March 1, 2007 - Torrance CA. - Spurred by record hybrid sales, Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., today reported best-ever February sales of 187,330 vehicles, an increase of 12.2 percent over February 2006.
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Filed under: China, DaimlerChrysler
Apparently not everyone in Stuttgart is thrilled about the deal that Chrysler has struck with Chery to assemble small cars for sale outside of China. Erich Kelmm is chairman of the DaimlerChrysler works council and thinks having DCX branded cars built by other companies is a bad strategy. The works council represents company employees and has representatives from all the company unions. Reps from the works council also sit on the corporate supervisory board.
Klemm is also skeptical about DaimlerChrysler cooperating with other larger Chinese manufacturers like FAW or SAIC and thinks they pose a threat to European manufacturers and autoworkers’ jobs. He also thinks that the wide open shareholder structure of companies like DCX without a dominant shareholder is unsustainable. Klemm prefers a system like Porsche and BMW that are controlled by large family holdings and are more stable over the long term. This last idea is particularly dubious, since not all such enterprises work out that well. Take a look at Ford where forty percent of the voting shares are controlled by the Ford family, and even Porsche had it’s problems in the late eighties and early nineties.
[Source: Just-Auto - sub. req’d]
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time
BREA, Calif. — (March 1, 2007) — American Suzuki Motor Corporation (ASMC) today announced sales of 8,585 units in February – the best February sales in company history. The new monthly sales record follows a record-setting 2006, when ASMC enjoyed automobile sales of more than 100,000 vehicles for the first time in its 22-year history. Year-to-date sales in 2007 also remain ahead of last year’s total.
Filed under: Euro, Hatchbacks, Ford
Ford of Europe chairman Lewis Booth confirmed today that the next-generation Ford Fiesta for the European market will be brought to us folks in small car-starved North America. In truth, we’re not actually starved for small cars in North America, we’re just starved for good small cars like the Ford Fiesta and other European B-class models. The current model is well received in its native market, while the next generation model will be based off of the same platform used by the new Mazda2 that’s being debuted publicly for the first time in Geneva tomorrow. The question remains whether Ford will substantially alter the design of the Euro model before it makes its transatlantic voyage, but considering how little money Ford has to spare, as well as how good the current designs are coming out of Ford Europe, we’d guess the models will be very similar.
Booth also commented that platform sharing between Ford’s North American and European operations could extend all the way up to the Mondeo. For the first time we’ve gotten an indication of how that might work. Booth says that since the Fusion has just been launched, it likely won’t be until the new sedan has gone through at least one full product cycle that the two cars can be merged. By that time, we’ll either be getting the new Mondeo in the twilight of its own product cycle or an all-new Mondeo will debut on both continents.
[Source: The Detroit News]
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time
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Filed under: Sports/GTs, Geneva Motor Show, Lotus
Click on the photo for a gallery of high-res images of the Europas Luxury Touring Pack
Lotus introduced the Europa as a slightly larger, more GT-like coupe alternative to the Elise a couple of years ago, but in spite of it’s performance capabilities, it hasn’t really measured up to competitors like the Porsche Cayman. Now Lotus has added a new option to the Europa lineup with the Luxury Touring Pack that hopes to cozy up to this cousin of the street-legal track car known as the Elise. The interior that was slightly less spartan than the original Elise has been covered in saddle tan and chocolate leather, and brown carpets.
The trunk also gets the full treatment of carpet and leather and also gets luggage straps. Tinted glass, body colored trim and air intakes enhance the exterior look. The grilles on the front radiator outlets and the rear outlets also get a silver treatment. The new upgrades certainly gives the Europa a much more expensive look than the standard version, but you’d still likely find us holding the keys to a Cayman over this car.
[Source: Lotus]
Continue reading Geneva Motor Show: Lotus adds Luxury Touring Pack to Europa S
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time
Filed under: Hirings/Firings, Plants/Manufacturing, GM
Looks like the sometimes-suicidally-prone manufacturing robots at General Motors are taking jobs away from some real people. The Australian is reporting that up to 600 Holden employees will be getting their pink slips in the company’s Elizabeth plant in South Australia. The Elizabeth plant is where the Holden Commodore, among other vehicles, is manufactured. The explanation is that the company is “adjusting to improved high technology automated operations.” Sounds like language employed to gain favor with future robot overlords.
Seriously, though, the downsizing will begin with voluntary buyouts and workers will be given government retraining and other assistance. The Elizabeth plant currently employs 4,500 workers and has been touted as being one of the “most flexible and efficient operations in the world.”
The cutbacks come just as the company gears up for production of the ute and wagon versions of the new-for-2006 Commodore range. That vehicle will be the basis of the new Pontiac G8, which will either be built in the States eventually or immediately to save costs. So we have workers doing too good of a job building a car that might be a bit big for current tastes.
Thanks for the tip, Daniel!
[Source: The Australian]
Continue reading Holden drops 600 workers from Commodore assembly plant
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time
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Filed under: Sports/GTs, Geneva Motor Show, Lotus
click image for two desktop-sized sketches of the car
Geneva show-goers are in for a treat courtesy of Lotus. Well, Lotus Sport actually. Lotus Sport is the racing arm of Lotus and they used their GT3 race version of the Exige as a template to fashion an Exige GT3 concept for the street. Sure it’s just a concept for now, but it is likely to go into limited production. With its supercharged and intercooled 1.8-liter engine further tweaked, the GT3 is putting out 271 hp now. It bests the current best Exige S by a bunch, and the track-only Exige Cup by a little bit. More importantly, it is the closest thing on the street to the Lotus Sport Exige GT3 that has been winning races for two years now. Think Porsche GT3 as interpreted by Colin Chapman. Lighter, more sharply focused, and dangerous looking.
Along with the added power, this special Exige gets a wider rear track, a unique rear spoiler, and a more aerodynamic (and clean) nose. There are also upgraded brakes up front and pads all around, wider rear wheels and a few other bodywork changes. It sounds like a great track car that you could actually drive on the street and looks even better than the current Exige. Lotus is guessing that pricing would be somewhere in the £50,000 to £60,000 range. That might seem a bit steep, but put it up against a 911 GT3, F430, or maybe the Gallardo Superleggera and you might be surprised at how well this could keep up on a track.
Follow the jump for the rest of the specs and the official press release from Lotus.
[Source: Lotus]
Continue reading Geneva Motor Show: Lotus unleashes Exige GT3 Concept
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time
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Filed under: Geneva Motor Show
Mmm… what could be better than sipping an authentic cup of Swiss Miss while taking in one of the largest auto shows in the world. For one thing, Swiss Miss is owned by multinational mega-company ConAgra Foods, and the delectable chocolate drink was actually invented by a Sicilian. This doesn’t change the fact that Geneva Motor Show is one of the largest auto shows in the world, and the 77th iteration of the Geneva Motor Show is set to start tomorrow, which is why our international team of bloggers is touching down in Switzerland as we speak.
Beginning very early in the morning tomorrow, our crew will begin pumping out the posts from the show floor. There are many ways you can follow the flood of posts that will come over the next few days.
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time
Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Dodge
If you’re a working professional in your mid-30s with an annual income around $60,000, take notice: Dodge will be working hard to entice you to buy a new Avenger. Don’t think you’ll be safe by turning off the TV, either. The Avenger will be on the internet and in your video games, as well. Dodge is marketing its new Avenger to the 30-something demographic with a series of ads that tout technology and performance. Cup-holders that heat and cool your liquid and a MyGIG sound system with 20 gigabytes of hard drive space will be front and center in the ads. Another spot will highlight Avenger’s “Natural Performer” attributes. You’ll even see the Avenger in Tom Clancy’s “Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter” video game from Ubisoft. We assume the Detroit Free Press means the Avenger will be in G.R.A.W. II actually, since G.R.A.W. has been out on store shelves for some time now.
Every automaker aspires to get younger folks buying its vehicles so they can generate brand loyalty for the future. The Scion brand has worked brilliantly with eight out of 10 owners staying in the
[Source: Detroit Free Press]
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time
Filed under: Sports/GTs, Videos, Ford
Someone help us understand what’s going on here. In the latest episode of Top Gear, Richard Hammon revisits the Ford Shelby GT500 that the British motoring show tested late last year. For comparison’s sake, Hammond brings along his own classic Shelby GT390. We’re used to Top Gear bashing our U.S. ware at every opportunity, and the GT500 again takes a licking for having a suspension that can’t handle the car’s power. But when Hammond wheels out a portable chassis dyno to accurately measure the GT500’s horsepower, he seems surprised to learn that the car produces 447 horsepower. Of course, that’s 447 wheel horsepower, meaning the horsepower is being measured at the wheel where parasitic drivetrain losses are in effect and reduce the manufacturer’s flywheel horsepower rating a good 10 to 20%. In fact, if you factor in a 10% drivetrain loss on Ford’s flywheel horsepower rating of 500, you get 450 wheel horsepower, which is pretty darn close to the 447 achieved by Hammond’s “rolling road”. For some inexplicable reason, however, Hammond and his comparitavely giant co-host, Jeremy Clarkson, ding the GT500 for producing 53 less horsepower than advertised. Huh?
You can view the segment after the jump for the time being (until it gets yanked off YouTube) and make your own judgment, but from our perspective the segment appears highly misleading to viewers who don’t know the difference between horsepower ratings at the wheel and the flywheel. What’s up, Hamster?
[Source: Dubspeed Driven]
Continue reading HP 101: Top Gear provides false info on GT500 horsepower rating
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time
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