Since the introduction of auto safety standards, highway deaths in this country have been on a steady decline. At one time automobile deaths hovered around 50,000 per year. That number now is closer to 35,000 despite more cars on the road and more miles being driven.

However good that news is, Volvo wants it all. The auto maker has set as a goal zero highway deaths in their cars by 2020, according to Wards Automotive. Other manufacturers are said to be examining this as well, though none has been bold enough to announce it publicly.

As the saying goes, “We have the technology”, but is there a risk for Volvo in going down this road? Could it be interpreted as a promise that could expose the company to increased risk of litigation?

The vast majority of car crashes are caused by operator error and this element can be difficult if not impossible for a manufacturer to control. New safety measures such as Volvo’s City Safety system can do much to reduce crashes, but they can also lull drivers into a false sense of security and make them even less engaged in the operation of their cars.

A better idea: More comprehensive driver training and higher standards for licensing. (IMHO.)

--M.D.

The down turn in auto sales over the past two years was partially due to the weak economy and diminished consumer confidence but was also driven by a lack of available credit for car loans in the market place.

Automotive News reports that the credit side of the equation is improving and lenders not only have access to more lendable funds but have also relaxed lending standards -- somewhat. For at least a year getting a loan was difficult even for buyers with fairly good credit. Now, with more money available, buyers with less than super prime credit ratings are finding it easier to get approval.

It helps that those buyers are also coming into the market better prepared. The article notes that they are paying down credit cards and bringing larger down payments to the table when applying. The expanding availability of credit is also helping dealers build their inventories.

--M.D.

The Detroit News is reporting that Honda seems to be profiting most from Toyota’s recall problems. Comparing sales data from the first twenty days of February to the same time frame in January, the newspaper found that Toyota’s market share has taken a nose dive, dropping from 17.5% to 12.2% in just one month. At the same time Honda’s share rose from 11.2% to 13% while Ford, posting the second best gain, saw a bump from 10.6% to 11.7%. The numbers reflect retail sales only.

The data show that the Chevrolet brand also slid slightly from 10.3% to 10.0% despite generous incentives and heavy marketing. Honda went fairly light on the incentives and avoided special offers to Toyota owners to entice them to trade. Also interesting to note that the two Korean brands, Hyundai and Kia, now account for 7% market share.

If the trend continues for the rest of the month, Honda will emerge as America’s most popular brand and, with a little push, Ford could regain its number two position.

--M.D.

Amid concerns that some its cars are hopelessly out of favor with buyers, Chrysler is promising to breathe new life into its mid-sized lines when it brings out redesigned models late this year. The Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger are scheduled to receive major “freshenings” to try to keep them competitive until completely redesigned versions with Fiat underpinnings come on line in 2013. The company is even considering changing the names in an attempt to get the public to forget just how awful the current versions are.

Fiat chief Sergio Marchionne went so far as to say that the refreshed models will be “completely different animals”, though one has to wonder just how different they can be since they will be built at the same plants and on the same platforms as currently. One also wonders if it will be too little, too late. Sales of the two cars tumbled dramatically in 2009 and they have practically become the laughing stock of the industry.

Maybe Marchionne plays his cards close to the vest, but there has been precious little at the major car shows this season to suggest that anything much is going on at Chrysler beyond some new trim packages. These things take time, of course, but time is not on Chrysler’s side.

--M.D.

Tucked away in a corner of the Chevy display at the Chicago Auto Show was a fully equipped Chevrolet Caprice PPV, the first Caprice police cruiser since the last generation of rear-drive, body-on-frame Caprice Classic was discontinued in 1996.

Available in 2011, the Caprice PPV is based on the same rear-drive platform that underpins the Camaro and the late, lamented Pontiac G8, though with a longer wheel base. Both V-8 and V-6 engines will be available, with the 6.0-liter V-8 producing 355 horsepower. Special police package equipment will include high-output alternator, engine oil, transmission and power steering coolers, 18-inch steel wheels with bolt-on center caps, heavy-duty suspension components, and police-calibrated stability control system.

The Caprice PPV will be built in Australia (as was the Pontiac G8) and will not be offered for retail sale. With the demise of the Crown Victoria next year, the timing of the Caprice’s introduction couldn’t be more appropriate. Ford is rumored to be working up a police version of the Taurus but no details of that car have been released yet.

--M.D.

GM sales in China continue to surge and in January the company sold more cars there than it did in the U.S. (219,000 cars vs. 146,000). China’s auto market grew to become the largest in the world last year and nearly every manufacturer selling cars in that market is reaping the benefits. Ford saw sales grow 128% to nearly 31,0000 units while Toyota reported an increase of 53% to 72,000. Small numbers, to be sure, but the Chinese market, along with those of India, Russia and Brazil, is expected to be red hot for some time to come.

The strength of the Chinese market probably figured heavily in GMs restructuring decisions last year. As the company slashed the number of brands it offered from eight to just four, it was clear that Buick would have to remain because of its popularity in China.

For more detail head to Detroit News.

--M.D.

Wardsauto.com reports that at a recent Green Car Summit in Washington, D.C., Volkswagen of America president Stefan Jacoby broke ranks with other panelists when he downplayed the importance of electric cars and hybrids in Volkswagen’s product development plans. Saying that he wanted to be “a little more realistic about EVs”, Jacoby predicted that not more than 10% of his company’s U.S. sales would be electrics by 2020.

Obstacles that stand in the way of expanded use of electrics and plug-in hybrids include the lack of charging infrastructure, the enormous amount of capital that it will take to bring electric vehicles to market and the fact that fossil fuels remain fairly inexpensive, especially in the U.S. Like other European automakers, VW believes that clean diesel technology will be far more important in achieving environmental and energy goals in the near term.

Jacoby went on to say that government regulation alone will not achieve those goals, insisting that VW makes “cars for consumers, not government regulators”.

Brutally honest, but honest nonetheless.

--M.D.

You probably have never seen this car, and chances are that you never will. The owner says that this is the only Mikrus MR-300 known to exist in the United States. I spotted it at a microcar show in Racine, WI, in 2008.

Designed to be a low-cost “people’s car”, the Mikrus was built in Poland in the late 1950s. Sporting a 300cc, 2-cylinder, 2-stroke engine mounted in the rear and seating for four, the Mikrus wasn’t particularly fast but is said to have handled fairly well.

Only about 1700 of these little cars were built and it isn’t entirely clear why production was discontinued in 1960, although political pressure from the Soviet Union may have played a role.

For more information follow this link.