Archive | September, 2009

The World Turned Upside Down – UK to Assemble Indian Car

By on September 23, 2009 in Features, News

By Andy Bannister

09.23.2009

Indica VistaJust how much times have changed in the global car industry in the last decade has been brought into focus by news that Britain is to begin assembling an Indian-designed electric car, from Tata.

For decades, this trade ran in the other direction, with some rather less-than-glamorous products of the British motor industry pensioned off to India and manufactured there by companies like Hindustan, Standard and Sipani.

Tata Motors is a big player in Britain now, since the company owns two of the country’s best-known marques, Jaguar and Land Rover. Both are struggling quite a lot in the current difficult economic trading conditions, which have hit makers of larger, more polluting vehicles particularly hard.

Continue Reading →

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2009 Infiniti G37 Convertible Review

By on September 22, 2009 in Reviews

By Chris Haak

09.23.2009

img_0536Over the past several years, Infiniti has been doing its best to position a few of its models as lower-cost, sometimes higher-performing alternatives to BMWs.  The M35/M45, of which I’m a fan, still aren’t likely cross-shopped against the 5-series as much as Infiniti would like to see, but one Infiniti model – the G37 – has been breathing down the neck of its 3-series rival from Bayerische Motoren Werke perhaps a bit too closely for BMW’s comfort.

Nissan’s more recent strategy with Infiniti has been to expand the G lineup into more of the derivatives that BMW offers in its 3-series lineup.  BMW has four basic body styles of the 3′er:  sedan, coupe, hardtop convertible, and touring (wagon).  As of this past spring, Infiniti can now check off three of the four, missing only the wagon (and only on a technicality – the E35 crossover is far closer to a car than a truck, and as I said when I reviewed it, is basically the G35/G37 wagon). Continue Reading →

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Is a V6 Corvette in the Future?

By on September 22, 2009 in Editorials

By Chris Haak

09.22.2009

2010 Chevrolet Corvette Grand SportIf GM’s new product-development chief Tom Stephens has anything to say about the question posed in the headline, the answer is no.  For now.  Any student of Corvette history knows that the very first Corvette – the 1953 roadster – was powered only by an inline six cylinder engine.  Chevrolet’s new small block V8 didn’t find its way under the Corvette’s hood until the car’s third model year, in 1955.  Since then, the only question about what kind of engine might be found under the Corvette’s hood was “which V8?” and not, “is it a V8?”

Chevrolet’s Corvette occupies a hallowed place in Chevrolet’s lineup.  It seems that were it not for tradition, the Corvette wouldn’t even be a Chevrolet today.  The top Corvette model, the ZR1, costs roughly twice as much as the next-most expensive non-Corvette Chevrolet model.  The ZR1 also happens to have 46% more horsepower than the next-most powerful non-Corvette Chevrolet, the manual transmission-equipped Camaro SS (620 horsepower vs. 426). Continue Reading →

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Memory Lanes: The Ford Taunus

By on September 22, 2009 in Features

By Roger Boylan

09.22.2009

streetsigns

Mannheim, 1957

Post-war Germany’s well-deserved hangover was fading by the mid-fifties, when the three-decade-long Wirtschaftswunder (economic miracle) got underway. Literally and figuratively, shoots of green were everywhere amid the ruins. As a kid I made my first trip there in 1957, to Mannheim and Heidelberg, with my father. Germany was (and is) an atmospheric place, or maybe I was (and am) unusually susceptible to atmosphere–I think both.

I’ve been back many times since, mostly to promote my books, which are more widely read there than here, God bless the Germans; but my early memories stay with me. Rain, and dimly-lit restaurants thick with cigarette smoke, and the reflections of tungsten streetlamps in the rain-slicked streets, and miniaturized electric trains in shopwindows, and moldy red-brick apartment buildings, and rubble-strewn city blocks. And everywhere the ghosts of the Third Reich, of which I was then only dimly aware. New office buildings, many of them blocky towers aping Manhattan, were going up, especially in Frankfurt and Stuttgart. Soon every bürgerlich residence had a telephone and a television–and a car in the driveway, for the car industry was once again coming into its own. Continue Reading →

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Proton Shows Signs of New Life

By on September 21, 2009 in News

By Brendan Moore

09.21.2009

Proton logoSomething’s happening with Proton lately and it is fairly clear what it is – speculation regarding a long-awaited tie-up with a foreign automaker looks as if it might actually happen.

At the same time, the Malaysian auto maker, who is controlled by the Malaysian government, is moving into Formula One racing in order to publicize the Proton brand. The company announced last week that its sports-car maker, Lotus, will be forming a race car team that will race in 2010 in Formula One.

Additionally, the Malaysian government is conducting an overall review of their national automotive policy that is expected to bring about some changes in trade policy and tax policy that will be even more favorable to local auto manufacturers (read: Proton).

All of these things happening simultaneously have driven up Proton’s stock price almost 62% in the past thirty days, and therefore have people excited about the Malaysian auto sector.

Continue Reading →

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Sometimes, Going Sideways Is Better

By on September 19, 2009 in Features

By James Wong

09.19.2009

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An instructor doing a demonstration at the background; orange car getting ready for the day’s practices at the pit at the foreground.

Drifting has yet to take off in a big way in Singapore, but the recent Formula Drift Pro-Am Series 2009 held at the Changi Exhibition Centre is an indication that the sport is finding a following here.

On the 12th of September I had the privilege to participate in a drifting course organised at the Nusajaya Circuit across the causeway at Johor, Malaysia. This was the beginner course, so novices from all walks of life were able to join in this one-day event. I’ve never had any experience in a car off the streets, let alone drift a car, so I wasn’t expecting to achieve much in just one day of practice. Little did I know that drifting was grounded by a few very basic skills that can make one drift like a professional with constant practice. By the end of the day, everybody could at least do a simple drift round a few strategically placed cones, which speaks volumes about the instructor’s capabilities as well as the relatively simplicity of the sport. Continue Reading →

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Hot Laps: 2010 Shelby GT 500

By on September 17, 2009 in Features

By Alex Kalogiannis

09.17.2009

IMG_5249I remember when I bought my 2007 Shelby GT 500. It was shortly before Christmas, and I was shopping for gifts when I encountered it. Red, with white stripes all across the top, I couldn’t resist the urge to get a little Christmas gift for myself.

It now sits on the desk in my office.

The 1/15 scale die cast model has been an ever present reminder that I have not driven the genuine article. It’s not even as close as I’ve been to the real thing, I know someone who has one, same colors and everything. He has yet to let me drive it. So, as if set atop a bust of Pallas, my little Shelby taunts me. At this point, the likelihood that I’ll hop into one for some unadulterated thrashing is nil, but I think I’ve resolved the oversight by lighting up the tires of the new one. Continue Reading →

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Toyota Cranks Q4 Marketing Budget Up to Eleven

By on September 17, 2009 in News

By Chris Haak

09.17.2009

akio-toyoda-lexus-isfWith apologies to Spinal Tap, Toyota is actually cranking it up to one – as in one billion.  According to a report published today in the Wall Street Journal, Toyota is preparing a costly, $1 billion USD marketing push in an effort to drive US sales upward in the fourth quarter.  The $1 billion spend represents a substantial 30-40% increase over what is typically spent in the fourth quarter.

The push will be multifaceted, with some of the money going to subsidized leases and interest rates on loans, some to cash incentives, and some to help dealers with local advertising.  The company also plans to ramp up its production in advance of the marketing blitz.  In the company spokesman’s words, Toyota plans to “play offense” because you can’t “play defense forever.” Continue Reading →

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Saab Aims to Move 50,000 9-5 Models Annually

By on September 17, 2009 in News

By Kevin Miller

09.17.2009

2010 Saab 9-5In Frankfurt this week, Saab’s Managing Director Jan Åke Jonsson said the global sales target for the sedan and station wagon versions of the company’s new 9-5 is 40,000 to 50,000 per year, according to Automotive News. While the car looks great and should be very competitive in the market, the Swedish automaker may have a difficult time moving quite that many units.

As we reported last month, Saab’s new owner is inheriting a fractured dealer network in many parts of the world. GM has announced that the Saab dealer network in Canada is being shut down at the end of this year. Dealer numbers in the US and in several European markets have decreased in the last 18 months. With fewer retailers, thereby located farther from some potential customers, it may be difficult to grow sales of the large 9-5 to the point of being able to sell 50,000 annually. Saab’s Jonsson did state that the company plans to develop a new sales network in the US after the separation from GM is complete, which means that initiative will begin sometime in 2010.

Fortunately, the potential for growth into new markets does exist.  Following last week’s announcement that China’s Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings Co. (BIAC) has invested in Koenigsegg Group’s purchase of Saab from GM, it is possible that BIAC could serve as an importer or set up a retail network for the Swedish cars in China. GM introduced Saab to the Chinese market five years ago; fewer than 900 Saab vehicles were sold there in 2008. Continue Reading →

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Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne Says Chrysler in Worse Shape Than Thought

By on September 17, 2009 in Editorials

By Chris Haak

09.17.2009

sergioOn the sideline of the Frankfurt Auto Show, Fiat’s CEO told reporters that the situation at Chrysler was even worse than he had known.  I’m not quite sure why this is a surprise to him – and maybe it’s not and his statement is intentional PR-speak, but the fact that Chrysler has nothing to show for the 2010 model year aside from a revised interior for the Dodge Caliber, a heavy duty version of the Ram pickup, and a new hood for the unloved Chrysler Sebring that no longer has the strakes on it.

As CNNMoney reported, Marchionne and his management team was surprised at how little had been done at Chrysler in terms of product development over the past two years – in other words, while Cerberus had stewardship of the company.  The product launches that occurred during the Cerberus era – such as the Challenger and half-ton Ram – were products that had been developed during Daimler’s ownership of Chrysler.

Chrysler’s problems predate its purchase by Cerberus Capital Management LP in August 2007.  When Chrysler was but a single cog in the DaimlerChrysler global empire, the company didn’t need to do all of its own engineering work.  Daimler did large portions of necessary engineering for Chrysler vehicles when Chrysler was part of DiamlerChrysler.  Although the alliance obviously wasn’t as successful as Jürgen Schrempp and Bob Eaton thought it would be, Chrysler was in fact able to leverage some of Diamler’s engineering and development resources.  As former Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli noted during congressional testimony, Daimler basically “hollowed out” Chrysler during its nine years of ownership, leaving the cast-off as something less than a viable standalone car company. Continue Reading →

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