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29 Apr, 2009

Chrysler reached agreements with labour unions and creditors

These two days Chrysler announced that it has reached agreements with labour union UAW and CAW (C for Canada). Both have accepted to waive its payment to retiree health-care funds. UAW will also allow Chrysler to hire as many lower paid "Tier 2" workers as it wish, versus the 20% upper limit previously imposed. In exchange, UAW will get 55% equity of Chrysler, which means workers will actually become the boss !

Now the only hurdle remains is debt holders. Yesterday a group of banks comprising of Citigroup, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley reached an agreement to write off US$4.9 billion debts, leaving only $2 billion. They account for two-third of the total debt of Chrysler. If the latter can get concession from the remaining debt holders before the deadline on Apr 30, it is still possible to reach final agreement with FIAT for merger and get the US$6 billion government bailout. If not, then bankruptcy will be the only choice.

28 Apr, 2009

Byebye, Pontiac

Yesterday General Motors finally announced the demise of its Pontiac division. This come not much of a surprise, as the market has been speculating that long time ago. GM will phase out its current model lines (G3, G5, G6, G8, Torent, Vibe and Solstice) by the end of next year, then the Pontiac brand will join Oldsmobile in heaven.

In the restructure plan announced last December, GM wanted to reduce Pontiac to a “niche brand”. However, the US government was not satisfied with the plan, describing it not viable in long term. Therefore this time around GM come up with an even more aggressive downsizing. Apart from the demise of Pontiac, GM has also confirmed its plan to sell or close Saturn, Hummer and its Swedish arm Saab by the end of this year. In particular, the execution of Saturn has been pushed forward for a year.

Plant closure, staff reduction and dealer cut are also more drastic than the previous plan. Below are the details:

	Status in end of 2008	New plan (by end of 2010)
Dealers	6246	3605
Models	48	34
Plants	47	34 (31 in 2012)
Hourly workers	61000	40000 (38000 in 2011)
Structural costs	$30.8 billion	$22.3 billion (by 2011)

Note: all figures are for GM USA

28 Apr, 2009

Daimler offloads remaining Chrysler stakes

Since Daimler sold Chrysler to Cerberus in 2007, it still keeps 19.9% stakes in the American company. As Chrysler is close to bankruptcy, these stakes become worthless - In fact, Daimler valued it as zero in its 2008 financial statement. Yesterday Daimler announced it will offload the remaining stakes for... nothing. Moreover, it will give up its US$1.9 billion loan to Chrysler and inject another $600 million to the pension funds of its ex-employees. In exchange, Chrysler and Cerberus will waive claims on Daimler for improper management and not disclosing sufficient information when it sold Chrysler to Cerberus. This will end the 11-year relationship between the two companies.

23 Apr, 2009

Bertone Mantide

Having moved away from contract manufacturing and concentrate back on styling and coachbuilding, Bertone is going to stun the world again with an exotic supercar prototype, Mantide. Its dramatic design is responsible by its new design director, Jason Castriota. Castriota was head hunted from Pininfarina after designing the beautiful Ferrari P4/5. His work in this car is even more radical, recalling our memory of the early Marcello Gandini.

Brilliantly, the bodywork is built on a Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, sharing its FR chassis and 638hp 6.2-liter supercharged V8. As the bodywork is all-carbon-fiber, Bertone claims it is 100kg lighter than the Vette. Even more unbelievable is that its drag coefficient is only 0.298, and downforce is simultaneously improved by 30%. Sadly, the supercar with 217mph top speed and 0-62 mph in 3.2 seconds is not destined to production. However, if a super-rich collector knock on the doors of Bertone and write a million-dollar cheque, I think it won't refuse to make one.

23 Apr, 2009

Shanghai Motor Show

When motor shows in other places are facing cancellation, the sun still shines in the rising China market. This year’s Shanghai Motor Show sees not only the presence of most global car makers but also the huge improvement of cars shown by Chinese car makers. Nevertheless, only a few worth my attention:

MG6 by SAIC

The MG brand is now owned by SAIC after it acquired Nanjian auto. MG6 is actually a 4-door coupe version of Roewe 550, powered by the outdated 133hp 1.8 and 160hp 1.8-liter turbo K-series engine.

Geely GE

This Rolls-Royce Phantom clone copied the styling of RR so close to the extent of disgusting, once again proving China is the World Capital of Copycats. Technical-wise, however, it has little in common with RR. The rear-drive car is powered by a 3.5-liter V6 putting out 278hp and 251 lb-ft of torque, versus the RR's 6.75-liter V12 with 460hp and 531 lb-ft. Though being a big car by Chinese standard, it still measures 550 mm shorter than the Phantom SWB. In terms of accommodation it is also inferior to the RR, as it employs an unusual single rear seat to please the boss at the back.

This car came as a surprise to me because Geely used to produce the cheapest small cars only, even by the standard of Chinese car makers.

23 Apr, 2009

Industry News

FIAT wants to take over Opel ?

The labour representative of Opel revealed that FIAT is talking with Opel for acquiring the German company, following the announcement that General Motors will withdraw due to its own financial problem. Predictably, the German workers fear that FIAT may shut down the German factories and layout its workers because of its overlap with FIAT's operation, therefore oppose to this idea. Instead, they prefer another bidder, believed to be Canadian component giant Magna.

Rolls-Royce RR4 named

Rolls-Royce has chosen “Ghost” (not Silver Ghost) as the name of its entry-level model previously known as RR4. Technical details is still incomplete. We know it will be powered by a 6.6-liter version of the twin-turbo V12 featured in BMW 760i and employs the same ZF 8-speed automatic transmission. No words have been said for its power output, but I believe its peak torque will be limited to 553 lb-ft in order not to damage the transmission.

16 Apr, 2009

Opel Insignia OPC

Few mainstream family cars offer a high performance version these days. Fortunately Opel keeps doing so. The new Opel Insignia OPC gives us an alternative choice beside Audi S4. Its 2.8-liter VVT V6 with twin-scroll turbocharger might look like that of the existing car, but higher boost and freer exhaust pushes its output from the standard 260 hp (or 280 hp of the last generation OPC) to as much as 325 horsepower, while torque peaks at 295 lb-ft. Power goes through 6-speed manual box to Haldex adaptive 4WD system with active rear differential - yes, the same hardware as Saab's XWD system. This should guarantee good handling and all-weather security, although the additional weight results in so-so performance: 0-60 mph takes 5.8 seconds, along with a regulated 155 mph top speed.

Compare with the regular Insignia fitted with sport suspensions, OPC has its ride height reduced by a further 10 mm. Again adaptive dampers and 3-mode control are offered as standard. The 19-inch wheels are shod with 245/40ZR tires and filled with 355mm diameter Brembo brakes up front. If that's not enough, you can opt for 255/35ZR tires and 20-inch alloys, whose stylish design is shown in these photos. The Insignia is a stylish car despite of a little bit fat. OPC version is even more attractive, thanks to the chromed intakes either side of the grille. Their color and shape are echoed at the exhausts.

16 Apr, 2009

Heuliez entered bankruptcy

Following Bertone and Karmann, French coachbuilder Heuliez also went into bankruptcy protection. Heuliez was first known to us by supplying the retractable metal roof mechanism to the hugely popular Peugeot 206CC. However, since the retirement of that car, it captured only the contract of Opel Tigra TwinTop, which was sold at much smaller volume and will come to an end within this year. By entering bankruptcy protection, Heuliez will be given 6 months for restructuring and finding new investors. Like Pininfarina, it hopes to turn itself into a maker of electric cars.

16 Apr, 2009

Patrick Le Quement to retire

Renault announced that its long time design boss Patrick Le Quement is to retire and succeeded by Mazda design boss Laurens van den Acker later this year. Le Quement, 64, has been heading the design department of Renault since 1987. Dutchman van den Acker, only 43, is credited for the creative Nagare series Mazda concept cars in recent years. However, we have yet to see his talent in shaping production cars.

11 Apr, 2009

Kia Forte Koup

Kia design chief Peter Schreyer proved his value once again with a design that challenges the most attractive European cars. Forte Koup - the coupe version of Forte sedan - is only a cheap 4/5-seater coupe with front-wheel drive layout, strut front and torsion beam rear suspensions, but it has a stylish look to lure you from more expensive coupes.

This car measures 4480 mm in length, 1765 mm wide, 1400 mm tall and runs a 2650 mm wheelbase, which suggests it is built on the same platform as the European Kia C'eed / Proceed but the cheaper rear suspension says otherwise. Although it will be sold worldwide, its largest market is still the USA, where its key rivals will be (Toyota) Scion tC and Honda Civic Coupe.

The car is powered by the familiar 156hp 2.0-liter and 174hp 2.4-liter DOHC 16V dual-CVVT engines, coupled to 5-speed and 6-speed manual gearbox, or 4-speed and 5-speed automatic gearbox respectively. Part of its good looks comes from the stylish 5-spoke 17-inch wheels shod with 215/45 rubbers.

10 Apr, 2009

BMW 760i packs new twin-turbo V12

Although the new twin-turbo V8 750i is as quick as the old generation 760i, BMW hasn't abandoned its V12 flagship model yet. By giving the new 760i a brand new twin-turbo 6.0-liter V12 good for 544 horsepower, BMW has succeeded to make it faster yet more frugal. The new car can accelerate from 0-62 mph in a remarkable 4.6 seconds (same as Mercedes S600) and return 21.8 mpg in combined cycle. The latter is 4.5 percent better than the old car.

The new 60-degree V12 displaces 5972 cc, same as its naturally-aspirated predecessor but it is actually a clean sheet development. It has a 89mm bore and 80mm stroke. Compression ratio is a high 10.0:1. Predictably, Double-VANOS variable cam phasing and direct injection are employed to improve its efficiency. The two turbochargers are conventional ones - no twin-scroll or variable turbine geometry, each serves one bank of cylinders. However, BMW connects the turbos very close to the exhaust and intake manifolds in order to minimize turbo lag, so close that it needs an unconventional indirect intercooler system. The intercoolers are placed right above the cylinder heads so that they cannot be cooled by air from the front intakes. Instead, the liquid coolant flows to a heat exchanger, where it is cooled by a secondary cooling circuit which in turn gets cooled from a front-mounted radiator. This arrangement enables an unusually short path between fresh air turbine and intake ports, ensuring very little turbo lag.

The V12 produces 544 hp at 5250 rpm and 553 lb-ft of torque from 1500-5000 rpm. Although the maximum torque is not as high as Mercedes' 5.5-liter twin-turbo V12, which produces 612 lb-ft, it is highly flexible from the bottom end towards high rev.

I suspect the relatively low peak torque is limited by the new ZF 8-speed automatic transmission which makes world debut in 760i. This is the world's second 8-speed auto (behind Lexus LS460). Its additional ratio improves gearshift smoothness as well as fuel consumption. BMW said it weighs virtually identical to the old 6-speed ZF unit.

8 Apr, 2009

Mercedes S-class facelift

Mercedes has made a subtle facelift to its 3 and a half year old S-class. Its grille, front bumper, indicator lights (now LED) and rear lights have been revised slightly. The interior gets upgraded equipments, such as "Splitview" (new LCD screen technology which projects different images when viewing from different angle, so the driver may see sat nav information while the passenger beside see a DVD movie). It also gets some new safety features recently introduced to E-class, such as drowsy detection. The Active Body Control now adjusts to compensate for crosswind.

Most engines are basically the same although reprogrammed to lower fuel consumption. S320CDI and S420CDI are replaced by S350CDI BlueEfficiency and S450CDI respectively but their outputs are actually unchanged. The only new engine is S400 Hybrid, which combines a 279hp 3.5 V6 with a 20hp / 118 lb-ft electric motor to achieve 35.7 mpg combined consumption. This is a mild hybrid, i.e. it cannot run on electric motor alone, so it fails to take the limelight from Lexus LS600h.

8 Apr, 2009

Karmann filed bankruptcy

Karmann has become the latest victim of credit crunch. The 104-year-old German coachbuilder has been forced to file bankruptcy as it failed to pay compensation to the 2,240 employees it recently laid off. However, it is believed the company can still operate under bankruptcy protection because its debt level remains low.

Karmann used to produce cabriolet systems and assemble carbriolet cars for major car makers. Examples include Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet, Audi A4 Cabriolet, Mercedes SLK, CLK Cabriolet, Renault Megane CC, Nissan Micra C+C and Chrysler Crossfire. However, in recent years car makers prefer to take production of these niche models in-house, leaving Karmann, as well as its competitor Pininfarina and Bertone, in financial trouble. Currently Karmann assembles only Mercedes CLK Cabriolet in its factory, but this car will phase out in May this year, so its prospect is hardly optimistic.

6 Apr, 2009

BMW M Power goes turbocharged !

Since the first road-going M-power engine born in M1 - that’s 30 years ago – BMW has always been insisting naturally aspiration for the M engines. Undoubtedly, naturally aspirated engines deliver unmatchable thrill in terms of sound and rev, but they could not match turbocharged or supercharged engines in fuel consumption. Facing the enforcement of corporate fleet CO2 emission limit of 130g/km at EU, BMW finally has to compromise. The first ever turbocharged M engine has made debut in X6M and X5M. It will also be used in the next generation M5 and M6.

This engine is a 4.4-liter DOHC V8 with direct injection and twin-turbocharger. It is derived from the one serving 750i but with some enhancements to increase power from 408hp to 555hp at 6000 rpm and torque from 442 lb-ft to 501 lb-ft at 1500-5650 rpm. Its flat torque curve and low rev limit is a big departure from traditional M power units. However, it is much greener than existing M engines. In X5M and X6M, it returns 20.3 mpg and 325g/km CO2 emission, better than the high-revving V10 in the current M5 (19 mpg and 357 g/km) even though the X5M and X6M are 550 kg heavier than that car !

Like the mass production 4.4 bi-turbo V8, the M power version has its exhaust manifolds located inside the V-valley to make it compact. This also shortens the length of the exhaust manifold to the turbochargers thus reduce turbo lag yet improve cold start emission. Three major features differ the M-power engine from the 750i engine: 1) The boost pressure is much higher at 1.5 bar to increase power. 2) The turbochargers are twin-scroll type to separate the exhaust pulses of different cylinders, thus reduces back-pressure and quickens spool up. 3) The Cylinder-bank Comprehensive Manifold (CCM) is a single exhaust manifold with runners connecting cylinders of both banks to each turbocharger, unlike conventional bi-turbo arrangement that has each turbo fed by one bank. As a result, each turbo are supplied with charge pulses of regular interval (every 90 degrees of engine revolution, unlike the irregular interval of conventional arrangement), thus lead to smoother power delivery and flatter torque curve.

Now we have to see whether the fans of M cars would accept this engine.

6 Apr, 2009

Toyota Crown Majesta

Last year when Toyota launched V6 Hybrid version of Crown, we thought it was to replace the range-topping V8-powered Crown Majesta. How wrong ! Now the new generation Majesta has arrived. It sits above the Crown Hybrid again, thanks to the premium ingredients that make it remarkably close to the level of Lexus LS460.

Although its exterior looks similar to other Crowns (except the conservative grille), its chassis is stretched by 75mm in wheelbase. Overall length is now 5 meters, just 35mm shy of LS460. A fully loaded Crown Majesta tips the scale at 1820 kilograms. Never mind, as it employs the same 4.6-liter direct injection V8 and 8-speed automatic transmission as the Lexus, although power is detuned from 380hp to 347hp. You might question the need of V8 given the existing of the 345hp Hybrid V6. The answer is again down to image. The Majesty needs to have everything the best !

Japanese rich people prefer pillowy ride, so we expect the suspensions of Crown Majesta are set softer than Lexus. Compare with other Crowns, its longer wheelbase and addition of adaptive air springs (above the adaptive damping) should raise ride comfort to another level.

As expected, Toyota has put on all its known safety technology into the flagship Crown, e.g. driver monitoring system, night vision, pedestrian detection cameras, smart cruise control and Pre-crash system. Another strength of the Majesta is rear passenger comfort. The boss there is served with reclining massaging chairs (heated and cooled too), drink cooler, DVD infotainment system, theatre sound system and a center console for easy access of these features.

However, in such economy it will be difficult to sell this top-end car. Toyota should have consolidated it with the Lexus line rather than wasting money to build two very similar cars. IMO, Crown should concentrate on the medium executive class and let Lexus to do the top end models.

2 Apr, 2009

New Subaru Legacy

When we saw the first images of new generation Subaru Legacy – in prototype form – three months ago, it raised some eyebrows. Now in production spec. and photographed under natural sunlight, it looks far more comfortable. You do notice its extra size, as the car is 80mm taller and 90mm wider. However, this is counterbalanced by a sportier profile, thanks to the 45mm shorter overhangs and pronounced wheelarches. The coherent lines, conventional front grille and large windows prove that Subaru is not obsessed with expressive styling so fashionable in the industry under the influence of Chris Bangle. Perhaps it doesn’t want to draw your attention away from its unique engineering.

As before, the chassis of Legacy is derived from Impreza. This dictate its suspension layout – MacPherson struts up front and double-wishbones at the rear. Now all suspensions are mounted on subframes to reduce noise and harshness, as is the engine. This contrasts to the previous generation, which had its engine mounted directly on the chassis. The whole car is 35 mm longer than before, but its wheelbase has grown even more, by 80 mm to a total of 2750 mm. This mean rear passenger room becomes much more generous.

Legacy is still the only car in its class to employ horizontally opposed engines as well as permanent all-wheel drive – the latter is mandatory on all models. For US market, Legacy offers the following choices of powertrain:

2457cc SOHC 16V boxer-4 with 170hp (same as Impreza) + Lineartronic CVT (like Audi Multitronic, it uses a steel chain instead of steel belt to handle stronger power)
2457cc DOHC 16V dual-AVCS boxer -4 turbo with 265hp (same as Impreza WRX) + 6-speed manual
3630cc DOHC 24V dual-AVCS boxer -6 with 256hp (same as Tribeca) + 5-speed automatic (old)

Although no official details have been released, I bet the Japanese version will prefer 2.0 and 2.0 turbo engines like the current generation, while European version will employ the excellent 2.0 boxer turbo diesel.

2 Apr, 2009

Peter Horbury to be sold to Chinese ?

While the topic seems like an April Fool’s joke, it is very likely to become true. Everybody knows Ford is in the process of selling Volvo, and the eventual buyer is likely to be a Chinese car maker. At this critical moment, Peter Horbury announced that he is returning Gothenburg to head the design department of Volvo, replacing Steve Mattin who left earlier this week. This mean he could be “sold” to the Chinese together with Volvo !

Horbury earned his fame by transforming the conservative image of Volvo in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was therefore promoted to head the design of Ford America in 2004. Now returning to Volvo could mean a demotion, but to Volvo it might be a good news. In my opinion, during the leadership of Steve Mattin, Volvo’s design went too sporty (see XC60 and S60 concept) to the extent that it lost its traditional safe and eco-friendly image. Now Volvo needs Horbury to guide it back to the correct path.

The vacancy left by Horbury at Ford America will be filled by ex-Mazda design chief Moray Callum, who is also the younger brother of Jaguar design boss Ian Callum.

2 Apr, 2009

Hyundai Equus

Since its launch in 1999, Hyundai Equus has been the company's flagship luxury limousine as well as the top luxury car in Korea. Although it was never a world-class player, it still sold 120,000 units throughout the years, proving there is strong demand for a locally-built luxury car in the domestic market. The old Equus was a joint-venture with Mitsubishi Proudia / Dignity and made of largely Mitsubishi technology. Today, Hyundai no longer needs foreign help, of course. The recent success of its Genesis not only shows that it is capable to develop a world-class luxury car by itself, but also provide a good starting point for the new Equus. Hyundai invested some US$600 million to develop the rear-drive platform and V8 engine for Genesis. With an additional US$380 million, it managed to derive the Genesis into the second generation Equus.

Being the top model in Hyundai's model range, the new Equus is considerably larger than Genesis, of course. It measures 5160 mm long, 1900 mm wide and 1495 mm tall, some 185mm, 37mm and 15mm respectively more than Genesis. Its 3045 mm wheelbase is much longer than the Genesis' 2935 mm, giving it generous rear passenger room. Moreover, an even longer wheelbase model will be offered to match Mercedes S-class and the like.

Apart from the slightly conservative grille, the new Equus looks thoroughly modern and, thankfully, shares no genes with its predecessor. Inside, however, the design is much more conservative to please its target audience in Korea. That said, it offers quite a lot of luxury equipments, such as heated and cooled seats, drink cooler and massager rear seats. Safety is also up to our expectation for a big luxury car, as it offers Pre-Safety system, smart cruise control, lane departure warning, parking cameras and adaptive front lighting.

Most key mechanical parts are shared with Genesis, such as the all-round aluminum 5-link suspensions, ZF-Sachs Amplitude Selective Dampers (a kind of mechanical adaptive dampers), electro-hydraulic power steering, both engines - 285hp 3.8-liter Lambda V6 and 360hp 4.6-liter Tau V8 - and ZF 6-speed transmission. The only new feature is the availability of electronic-controlled air springs.

In Korea spec, the V6 and V8 Equus weighs 1875 kg and 2025 kg respectively, around 200 kg more than Genesis. For the forthcoming long wheelbase version, Hyundai will introduce a more powerful 5.0-liter version of the Tau V8.

Hyundai plans to sell 19,000 units of Equus annually in Korea. It will be exported to China and the Middle East, but from the conservative interior design I suppose its chance to the USA and Europe will be slim.

1 Apr, 2009

More details on Murray T-25 revealed

Since Gordan Murray Design revealed the first sketchy info of its T-25 city car, the world has been eagerly anticipating more details of this revolutionary vehicle. Rival engineers wonder how a car measuring just 2.4 meters long and 1.3 meters wide could accommodate four full-size adults, or even six in MPV form. One well-known for unknown automotive engineer even declared "it must be either the greatest achievement or the biggest lie in the world since man landed on moon".

The controversy surrounding Murray T-25 has finally come to an end today, as its technical details has been disclosed on the web. It is believed the details were revealed by an ex-employee of Gordan Murray Design who was sacked during the current economic crisis. The details major on a roll of toilet paper with sketches of T-25 (pictured below), which reveals the internal construction and various clever features of the car. The sketches was said to be drawn by Murray himself while he was doing something else.

According to the unnamed ex-employee, Murray used to explore new ideas in toilet everyday. When he got inspiration, he would simply draw on the toilet tissue paper. On a good day he could sketch pages after pages until the whole blueprint is finished. (A few times he even consumed the entire roll of toilet paper and had to call amah for help.) This roll of paper was stolen from the toilet when Murray was struggling to clean his hands on a day the amah was off-duty.

The sketch obtained shows the T-25 in 6-seat MPV form. It has 3 rows of seats, one cascade another, to achieve 6 people accommodation in a very short wheelbase. As shown in the drawing, the first row occupants sit above the knee of the second row, who sit above the knee of the third row passengers again. This clever configuration has various advantages:

Sketch of Murray T-25 (click to enlarge)

1. The last row passengers enjoy vast of headroom.

2. The "sandwich" structure gives the second row passengers unparalleled crash safety thanks to the human crumple zones front and rear.

3. The front row driver gets F1-style driving experience from the open cockpit, something seen as essential to Gordan Murray.

Another special feature is the driver control. The T-25 uses Nintendo's Wii remote controller instead of conventional steering wheel and pedals so that the driver can sit at any row or even in the boot to alter weight distribution hence achieve the desired understeer / oversteer characteristic. As the seats are made of transparent composite materials, the driver can see through the seats and has a good view on the road.

Prototype transparent seats

To avoid the embarrassment of facing the bum of the person in front, the transparent seats are coated with a thin, clear layer of OLED (Organic Light Emitted Diode) which may be switched on to display images of something else, such as your own bum.

The T-25 is powered by a 0.5-liter V-twin engine sliced from the BMW V12 engine of McLaren F1. It is completed with Double VANOS (Very Absurd and Obviously Silly) system and Efficient Dynamics to compensate for its inefficient aerodynamics. To lure green-minded customers, T-25 will offer a wide range of eco features, such as Plug-in Hybrid electric shavers, Bake Energy Regeneration oven, BlueTEC ball pen and EcoBoost toilet stool.

V-twin engine derived from BMW V12

Despite of these advanced features, it is unknown yet whether this car would reach production. The current economy is one problem. Another problem is that a remarkably similar project is being run by Gordon Murray Design. It may sue Gordan Murray Design for using a similar name for both the company and the car. Care should be taken not to confuse Gordan Murray Design T-25 with Gordon Murray Design T25, whose photo is shown at the top of this post.

1 Apr, 2009

GM chief Rick Wagoner resigned, finally !

General Motors CEO and Chairman Rick Wagoner shocked the public yesterday by resigning from his post under the pressure of the US government. It is known that, without his resignation, the Obama government will not approve further financial assistance to keep GM survive. Like me, Obama simply does not belief that a guy who failed to turn around GM in the past 9 years could succeed this time. It has to find a saviour elsewhere.

My opinion against Wagoner was clear in the past few years. Back in November 2005, I wrote:

Should Rick Wagoner take the blame? GM's problem might be deep-rooted, but I would be very surprised if a CEO could stand under such result. After all, during the two and a half years leadership of Wagoner, GM ran from profitable to near bankruptcy.

Then in October 2006:

The real point of the alliance is not to optimize economy of scale, but to bring a more competent management than Wagoner himself. Wagoner has been GM's CEO since year 2000 (plus chairman since 2003). After 6 years of leadership he still fails to find solutions to the company's deep-rooted problems. Yes, GM doesn't need any alliances. What it needs is a new CEO / Chairman.

During the time of his leadership, GM had its US market share consistently reduced, its global No. 1 position substituted by Toyota and recorded a loss of US$82 billion. To avoid bankruptcy, it had to seek $13.4 billion of Federal government bailout early this year and still asks for a further $16.6 billion to burn in the remaining months of this year.

1 Apr, 2009

Fate of GM and Chrysler still unsure

The US government has rejected both GM and Chrysler's viability plans. GM has been given a further 60 days to improve its plan, then the Obama government will decide whether to give further money, or let it enter bankruptcy. Chrysler has 30 days to do the same thing. However, the government made it clear that the smallest Detroit car maker will not be able to survive independently, so it must finalize the merger plan with FIAT in order to get government loan.

It is generally believed that the government will eventually save GM, as it involves too many jobs in the country. In contrast, it may let Chrysler to go down as its influence to the job market and economy is relatively small.

1 Apr, 2009

PSA fired its CEO

On the same day of the resignation of GM chief, PSA group also fired its CEO Christian Streiff. Streiff got the top job in early 2007 but did little to improve its competitiveness. Last year, PSA shocked investors by recording a loss of €343 million when most European rivals were still profitable. For sure this year will be even worse. Therefore the supervisory board decided to dismiss Streiff. His position is replaced by Philippe Varin, head of steel maker Corus.

1 Apr, 2009

New Mercedes E63 AMG

This is the new Mercedes E63 AMG built on the W212 E-class. Power still comes from that 6.2-liter V8, but it is tuned to produce 525 horsepower, same as SL63 AMG and therefore being 11hp more than the last generation. Max torque is unchanged at 465 lb-ft though. While the car may not be any faster than before (0-62 mph in 4.5 seconds and a limited 155 mph top speed), the driver should be delighted with the adoption of SL63's MCT 7-speed gearbox. It is derived from the 7G-Tronic automatic but with torque converter replaced by a multiplate wet clutch to speed up gearchange a lot - as little as 100ms. The box offers 4 modes, including a fuel efficiency mode. No wonder AMG claims the EU combined consumption is reduced by 12 percent to 22.4 mpg.

Like the recent C63, the E63 AMG has a heavily modified front suspension with 56mm wider track, new control arms, tubular anti-roll bar and increased negative camber. The rear suspension also get increased negative camber and a stronger subframe mounting. Adaptive damping is standard, while rear suspension has air springs to maintain ride height regardless of load. The 18-inch wheels wear 255/40 front and 285/35 rear tires. The steering is set 22 percent quicker than the standard E-class in order to delight keen drivers.

If you opt for AMG Performance Package, you will get 19-inch wheels with lower profile tires, stiffer suspension tuning, limited-slip differential and a higher top speed regulation at 186 mph.

The only disappointment is the exterior design, which looks quite boxy and not as pretty as the last generation.

Key rivals of E63 will still be BMW M5, Jaguar XFR and Audi RS6. As the BMW will switch to turbocharged V8 in the next generation, the AMG will be the only one employing classic naturally aspirated V8. Its sharper throttle response and rawer exhaust note will hopefully get the favour of keen drivers.

1 Apr, 2009

Tesla Model S

The struggling American electric car maker Tesla has released its much delayed mass production model, Model S, in prototype form. According to its boss Elon Musk (who got rich by founding PayPal), this sporting saloon will be built in South California at a rate of 20,000 units a year, much more than the 300 units of Tesla Roadster built by Lotus so far. However, Tesla still needs to ressolve the financial issue, getting new investment from either government aid, external investors or established car makers. If it is lucky to get the required money, the car will enter production in Q3 of 2011. That's still 2 and a half years away. If Tesla fail to get new investment, I expect it will go down soon. Therefore the fate of Tesla will be very much dependent of this project.

The Model S looks like a rival of Maserati Quattroporte, Porsche Panamera and Mercedes CLS, but its price starts at a much lower US$50,000 (if you really believe it can achieve that). That is only half of those cars as well as the existing Tesla Roadster. It is also cheaper than its nearest rival, Fisker Karma, which costs US$88,000. However, the base Model S offers a small battery to give a range of only 160 miles. You have to pay extra for larger batteries, which extend travelling range to 230 miles or 300 miles. Each upgrade will cost around $8,000 to $10,000. Lithium-ion batteries are very expensive.

The Model S prototype measures 4980 mm long and weighs 1735 kg (expect the latter to grow when it reach production). Apart from sitting 5 adults, it also offers 2 rear-facing seats for small children, so it provides 5+2 accommodation. Both the chassis and body panels are made of aluminum, but the company did not say who will manufacture them.

Similarly, no information was given for its electric powertrain. It only claims the standard car will accelerate from 0-60 mph in 5.6 seconds and top 120 mph. A more powerful Sport model will do 130 mph and 4.8 seconds.

The prototype employs huge wheels, wide rubbers and large Brembo brakes. Its cabin has a 17-inch LCD touch screen (yes, seventeen-inch) on the center console which offer HD video, satellite radio and 3G connectivity... all kinds of fancy spec.

The question is, will it get the investment and reach production two and a half years later ? No one knows. To me, Fisker Karma seems to be far more credible.