Michelin recalls 1.2 million tires in US

Tire-maker Michelin says it is recalling about 1.2 million tires sold in the U.S. because an increasing number are experiencing tread loss or rapid air loss.

The tires are commonly used for pickup trucks, heavy-duty vans, small RVs and commercial light trucks. The Greenville, S.C-based company says no deaths or injuries have been reported because of the tires.

The tires, known as Michelin LTX M/S tires, were manufactured between January 2010 and June 2012. They were sold as original equipment on some vehicles and as new replacement tires.

The company says that fewer than 200 of the tires have been returned by customers. Owners can have them replaced at Michelin stores for no charge.

Subaru Impreza is fun, reliable but has darned noisy engine

The engine whined. It sounded like a small child trying to con a parent with a cry not quite a cry, but a persistent noise created to irritate: Wha-a-a, wha-a-a-a, wha-a-a-a-a!

I wanted to shout, Shut up! But that would have been bad parenting. I wanted to slap it, hard. But that would have gone against everything I learned from my parents.

Seeking relief, I turned on the radio in the 2014 Subaru Impreza 2.0i PZEV. But the sound coming from the Impreza’s speakers was so static-prone and monotone below the quality of anything in a comparable Honda, Hyundai or Kia it reminded me of the woefully quirky sound reproduction in a 1950s Motorola car radio.

Yes, I’ve lived that long, which is why I was able to overlook the Impreza’s little demons in favor of the compact car’s much larger angels.

The Impreza 2.0i PZEV is a good automobile well built, faithfully reliable and actually fun to drive the latter quality attributable largely to Subaru’s symmetrical all-wheel-drive system, which is standard on the Impreza and most other Subaru vehicles.

The all-wheel-drive system is one of the best ever, certainly on small economy cars. It is what sets the Impreza above the rest of its rivals in the compact segment.

Symmetrical all-wheel drive simultaneously sends power to all four wheels. When one set of wheels slips for example, in snow or rain more power automatically flows to the gripping wheels. Subaru has been perfecting that system for the past 40 years, and it now works wonderfully well. The effect invites cliche. The car sticks to the road in weather fair or foul. It handles with confidence. It provides a peace of mind not undermined by the engine’s wha-a-a, wha-a-a-a.

I suspect that the engine’s noise is more attributable to Subaru’s skimping on sound-deadening materials than it is to the engine itself. It is a spunky, gasoline-fueled machine four cylinders horizontally opposed, a boxer engine in automobile industry parlance. It produces 148 horsepower and 145 pound-feet of torque, delivered with enough chutzpah to get you up and down hills and pull you along mountain roads problem-free. It is mounted low enough in the engine bay to enhance the Impreza’s center of gravity, greatly helping the car’s balance on the road. And it gets a very decent, for an all-wheel-drive car, 27 miles per gallon in the city and up to 36 mpg on the highway using regular gasoline.

It’s just so darned noisy, and that’s too bad. Subaru’s competition in the small-car league is catching up quickly. South Korean automobile manufacturers Hyundai and Kia, both of which also have U.S. plants, are keen on turning their small cars into motorized jewels eliminating such buyer disincentives as engine noise and another Subaru irritant: sturdy but dowdy vehicle interiors.

I think the real problem here is Subaru’s parent company, Japan’s Fuji Heavy Industries. FHI makes a lot of things other than Subaru vehicles attack helicopters, jet aircraft, myriad industrial products of all sorts. The company has a heavy-industry mind-set, which shows up pitifully in the interiors of too many Subaru automobiles.

Here’s a hint to FHI: Check out your Japanese brethren at Toyota. That rival company is beginning to put color into the interiors of its cars. It is experimenting with different material textures and things such as interior ambient light. It is what you heavy-industry types might call silly stuff. But it is silly stuff that attracts buyers, which is one of the reasons Toyota outsells Subaru in the United States.

It doesn’t have to be that way, FHI. Consider that you are making automobiles, not tanks. Car buyers demand comforts and something that at least approaches beauty. Subaru has the best practical cars and crossover-utility vehicles in the world. But practical isn’t everything. Sex sells. Check out your U.S. sales numbers and you’ll see that I’m right.

Rinspeed ponders what riders will do as its autonomous cars drive

While other manufacturers are working to develop road sensing technology and autonomous parking apps, off-the-wall Swiss car creator Rinspeed is more concerned with how the driver and passengers are going to make the most of their time once the car is taking care of the driving.

As Rinspeed boss Frank M. Rinderknecht explains: So far hardly anyone has taken this to its logical conclusion from the perspective of the driver. After all, traveling in a driverless car will no longer require me to stare at the road, but will let me spend my time in a more meaningful way.

Rinderknecht believes the logical conclusion is a cabin that more closely resembles a business class than a family hatchback.

Called the XchangE the car has been built in partnership with 21 other companies and organizations and will make its full debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March, where all will be revealed. But in the meantime, Rinspeed has released some images and little bit of information to whet people’s appetites.

The reclining seats can be moved and turned so that all occupants can face each other for conversation, while the steering wheel can be moved into the middle of the dashboard to save space, thanks to drive-by-wire technology.

The idea being that a family can play games or watch films together or colleagues can hold a meeting with multimedia presentation at speeds of over 120km/h.

As such, Rinspeed believes that in the not-too-distant future, cars like the XchangE will replace the train or even the short-haul flight as business and leisure travelers’ preferred means of transport.

BMW 4-Series Coupe has fine handling

Officials at German automaker BMW did a fine job differentiating their new-for-2014 smallish coupe from last year’s 3-Series coupe.

The new, rear-wheel drive, two-door BMW is wider, longer and lower than its predecessor; it’s attractively styled and has great handling dynamics and a new name: The 4-Series.

Better yet, a twin-scroll turbocharged, four-cylinder engine that’s in the base 2014 428i Coupe earned a 28 percent higher federal government fuel economy rating in city driving than last year’s 328i Coupe that had a six-cylinder powerplant. This translates into a 23-miles-per-gallon city driving mileage rating vs. last year’s 18-mpg rating in city driving for a comparable 3-Series Coupe.

Yet, both this year’s turbo four and last year’s six cylinder generate a maximum 240 horsepower.

Highway fuel economy in the new 428i Coupe is rated even higher 35 mpg compared with last year’s 328i Coupe that rated only 28 mpg on highway cruises.

But BMW’s 4-Series Coupe, which the company describes as mid-size but the federal government classifies as a subcompact, isn’t low-priced.

Starting manufacturer’s suggested retail price, including destination charge, is $41,425 for a base, 428i Coupe with the 240-horsepower, turbocharged four cylinder. Buyers can choose between an eight-speed automatic transmission and six-speed manual, with no price differential.

The 4-Series Coupe also is offered with BMW’s xDrive, or all-wheel drive system. Retail prices for a 2014 428i with xDrive start at $43,425. A more powerful engine a 300-horsepower, twin-turbo six cylinder also is offered in the 4-Series Coupe. Starting MSRP, including destination charge, for a rear-wheel drive 435i Coupe is $46,925.

Likely vehicles to be cross-shopped against the new 4-Series are other European sport, luxury coupes.

For example, the 2014 Audi A5 Coupe has a starting retail price, including destination charge, of $39,895 with 220-horsepower, turbocharged four cylinder and six-speed manual transmission. The base 2014 A5 Coupe with eight-speed, automatic transmission starts at $41,095.

Meantime, the 2014 Mercedes-Benz C250 Coupe has a starting MSRP, including destination charge, of $39,125 with 201-horsepower, turbocharged four cylinder and seven-speed automatic transmission.

The BMW 3-Series line, by the way, continues with its sedan, wagon and Gran Turismo models.

The 4-Series Coupe that was the tester was a 428i model with base engine that surprised because of its well-managed, smoothly delivered power. Some passengers didn’t notice the engine was a turbo, because there was nary any turbo lag and the power response was strong but not uncontrolled.

The 428i was as easy to drive sedately as it was to drive aggressively.

Engine sounds were sporty and mature, not cheap, boy-racer type. Torque peaks at 255 foot-pounds and is available at a low 1,250 rpm all the way to 4,800 rpm for pleasing responsiveness and power in a range of driving situations.

But, drivers will need to keep a close eye on the speedometer since driver can underestimate how fast the 4-Series is traveling.

Fuel mileage isn’t exaggerated by the federal government, judging by the test car results. Without babying the 428i Coupe at all, the tester averaged 26 mpg in city and highway travel, which is just shy of the federal government’s combined rating of 27 mpg.

This is good, since the required fuel is premium unleaded, and the cost, at today’s gasoline prices, for filling the 4-Series’ 15.8-gallon tank would be $57. As a result, the mileage range for the tester on a single tank was a decent 426 miles.

At, 3,470 pounds, the 428i felt lighter in weight than most other BMWs. But it still felt solid and precisely constructed. Doors closed with a quality thud, and the large side windows on the long doors immediately slid up the final fraction of an inch and snugged into the weather stripping to reduce wind noise.

Confident and strong engine sounds during acceleration came into the passenger compartment, and road noise from the M Sport package 18-inch performance tires was heard, too.

Still, the effect was more to give the driver auditory cues about the car’s performance than to aggravate or annoy, and there was still a palpable sense of luxury in the 428i.

And this was despite the fact the car didn’t have leather seating. It came with BMW’s Sensa Tec upholstery that looks like textured leather and feels like a durable, rather than soft and pliable, kind of leather. But Sensa Tec did feel colder to the skin on cold mornings than leather might and seemed to take longer to warm up under a warm body.

No matter. The real pleasure was the driving the 428i Coupe.

The car harkens back to earlier BMW 3-Series models that focused less on iDrive and electronics and more on the sheer pleasure of a car’s performance and balance. BMW officials acknowledge the 4-Series has the lowest center of gravity of any current BMW. This low-to-the-road position makes the car very stable.

So does the terrific 50-50 front-back weight balance. It was evident in how tenaciously the test car held its line in mountain curves and handled slalom maneuvers.

Combined with the optional, adaptive M Sport suspension and optional BMW variable sport steering that required just the right amount of steering effort, the stable and balanced character of the test car brought smiles.

Drivers accustomed to higher ride heights may fuss that they sit low enough to stare at pickup truck bumpers, however, and can’t see around traffic. It also can be difficult to fit tall passengers in the two back seats because headroom is sufficient for someone only 5-feet-4 inches tall.

Additionally, items going into the trunk must be sandwiched through an opening that is narrow, from top to bottom.

Note: BMW recently revealed a convertible version of the 4-Series.

BMW's M3 and M4: double the choice, double the motoring fun

Faster, lighter and more nimble than ever yet with a smaller engine, the only thing that can challenge BMW’s new M3 is its two-door brother, the equally new M4.

Historically, the M3 was one car with two specifications. It could be ordered as a two-door coupé or as a four-door car for those that needed performance and practicality. But not anymore. Now the M3 is only available with four doors and the coupé version has become the M4.

With their launch, BMW is going to great lengths to explain why, for the first time, the coupé and four-door versions have different names, but for most M car fans and potential owners, there are only two things worth considering how they look, and how they go.

In terms of the first issue, BMW has kept to the tried and tested formula of making the cars look slightly angrier and masculine than the standard models they tower over. Flared wheel arches, sculpted air intakes behind the front wheels for better brake cooling and aerodynamics, plus domed bulging hoods to make space for that extra engine capacity.

And what an engine it is. An in-line 3-liter six cylinder, which for the first time ever in the M3 comes with a brace of turbochargers. And whether you plump for the coupé (M4) or four-dour (M3) the performance is the same 0-62mph (100km/h) in 4.1 seconds when specified with the double-clutch paddleshift gearbox and an electronically limited top speed of 155mph (250km/h). Yet somehow, both cars are capable of 34 mpg on the combined cycle. That’s better in every respect than the V8 engine BMW used in the outgoing model it even produces more power 431hp.

Making this fuel economy possible and ensuring that the cars are as much fun in the bends as they are in a straight line is due to a strict diet which has seen both the M3 and M4 shed 80kg.

Inside, the cars feel even more like track-focused racers than ever, with newly designed racing seats and a host of driver aids. But it’s also a comfortable place to spend time if you’re a passenger and, these being BMWs, there are a host of optional creature comfort extras to choose from, rom the Connected Drive infotainment package to a full leather interior.

Announced Thursday, both cars will be making their official global debuts in Detroit at the North American International Auto Show in January before going on sale in the US and EU in 2014.

GM puts the brakes on car production in Australia

General Motors Co. said Wednesday it will stop making cars and engines in Australia by the end of 2017, with nearly 2,900 jobs to be lost, because of high production costs and competition.

The decision could spell the end of car manufacturing in Australia as the industry will be too small for supporting businesses such as parts makers to remain economic. Toyota Motor Corp. announced it is reassessing its future in Australia. A union said 50,000 jobs in the auto industry are in jeopardy.

GM’s Australian subsidiary Holden once dominated Australian auto sales, but lost market share to imported cars. Ford Motor Co., once Holden’s major rival in Australia, announced in May that it was ending production in the country in 2016. Toyota is the only other auto manufacturer in Australia.

Australia had four car manufacturers before Mitsubishi Motors Corp. shut its doors in 2008.

GM’s announcement has been anticipated for months. The Australian government has been under mounting pressure to offer increased subsidies to the Detroit-based company to keep it manufacturing in Australia for the sake of the auto parts industry.

The decision reflected the perfect storm of negative influences that Australia’s auto industry faces, GM’s chief executive Dan Akerson said in a statement. Describing Australia as arguably the most competitive and fragmented auto market in the world, he also blamed the sustained strength of the Australian dollar, high costs of production, and a small population.

Holden, which has manufactured cars in Australia for 65 years, would become a sales company, he said.

The announcement was made the same day GM revealed that Akerson will be replaced by Mary Barra on Jan. 15.

GM’s Australia chairman Mike Devereux said GM cars rebadged as Holdens would continue to be sold and serviced in Australia after 2017.

GM is currently selling the Australia-built Chevrolet SS in the United States. The 6.2-liter V-8 muscle car is called the Holden VF Commodore in Australia.

Building cars in this country is just not sustainable, Devereux told reporters.

Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane said he was floored when Devereux phoned and broke the news.

Macfarlane said he was disappointed that GM had made its decision before an inquiry had completed an analysis of government support of the auto industry.

Holden has received 1.8 billion Australian dollars ($1.6 billion) in federal government assistance in the past 11 years.

The task for the industry has got measurably more difficult as a result of Holden’s decision, but it is not impossible to maintain a component and car industry in Australia, Macfarlane told reporters.

Toyota said GM’s decision put its own ability to make Australian cars under unprecedented pressure.

We will now work with our suppliers, key stakeholders and the government to determine our next steps and whether we can continue operating as the sole vehicle manufacturer in Australia, Toyota said in a statement.

The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union, which represents most of the auto industry’s workforce, predicted that Toyota would also shut its Australian plant.

Toyota have told me that they won’t be able to survive in Australia because of the lack of volume in the component industry, AMWU vehicle division secretary Dave Smith told reporters.

This will spell the end of 50,000 automotive jobs, said Smith, blaming a lack of federal government support for GM’s decision.

Acting Prime Minister Warren Truss said the number of cars manufactured in Australia had declined by one third in only six years.

Auto makers in Australia produced about 178,000 cars last year, according to the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers.

Truss said there more than 50 car models available to a population of only 23 million people.

While Australians say they want locally manufactured cars … the reality is they don’t buy them, he said.

General Motors taps Mary Barra as new CEO

General Motors board of directors has selected a 51-year old Mary Barra as the company’s next chief executive officer.

Barra, a second generation GM employee whose father who worked as a die-maker at the old Pontiac Motor Division, will succeed GM chairman and CEO 65-year-old Dan Akerson will step down Jan. 15 to help his wife through a grave illness.

Barra, who grew up in the Detroit suburbs, is now GM executive vice president, Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain,

Akerson, however, stressed during a conference call with reporters that he believes he is leaving the company in good hands.

I think Mary Barra will be an excellent CEO. She grew up in the company, said Akerson, noting Barra’s career at GM began when she was an 18 year-old co-op student working on the shop floor at the Pontiac Motor Division.

She is eminently qualified and her appointment is being well received with the company, noted Akerson, who also announced the promotion of Dan Ammann from chief financial officer to vice president.

With 33 years of experience at GM, Barra has risen through a series of manufacturing, engineering and senior staff positions. She is a leader in the company’s ongoing turnaround.

With an amazing portfolio of cars and trucks and the strongest financial performance in our recent history, this is an exciting time at today’s GM, said Barra. I’m honored to lead the best team in the business and to keep our momentum at full speed.

Akerson said her long career with GM has equipped Barra with a great depth of understanding about the company and its strengths and shortcomings.

She understands all the internal machinations. This is an executive who has a vision of where she wants to take the company, added Akerson, who took over as chairman and CEO in September 2010, a year after the company emerged from bankruptcy.

Barra also demonstrated to the satisfaction of both him and GM’s board of directors, which unanimously supported Barra’s appointment as CEO that she is a very talented manager, Akerson said.

She earned the job after she was put in charge of GM’s engineering and product development organization at the heart of the company, which was fundamentally in chaos in the wake of the company’s 2009.

She brought order out of chaos and ultimately made the organization more efficient, Akerson noted.

Akerson later also handed Barra the job of running GM’s global purchasing organization. She fundamentally changed the way we do business, he said.

Barra’s performance, along with the recent performance of several other senior GM executives who grew up in the GM system convinced the board the resident talent to go with a veteran GM executive to step in as his successor, Akerson said during the conference call. We considered going outside and there was common agreement that we had the talent inside the company, Akerson said.

Akerson also said the notion that GM is a boys club, by noting that 25 percent of GM’s plant managers are now women and GM’s management ranks are now full of talented female managers.

Mary was not picked up because of gender, he said.

The reformation and transformation of GM is well underway in the wake of the company’s 2009 bankruptcy. Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Treasury sold off the federal government’s remaining share of GM stock at a loss of $10.5 billion to U.S. taxpayers.

Since graduating from what is now Kettering University the old General Motors Institute in Flint in 1984, Barra has held a string of management posts of increasing responsibility. She dispatched to Stanford University in 1990 to earn a master in business administration degree and in 1996 she was part of the team that helped GM re-enter what was the promising but unproven market in China. GM today sells more cars in China than in the U.S.

GM also named Theodore Solso to succeed Akerson as Chairman. Solso, 66, is the former chairman and CEO of Cummins, Inc., and has been a member of the GM Board since June 2012.

I will leave with great satisfaction in what we have accomplished, great optimism over what is ahead and great pride that we are restoring General Motors as America’s standard bearer in the global auto industry, Akerson said in a message to employees.

Akerson said it made sense to divide the chairman and CEO’s role because the two jobs have a different focus.

Ammann, 41, executive vice president and chief financial officer, was named company president and will assume responsibility for managing the company’s regional operations around the world. The global Chevrolet and Cadillac brand organizations and GM Financial will also report to Ammann.

Mark Reuss, 50, executive vice president and president, North America, will replace Barra as executive vice president, Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain. Under Reuss’ watch, GM’s North America region has produced consistent profits and improved margins during a product renaissance that includes the launch of award-winning cars and trucks such as the Cadillac ATS, Chevrolet Corvette, Impala and Silverado pickup.

The driver’s seat of designing and engineering the strongest product line up in GM’s history is the best seat to have, said Reuss, whose father once served as GM’s president. We’re going to keep the pedal down on GM’s product resurgence and keep winning new customers.

Alan Batey, currently senior vice president, Global Chevrolet and U.S. Sales and Marketing, will replace Reuss and is named Executive Vice President and President, North America. Batey, 50, joined GM’s Vauxhall operation in 1979.

The company also announced that Steve Girsky, 51, vice chairman, Corporate Strategy, Business Development and Global Product Planning, will move to a senior advisor role until leaving the company in April 2014. He will remain on the GM Board of Directors.

My goals as CEO were to put the customer at the center of every decision we make, to position GM for long term success and to make GM a company that America can be proud of again, Akerson said. We are well down that path, and I’m certain that our new team will keep us moving in that direction.