The 2011Audi A8 has been unveiled and its a pretty one although its not as bulky as the older models and has gone through a few minor changes in the body and the sleek interior.  As many Audi fans wait for this vehicle there are two versions that will be released. The extended wheelbase and the normal wheel base which is to some more of a drivers car.  Here is an snippet of some of the features this new Audi has to offer.

The A8 NWB V8 is powered by a 4.2-liter FSI V8 that makes 372 horsepower and 328 pound-feet of torque and is mated to an eight-speed automatic. Audi says the car will sprint from zero to 60 mph in less than 5.7 seconds and is expected to deliver 15-percent better fuel economy than its predecessor. All-wheel drive is standard, and a sport differential is optional.

The 2011 Audi A8 will be here at SuperHeroCars

The new model features driver-selectable settings for suspension, steering, throttle, transmission and cornering lights. Among the available driver-assistance technologies are adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go, night vision with infrared thermal imaging and pedestrian detection, lane- and side-assist technology and automatic emergency braking.

The 2011 A8 also has a standard Bose surround-sound audio system, as well as an optional Bang & Olufsen advanced system with 1,400 watts and 19 speakers.

They have not given us any price ranges for this car as yet, but its ok. We here at SuperHeroCars now offer in house financing for those looking to attain such luxury.

Source: http://www.automotive-fleet.com/News/Story/2009/12/Revealed-2011-Audi-A8.aspx

American cars have been the poster for muscle cars for years, but that is soon going to change. As Dodge is now part of Fiat, their vehicles are getting a Euro makeover for the years 2010 and beyond.  When this merger took place we knew this day would come when our vehicles would not look the same again.

“The Challenger and Charger are by definition American vehicles and you cannot turn them into anything else, thus they are also going to remain Dodge (branded cars) worldwide,” Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne told Automotive News Europe late last month. Meanwhile, vehicles such as the restyled Journey and the Nitro, due in Europe in 2011, could be sold as Fiats here and in Latin America.

Will you Drive This Dodge?

As times change, more and more vehicles will be made with that Euro flare to fit market trends and environmental changes.  Lets hope the markets react well to the new image of these cars that have been a stamp of good old American Muscle.

The future in Europe looks this way for other Chrysler Group brands.

1. The lineup of Chrysler brand cars could grow to include models currently sold by Fiat subsidiary Lancia. The Lancia models that may be turned into Chryslers include the Delta compact and the next-generation Ypsilon subcompact, which is due in the second half of 2011. The Delta and Ypsilon are expected to continue to be sold as Lancias in Italy, which accounts for about 90 percent of the automaker’s total sales.

This says that the Lancia accounts for 90 percent of total auto sales in Italy, who cares? That is in Europe, as stated before their roads are a bit smaller and the culture is completely different. Did anyone do market research on how many Americans would really purchase a Fiat Lancia?

2. There will be no changes at Jeep. Its lineup of SUVs and crossovers will continue to be sold.

Separately, Chrysler’s Ram pickups could be sold in Europe as part of the Fiat Professional light commercial vehicle unit’s portfolio. Fiat has not given a timetable for an official launch of the Ram pickup launch in Europe. Currently, Rams are sold in Europe only by private importers.

According to company figures for 2008, Chrysler Group sold 87,637 units in Europe. Jeep was the top-selling brand with 32,542 units, followed by Chrysler brand’s 28,936 sales and Dodge’s 26,159 units.

Fiat Group Automobiles sold 1.17 million units in Europe last year, according European automaker association ACEA. The Fiat brand led with 957,267 units followed by Lancia’s 113,978 sales and Alfa Romeo’s 102,223 units.

http://www.autonews.com/article/20091206/COPY01/312069985/1076

This past weekend marked the end of the governments cash for clunkers program, and for some dealers the honeymoon is over. In an Automotivenews.com article many dealers spell out the problems they have been having with the program. Many dealers who are taking part in this program are working hard to reach those expected  sales milestones; while others have been buried in paperwork just to even get the government rebates. Here are the few problems that dealers are having with the clunkers program.

1. Rarely smoothly

The store took in 60 clunkers and had been reimbursed for just seven by Saturday afternoon. Eret says he has been filing 13 to 18 documents per clunker trade as well as filling out online forms.

If everything goes well, he said, that process can take as little as 40 minutes. But it has rarely gone smoothly, and the store doesn’t want to be left being owed thousands of dollars because of paperwork troubles. “We want to do last-minute deals,” Eret said, “but we have to make sure we can get reimbursed.”

- So the more clunker deals that are done; the harder it will to be paid for the rebates. Out of 60 Clunkers the dealer was only paid for 7; that ratio doesn’t seem to add up. Its not that the dealer wont get his cash; he may just have to wait a bit longer to see that check.

2. Busy, but not crazy

Nearly all the sales staff at Dean Sellers Ford in suburban Detroit were working with customers in the showroom Saturday just as the store was winding down its clunker trades. “It’s been busy, but I can’t say it has been crazy,” said Dean Sellers, the general sales manager. “It’s not like everyone waited until the last minute. They knew it was coming to an end.”

Sellers said he’d only do another clunker trade if a customer came in with all the required paperwork that would ensure the deal wouldn’t be rejected by the government. “Our goal, if we put a clunker deal together now, is to have the paperwork in by noon on Monday,” he said.

- Many dealers have seen a spike in showroom traffic since the government program started; but out of all those customers many didn’t not qualify for the program, when they don’t qualify they leave the showroom floor. In another complaint one dealers in Detroit sold 120 clunker deals and has only been paid for 14 so far.

Cash For Clunkers has is a double edged sword

3. Computer crash

“The government’s computer system crashed yesterday,” said Rick Szmigiel, sales manager at Ferndale Honda just north of Detroit. “The paperwork is going through the system, but we are seeing some rejections,” he said. The store did 22 clunker deals since July.

The Transportation Department’s cars.gov Web site for dealers was down for at least an hour yesterday afternoon, preventing dealers from filing rebate claims as the four-week program heads into its final days.

That computer crash was one reason the National Automobile Dealers Association and Japanese automaker Mazda Friday asked the Obama administration to extend the Monday deadline for submission of cash-for-clunkers claims. They cited concerns over the ability of government computers to handle a surge of final sales.

- Wow, in today’s day and age the clunkers computer system crashed? With all the social media hype the new administration has been boasting about, they cant keep the clunkers program computers up and running. This also brings to light another concern; how will they handle the back log of paperwork even after the program is over this week?

4. No extension

A spokeswoman for Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the deadline would not be extended.

“Secretary LaHood said the program will end Monday at 8 p.m. That remains the case,” spokeswoman Jill Zuckman said in an e-mail Friday.

Zuckman said the computer outage “was related to the substantial increase in capacity that the department is bringing online to review transactions and process payments to dealers.”

She said the problem has been fixed.

Mazda North American Operations, like NADA, said an Aug. 24 deadline for new car sales under the program was acceptable. The automaker asked for an filing-deadline extension of three or four days.

-It would be nice to extend the program; but we knew it would come to an end. But maybe the program could use a break to measure its effectiveness and reach. It would be a great idea to suspend the program, evaluate what is working, fix the glitches in the system and then maybe roll out a new plan which is works better for the dealers.

5. Low inventories

At Tamaroff Honda in suburban Detroit, there were few customers in the showroom Saturday, though the phones were ringing. The store took in about 100 clunkers before cutting off the program Thursday. “We got rid of many ’09s and we are a bit low on inventory,” said salesman Treniel Williams.

Asked to compare Saturday’s showroom traffic with volume seven days earlier, he said: “Last Saturday we were booming.”

Most dealership officials expect a sharp drop in business next week,

- This sharp drop in business within the next week will cause many dealers to start crying out for the clunkers program again. Many customers will stay home now that they rebates are not government backed and now the dealers are low on inventory. Wow looks like the cash for clunkers was a success, depending on who you ask.

           6. AutoNation, Group 1 halt

Two of the nation’s biggest auto chains — AutoNation and Group 1 Automotive Inc. — also pulled the plug early on cash-for-clunkers.

AutoNation said that it would halt all clunker deals at the close of business Friday at its stores.

A staff of 40 to 50 people at AutoNation’s main back-office operation in Dallas was to spend the weekend attempting to process about 1,000 contracts that had not been submitted yet, AutoNation spokesman Marc Cannon said.

Cannon said that AutoNation has been reimbursed on a small number of its 11,000 clunker sales. On Thursday, Cannon said AutoNation was owed $45 million for its clunker deals.

 - Even the largest auto chain is owed $45 million in clunker sales; what makes the other smaller dealers believe they can get they cash on time.  Its not question why they are choosing to halt the program.

The Cash For Clunkers program was a success; the object was to get people to start spending more and to get the auto industry back on track. It wasn’t put in place to fix everything. But one thing is clear; many are unhappy with the results. But as many dealers are busy on their paperwork and trying to get reimbursed lets hope all of this brings the economy back on track.

Source: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090822/ANA05/908229994/1078&AssignSessionID=373326151678011