Suzuki Kizashi Concept Shows Off Automaker’s Athletic Strength
With the Swift, Suzuki began the first phase of its world strategy and gave undiluted form to the attribute that was the theme of the first phase: sportiness.
Nice CD player, Grandpa: Blaupunkt unveils SD card-based car stereo
Filed under: Audio
Blaupunkt USA GM Lutz Marschall said “For more and more people, compact discs have become obsolete.” For those of you who think “CD” stands for civil defense or Christian Dior, Blaupunkt has your stereo. The Melbourne SD27 dispenses with the digital disc, replacing it with an SD card slot and a glut of options for hooking up other digital musical delights.
In addition to the prehistoric AM/FM tuner with 25 presets, the SD27 comes with a 3.5-mm AUX input and hooks up to optional USB, Bluetooth, and iPod adapters. The display can handle 127 music directories and displays 30 characters of an ID3 tag. But wait, there’s more: a TEL/NAVI input for cell phone integration and navigation systems. If it runs on 1’s and 0’s, but isn’t a compact disc, there’s a place for it on the Melbourne.
Power is 4 x 45 watts, with obligatory 4-channel pre-outs for the amps you know you can’t live without. All yours for the low, low price of $160.
[Source: Engadget]
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U.K. sentences country’s fastest speeder to jail
Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Porsche
Back in January, Timothy Jonathan Brady got his 15 minutes of fame when he became the fastest speeder ever caught in Britain. It happened while Brady was rocketing his Porsche 911 down a quiet country road in Oxfordshire at a radar-confirmed 172 mph. He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and has been awaiting his sentence.
Monday, he found his punishment will last much longer than his fleeting fame. Not only was Brady sentenced to ten weeks in prison, he also loses driving privileges for three years and will be required to take an extended driving test to get a new license. Yowza!
Hey, Tim, just letting you know, if your 911 needs some exercise while you’re in the slammer, give us a call. We’re more than willing to help out. Just be sure to leave us a map showing where that nasty little speedtrap is you found.
Thanks for the tip, Thom!
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Baby on Bimmer: BMW Sauber F1 child seat
Filed under: Safety, BMW, Toys, Lifestyle
The branded luxury trend gets even bigger and much, much younger with the BMW Sauber F1 baby seat. And what would such a baby seat be without some BMW engineering? The side bolsters move in relation to the seat height, which means the seat “grows” with the child. If only your kid’s shoes did the same. It doesn’t have side airbags, but it does have a belt carrier, and it’s good for from 33 to 79 pounds, or 3.5 to 12 years old. Thankfully, it looks way more comfortable than an actual F1 bucket, and imagine being able to tell your friends that you got your first F1 seat when you were three.
[Source: Carscoop]
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Top Hyundai exec in U.S. resigns
Filed under: Hirings/Firings, Marketing/Advertising, Hyundai
Steve Wilhite, COO of Hyundai Motor America, expected the carmaker to sell more than 555,000 vehicles in American in 2007. It’s unlikely that’s going to happen — the number now is 510,000 — and it’s thought missing this goal is why Wilhite announced his resignation today.
Wilhite arrived at Hyundai just last year, moving from Nissan where he was SVP of marketing. Hyundai is just coming off a record breaking August, but it’s still down by about 700 units from last year’s sales through the first eight months. Altogether in 2006, it sold 455,520 cars. Hyundai’s national dealer and sales meeting is happening this week, which makes the timing of Wilhite’s resignation all the more serious. Theories about a personality clash between Wilhite and his South Korean bosses was also behind the departure.
It is also speculated that Wilhite will move to Ford to fill the role of chief marketing officer. If he did take that position — at the company where he started his career — he would replace Francisco Codina, who just retired as Ford’s North American Marketing Sales and Service head. Ford head Alan Mulally has been under pressure to fill the CMO role as soon as possible.
[Source: Auto News, sub req’d]
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Ford Escort may return as 100mpg hybrid
Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Ford
What would it take for Ford to get you interested in a new Escort? In its heyday, the Escort was quite popular, but managed to build up a bundle of negative brand equity. In less than three years, Ford reportedly hopes to woo Escort buyers back with a 100 mpg plug-in hybrid model. Numbers like that would certainly get some interest, and give competitors like GM’s Volt and Toyota’s Prius plenty to think about. And if the 2011 Escort looks anything like the renderings on Next Energy News, it should be able to make lots of money for Ford.
According to the report at Next Energy, the new Escort would be a single mode hybrid more like Toyota’s drivetrain instead of the dual-mode system GM and Chrysler are developing. But the new car would be a brand new platform for Ford, and wouldn’t be built using another company’s proven hybrid system.
Ford’s hybrid would likely utilize A123 Systems nanophosphate lithium-Ion batteries, which are also being used by the Saturn Aura and Chevy Volt.
[Source: Next Energy News via GM Inside News]
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BREAKING - Alonso to Ferrari for $40 MIL
Filed under: Motorsports, Mercedes Benz, Ferrari, Renault
We’re going to call this one a rumor for at least a little while, but wow. We just got wind of this monster deal that would really cause a major stir in the already tumultuous world of Formula One. News of the World just reported that two-time world driving champion Fernando Alonso is leaving McLaren-Mercedes next year. While that was considered a sure thing in the wake of Stepneygate and all, the real shocker is that he isn’t headed to Renault to be reunited with Flavio Briatore as expected. Instead, they have him going to Ferrari of all places. The report says that a cool $40 million was the price to secure Alonso for the scuderia. As they point out, it should be a relatively easy transition for Fernando, who has already been *ahem* studying design features of the Ferrari all season.
With current Ferrari pilot Felipe Massa headed to Toyota, Fernando will be joining current #3 in the driver’s race, Kimi Raikkonen, in ‘08. It should make for another interesting battle over who’s number one. The same article that tells of Fernando going to Maranello also bolsters the rumor that Ross Brawn will be stepping up as team manager when Jean Todt leaves at the end of the season. It’s not often that the silly season starts this early, but this has been a very atypical year for the FIA and its premier racing class. We’ll do some digging and see if we can find other sources to back this one up. But until then, this can only make the last three races of the season more compelling TV.
[Source: TopSpeed]
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Teamsters won’t cross UAW picket line to deliver parts and cars
Filed under: GM, UAW/Unions
click above pic to view more images from the UAW strike
Despite reports that the UAW and General Motors are back at the bargaining table this afternoon, and will be indefinitely, the union appears to be preparing for what could be a lengthy strike. It’s now being reported that their brothers and sisters from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters will be standing by them, though not joining the UAW strike themselves. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents hourly employees in the transportation and freight-related industries, meaning they’re the ones who transport component parts and cars from plant to plant and wherever else they need to go. They have decided to align themselves with the UAW and announced they will honor the picket lines that have popped up at nearly every one of GM’s 59 plants. This means that as long as the strike is ongoing, Teamsters don’t have to cross UAW picket to deliver their cargo. Their contracts with GM include what’s called “sympathy language” that prevents them from being fired for crossing the picket line of another striking union, according to The Detroit News.
It’s becoming more and more clear that the UAW is digging in for the long haul on this one, and with little to no response from General Motors in terms of how long it intends to stand firm, the most significant staring contest in the history of the automotive industry has just begun.
[Source: The Detroit News]
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Who needs TiVo? Watch Autoblog on Autoline Detroit right here
For those who missed the announcement, yours truly appeared on the weekly Detroit insider TV show, Autoline Detroit with John McElroy, this past Sunday. The show aired in the early morning yesterday, so if you missed it or your TiVo’s on the fritz, we’ve got it right here for you (it’s after the jump). The topic of the show was “The New Journalism”, i.e. blogging, and how it’s affected the automotive industry. The panel included myself, Scott Burgess from The Detroit News and Ed Garsten from Chrysler LLC. Yes, you can all finally see what I look like, but disregard the impending double chin that’s forming as a result of blogging’s sedentary lifestyle. You can also visit Autoline Detroit’s website to watch some extra footage not aired on the show, just click here.
Don’t forget to also check out our new weekly op-ed written by John McElroy himself called Autoline on Autoblog with John McElroy that appears right here on Autoblog every Thursday.
Watch the full episode of “The New Journalism” after the jump.
[Source: Autolinedetroit.tv]
Continue reading Who needs TiVo? Watch Autoblog on Autoline Detroit right here
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GM signs $800mil deal to send U.S.-built Buick Enclave to China
Filed under: China, Crossovers/CUVs, Buick, GM, UAW/Unions
click above image to view high-res gallery of the Buick Enclave
Amidst all the fury surrounding the UAW strike today, General Motors released a statement announcing an $800 million deal with its Chinese joint-venture company to supply the Chinese market with U.S.-built vehicles and components. It’s the second such agreement GM has signed, the first being an agreement worth $700 million to supply Cadillacs and components to China signed back in May. The new agreement focuses mainly on the Buick Enclave CUV, which is built at GM’s Lansing Delta Township assembly plant. One can’t help but question the timing of this announcement as GM and UAW negotiators are back at the table this afternoon to discuss job security for the union’s 73,000 members. There’s little doubt now that UAW employees at the Lansing plant will be busy in the months ahead not only trying to meet demand for the Enclave in the U.S., but also producing the vehicle for export to China. We’ll see as the day goes on if this agreement has any effect on negotiations, but there are a total of 59 plants operated by GM that use UAW workers. Securing work for just one of them probably isn’t going to be enough.
[Source: GM]
Continue reading GM signs $800mil deal to send U.S.-built Buick Enclave to China
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