Rumors about the 2009 Dodge Ram have flooded around the Internet, of cause, we have covered things about the 2009 Dodge Ram before . Now, the officiallly realeased of the 2009 Dodge Ram finally come ahead of the 2008 North America International Auto Show in Detroit next week. The 2009 Dodge Ram remains the underdog in terms of marketing clout and sales volume, but the extensive changes incorporated into the 2009 model should give the contender some serious clout. Dodge has been building trucks since1917.  read more »

On a recent Monday after work, Rob Henderson, 35, a machinist from Sumpter Township, stood in the showroom of Village Ford in Dearborn with his arms crossed and his eyes fixed on the all-new 2009 Ford F-150, the franchise product at Ford Motor Co.

The new truck, built at the Kansas City Assembly Plant in Missouri and locally at the Dearborn Truck Plant, just started arriving in dealerships nationwide and is officially launching this week -- during one of the worst economic crises in U.S. history.

Standing there in his jeans and ball cap, Henderson admired the chrome grille with the eagerness of a boy yearning for a new toy.

In the glimmer of his serious adult eyes, though, anxiety about the new truck was evident.  read more »

Toyota North America just unveiled the all-new 2009 Venza crossover sedan at a press conference yesterday at the 2008 North American International Auto Show at Detroit. The 2009 Venza, based on the Camry/Altona sedan, will raise the crossover vehicle to new levels by combining a unique blend of sedan refinement and sport utility vehicle(SUV) functionality. US consumer sites are suggesting the new Toyota will appeal to potential buyers as a cheaper alternative to the Mercedes R-class. Toyota has yet to announce Venza pricing but the websites are picking four-cylinder models starting around $US25,000 and the V6 from about $30,000. "The all-new Venza was developed as a vehicle that combines the styling, comfort and fun-to-drive performance elements of a five-passenger sedan with the surprising utility of an SUV," said Bob Carter, Toyota Division group vice president and general manager.  read more »

BMW, buoyed by a new line of small cars, threatens to end the 8-year reign of Toyota's Lexus as the leading US luxury brand.

BMW topped Lexus in July for the third time in 2008. BMW, the world's largest maker of luxury cars, trails Lexus by 3466 sales after 7 months, erasing 90% of the gap from the start of the year.

The US debut of the 1-Series car in March bolstered BMW's offerings with a model that gets 28 miles per gallon on the highway, blunting the effect of record gasoline prices that are sapping sales of big four-wheel-drives. Lexus has added only a sports car and a 4WD with 400 horsepower, V8 engines.  read more »

I'm no longer going to express any shock that my island city continues to provide a seemingly inexhaustible supply of street-parked vintage cars and trucks; we got to 150 Down On The Street posts late last year, we're up to 200 as of today, and I've got enough photos in the can to get us to 250, no sweat.  read more »

Hyundai showed off a refreshed model in the 2009 Hyundai Sonata , a new model in the 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring and a far off concept in the iBlue Concept .The news from the Sonata is the addition of the first nav system and dual-zone climate control. The news for the Elantra Touring is that it does look Mazda3-ish up close with a touch of Toyota Matrix. We sat inside one and it's relatively roomy for the class with a design that would be considered friendly to most and sporty to those without a pulse. Press information and photos below. The big news with the i-Blue is, uh, that it exists?  read more »

We've already caught a Korean preview of the new Sonata as it rather slickly though liltingly transforms from the 2008 model to the 2009 version. But now we're gonna catch this revamped mid-size in the flesh, right here at the Chicago Auto Show . This isn't exactly the kind of ride you ooh and aah over, but given that Hyundai is making a serious effort to win over American hearts and minds this week, placing not one but two ad buys during the Super Bowl and pulling the trigger on its downscale-luxe Genesis, whatever adjustments (however minor) they're making to the packaging of their main player in the dog-eat-dog, kill-your-dad, eat-your-mother mid-size realm is notable. After all, the Genesis may build buzz and get folks into dealerships, but Hyundai still needs to move product in volume segments. The company says the '09 Sonata will hit dealership later this month. Details and the press release, aprs la jump.  read more »

In case you haven't gotten enough of the 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring that debuted in Canada, or the slightly disguised one at last year's SEMA in Vegas , we've got the full skinny here. If you don't think they're aiming at the Mazda3 five-door just put your hand in front of the front quarter of the car and see what we see. And in case you didn't get it, they mention in the press release that the car is quieter inside than a, you guessed it, Mazda3. In addition to the Mazda3, the new Hyundai will be competing with the Dodge Caliber and new 2009 Toyota Matrix . Though we haven't heard anything about a performance model yet, the Elantra Touring comes out of the box with optional 17-inch alloy wheels, MacPherson strut front suspension and multi-link rear suspension, B&M Racing standard five-speed manual transmission and the same DOHC 2.0-liter inline-four found in the Elantra (and probably good for around 143 horses).  read more »

April 1, 2008 - Ann Arbor, Michigan - Toyota Technical Center (TTC) a division of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., today announced the establishment of the Toyota Research Institute of North America (TRI-NA).

Toyota plans to spend $100 million during the next four years on advanced research activity in North America and will utilize existing facility space at the Toyota Technical Center Ann Arbor campus.

Toyota has been pursuing Sustainable Mobility, which addresses four key priorities: advanced technologies, urban environment, energy, and partnerships with government and academia.  read more »