Super Concept Cars Blog

Ford Drive One Ad

Just two weeks ago, we told you about a Ford television commercial critical of GM and Chrysler for taking bailout money. The unscripted ad, filmed in a mock “press conference” format, featured an F-150 owner named Chris who supported Ford for “standing on their own; win, lose or draw.”

Now the ad has been pulled from the airwaves (and even from YouTube), and not because of public sentiment. Instead, some within the White House have reminded Ford that even Alan Mulally, Ford’s beloved CEO, supported the idea of government loans in the darkest days of 2008 and 2009. Ford may not have accepted loans (aside from a Fed-backed line of credit) but the automaker was behind the government issuing them.

The Detroit News says that Ford pulled the ad in response to White House criticism, and perhaps because of ire from cross-town rival General Motors. The success of the automaker bailout will figure heavily in Obama’s reelection campaign, so anything that portrays the bailout in a negative light will be frowned upon, heavily, by administration staffers.

An unnamed source familiar with the situation admits that the ad is “highly charged,” but insists it was never an attack on policy. The source also denies that Ford was under pressure to take down the ad, but there’s no denying that it raises questions those in power would rather not address, especially heading into a reelection year.

As for Ford, it may soon find itself stuck between a rock and a hard place. Both GM and Chrysler currently have better credit ratings than Ford, thanks to government-provided assistance. GM and Chrysler also have a clause prohibiting UAW hourly workers from striking prior to 2015, which was part of the package handed out by the Feds. Ford doesn’t have such protection, and it’s about to begin difficult contract negotiations with the UAW.

Whether the ad runs or not, Ford will continue to get business from buyers opposed to the bailout. That won’t help its negotiations with the UAW, but it will certainly help the automaker’s bottom line.

With the introduction of the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic, General Motors at last has some truly competitive, top-notch small-car choices in its lineup. And it’s about time; with decades of inconsistent model entries and frequently shifting nameplates—Chevette, Vega, Spectrum, Sprint, Metro, Cavalier, Cobalt, Aveo—GM’s small cars have often felt like afterthoughts, relegated to the back of the lot, behind the full-size trucks and larger cars.

Thankfully, the Sonic bears no relation to the Aveo it replaces, and does away completely with that car’s platform, which had been developed under the former Daewoo. While much of vehicle development for the Sonic was also done in South Korea, it’s very different this time: Vehicle teams in Michigan and elsewhere had control over engineering, design, and equipment choices, and GM has built it on an all-new small-car platform that promises new levels of body stiffness and occupant protection.

We’re also impressed that the Sonic made it to production looking much like the Aveo RS concept from the 2010 Detroit auto show. GM has however reversed its plan to forge ahead with the Aveo name; the company had previously argued that it wasn’t too late to add some luster on the nameplate.

And as we experienced earlier this week in our first extensive drive of the 2012 Chevy Sonic on a wide variety of roads around the San Francisco Bay, the Sonic’s powertrains, largely poached from the Chevrolet Cruze lineup, combined with great suspension tuning, well-weighted steering, and comfortable seating (actually okay for four adults), make the Sonic a joy to drive. And with the better of the two engines, the 1.4T, the Sonic not only gets 40 mpg on the highway but genuinely feels like a more expensive vehicle.

We did find a few issues we’d like to see improved. For instance, we noticed that the 1.4T tends to have a very muted, detached throttle response—it could and should be sharper, or could have a separate ‘eco’ calibration—and the brake pedal on our initial test cars had the kind of mushy brake pedal that we thought GM had excised. Opt for the base 1.8-liter and you’ll have plenty of power for everyday driving, but gas mileage isn’t quite as good and it tends to be a little boomy when pressed.

It’s also noteworthy that the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic is the only vehicle in its class to be assembled in the U.S.—at the Lake Orion, Michigan plant that up until a couple of years ago assembled the Pontiac G6.

For the Sonic, the 1.4T engine is built in Flint, while the 1.8-liter is sourced from Korea. One other key difference between the two engines is that—for those who keep their vehicles for a long, long time—the base 1.8-liter has a timing belt (100,000-mile replacement interval) while the 1.4T has a reduced-maintenance timing chain. Turbo replacement is far less common than it was in the past.

Initially the 1.4T will only be offered with a six-speed manual gearbox, though it will also get the six-speed automatic by year-end. Likewise, the 1.8-liter is only launching with the six-speed automatic, but base models with a five-speed stick will also be in the mix later in the model year.

For more details and driving observations, browse through the pages of our 2012 Chevrolet Sonic full review, where you’ll be able to browse dozens of additional images, along with full pricing and specs.

General Motors’ OnStar

Enlarge Photo

UPDATE: OnStar has issued a video clarifying the TOS. It’s embedded below. 

Every day, it seems the world gets a little smaller, and like a slowly shrinking dormitory, it becomes harder to get any privacy. Sadly, the latest Terms of Service agreement from OnStar isn’t making things easier for subscribers — or non-subscribers, for that matter.

OnStar’s new TOS will roll out this December, and to OnStar’s credit, it’s doing the necessary due diligence by notifying consumers in advance. However, in this case there’s a fine line between upgrading the terms of service and completely changing the rules of the game.

For most consumers, the biggest stumbling block with the new TOS is the fact that OnStar now has the right to record your location, speed, safety belt usage, whether the car is running or not, and other factors as it sees fit — and it can share that data with “any third party, provided the information is anonymized“. (Read the full PDF here.) By “third party” we assume OnStar means advertisers, app developers, and anyone else who’s willing to pay for the data.

The second stumbling block is that OnStar gives owners the opportunity to deactivate the service — but only if they contact OnStar and opt out.

And the third stumbling block is that OnStar will continue collecting all the aforementioned information, even if owners cancel their subscriptions. That’s frustrating for everyone but GM, which can keep making money off of inactive hardware.

The good and the bad

In a way, the resistance that many folks feel to these Terms of Service is the same resistance that consumers experienced when telephones became widespread in the early part of the 20th century, or when mobile phones became commonplace 80 years later. Do these things represent an invasion of privacy? Sure, but they’re also just another sign of our changing world — and change isn’t all bad.

For example, as OnStar tracks the location and speed of vehicles, it can share that data with traffic services that can, in turn, make our travels simpler and more enjoyable. This sort of data collection also enables partnerships like the kind we saw the other day between Ford and location-based coupon service, Roximity. Not everyone will want to make use of such services now, but in the future, chances are good that we’ll wonder how we ever got along without them. (Much like mobile phones.)

On the downside, this puts OnStar subscribers one step closer to fulfilling George Orwell’s “Big Brother” fantasy. Yes, OnStar says that the data it collects is meant to be anonymous, but all it takes is a couple of clever hackers to change that. And even if the data remains anonymous, drivers must still contend with the creepy feeling of being watched.

The backlash against OnStar is muted at the moment, overwhelmed by the backlash against Netflix and Facebook (though Facebook is supposed to announce something big and mind-blowing later today that might change consumer sentiment). Still, OnStar’s roll-out of these Terms of Service might’ve been smoother if the company had made data tracking opt-in. Just a suggestion for next time.

UPDATE: Here’s a video of Joanne Finnorn, vice president of OnStar’s Subscriber Services, clarifying the new TOS (h/t Kurt):

2011 Saab 9-4X

Saab lives another day, and we finally understand the 2012 Fiat 500c commercial starring Jennifer Lopez. The Prius gets refreshed and GM won’t tell China its secrets. All this and more in today’s car news, right here at TheCarConnection.

Confused by the 2012 Fiat 500c commercial starring Jennifer Lopez? This new video explains all.

Saab has cheated death once again with bankruptcy protection.

Toyota gives the 2012 Prius a small facelift and upgrades its technology.

GM still refuses to share the secrets behind the Chevy Volt with China.

Subaru’s Facebook fans have picked the Make-A-Wish Foundation for the annual “Share The Love” event.

Is Dodge working on a Durango SRT8?

Here are the best new car deals for September.

Nissan has launched the My Versa Road Trip marketing campaign.

Gran Turismo 5 has nothing on Pole Position.

The 2012 Infiniti M35h is the quickest hybrid in the world.