ON THE TABLE

October 20, 2010

Ford. Derrick Kuzak, Ford group vice president in charge of global product development, says that the company is making more money on each new vehicle it sells because consumers find the new Ford and Lincoln lineup appealing and they've built higher feature content into their vehicles, which raises the average transaction price. Kind of the essence of being successful in this business, isn't it?

Beth Chappel, The Detroit Economic Club. The Club - led by president Beth Chappel - has been around for over 75 years and is one of the most respected forums for high-profile political and business leaders in the country. To their credit, they canceled Steven Rattner's upcoming appearance, disinviting "the Ratt-man" after his, ahem, unsavory business with the New York pension fund. Well done, Beth & Co.

Saab. Adrian Hallmark, Saab's sales chief, is leaving to become Jaguar's global brand leader. The last thing Saab needs now is to start playing musical chairs with its executives. So, Not Good comes to mind.

Kia. From the "You're Mistaking Us For People Who Actually Give A Shit" File comes word that the Korean manufacturer has signed a two-year extension of its sponsorship deal with the NBA through the league's 2011-2012 season. Uh, why?

(Porsche Cars North America)
The 911 GT2 RS is the fastest and most powerful road-going sports car Porsche has ever built. After its worldwide debut less than two months ago at the Moscow Auto Show, the limited-edition  620-horsepower 911 is sold out, with customer commitments for all 500 units to be built.  Here in the U.S., Porsche has pre-sold 133 of the turbo beasts, all of which will be delivered to eager owners in February 2011.

(Porsche Cars North America)
Porsche Cars North America embarked on a quest to find the oldest Porsche sold in America, as part of its 60th anniversary celebration. The Porsche Classic Search, conducted online at www.Porsche60Years.com, encouraged individuals from coast to coast to submit documentation that his or her Porsche was one of the earliest in its category to be retailed on American soil.  The call for entries yielded an impressive collection of finalists, including the oldest U.S.-retailed model found, a lovingly restored 1952 Strawberry Red 356 Cabriolet owned by Dr. Robert Wilson of Oklahoma City, Okla. Wilson's car was imported in November of 1952 by Austrian businessman, Max Hoffman, in New York, who brought the first Porsche cars to the U.S. beginning in 1950.  The 1.5 liter, 60 horsepower 356 was discovered in a salvage yard by Wilson years after arriving on U.S. soil and meticulously restored. The My Porsche Classic Search also yielded the discovery of another distinguished and even rarer Porsche - a blue 1950 356 Cabriolet owned by Richard Brumme of Annapolis, Md. This car is one of the very first series production 356s built in Stuttgart, after the company relocated from Gmund, Austria. Impeccably restored with original parts sourced from around the globe, this 1950 356 Cabriolet was also recently honored with the 2010 Best in Show and Best in Class Awards at the 356 Registry's annual gathering in Cleveland, Ohio. While Brumme's car is unique and special, it was not the oldest Porsche actually retailed in America. This distinction goes to Wilson's 356 Cabriolet of 1952.

(Porsche Cars North America)

(General Motors Advanced Design California)
This year's Los Angeles Auto Show Design Challenge asks design studios to envision a 1,000 lb., four-passenger vehicle that is both comfortable and safe, while delivering satisfactory driving performance without sacrificing the styling consumers demand. The entries range from vehicles made from organic materials and powered by compressed air, to futuristic models relying on the latest high-tech advancements. The Cadillac Aera (Aero + Era) "launches Cadillac’s philosophy of 'Art and Science' into new territory by taking an innovative and stylistic approach to ultra-light weight vehicle design." Aera is a 1000 lb, 2+2 touring coupe, with a range of 1000 miles before refueling - attributes achieved without compromising size, capacity and safety, according to Cadillac.

(Honda Advanced Design Studio, Pasadena, California)
The Honda Air concept is "a coastal cruiser for the aggressive lifestyle." Inspired by the modern roller coaster as well as skydiving wing-suits, the Air is powered by a compressed air and pneumatic regulator system. It utilizes turbo vacuums and external air-flow to regenerate tank pressure for extended range and increased boost for an estimated 100 miles. The chassis doubles as the master tank and all components, including seating, are mounted to the central chassis/tank to eliminate redundant structure and reduce overall weight. Vegetable based polymer panels and fairings protect the occupants.

(Volvo Car Corporation: Monitoring and Concept Center - VMCC)
"A vehicle lighter than a Formula 1 racing car... Experiencing the adrenaline rush of carving through the canyons with up to three friends… Not using a drop of gasoline... Now just imagine if these dreams could be brought together in a single vehicle." Tipping the scales at under 1,000 lbs. the Volvo Air Motion Concept is designed like a clam shell and sculptured from ultra light carbon fiber.

(Nissan Design America)
Infused with Nissan’s heritage of sports and performance, Nissan iV is "a high-performance EV inspired by nature’s intelligent beauty and crafted by human ingenuity." The iV is a super-lightweight sports tourer that showcases “organic synthetics,” a revolutionary manufacturing technique in which automotive parts are cultivated like agriculture in a 100% sustainable, carbon-neutral process. Other entries will be from Mercedes-Benz, Maybach (!), Mazda, Toyota and Smart.

Editor-in-Chief's Note: Our friend Casey Shain - aka "artandcolour" - has been wowing AE readers for years with his visionary "chops" as he likes to call them, whereupon he takes existing car models and chops, channels and sometimes totally reinvents them resulting in some handsome and sexy vehicles that would make the brands in question proud. This week Casey takes on Aston Martin, Cadillac, Chrysler, Hyundai, Infiniti (!) and Lexus. We hope you enjoy Casey's work as much as we do. - PMD

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" with hosts John McElroy, from Autoline Detroit, and Peter De Lorenzo, The Autoextremist, and guests this Thursday evening, at 7:00PM EDT at www.autolinedetroit.tv.

 

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