Automotive News

Filed under: Concept Cars, Geneva Motor Show

click above image to view more high-res photos of the Lada C Concept

Though Lada is the punchline of many jokes outside its native country of Russia, the brand run by AvtoVAS has plans for a major export operation that could see more of its cars sold all over Europe, perhaps even in the U.K. Normally we walk right by the Lada booth at various international auto shows, since we’ve since their cars before… back in the ’70s and ’80s when they were sold with other brands’ badges on their hoods. The Lada C Concept, however, is a genuine attempt by the automaker to design something fresh that’s engineered on modern day mechanicals. To achieve that end, a deal was struck with MagnaSteyr, a mercenary engineering and manufacturing firm that will design and build for you whatever you want - for a price. Lada contracted MagnaSteyr to develop the C Concept’s mechanicals, which are destined to underpin the automaker’s next-generation lineup of cars and CUVs. In addition, MagnaSteyr has developed them to meet European safety and emissions standards, which opens up the door for Lada in many new markets.

It’s not known whether the C Concept is destined for production, but the three-door hatch is relatively easy on the eyes, at least compared to the ancient designs of current Ladas. It’s powered by a 2.0L four-cylinder, which for its size should provide plenty of grunt.

[Source: Autoblog Spanish]

 

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Filed under: Hirings/Firings, Ford, Earnings/Financials

Ford announced today that it will be cracking open the coffers to pay out a bonus to every single one of its salaried and hourly workers in the U.S. and Canada, a number that now stands between 120,000 and 128,000 people. According to Automotive News, the bonuses will range from $300 to $800 for nonmanagers, while management will get a little more (isn’t that always the way?). Ford has stated the bonuses are meant to boost morale and recognize the hard work of the entire Ford family to reduce costs, improve quality and pair down the ranks.

The one question that has to be asked is where or not Ford can really afford this right now. If we were to assume the least expensive scenario of the automaker paying 120,000 workers a $300 bonus, the tally would come to $36 million. That’s the least expensive scenario, which is a gross underestimate since there could be up to 128,000 eligible for the bonuses that range up to $800 and even more for managers. Morale is certainly important, don’t get us wrong, but perhaps such a large payout during these tough times will actually shake the morale of those workers left who believe their leaders aren’t making the right decisions. It’s something to think about.

[Source: Automotive News]

 

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Filed under: SUVs, Etc., Government/Legal

Road rage hits the shopping mall. Augusta police have one Stephen Scott Lowe in custody following a pursuit through the Augusta Mall in Georgia. Apparently Lowe drove his SUV through some locked doors at one end of the mall, and in his best Blues Brothers impression had police pursuing him as he drove along the second floor. After breaking through another set of doors leading into the food court area, he was boxed in by officers and had a brief altercation with them before being subdued with pepper spray and a well-placed baton. The 47-year old suspect was arrested and charged with criminal damage to property in the first degree, felony obstruction of a law enforcement officer and driving under the influence. Under the influence of what remains to be seen. No word yet on why he hated the mall so much or what the voices in his head had told him to buy at that late hour. Perhaps someone in the food court had cut him off or stole his parking space.

[Source: Augusta Chronicle]

 

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Filed under: Concept Cars, Geneva Motor Show

Not terribly much is known about the Phalcon coupe debuted by a company called Stola that’s based in the Italian town of the same name. It’s powered by a BRABUS-tuned biturbo V12 from Mercedes, and reportedly 25 will be produced. The twin-turbo V12 produces 750 horsepower and just over 1,000 ft-lbs. of torque. Clearly straight line acceleration will not be a problem, though we shudder to think how the Phalcon would react to a series of slalom cones. The design is certainly striking, though we find it hard to draw much of a connection with the noble peragrine beyond the falcon-head hood ornament. The combination of a thin track width and extremely long hood remind one of the Maybach Exelero, and the one-piece windshield that extends all the away to the back of the car is a nice touch. You can check out more live shots of the Stola Phalcon over at the Straightline Blog, as well as a video of the car at Stola’s website.

 

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Filed under: Cadillac, Chevrolet

General Motors will be joining BMW and bringing some of its classic machines to the Amelia Island Concours in Florida this weekend, March 9-11. On hand will be a fully restored 1954 Cadillac Series 62 decked out in the livery of the one of the cars that ran in the classic Mexican road race, the Carrera Panamericana. The car had been part of GM’s collection and was restored in 2006 by a team from the General Motors Performance Division, befitting this year’s show theme of Great Road Races.

Joining the big Caddy coupe will be a quartet of Corvair based concepts from the GM Heritage Collection. The Corvair specials were built between 1962 and 1967 and each is unique. Where production Corvairs all hung the engine behind the rear axle, one of the concepts, the Monza GT coupe flipped the power-train around to create a mid-engine layout. In addition to the four concepts, GM design chief Bill Mitchell’s personal 1969 Corvair Monza will also be at Amelia Island. This last car was one of the last production Corvairs to come off the Willow Run assembly line, and has only 2,688 miles on it. The GM press releases are after the jump.

[Source: General Motors]

Continue reading Classic Cadillac racer and Corvair concepts heading to Amelia Island Concours

 

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Filed under: Gadgets, BMW

GPS navigation systems continue to be a popular option for car buyers. Some of the most frequent complaints with electronic navigation, however, are that the maps themselves aren’t updated frequently enough and that problems seem to occur when the GPS tells drivers to go down a route that may not be navigable. With the ability to be interactive and updated (even if infrequently), they still represent a huge step up in functionality over the paper maps of yore. Not only can you designate a destination and have the route personalized for you, other points of interest can be highlighted, traffic updates can be monitored, and you never have to try to refold them, so in our book it’s a no-brainer.

Physically entering the desired address into the system can be tedious and distracting, however, especially at speed. BMW has developed a way to remove the middle man so to speak, which is you. With this new system, users can access Google business listings on their own computer and then forward the address and details to their Drive Assist-equipped BMWs. Rather than re-entering the information, the navi already knows it when the driver’s but hits the seat. It’s a nice time saver that helps make the process more accurate and safer, too. While we’d still like to have access to Google Maps when we’re actually in the car, skipping the re-entry of the address helps quite a bit and it’s definitely a step in the right direction. Check out the video of how it works after the jump.

[Source: Engadget]

Continue reading BMW and Google Maps marry dash and desktop

 

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Filed under: Motorsports, Porsche

We imagine those brave souls who first turned oversteer into an art form on the dangerous twisties of Japan’s mountain passes never imagined what would become of their beloved motorsport on American soil. Samuel Hubinette now drives a four-door Dodge Charger, Rhys Millen will pilot a Solstice GXP this season and Ken Gushi pilots a Ford Mustang GT. All do so with a great degree of success, as well. Now word comes that Hankook Tires will debut a drifting Porsche 993 car at the Formula D season opener in Long Beach on April 7th. The car features a 600-hp motor to help peel away its Hankook Ventus R-S2 rubber in a controlled manner. Unlike other drift cars, since the Porsche carries so much weight over its rear axle, the rear suspension had to be softened so the car could “squat” to get better traction. It will be driven by Tyler McQuarrie in the upcoming 2007 Formula D season, and for the purists out there will be accompanied by an S15 Sylvia driven by Kenji Yamanaka. We wonder what the official folks in Stuttgart think about all this.

Official press release from Hankook Tires can be found after the jump.

[Source: Hankook Tire]

Continue reading The end is nigh: Hankook Tires debuts Porsche 993 drift car

 

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Filed under: Concept Cars, Sports/GTs, Dodge

if you’re a Mopar fan and you’re in the Detroit area this weekend from March 9-11, you might want to swing by Cobo Hall and check out the Detroit Autorama. Chrysler will be debuting another special version of the Dodge Challenger, this time in a sinister looking black finish. The automaker is also going to have a bunch of other specials including a Hemi-powered Dodge Nitro, the Dodge Venom Concept and lots of SRT models. Also don’t forget to check out the finalists for the storied Ridler Award while you’re there. The show opens at noon on Friday and 10am on Saturday and Sunday.

[Source: Chrysler]

 

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Filed under: Chrysler, Ford, GM, Earnings/Financials

While deftly avoiding the General Motors buyout of Chrysler issue, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz did say that he can see one of Detroit’s Big 3 dying off in the not-too-distant future. Citing increased market pressures and too much capacity, he said in Geneva that present trends lead to only one conclusion, that one of the domestic automakers will be squeezed out. It won’t be GM, however. “Right now, we’re in the best position,” he said. “We’re approaching the end of the beginning of the transformation of GM.”

We agree that GM is closest to being on the right track, so it remains to be seen whether Ford can survive its own turnaround, or if Chrysler will weather the current storms and right the ship before somebody comes in and dismantles it.

Lutz went on to detail the legacy costs that are behind most of the pessimism about the domestic industry. It’s stuff we’ve heard before like pensions and health care for employees (and retirees) that are a $2,000-per-vehicle “burden” on the manufacturers. The biggest question on everybody’s mind, however, wasn’t directly addressed. Rather than talking about a GM/Chrysler deal, Lutz discussed the breakdown in the Renault-Nissan talks. “Generically, synergies are easier to get in the same geography than across geographies,” he said. “That was the problem with Renault-Nissan. What sane auto company would sign up for that?” What company indeed?

[Source: Detroit News]

 

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Filed under: Aston Martin, Ford

Coming out of Geneva along with the exodus of automotive journalists are reports that a sale of Aston Martin is imminent, and that the likely winning bid has come from a consortium headed by Prodrive founder David Richards. The expected bid is rumored to be around $965,800,000 (£500,000), or about half of what Ford Motor Co. was hoping to get for its most premium of brands. Ford is expected to retain an interest in Aston Martin since it’s still the brand’s number one supplier of parts, and current chief Ulrich Benz, who himself submitted a bid to own the brand he runs, should remain in his position for the time being.

Despite the lower than hoped for selling price, Ford is reportedly pleased to have found a new owner with experience in the auto biz and an already-established connection to the Aston Martin brand. Prodrive runs Aston Martin’s racing team and has been connected with the automaker in one way or another for many years, so the purchase indeed seems like a good fit. We’ll let you know when word comes that the sale is final, which is expected before the end of the week.

[Source: Daily Telegraph via GMInsideNews]

 

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