A round-up of today's other stories in brief...
Opel's crossover
Despite the financial woes at parent company General Motors back in 2009, Opel still received the green light to develop an all-new small crossover SUV, aimed at taking on the incredible success of Nissan’s Qashqai. It will sit below the current Antara model.
The project is regarded by some in the industry as the saviour for Opel’s factory in Bochum, Germany. Opel plans to launch the car this year with production set to be about 200,000 units per year.
Irish buyers rate fuel economy
The 28 per cent rise in new car sales in January suggests that despite the economic climate, there are motorists eager to change their cars.
But what are their chief concerns? According to a survey carried out by AA Motor Insurance of 20,000 motorists, reliability, price and fuel economy are the most important criteria. Top speed ranks bottom of their list of interests.
Of those surveyed, 13 per cent said they were planning on changing their current car for a new or used one.
Reliability matters most to new car buyers, with 98.1 per cent rating it as important or very important. Price and fuel economy were also prioritised but top speed was bottom of the list with only 21.4 per cent considering it important.
However, certain vehicle characteristics seem to resonate better with the residents of some counties than with others. According to the poll, Dubliners are least concerned by a vehicle’s fuel economy.
Limerick residents are the least likely to prioritise a vehicle’s handling in severe weather conditions whereas Longford residents were the most concerned by this. And Cavan residents are the least interested in a vehicle’s top speed capabilities.
Chrysler to repay loans
Chrysler is working to refinance what its chief executive characterised as “shyster loans” that the US administration extended as part of a bailout to keep the automaker from collapse in 2009.
“I want to pay back the shyster loans,” Sergio Marchionne said at an industry conference. “Pay back the loans, get those out and then take (the company) public.”
Marchionne, who is also boss of Fiat, has said repeatedly that the high interest rates on loans Chrysler owes the US and Canadian governments have been an obstacle in the firm’s return to profitability.
As part of its gradual return, Chrysler ran a two-minute commercial during last weekend’s Super Bowl, the most heavily watched US television event of the year. Marchionne said Chrysler had spent less than $9 million for the ad slot, which featured its new 200 saloon, singer Eminiem and the brand’s new tagline “imported from Detroit”.
However, despite the ad’s length, it was Volkswagen that stole many of the plaudits for its Superbowl ad featuring a “Darth Vader” child using ‘the force’. Both can be seen on youtube.com.