2010 Audi R8 V10 nets big bucks for charity

The chance to own the first 2010 Audi R8 5.2 FSI quattro delivered to the U.S. brought a top bid of $500,000 at a charity auction in Florida last Saturday.

According to Audi, the car was auctioned at the 3rd annual Boca Raton Concours d'Elegance auction and the money went to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County. Audi boasted that its entry easily topped the $350,000 winning bid to own one of the first 2010 Ferrari Californias.

Audi hasn't released pricing on the 2010 R8 V10 yet, but the auction folks put the retail value of the car on the block in the neighborhood of $180,000.

Admittedly, Florida is a long way from the Up to Speed command center, but we couldn't resist the opportunity to run a picture of this car.

-- Martin Zimmerman

Photo: Audi R8 V10 5.2 FSI quattro. Credit: Audi

Petersen to exhibit automotive oddities

How many times have you seen a car of dubious design and pondered: What were they thinking?

The same thought occurred to the folks at the Petersen Automotive Museum. The result is a new exhibit opening Saturday called — you guessed it — "What Were They Thinking?: The Misfits of Motordom."

As the name implies, visitors will find an array of automotive oddballs and misfires dating from the 1906 Adams Farwell (a problem-plagued, radial-engined car manufactured in Dubuque, Iowa) to the Pontiac Aztek, new models of which graced dealer showrooms as recently as 2005.

UPDATE: Petersen officials said Monday that the Aztek was a last-minute "no show" and is not in the exhibit.

“Whether mass-produced or prototype, the Misfits of Motordom serve to illustrate that, while certain cars are important because of what they are, an equally large number are important because of what they are not,” the exhibit’s press material states.

The exhibit features some of the usual suspects — the aforementioned Aztek (much maligned for its weird design), the Ford Edsel, the AMC Pacer and the Chevy Corvair. These well-known cars all suffered from various design and/or safety issues, although their inclusion in the exhibit could upset fans who have come to love these vehicles, warts and all.

Of more interest are the truly one-off, or simply off, entries like the Helicron, a 1932 French car propelled by a, well, propeller. Not surprisingly, the museum notes, the car “posed a serious danger to pedestrians who inadvertently came into contact with its spinning prop.”

The ominously named Survival Car, a joint project of Liberty Mutual Insurance and the Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory, dates from 1957. It was a sincere effort to cut down on highway fatalities, and included then-rare safety features such as seat belts and head restraints. It didn’t catch on, the museum says, in part because of “negative associations.”

Then there was the 1957 Studebaker-Packard Astral, a full-sized mock-up of what an atomic-powered car might look like. Standard features included a single, centrally located wheel and a “protective curtain of energy” that fended off other vehicles, rendering the hated collision damage waiver superfluous.

OK, one more. How about a pair of motorized roller skates, circa 1958. The skates were powered by a one-horsepower piston engine worn like a backpack. With a top speed of 17 miles per hour and a list price of $250 (insurance premium not included), the skates were “not a commercial success,” the museum notes drolly.

"What Were They Thinking" runs through Sept. 20 at the Petersen Museum, at 6060 Wilshire Blvd. For more information, call (323) 930-2277, or visit the museum’s website.

-- Martin Zimmerman

Do American car buyers trust Fiat?

When Fiat pulled out of the U.S. market 25 years ago, it left behind a reputation for selling cars that were temperamental and repair-prone.

With the Italian automaker now plotting a return to these shores, a new survey indicates that the bad mojo may have worn off a bit over time.

When market research firm TNS asked 2,500 U.S. adults what their expectations were regarding Fiat vehicles, 22% said they expected quality and reliability to be below the industry average.

Not a ringing endorsement, to be sure. But the same percentage of respondents said they expected Fiat to sell vehicles that were above average in quality and reliability. That, according to TNS, “suggests earlier decades-old quality concerns are smaller today than some expected.”

Fiat scored highest in terms of fuel economy expectations, with almost 40% of those surveyed saying they expect Fiat vehicles to provide better-than-average mileage.

The Fiat 500, a tiny two-door hatchback designed to compete with the popular Mini, has been a huge hit in Europe. If Fiat brings the car to the U.S. and it fails to deliver superior mileage, TNS warned, the company “risks lost sales from disappointed customers.”

Fiat, which pulled out of the American market in 1984, has been studying various paths for returning to the world’s biggest car market. The latest version involves buying a stake in faltering Chrysler, thereby gaining access to Chrysler’s U.S. manufacturing operations and dealer network.

It has also weighed bringing its Alfa Romeo brand back to the U.S., a car once beloved here as a classic '60s sports car and the chosen ride of Dustin Hoffman in the 1967 film “The Graduate.”

-- Martin Zimmerman

Photo: The Fiat 500 at Torino Palasport Olimpico on July 5, 2007 in Turin, Italy. Credit: Giuseppe Cacace / Getty Images

Consumer Reports releases top picks for 2009

Consumer Reports magazine released its top new- and used-vehicle picks for 2009, and the results include two newcomers to the top of the rankings –- the Toyota Highlander as the top choice among mid-sized SUVs and the Chevrolet Avalanche as the best pickup truck.

Here are the top picks by category:

Small sedan: Hyundai Elantra SE
Mid-sized SUV: Toyota Highlander
Pickup truck: Chevrolet Avalanche
Best overall vehicle: Lexus LS 460
Family sedan: Honda Accord
Upscale sedan: Infiniti G37
Fun to drive: Mazda MX-5 Miata
Small SUV: Toyota RAV4
Minivan: Toyota Sienna
Green car: Toyota Prius

For more info. on the top picks, go to to the CR website.

CR also released its latest ranking of what it considers to be the most reliable used cars:

Small cars: Honda Civic, Toyota Echo, Scion xB, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Matrix, Pontiac Vibe, Mazda3, Mazda Protege, Subaru Impreza.

Family cars: Honda Accord, Toyota Prius, Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Toyota Camry (except ’08 V-6), Subaru Outback (6-cylinder), Nissan Altima.

Minivans: Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey.

Small SUVs: Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, Subaru Forester, Mitsubishi Outlander.

Mid-sized and large SUVs: Honda Pilot, Toyota Highlander, Lexus RX, Toyota Land Cruiser, Toyota 4Runner, Infiniti FX35, Acura MDX, Infiniti QX4, Lexus GX, Hyundai Santa Fe, Subaru Tribeca, Nissan Xterra (’05-’08), Toyota Sequoia.

In its first-ever ranking of “best new-car value,” the magazine’s top pick was the Toyota Prius hybrid, which was cited for comparatively low cost of ownership, high fuel economy and relatively high road test scores.

CR also ranked the automakers in terms of their overall output for the U.S. market. Honda, Subaru and Toyota finished first, second and third, respectively. Chrysler finished last.

For a photo gallery of each category winner, click here.

-- Martin Zimmerman

Photo: CR's pickup pick, the 2009 Chevy Avalanche. Credit: General Motors

Lexus wins top prize for customer service

If you've had your car in for service at your local dealership recently and the experience was not "truly exceptional," your dealer was probably not represented in the top 10 brands on J.D. Power and Associates’ 2009 Customer Service Index (CSI).

The report, which was released today, measures satisfaction among vehicle owners who visit a service department for maintenance or repair work. Lexus is this year's winner with the highest index ranking in the category.

The top 10 companies on the list are: 1. Lexus; 2. Jaguar; 3. BMW; 4. Cadillac; 5. Acura; 6. Hummer; 7. Land Rover; 8. Buick; 9. Saturn; 10. Lincoln.

Lexus unseated the now No. 2 Jaguar, which took top honors the last two years. J.D. Power research director Jon Osborn said the CSI survey this year was recalibrated to better differentiate and identify the companies going the extra mile in the service experience.

"We've raised the bar on the survey this year by making the top box choice 'truly exceptional' versus 'outstanding,' which was the highest ranking you could select in years prior."

A case in point is the Newport Beach Lexus service bay (pictured at right). It has a fireplace, grand piano, plasma TVs and a pastry and cappuccino bar for customers waiting to pick up their vehicle. A loaner vehicle and free car wash is also part of the service experience.

Other standouts in the study were Hummer, up 10 spots on the list from last year, and Land Rover, up 20 spots in the ranking.

-- Joni Gray

Photo credits: J.D. Power & Associate, Newport Beach Lexus

A car without a plug is no car at all

An increasing amount of attention has been paid of late to electric and plug-in hybrid cars. Gearheads, regular folks and, lately, Congressmen wonder aloud: Who will make them? What technology will they use? And will their fancy lithium-ion batteries overheat, creating an uncontrollable plasma fire that burns down the entire neighborhood? (Related query: Will Geico cover that event?)

Much less scrutiny, however, has been given to a topic that's arguably far more critical to the future of electrified transportation: Where the heck will we plug these things in?

In order for electric cars to succeed, they need a wide-ranging network of places where they can be recharged. Charging at night in the family garage isn't enough -- beyond the fact that many people don't have garages to begin with, charging stations are necessary for people to make long road trips, charge while at work, etc.

But developing that infrastructure is a huge challenge, one that would likely cost billions of dollars and require careful planning and standardization. How that issue is confronted, as much as perfecting the chemistry and costs of high-energy-density batteries, is likely to dictate whether electrons will ever truly replace carbon molecules when it comes time to get from point A to point B.

That's the concern of a new group, Project Get Ready. Announced this week by the Rocky Mountain Institute, a sustainability-focused think tank based in Snowmass, Colo., it's an initiative designed to coordinate, develop and promote efforts to prepare for a plug-in infrastructure.

Among the group's concerns: Who will pay for the installation? How do drivers get billed for charging? And how do we make sure that every car will be able to charge at the same locations?

Valet Girl loses steam, cuts prices

The sour economy is forcing Valet Girls to skimp a bit.

In better days, Valet Girls, an all-female parking company based in Malibu, charged Hollywood party planners a premium price so their guests could enjoy the novelty of handing the keys to their BMW or Bentley over to a young, tank-top-wearing woman.

But lavish company-sponsored parties are suddenly out-of-favor (being seen as a sign of corporate excess during a time of belt-tightening) and Valet Girls is feeling the squeeze. The 26-year old company, which heretofore boasted an unbroken string of annual sales growth, has seen bookings plummet 60% so far this year compared to the same period of 2008.

In response, the company laid off 50% of their staff and cut hourly pay for its valets from $10 an hour to $8. And this week, it slashed its hourly rate from $36 per valet to $26.

Co-founder Nancy Saltzman said the decision to cut pricing was a matter of survival.

Kia's new Euro concept car

The European automotive press is buzzing about a new concept vehicle from Kia that is expected to stir up the continent’s popular MPV market once the car goes into production.

Currently dubbed the No. 3 Concept Car, the multipurpose vehicle features a striking glass roof canopy that extends the windshield almost all the way over the roof of the vehicle, interrupted only by a diagonal support. The Korean automaker plans to unveil the vehicle at the Geneva auto show, which opens March 3.

Concept cars often don’t make it to the production stage, but European media reports say Kia plans to launch a production model closely resembling the No. 3 later this year.

MPVs are popular in Europe, where owners try to cram a lot of vehicle into as little space as possible. The new Kia is expected to compete with such current vehicles as the Fiat Idea, Nissan Note and Opel Meriva.

—Martin Zimmerman

Photo: No. 3 Concept Car

Credit: Kia

Honda's new hybrid is hot in Japan

The new Honda Insight hybrid, slated to go on sale in April in the U.S., is already big in Japan.

Reuters reported today that Honda has received almost triple the number of orders it expected for the car after it went on sale in its homeland on Feb 6.

“The response has been overwhelming,” Honda executive Hiroshi Kobayashi told reporters at a test-drive event in Tokyo. Demand has been such that the automaker intends to expand its production plans for the car, Kobayashi said, although he declined to specify by how much.

The Insight, he added,  is drawing interest from a broad range of vehicle owners, from mini-vehicles to sedans to minivans. There’s currently a 30-day wait to take delivery of a new Insight.

The strong response is occurring even as the Japanese auto market suffers through the same slump that is depressing auto sales around the globe. New vehicle sales were off 20% last month in Japan.

The Insight’s popularity could be due to its price — it starts at around 1.89 million yen (just under $20,000 at current exchange rates), almost 20% less than the rival Toyota Prius.

In Japan, Honda is also boasting fuel economy of around 61 miles per gallon for the Inisght. Based on U.S. mileage tests, the current-generation Prius gets 46 MPG in combined city/highway driving. The third-generation Prius, due in showrooms in the U.S. and Japan this spring, will get around 50 MPG combined, Toyota has said.

You may remember that the original Insight, a futuristic looking two-seat that hit these shores in December 1999 — actually beating the Prius to the U.S. market by more than six months. The Prius made up the lost ground, however, and became the purpose-built hybrid of choice for Americans. The original Insight was R.I.P. by 2006.

The new Insight is slated to go on sale in the U.S. in April. Officially unveiled at the Detroit auto show in January, it has been lampooned a bit for looking too much like, well, the Prius. But, as in Japan, it’s expected to cost less than the Toyota hybrid, which should be an important selling point in these economically challenged times.

-- Martin Zimmerman

Photo: The new Honda Insight hybrid is unveiled at the Prince Park Tower hotel in Tokyo on Feb. 5. Photo credit: Gianni Giosue / European Pressphoto Agency

And the Oscar goes to . . . Hyundai?

“Slumdog Millionaire” wasn’t the only underdog to score big at the Academy Awards last night.

South Korean automaker Hyundai, which took over this year from General Motors as the award show’s auto sponsor, is seeing a significant jump in interest among visitors to Edmunds.com, the Santa Monica-based online vehicle information site.

Visits to Hyundai pages on Edmunds.com are up 27% compared with the same period last week, and traffic to pages featuring the Genesis — the upscale sedan featured in one of the ads — are up 86%. Hyundai said traffic on its own website doubled Sunday compared with the previous weekend. (German automaker Audi also got a boost from its Oscar ads, Edmunds.com reported, with traffic up 26%.)

Hyundai, known for its emphasis on value, hasn’t exactly had a high profile in the U.S. market. Indeed, one of its ads even makes a point of making sure car buyers know how to pronounce its name (rhymes with “Sunday”).

But that’s beginning to change as the economy tanks and low-priced cars gain in popularity. In January, Hyundai was one of only three car companies — along with Kia and Subaru — that notched a year-over-year sales gain.

Granted, by the time Oscar day rolled around, “Slumdog” was an odds-on favorite to win. But it wasn’t so long ago that the film was without a distributor and in danger of going straight to video.

Hyundai upped its Q score dramatically with its Innovative Assurance Plus program, which allows buyers to return a new Hyundai within a year of purchase if they lose their jobs. Hyundai recently sweetened the program by pledging to make payments for 90 days while the owner looks for work.

The automaker, which has been trying to move out of the shadow of the big Japanese automakers and also go after higher-end consumers, also is making a splash with the Genesis, which took “car of the year” honors at the Detroit auto show next month.

“This is proof that when you have a powerful message, television advertising still works,” Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl said....