Fiat Chrysler have to double the production of their exclusive, highly sought-after Hellcat version of their Dodge Charge and Challenger for 2016.
Sounds like great news, right? The more Hellcats, the better!
The bad news is that some 900 consumers who already ordered their 2015 Dodge Challenger or Charger SRT Hellcat have been left short-changed and empty-handed, after it turned out that their dealers had taken too many orders.
In short, there were never enough Hellcats to go around – yet dealers still acted as though there were!
“Who wants a Hellcat? Hellcat going once, twice, thrice! Get your Hellcat’s people! You want a Hellcat, kid? Another Hellcat for Jimmy! I don’t care if he’s only 8, give him a Hellcat, dammit!”
The unfilled orders have now been cancelled, leaving almost a thousand excited consumers deflated.
To rub salt into the wounds, the dealers have promised each customer a voucher that will give them the chance to buy the 2016 variant – but this variant is actually more expensive than the one they originally ordered.
Who’s running this show?!
Dealers might blame the huge marketing and Internet buzz that got consumers so giddy that they just had to bag themselves a Hellcat.
They might also point the finger at Fiat Chrysler for not producing enough.
Let’s not forget that this is the same company that recently ran TV ads for a car that doesn’t even exist.
Yet this doesn’t excuse the ill will showed by dealers, with one dealer in particular taking orders for some 200 Hellcats in a town of just 6,000 residents – despite knowing they would never actually receive that many Hellcats.
Dodge though have promised reforms in the way that dealers receive allocations and take orders.
The moral of the story? Just buy a Fiat Punto.
Popular Honda Commercial Banned
No doubt you’ll have seen the recent Honda commercial that grabbed everyone’s attention for being different.
Essentially consisting of no more than a static shot of a sun-kissed desert and rapidly changing red text that informed viewers to “push themselves to the limit”, it was a hugely inventive, edgy and yet simple advertisement that really hit the spot.
Unfortunately, it didn’t hit the spot with a couple who viewers, and it has now been banned thanks to a few complaints from viewers.
In fact, it only took two complaints from viewers to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to see the advertisement removed from our screens.
Honda wanted to “inspire people to push their perceived limits” with the one minute commercials, and put a speed-reading technique at the centre of the commercial.
Viewers were invited to try and keep up with the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it text, which was accompanied by pounding drum beats.
The ASA responded to the complaints by investigating the advertisement and decided that the ad was encouraging drivers to speed.
Said the ASA: “While the ad did not include realistic depictions of the vehicles being driven in a dangerous manner, we considered, when taken altogether, the fast changing on-screen text, references to “pushing yourself” and “going faster”, the scenes of the cars, sound effects and accompanying sound track was likely to leave viewers with the impression that speed was the central message of the ad.”
Honda can revamp the advert so that speed is not the central element.
Won’t be the same though, will it?
Texting Drivers Blamed For 10% Hike In Car Insurance Prices
According to an insurance chief, young drivers who are addicted to their phones are the prime reason why car insurance prices have risen 10%.
“More people are texting while they are driving,” observed Admiral’s chief operating officer, David Stevens.
A survey carried out by AA earlier this year would appear to back up the chief’s claims too, as it found that 16% of 18-24 year old’s think it is okay to play with their phones during slow moving traffic.
Almost 50% of drivers from the same age group said it’s acceptable to continue to text if their car is pulled over with the engine still running.
Even though that’s actually illegal.
You do have to wonder whether texting and driving is really worth it though.
Not only does it increase your insurance, but it’s actually pretty damn dangerous.
Picture it: You’re cruising along in your Fiat 500, texting your mates to see if they’d be up for a cheeky Nando’s tonight.
They get back to you and say they’ll take your cheeky Nando’s and raise you a night on the town with 12 jaeger bombs.
You text back saying that you’re on it like a car bonnet.
Next thing, you’ve knocked over a pedestrian.
A downed pedestrian and a 10% car insurance hike? No, tar.
As well as texting while on the move, other reasons for the increase include the fact that there are more drivers on the road than ever before, as well as more whiplash claims.
Stevens also focused some of his ire on Chancellor George Osborne and his decision to increase the tax on insurance premiums to 9.5%.
Stevens: “The near 10% tax will cost a young driver in Blackburn £200 but a middle-aged driver in Chipping Norton £20.”
Thousands Of Keyless Cars At Risk Of Being Stolen
Cars have always been vulnerable to theft, from a sixties Morris Minor to a jacked-up Ferrari.
But keyless cars were meant to signal a positive shift towards the future, as they supposedly make it harder for Burglar Bill to break in.
Unfortunately, researchers have found a “secret” vulnerability which is so vulnerable that Volkswagen tried to keep it a huge secret.
Those pesky researchers, hey?
In fact, these researchers are so pesky that VW tried to “silence” them two years ago when they first located this vulnerability.
Things got really serious when a High Court judge actually banned any publication of their findings, saying that it would lead to more car crime.
Two years on and the findings are now allowed to be seen by the public. The papers show drivers and thieves alike how to wirelessly lock pick a keyless car.
The biggest cars at risk include those produced by VW, Honda, Audi and Volvo.
The research has identified problems with the Megamos Crypto transponder, a device used to stop the engine switching on unless the car is opened using the keyless fob.
The clever researchers though, hacked it without any need for a keyless fob.
The problem is that hackers may well already know all about this.
And we all know what hackers are like. They have no scruples when it comes to logging into the White House’s secret files, so they’re hardly going to care about the sacred nature of a Volvo, are they?
Keyless cars are in fact so vulnerable to theft that they account for 42% of the cars stolen in London alone.
A German Car Company No One’s Heard Of, Wants To Take Over The Market
Ever heard of the rather unfortunately named Borgward?
Didn’t think so.
Borgward is a German car company that fell apart a few years back, and was most famous for a car called the Isabella.
After a few years of non-existence, and a few more years of existing but without anyone noticing, Borgward has been resurrected and plans to dominate the car market.
It will make its not-so-hotly anticipated return next month at the Frankfurt motor show, where it will unveil a new SUV alongside plans to produce a staggering 800,000 new cars by 2020.
Borgward plan to produce nearly a million new vehicles in China.
And why not? After all, the failing MG made its comeback in China, as did Rover.
Then again, we’d all heard of MG.
If you ask any guy who Isabella was, they’d probably want to know who was asking.
Borgward’s unnamed SUV is a plug-in hybrid that has been produced in partnership with Beiqi Foton Motor Co, a Chinese commercial vehicle maker.
The SUV has been “spotted” testing in Germany, with reports suggesting that it is similar in size to a BMW X5.
Borgward currently employ 1,000 staff and are chancing on the slowing consumer vehicle market in China to get moving again.
