Adam's Autos

Welcome to Adam's Autos! "Where I rate autos to help YOU find an A-Rate ride!" Adam’s Autos is a creative medium dedicated to providing consumers with the appropriate information to make an informed new or used automotive purchase. Additionally, Adam’s Autos highlights and promotes local businesses, alongside a variety of today’s latest automotive trends and topics. I also discuss my own personal cars and projects. So fasten your seat belts! We're going for a ride!

Monday, November 19, 2018

Ghosted: Renault-Nissan’s Carlos Ghosn Arrested for Financial Misconduct

If you missed this surprise, Carlos Ghosn, a chairman at Renault and Nissan, was arrested in Japan after an investigation found him guilty of acts of financial misconduct. These acts took place over many years, and with the help of another executive it seems. Millions of dollars in company funds were stated to have been used personally by Ghosn while he under reported his earnings. That’s a major crime anywhere, and Nissan said it will seek his removal (UPDATE: Ghosn will remain chairman until further notice - he was dismissed from Mitsubishi as of 11/26/18). Stocks of Nissan and Renault plunged following this news. The company insists that its recent alliance with Mitsubishi won’t be affected. We'll see if that holds true.

This seems so wildly foolish and ironic, as Ghosn was responsible for bringing Nissan back from the brink of financial collapse during the late 1990s. “Mo’ money, mo’ problems” – Biggie’s words still ring true to this day.

Friday, November 16, 2018

New Cars Incoming: 2020 Corolla & 2018 L.A. Auto Show

Wanting to not be a "boring pick" anymore, the 2020 Corolla adopts new sporty and luxurious styling cues inside and out from its bigger Camry and Avalon siblings.

Toyota has unveiled the redesigned 12th generation 2020 Corolla sedan. The new hatchback is already on sale, and from the time I’ve spend around it, it’s a solid package. The new Corolla family rides on Toyota’s TNGA modular platform and will soon offer a hybrid option. The outgoing 1.8L four-cylinder engine with 139 HP is standard and a new 2.0L four-cylinder engine will be offered as well. A 6-speed manual transmission and a CVT will be used. Newly standard and available features include Apple CarPlay, Amazon Alaxa support, adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking and active lane control. I think it’ll continue to sell well, and I like the styling.

Jeep is supposed to finally let us see their new pickup truck, Nissan will bring a
refreshed Maxima with updated active safety features, and we'll see the new
Honda Passport, among other new entries at this year's LA Auto Show.

What new car do you want to see or drive the most? Thanks for the support AND 800 page likes on Facebook!

Expect the Corolla Hybrid, along with a host of other new cars such as the 2020 Lincoln Aviator, Kia Soul, Jeep Gladiator, Honda Passport, and the refreshed 2019 Nissan Maxima to appear at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show.

Link to last year's auto show post: https://www.adamsautos.org/2017/12/auto-show-season-la-detroit.html

Show Me the Car Fact #FactFriday

Its rare you see a top-trim level of a car cost less than a lower trim version... But the Regal Avenir is that car. Another fun fact: The Buick Regal (2011) was originally slated to be the redesigned Saturn Aura. When Saturn was killed off, Buick got the car instead.

Did You Know: The 2019 Buick Regal Sportback Avenir actually costs LESS fully loaded than the 2019 Buick Regal Sportback Essence fully loaded. I priced them on Buick’s site, including options such as the Driver’s Confidence Package II, and the Essence trim came out to $41,055 and the top trim Avenir $39,930 - a $1,125 difference.

This is likely because the the Regal Essence can be had with AWD and the Avenir oddly cannot... However, this discrepancy does not hold true for Buick’s other sedan, the LaCrosse, which can have AWD in its top Avenir trim.

Unless you just really need AWD, it actually does make sense to “go big or go home” in this instance.

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Consumer Reports Quality 2018 - You Really Don’t Want to Rush Perfection

Consumer Reports is a non-profit agency that conducts research on a variety of products individuals use day-to-day, including cars.

Every year, Consumer Reports (CR) publishes results from its annual quality survey, ranking car brands from most to least reliable. This year wasn’t very kind to American brands, as none finished in the top of the survey. Here’s a brief rundown how things stacked up.

Brand Breakdown

Toyota and Lexus remain at the top of the reliability list, although the Tacoma had some issues, as did the redesigned Camry with its transmission. These brands stay so high on reliability likely because they don’t radically change their cars very often, generally recycling engines and transmissions for years in products. Most of Subaru’s models have good reliability, except for the WRX, which is below average.

Honda’s reliability has been shaken some by its newly redesigned models. The Odyssey is rated much worse than average by CR due to door locking and infotainment issues, and the CR-V and Accord have average reliability due to infotainment issues as well.

Hyundai, Kia and Genesis had different results for each brand, even among similar models. For example, the Niro is slightly more reliable than the Ioniq and the Sportage more reliable than the Tucson, due to Tucson’s dual-clutch transmission (DCT) issues. That dual-clutch is gone on the refreshed 2019 Tucson. The Genesis G80 has better than average reliability, but the G90 is below average. The Kia Cadenza fell sharply in CR reliability ratings this year due to climate control issues.

Among American brands, Ford was the most reliable, with the soon-to-be-dead Taurus having much better than average reliability. The Fusion is now rated below average due to Sync 3 freezing. Buick was the last American brand previously rated highly for reliability, but this changed with the release of the new Enclave. It’s been plagued with transmission issues. Dodge has the best reliability of all of FCA’s brands, with Jeep achieving mixed results.

Tesla’s Model S is now rated below average due to suspension issues, the Model 3 is rated average for reliability, and the Model X much worse than average,

with its futuristic falcon-wing doors being a real sour spot.

Toyota and Lexus continue to dominate reliability ratings, likely due to the
sharing and longevity of platforms and technology. Whether you think they
make "boring cars" or not, its proving to be a winning strategy.

Some vehicles that made the CR 10 most reliable list include the full Toyota Prius lineup, Toyota Corolla, Honda Fit, Kia Sedona, Mazda MX-5 Miata, and Toyota Highlander. Vehicles on the CR 10 least reliable new cars list include the Volkswagen Atlas, Honda Odyssey, Kia Cadenza, Buick Enclave, Cadillac ATS, and Chevrolet Traverse.

Have you considered any of these vehicles or owned one at some point? Arm yourself with this knowledge and shop wisely! ROLL ON!

For further reading:

So What’s Up With Ford? And Possibly VW?

Ford is proud of their heritage, and their recent ads and company decisions seem to want to draw on the past to forge a way to the future. An alliance is also rumored.

You may have been noticing lately that Ford has been in the media a lot. They have their new “Built Ford Proud” ads out (a play on “Built Ford Tough”), meant to highlight 115 years of innovation and the road ahead, while also battling stock troubles. Depending on how you invest money and digest information, you could view right now as an opportunity for Ford, and you could also look a Ford and wonder “what’s going on?”

My best guess is that Ford somewhat harmed themselves by explicitly announcing they were going to quit making all cars. Simple fact is, the public is dumb, and that statement at first sounds ambiguous. Ford isn’t going to stop making CARS, just sedans really. But in that fact lies another issue, for investors and consumers alike: you’re leaving yourself exposed.

While SUVs and trucks are high-profit vehicles, not everyone wants OR needs them. I feel its a risky gamble to offer only one or two types of product, as it leaves your company susceptible to a change in consumer tastes. A spike in gas prices may also be an issue for an all-SUV/truck Ford. Currently, the company doesn’t have many hybrids/EVs to fall back on, and the ones they do have are being discontinued. This looks very odd to the analytical public eye - such as investors. But this is where a tie-in with another company may make sense.

A Perfect Paring?

What would a Ford-VW alliance produce in the long run?

Volkswagen and Ford have been in talks about a commercial vehicle tie up recently. However, this always stood out as somewhat odd to me... Because surely the two aren’t ONLY going to collaborate on commercial vehicles. For one, Ford is quite a heavy-hitter in the commercial vehicle arena already. VW wouldn’t want any of that. But other resources? Oh yeah, you bet.

VW's Atlas Tanoak concept

VW has a mostly car heavy lineup and could benefit from a partner that has more SUVs and trucks to offer, especially with upcoming products like the Atlas Tanoak. That would be Ford. Ford could also pull from some of VW’s car designs and platforms so they aren’t left without a car product. That’s a win-win scenario. However, I personally think it goes even deeper than that. Hang on.

Remember, VW is on an aggressive EV mission like Ford with their “Electrify America” plan. Ford needs more EVs in their lineup, and just purchased the Corktown Michigan Central Station in Detroit for future autonomous vehicle and technology development. I believe that this tie-up will surely lead to new EV vehicles and infrastructure sharing between the brands. They are supposedly going to collaborate on autonomous vehicle projects, too. Thus, a solid alliance will make development times much shorter.

What If...

Top: Tesla Model X, Bottom: Ford "Mach 1" SUV

With an abundance of resources, there’s another thought I’ve had on this potential alliance, which would be one of the world’s largest. What if VW and Ford tried to purchase or work in some way with Tesla? Tesla has self-driving capable “Autopilot” software in their cars, which would surely aid Ford in their autonomous vehicle development strategy. Also, Tesla is what I call a “high visibility” brand, which would lend some additional star power to a VW-Ford portfolio (as if Audi and Bugatti aren’t enough). Alone, the two brands may not have enough resources to make any sort of large investments in Tesla - Elon Musk probably wouldn’t have it. But by coming together, they just might. And with access to the Electrify America charging infrastructure and more manufacturing expertise, Tesla would have some benefit to collaborate in the alliance and continue its growth.

Just a thought. We’ll see how this whole scenario shakes out.

Bold Moves

Ford is definitely trying to think outside of the box. I think their plans could work, with a little bit of fine tuning. Clashes between company cultures may pose an issue in an alliance with VW, who desperately needs to improve its public image following Dieselgate while Ford is aggressively chasing profit. Also, Ford’s stock is a concern, and their product offerings slightly one-dimensional. Still, Ford is still a company worth watching and considering for future investment. Sometimes the only way to win is to take a chance - and Ford is boldly doing that.

For further alliance readings:

Tesla Finally Makes a Profit

In case you missed it - Tesla posted a Q3 profit of $300 million. Elon Musk had plans to make Tesla profitable by Q3 or Q4 of this year, and despite the ratings, reliability issues and critics, he accomplished it. I must give them credit where credit is due, as they set a goal and go after it viciously.

This profit can be attributed to increased production and sales of the new Model 3 sedan, which recently outsold ALL BMW sedans combined. It’s one of the top selling luxury vehicles in the U.S. now. However, Tesla still has debts to pay by November 2019 of over $2 million+ dollars, so we will see if this profit streak continues.

For More Info: https://www.cnet.com/google-amp/news/tesla-q3-2018-financial-report-profit/

Tuesday, November 6, 2018

New/Rare Rides - Take 6!

Time for another installment of new/rare rides! This time, we have a real mix up of cars, from trucks, to EVs, to vans. Some of these were spotted on a business trip to LA.

Vehicles seen include the Geo Metro (x2), 2019 Ford Focus Hatchback AND Station Wagon (remember - we won't get those in the U.S. anymore), Tesla Model 3 (x2), a Honda Fit EV, 2019 Ford Ranger SuperCab, Ford F-150 SVT Lightning, Pontiac GTO, Saturn Sky, a mint condition Ford Probe, Chrysler PT Crusier Convertible, and a Final 500 Edition Oldsmobile Silhouette (fun fact - they actually only made 360 of these Final 500 vans, making them the rarest of the final Oldsmobiles).

Have you driven any "new/rare rides" lately or owned any of the vehicles in this series?

GO VOTE!

If you haven’t yet, there’s still time left. Use your voice, be heard - VOTE! Change begins with YOU.

Friday, November 2, 2018

Show Me the Car Fact #FactFridays

Jeep's Selec-Terrain allows you to choose a drive mode based on the weather or road condition you're currently on.

Did you know: If you activate “Snow Mode” in the 2018 Jeep Compass, it not only engages the 4WD lock, but also turns on your headlights and fog lights? You can always turn them off using the headlight switch yourself. I wouldn’t be surprised if all new Jeeps did this.

Headlights activating when a particular condition is met isn’t new, but being tied to a drive mode or your wipers is certainly convenient. IN FACT, the all-new 2019 Subaru Ascent lets you choose in its infotainment screen if you want the headlights to come on with the wipers. Two facts in one this week!