Here are the seven must-read, must-watch auto news stories, review and videos for Tuesday, June 30, 2015.
INSIDE THE SPORTS & AUTO BUSINESS
General Motors is no longer the primary sponsor of the National Football League. AdAge reports that Hyundai takes over the position which previously cost GM around $25 million per year. (GM spent $150 million per year thanks to the privilege of its NFL link.)
ALL-AMERICAN
Apparently, the Toyota Camry is the most American car in America. Cars.com’s excellent American-Made Index places the Toyota Sienna second among Americana, the Chevrolet Traverse third, and the Honda Odyssey fourth.
TTAC
All too often, a year after a hot new sports car hits the market, sales begin to tumble. Not so with the Chevrolet Corvette; not in its home market. Chevrolet sold more than 3000 copies of the Corvette in March, April, and May.
AUTOFOCUS
The Audi TT, Volvo XC90, Ford C-Max, Smart Fortwo, and Chevrolet Volt round out the top 5 of Canada’s 25 fastest-declining new vehicles through the first five months of 2015.
FORECASTS
U.S. auto sales in June were likely up 4% compared with June 2014, driving the total up toward 1.5 million units. Based on the first-half pace, auto sales could top 17 million units in the United States in calendar year 2015. We’ll begin reporting brand-by-brand U.S. sales results early tomorrow morning with model-specific sales tracking pages being updated throughout the day and best seller lists arriving in the afternoon. Because of Canada Day, we won’t see any Canadian sales figures until Thursday.
REVIEW
“It’s better to punt along than a normal 308, but it’s not a true drivers’ car.” So says Top Gear in regards to the new Peugeot 308 GT. Have the French lost the hot hatch magic? Not if you read a review of the Renault Megane RS.
WATCH
Enjoyed watching the Goodwood Festival Of Speed live last week? The streaming coverage was great, but we weren’t really seeing what the course was really like. This video of a Williams FW13B driven by Alex Lynn reveals just how different driving a car fast at Goodwood is compared with, say, the F1 circuit in Dubai. And once again, can we all agree that the Earl of March is just the coolest guy?
