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The two-seat hybrid goes on sale Aug. 24. Standard equipment includes a 1.5-liter in-line four-cylinder engine, Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist hybrid system and a six-speed manual transmission.

A continuously variable automatic transmission is optional and comes with paddle shifters mounted on the steering wheel.

Chrysler is watching the situation with parts shipments and has not yet decided whether production at the plant can resume on Friday, spokeswoman Shawn Morgan said.

“We have an ample supply of Wranglers,” Morgan said.

According to the Automotive News data center, Chrysler on July 1 carried a U.S. inventory of 21,400 Wranglers — a 60-day supply, typically viewed in the industry as an optimal level. A year earlier, Chrysler maintained an inventory of 8,900 Wranglers, or a 46-day supply.

Other Chrysler plants are closed for a regularly scheduled two-week summer shutdown and were not affected by the parts shortage, Morgan said. She declined to disclose what parts shipments were affected.

But real-world performance will vary wildly. In fact, Nissan says the Leaf will deliver only half of that range under driving conditions a lot of people find typical.

Consider the following scenarios outlined during a recent Leaf test drive:

– If your Leaf is stuck in stop-and-go traffic, doing 15 mph on a cold winter day with the heater on, you can count on a range of around 62 miles, said the car’s chief engineer, Hidetoshi Kadota.

– If it’s a hot day, in the 90s, and you’re cruising down the road at 48 mph, your full-charge range would be about 70 miles before having to plug in again to juice up the lithium ion batteries.

– If the weather’s perfect with no need for air conditioning, you can get 105 miles in normal city-highway driving. And when touring the countryside at a steady 38 mph, the range climbs to 138 miles.

“Depending on the way you use the air conditioning and the driving mode, the autonomy varies largely,” Kadota said. “This is a physical characteristic of electric vehicles.”

Response:
You have a input and output sensor on the front of the tranny they have magnets on them like your oil pan drain plug well anyway these magnets get so full around the tip they quit working one sensor is $ 20 something the other is $ 30 they are not hard to change mine go out on my Chrysler’s all the time hope this info helps

“Toyota definitely wants to become Europe’s greenest automaker,” Willy Tomboy, Toyota Motor Europe environmental affair director, told Automotive News Europe at a press event here to mark the production launch of the gasoline-electric Auris.

Toyota started making the hybrid compact car at its Burnaston factory on Monday. Deliveries start in July. The Japanese automaker aims to sell 14,000 Auris hybrids this year and more than double that volume to 30,000 a year starting in 2011.

The hybrid Auris, which will be sold alongside diesel- and gasoline-powered versions, is expected to account for a quarter of the model line’s total sales in Europe, Toyota said.

The Auris hybrid’s CO2 output is just 89 gram per kilometer, so if its sales are strong it could mean the difference between No. 1 and No. 2 in the annual ranking of automakers’ CO2 emissions.

Toyota closed the gap on Fiat in 2009 by cutting its average CO2 emissions to 130.1g/km from 144.9g/km in 2008. The Fiat brand remained No. 1 for the third year in a row by reducing its CO2 emissions by 5.9g/km to 127.8g/km in 2009.

First in Europe

The Auris is the second gasoline-electric hybrid in Toyota’s European lineup, the Prius was the first, but the Auris is the first hybrid produced by Toyota in Europe specifically for Europe.

Toyota stated during the event here that the Auris is “the first full hybrid to be built in Europe.” Volkswagen AG disputes that claim. It told ANE that it began building the full-hybrid version of the Touareg large premium SUV at its plant in Bratislava, Slovakia, in mid-April. A car with a full hybrid system can be driven short distances by the electric motor alone.

The two-seat hybrid goes on sale Aug. 24. Standard equipment includes a 1.5-liter in-line four-cylinder engine, Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist hybrid system and a six-speed manual transmission.

A continuously variable automatic transmission is optional and comes with paddle shifters mounted on the steering wheel.

For the 2010 model year, General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group averaged 108 problems per 100 vehicles, compared with 109 problems for every 100 Asian and European vehicles, J.D. Power and Associates announced at an Automotive Press Association luncheon here today.

Models such as the Ford Focus, Ford Fusion, Ram pickup and Buick Enclave helped drive Detroit’s gains for 2010, the market research firm said.

Dragged down by Toyota Motor Corp., the overall quality of new cars and trucks sold in the United States slipped slightly this year — the first time since 2007, according to the study.

Among segments, J.D. Power said domestic brands lead rivals in cars and pickups, while foreign brands lead in crossovers, SUVs and vans. This is the 24th year of the study.

Ford — with 12 models ranked among the top three in their respective segments — was largely responsible for Detroit’s showing in the latest survey. The Ford brand, with less than one problem per new model, jumped from eighth place in 2009 to fifth this year — its best showing ever. Ford is the highest-ranked nonluxury brand in the survey as well.

Overall, GM’s initial quality slipped, with all four brands below the industry average, though the automaker had 10 models ranked in the top three of their respective segments. Buick, with 114 problems per 100 models, was the only GM brand to improve in the survey. J.D. Power said GM was hurt by the launch of several new models such as the Cadillac SRX, Buick LaCrosse, and Chevrolet Equinox and Camaro.

Chrysler’s four brands all improved but still fell below the industry average, although the new Ram truck brand scored just below the industry average.

Industry slips

Overall for 2010, new-vehicle quality slipped industrywide to 109 problems per 100 models from 108 in 2009. The results are based on a J.D. Power survey of 82,000 new-vehicle buyers after 90 days of ownership.

A big reason for the slight drop in industry quality was Toyota Motor Corp.’s Toyota brand, which slipped below the industry average for the first time, to 21st place, with 117 problems reported per 100 models.

The publicity surrounding sudden acceleration in several Toyota models was top-of-mind for many new owners of the brand’s vehicles, J.D. Power said.

“Clearly, Toyota has endured a difficult year,” said Dave Sargent, vice president of global vehicle research at J.D. Power.

Overall, Japanese brands averaged 108 problems per 100 models surveyed, a tie with U.S. domestic brands. South Korean brands averaged 111 problems and Europeans 114 problems.

BMW’s Mini was the most improved brand, and the Ford Explorer Sport Trac was the most improved model. Overall, 18 brands improved and 15 brands declined in the survey.

Detroit showing

For Detroit automakers, the results contrast sharply with a year ago, when the bankruptcies of GM and Chrysler underscored longtime consumer perceptions about the quality of domestic brands.

“This year may mark a key turning point for U.S. brands as they continue to fight the battle against lingering negative perceptions of their quality,” said Sargent. “Achieving quality comparability is the first half of the battle. Convincing consumers — particularly import buyers — that they have done this is the second half.”

The quality of new or revamped models continued to improve in 2010, led by product launches from Ford, Honda, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche. In the past, new models, on average, experienced substantially more quality problems than carryover models.

But in its latest survey, J.D. Power said more than a half of all models launched during the 2010 model year performed better than their respective segment averages.

At the same time, the initial quality of carryover and refreshed models fell in 2010.

At the top

Porsche AG, which launched the four-door Panamera, was the top-ranked brand, with 83 problems per 100 models surveyed. It was followed by Acura, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus and Ford. Honda, Hyundai, Lincoln, Infiniti and Volvo also finished above the industry average.

Last year, Lexus topped the survey with 84 problems per 100 models. Porsche and Lexus have led the survey for the past six years.

At the bottom of the survey, with 170 problems per 100 models, was Land Rover. Mitsubishi, Volkswagen, Mini, Jaguar and Dodge also placed near the bottom.

Sargent said the industry has nailed “the oily parts” of the car and truck, with engine, transmission and chassis problems all but extinct. But new technologies such as Bluetooth, navigation and cameras continue to stymie automakers and consumers.

“The industry is still struggling to seamlessly integrate these features in a way that does not frustrate consumers,” Sargent said. “It can be anything from a voice recognition system that fails to recognize commands or a bad sensor that monitors tire pressure.”

GM plans a 3.3 billion euro ($4 billion) reorganization to cut its European capacity by 20 percent and workforce by a fifth, and rejuvenate the bulk of Opel’s model lineup through the end of 2014.

Last week, the German government refused GM’s request for 1.1 billion euros in loan guarantees from the country’s state rescue fund for companies hit by the economic recession. The UK and Spain had earlier indicated they would be willing to provide state aid sought by GM from European countries with Opel factories.

Opel CEO Nick Reilly said today the company could not afford to have uncertain funding plans and new time-consuming complex negotiations at a time when GM Europe needs to keep investing in new products and technologies.

“In these circumstances, and given the need to progress the plan quickly, it has been decided to fund the requirements internally. GM’s recently improved financial strength has also been a catalyst for making this decision,” Opel said in a statement.

Reilly said Opel’s funding needs have not changed, adding: “We are grateful for the support of our parent company, which will allow us to move forward with confidence in this very competitive industry.”

With new products and the impact of restructuring, Opel expects to return to profitability shortly, Reilly said.

GM’s European operations have lost $1.3 billion since the automaker exited bankruptcy last year. It was the only GM region to lose money in the first quarter.

GM has already agreed to contribute 1.9 billion euros of U.S. taxpayer funding to keep Opel afloat. For months the company had insisted it needed European governments to pitch in to restructure its money-losing European unit.

But GM’s turnaround from bankruptcy to profitability in just 12 months, which helped it hang on to Opel, undermined the unit’s efforts to win state aid. In the first quarter, GM earned $865 million worldwide – its first quarterly profit since 2007.

Excluding funds in escrow, GM had gross cash of $23.3 billion at the end of March compared with $14.2 billion in debt. Its first-quarter funds from operations exceeded capital expenditure by about $1 billion.

GM has also rankled the German government, which last year brokered a deal to sell the carmaker to Canada’s Magna International. But at the last minute GM decided to keep and restructure Opel rather than sell it.

Opel said it will now be able to fully implement a new strategic plan, in particular investments in future products that were announced in February.

As part of GM’s bid for European aid, the UK had committed guarantees for 330 million euros of bank loans and the Spanish government indicated they would approve a similar amount.

German federal states with Opel factories expressed a willingness last week to enter into new negotiations about aid.

In a restructuring plan unveiled last year, GM said it would reduce 8,300 of 48,000 jobs across Europe, with 4,000 cuts coming in Germany.

The automaker is eager to have a turnaround plan in Europe in place before proceeding with a planned stock offering and emerge from U.S. government control, possibly as early as this fall.

The New York Times got its hands on a memo that GM sent to employees Tuesday, which, in the name of consistency for its biggest brand, tells staffers to quit saying “Chevy.” GM responded to the resulting “emotional debate” by embracing customers’ use of the abbreviated name and saying the memo was poorly worded.

The note wasn’t signed by GM’s new marketing chief, Joel Ewanick, who hired Goodby when he joined the Detroit automaker from Nissan last month. It was signed by Alan Batey, vice president of Chevrolet sales and service, and Jim Campbell, the division’s vice president of marketing.

The memo said:

“We’d ask that, whether you’re talking to a dealer, reviewing dealer advertising or speaking with friends and family, that you communicate our brand as Chevrolet moving forward …

“When you look at the most recognized brands throughout the world, such as Coke or Apple, for instance, one of the things they all focus on is the consistency of their branding … Why is this consistency so important? The more consistent a brand becomes, the more prominent and recognizable it is with the consumer.”

Coke vs. Coca-Cola

The Times story noted that Coke is short for Coca-Cola and cited an expert saying GM’s initiative ran counter to a trend towards “more casual” branding, such as KFC for Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Autoblog.com, one of many Web voices taking GM to task for the memo, said: “We feel that the Coke comparison GM uses in the memo is ultimately rather apt, given that the idea of memory-holing “Chevy” as part of some absurd branding exercise seems destined to be a failure on the level of New Coke.”

In its statement, GM said today’s fuss showed “how passionately people feel about Chevrolet.”

“We love Chevy,” GM said. “In no way are we discouraging customers or fans from using the name. We deeply appreciate the emotional connections that millions of people have for Chevrolet and its products.

“In global markets, we are establishing a significant presence for Chevrolet, and need to move toward a consistent brand name for advertising and marketing purposes. The memo in question was one step in that process.”

A GM spokesman told the Times that it the move was influenced by Goodby.

A ‘Chevy’ worth 25 cents

A postscript to the memo says a plastic can has been placed in the hallway, and “Every time someone uses ‘Chevy’ rather than Chevrolet,” an employee is expected to toss in a quarter.

GM’s own Twitter page says “Talking Chevy One Tweet at a Time.” It has also sponsored links on Google driving folks to the Web site by calling it “The Official Chevy Site.”