All Cars, All the Time

Another Eos Delay, Turnarounds Galore, Cayenne’s Sales Slump, VW Will Tangle with Mercedes’ CLS, Explorer's New Grab Handles, Dodge Challenger Speculation


Here are some highlights from next week’s issue of Automotive News (with some of my thoughts added into the mix). Volkswagen now says that the Eos will be delayed on July of 2006. That’s two delay announcements in the same week! They are getting close to the summer sales cutoff with that date. If the Eos is delayed much further, and at this rate how could it not be, Volkswagen’s Belle will miss her Ball. Ford’s board of directors will review a “this had better work” turnaround plan in early December which will be made public in January. GM’s Rick Wagoner will introduce a “this really had better work” turnaround plan this week. The Return of Rick is supposed be dramatic and feature the announcement of four plant closings. Will it be enough? Porsche’s Cayenne sales here slumped for the 10th month in a row. What can Porsche do to revive sales? Volkswagen is whipping up a coupe-style Passat that will compete against the likes of no less that Mercedes’ CLS and will be launched in 2008. Ford is hoping to stop the whining that it has been receiving about Explorer’s door grab handles. Ford relocated the grab handle for safety reasons, but with so many complaints the Explorer is destined for redesigned interior trim panels after only three months on the market. The hype is starting to build for the Dodge Challenger concept that will be debuting in January. Folks are really hoping for something spectacular. I haven’t been the biggest fan of the Charger, but the buzz on the Challenger has been pretty hot! Look for more as these stories unfold this week!