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Auto blog

Toyota tops Consumer Reports best, worst used car values

We often mock Toyota for building boring, soulless cars, but a new study by Consumer Reports suggests that regardless of whether that's true, the company has some of the best used cars on the market. In its report on used cars from 2004-2013, the Japanese automaker had 11 vehicles among its brands on the list - more than any other automaker.
CR breaks the list down by cost and vehicle size, and Toyota has at least one entry at every price point and in nearly every segment. To score a recommendation, a vehicle had to perform well in the magazine's initial tests and score above-average reliability results. It also tried to only suggest cars with electronic stability control. Of the 28 recommended vehicles, Honda/Acura had the second most mentions at six, and Ford, Hyundai and Subaru managed two each.
The Detroit brands also made it to the list, but not in a positive way. Consumer Reports compiled a list of 22 vehicles it wouldn't recommend because "they have multiple years of much-worse-than-average overall reliability." General Motors had the most unrecommended models on the list at six, but Chrysler and Ford weren't far behind, with five cars each from their brands not making the grade. The full list of recommendations is available on CR's website.

NYT profiles Blue Nelson, a reclusive and interesting CA car collector

If it weren't for his Dale Earnhardt Sr. looks, Blue Nelson could be one one of those soft-spoken, nondescript guys whom you meet briefly and never learn much more about. However, as The New York Times shows in a recent profile and video, behind closed doors, Nelson keeps a fascinatingly eclectic collection of automotive oddities and vintage bicycles.
While his main career is in the movie industry, Nelson's other job is as a car hunter. He takes on clients searching for a specific model and helps them find and restore the dream vehicle that they're after. Hiring him takes some dedication, though, because Nelson doesn't advertise his services. "If people want to find me, they know how to find me," he says in the video.
Beyond being an automotive private detective, Nelson has a fantastically varied collection of vehicles of his own. He likes to have models that people don't usually see, and his garage holds a classic Chrysler New Yorker and an extremely rare Rometsch convertible. Although, the one that means the most to him is the 1962 Porsche 356 convertible that Blue came home in as a baby. Check out the video to learn more about Nelson and his philosophy about forming a bond with a car.

Sergio: Two-tier wage structure eliminated in FCA deal with UAW [w/video]

The two-tiered wage structure that governs the way domestic car companies pay their unionized employees – and rankles many of them in the process – could soon be a thing of the past. In a tentative deal seen as a bellwether for other ongoing negotiations, the United Auto Works and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles reached a tentative agreement on a four-year contract that would disband the two-tier structure, in which some workers earn higher hourly wages for performing the same job, over time. Officials who announced the tentative agreement late Tuesday in Detroit were short on details of its contents and union members still must ratify it. But FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne said the two-tiered structure will disband by the end of the contract. "The team has crafted together a very thoughtful process, where the issue will go away, go away over time," he said. Further details weren't divulged. Union negotiations with Ford and General Motors are ongoing, so hammering together a deal that sheds the two-tier structure with Chrysler first could set a precedent followed by the other members of Detroit's Big Three automakers. Other key issues that emerged in negotiations with FCA included escalating health-care costs and rewarding workers for the health of the auto industry. But dealing with the two-tier structure, born as GM and Chrysler circled bankruptcy during the Great Recession, was something the UAW wanted to confront. "The UAW has a philosophy about the economic balance of this country and the inequality, and our mission is to bridge the gap in this country," UAW president Dennis Williams said. "It's gotten out of whack. ... We don't want to share anything, and I truly believe that corporations that have that set of mind have lost their way." The UAW's executive board was expected to review the tentative agreement this morning before a union membership vote is scheduled. For Marchionne, who skipped the Frankfurt Motor Show to shepherd the negotiations during their final hours, the tentative agreement means he can shift his concern back toward pushing an FCA merger with General Motors or another company and touting the idea of industry consolidation in general. "The other side of this is capital usage in this business, which is something that remains unsolved," he said. "It makes the labor side sort of pale in comparison, given the magnitude of the potential synergies and benefits we'd be deriving from an intelligent approach.