Sadly, manual transmissions are a dying breed. For many, the convenience of an automatic far outweighs the many advantages of driving stick, from the lower cost of the car, to improved driving enjoyment and vehicle control, to better fuel economy (although those pesky dual-clutch units are starting to make this argument obsolete).

Several months ago MINI announced the launch of a new “Manualhood” marketing campaign aimed at getting drivers to choose three pedals over two, while simultaneously  building up the brand’s enthusiast appeal. More recently, the quirky British automaker followed up with its “Becoming a Manual” PSA video.

At the recent launch of the new MINI Coupe (review here), brand boss Jim McDowell didn’t provide any specifics on how the new campaign is going but he did point out just how popular stick-shift transmissions already are with MINI drivers. While total sales of manual transmission models make up just five to six percent of all vehicles sold in the U.S. each year, the take rate for MINI buyers is vastly higher at 34 percent. Depending on the region, that number can be even higher, with roughly half (49%) of all MINIs sold in New England being manuals.

Long live the stick-shift!

With every development of a new app, the smartphone is turning into a necessity. The latest to be created for car owners is the Car Recalls iPhone app.

For owners who want to find a better way to stay on top of all the recalls regarding their vehicles, they can refer to this software and search for recalls that date as early as 1950. New recalls that are issued with be notified to your phone as well.

As handy as this tool may be, the Car Recalls iPhone app does have some shortcomings. The app does not provide a contact number to get in touch with specialists that handle the recall, nor does it provide details on the consequences if one does not address the problem in a timely manner. Regardless, if your car is recalled, call your local dealer and book a service appointment.

The app isn’t free, but it does cost just $.99 and can be purchased here.

[Source: InsideLine]

With recent rumors that Toyota is in fact planning a successor to the Supra, one can’t help but wonder what a modern-day version of the iconic sports car would look like.

Thanks to Andreas Fougner, a 3D artist from Stockholm, Sweden, we’re able to get at least one glimpse into the possible future with a series of renderings of what he believes the new Supra will look like.

Taking some of Toyota’s new design cues from the FT-86 and expanding on them (we see some Saleen Raptor in there), Fougner’s creation is certainly stunning. He does, however, seem to be missing one thing… a giant spoiler.

GALLERY: MK4 Toyota Supra

[Source: BullFinchVisuals]

Cadillac is preparing to launch its BMW 3 Series rival, and while the new ATS will take on the Germans in the sedan and coupe segments, plans to also offer a coupe have been axed.

According to a report by GMInsideNews, the ATS Convertible has been dropped as sales projections for the car proved too low to make up for the cost required to bring it to market. Early plans for a wagon version were dropped early on in the development of the new small rear-drive platform.

With the ATS sedan expected to arrive some time in 2012 as a 2013 model year car, a coupe version is still in the cards and is set to follow afterwards by a few months.

Power for the new ATS is expected to come from a version of GM’s 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder, with a 3.6-liter V6 optional. Look for V versions to arrive a year or two later, packing either V8 power or GM’s upcoming twin-turbo V6 engine.

[Source: GMI]

Porsche has been on a role with a series of successful models making the company more profitable than ever before. Known products that are coming down the pipe include the awesome 918 supercar and the Cajun small ute that falls under the Cayenne. Past rumors have suggested a Ferrari 458 rivaling mid-engine Porsche as well.

Somehow, there seems to be room in Porsche’s line-up for even more. In the works is a smaller front engine platform positioned under the Panamera known as the “Pajun” that will serve as the underpinning for future Porsche sedans, coupes and convertibles.

Rumors regarding powertrain options include a direct injection, turbo V6 capable of 550-hp, a V8 producing 600-hp, as well as a plug-in hybrid, diesel, rear wheel drive and all wheel drive variants.

[Source: CAR]

General Motors will idle its Fort Wayne, Indiana plant for one week in November to help bring pickup truck production in line with slowing demand.

The plant will be idled for the week of November 7th, and no Chevrolet Silverado or GMC Sierra pickups will be produced at that time. GM has reported a 108 day supply of full-size pickups for the month of August, while an 80-day supply is considered a normal figure. GM said that sales of the Silverado and Sierra are up 7 and 18 percent respectively.

[Source: Automotive News]

While Hyundai and Kia are the best known Korean automakers,  Ssangyong, still exists in the rest of the world, and the automaker (who has never sold vehicles in North America) has some very ambitious goals for the near future.

Ssangyong wants to sell 160,000 vehicles worldwide by 2013, and hopes to raise that number to 300,000 by 2016. Accompanying the sales targets will be a whole range of both facelifted and fully re-designed vehicles. Although Ssangyong released a series of goals that are little more than marketing fluff, the key to their progress seems to be leveraging their tie-up with Indian corporate whale Mahindra, which has the financial resources to help Ssangyong make something of itself.

Based on some of their past works (like the Rexton and Rodius) we think that these guys have a long way to go.

Sales targets for the Fiat 500 were set at an ambitious 6,000 units per month, and surprise surprise, the car isn’t meeting them. This might be due to the fact that it’s a subcompact, foreign branded car in a market where gasoline is (relatively) cheap and large vehicles reign supreme. Or it could be the fault of your marketing agency, if you ask Chrysler.

Fiat marketing chief Oliver Francois told trade publication Advertising Age that the brand has an “awareness problem”, and apparently, a product placement in a Jennifer Lopez music video didn’t help matters. Fiat has also reportedly dumped their ad agency, which formerly employed Fiat North America CEO Laura Sove.

So far Fiat has sold 11,088 examples, far off the 72,000 unit annual target. The axe has to fall on someone, and we’ll be waiting to see who ends up taking responsibility for this matter.

[Source: Advertising Age]

The Ferrari 458 Italia Spider will retail for a starting price of $257,000 when it goes on sale in January of 2012. The 458 Spider features a retractable aluminum hardtop rather than the soft top of previous Ferrari Spiders.

The new system weighs 55 lbs less than a soft top and takes only14 seconds to deploy. The Spider is expected to hit 60 mph in 3.4 seconds thanks to its 4.5L 570 horsepower V8 and 7-speed dual clutch gearbox. Like other Spiders, the 458 costs about 15 percent more than its hardtop counterpart, and Ferrari expects owners $60,000 in options alone.

[Source: Automotive News]

Even though the accuracy of Nurburgring records has been debunked ad nauseaum, the low-IQ crowd still seems to take some stock in their veracity – or maybe they just need a lot of visual stimulation. Either way, the Dodge Viper ACR has apparently set a new lap record for the Nurburgring, and there exists video “proof” of this miraculous non-event.

The Viper Club of America has pandered to these folks by releasing video of the event (below the jump) which is really not all that exciting – although we do get some cool V10 sounds towards the end. Nonetheless, the slick production should hopefully convince any holdouts that these Nurburgring lap time runs are just contrived marketing ploys and nothing more.

Hit the jump to watch the video of the Dodge Viper ACR Nurburgring Lap Record

Continue Reading…