December 2006 numbers are in
What a crazy year 2006 has been. It's been deadly quiet at DCX and Ford and GM is treading water... luxury car-makers on the other hand are flat-out killing it. Lexus sold over 37,000 vehicles in December alone.. that's as much as Hyundai sold for the month! BMW posted a 20% increase and only ended up with 33,000.

Ford and GM each lost about 13% but GM hit yet another home run with almost 40,000 GMT 900 SUVs sold for the month. Check out all the Dec. 2006 numbers from Autoblog.

Toyota Bests DCX for 06
In the non-surprise of the year, Toyota creamed DCX in overall sales for the year. In fact, it wasn't even close. Toyota finished the year with a 15.4 share to 13.3 for DCX.

Toyota is also breathing down the neck of Ford, and has already bested the blue oval twice in 2006. Even the glass house is resigned to defeat, forecasting between a 14 and 15 share for the year. Check out the full story on Yahoo.

Explorer to go Crossover
The When the redesigned Ford Explorer arrived on dealer lots in fall 2005, it couldn't have come at a worse time. Gas prices were rising and people were tired of 15mpg.

Well the current body-on-frame architecture that underpins the Explorer may be in its last days. Ford is rumored to be going CUV with the Volvo-derived Ford Five Hundred platform with the next Explorer update. This would increase fuel economy and probably lead to better interior packaging. Check out the Bloomberg article.

The "Big 3" are starting to dig out of their hole
The last 10 years have felt like one big kick in the groin if you're in any way associated with the old "big 3".  Market share has swung ridiculously from one side to the other.  Toyota is poised to become the top dog globally and appears to be ready to supplant Ford as the US number two by year end.  Ford, BTW, has held the crown of number two since 1928!

Continue reading in the RPM Daily Blogs.

With all that new technology, tires still get flat
We've all seen it before. You're going down the freeway and you see a $50,000 SUV on the shoulder with a flat tire. In the old days you changed it yourself. Now you call a tow truck or a relative comes and picks you up.

Tire technology is changing with everything from Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems to Run-Flat technology that helps you to avoid that pesky flat. In the end, flats happen, which is why you see so many tire commercials during the basketball game. The Orlando Sentinal had a great article about tires, flats, and you.

2008 Ford Escape Full Review from Edmonds
The 2008 Ford Escape is in production with little or no fan-fare. The model comes in with the same powertrains but with all-new sheet metal on the outside and a much, MUCH better interior than the previous model.

Edumunds.com was able to get in a full review of the newest Ford and they were less than thrilled with the overall package. Check it out.

2008 CTS Sneak Peek
When the original CTS hit the roads in 2002 it was a wonderful departure from everything GM had done in the past for their luxury division. It was bold, well priced, and most importantly RWD.

Over the next few years we were given 5.7L and later 6.0L 400 HP CTS-V monsters and a better 3.6L. The new 2008 CTS is said to be ready for display for the 2007 NAIAS in Detroit on Jan. 8. We'll see if the new CTS can shock us in the same way the last model did. Check out the spy shots and additional info from over at the Winding Road.

2007 North American International Auto Show
Each year one of the biggest days of the year is the first day of the NAIAS in Detroit. Each January brings an onslaught of concepts and new model reveals. We've already seen concepts like the Ford Interceptor and the Toyota FT-HS.

This year's show opens to the media on January 7th. Stay tuned to RPM Daily and sites like Autoblog.com and The Car Connection to the most up to the minute updates. Or you can go to the NAIAS Website for updates.

Jaguar C-XF Concept Revealed
Jaguar has seen better days... just not in my lifetime. Quality has gotten better since the pre-Ford days but that's about it. The Current XJ, X-Type, and S-Type are just plain lame. The new XK however has given whatever Jag fans that are left on this planet something to be happy about.

The XK, however, has zero chance to build sales and bottom line in a way that a well-built 5-Series beater can. Enter the C-XF concept, or as insiders say, the S-Type replacement. The concept, which will appear at NAIAS (along with every other Ford concept for the year), has the tried and true 4.2L V8 but with 400 HP. Check out the preview from Edmunds.

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