Author: yoann besnard

First profit for Maserati in 17 years

For the first time in 17 years, Maserati will make a profit for the second quarter of 2007. The amount is small, at £670,000/€1,000,000/$1,383,000, but it is still far better than the £17,500,000/€26,000,000/$36,000,000 loss recorded last year.
The new changes made this year appear to please customers. Thanks to its new automatic gearbox, the sales of the Quattroporte jumped by 39.6% in Europe. The new Gran Turismo coupé has also been well-received by journalists and customers alike. Maserati expects to sell 7,600 this year compared to 5,600 last year.
Source: Automotive News
July 25, 2007
Ford will build the Focus in Australia in 2011

Last week I reported that Ford Australia will replace its inline-6 engine with the Ford Duratec V6 engine. Ford announced yesterday that its Australian division will produce the European Ford Focus in 2011. Production of the Focus will be entrusted to Ford’s Campbellfield plant, which already produces the current Falcon saloon and Territory SUV models.
The Ford Focus has been sold in Australia since 2002. The current second generation is built in South Africa and then exported to Australia and New Zealand. Its production on the Australian continent will probably decrease the effects of currency exchange rates. It is also the first step towards Ford’s commitment to offer job opportunities within the Ford Group to all employees of Geelong factory, which will close in 2010. The Ford Focus move will create 300 new jobs.
The Campbellfield factory will build 40,000 cars every year, of which 15,000 will be exported to South Africa.
With this shift in its current product range, Ford tries to meet the demand for small cars, which has exploded over the past ten years. Small cars accounted for 21.7 per cent of all new cars sold in Australia last year, up from 15.4 per cent in 1998.
July 25, 2007
Callaway C16 Speedster to debut at Pebble Beach

Callaway will celebrate its thirtieth anniversary by unveiling the C16 speedster at the next Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, probably the most upmarket car show in the world.

This time, the American tuner decided to be more radical. It will add a speedster to the current coupé and convertible models. On the speedster, the windshield will be replaced by two wind deflectors.

Like the other models, the Callaway C16 speedster is powered by the 6.2 L V8 found in the original Corvette. Thanks to a supercharger the power reaches 690bhp/700hp and the torque is 660 ft-lbs/895N. With such power, the speedster can run 0-60mph in 3.2 seconds and reach a top speed of 210mph/338km/h.
On the technical side, the car has received a new suspension set that features an advanced spring/damper system. The user can customise the suspension settings for track or road conditions by choosing one of the 10-position compression and rebound modes.
The C16 speedster will cost £148,000/€222,000/£305,000.
July 25, 2007
First Phantom Drophead Coupés leave Rolls-Royce factory

The five first Phantom Drophead Coupés left the company’s head office last Friday. Despite the £260,000/$407,000/€370,000 price tag, all five customers chose the optional steel bonnet and the rear teak deck.
The bonnet is machine brushed before being hand finished to ensure a uniform grain throughout. The deck is made up of separate solid teak slats, hand sanded and waxed. Of course, customers also had the option to personalise the car’s interior with wood veneer and leather choices.
July 24, 2007
Chinese government bans 444 vehicles

While the U.S. are still reluctant to reduce their car emissions, the Chinese government wants to improve its status in the world and nowadays the best way to do this is by reducing its carbon footprint. Beijing has therefore decided to forbid the sale of 444 vehicles because they do not meet current energy saving regulations.
This is the first time the central government has taken action to solve the country’s transportation problem. Recently Beijing mayorl announced it would ban 1 million cars from entering the capital from 7 to 20 August next year during the olympic games. Likewise the mayor of Shenzhen has urged its citizens to stop buying cars.
Source photo: Business Week
July 24, 2007
Ford to import the C1 platform to the U.S.

Anyone who has ever compared the vehicle sizes in the U.S. with those in Europe will have quickly noticed that the biggest models here are seen as mid-sized cars across the pond. While we Europeans love the Golf, at 165 inches long, Americans love the Toyota Camry, at 189 inches long. However, troubled times are pushing American carmakers to consider the impossible: importing these small European cars onto American soil!
Ford’s CEO Mulally has given the official order to import at least two European-designed Fords in the near future. Ford already sells a compact inspired by the European Focus, but while the Focus adopted the C1 platform in 2004, the American model kept the old one launched in 1998. Ford said that this was because the C1 platform was too expensive for the American market. Nevertheless, Mazda models that uses the C1 platform are sold in the U.S. As a shareholder in Mazda, why was Ford not be able to sell a C1 platform-based car in the U.S.?
In order to meet a potential demand, Ford will probably import the C-Max MPV and new Kuga that will be unveiled at the next Frankfurt Motor Show. The cars will be built in Ford’s Mexico and Wayne factories.
This decision deserves to be questioned. Will European cars save American carmakers? When Ford imported the Ford Sierra at the end of the eighties to be sold as Merkur Scorpio, the public did not really understand the positioning of the car in relation to the rest of the American range. How would Ford fit the C-Max in with the Ford Edge, Taurus X and the Fusion? Only time will tell.
July 24, 2007
Porsche 911 Turbo SP580 by Sportec

Sportec has unveiled its new interpretation of the Porsche 997 Turbo, the SP580. The number 580 stands for the power available on the most powerful variant. In order to reach 580bhp, the Swiss tuner reprogrammed the car’s ECU and added two in-house turbochargers. The torque reaches 564lb-ft/765Nm. The car also receives a new exhaust system and reinforced clutch.

The braking system has been improved by replacing the standard system by a new six-piston callipers system and larger 380mm brake discs. A sports suspension kit has also been fitted, including firmer springs and new shock absorbers. All these improvements help the SP580 to reach 210mph/338km/h and run the 0-60mph in 3.4s.

If 580bhp is too much for you, it is possible to start with the entry-level, which produces ‘only’ 530bhp. This is still 50bhp more than the standard 911 Turbo.
July 24, 2007
Cadillac lowers its sales target in Europe

It is no secret that the Cadillac BLS is a failure on the European market. This a bad news for the American carmaker, who had planned to establish the brand on the continent with the mid-sized saloon. The time has therefore come to review the sales target. At the Cadillac headquarters there is no room for niceties. From the originally planned 20,000 units in 2003, the target will be 10,000 for 2007.
In order to reach the target, distribution duties will be transferred from the Dutch group Kroymans to its UK division. The latter already handles the Chevrolet, Vauxhall and Saab brands. On the British market, the UK met success with the Saab brand. GM hopes that the experience acquired with Saab will be useful to the relaunch of the Cadillac.
Unfortunately, at the pace recorded for the first semester of 2007, Cadillac will never achieve its target. Over the first five months, the company has delivered only 1,314 cars.
Source: Automotive News
July 24, 2007
Spyshots: Mazda 6 interior

Here is the first interior shot of the next generation Mazda 6, due to be unveiled at the next Frankfurt Motor Show in September.
The picture reveals the giant speedometer and rev counter, seemingly setting up the future Mazda sedan as competition for the Alfa Romeo 159. The central console is similar to that found in the SUV CX-7. However, while the CX-7 is based on the CD2 platform, the next Mazda 6 will be the first car to be based on the CD3 2 platform. The second generation will be bigger than the current one, providing a roomier interior and moving the Mazda 6 upmarket. Let’s hope the new saloon will not gain as much weight as the 159 did. On this front, Mazda’s efforts to reduce weight on the new Mazda 2/Demio are encouraging.
The top engine will be the V6, taken from the CX-9, which produces 260bhp/263hp and 249ftlb/339Nm. This will help the car to compete with the Italian saloons as well as Mazda’s German competitors. According to insiders, the 4 cylinder 2.3l engine will get a power boost, jumping from 163bhp to 180bhp.

Click here to see all the pictures
Source: Winding Road
July 24, 2007
2009 Seat saloon

Seat CEO Eric Schmitt announced in May that the Spanish carmaker will launch two news cars in 2009, both set to compete on the mid-sized saloon market segment. At the same time, one sketch of each of the future cars was released. Yesterday, a further rendition of the future sedan was released on the internet.
Obviously, this interpretation tries to stick to the original sketches as much as possible. It gives us an idea of the new direction being taken by Seat. The Spanish carmaker has decided to adopt a conservative design following the failure of the Toledo. Expect to see an elegant saloon more like the Ford Mondeo than the stylish Alfa Romeo 159. Seat is becoming more German every day.
The car will be powered by a range of engines taken from the Volkswagen group. The petrol engines will be the FSI units and the diesel engines will be the famous TDI units. Expect to see a sporty version that may reuse the Leon Cupra’s 2.0L TFSI engine, which produces 240bhp.
Click here to see all the pictures
July 24, 2007