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Toyota and Hyundai turned up the heat in the competitive mid-size sedan segment at the 2014 New York International Auto Show by releasing refreshed and all-new versions of the popular Camry and Sonata. The improvements made by each respective brand were similar: more athletic exterior styling cues, new interiors and even more advanced technology features.
2015 Camry
Before the refreshed version of the Camry made its debut in New York, Toyota reminded members of the media of the Camry’s past popularity. In 2013, the Camry was Toyota’s top-selling model with over 408,000 un ...
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I’ve attended the majority of the Automotive Forums sponsored by NADA and J.D. Power held in conjunction with the New York International Auto Show over the past four years; however, the conference’s fifth showing was likely the most informative and thought-provoking thus far.
Since a full day of presentations and panel discussion left too much usable content to be shared in a brief blog post, the following are condensed points and comments I found to be among the most interesting made during this year’s forum. Note that while many of these were derived from statements made ...
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Members of NADA Used Car Guide’s valuation staff are eagerly gearing up to attend the annual New York International Auto Show (NYIAS), which kicks off next week at the Jacob Javits Center in downtown New York City. Press preview days begin on Wednesday, April 16 and will run through Thursday; on Friday, the show will transition to public days which run through April 27.
Prior to the press days, the NYIAS is hosting the 2014 Automotive Forum on Tuesday, April 15, sponsored by NADA and J.D. Power. This one-day event brings together leaders from OEMs, suppliers, retailers and the med ...
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When first announced in mid-February, GM stated that about 800,000 vehicles were affected by the ignition switch recall. Shortly after, the figure doubled and then grew again later in the month to a total of about 2.6 million 2003-2011 Chevrolet, Saturn and Pontiac compact models.
On April 7, GM started making repairs on vehicles affected by the faulty part. Officials at GM say that the actual replacement process only takes about a half hour, but because of the sheer number of impacted vehicles, the repair could take weeks or even months due to limited availability of replacement parts. ...
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GM has had a rough couple of weeks. Starting in February, the automaker started mass recalls stemming from faulty ignition switches. Despite all of the unfavorable media attention, though, GM actually managed to increase new sales in March by 4.1%. Sales for GM’s Buick and GMC brands were up by respective figures of 13.4% and 7.4%, and even controversy-stricken Chevrolet saw a gain of 3.3%.
While sales were up for all of GM’s mainstream brands, the same can’t be said about its luxury division Cadillac, where sales fell by 6.3%. Taking a closer look, sales for ...
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Over the past several years, Mazda Motors has been on a roller coaster ride that has seen it go from a financial state of perennial losses to one of record profits, with many factors playing a part in the company’s turnaround. Being the small automaker that it is, Mazda lacks deep pockets to reach into during difficult times and doesn’t enjoy the same level of financial stability as its larger Japanese counterparts, which has made for an uncertain future at times. With its solid track record as a technological innovator and a little bit of good fortune, however, the automaker i ...
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Toyota Motor Corporation has some of the highest retaining three-year-old trucks and SUVs, according to our latest edition of NADA Perspective, a special report focusing on used vehicle price performance.
Of the 10 segments analyzed in the report, Toyota produced models in nine of them, and of those, Toyota and Lexus models ranked among the top three spots in every single one.
In the mainstream sector, Toyota topped three of the six segments: mid-size utility with the 4Runner at 79.8%, mid-size pickup with its Tacoma at 80.7% and large-pickup with the Tundra at 71.6%. Another of the ...
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On Feb. 10, GM announced a recall of model year 2005-2007 Chevrolet Cobalt and 2007 Pontiac G5 vehicles due to ignition switches that could inadvertently be switched off from too much weight on the key ring or jarring road conditions, factors that could cause the engine to shut off and prevent airbag deployment in the event of a crash. A series of fatalities linked to the defective ignition switch prompted GM to issue the recall and the automaker has since associated 12 fatalities to the problem.
Two weeks later, GM increased the recall to include model year 2006-2007 Chevrolet HHR ...
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Disappointing sales of the Dodge Dart led to a weeklong layoff for 325 employees at the Belvidere Assembly Plant in Northern Illinois last week. Chrysler Group confirmed the layoffs on March 3 shortly after releasing depressed February sales figures showing an 11% decline of all Dodge deliveries, and an even worse 37% decrease for the Dart.
Officials at Chrysler used the weeklong layoff to balance lofty vehicle supply with slowing demand. Through the first two months of the year Dart deliveries were down by 33% compared to 2013, and days’ supply has averaged 127 days. These are di ...
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For much of its history, Hyundai was known as a manufacturer of cheap, uninspired vehicles that were widely underappreciated by much of the automotive community. However, the winds of change arrived at the 2007 New York International Auto Show when the brand revealed its Concept Genesis Premium Sports Sedan. The concept would prove to be a preview of the all-new Genesis sedan, which went on sale in the United States in June 2008 and extended the brand’s reach into luxury territory with premium packaging that included company firsts, such as a rear-wheel drive setup and optional 4.6-l ...
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