We Made This Podcast Artificially Noisy So You Could Hear Us Coming

We were charged up to return to the mic, but before we could talk about electric cars, which are now sexy, we had to get some work done.


Quality is Job One has been a motto for Ford for a long time. Well, all that talk is now backed up by some results. The latest J.D. Power Initial Quality Survey showed that Ford made big a big jump in quality, while Toyota's brands slid significantly.

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG E-Cell (Wired) 

The White House is backing a proposal to spend up to $6 billion more on subsidies for electric vehicles, amid renewed interest on Capitol Hill in measures to cut petroleum consumption in response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.


Tesla stands to benefit from those subsidies, and from some fresh capital from an initial public offering in the coming weeks. As part of that the company has shown plans to develop many vehicles from its Model S platform.


Mercedes-Benz pumped up its SLS supercar with an electric version that would be crazy fast, and expensive.


Finally, a battle is brewing between people who want quiet electric cars and advocates for the blind who feel that artificially noisy vehicles are safer. The Nissan Leaf has a noisemaking system that can be turned off, which has garnered some interesting coverage this week.

GetThisShowOnTheRoad June 23, 2010.mp3

Largest Private Car Collection Right Around the Corner

I'm very excited to visit the LeMay Museum when it is completed. Last week, 10 years after Harold E. LeMay’s death, the museum he imagined near Tacoma, finally broke ground for its arched glass building, part of a complex budgeted at $100 million.

The new space will showcase some of the LeMay collection of more than 3,000 cars, the largest of its kind, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

The showcase building will exhibit about 500 cars and be part of a complex on nine acres with retail, dining and entertainment facilities.

The groundbreaking was the occasion for beginning a $9.5 million fund-raising effort to complete the museum, which is scheduled to open in 18 months.

PODCAST: GM Wants to Make Sure Chevrolet Isn't Confused With Chevy Chase

Want a Chevy? You mean the actor? Oh, the car. Well, GM will only sell Chevrolets going forward. An internal memo leaked this week shows that the car company wants to banish the Chevy name from its marketing material so that the brand is more consistent as it expands outside the U.S.

That might seem like GM is out of touch with its customers, but let's hope the company is in touch with investors. The auto maker is moving toward an initial public offering in the fall that could be huge, and begin the process of getting out from government ownership.

Think the Prius is fuel efficient? Well the 1986 Chevrolet (not Chevy) Sprint ER is almost as good at sipping fuel. Without all that fancy hybrid technology. The EPA released a list of the most fuel efficient vehicles since 1984 and it's surprising.

Should rally cars get on the green bandwagon? Well, Subaru is thinking of making the next Impreza WRX STI a diesel and Mitsubishi might make its awesome Evo a hybrid. Would you buy a green road rocket?

Speaking of road rockets, Mini challenged Porsche to a race this week but was rebuffed.

Finally, Ford is skipping the car shows for the launch of its next Explorer, choosing to roll it out on Facebook. Will you be its fried?

GetThisShowOnTheRoad June 12, 2010.mp3

Chrysler to Revive Marketing Push as New Models Launch

It's nice to see Chrysler getting back in the game after spending the last year whacking its product line and figuring out how to make money building and selling cars. WSJ's Jeff Bennett outlines the company's plans.

Still, the Jeep Grand Cherokee isn't enough product to revive the company by itself. And it sounds like there are only a few new or refreshed models coming in the next year. That might not be enough to make Chrysler relevant again with car buyers.

What do you think? Can Chrysler rebuild itself quickly enough to stay in the game?

PODCAST: Mercury Gets a Red Light, While Auto Sales Go Green

And we are back with a look at the May autos sales numbers which were surprisingly strong, including big gains by Chrysler brands. Meanwhile, Toyota's sales were weak, as it still worked to overcome the fallout from its recalls.

Alan Mulally was at the All Things D conference this week, along with David, and he explained the company's thinking behind the development of the Sync platform. He also addressed the future of electric cars in the U.S.

That future won't include Mercury, as Ford decided to kill the brand this week to focus on the Lincoln and Ford nameplates. Mulally said he plans to take Lincoln further upmarket now that Jaguar is not owned by Ford.

Electric vehicles continue to get all the buzz, and an Autoblog Green post showed how the Nissan Leaf has captured more searches from potential buyers than the long-hyped Chevrolet Volt.

Finally, Audi continues to develop its Travolution vehicle-to-infrastructure communication system which might actually be the car you buy after your next car. Or the one after that. Then you won't have to deal with all the red lights on your ride to work.

GetThisShowOnTheRoad June 5, 2010.mp3