Pininfarina, Bollore aim for autumn launch of electric car

An electric car developed by Italian design and engineering company Pininfarina S.p.A. and French financier Vincent Bollore may be available by autumn.

The two European firms initially will aim the Bluecar at fleet customers such as rental car companies and start private sales later. The car will be available as soon as this autumn, depending on the results of crash tests, Bollore said at the Geneva auto show.

Bollore, head of the Bollore group, said two battery plants that have recently been inaugurated in France would each have an annual production capacity of 15,000 30 kWh batteries per year by 2013.

"With this capacity we can make 30,000 Pininfarina cars or 10,000 buses, or 60,000 small urban vehicles," Bollore said. "Our objective is a mix of the three," he said.

Pininfarina CEO Silvio Angori said he expected to ship 2,000 of the electric cars in 2011.

Bollore is throwing its weight behind lithium-metal-polymer batteries -- a different technology from the lithium-ion batteries other carmakers are using.

Bollore said support from Italian banks for Pininfarina meant the Italian company was free from problems. Angori said the group's net loss would narrow markedly this year.

305-hp Mustang rated at 31 mpg on highway

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co., losing a heated sales battle with Chevrolet's new Camaro, said today that its 2011 Mustang with an upgraded V-6 engine will be the first sports car with more than 300 hp with a highway fuel economy rating above 30 mpg.

Ford said the 305-hp 2011 Mustang 3.7-liter V-6 with a six-speed automatic transmission was certified by the EPA this week at 31 mpg on the highway and 19 mpg in the city.

The 2011 mode goes on sale this spring. Ford says it has about 11,000 dealer orders for the Mustang.

Jim Hall, a longtime industry consultant with 2953 Analytics in suburban Detroit, said the EPA certification of a 300-hp engine that tops 30 mpg is a first.

The Chevrolet Camaro, the Mustang's top rival, is equipped with a 3.6 liter V-6 rated at 304 hp and 29 mpg on the highway. The Lexus RX 450h hybrid with a 3.5-liter V-6 generates 295 hp and is rated at 32 mpg city/ 28 highway.

The Camaro has outsold the Mustang for nine straight months. In February, GM sold 6,482 Camaros while Ford sold 5,115 Mustangs.

Ford, however, outsold GM on an overall basis in February, the first time it had done so since 1998.

Muscle car wars
The muscle car segment has been a historically important battleground for Detroit automakers and one of the only segments -- along with full size trucks and SUVs -- where import brands have not made significant headway.

Ford plans to tout the 2011 Mustang's improved fuel economy during a marketing blitz when the new model reaches dealerships this spring. Ford executives began their pitch to reporters today.
“At no other time in Mustang's history -- for that matter, in automotive history -- have we been able to talk about 305 horsepower and 31 mpg. The Mustang truly is a no-compromises sports car,” Derrick Kuzak, Ford group vice president of global product development, said in a statement.

The Mustang with the standard six-speed manual transmission is rated at 30 mpg on the highway and 19 mpg in the city.
This 3.7-liter engine replaces a 4.0-liter, 210-hp engine rated at 24 mpg on the highway.

Marketing efforts
Amy Marentic, marketing manager for Ford's cars and crossovers, said the automaker's research has shown that fuel economy is one of the major reasons that consumers rule out buying a Mustang.

The marketing campaign Ford will roll out to support the launch of the new Mustang will emphasize improvements in the fuel economy and interior of the sports car, she said.

"The Mustang is a very emotional car but we're going to give people a rational reason to purchase," she said.

Shawn Wright, Philip Nussel and Reuters contributed to this report

GM back on track no longer closing 661 dealerships

GM plans to call representatives of all 661 rejected dealerships by late Monday to notify them of its intent to begin settlement talks, Bunnell said. It will start sending two-to-three-page letters of intent by the end of next week for dealers to sign and return within 10 days, he said.

Dealers then will have 60 days from the day they sign to send documentation complying with requirements in the letter, such as information about working capital, location, licensing, facilities and floorplan financing.

They also will have to return any wind-down money received from GM as they prepared to close by October. Dealerships received between $5,000 and $1 million in wind-down money, depending on their size, Bunnell said.

Once dealers comply with all the requirements of the letter of intent, they can start ordering cars from GM, Bunnell said.

The 500 or so dealers not designated for reinstatement can still ask to be considered for settlement talks, he said. Dealers who prefer financial compensation over reinstatement can request that option, Bunnell said. GM will arbitrate the remainder.

GM's action was hailed by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.,who was instrumental in getting the arbitration law passed.

Said Hoyer: "It is encouraging news that GM is allowing so many dealerships the chance to reopen without arbitration."

Read more: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100305/RETAIL07/100309917/1400#ixzz0hMBDAerT

Toyota keeping secrets??

Toyota has for years blocked access to data stored in devices similar to airline "black boxes" that could explain crashes blamed on sudden unintended acceleration, according to an Associated Press review of lawsuits nationwide and interviews with auto crash experts.

The AP investigation found that Toyota has been inconsistent — and sometimes even contradictory — in revealing exactly what the devices record and don't record, including critical data about whether the brake or accelerator pedals were depressed at the time of a crash.

By contrast, most other automakers routinely allow much more open access to information from their event data recorders, commonly known as EDRs.

AP also found that Toyota:

• Has frequently refused to provide More

1993 Olds Achieva Power Steering leak -variable or not?

I have an Olds Achieva, 1993 with the 3.3L V6 in it. The power steering has leaked since I got it, along with the oil. Come to find out the company who worked on it in Jackson didn't do the work correctly but now it's my problem. The oil filter wasn't tight, and they didn't put the power steering pump back together correctly. You could see where they wrenched on it quite a bit, but it was leaking by the sensor. I got a GM drawing, it shows 3 gaskets or seals in there, most likely O rings, but it only had 1. We replaced the 1 it originally had (before I seen the drawing) and it still leaked. We can see where 2 of them could go, but not 3.

My questions are, how do you tell if you have variable steering or not? I read during some research if it does have it, there would be a sensor, without no sensor. If this is true, mine has it. There's a sensor and a hose connected to the same area, which is where the leak is.

I also would like to know, if this sensor should spin freely? It has since we got it, and Autozone claimed there should be a clip to hold it in place. The GM drawing shows no clip, and the guy there said he didn't know if it should spin. The knob (for lack of a better word) at the end, is all tore up where you can see they took pliers to it, but it does not loosen or tighten.
My last question is, does anyone know where I can get this assembly? I called a couple junk yards, they all say it comes with the pump only, no reservoir or connections, and they won't sell me them. I am almost afraid to ask what GM wants for this thing! They wanted 50 bucks for the O rings! Any help is appreciated!

Response:
1) There are 2 types of ways for the sensor to be mounted. 1 is that it screws into the connection. The other is held in by a retaining collar. With the retaining collar the sensor itself will have o-rings to stop any fluid from escaping and will rotate with resistance when NOT running. What's the name of the shop so others avoid having these problems.
2) That would explain, or could explain, why the GM drawing shows 3 O rings and we can only see where 2 might go. It is leaking at the sensor area, so that O ring may be missing, but we've not been able to get it off of there either, and didn't want to force it. You could see where it was chewed up from pliers, so we don't know if it's broken or not, and I'm sure it'll be expensive from GM. Since they want 45 bucks for the O rings themselves and you can buy them for 3 bucks at the parts store!
I'm hoping to find another unit like it at a junk yard, and just swap it. Since I'm unsure how to fix it, what to order, how it goes together etc. I can't afford to take it to a shop, we replaced the power steering, alternator and water pump ourselves, what a chore that was!
(The Water Pump)

When cold, starts easily and immediately dies

1988 T'Bird, 3.8L. When cold, starts easily and immediately dies. Repeat 4 or 5 times, stays running but very rough idle. Wild (1-2000 RPM) fluctuations. Put it in gear, stalls. Repeat until finally under way. engine missing dramatically accompanied by wild fluctuations in RPMs. Top speed of maybe 50-55 MPH. Stop at red light, low swing of RPM fluctuation- dies. Starts right up, shift into neutral, feather the gas pedal to keep it running, light turns green drop into gear and sputter away. Problem came on rather suddenly. So far I have replaced dist cap and rotor and added injector cleaner to gas to no avail. Plugs and wires are suspect but it ran sweet right up 'til now.

Response:
The first step is to extract any check engine light codes. This can be done free and here is how to do it: Ford Trouble Codes

Once you have the codes, it may guide you to your issue. There are many things that can make this problem happen. A failing MAF Sensor, Vacuum leak, If you notice smoke.. an injector could be stuck open and giving the o2sensors false readings... the good news is that it restarts..... 

Anti-lock brake problem

Hopefully someone here can help me. I have a 2003 Chevy Astro Van and everytime I use my brakes my anti-lock brakes kick in with their grinding just as I am almost at a stop. It is really annoying. I had someone look at my brakes a few weeks ago. He told me there was nothing wrong that my brakes are all over 50% and that it's just the anti-locks working when it's slippery. Well, it happens ALL the time, even on dry blacktop. I hope this is nothing serious or expensive. Any help is greatly appreciated.


Thank you!

Response:
1) my 07 f550 does the same thing and ford dont know why but has been doing this for 170000 miles with no other problems

2) Number one cause of this issue is a failing Speed sensor. The speed sensors are located inside the front hub bearing assemblies. This means you have to replace the entire hub bearing......

Or, you can just remove the ABS fuse or Relay to deactivate the ABS system. The ABS will no longer work which means it will no longer give you a problem when it is dry out. Just won't work in the wet, icy roads either. Once you save up the money, you may want to have the ABS system fixed.

1996 lincoln town car (help)

well the car has 118 thou on it. The rear end air bags where replaced with springs and struts but the check air suspension light stays on, washer fluid light came on and shorty after every once in a while a buzzing noise comes from under the dash. some where usually when i let off the gas peddle.  i was thinking it was becouse i needed to replace the washer fluid so i did and it stopped but outta the blue a couple hours later its doing it again and honestly its driving me crazy.  Any advice would be great. annoying ringing sound coming from under the dash sounds like a ringing the ear but louder, goes away when i accelerate this is driving nuts please help...

Response:
1) Sounds like a relay. Find it while it's making the noise and you will find a part nimber on it. Go to your local parts store and have them cross reference it or go to the dealership to find out what it controls.

2) What you are describing sounds like a vacuum leak. Check your heater control harness where it cinnects.

1994 camaro z28 not starting

it was running perfect and it sat for several mths and was supposely started once in awhile i tried 1 day took me 3 days to get running it ran perfect then it sat for 8 hours and hasnt started again it wines now so i think its the starter but dont have the money to get someone to switch it for me and i am not sure if it is the only issue

Response:
1) Frozen solenoid. Tap on it with a hammer.
2) it sounds its a lose wire my car did that and after spending 800 bucks to have every part you can think of change by the shop i kept taking it too.  i finally took it some other place good year found it was just a lose wire and fix it for 30 bucks. if you take the starter off just remember to color coat which wire as to where it goes and just put it on the same as you took it off its not hard to change them i have done them before.

1996 Buick Regal acelleration problems

It has 60k miles. Had fuel filter replaced and fuel injectors cleaned about six months ago.


Recently started - when accelerating or going up at hill it will momentarily jerk.

Any ideas what might cause this?

Response:
1) Try a better grade of gas. IE Higher Octane instead of who has the lowest price. Check your owners manual for the recommended fuel octane rating. You may be suprised.
2) Get your catalytic convertor checked to and if it is bad and since the car has less than 100k on it they have to change it for free its a federal law that i learned about when i need mine changed but i was over about 1000 miles just my luck lol