cover can interfere with the operation of the accelerator pedal if said pedal is depressed 84% or more. Now, one assumes you hadn't measured the percentage, but the problem irked you, no doubt.

Without NHTSA's mandate but with NHTSA's broadcasting help, Toyota will be issuing this semi-pseudo Recall and will replace that carpet and retention clip free of charge. How kind. Toyota and NHTSA figure that's about 26,501 Siennas.

LEXUS FORCED TO RECALL THE GS, IS, AND LS FOR POTENTIAL FUEL LEAKAGE ISSUE

Though it's not E85, the gasoline you're purchasing at the gas station has some ethanol content. Because of their inability to deal with this ethanol content, the Lexus IS from model years 2006-2008 as well as the the Lexus LS from '07 and '08 and the Lexus GS from '06 and '07 are under a Recall banner from NHTSA.

These are, in case you hadn't noticed, three of the four rear-wheel drive cars which Lexus offers. Something is obviously shared by the gigantic LS, the midsize GS, and the small IS. NHTSA says 214,570 cars are potentiall involved in the Recall.

Indeed, these cars, when equipped with aluminum fuel delivery pipes, will be corroded by ethanol-laded fuels. While this may illuminate the engine malfunction light inside the car, the more serious issue resides in the fuel pipes where a pinhole may open up causing - obviously - leakage.

Specific Lexus models available over these model years:

2006 Lexus GS300 & GS430

2007 Lexus GS350 & GS430

2006-2007 Lexus IS250 & IS350

2008 Lexus IS250, IS350, and IS-F

2007 Lexus LS460

2008 Lexus LS460 & LS600h L

ACROSS THE POND - 2010 FORD FOCUS RS SPECIFICATIONS

Despite the absence of the new RS version of the Ford Focus on roads in North America (or its targeted markets, for that matter), I'm already getting sick of the lizard green that all the images centre on. Realizing that the Ford Focus RS won't be a frequent site in my life, I'm getting over it. Considering that pre-orders are full of the very same colour, I'd better. To help, some blue pictures have arrived.

With all the advance marketing prep and hype and furtherance of same online by bloggers and anybody who cares about fast Fords with historical implications, one would assume we already knew everything there was to know. Ah... no. Final details for the 2010 Ford Focus RS are ready and are available in Numbers form below. For those of you who can't come to grips with Ford's obvious decision to market the Focus RS everywhere but in its home market (after all, this is an Across The Pond post), you ought to click here to read about stuff you can own.

24,995 - price, in British £ sterling, of the new Ford Focus RS, converting directly to $35,708 USD but more likely under $32.5K were it ever to be offered in the United States in mass production

235/35 - width and profile of the Focus RS tires, rather wide for a small car and very slim at the same time

25 - average U.S. mpg of the new Ford Focus RS based on the EU combined cycle

3,234 - weight, in pounds, of the front-wheel drive Ford Focus RS

5.9 - Ford's estimate of the time it will take for the new Focus RS to reach 62mph from a standing start

163 - top speed, measured in miles per hour, of the new Focus RS

324 - torque, measured in lb-ft, of the 2.5L turbocharged five-cylinder under the hood of the Ford Focus RS

300 - horsepower generated by the turbocharged 2.5L

4,501 - total iterations of the previous-generated Ford Focus RS built at the Saarloius plant in Germany

HYBRID SALES IN AMERICA DROP IN 2008? BY THE NUMBERS

After gas prices brought Americans to their knees in the summer of 2008, a time when the Honda Civic temporarily outsold the Ford F150, one would assume that hybrid sales rocketed upward last year. One would be correct in that assumption, right?

Wrong. See, with auto sales as a whole falling off a cliff in 2008, no category was immune to the decline. Check it out in typical GoodCarBadCar.net Numbers form below. Pay close attention to the last number, too; lest you get the wrong idea about long term trends.

-----

9.9 - percentage drop in sales of hybrid (gas-electric) vehicles in the United States in 2008 compared with 2007

315,761 - total sales of hybrid vehicles in the U.S.A. in 2008

76.5 - percentage of hybrid vehicles sold with a Toyota or Lexus badge

91,440 - total Toyota Prius sales through the first six months of 2008

67,444 - total Toyota Prius sales through the second half of 2008, a period when fuel prices started to drop rapidly

31,495 - total Honda hybrid sales in 2008, down 12.5% versus 2007

8,819 - total Nissan hybrid sales in 2008, an increase of 5.5% over 2007

11 - percentage of hybrid vehicles sold by the Detroit Three (Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Chrysler)

81 - total hybrid vehicle sales at Chrysler LLC

14,439 - total hybrid vehicles sales at General Motors, up from 5,175 the year before

19,522 - total hybrid vehicles sales at Ford Motor Company, down 22.2% compared with 2007, a drop more significant than that of the Ford brand itself

2.38 - total percentage of the U.S. vehicle market made up by hybrid vehicles in 2008, compared with 2.17% in 2007 

More Numbers posts from GoodCarBadCar.net

Audi A4 Dominates Germany

Canada Auto Sales Tidbits From 2008

Luxury Car Sales in America From 2008

How Many Trucks Do They Sell?

ZR1, 599 GTB, GT-R, 911 GT2 in Motor Trend

"WHY ARE GENERAL MOTORS CARS SO BAD?" READER ASKS

Escaping from the routine of normal Wednesday publishing (3 To Beat), The Good Car Guy thought that, with plenty of Questions from The Good Car Nation, that it was time to respond. However, a problem presented itself. One of these questions demands priority placement and an urgent response. Hopefully, more reader Questions will be dealt with later in the normal format.

-----

Why Are General Motors Cars So Bad? Let's start by forgiving mainstream media viewers for being led into the belief system that portrays the Detroit Three as a builder of "bad cars". For one thing, this is GOODCARBADCAR.net, and the goal of this website is to showcase what is good and what is bad. For the record, over the course of releasing The Bad 8, The Bad 8 v2.0, and The Bad 8 Supersize, on only six occasions has General Motors appeared. As for The Good 12, The Good 12 v2.0, and The Good 12 Supersize, General Motors has made five appearances. Far more prestigous companies fare little better and sometimes worse.

In other words, don't paint all General Motors vehicles with the same brush. Just because General Motors is the maker of the Hummer H2 SUT doesn't mean the Buick Enclave is a bad car.

Onwards to point deux. Apart from GM's ability to make both good cars and bad cars (in reference to their GoodCarBadCar.net victories and losses which centres mainly on desirability and sellability), GM vehicles are also known to be reliable.... by times. As mass-production facilities, certain General Motors manufacturing plants are at the top of the heap.

Point tres declares that over the last two years, almost every newly introduced vehicle in General Motors portfolio is class-competitive or better. The Buick Enclave was already mentioned, but how 'bout the Chevrolet Malibu and Corvette ZR1, Cadillac CTS and CTS-V, the Lambda platform which holds the Enclave's mates from Chevrolet; Saturn; and GMC, the Pontiac Vibe and G8 and various Holdens and Opels? Critics can point to clearly malnourished product lines like the Chevrolet Aveo or over-priced lines like the Saturn Astra, but then the protagonist stands on top of plenty of top-notch trucks and SUVs.

(Pictured from top to bottom are the Chevrolet Malibu LTZ, 

2010 Chevy Equinox interior, and the uncovered Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid)

What's all this mean? There's no need for anybody to suggest that General Motors' current problems relate to current vehicles that are currently bad. Improvements could be made. Start with perceived quality, a complaint made by The Good Car Guy in referencing the Cadillac CTS. Though it is expensive to make very small cars very good, General Motors needs to do it anyway. But in terms of "product".... nah, the current group of cars isn't the problem.

The cars that came before were often bad. And if they weren't, it was the cars before those cars. Indeed, the Chevrolet Cobalt is no Civic/Corolla beater, but it's ten times better than the Chevrolet Cavalier. Yet, the Cobalt is still tainted by the memory of what ought to be called a bad car. The Pontiac G8 is terrific stuff but poorly timed. Pushing the theory that the Cadillac CTS-V is an amazing car is acceptable here, but that's not anywhere near the core of the market. 

The implication, then, isn't that General Motors cars are fine and that's the end of the story. Not at all. GM cars are competitive.... and that fact is terribly irrelevant right now. The stickers you see on new GM cars at dealerships ($8,000 off Cobalts, $17,000 off an Avalanche) make very clear that with traditionally accepted automotive mark-ups of under 10%, these vehicles are sold at a loss. Does that make them bad cars? Of course not. Perhaps the question should have been, Why were the business practices of General Motors so bad? And for that, talk to AutoLine Detroit.

More Posts Like This

November Questions

September Questions

August Questions

Questions Demanding Subjectivity

Questions Re: Good Or Bad

GALLERY - FISKER KARMA IN 40 PHOTOS

Imagine the federal government giving you $7,500 when you bought your new car. That effectively takes the price of the Fisker Karma down from $87,900 to $80,400. Q-Drive, technology taken from Quantum Technologies, applies 201-horsepower of electric power with a 260-turbocharged four-cylinder accessible when needed. Though clearly not a pretty car from many angles, the Karma is hugely dramatic from any perspective and brings some much needed distinction to the luxury sedan crowd. Competing for dollars normally spent on the BMW 7-Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class won't be easy, but Henrik Fisker - responsible for drawing the BMW Z8 and Aston Martin DB9 - is content with small volume. 

Parts of Fisker's press release can be seen below the gallery.



"More than 60 percent of America's 200 million drivers travel less than 50 miles per day. With Q-DRIVE®, the Fisker Karma can do that without using a drop of gas. This proprietary powertrain will provide a base for all future model derivatives from Fisker Automotive." said Alan Niedzwiecki, CEO Quantum Technologies...... Q-DRIVE® features two operating modes: Stealth Mode and Sport Mode. In electric-only Stealth Mode, drivers can travel emission free for up to 50 miles on a full charge from any 110-, 220- or 240-volt electric outlet. A total range of up to 300 miles is estimated in Sport Mode, which utilizes the efficient Ecotec® gasoline engine to turn a generator that powers two electric motors on the rear differential. A fully charged Fisker Karma can achieve an annual average of more than 100 miles per gallon...... With a top speed of 125 mph and a 0-60 mph time of 5.8 seconds, the Fisker Karma is the world's first true premium plug-in hybrid sports sedan..... Leather is replaced by 100% Bamboo Viscose, a soft hand textile, while EcoGlass™ trim frames authentic fossilized leaves. Karma's EcoSport™ series incorporates hand-wrapped premium leather using a 100% sustainable manufacturing strategy, which minimizes the number of hides required and highlights natural markings.To meet production goals, Fisker turned to specialty builder Valmet Automotive in Finland. Delivery of the more than 1,000 pre-ordered Karmas will begin this year."

GALLERY - AUDI SPORTBACK CONCEPT IN 54 PHOTOS

Considering its worldwide sales success over the last number of years, Audi can't really be called a second tier competitor to Mercedes-Benz and BMW anymore. No longer linked with Volvo and Saab and Alfa Romeo and Acura in that sub-luxury/premium-plus category, Audi needs to prove this as truth to continue growth. How does that work?

Competing with the big dogs in every single freakin' category helps. So Audi is preparing the Sportback Concept you see below to become the Audi A7, a prize fighter ready to topple the Mercedes-Benz CLS. Ah, the CLS. Mercedes designers drew a lovely piece. Using E-Class parts, Mercedes-Benz can force customers into justifying added cost for less space and slightly re-jigged dynamics simply because the CLS is beautiful.

Thus, in this unfortunately named sector - four door coupes - the Audi Sportback Concept will be de-conceptized by losing some chrome and some mouth. As a less expensive alternative to the Porsche Panamera, the 16-foot long Sportback surely grabs the eye. As a direct competitor to the CLS, the A7 is in for a niche fight.

GALLERY - KIA SOULSTER CONCEPT IN 11 PHOTOS

Not hiding any enthusiasm for the regular Kia Soul, The Good Car Guy has come out as a preordained fan of the small Scion competitor in advance of a drive. Lotus is developing the suspension. We know it looks good. Quality is supposed to reach a new height for Kia. What more could we ask for?

Well, we didn't ask for the Kia Soulster concept, but Kia gave it to us anyway. In the same vein as the Hummer H2 SUT, a vehicle hated by The Good Car Guy, the Kia Soulster is a trucklet. Not capable of carrying much with a probably loss of structural rigidity and the boxiness that makes the Soul so admirable, the Soulster is far from a sure bet for production. Let's hope it stays that way.

GALLERY - LINCOLN C CONCEPT IN 29 PHOTOS

From the maker of the gigantic Town Car and the humongous Navigator comes the C Concept. Meant to be perceived as a c-segment car, the Lincoln C Concept is sized like a Focus but luxurious like a Lincoln. What the production of such a car would do to Lincoln's loyal septuagenarian customers one knows not. If Lincoln wants to surive, forward thinking that would put the C Concept in showrooms as an MKC ready to battle the Mini Cooper or BMW 1-Series may not hurt. Risk.... and reward.

WATCH THE NISSAN GT-R GO 'ROUND THE NURBURGRING.... IN THE SNOW

Video, GT-R, and Nurburgring are three words that have become so intermingled in the last year or so, the sight of another post title tempting you to watch isn't, well, all that tempting. This one is different, though. Yes, this time, Nissan isn't attempting to break 'Ring records or outperform Porsche and the Corvette ZR1. This time, the Eiffel mountains are full of snow, and the Nurburgring is covered in the white stuff.

Check out the snow-tired GT-R's efforts in the clip below.

WATCH HENRIK FISKER TALK ABOUT HIS CAR, THE FISKER KARMA

At 26 years old, Henrik Fisker found himself working in one of the world's most prestigious - and straight-laced - automotive studios. At that time, BMW wasn't known for Bangling or flame-surfacing. No, BMWs looked good and, more importantly, they looked like BMWs.

That doesn't seem like such a problem in light of recent BMWs that looked like garbage but went like stink. To a designer, residing in a box isn't fun. At Aston Martin, which was under Ford in 2001, Fisker had more latitude. The DB9 and V8 Vantage were and are wild successes. 

Now in his own coachbuilding exercise, Hank Fisker does as he pleases. The new Karma is a dramatic plug-in hybrid that Henry will describe in the clip below.

WATCH AUDI OF AMERICA PRESIDENT TALK ABOUT "THE YEAR OF AUDI"

I know you thought it was the year of the ox. Audi is German; not Chinese. And Audi, in all their righteous arrogance, thinks 2009 is the year of Audi. 

Give Johan de Nysschen 4:38 of your time and see if you can't learn something. Staring at an Audi Sportback Concept for that long, you might just learn whether or not you like the way it looks.

AUDI A4 DOMINATES IN GERMANY - BY THE NUMBERS

Don't consider the Numbers you'll read below to be a death knell for BMW. Nah, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are doing just fine. However, Audi is doing very, very fine. Take this as evidence: whilst Buick's resurgence is mainly fuelled by its Chinese success far from its home market of the USA, Audi's ploy to become the largest luxury automaker in the world sometime next decade starts in the heart of luxury automotive manufacturing. Deutschland.

-----

98,714 - total Audi A4 sales in Germany during the twelve months of 2008; 10,954 more A4s than Audi sold of all its models in America during '08.

2 - rank of the Audi A4 in terms of the best-selling cars in Germany, falling behind only the Golf, a car manufactured by Audi's headmaster, Volkswagen

8.1 - percentage of the German auto market now held by Audi, up 0.8%; twice the gain Audi posted in all of western Europe where its market share now stands at 4.8%

45,304 - total Audi A6 sales in Germany during the twelve months of 2008, which, like the A4's case, leads its respective segment

5 - rank of Audi in terms of best-selling automakers in Germany in 2008, behind Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Opel

10,630 - total sales of the Audi TT in Germany circa 2008, making the two-time Good 12 winner the most successful sports car in Audi's home country

1,003,000 - total worldwide Audi sales in 2008

13 - consecutive years in which Audi has posted improved worldwide sales

5 - countries in which Audi manufactures automobiles, not including Italy, where Audi subsidiary Lamborghini produces all its cars

100 - years of Audi production as of July, 2009

More Audi posts from GoodCarBadCar.net

The Good 12 Supersize - Audi Q5

The Good 12 v2.0 - Audi TT

The Good 12 v2.0 - Audi A4 Avant

Honest Audi Le Mans Video

A6 No-Clean Alcoa Wheels

GALLERY - PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA'S CADILLAC LIMOUSINE - 2 PHOTOS

The 1993 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham Presidential Series was the first presidential limousine to be completely styled, designed, and engineered by General Motors for Secret Service duty. Before Bill Clinton's Caddy, presidential limos were reworked by outside companies for the government.

This doesn't change the secrecy surrounding the elements, configuration, and equipment in presidential limos, two of which were provided to George W. Bush in '01 and '04. (Two, or could it be twenty?) That last DTS Presidential foreshadowed the styling of the civilian DTS which debuted later.

Rumour has it that President-elect Barack Obama's Cadillac limousine is no Cadillac at all, unless you count the Escalade. Apparently this stretch limousine that'll carry Barack and Michelle around on Tuesday is based on the GMT900 platform - that of the Silverado/Tahoe/Suburban/Avalanche/Sierra/Yukon/Yukon XL/Escalade/Escalade EXT variety. The Good Car Guy has done the calculations, and GoodCarBadCar.net is ready to proclaim that the most definining characteristic of the new presidential limousine is..... great weight. Surely this car is heavy.

GALLERY - 2010 TOYOTA PRIUS - 102 PHOTOS

First pictures of the new Toyota Prius revealed a grainy image that made almost everyone think Toyota had improved their dedicated hybrid hatchback. Along came the Honda Insight concept, and almost everyone thought Toyota hadn't gone far enough in the styling department. Then came the production Honda Insight, looking all dowdy and frumpy, and as this gallery shows, the Prius looked alright again.

Usually GoodCarBadCar.net avoids publishing the complete manufacturer press release. But for a car as important as the Prius, The Good Car Guy made an exception.

"Toyota Motor Sales (TMS),U.S.A., Inc. will stage the world premiere of the all-new 2010 Toyota Prius at a press conference at the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The all-new Toyota Prius, with a substantially revised Hybrid Synergy Drive system, will deliver improved mileage, improved performance and a host of innovative new features."

Yup, that's it. Other information has made its way out of Toyota HQ. The EPA combined fuel mileage for the 134-horsepower Toyota Prius will be 50mpg, up from 46mpg. Horsepower is up by 24. The CoD of 0.25 is slightly improved.

GALLERY - LEXUS HS 250h - 69 PHOTOS

Looking for all the world like a twin of the Toyota Corolla, this Lexus sedan is hybrid only. They'll say it's dedicated. Suggesting that the HS250h sits between the sporty little IS and the mid-size luxobarge ES, the HS carries no trademark name like "Prius" for the general populace to latch onto, but one can assume that the four-cylinder/electric powertrain won't be enough to turn away a certain swath of the entry-luxury market which is more prone to finding 300 horsepower.

187 ponies ye will receive. When Lexus talks about dynamics that car enthusiasts are interested in, this is what they say: "The MacPherson strut front suspension is designed to achieve both straight-line and braking control, and a positive steering feel. A double-wishbone rear suspension provides excellent maneuverability, control and comfort with a low spring mount that contributes to better packaging and superior cargo space. Coil springs, anti-roll bars and shock-absorber rebound springs are utilized front and rear. The Lexus HS 250h will have uniquely designed standard 17- and optional 18-inch wheels. The rack-and-pinion steering system utilizes a brushless Electric Power Steering (EPS) motor on the steering column, which provides improved steering feel, a reduction in harsh feedback, and better emissions by not draining engine power like conventional hydraulic systems."

Lexus is known for building superior vehicles that bring no joy to the driver on a twisty road. So enthusiasts hear that the HS250h is extremely stable and steers accurately with no feel whatsoever. If excellent maneuverability comes in tandem with better packaging, maneuverability does not mean agility. Though not familiar with the intricacies of brushless EPS mounted on the steering column, one assumes that, while its designers wouldn't have intended to do so, EPS sucks the life out of the steering-wheel-road connection.

Enthusiasts have been wrong before. Perhaps this dedicated hybrid will be a blast and its fuel savings will make the Infiniti G37 look like a dinosaur. Perhaps not.

GALLERY - 2010 LINCOLN MKT - 65 PHOTOS

Sometimes we can tell when a vehicle is styled with certain parameters firmly set in stone. Dimensions are given with priority to interior space or engine compartment size; and the design suffers. Example given: the 2010 Lincoln MKT.

Check out that rear overhang. Rear overhangs like this don't happen in a designer's mind. Hanging too low and jutting out to the rear way too much, the Lincoln MKT is ruined by its profile view and not terrible helped by the front three-quarter angle. Eek.

The 3.7L engine is a 268-horsepower V6. The 3.5L twin-turbocharged EcoBoost (a phrase you're gonna start hearing a lot) generated 355 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque. All-wheel drive is optional with the 3.7L; standard with the turbocharged mill. This is where Lincoln expects customers wary of full-size SUVs to head in the near future. 

They've already begun to do so with brands that offer such an opportunity. The MKT is a full-size crossover, a term meant to comfort those who were frightened by $4.00/gallon gasoline in the summer of '08. Forget the actual numbers, and crossovers generally offer better on-road traits than the normal SUVs. This MKT, with its toothy grin and generally awkward stance fails to impress on the outside but offers up typically lovely Lincoln internals.

GALLERY - CHRYSLER 200C EV CONCEPT - 26 PHOTOS

Wouldn't it be nice if all those "Buy American" believers wouldn't have to downgrade their expectations in order to fulfill their ideology? It'd mean that, not only would Ford's 2010 Fusion and the Chevrolet Malibu strike Toyota and Honda where it hurts, but Chrysler would too. 

Chrysler's 300 was a start. In that price and size class, however, Chrysler wasn't hitting the mainstream. The Sebring resides where Chrysler most needs credibility. Credibility and Sebring?

In steps the 200C EV Concept at the Detroit auto show. Imagine this: high-end technology and superior styling.... hopefully mixed with quality and durability. Chrysler would have a winner, right? 

The only thing we don't know about the production possibilities of a Chrysler 200 is the reliability/perceived quality quotient. As far as design and technology go, Chrysler goes far with this car. Like the Chevrolet Volt, the 200C EV is basically an electric car with a range-extending gasoline engine, able to travel up to 40 miles without igniting the internal combustion engine.

GALLERY - SUBARU LEGACY CONCEPT - 25 PHOTOS

You don't want to hear that Subaru went and messed up a front-end again, but that may be what you're forced to hear. Now, this is just a concept version of the next Legacy, and the car as a whole is fine and dandy. But the face.... oh, the face.

Strangely enough, the Legacy hasn't been exposed to Subaru's facial torture in the way the Impreza, Tribeca, and Forester have. Up to this point at least.

Subaru says the boxer under the hood is a 3.6L six-cylinder. Symmetrical all-wheel drive is an obviously present and accounted for. Apparently this car was designed to mark the 20th anniversary of the Legacy. Hopefully by the time it is tinkered with for production, the face is toned down some.

HANDFUL OF 2009 NISSAN ALTIMAS RECALLED - ALREADY COMPLETE

A very few MY2009 Nissan Altimas have been recalled, NHTSA says, because they were "manufactured with an out-of-specification weld on the door assembly". Straight up, this Recall has already taken place. Nissan sent 225 examples of their '09 Altima back to the factory where the issue was remedied. NHTSA's notice to the public, and GoodCarBadCar.net's further pronouncement, are just explanations of history now. 

The specific motor vehicle safety standard was #214: side impact protection. '07 and '08 Altimas were part of a Nissan Recall relating to non-deploying airbags. Prior to that, the '09 Altima had been recalled for sucky 16" wheels. Not long before that, the some '08 Altimas were brought back for a loosening bolt in the suspension assembly. Some '02, '05, and '06 Altimas needed ECU reprogramming at dealerships, too. I'm just sayin'.

MY2005 DODGE DURANGO RECALL FOR FUEL LEAKAGE

Due to fuel tank filler tube inlet check valves (what a part name) which "may not fully close at the end of refueling", the 2005 Dodge Durango - 19,024 of them - will be undergoing a NHTSA Recall that should hit Durango mailboxes and phones in February.

Since this fuel tank filler tube inlet check valve fault could allow a little fuel to escape, Dodge dealers will be inspecting the fuel tank inlet check valve. Finding a sketchy example will mean a new fuel tank assembly for '05 Durangos. 

If patience isn't a virtue, call 1-800-853-1403 and ask Chrysler for more info.

ACROSS THE POND - MITSUBISHI LANCER EVO X FQ-360

If there's one thing U.S.-based automakers do efficiently, it is the naming of their cars. Chevrolet Malibu, right? Add LT or some such thing, and you've got it. Even when it comes to more tightly wound and desirable cars, you're still bound by certain limits: Ford Shelby GT500. Meanwhile, a similarly timed introduction from the Germans results in the Audi R8 V10 5.2 FSI Quattro. Seriously.

Then there's this from the British importer of Japanese products: the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X FQ-360. Preferably, that's shortened somewhat officially to be the Mitsubishi Evo X FQ-360. To anyone with any car knowledge, the Evo X FQ-360 would do. And yes, that FQ-360 is necessary. It's significance is nothing to sneeze at.

In the UK, Lancer Evo X buyers have the option of upgrading their 290-horsepower car by about £5,500 and gaining 34 horsepower. This bump takes you to the Lancer Evo X FQ-330. Note the title of this post - we're aiming higher. Spending a minimum of £8,000 more than the base price of an Evo nets you the 354-bhp FQ-360. 

Now, 0-62mph statistics aren't the only thing, but they do tell quite a story. The FQ-330 will chop about 3/10ths of a second from the base car's time. Another 3/10ths will fall by choosing the FQ-360. Fuel mileage, an absolutely terribly fantastically unimportant detail with Lancer Evo X buyers, suffers slightly with the FQ-360. It's probably no more than 2mpg in real world driving.

"Simply put, it's not the car we were hoping for," evo magazine said regarding the run-of-the-mill Lancer Evo X. The British magazine is not all about Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions, mind, and they're not all about horsepower either. So when the regular Evo X didn't impress as it should have, it was no guarantee that the FQ-330 or FQ-360 would either.

"Be in no doubt, when it comes to acceleration this Evo has lost none of the breed’s bare-faced aggression," wrote Roger Green. "Grip and traction levels aren’t just high, they’re faintly ridiculous, feeling utterly unshakeable even when you think you’re pushing hard.....The steering is light, particularly around the straight-ahead, and has lost a little in terms of detail compared to Evos of yore. The brakes too take a similar period of acclimatisation as there is little pedal travel and the huge Brembos bite hard." Ah, but Roger Green's final statement on the FQ-360 might take you by surprise.

"Overall, then, the FQ-360 is a qualified return to form. As a black-top warrior it resolutely gets the job done – there are gnarled roads where nothing will travel faster. But for us a few of those gritty teenage kicks are still missing. And that’s a shame." That's evo's word, which basically means absolutely bang-on the money in these parts. How unfortunate.

Nevertheless, what Roger Green admitted to is a wonderful thing. The Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X FQ-360 will accelerate to 60mph in 4 seconds. With a carbon fiber chin spoiler and a vortex downforce generator with eight fins at the rear, 355mm Brembo brakes at the front of the car, and just 3,440 pounds (1,560 kg) to carry, the FQ-360 is surely capable, even if it has lost some of the old WRC-derived passion.

Oh, but the expense. Forget directly comparing UK prices with U.S. currency exchange - that's not the way automotive pricing works. Brits pay a lot for cars. Simply convering the base price of a UK Lancer Evo X to USD would result in an American paying $41,646, despite the fact that the Lancer Evo X lists for $33,685 in the States. Were the FQ-360 to be available in America, it figures that the £35,499 UK price (which converts to $51,869 today) would give an FQ-360 MSRP of about $45K. 

In other words, Canadians would pay about $56,000 for the privilege, about $15K up on the price of a basic Evo X. In Australia, where they pay the equivalent of £18,757 for basic Evo X privileges, one would assume the Evo X FQ-360 would be under $50,000 AUD. 

But hold on. You can register your interest for the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X FQ-400 at this official Mitsubishi UK page. Price? Too much.

ALFA ROMEO AND MASERATI MAKE AN APPEARANCE ON THE NHTSA RECALL LIST FOR INCORRECT TORQUE

For the first time in a long time, a brand new Alfa Romeo has appeared in the NHTSA (an American governmental organization, remember) Recall database. This is both a good sign and a bad omen. For one thing, it signifies that: yes, Alfa is back. Yeehaw. On the other hand, or perhaps the same hand, it also means that Alfa is back and is ready to be brought back into the garage.

Due to NHTSA's lack of true oil-in-the-veins car guys and gals, auto writers like The Good Car Guy are forced to make educated guesses. See, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration published notice of this here Recall that includes, according to NHTSA, the Maserati Quattroportes from MY2005, the Maserati Quattroporte from MY2006-2008, the Maserati GranTurismo from '08, and the Maserati Alfa Romeo from 2008. 

So that'd be the plurally named Maserati from '05 - didn't know they made the Quattroportes - and the Fiat-connected Maserati Alfa Romeo. Having analyzed this information, it is the belief of The Good Car Guy that NHTSA is referring to the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione that's sold through Maserati dealerships (Fiat owns/runs Maserati, Alfa, Lancia, and kind of Ferrari) and clearly imported by Maserati. Overall 7,912 cars are involved in the Recall.

What's the problem? "Incorrectly torqued upper and lower ball joint nuts may cause the ball joint nuts to loosen", which over time, "could lead to noise, vibration, and damage or separtion of the suspension arm." As NHTSA so capably points out, that increases the risk of a crash.

Wanna check this out with Maserati/Alfa Romeo? 1-201-826-2600. That's gotta be one of the first NHTSA-provided manufacturer phone numbers I've typed that doesn't appear to be toll free. If you're driving one of those cars, it sounds as though you can afford to make the call. By the way, the pic is of the Maserati Quattroporte from MY2008, not the Quattroportes from '05.