Auto News Roundup 10-19-09: Honda claims model updates may come faster, crackdown on NY cabbies use of cellphones

-- U.S. Honda exec says model updates may come faster. USA Today


-- Nissan readying next-generation lithium-ion technology for Leaf. Leftlanenews.com


-- New York cracking down on cabbies using cellphones - and it took only 10 years. Autoblog


-- Edmunds color survey says most 2009 model buyers prefer black cars. Edmunds

-- Lotus Exige Stealth Edition destined for 2009 Tokyo Motor Show. Automobile

-- Joni Gray

Auto News Roundup 10-15-09: GM's ad campaign made to 'shock,' Subaru Outback named MT car of the year

-- "New" GM goes on the offense with ad campaign meant to "shock" America. Edmunds Auto Observer


-- Tata unveils new $10,000 sedan to fill the gap between Nano and Jaguar in India. Detroit Free Press


-- 2010 Subaru Outback is named Motor Trend Sport Utility of the Year. US News & World Report


-- Porsche’s first sedan, at $80,000+ hits the U.S. market now -- but is it too early? New York Times

-- Study shows that stereotypes are sometimes true: What your car says about you. Forbes

-- Joni Gray

Auto News Roundup 10-14-09: GM outpaces China's market growth, Buick brings back Regal name

-- GM aiming to beat China's market growth. Detroit Free Press

-- Total number of vehicles recalled by Ford rises to more than 14 million. Edmunds

-- The Buick Regal will return to the U.S. next year, General Motors Co. confirmed today. Detroit News

-- After-market maker and Apple aim to put keyless remote suppliers out of business. Edmunds Auto Observer

-- Growing number of car buyers are moving "down" rather than "up" in luxury. Autoblog

-- Joni Gray

Forget the chocolate: Women deal with life changes by buying a car, survey says

Women shop big when they are stressed out about changes in their lives -- think car-sized big.

A recent survey by CarMax Inc. indicates that major life events like changes in employment and family are the most likely reasons a woman purchases a vehicle, says an article from Business Wire.

“Many personal factors affect women shopping for a car,” said Donna Wassel, Southwest region vice president of CarMax, the nation’s largest used-car retailer. “Changes in family and employment create an opportunity to evaluate your current driving situation.”

The August 2009 survey of 500 U.S. women ages 18 and older asked, “Of the following life events, which is the most likely to prompt you to purchase a car?” with the following options to choose from: new job, retirement, pregnancy, divorce, an empty nest and children becoming drivers.

Sixty percent of the women surveyed indicated that career changes, including a new job (37%) and retirement (23%) would most likely to prompt them to buy a car.

However, women ages 18 to 34 had a close tie between pregnancy (41%) and getting a new job (44%) as motivations for car buying. Eleven percent of all women cited a new child driver as an impetus.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that the next time change rolls into your life you should jump on the bandwagon by buying a new car (though it might help boost the economy). We’re with you in thinking that the chocolate bar might be a little bit better for your wallet.

-- Kelsey Ramos

RELATED:

The top 9 cars women drivers buy more than men

100 year anniversary of the first woman to drive across America

Photo: Diana Fana looks at a Hyundai vehicle at a car lot. Credit: Bloomberg

American Fiesta spotted in Mexican factory

It’s no secret that Ford is set to release its small, chic European Fiesta here in the States. Rumors, speculation and (not completely unfounded) pessimism followed Ford’s insistence that the Yankee-spec Fiesta would be offered as a sedan instead of the hatchback that our friends across the pond know and love. 

Ford has since changed its mind and announced that it would release the hatchback as well, but with some changes. Pictures have surfaced on the Autoblog site that show the U.S.-spec Fiesta, partially assembled in Ford’s Mexico factory. The pictures show some changes to the front end, the fog lights get a good once-over and there's a little extra chrome up front. All in all, the car seems to hold pretty true to its roots. 

Be sure to check back here in December to see our coverage of the release of the American Fiesta and a boatload of other cars during the L.A. Auto Show. 

-- J. Mark Sternberg

Photo: Cuautitlan assembly plant in Cuautitlan Izcalli, Mexico
Photo credit: Bloomberg

Auto News Roundup 10-12-09: Chinese Hummer buyer not cleared with government, California regulations may affect Jeep Wrangler

-- No Hummer deal application received by the Chinese government. Leftlanenews.com


-- California "Cool Car" regulations could affect Jeep Wrangler. Leftlanenews.com


-- Upstart car company GreenTech unveils four prototypes. Cars.com


-- Advance Auto doubles staffing as it revs up online sales. Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal


-- Dollar Thrifty cuts Chrysler purchases from 76% to 30% of its fleet. Reuters

-- Joni Gray

Auto News Roundup 10-08-09: Camaro convertible privately shown to dealers, Toyota says zip ties are the remedy for faulty floor mats

To quell fears that GM would scrap the model as a cost-cutting measure, the 2011 Camaro convertible was privately shown to dealers this week. Edmunds

In other convertible news, the Porsche Panamera is coming soon. Autoblog

WaterCar's Python amphibious Corvette can be yours for just $200,000 -- bikini optional. Autoblog

Toyota suggests use of zip ties as a temporary floor-mat remedy. Leftlanenews.com

Michelin Man becomes a tire-tossing superhero in a new advertising campaign. CNN Money

-- Joni Gray

NHTSA to investigate corrosion issue affecting 218,000 Toyota Tundras

Toyota can’t catch a break. In the last few weeks, positive announcements from the automaker have been overshadowed by reports of serious quality defects or recall notifications, and the tune doesn't appear to be changing.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Assn. (NHTSA) is launching an investigation into a dangerous corrosion problem for 218,000 2000-01 Toyota Tundras after receiving 20 separate reports of brake system failures and spare tire separation due to critical rusting of the vehicle’s frame.

It is not the first corrosion problem Toyota has had with its pickup trucks.

Just last year, a similar issue emerged with 1995-2000 Tacomas. Because of the problem, Toyota has offered 1.5 times the Kelley Blue Book value for any truck located in 20 cold weather states whose frame had severely rusted. For 2001-04 Tacomas, Toyota is making available supplemental corrosion treatment and replacement frames if necessary, but not offering to buy back any vehicles.

There have been no reports of injuries as a result of the defect currently in question, but Toyota has admitted the 2000-01 Tundras under investigation have a similar frame design and were built by the same supplier as the affected Tacomas.

This news comes right on the heels of the biggest U.S. recall in the company's history. 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles are being recalled because the driver's side floor mats can potentially get caught in the pedals and cause a serious accident.

-- Alison Lakin

Alison Lakin is a staff writer at DriverSide.com.

Photo: 2000 Toyota Tundra. Credit: Toyota

Rebel without a car?

Is the love affair between cars and young people starting to cool?

That could be the case, according to a new study of auto-related online commentary among teens and young adults by J.D. Power and Associates.

Between January and August, the market research firm analyzed hundreds of thousands of “conversations” on auto-related sites such as Autoblog, personal blogs and social networks such as Twitter and Facebook.

The goal was to gauge the perceptions of Generation Y (those born in the 1980s and early 1990s) toward the automotive industry in general, as well as toward specific vehicle brands. The analysis divided Gen Y into teens (12-18) and “early careerists” (22-29).

According to J.D. Power, “Online discussions by teens indicate shifts in perceptions regarding the necessity of and desire to have cars.”

American teenagers without a set of wheels? James Dean, who drove a '49 Mercury to fame in the 1955 movie "Rebel Without a Cause," must be spinning in his grave.

Part of the reason could be economic, the firm said. During the worst recession since the 1930s, the cost of owning and maintaining a car likely makes less sense than it did when gas was 30 cents a gallon and every red-blooded American teenager yearned for a Chevy Camaro or a Pontiac GTO.

“Also, with the advent of social media and other forms of electronic communities, teens perceive less of a need to physically congregate, and less of a need for a mode of transportation,” the study concluded.

That can’t be good news for the auto industry.

Auto News Roundup 10-07-09: The redesigned Taurus is a California favorite, DeLorean wants to revive Pontiac Solstice

-- Is now the right time to buy a Saturn? Kiplinger

-- The redesigned Taurus is unexpectedly popular in California. Detroit Free Press

-- Toyota's reputation takes a pounding. MSNBC 

-- DeLorean wants to revive the Pontiac Solstice. Edmunds

-- Neiman Marcus holiday catalog sports luxury wheels and a cupcake car. Mediapost

-- Joni Gray