When Chrysler and General Motors both declared bankruptcy last year, everyone was looking at Ford Motor Co. to do the same. Instead, Ford stayed strong and posted its first profit (of $3.2 billion) in three years.
The company has managed to cut its reliance on Sport Utility and large vehicles by advancing its fuel-efficient car research (partly thanks to its operations in Europe). Today the company has announced that it’s investing USD $135 million ($163 million) to produce electric and hybrid vehicles.
The company plans to bring all the research and development of such vehicles in-house and produce at least five electric or partly-electric (hybrid) models by 2012 – the idea being that at least a quarter of its vehicles will soon make use of electric power.
The investment will see 220 new jobs created at three Michigan facilities. That includes 50 engineers for a new R&D centre to be created in Detroit plus 170 production workers at two Michigan plants.
The five new models will include two electric and three new hybrids vehicles which should account for around 10-25 percent of the company’s global sales by 2020.
"Ford has been at the forefront of layering this new technology into their vehicles," Michael Robinet, an auto-industry analyst with CSM Worldwide, told AutoNews. "It’s been an incremental strategy, but one that’s well thought-out and bodes well for their future."
The four Ford hybrids currently on sale (not in Australia) only accounted for 1.6 percent of the company’s light-vehicle sales in April.
The heavy investment is not all due to For’d change of heart towards the environment, as with other manufacturers Ford has to comply with new “average company-wide fuel economy” rating of 35.5 miles per gallon (6.6L/100km). European union will see this figure drop to just 5L/100km in 2012.
Not many cars are hand-built these days, reason being the precision required for modern cars is so small that it’s a job better done by robots. Nonetheless, here is a video of how Audi staff put together an Audi R8 Spyder.
Lamborghini has joined in on the recent trend among carmakers with the announcement it will be recalling models from their flagship Murcielago range.
The recall will affect 428 Murcielago Coupe and Roadster variants produced between 2007 and 2008. As issue has been found within the Murcielagos fuel delivery system that could see the 210mph (338km) supercar catch fire.
Faulty supports holding the fuel pump have been found as the cause of the problem. The concern is that if these supports were to fail a fuel leak could result and potentially the Murcielago could catch fire.
Official recalls will begin in June with Lamborghini dealers carrying out necessary repairs at no cost to owners. It is not confirmed if Australian-delivered Lambos have been affected though owners are advised to contact Lamborghini to confirm.
Not often do individuals complain when a car model has the same name, surely Holden’s Nova or Mercedes was never an issue.
But what if your full name matched that of a car’s make and model? French woman Zoe Renault is in the process of taking legal action unless the French car maker changes its soon to be released model’s name from Renault Zoe.
The Renault Zoe will be a full electric car expected to see face the public next year. It will have the capability for a quick battery swap as well as being adequately rechargeable in 20 minutes.
None of that seems to please Miss Renault. The 23 year old form Paris is pressuring Renault for a name change.
“I could not bear to hear: ‘Zoe’s broken down’ or ‘We need to get Zoe overhauled’,” she told Le Parisien newspaper.
Renault says the name was chosen as it means “life” in Greek.
Would you be annoyed if your first and last name matched that of a car make and model? Any Nova Holdens here
While the police and private mobile speed camera operators police everything related to speeding, nobody polices their conduct.
During a road test through suburban Geelong, Victoria, CarAdvice encountered a mobile speed camera operator flouting the law, hypocritically booking motorists for speeding, while they themselves were breaking policy.
The operator established their vehicle on a steep stretch of road, outside of their designated work zone, working directly against the very policy that is claimed to be “fair, impartial and objectively administered in the community interest”.
Criteria 2b) of the Victorian Mobile Speed Camera Policy and Operations Manual says:
A site shall not be:
Descending down unsuitable gradients or within 300 metres of the bottom of a gradient or hill UNLESS the site has a significant speed related collision record;
Unsuitable gradient is defined as a slope that causes a vehicle in top gear (or drive) to increase indicated speed against maximum deceleration (NO BRAKE OR ACCELERATION) from a commencement speed at the top of the slope at the posted limit.
Despite the very clear wording, the speed camera operator continued to operate until we starting taking photographs. Directly after the photographs were taken, the operator packed up and left.
This incident follows from another case reported by CarAdvice in November, 2007, where a mobile speed camera operator was nestled within bushes, causing a traffic hazard for motorists stopping in the emergency lane.
The vehicle nestled in the bushes also directly contravened the Victorian Mobile Speed Camera Policy and Operations Manual, working against the section relating to Camera Concealment and Disguise:
To maintain community confidence in the mobile speed camera initiative, it is important for the operational use of the device to be seen as fair and reasonable. Under no circumstances are camera vehicles, tripods or portable flash units (when used) to be disguised by signs, logos, breakdown of vehicle (eg. boot open or spare wheel / jack visible etc), tree branches, lamp posts, rubbish bins or any other covert means.
These acts of callous law breaking go unheard until pictures like these surface. There is no body that polices the conduct of mobile speed camera operators and the question has to be asked, how many speeding fines have been illegally issued based on obvious breaches of the Victorian Mobile Speed Camera Policy and Operations Manual?.
You've probably heard of those wildly fictitious 'barn finds' before, where someone supposedly stumbles on to a country property in the middle of nowhere and presto, inside the barn doors lie fifty of the world's most exotic automobiles collecting dust and hay.
I doubt very much whether anyone on the planet has ever been lucky enough to have had this real world experience, but when it comes to the odd classic in a farm shed, well that's a different story.
Take this particular farmer in England, who ended up the proud owner of a 1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 Mk 1 3-litre in average condition, as payment for a bad debt in 1973.
'The Motor' magazine tested a DB2/4 in 1954 and found the car had a top speed of 118.5mph and could accelerate from zero to 60mph in 10.5 seconds. Fuel consumption was a commendable 23 miles per gallon.
The double overhead cam straight-6 was designed by W.O Bentley himself and used in the Vantage version of the DB2.
Below is photo of what the car should look like.
But here's where the story becomes interesting. This particular farmer only ever drove the car once, when he and a group of friends drove to a local barn dance shortly after taking possession of the car.
The car was clearly overloaded on the trip home from the dance and while driving more enthusiastically than he should have, the farmer scared himself and the Aston was promptly assigned to the chicken shed for the next 34 years.
The car was last sold in 2007 to a rather eccentric buyer who oddly enough decided to maintain the car in it's 'barn find' state, and not touch the paint, but choosing instead to rebuild the engine.
According to the press release from the Brooklands auction people who will put the car under the hammer on the evening of June 2 as part of the 'Historics at Brooklands' "the engine has been rebuilt with 9.5 to 1 Omega Pistons with new liners, polished crankshaft, new mains and big ends, new chains, gaskets, valve guides and many more new parts besides. The petrol pumps have been replaced and the petrol tank removed, cleaned and replaced."
The exterior is totally 'barn find' original with black coachwork and magnolia hide, black painted wire wheels, red painted grille and racing roundels.
Offers are expected to be in the region of £65,000 – £85,000 given the car will be sold with a current road fund licence and MoT road test certificate, good until January 2011.
European markets experienced its first monthly decline in ten months, falling seven per cent to 1.17 million vehicles in April as European government’s begin to phase out incentives.
German and Italian markets were the worst hit, down 32 and 16 per cent respectively as Government programs that helped prop up automotive sales in the aftermath of the GFC, start to be withdrawn.
The automotive industry is touting the withdrawal of incentives could harm the automotive industry, seeing the market decline for the remainder of the year after enjoying ten months of gains.
Added to that economic situation of Greece being on shaky ground, it is little wonder the industry is predicting a decline for the rest of the year once the incentive programs have ended.
Fiat was the biggest loser in the April sales slump, falling 27 per cent after enjoying a good first quarter to see the Italian carmaker fall into in negative territory.
GM and Toyota were the other biggest losers, both plunging 19 percent while Ford and VW also fell but on par to the industry average.
Despite the majority of the 28 European market experiencing falls, France was the exception with sales increasing two per cent in April on the back of French automakers Renault and Peugeot/ Citroen rising nine and two per cent respectively.
Germany's 32 per cent decline did not hamper consumer confidence at BMW with the carmaker enjoying a rise of 13 percent in April on the back of its luxury BMW division while Damier AG in spite of falling nine per cent in Smart volume still managed to post a one percent overall increase.
Asian carmakers were also the big winners in Nissan the biggest winner, selling 32,478 vehicles in April to post a 40 percent increase in sales.
Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia enjoyed solid sales in April too, up six per cent and ten per cent respectively.
The first quarter gains places Kia in 12th in terms of Europeans sales and only 2,000 units within rival Toyota, which sits at 8th place.
Last week renowned hardcore sportscar maker Radical celebrated the 1000th vehicle to roll off its production line, reaching a large milestone in the company's strong 13 year history.
Since its inception in 1997, Radical has established 12 international racing series and competed 4 times in the world famous Le Man 24hour race, not bad for a back shed sports car maker.
The 1000th model to leave the production line was none other than the Radical SR3 RS, the companies most success model. Featuring Le Man LMP1 inspired aerodynamics, a kerb weight of just 640kgs and producing 156 kW from a 1300cc Suzuki bike engine, the SR3RS is not a car for the faint hearted.
Though if you are mad enough to think the SR3 RS isn't enough, you only have to look to the car makers top of the line SR8 model, powered by a screaming 2.6-litre V8 revving to 10,500 rpm and producing an incredible 343 kW.
After 13 years the company is proud to offer Radical cars through 18 international distributors including Australia. While you can purchase a Radical is Australia unfortunately they are not road legal, leaving them confined only to track use, but more to the point can you believe they are road legal in the UK?
Radical believes that a strong development program has contributed to the company achieving this great milestone.
By constantly redesigning, developing and testing our range, we have produced a product of the highest quality, and can ensure support for customers and distributors right across the globe. It's these reasons that Radical Sportscars continues to go from strength to strength; I'm confident that the next 1,000 cars will be produced even quicker than the first” – Radical Co-founder Mick Hyde.
Now with the company developing new electric powered models, we believe it won't be long before we are reporting on the company's 2000th model to roll out of the Cambridgeshire factory.
The Superlap 2010 World Time Attack Challenge has come to an end for another year of high-octane racing, and it has been a clean sweep for the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution which claimed the number one spot in all classes in various states of modification.
For two days, Sydney's Eastern Creek International Raceway played host to some of the fastest modified track cars in the world, each battling it out in a race against the clock to see who would be crowned the Time Attack champion.
At the top of the food chain in the Wynn's Pro Class, the Cyber EVO piloted by 'Tarzan' Yamada came from behind to claim a surprise victory after spending most of the weekend in a state of disrepair in the team's garage.
The Cyber EVO had suffered massive engine failure and was only brought back to life in an eleventh hour stroke of luck when the team from Australia's Pro-Speed Racing generously donated a display engine which was installed at break-neck pace overnight to get the car back on to track.
It obviously worked, as the next day the Cyber EVO went on to record a blistering lap time of 1:30.587 – eventually tearing its rear wing off down the main straight – which was more than one second faster than the second placed Sierra Sierra EVO driven by David Empringham which recorded a time of 1:31.884.
Just to cement his position as the world's best time attack pilot, Yamada-san also claims the number three position in his Tomei/Cusco WRX with a time of 1:31.9010, completing the list of podium finishers.
Not far off that pace was Australia's own Warren Luff in the Prep’d Motorsport Lotus Elise entry which recorded a time of 1:32.273, earning him a gracious position on the podium with 'Tarzan' needing only one platform to claim his prize.
In the Open Class, which was dominated with local talent from both drivers and tuners, the Pulse Racing Mitsubishi Evolution driven by Steve Glenney was the clear winner, finishing almost 3.5 seconds clear of the next place winner with a time of 1:36.498 – good enough to earn it ninth place in Open Class!
With veteran tuner Paul Fisher coaxing an incredible 458kW from the stroked 2.3-litre engine, it's hard to believe the class-winning Pulse Monster Evo was just an empty shell only a month or so ago.
Second place in the Open Class went to the Ultimate Tunes WRX driven by Jason Hart which recorded a best time of 1:39.954 – a faster time than the Fernandez Motorsport Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo entry in Pro Class – with third place going to one of the loudest cars on track: the Insight MS/Elias Auge Honda S2000 driven by John Boston.
In the Clubsprint Class, the Mitsubishi Evolution wrapped up its trifecta with Nicholas Kalis piloting his EVO to victory ahead of the Nissan R35 GT-R of Duncan Forrest by just over half a second.
Well done to the competitors, sponsors and organizers who helped make the Superlap 2010 World Time Attack Challenge a highlight of the Australian motorsport calendar.
McLaren Automotive has released the official details surrounding its pending global retail network which will be spread across 19 countries by 2011 with Australia already confirmed among them.
The company expects to announce the majority of its retail partners in the coming weeks ahead of the McLaren MP4-12C's global debut at Goodwood Festival of Speed.
With in excess of 2,500 expressions of interest for the McLaren MP4-12C and over 500 retailers requesting the opportunity to represent McLaren Automotive, just 35 have been chosen to form the brand’s worldwide distribution network.
Initially, eight retailers have been planned for North America (USA, Canada), a further 12 across Europe (UK, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Switzerland), two in the Middle-East, and one more as McLaren's South African representative.
Antony Sheriff, McLaren Automotive's Managing Director, said: "This is a landmark day for McLaren Automotive as we confirm the locations of the first of our partners that will represent us around the world. It has been incredibly encouraging to experience the demand to sell McLarens from the world's best car retailers – in every country in which we planned to launch and at the heart of all performance car markets.
McLaren expects to build up to 1,000 McLaren MP4-12C’s with the USA, UK and Germany hosting the majority of deliveries – while just 100 to 200 units have allocated to the Asia-Pacific region comprising Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo.
McLaren has plans to introduce a full range of 'pure' high-performance sports cars which will be designed, engineered, developed and built within and alongside the home of the company's Formula 1 cars at the award-winning McLaren Technology Centre (MTC) global headquarters in Woking, England.
Mario Micheli, McLaren Automotive's recently-appointed Commercial and Marketing Director, said: "McLaren is a name that resonates with motorsport fans around the globe: no other racing team can match our achievements and this means for many prospective retailers and customers, it is easy to understand our aspirations for the new sports car range. If you know McLaren, you will know we bring passion, commitment and an absolute ambition to succeed.
After announcing plans to introduce a 2.0-litre four-cylinder variant of Ford’s global EcoBoost engine in the locally built Falcon, Ford has been busted testing the Ford Territory with the same 2.0-litre EcoBoost engine.
The 2.0-litre four-cylinder EcoBoost engine is expected to produce upwards of 185kW, in addition to 350Nm of torque. The engine features Twin-Independent Variable Cam Timing (Ti-VCT) and a turbocharger to extract the most from the engine, giving it V6 power credentials with four-cylinder fuel economy.
Placing the engine in the Territory is a logical move to further supplement the Territory range in the years to come. Once finalised, Ford will offer the Territory with a variant of Land Rover’s 2.7-litre twin-turbocharged diesel engine (as exclusively revealed by CarAdvice), in addition to a Euro IV compliant 4.0-litre I6 engine.
When asked about the plans to introduce an EcoBoost engine in the Ford Territory, Acting Ford Communications Manager, Todd Nissen told CarAdvice:
The 2.0-litre direct-injection turbocharged EcoBoost engine will be added to Falcon range in 2011, as the first global application of Ford’s advanced 2.0-litre EcoBoost engine in a rear-wheel drive vehicle.
There are no plans at this point to introduce the EcoBoost engine in Territory. Territory will receive a clean diesel version of Ford 2.7-litre turbocharged V6 engine in 2011.
Mr Nissen was further quizzed about whether Ford was testing the EcoBoost engine in the Territory for possible future use, he said:
I can’t go into what future engine/product combinations we’re testing.
Further to the news about the EcoBoost being tested in the 2011 Ford Territory, these spy photos also revealed a rehashed front end for the ageing Australian SUV. The photos reveal the use of halogen projector headlights, with upper models predictably picking up High Intensity Discharge (HID) headlights.
As mentioned in our recent article about the 2011 Ford Territory, suppliers for components of the rear end have delayed the testing of full production vehicles. The issue is expected to be resolved in time for the vehicle’s release in early 2011. Ford are expected to show the vehicle at this year’s Sydney International Motor Show.
Amazing! All of these cars are so damn amazing, the Superlap highlights were well covered & Radical producing 1000 vehicles also shows how much the racecar market is evolving into a good lucrative industry.Pro Speed Racing has really reached the next level, also the blog is not displaying properly, so please take care of it as its becoming hard to read.
Amazing! All of these cars are so damn amazing, the Superlap highlights were well covered & Radical producing 1000 vehicles also shows how much the racecar market is evolving into a good lucrative industry.Pro Speed Racing has really reached the next level, also the blog is not displaying properly, so please take care of it as its becoming hard to read.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.prospeedracing.com.au/
www.prospeedracing.com.au
ProSpeedRacing.com.au
Pro Speed Racing Australia