July 7, 2010
Chrysler. The company wants to establish 200 stand-alone Fiat dealerships to sell the Fiat 500 here in the U.S. and is suggesting that some of its larger urban dealers might be excellent candidates to get involved. But even the most staunchly supportive Chrysler dealers are adapting a "wait and see" attitude about the possibility, preferring to wait until they see the numbers first before getting too excited. There's a shocker.
Toyota. The company is adding more time - about a month - in its typical development process to instill more quality checks. Uh, you guys sure a month is going to cover it? We're just askin'.
Tesla. One day you got it goin' on, and a few days later it all turns to shit. Tesla stock debuted at $17 a share last week - soaring at one point to $30.42 - but this morning it's just over $16 bucks a share. Ouch, baby.
(BMW Group)
The BMW Group's Megacity Vehicle (MCV) - due to come on the market in 2013 - will be the world’s first volume-produced vehicle with a passenger cell made from carbon. BMW is calling this new technology its "LifeDrive" architecture, consisting of two horizontally separated, independent modules. The Drive module integrates the battery, drive system and structural and crash functions into a single construction within the chassis. The Life module is primarily made up of a high-strength and extremely lightweight passenger cell made from CFRP. BMW says that this new vehicle architecture opens the door to totally new production processes which are both simpler and more flexible, while using less energy. BMW Group engineers are developing the car’s architecture from scratch and "adapting it to the demands and conditions of future mobility." The goal is to offset the additional weight of an electric vehicle – typically 250 to 350 kilograms - thus the extensive use of carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP). BMW insists that the "BMW-ness" will come through in its Megacity Vehicle. We shall see.
(Photo by Simon Clay © 2010 Courtesy of Gooding & Company)
Gooding & Company, the official auction house of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, will offer five significant Italian consignments for its August 14th -15th Pebble Beach Auctions, including a 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione, a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta SEFAC Hot Rod (above), a Zagato-bodied 1954 Fiat 8V, a 1955 Maserati A6G/54 Berlinetta with one-off coachwork by Zagato, and a 1971 Lamborghini Miura S. The 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta SEFAC Hot Rod is particularly noteworthy. None other than Sergio Pininfarina himself considered the 250 GT SWB Berlinetta's shape so pure and well balanced that he called it "the first of our three quantum leaps in design with Ferrari." One of only 20 cars built, this machine - chassis 2845 - was sold new to Count Volpi for his Scuderia Serenissima. Its racing history includes a third place at the Tour de France, finishes at the 1000 Km de Paris and Daytona 3-hour Continental, as well as multiple Italian hill climbs and vintage races throughout Germany. Gooding & Company is presenting this rare, certified Ferrari Factory restoration as "an exciting Estimate On Request consignment." Meaning? Bring bags of money, pal.
Editor-in-Chief's Note: Our "quick take" this week covers the 2010 Mazda 6 S Sedan Grand Touring. The short story on our loaded Sangria Red tester is that I found it to be an excellent all-around daily driver with just the right combination of tuned driving dynamics, well thought-out features and enough luxury touches to qualify it as a very credible choice for enthusiast drivers. I should stress the driving dynamics part, because I found the Mazda 6 (as equipped) to be really good in the day-in, day-out, urban cut and thrusting, yet when you felt the need to hammer the thing it responded admirably with terrific response from its willing V6, a tautly-tuned sport suspension, and just the right amount of "feel" communicated through its steering to keep an enthusiast driver happy. As for the design of the Mazda 6? It works very well too. Clean and uncluttered with nicely executed surface detailing - especially in the front end and around the front and rear fender areas - thankfully there was none of the visual disappointments associated with the visually challenged, happy-faced Mazda 3. If you're in the market for a sport sedan at this price point, I'd give the Mazda 6 a serious look. - PMD
2010 Mazda 6 S Sedan Grand Touring: $33,120 ($28,390 base price, 3.7L DOHC, 24-Valve V6, 272HP, 6-speed automatic, front-wheel-drive, 18" alloy wheels, front and rear stabilizer bars, four-wheel independent suspension, four-wheel disc brakes, ABS, traction control, stability control, etc.; Navigation - RDS based with real time traffic - $2000; Technology Package - advanced keyless entry, driver's seat memory, auto on/off xenon headlights, heated and auto-dimming outer mirrors and auto-dimming rear view mirror, power passenger seat, Sirius satellite radio, push button engine start, LED rear lights, multi-information display- $1,980; Delivery, processing and handling fee, $750)
WE'RE OPENING THE VAULT!
The AE wearables are back - and only in extremely limited quantities and sizes, we might add - and once they're gone, they're gone! We're starting with our most popular items, the classic AE Sweatshirt and AE Hat. Click on a PayPal button below to order yours now! (If you prefer to pay by check, please send us an email with AE STORE in the subject line, and we'll reserve your item.)
AE Sweatshirt - Crewneck, sturdy 80/20 cotton/poly, in black with throwback lettering - the original AE logo in our Chiller typeface shown above. Size XL only. 40 bucks, including shipping. US orders only.
AE Hat - Black with throwback lettering - the original AE logo in our Chiller typeface shown above. 25 bucks, including shipping. US orders only.
Publisher's Note: Check-out John McElroy's daily news show covering everything about the auto biz by clicking on the graphic below. Good stuff guaranteed. - PMD
See another live episode of "Autoline After Hours" hosted by Autoline Detroit's John McElroy, with Peter De Lorenzo and friends this Thursday evening, at 7:00PM EDT at www.autolinedetroit.tv. By the way, if you'd like to subscribe to the Autoline After Hours podcasts, click on the following links: Subscribe via iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=311421319 http://www.autolinedetroit.tv/podcasts/feeds/afterhours-audio.xml
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