Although the news this week is all about Spyker finalising its purchase of Saab and about Toyota testifying at a Congressional hearing, any comments I make would only be those of an interested bystander. Instead I prefer to focus my attention, and hopefully yours, to a Ford product launch that recently took place at the Chicago Auto Show, namely the 2011 Transit Connect Electric and the Transit Connect Taxi. Both vehicles will go on sale before the end of the year. To place this in perspective I should add that I consider the Transit Connect itself to be significant because, for the first time in decades, businesses large and small can own an affordable yet compact van suitable for local delivery or service calls. It was, not surprisingly, designed in Europe, where a premium is placed on fuel economy. North Americans are finally awakening to the advantages of such a van.

The Transit Connect Electric is the next step in commercial vehicles. It combines the logic of Ford's compact van with the clean, exceptionally low-cost advantage of battery power. Although range is always a consideration with electric vehicles, they're ideally suited to urban/suburban use where driving hours are predictable and recharging is easily available. Ford claims a range of 80 miles per charge and a top speed of 75 miles per hour. The van is equipped with a lithium-ion battery pack that recharges with a 240-volt outlet in six to eight hours. The Transit Connect Electric is also 120 volt compatible (though charge time is likely to be considerably longer). Ford says the battery pack should last the life of the vehicle. I anticipate Transit Connect Electric vans becoming a common sight in our cities within the next 24 months.



As pleased as I am with the Electric I'm ecstatic over the Transit Connect Taxi. Here's why: Four decades ago I was transferred from New York to London by my then employer, the J. Walter Thompson ad agency. My wife and I quickly became acquainted with the London taxi, a vehicle so specialised it had become an icon in movies, TV shows, and even commercials eager to identify themselves with the city. Incredibly manoeuverable and spacious, those Austin and Beardmore cabs were rugged and, for their owners, cheap to run. We loved the fact that five could sit in the passenger compartment by using the flip-down rear-facing seats and we appreciated the privacy glass between ourselves and the driver. By comparison American taxis (even the revered, purpose-built Checker) felt like pregnant elephants.

In time the big Checkers were phased out. Owners switched to modified family sedans that were, and still are, as suited to taxi work as a sports car is to a city bus. Over the years several companies, some far-sighted entrepreneurs, and even the city of New York, attempted to wean cab owners off their oversized and cramped vehicles but with no success. Even the minivan, which is far more logical for the purpose, swayed only a few reactionary cabbies. Enter the Transit Connect Taxi, which makes so much sense that the most stubborn cab owner must surely sit up and pay attention. Ford says the taxi edition (and the base model Transit Connect) will come with a choice of three engines. In addition to a 2-liter 4-cylinder engine, there'll also be versions that run on compressed natural gas and propane. The Transit Connect Taxi in Chicago was painted yellow and featured a checkered pattern on the back half. Could that have been a wake-up call for Manhattan cab drivers?

I'm so pleased with the launch of the Transit Connect Taxi that the first time I see one on the road I'll hail it and take a ride, even if I have nowhere to go. Wouldn't you, if you'd waited 40 years for a cab to come along?

Everyone is excited about pure electric cars these days - well, almost everyone - and no more so than in the San Francisco area, which is understandable with Silicon Valley just down the road. Any new technology interests those who explore advances in computer science and since green is their favorite color it follows that they'd be among the first to plug in before rolling home. An article in the New York Times Wheels section headlined "San Francisco's Electric Cars Proliferate" focuses on the sudden growth of charging stations in the Bay area... "already a center of the nascent battery-charged economy, thanks to a concentration of Silicon Valley electric car infrastructure startups, as well as companies like Google and Pacific Gas and Electric that are eager for a carbon-free future," says the newspaper.

But is the future really one in which battery-driven cars proliferate? Maybe not, suggests Mercedes-Benz, which has just introduced two fuel cell models in Canada, one of which it claims is "the first production fuel cell electric car." Those words represent a giant step forward from the mostly negative publicity that claims fuel cell cars are still a decade off, if at all. The technology for the system is based on the latest-generation fuel cell stack developed by Vancouver-based AFCC Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation. It is 40 percent smaller than the previous generation A-Class F CELL, yet develops 30 percent more power while consuming 30 percent less fuel.

These new vehicles offer fast acceleration, high power density, full cargo capacity, low operational costs, quick refueling, and a range of over 250 miles. The key drive components are housed in the sandwich floor in a crash-resistant configuration. The first of two-hundred 2010 B-Class F-CELL vehicles will be placed with customers beginning in the spring of 2010.

The press release that provided most of the information for this article says very little about hydrogen refueling except that "Mercedes-Benz is also actively supporting the establishment of a comprehensive hydrogen infrastructure for the supply of fuel cell vehicles by working closely with energy companies and governments." Perhaps that explains why the F 600 HYGENIUS research car on display at Vancouver's Edgewater Casino is an interesting alternative. Energy that is not required for driving the car is stored in a high-performance lithium-ion battery, thus it operates similar to a hybrid drive system and uses the source of energy which is best-suited to any given driving situation.

Conventional wisdom says we'll be arriving at fuel cell power via two prior stages, the first being plug-in hybrids and the second being pure electrics. But both technologies are moving faster than expected. In the race to the future, who will win?

Some people's misfortunes can turn out to be other folk's good luck. The same can be said about automobiles, too, and that may well be the case with the 2011 Hyundai Sonata. It competes in the most popular vehicle class in North America, which just happens to be led by Toyota's Camry... and you know what's happened to the Japanese company's quality reputation lately. Toyota will come back, no doubt, but in the meantime prospective customers will be taking a hard look at what else is available.

Enter the 2011 Sonata, being launched precisely in the middle of the great pedal disaster. Although the introduction date was pure coincidence the new Hyundai is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the situation. That said, I think it would have been a hit, regardless. In a segment known for cautious, conservative styling, this Sonata stands out like a beauty queen in a nunnery. And it's a huge leap forward from its predecessor, which was a pretty good car even if it lacked visual excitement. But how does it drive? Only Consumer Reports knows for sure (among media critics, that is), having purchased a base GSL while the rest of the media awaits its turn for a free ride. CR had the audacity to opine that "while it does handle better than the 2009 equivalent, it still isn't quite up to the standard of the sportiest examples in the segment, including the Ford Fusion and Mazda6."

Buyers in this class seldom judge a car by its handling and for those that do, Hyundai offers a more aggressive SE model. I'll be watching for a review of that one because, having test-driven all the previous Sonatas, I thought the handling was more than satisfactory for the average driver. On the other hand Consumer Reports did feel "the interior was an improvement over the outgoing model, with higher quality materials and a particularly roomy rear seat." No V-6 is on offer but with a 4-cylinder engine producing 198 hp and a turbo version on the way, who cares? Especially with 6-speed manuals and 6-speed automatics on the menu.

Even automobile journalists have their favorite cars and though there are several for which I have great affection, Jaguar rates number one for me and has held that spot ever since I first saw an XK120 roadster. In my opinion, no manufacturer of mass produced cars created as many beautiful models as Jaguar and the remarkable thing is, that beauty didn't just apply to sports cars. The sedans, with a couple of rare exceptions, looked just as swift and elegant.

In 2010 the company celebrates its 75th anniversary, having revitalised the brand with three new models, beginning with the award-winning XF, a four door, five seater that has the looks of a coupe and the heart of a sports car, followed by the new XK coupe and convertible and recently the ground-breaking XJ sedan. Together they continue a tradition that began fifty years ago when the lineup first included a sports car, a sports sedan, and a full-size luxury car. Racing, of course, is a Jaguar tradition, as its legendary record at LeMans attests. The company is returning to the racetrack this year with its new JaguarRSR XKR GT2 and will compete in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS). Remarkably the race cars were also known for their beauty of form, none more than the legendary D-Type, which later lent its lines to the E-Type of the 1960's, often described by critics as the most beautiful car ever built.




During the year Jaguar will celebrate its 75th anniversary at some of the world's most glamorous automotive settings, including the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Revival in the UK; the Concours D'Elegance at Pebble Beach in the US, and at the Mille Miglia classic in Italy. No doubt Jaguar clubs all over the world will add to the celebrations with special events of their own. Meanwhile you might like to feast your eyes on the gallery of classic Jaguars that Autoblog has assembled for your viewing pleasure.

A couple of years back, Toyota's chairman declared that he intended his company to become the world's largest automaker. "Be careful what you wish for," the saying goes, for Toyota soon passed GM to become the big number one. Now the Japanese giant is discovering that being biggest is not always best. Once famous for impeccable product quality Toyota has been hit with an unusual (for Toyota) number of recalls and currently is involved in a nightmare of a situation that could cause it to lose not only sales but priceless brand loyalty.

The problem began a few weeks ago when owners complained of sticking accelerators that caused their vehicles to speed up, regardless of attempts to slow them by braking. It appeared that improperly fitted floor mats were to blame. (Note: North America's notoriously inadequate driver training programs apparently never demonstrate that simply moving the transmission lever into neutral allows a car to coast to a stop. Or that it can then limp home in first or second gear, if necessary, to maintain a slower speed.) Floor mats were easy to replace but then a new culprit was found, a faulty part in the accelerator pedal mechanism. This can wear over time, causing the accelerator pedal to return to position slowly or even stick in the open position.

First came a recall, which was bad enough for Toyota, but then the company ordered dealers to stop selling eight models, whether new or used. There was no fix immediately available and so the plants that made those vehicles also had to be shut down. The supplier responsible for manufacturing the problem parts, CTS Corporation, has finished developing a replacement mechanism and some units have already been shipped to plants but with 2.3 million cars affected, and dealers and customers anxiously awaiting the new parts, a lengthy delivery period could cause anger and frustration.

To give Toyota credit, quickly shutting down plants and stopping sales assures dealers and owners that the company is giving customer safety the highest priority. Yet it's doubtful that Toyota will ever regain the exalted position it once held. After all, it took Audi many years to overcome its unintended acceleration debacle in the 80s, even though the claims were proven totally false. So Toyota got what it wanted but I suspect the company would gladly give up the "world's largest" crown if it could backtrack and spend more time and money on quality control and less on expansion of plants and overcrowded brand segments.