ON THE TABLE

February 29, 2012

(Nigel Kinrade, Autostock, 2012)

Editor-in-Chief's Note (March 1, 11:00 a.m.): In a completely unexpected development, Roger Penske is switching his allegiance to Ford in NASCAR beginning in the 2013 season. Thought to be unimpressed with the level of commitment he was seeing from the Italian owned Chrysler and its Dodge brand and questioning their future interest and involvement, Penske has found a new partner in Ford Racing and the Ford Motor Company. This is expected to be a tremendous deal for both parties. Ford gets serious, top caliber help to go up against the GM-Hendrick-RCR/Stewart-Haas juggernaut and the JGR-led Toyota boys, and Penske Racing gets focused attention from Ford Racing, known as the most committed band of enthusiasts participating in NASCAR. - PMD

DEARBORN, MICH. - March 1, 2012 – Penske Racing is coming back to Ford.
After a 10-year hiatus, Penske Racing returns its two-car NASCAR
Sprint Cup operation to Ford Racing beginning with the 2013 Daytona
500, and if its latest term is anything like the most recent one, Ford
fans will have plenty to cheer about.

Penske Racing, recognized as one of racing’s all-time great teams,
most recently spent nine seasons with Ford from 1994-2002, posting 27
wins and 33 poles among three drivers. In addition, its teams finished
in the Top 10 48.6 percent of the time (228-of-469 starts).

The organization first raced with Ford in 1976 and 1977, before coming
back in 1994. In total, through 524 NASCAR starts (509 Cup Series and
15 Nationwide Series) with Ford, Penske Racing teams earned 28
victories (27 Cup Series and one Nationwide Series) and 42 pole
positions (36 Cup Series and six Nationwide Series).

“This is an historic day for our racing program, and we are thrilled
to see another member of the extended Ford family coming back,” said
Mark Fields, Ford’s president of The Americas. “Working together with
Penske Racing gives Ford another championship-level program, and we
are excited to take our racing program to all-new levels.”

Penske Racing officially takes the track with Ford in the 2013 season,
and the organization will be part of the competition debut of the 2013
NASCAR Fusion, which was first shown in Charlotte on Jan. 24, as part
of the Charlotte Media Tour.

“It was important to get this agreement in place early so that we can
plan ahead for the debut of the new 2013 NASCAR Fusion,” said Jamie
Allison, Ford Racing director. “We will work with Roush Fenway on the
final development of the new car during this season, but we want to be
able to have our teams building their new cars for the 2013 season
before the end of the year, as the transition to the new body is
taking place.

“With the operations and technology resources Penske brings from all
forms of racing, we know they will be a strong addition to our
program, and we look forward to working with them and all our teams to
create a stronger Ford NASCAR program with even greater depth.”
Added Roger Penske: “We look forward to joining the Ford Racing NASCAR
program beginning in 2013. We appreciate the long-term commitment
that Ford has made to Penske Racing and for their continued support of
the sport.”

Penske Racing was instrumental in bringing the first four-door sedan
to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with the Taurus in 1998. As one of the
teams responsible for getting Taurus on track, Penske worked closely
with Ford and Roush officials in designing the car. They were rewarded
immediately as Rusty Wallace won the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona in
the car’s debut race.

Wallace was Penske’s lead driver throughout the most recent time with
Ford, and it didn’t take long for them to find victory lane as they
won at Rockingham in only their second start. That was the first of 23
wins for Wallace, which ranks eighth on Ford Racing’s all-time list.
Wallace, who finished in the Top 10 in points every year during that
stretch, also dominated in qualifying, as he won 21 poles – including
a series-high nine in 2000.

The 1994 season was memorable as Wallace won a series-best eight
times, including three straight in June at Dover, Pocono and Michigan.
He also won back-to-back events at Dover and Martinsville in
September en route to a third-place finish in the point standings.

After expanding to a two-car team in 1998 through the purchase of the
No. 12 team from Michael Kranefuss, Penske oversaw the first series
wins for Jeremy Mayfield (Pocono, 1998) and Ryan Newman (New
Hampshire, 2002). Newman turned in one of the best rookie seasons in
NASCAR history as he won the All-Star Race and captured six poles
while winning top rookie honors and finishing sixth in the final point
standings.

“Penske Racing contends for the Sprint Cup title every year, and our
goal, with the addition of this program, is that Ford will compete for
the manufacturers’ title every year as well,” Allison said.

 The PSA Peugeot Citroen deal. GM is going to take a 7 percent stake but does it address the massive overcapacity issues in Europe? No. And now Sergio "Mr. Global Vision for the Future of the Auto Industry" Marchionne is interested in PSA Peugeot Citroen too. Oh joy. As a trusted colleague said, "It is staggeringly stupid. GM doesn't need more scale. And I can't see German unions blithely watching plants close so French workers can make some of Opel's cars and politically neither government will stand for it. And how much executive time will be wasted trying to marry up product plans? And what kind of car could have been made with that $1 billion? And so frickin' on..." Run for the frickin' hills, everybody.

 Sergio Marchionne. He says Fiat-Chrysler is looking for partners. Why not? After all, things are so buttoned up in Auburn Hills, right? Right.

 Consumer Reports. We aren't interested in your opinion about anything to do with cars, but we're glad the drones in the media continue to dutifully tout your reports. After all, what else would they do with their spare time?

 OnStar. Why do we get the distinct feeling that this business unit is going nowhere? Linda Marshall, the latest president of OnStar, is now leaving the division after one year, so that's one reason. The fact that no one really cares about it is another. We could go on, but why bother?

(BMW)
The MINI John Cooper Works Countryman will come standard with all-wheel-drive (ALL4) and powered by a newly developed four-cylinder turbocharged engine producing 211 hp. The John Cooper Works Countryman is also the first John Cooper Works model available for order with a six-speed automatic gearbox as an alternative to the standard six-speed manual.  The MINI John Cooper Works Countryman will go from 0 to 62 mph in 7.1 seconds. While U.S. fuel economy figures are not yet available, average fuel consumption of 7.2 liters per 100 kilometers/39.2 mpg (imp) has been delivered in the EU test cycle (8.0 liters/100 km and 35.3 mpg imp with the automatic). The global introduction of the MINI John Cooper Works will get under way in the fall of 2012.

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