Automotive News

Filed under: Etc., Euro, Mitsubishi, Peugeot

Seeing Peugeot sedans in the U.S. may be a possible scenario now that Mitsubishi and France’s PSA Peugeot Citroen group are in bed together. Both Peugeot and Citroen have added rebadged versions of the Mitsubishi Outlander crossover to their lineups and the cross sharing is now rumored to be taking a step further with news that Mitsubishi could build Peugeot’s next-gen 408 sedan at its Normal plant in Illinois.

Peugeot’s current 407 sedan (pictured) isn’t due for replacement for several years at the least, and a deal to produce the cars in the U.S. is still at least twelve months away. Peugeot would use the U.S. as a base for exporting cars to South America, but local production could also lead to the brand’s return to world’s largest car market.

One of the major hurdles is improving the negative image many American’s have towards all things French. Remember Freedom Fries? Peugeot would also need to develop a new dealer network if it’s considering a relaunch, but we’re sure a number of Mitsubishi dealers across the country will be happy to open their doors to the French brand.

[Source: Motor Trend]

 

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Filed under: Etc., Chrysler, DaimlerChrysler, Mercedes Benz

The majority of Chrysler has just been sold to a private equity firm, but that doesn’t mean the two divisions - Mercedes and Chrysler - won’t continue working closely with each other. Foreign subsidiaries such as those in Australia will continue working almost as one company according to Chrysler Group Australia managing director Gerry Jenkins, who also revealed that the two sides, though split, will be utilizing “a lot of back-end synergies.”

These will be mostly related to the administration side of the car business, such as accounting and IT departments. Under the deal, the Daimler side of the business will loan out its services to the Chrysler team, however, both companies would operate under the same roof in the city of Melbourne.

The parent company of Mercedes-Benz, which is expected to be renamed Daimler AG, still owns a twenty percent stake in Chrysler to allow a sharing of technology between the two sides. Jenkins also said there’ll be some ongoing projects in regards to engineering and component sharing, so there’s still a vested interest on Mercedes’ side to see Chrysler succeed.

[Source: GoAuto]

 

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Filed under: Sports/GTs, Supercars

If for no other reason, love these cars for the utter straightforward simplicity of their name - they are exactly what they’re called: Radical. While many sports car manufacturers claim the mantle as their own, few follow the creed of “racing car for the road” quite so faithfully as Radical, the small British outfit that produces track-day specials like the SR8. They may be certified for road use, but few concessions have been made towards comfort or usability. These cars are meant to be driven to the track and back home again.

As if its previous offerings weren’t fast enough, Radical has now unveiled its latest race car for the road: the SR8LM. The LM designation should give you a clue in case the picture doesn’t say it all. It’s built to offer Le Mans prototype levels of performance to anyone with the means. While the “ordinary” SR8 is powered by a 360-hp Powertec-modified superbike engine from the Suzuki Hayabusa, bored out from 1.3-liters to 2.8 and designated RPA, the SR8LM gets the revised RPB powerplant pumping out a whopping 455 horses and revving to an atmospheric 10,500-rpm redline. The engine is mated to Radical’s paddle-operated Powertec P-tec transaxle and PS1 pneumatic shifter that have been engineered for foot-to-the-floor upshifts and automatically blips the throttle on the way back down.

While we don’t have performance stats just yet, Radical claims the new £89,000 SR8LM will keep pace with actual Le Mans prototype race cars. That’s quite a claim, but considering that the previous 360hp SR8 already holds the record for fastest street-legal car to lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife at 6′ 55″, that may not be so far-fetched.

(Press release after the jump.)

[Source: Radical]

Continue reading Even more Radical: 455-hp SR8LM

 

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Filed under: Government/Legal, Chrysler

Chrysler’s spinoff from its German parent and the subsequent sale to Cerberus Capital Management was announced back in May, but the deal was only given final approval from the European Commission yesterday. Despite the latest episode, we’re unlikely to see things finalized until at least the third quarter because the deal now requires approval from U.S. authorities.

Since there were no objections from any of the parties involved, the approval was fast-tracked using a special simplified procedure, and the same approach is expected to be taken on U.S. soil.

Under the terms of the deal, Cerberus will become the owner of an 80.1% stake in Chrysler and its financing businesses. Of the $7.4 billion dollars it’s paying for the privilege, $6.05 billion will go towards Chrysler and its finance arm, with $1.35 billion paid into the coffers of Germany’s Daimler. In return, Daimler will offer a loan of $405 million to Chrysler and an additional $880 million to cover its long-term liabilities.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

 

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Filed under: Gadgets, Motorsports, China, Euro, Marketing/Advertising

A quick look at any racing car tells you that association with motorsports is a precious commodity for any number of companies, especially for watchmakers. A growing number of horologers are paying top dollar to link their names with the image that motor racing projects. All the more so with high-profile vintage racing events, which add a measure of heritage to the formula.

Like Chopard, which famously sponsors the annual Mille Miglia revival race, Swiss watchmakers Blancpain recently sponsored the 2007 edition of the famous Peking to Paris classic rally, the same event after which Spyker named their Super Sport Utility Vehicle concept. This year’s running started on May 27 in China, passing along the Great Wall, through Mongolia, the Steppes of Asia, the Gobi Desert, Siberia, Moscow, St Petersburg, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Germany before finishing in Paris on June 30.

As official timekeepers of the Peking to Paris rally, Blancpain produced two limited editions of 130 special fly-back chronographs, one with red accents and the other with yellow, the two official colors of the rally.

Blancpain (which ironically means “white bread”) was founded way back in 1735, and is today run by the son of Swatch’s chairman as part of the Swatch Group. The company is known for producing some of the most elaborate movements, for their deep-sea diving watches used by the US Navy and by Jacques Cousteau, and as the world’s oldest watchmaker.

[Source: Blancpain and TimeZone]

 

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Filed under: Gadgets, Motorsports, China, Euro, Marketing/Advertising

A quick look at any racing car tells you that association with motorsports is a precious commodity for any number of companies, especially for watchmakers. A growing number of horologers are paying top dollar to link their names with the image that motor racing projects. All the more so with high-profile vintage racing events, which add a measure of heritage to the formula.

Like Chopard, which famously sponsors the annual Mille Miglia revival race, Swiss watchmakers Blancpain recently sponsored the 2007 edition of the famous Peking to Paris classic rally, the same event after which Spyker named their Super Sport Utility Vehicle concept. This year’s running started on May 27 in China, passing along the Great Wall, through Mongolia, the Steppes of Asia, the Gobi Desert, Siberia, Moscow, St Petersburg, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Germany before finishing in Paris on June 30.

As official timekeepers of the Peking to Paris rally, Blancpain produced two limited editions of 130 special fly-back chronographs, one with red accents and the other with yellow, the two official colors of the rally.

Blancpain (which ironically means “white bread”) was founded way back in 1735, and is today run by the son of Swatch’s chairman as part of the Swatch Group. The company is known for producing some of the most elaborate movements, for their deep-sea diving watches used by the US Navy and by Jacques Cousteau, and as the world’s oldest watchmaker.

[Source: Blancpain and TimeZone]

 

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Filed under: Economy, China, Chrysler, Chery

Carlos Ghosn recently said that Renault/Nissan is developing a $3K car with Indian partner Tata. Honda said it looked at the same idea, but that it couldn’t build a car with Honda values for that money. Chrysler has put itself in the Honda camp, ruling out the creation of a $3K car with Chinese partner Chery. Instead, Chrysler is working on a two-tier system that will build basic, inexpensive vehicles for developing countries and full-fat premium cars for the US, Canada, and Europe.

Chrysler’s tie-in with Chery was put on hold when DaimlerChrysler put Chrysler on the block. Now that everything is settled with Cerberus, Chery is ready to sit down at the table again. Nothing’s been signed and no timetable has been announced, but it appears that Chery-built Dodges (and possibly Chryslers) could appear before the end of the decade. Still, Frank Klegon, Chrysler’s exec VP of product development, said he couldn’t get a car built for less than $5,000, even in China. In response to Renault and Nissan’s plans to build a $3K car for the Indian market, Klegon said “I have seen what you and I wouldn’t necessarily call cars.”

[Source: Autoweek]

 

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Filed under: Economy, China, Chrysler, Chery

Carlos Ghosn recently said that Renault/Nissan is developing a $3K car with Indian partner Tata. Honda said it looked at the same idea, but that it couldn’t build a car with Honda values for that money. Chrysler has put itself in the Honda camp, ruling out the creation of a $3K car with Chinese partner Chery. Instead, Chrysler is working on a two-tier system that will build basic, inexpensive vehicles for developing countries and full-fat premium cars for the US, Canada, and Europe.

Chrysler’s tie-in with Chery was put on hold when DaimlerChrysler put Chrysler on the block. Now that everything is settled with Cerberus, Chery is ready to sit down at the table again. Nothing’s been signed and no timetable has been announced, but it appears that Chery-built Dodges (and possibly Chryslers) could appear before the end of the decade. Still, Frank Klegon, Chrysler’s exec VP of product development, said he couldn’t get a car built for less than $5,000, even in China. In response to Renault and Nissan’s plans to build a $3K car for the Indian market, Klegon said “I have seen what you and I wouldn’t necessarily call cars.”

[Source: Autoweek]

 

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Filed under: Motorsports, Euro

The UK is a pretty good place to be an F1 fan, as a number of F1 teams are headquartered in Great Britain. Four current F1 racing drivers are British, including the incredible Lewis Hamilton, with several more test drivers as well. Brits have their own race every year, no matter how poor the facilities and the attendance. And they’re within driving distance of a handful more on the Continent. In short, the British Isles are F1-land, and more British companies are getting in on the action every year.

The latest to offer their services to race fans is Vue Cinemas, a rapidly-expanding chain of movie theaters that currently counts 59 multiplexes encompassing over 570 screens in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The chain has announced it will be screening a live feed of the British Grand Prix, directly from Silverstone, with no commercial interruptions. Vue Cinemas is calling it a “larger-than-life-experience” that will be offered at 30 of its locations in the UK.

You can expect tickets to be considerably less expensive than race tickets, and while it won’t feature the same “right-there” experience, you’ll probably get a better Vue.

[Source: GrandPrix.com]

 

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Filed under: Motorsports, Euro

The UK is a pretty good place to be an F1 fan, as a number of F1 teams are headquartered in Great Britain. Four current F1 racing drivers are British, including the incredible Lewis Hamilton, with several more test drivers as well. Brits have their own race every year, no matter how poor the facilities and the attendance. And they’re within driving distance of a handful more on the Continent. In short, the British Isles are F1-land, and more British companies are getting in on the action every year.

The latest to offer their services to race fans is Vue Cinemas, a rapidly-expanding chain of movie theaters that currently counts 59 multiplexes encompassing over 570 screens in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The chain has announced it will be screening a live feed of the British Grand Prix, directly from Silverstone, with no commercial interruptions. Vue Cinemas is calling it a “larger-than-life-experience” that will be offered at 30 of its locations in the UK.

You can expect tickets to be considerably less expensive than race tickets, and while it won’t feature the same “right-there” experience, you’ll probably get a better Vue.

[Source: GrandPrix.com]

 

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