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Weekly Recap: GM scales back as Russian auto market teeters

General Motors' extensive plans to scale back its Russian operations are the latest sign the automotive market in the former superpower is collapsing – and there are few signs of recovery. GM said Wednesday it will stop selling mainstream Chevrolets and shutter the entire Opel brand in Russia. The moves leave GM with a luxury-focused presence consisting of Cadillac and Chevrolet's Corvette, Camaro and Tahoe. The cutbacks will be completed by the end of the year. The automaker will also idle its factory in St. Petersburg and end a contract-assembly agreement with Russian manufacturer GAZ. "We had to take decisive action in Russia to protect our business," Opel Group CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann said in a statement. "We confirm our outlook to return the European business to profitability in 2016 and stick to our long-term goals." GM is the latest automaker to scale back in Russia as the economic conditions, volatile currency and uncertainty over the conflict in the Ukraine all have sandbagged new car sales. Last month, vehicle sales collapsed 38 percent in Russia to 128,298 units, according to the Association of European Business, which records sales. Joerg Schreiber, chairman of the AEB automobile manufacturers committee, didn't even feign optimism in a statement announcing the figures. "The market is entering a very difficult phase now, and February is only the beginning," he said. "Industry sentiment is the next few months will be extremely difficult and the market bottom has yet to be found." The dovetails with industry experts, who predict the Russian auto sector will remain in the doldrums. IHS said earlier this year it expects Russia's sales to slip to just 1.8 million units in 2015, which is a 40-percent drop from 2012. Other News & Notes Chief leads Jeep's Easter Safari stable Jeep is bringing seven attention-getting concepts to Moab for its annual Easter Safari off-roading celebration in Utah, but the Chief is perhaps the standout of the group. It salutes the 1970s Cherokee with a throwback appearance and surfer styling cues. The Chief has a custom modified razor grille made famous by the Wagoneer, and it rolls on 17-inch slotted mag wheels. The surf theme comes in with ocean blue paint, floral cloth and leather seats and a tiki-style shifter handle. Based on the Jeep Wrangler, the Chief has removable sides, a 3.6-liter V6 engine and a six-speed manual gearbox.

In the wake of Scion, who will dare to be 'different?'

When Scion launched in 2003, it brought the promise of something "different" – affordable, unique vehicles for the North American market. For a while, Scion delivered on that promise. The "box it came in" xB, the full-glass-roof tC, unconventional marketing, in-dealer "aftermarket" customization options, and no-haggle pricing were Scion specialties. Over the years Scion seemed to lose sight of the original promise, with new product becoming more mainstream and less interesting. By the time the fun-to-drive FR-S arrived, practically all other innovation had left the building, replaced by badge engineering. Sadly Scion is soon to be no more although most of it's current offerings will be rebadged and sold as Toyota's starting in 2017. Scion's website still claims it has been "different since day one," but with Scion gone, which manufacturer is likely to bring us something affordable, funky, fun, and "different" in the near future? Caveats: I am Limiting the scope of this article to mainstream manufacturers, or those who sold at least 500,000 vehicles in the US in 2015. Since the average transaction price of a new vehicle in the US is around $30,000 I am only including those companies who are playing in this neighborhood. Here are my selections in order from least likely to be "Different" to most likely. Least likely to bring something "Different" - Ford and VW Ford Mo Co - This is where the hate mail begins, but if you think about it, the current regime at Ford is about as conservative as you will find. This is not necessarily a criticism, as the cars for the masses approach has worked well for Ford and their stakeholders. But outside of the few hotted up Mustangs, Fiesta's, F150's and Focus, Ford does not veer out of it's volume model zone. I don't see this changing, Ford will continue to sell you a variety of F150's, a Taurus, Fusion or Focus and even a gaggle of SUV's. But Ford will not rock the boat by veering into the niches with unusual affordable US models. When was the last time you saw a not-for-production concept out of Ford? VW Group - In America Volkswagen can be counted on to bring the conventional. Outside of the New Beetle and EOS convertible, Volkswagen has recently only sold mainstream vehicles. You can buy a Golf (They did go crazy and call it the Rabbit for a bit) Jetta, Passat, Tiguan or Touareg. Nothing in that lineup with the possible exception of the Beetle could be considered an unusual or niche product.

Mazda CX-5 named Japan's Car of The Year, Subaru BR-Z wins "Special Award"

The Mazda CX-5 stamped its Kodo design and SkyActiv technology authority all over the Japan Car of the Year awards, taking the top prize ahead of the Subaru BRZ/Toyota GT 86. It is Mazda's second victory in the last ten years, the 2005 MX-5 claiming the same trophy, and the fourth time the Hiroshima company has won.
The award is decided by 60 local "automotive experts and journalists," and open to any passenger car released in Japan from November 1, 2011 to October 31, 2012 that has sold more than 500 units. Each judge gets 25 votes, his or her top vote getting 10 points, the rest of the points being spread among the judge's choice for the next best four cars.
The second-place getters were the Toyobaru twins with 318 votes, the surprise being they didn't beat or get any closer to the crossover. The Subaru BRZ did claw some mojo back, earning the Special Award given to cars that have made "an exceptional impact." The BMW 3 Series was third overall and won the Import Car of the Year award with plenty of room between it and the second place Range Rover Evoque.