Think They Used To Build Cars Better In The "Old Days?"

Just because Cars were bigger, heavier, and had way more steel in them, doesn't mean they were safer. If you have any doubts, check out this video.

Ferrari Designer Hired to Speed Saab Turnaround

Jason Castriota, the U.S. designer known for creating the Ferrari P4/5 and Maserati GranTurismo, will head Saab Automobile’s design team to help the Swedish carmaker take on Bayerische Motoren Werke AG and Audi AG. 

The first assignment for Castriota’s design firm is to create an upscale version of Saab’s current 9-3 model, scheduled for release in 2012, the 36-year-old said in an interview. Aerodynamics will be a focus of the new design, he said.

“It’s absolutely vital we get this car right,” Castriota said from New York late yesterday. “This is Saab returning to its roots, not having to worry about being part of a much larger machine that they were before in the GM organization.”

Saab, sold by General Motors Co. to Dutch supercar maker Spyker Cars NV in February, aims to become profitable by 2012. The turnaround strategy includes releasing premium models more distinct and sporty in their design than when Saab was under GM, according to Spyker Chief Executive officer Victor Muller. Castriota will play a major role in fashioning the new 9-3 and other models, said Eric Geers, a spokesman for the Trollhaettan, Sweden-based Saab. 

“The 9-3 design as made by him is basically done, and I can tell you it is spectacular,” Muller said by telephone, adding that the design will be completed within weeks. “It is truly aircraft-inspired and Swedish-clean.” 

Benchmark Cars

The 9-3 was first released in 1998. The second generation, still produced today, hit the streets in 2002. The new version intends to challenge BMW’s 3-series and Volkswagen AG’s Audi A4, Castriota said. “Those are the benchmark cars,” he said by telephone. “They’re true premium vehicles and the 9-3 also needs to be a true premium vehicle.” 

Castriota started his career in 2001 at luxury-car designer Pininfarina SpA in Turin, Italy, where he stayed until 2008. He then worked for Stile Bertone in Italy until September 2009. Last December, he started his own firm, Jason Castriota Designs. The design house has five designers and is based in New York City and Turin. 

“I literally started sketching Ferraris when I was about five years old,” he said. “For whatever reason, some kids might kick around a soccer ball, I picked up a pencil and started sketching cars.” 

BMW Talks

Castriota will become part of the leadership at Saab and will help “define the strategy for the new models,” he said. Saab is also planning to introduce a smaller car with a tear-drop shape inspired by the 92 model that was in production between 1949 and 1956. Saab is in talks with BMW about using its Mini platform, as well as engines and gearboxes, for that model, two people familiar with the situation said last week. 

“A small premium car from Saab is a very important vehicle and is something that could truly help the overall production volume of Saab in a great way,” Castriota said.

U.S. Automakers Best Imports In J.D. Power Quality Survey

The U.S. auto industry edged out import brands in an important benchmark of quality for the first time in nearly a quarter-century

By Jerry Hirsch

Los Angeles Times

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The U.S. auto industry edged out import brands in an important benchmark of quality for the first time in nearly a quarter-century.

Led by improvements at Ford and General Motors, the domestic industry's ranking topped that of overseas manufacturers for the first time in the 24 years that J.D. Power and Associates has conducted its Initial Quality Study. The study measures how many problems owners experience during the first 90 days they have a new vehicle.

"This is a landmark in the quality history of the auto industry," said David Sargent, J.D. Power's vice president of global vehicle research.

Reliability and dependability problems have plagued the U.S. auto industry for decades. But Sargent said the quality gap between domestics and imports has narrowed steadily for some years now. The massive restructuring of the domestic industry over the last year and the introduction of a fleet of newly designed and engineered models appear to have pushed Ford and GM over the quality hurdle, he said.

"It was likely that the gap could reach zero, and it is a result of a huge amount of hard work. They are now designing vehicles not to have problems," he said.

Ford and GM placed a combined 22 vehicles in the top quality rankings, but Chrysler Group lagged far behind its domestic rivals and the entire industry, the auto-information company said.

Ford, with 93 defects per 100 vehicles, was the best-performing volume brand, beating Honda by two points. The Ford Focus was the highest-ranked compact car, coming in above Honda's Civic and the Hyundai Elantra. The Ford Mustang was the highest-ranked midsize sporty car and the Ford Taurus was the top large car.

Overall, domestic brands suffered from 108 problems per 100 new vehicles, an improvement from 112 last year and down dramatically from the 164 garnered by the American automakers in 2000. Imports scored 109, up from 106 a year ago.

The improvements are paying off in the marketplace.

Sales of Ford-badged vehicles have jumped 34 percent this year, about double the industry average, according to Autodata. The brand's market share has risen by nearly two percentage points to 15.2 percent.

Porsche was the top nameplate, logging just 83 problems per 100 new vehicles in the 2010 survey, compared to an industry average of 109.

Acura was the top luxury brand with just 86 problems, a notch better than the 87 score of Mercedes-Benz.