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Sep 28, 2006
Audi R8 debut !


After waiting for 15 years, Audi's dream of producing its first mid-engined sports car is finally fulfilled !!

The story began in 1991, when the company displayed a mid-engined sports car called "Quattro Spyder" in Frankfurt motor show. Do you remember it ? the handsome sports car had a modest 174hp 2.8 V6, but its pioneering ASF aluminum spaceframe chassis ensured lightweight hence pretty good performance. I remember it was tipped to be very likely to get production approval, but eventually Audi decided not to produce it. Rumour said that it was rejected by Ferdinand Piech because being a member of Porsche family he did not want Audi to produce a competitor to Porsche. Since then, Audi showed a few mid-engined concept cars but none were serious attempts. Perhaps its management understood that there was no chance to get greenlight as long as Piech was sitting on top of the Volkswagen group.

<< 1991 Quattro Spyder, 2 running prototypes were built before project cancelled.

Dr. Piech retired in 2002. Just one year later, Audi's new boss Dr. Martin Winterkorn unveiled a new mid-engined concept car in Frankfurt motor show. Its name was "Le Mans" and it was tipped to enter production in 2-3 years time (see AutoZine's News in Sep 2003). The Le Mans was powered by a twin-turbo version of Lamborghini Gallardo's 5-liter V10, producing 611 horsepower and put to the ground through Quattro 4WD with Torsen C center differential. Today, this car finally come true, albeit in detuned form.

The production Le Mans is called "R8", taking the name from Audi's Le Mans-winning race car. Its design remains loyal to the original concept. Unlike many nowadays supercars, it stresses on a low shoulder line and a swoopy tail to deliver a lightweight feeling. To compensate for the resultant aerodynamic lift (remember the old TT ?), it employs a pair of diffusers and a retractable rear spoiler which raises at high speed. The R8 looks like no other supercars. Its organic shape combined with single-frame grille and huge intakes under the headlights are unique. The same go for the special "sideblades" covering the side intakes. They run straight to the roof and covered the space normally reserved for rear quarter windows. Colored differently from the car body, the sideblades deliver a funky feel in the same way as Smart Fortwo.



In the mechanical side, there is no secret that R8 is derived from the Lamborghini Gallardo platform. Remember, the Gallardo's aluminum space frame chassis is developed by Audi and being produced in its high-tech assembly plant Neckarsulm (where A8 and VW Phaeton are produced). The R8 employs a similar ASF chassis and aluminum body panels. Also the same as the Gallardo is the 4-wheel-drive system using viscous coupling (in contrast to the concept car's Torsen C differential, apparently for cost reduction), although Audi calls it "Quattro". This mean the R8 is normally rear-drive. The front wheels receive power only when the rear wheels run out of traction. 

As in the 2003 concept car, the production R8 is 130 mm longer than Gallardo and runs a 90mm longer wheelbase. This allows more luggage space behind the two seats, enough for a pair of golf clubs – very important to the riches. The front luggage compartment can swallow an additional 100 liters of things. Besides, the Audi is also significantly taller than the Lamborghini to give more headroom. It should be as user friendly as Porsche 911.

<< 420hp V8, dry sump.

Yes, 911 is exactly the target rival of R8 (I am wondering what Wendelin Wiedeking will do, as his company now owns one-third of Volkswagen's voting shares and he is sitting in the board room of VW group beside Piech). At an estimated £76,000 (UK price), it will be slightly more expensive than a 911 Carrera 4S and slightly cheaper than 911 GT3. However, Audi plans to build 15 cars a day and 3500 cars a year in the Neckarsulm plant, far less than the 20,000-30,000 units level of the Porsche icon.

To make the production plan feasible, obviously, the 2003 show car's twin-turbo V10 has to be ditched for a cheaper, mass production engine. What could be better than the RS4's 4.2-liter FSI V8 ? it produces 420 horsepower at 7800 rpm, 317 lbft of torque at 4500-6000 rpm. 90 percent of the maximum torque is available from 3500-7600 rpm, yet the turbine-smooth V8 will rev to 8250 rpm redline. All these excellent figures mean Audi need not to alter the engine for the R8, except converting it to dry-sump lubrication to let it mount lower in the chassis. The engine is fully visible through the Ferrari-style glass rear screen.

The R8 weighs 1560 kg, 90 kg lighter than RS4 which shares the same heart but 85 kg heavier than 911 Carrera 4S. However, the superior power enables it to top 187 mph (301km/h) and accelerate from 0-60 mph in 4.4 seconds, slightly quicker than Carrera 4S.

The transmission is 6-speed manual or optional 6-speed R Tronic. Don't confuse the latter with the TT's "S Tronic", which is a double-clutch gearbox. In contrast, the R Tronic is a traditional automated manual with paddle shifters. In other words, it is the equivalence to Lamborghini's E-gear.



The R8 employs all round double-wisbhone suspensions with forged aluminum control arms. Each rear suspension has an additional track-control arm for better control. The springs and dampers tuning is said to be stiff but still providing "a quite astonishing level of ride comfort". The TT's magnetic ride adaptive damping is available as, surprisingly, a cost option. With or without this option, handling should be good considering its close relationship with Gallardo. Moreover, thanks to the lightweight V8, R8 has a better weight distribution than Gallardo (44:56 versus 42:58).

The headache to Audi is: although it has plenty of state-of-the-art technologies on shelf, its brand value does not allow it to overprice the car. Therefore you can see those extra technologies are listed as options. These include the aforementioned R Tronic gearbox and magnetic ride damping, and the world's first full LED headlamps. You might remember Audi A8 was the first production car to employ LED as daytime running lights. Now R8 introduces a full LED headlamps including the main beam, dipped beam, daytime running lights and indicators. We learn that it is very costly, so the standard R8 will be equipped with Xenon headlights while the LED ones will be available as option from the end of 2007.

<< LED headlights, world's first.

The R8 itself will be available to order from today. First delivery will be made in the first half of 2007.

What's next ? it should be a V10 version targeting at 911 Turbo - if Mr. Wiedeking doesn't mind. Audi needs to make sure it won't steal the superiority from Lamborghini, so the engine will probably be the same as S8, i.e., 450 horsepower, or in any case no more than 480 hp, I think.
Model
Audi R8
Lamborghini Gallardo
Layout
Mid-engined, 4wd
Mid-engined, 4wd
L / W / H / WB (mm)
4431 / 1904 / 1249 / 2650
4300 / 1900 / 1165 / 2560
Engine
V8, dohc, 5v/cyl, VVT,
var intake, DI.
V10, dohc, 4v/cyl, VVT,
var intake.
Capacity
4163 cc
4961 cc
Power
420 hp
520 hp
Torque
317 lbft
376 lbft
Transmission
6M
6M
Suspension (F/R)
All: double wishbones
All: double wishbones
Tyres (F/R)
235/40ZR18 / 285/35ZR18
235/35ZR19 / 295/30ZR19
Weight
1560 kg
1520 kg
Top speed
187 mph (c)
195 mph (c)
0-60 mph
4.4 sec (c)
4.1 sec
 

Sep 28, 2006
Industry News
Karl-Heinz Kalbfell left Fiat

Alfa Romeo and Maserati boss Dr. Karl-Heinz Kalbfell has left the company, announced Fiat last week. The official explanation is that he "is leaving the group to pursue other interests". Rumors said that the German did not integrate well into the Italian politics.

Before joining Fiat group, Kalbfell was a long-time executive in BMW, responsible for the M division, F1 engine program, Mini and at last headed Rolls-Royce. During his nearly 2 years of service in Fiat group, he used his experience in BMW to improve the quality of 159, upgrading the servicing level of Alfa Romeo's dealership, planned the brand's return to the America and greenlighted the production of 8C Competizione. The fans of Alfa Romeo will miss him very much. I just hope Alfa Romeo won't go back to mismanagement. Good luck !
     
Sep 23, 2006
Ford Mondeo Concept


This is the Ford Mondeo Concept being shown in Paris Motor Show. Ford made clear that it is very close to the production car to be introduced early next year. In fact, the show car's bodyshell comes directly from the pilot production line at Ford's Genk plant in Belgium. Only the spectacular big wheels, bumpers and interior trim will be toned down for production. The new Mondeo shares the same platform and production line with Galaxy and S-Max MPV to save costs. Therefore it will be powered by the familiar engines ranging from 1.6-liter to Volvo's 2.5-liter 5-pot turbo for the petrol side plus 1.6 and 2.0 turbo diesel.



The so-called "kinetic design" is the work of Ford Europe design chief Martin Smith (ex-Opel design chief). It emphasizes strong shoulder lines, a 3D front end and a kick-up rear side windows to deliver a dynamic and sporty image.

Sep 23, 2006
Industry News
Lotus delays new Esprit

Lotus has approved a new 5-year model plan in which there is good and bad news. The bad news is that the new Esprit, originally scheduled to appear in late next year, will be delayed to December 2009. The good news is that it will add two more models. The first one is a Elise-based 2+2, a car the Europa S should have been. The second one is a performance model developed for both Lotus and Proton, but no details has been revealed.

2007 NACOTY finalists

The jury panel of 2007 North American Car of the Year Award has picked 11 finalists as below:
  • Chrysler Sebring
  • Dodge Caliber
  • Honda Fit
  • Infiniti G35
  • Jaguar XK/XKR
  • Lexus LS 460
  • Mercedes S class
  • Nissan Altima
  • Nissan Versa
  • Saturn Aura
  • Toyota Camry
Seems that the quality of this year's contenders is not very good.... the winner will be announced in next January's Detroit motor show.

Dodge Avenger



This is the Dodge version of the new Chrysler Sebring.

Sep 19, 2006
Ford's cut is way way forward
In January, Ford's American boss Mark Fields announced the "Way Forward" rescue plan which is to cut 30,000 workers from its North American division. Now after Alan Mulally joined the company as CEO, "Way Forward" is way way forward. Ford has announced to cut another 14,000 white collar employees in the North America, equivalent to one-third of its salaried work force !! at the same time, the factory closing list will grow from 14 plants to 16 plants, and that will be brought forward from 2012 to 2008 !!

Of course, cutting so many people and plants implies Ford estimated its sales will continue to slide. Now it says its market share in North America will drop from last year's 18 percent to between 14 and 15 percent in the future. That should let Toyota to get pass it. In global basis, it's third position could be threatened by Volkswagen group after the production slash.

As I always say, cutting production is not a solution to the problem. The most important is to launch good cars to lure customers back. Disappointingly, Ford has no such plans. The only new car in its pipeline is a 7-seat crossover based on the Fairlane concept (that ugly car is no way to save Ford !!). Besides that is Lincoln MKS (based on Volvo S80 platform) but you have already known it. Facing European and Japanese premium cars it will be another sales failure anyway. Perhaps most shocking is that Ford will continue to build the ancient Lincoln Town Car. Rather than killing it together with its assembly plant, Ford decided to move its production line to another plant. This reveals how bad the situation is: Ford has no good products and no choices to replace the aging Town Car.

Fairlane concept

No wonder Alan Mulally estimated its sales will continue to slide in the coming years and it won't return to profitable until at least 2009. The good news is: at least he is more realistic than the dreamer Bill Ford Junior.

Sep 19, 2006
Civic Type R


Honda is displaying the new generation Civic Type R in Paris motor show. Compare with the 5-door Civic hatchback, the 3-door's body shell is stiffer, partly thanks to the additional underfloor cross member and extra stiffening around the front suspension mountings and engine compartment. Moreover, its rear track has been widened by 20mm, while ride height is dropped by 15mm via using stiffer suspension setting. Deeper air dam and extra rear spoiler should reduce high-speed aerodynamic lift. Tires become 225/45ZR, wrapping around very large (18-inch) wheels.



Under the bonnet, the engine is the familiar 2.0-liter dohc i-VTEC like the last generation car. Maximum power, at 201hp (DIN), remains unchanged, so it is a disappointment given 5 years of development. The only changes are a drive-by-wire throttle and the addition of twin-balancer shafts, which help to reduce vibration at higher rev. The engine now produces its max power at 8000 rpm instead of 7400 rpm, which I don't know whether it is a progress. But the VTEC camshaft now switch over at a slightly lower 5200 rpm, which may improves mid-range torque a little. The new Type R is heavier than the old car, so it needs shorter gearing to provides the same performance as its predecessor – 146 mph and 0-60 mph in 6.3 seconds.

Sep 19, 2006
Industry News
Goodbye Ford GT

By this Thursday (Sep 21), Ford will end the production of its GT mid-engined supercar. By then a total of 4,038 cars will have been built. American car enthusiasts will definitely miss it.

Ken Okuyama left Pininfarina

Pininfarina's design director Ken Okuyama has left the Turin design house, announced Andrea Pininfarina. No words have been said about where he will go, but expect he will set up his own design business for industrial products rather than taking another design posts in the automotive area.

During his service at Pininfarina, Japanese-born Okuyama designed the Ferrari Rosso concept car, Enzo and 612 Scaglietti, plus Maserati Quattroporte. However, the designs of Enzo and 612 Scaglietti were not as good as we expected for Ferrari. That's why Ferrari's design chief Frank Stephenson involved more in the design of 599GTB. Perhaps the departure of Okuyama is not a bad thing to Pininfarina.

Ferrari Rosso
 
Sep 13, 2006
Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione


To Alfa fans this could be a dream come true: Alfa Romeo's 2003 Frankfurt show car, 8C Competizione, finally got greenlight for production. This will be Alfa's first V8 sports car since Montreal, and the most exotic Alfa since Tipo 33 Stradale. In fact, its name points to the best breed of pre-war Alfa Romeo racing cars, 8C2300 to 8C2900 series. The car was originally no more than a styling concept, but since Karl-Heinz Kalbfell became CEO of Alfa-Maserati last year, he wanted to build it in small numbers as an image booster to the brand and lead Alfa Romeo back to United States.

To make the small scale production commercially viable, Alfa cleverly utilizes the Maserati coupe platform - a logical choice as Maserati is now managed by Alfa. The car will be produced by Maserati alongside the next generation Maserati Coupe and shares many of its mechanicals, such as the front-mounted V8 and rear-mounted automated manual gearbox. Its 32-valve 90° V8 is a development from the current Maserati 4.2-liter V8, but enlarged to 4691cc - whether Maserati will follow suit is yet to be seen. Power increases from Maserati's 400hp to 450hp at 7000rpm, along with 347 lbft of torque at 4750 rpm (up from 332 lbft). 80 percent of maximum torque will be available from 2000rpm, thanks to a continuous VVT system at the intake camshafts. The engine will also feature lightweight flywheel to ensure instant throttle response.

Like Maserati's Cambiocorsa / DuoSelect, the transaxle gearbox has 6 speeds and operates in 5 modes: normal manual, sport manual, normal auto, sport auto and ice mode. The rear axle is equipped with limited slip differential to handle the tremendous power. If that's not enough, there is still a VDC stability and traction control as a safety net.



The steel chassis is believed to be derived from the next Maserati Coupe as well. However, it is clothed with a full carbon-fiber body designed by Alfa Romeo Style Centre. This ensure lighter weight and lower center of gravity. The suspensions are all double wishbones plus a toe control link, with forged aluminum arms and hub carriers to reduce weight. They rides on 20-inch wheels wearing 245/35 front and 285/35 rear tires.

Alfa did not mention when the car will go on sale and how many will be built, but the production car to be shown in this month's Paris motor show will undoubtedly stir much interests in the automotive world.
 
Sep 13, 2006
BMW Hydrogen 7
After 6 years of demonstration and testing, BMW finally puts its hydrogen-powered 7-Series into production. What a pity it came just behind Mazda's hydrogen RX-7, which is already for lease in Japan. Like the Mazda, it is for lease to selected customers, such as government agencies, and the fleet will be limited to only 100 cars. This is because hydrogen technology is still too costly while its performance trails behind conventional gasoline and diesel power. The lack of hydrogen refilling stations is another reason. So far there are only 2 refilling stations set up at Berlin and another one to be opened at Munich. BMW wants to use the production Hydrogen 7 to raise public interest and, hopefully, eventually push government and oil companies to help setting up the necessary infrastructure.

The Hydrogen 7 is modified from the long-wheelbase 760Li. It chose the long wheelbase version in order to accommodate the hydrogen tank in front of the existing 74-liter gasoline tank. In other words, the car can run on both hydrogen and gasoline depending on the refilling stations available. This is a clever interim solution before hydrogen stations become popular. The hydrogen tank and gas tank enable mileages of 200km (124 miles) and 500km (310 miles) respectively. The hydrogen tank eats 115mm into the cabin length, so the car is not as roomy as the gasoline version.

The tank itself is a special development by Magna Steyr. It consists of double walls sandwiching a layer of super thermal insulation. 8 kg of Liquid hydrogen is stored in the tank at a pressure of 3-5 bars and at a temperature of -250°C right from the refilling station. As the thermal insulation is so effective (BMW said it takes 80 days for boiling coffee to cool to temperature possible for drinking), the tank does not need refrigeration to keep the liquid hydrogen cool, reducing complexity. However, as heat transfers slowly into the tank, the hydrogen will vapor gradually. A half tank of fuel will take 9 days to vapor completely. The resultant hydrogen gas will be released and burnt in the catalyst. Imagine if your gasoline or diesel car continues to drink fuel in garage, can you accept that?

Surprisingly, the 6.0 V12 engine is mostly unchanged from the gasoline car. It continues to employ Valvetronic, Bi-Vanos and direct-injection for gasoline mode, but there are additional injectors to inject hydrogen gas into intake manifolds. It produces only 256 horsepower and 288 lbft of torque, a significant drop from 760Li's 445hp and 443 lbft. 0-60 mph slows down to a laughable 9 seconds, while top speed is only 143 mph, limited or not. In performance aspect hydrogen technology is no match with gasoline.

Of course, its strength lies in the environmental aspect. Burning hydrogen in air result in pure water vapor, without any greenhouse gas (CO2) or hydrocarbons. However, it is not exactly zero emission, because the high combustion temperature will lead to by-products, nitric oxides (NOx). Like conventional gasoline engines, it needs engine management system and catalytic converter cooperating to reduce NOx to acceptable levels.

If you want a real zero-emission car, you must wait for fuel cell, which transforms hydrogen energy directly to electricity and drive electric motors. However, BMW sees fuel cell technology is still far from production reality, while hydrogen combustion technology is less costly and compatible with existing cars. It may be right, but even hydrogen combustion is not competitive against gasoline and diesel. In a market-driven world, I see little prospect for the like of Hydrogen 7.
 
Sep 13, 2006
Audi Q7 6.0V12 TDI
Audi will introduce Q7 6.0TDI in early 2008. This will be the world's most powerful and fastest diesel production vehicle ever made. However, our focus is the super diesel engine instead of Q7.

The 5934cc engine is a 60° V12 with twin-turbo. Producing 500 horsepower and 737 lbft of torque (that's 1000Nm !! equals to Mercedes SL65 AMG and Bentley Arnage T), it is by far more powerful than the current King of diesel - Volkswagen's 313hp / 553 lbft 5.0 V10 TDI. Key to the record output is a pair of VTG turbocharger pumping 2.6 bar of high pressure into the engine, as well as a new generation Bosch common-rail direct injection system. The latter has increased injection pressure from 1600 bar to 2000 bar for the first time. It also employs fast-acting piezo injectors for finer control. The engine complies with Euro 5 emission regulation which will be effective from 2010. It enables the heavyweight Q7 to accelerate from 0-60 mph in 5.2 seconds yet return 23.7 mpg.
 
Sep 13, 2006
Fiat Panda Sport 100HP


Fiat finally releases the hot version of Panda. It is powered by Grande Punto's new 1.4-liter 16V VVT engine, tuned up to 100hp and 97 lbft of torque. Besides, the little Panda also gets a 6-speed manual box. This raise its top speed to 115mph and 0-60 taking 9 seconds. The Sport 100HP has sporty body kits and 195/45R15 tires. It also gets a playful Sport button which increases steering weight and sharpen throttle response. Sounds like a Ferrari.
 
Sep 10, 2006
Lancia Delta HPE


Good news to the fans of Italian cars and Lancia: after 2 decades of leaving the right-hand-drive markets (such as UK and Japan), it is coming back with the new Delta. Shown here is the new Delta HPE concept car. It looks very stylish and prestige. Moreover, the design seems highly feasible for production, thus I expect the production Delta will alter little from it.

So far Lancia provides very little details about the car: it measures around 4.5 meters long, 1.8 meters wide, 1.5 meters tall and 2.7 meters in wheelbase. Engines will range from 120hp to 200hp, with 6-speed manual and 6-speed automated manual gearbox to match. That's all. However, we know the new Delta is built on the same platform as the forthcoming Fiat new Bravo, the successor to Stilo. Its engines are likely to include a turbocharged version of the group's 1.4-liter 16V and a 1.6-liter JTD diesel.

Delta will be the most significant launch from Lancia in the next few years. Fiat group chairman Luca di Montezemolo has a big plan to revive the Italian luxury marque. Currently Lancia sells 120,000 cars a year, with only 20% of them outside Italy. Montezemolo wants the new Delta and Fulvia (yes, the pretty concept 2-seater is finally getting greenlight as we know) to help Lancia raising sales to 300,000 cars a year by 2010, and increase export level to 40% of all sales. If the production Delta looks really this good, Lancia will have every reason to succeed.
 
Sep 10, 2006
HSV Commodore


Shortly after the launch of VE Commodore, HSV also introduced its new performance Commodores. We talk about the top version GTS first. Apart from an aggressive restyle from the standard car, it gets Chevrolet Corvette's 6-liter LS2 V8 like the previous GTS, now tuned to 411 horsepower at 6000 rpm and 406 lbft of torque at 4400 rpm. Although the new VE body is more than 100 kg heavier than the old VZ, the extra horsepower and an improved traction control system allows the new GTS to accelerate from rest to 100 km/h in 4.96 seconds (that is, 0-60 mph in around 4.8 seconds). When mated with the new 6-speed automatic gearbox, the time is 5.04 seconds, according to HSV. That's some improvement from the regular Commodore SS (6-speed auto, 0-100km/h in 5.4 sec), but the margin is no longer that big.

Another improvement to the  new GTS is the adoption of Delphi's Magnetic Ride Control (MRC) continuously adaptive damping. It keeps cornering flat while improving ride quality.

While the GTS rides on 20-inch alloy wheels, the entry-level model ClubSport R8 employs 19-inch. The latter also lacks MRC and a few luxury items in the cabin. However, it gets the same engine and transmission as the GTS. On the other hand, the luxury model Senator has all the luxury items and MRC, plus 6-speed automatic as standard.
 
Sep 10, 2006
Peugeot 207 Epure


This concept car previews next year's 207CC, but it also demonstrates PSA's hydrogen fuel cell technology. Instead of internal combustion engine, it is powered by a fuel celling with a miserable 27 horsepower output. It converts pressurized hydrogen, which store at cylindrical tanks under the boot floor, into electricity and power the electric motors. There is also a lithium ion battery providing secondary power, so performance is not too bad - 81mph top speed, 0-62 in 15 seconds and a range of 218 miles.
 
Sep 10, 2006
Acura TL Type-S


After years of struggling Honda still failed to position its Acura TL in the same league as BMW 3-series. Therefore now it introduces a hotter version of the TL, the Type S, powered by a 3.5-liter V6 good for 286 horsepower and 256 lbft of torque. This compares favourably with the regular TL's 258hp 3.2-liter V6. The Type-S also has a choice of 6-speed manual gearbox in addition to the 5-speed automatic. Moreover, it gets stiffer suspension setup and extra boot spoiler to enhance roadhoading.



Unfortunately, it seems that Honda forgot the TL is front-wheel-drive. With so much power transmitted through the front wheels, the existing torque steer problem is likely to be worsened. Honda still does not understand the core problem of this car: it was never short of power, it just cries for a rear-drive platform or the Legend's SH-AWD system.
 
Sep 10, 2006
Industry News
SAIC bought Rover brand

Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) is closer to building its own cars. Before the collapse of MG Rover it already bought the intellectual property rights of Rover 25 and 75. Now it has bought the Rover brand name from BMW at an estimated price of £11 million. If everything goes smooth, expect within next year we shall see it start producing its version of Rover 25 and 75 in China. The Rover name will allow it to export to overseas market.

Corolla 40 years old

By next month, Toyota Corolla will be 40 years old. Since October 1966, some 9 generations and 31,600,000 Corollas were made, making it the biggest selling nameplate in automotive history. Last year, Toyota built 1.36 million Corollas.

PSA crisis

While Fiat is recovering from critical condition, France's PSA group is going the other way. In the first half this year its European sales dropped 2.2 percent, reducing market share from 14.5 to 14 percent. At the same time, profit halved from 1.3 billion Euro to 700 million Euro. Because of this, CEO Jean-Martin Folz has announced he will leave the company early next year, officially in the name of retirement as he will turn 60 then.

Ford names new CEO

After 5 years of struggling, Bill Ford Junior finally admitted he is the right person to rescue the company bearing his family name. Instead, he hired Alan Mulally from Boeing to replace his position as the CEO of Ford Motors. Himself will remain as the executive chairman, but expect Mulally will have the full power to reform the troublesome company.

Mulally is a 37-year veteran of Boeing. During his service as Boeing's CEO, he successfully reduced production lines, cut costs and developed new products that customers want (most notably the new 787 dreamliner). This negated Boeing's unfavorable position against the Airbus group. Let's hope he can apply the same magic to Ford.

Ford to sell Aston

Surprise. Early last month Ford announced it is reviewing the future of Jaguar and Land Rover, including a possible sale of them. Now it suddenly announces it is to sell Aston Martin instead of the two marques. Dig deeper and you might find it make sense - Jaguar and Land Rover are loss making thus are difficult to find buyers. In contrast, Aston Martin is on the rise, selling 4400 cars last year against 2400 cars a year ago, and according to its CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez, it is profitable last year. This mean selling Aston is much easier and is likely to raise sufficient money to save Ford itself. In fact, Fiat did the same to Ferrari a few years back when it was immersed in deep financial trouble.

As Ford is likely to hold minority shares of Aston, it guarantees the new owner can continue to rely on the Gaydon R&D center share with Land Rover. Moreover, should Ford overcome its difficulties in a few years time, it could buy back Aston like what Fiat did to Ferrari.

Rumors said that potential buyers could be Dr. Bez himself, backed by other investors. If so, it could be the best solution.

Bentley Arnage upgrade

Bentley has upgraded the engine and transmission of Arnage. The regular Arnage R has its 6.75-liter turbo V8 boosted to 450 hp and 645 lbft (like the current Arnage T), while Arnage T now upgraded to 500 hp and 737 lbft. Both cars now mates to 6-speed ZF automatic gearbox instead of the ancient GM 4-speed auto.
 

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