Thursday - April 14, 2011

Good Decisions From Detroit?

Crude oil tumbled more than 3% Tuesday after Goldman Sachs warned investors that crude is due for a “substantial pullback.”

Goldman analyst David Greely said global supplies remain “adequate” even though the rebellion in Libya shut down production there. Before fighting broke out in February, Libya exported about 1.5 million barrels per day, 2% of global demand — mostly to Europe.

Fear of tightening global supplies have helped push oil prices 33% higher since the middle of February.

Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery gave up more than $4 to $105.85 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, shedding nearly two weeks of price increases. At one point it dropped to $105.60.

Analyst and trader Stephen Schork pointed out that anyone who bought oil contracts last week paid between $107.58 and $112.94 per barrel. If oil continues to hold below that level, it could trigger a wider selloff.

And we all know that Goldman Sachs runs the entire financial world (or was it just the entire US government?), so therefore this will come to pass. Have Hope, things will Change!



Meanwhile in Detroit:

Chevrolet’s Camaro sporty car, already outselling chief rival Ford Mustang, gets some significant updates for 2012, including a power boost. In a conversation with Drive On, Chevy disclosed that it plans to announce today more horsepower and other improvements to the Camaro coupe and convertible, beginning with 2012 models on sale this summer:

The base engine, a 3.6-liter V-6 with gasoline direct injection, gets an 11-horsepower boost, to 323 horsepower, with no expected drop in fuel-economy ratings. That will put it way past arch-rival Mustang’s 305 horsepower.

Hey Chevy, can I have half of that? Get out the hacksaw and make me a 1.8 liter I3 with 161hp. Hella yeah! I doubt if it will run any rougher than the sewing machine you put under the hood of my SC2.

You’d think that there’d be a market for small pickups in the U.S., but automakers think not.  Just as Ford is killing its Ranger pickup in the U.S. and refuses to bring a replacement from another market, General Motors is adamant about following suit.

It’s launching a car-based small pickup called Montana in Brazil and, next year, Argentina. It’s kind of cool-looking and begs for the cloying nickname “Hannah Montana.” Even though the current small Chevy truck, Colorado, is dead meat after its plant closes by late 2012, Chevy says it has absolutely no plans to bring “Hannah Montana” to the U.S.

Mini pickups were common here once upon a time. They make a lot of sense if you don’t live in Truck Fantasy Land. They filled a niche left open by the demise of the great American station wagon that wouldn’t be closed by the minivan for several years. But those little trucks - the Chevy LUV, the VW Rabbit pickup, the Datsun B210 - were pretty raw inside and not “Ram Tough” outside. So they grew and got fancier, and the market for a cheap basic hauler evaporated. Personally, if Chevy brought back the S10 I’d buy one. The S10 was a mid-size truck in it’s day, but it was built as a truck, not as a car. Make it half a foot wider this time with an extended cab standard and an efficient yet torquey V6 and a 6 speed stick. My brother had 2 of the earlier versions of the S10, and drove those trucks into the ground after hundreds of thousands of miles. He had variable rate shocks on the last one and the truck rode like a Cadillac.

Posted by Drew458     on 04/14/2011 at 08:47 AM   
Filed Under: • planes, trains, tanks, ships, machines, automobiles •  
• Comments (2) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

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