Author: yoann besnard

Chrysler to resume production at Illinois plant

After a five-day close due to a mechanical glitch, Chrysler will restart production at the Belvidere plant in the US. The plant builds the Dodge Caliber, Jeep Compass and Jeep Patriot models.
The plant will cut out 1,000 jobs in March. Chrysler removed one shift as a result of poor sales and tougher times ahead for the American carmaker. Built in 1965, the Belvidere facility employs 3,400 people.
The factory was the production hub for the Dodge Neon sold on our shores under the Chrysler badge before building the current three models all based on the same platform.
February 18, 2008
Spyshots: future BMW 5-Series

While celebrating the 5 millionth built 5-Series vehicle, BMW is working on the sixth generation 5-Series which was spied in saloon and estate forms in Germany.
Under the project code F10, the German carmaker is readying the next 5-Series to take on the other members of the German clique but also Lexus and Infiniti on the American market. With the new model. BMW won’t go into the wild and the car won’t be as radical as the current generation was at its debut. The design is being overseen by BMW’s head designer, Adrian van Hooydonk. The new 5-series will be longer but will still be less than 200” long. In the meantime, engineers focus on weight reduction by using some aluminum in the construction.
With the next 5-Series, BMW wants to match Mercedes in terms of embedded technologies. The car will feature an eight-speed automatic gearbox like Lexus. The executive saloon will embed, of course, the company’s Efficient Dynamics system.
The engine range will be similar to the current model’s although it is likely that the next-generation will feature the new V8 that debuted on the X6 crossover.

Click here to see all the pictures
February 18, 2008
Spyshots: next-generation Lotus Esprit

The eagerly-awaited next-generation Lotus Esprit has been spotted during winter testing in Sweden.
This time, no covered prototypes but a an old Lotus Esprit body disguise which was likely featuring powertrain and platform of the next-generation Esprit.
Secrecy surrounds the powertrain of the future coupé although company sources suggest the next Esprit will be powered by the BMW’s V8 that made its debut in the X6 model. With a displacement of 4.4-litre, this new V8 has an ouput of 420bhp in the X6. Under the Esprit bonnet, the V8 would likely be boosted up to 500bhp in order to take on the Lamborghini Gallardo and Nissan GT-R.
The last Esprit in 2004 was powered by an in-house V8. Like the BMW’s V8, it was twin-turbocharged and offered 350bhp. The Esprit was able to shuttle from 0 to 62mph in less than 5 seconds.
Source: Autocar and Leftlanenews
February 18, 2008
Renault to sign AvtoVaz Agreement in the next few weeks

The French carmaker will likely sign its partnership agreement with AvtoVaz in the next few weeks and will then become the third largest car group in the world.
The alliance initiated by Renault will include Nissan , Dacia, Samsung and AvtoVaz and will build 7 million vehicles per year, overtaking Ford and sitting behind GM and Toyota.
Carlos Ghosn said: “The bigger you are, the more you can invest and the more you can utilise in terms of common vehicle platforms, engines and transmissions, as well as production facilities and purchasing power, all of which makes you more efficient.”
Renault’s strategy to take a share in other car makers instead of buying the whole business has proved successful in the last ten years. The French car maker grew from a vulnerable position to one of the biggest car maker in the world.
Source: Just Auto (registration required)
February 18, 2008
Nissan to launch its in-house hybrid system under Infiniti badge

Nissan will launch its first in-house hybrid technology under the Infiniti brand by 2010 although the car to receive it has still yet to be decided.
In an interview with Reuters, Nissan’s Executive Vice President Mitsuhiko Yamashita said costs justified to implement hybrid solution on the most expensive models. “it’s easier to absorb the cost of the system with more expensive cars.” he said.
Yamashita said Nissan’s hybrid system would not be a good match for smaller cars, at least at the initial stage, because of its high cost. For smaller vehicles, Nissan would lean towards pure electric vehicles that would be driven short distances in cities, he said.
Along the hybrid vehicles, Nissan is also working on introducing clean-diesel cars, for which development is being done by Renault. Yamashita said Nissan will offer the diesel alternative on bigger cars that travel long distances in the United States.
This is a bold move for Nissan at at time when Toyota and Honda focus on slashing the cost of the hybrid system in the next year or two to spread it across mass-market models. Honda CEO Takeo Fukui said earlier he expected its hybrid cars introduced from 2009 to be almost as profitable as its conventional gasoline cars.
February 18, 2008
Three years waiting list for a Ferrari

Fifteen years ago, ferrari sold 128 cars on our shores. Last year the company sold 699 vehicles and it becomes really difficult to get one. Depending on the model, the wait can last up to three years.
If you want a Ferrari 599, but you haven’t place an order yet you will have to wait three years. For the 430 Coupe and 430 Spider the waiting list is of 30 months and the wait for a 612 Scaglietti is around 24 months.
Massimo Fedelli, managing director of Ferrari GB, told The Times: “Britain is Ferrari’s most important territory. Rich people come here to spend their money, so no matter what happens with the economy, I believe the UK market will remain strong.”
The company reported record sales in 2007, and it looks like that trend will continue into 2008 with the launch a new more affordable model.
February 18, 2008
Refreshed S2000 hit showrooms

Honda’s refreshed S2000 is now on sale in the UK with new suspension settings an a few cosmetic changes.
The S2000’s handling and performance characteristics have been enhanced by changing the suspension set-up. From now on, the S2000 features the same suspention tuning as seen on the S2000 Type-S. The dampers have been re-tuned and the anti-roll bars have been thickened.
The exterior and interior styling evolves a bit. The revamped S2000 comes with a new design of 17-inch 5-spoke alloy wheels and a new paint colour Synchro Silver. on the inside, there are three new leather interiors to choose from – Black with red stitching, Brown with red stitching and Red with black sides. There is also a design change to the headrest frame which has been re-shaped to offer greater roll-over protection.
These few changes will likely help the car to maintain its sales. Last year thew S2000 sales totalled 563 units.The model is priced from £28,050 for the Roadster and £28,600 for the GT model with detachable roof.
February 18, 2008
1 Millionth Engine Rolls Out Of Mini plant

The British engine plant of BMW AG’s Mini, has just rolled out its 1 millionth engine. Another milestone you would say, but this one reminds us that more than one million Mini have been built since its introduction in 2001. BMW successfully recreated a brand from scratch and passed the one million mark in April last year.
The plant employed over 1,000 people and continued growth of the Mini brand recently prompted BMW to add another 250 workers. With the growing sales of the Mini, the plant will soon pass the 1.5 million milestone. Indeed, worldwide Mini sales grew 50% in 2007. In USA, Mini reported a 20 percent increase in January 2008 sales, to 2,460 cars compared to 2,050 cars sold in January 2007.
February 18, 2008
Nissan to invest £465 million in IT

Nissan will increase its IT investments over the next three years to cut cost in its design and sales operations.
The Japanese carmaker will spend £465 million to set up a new next-generation computer-aided design platform. The new CAD will increase engineer’s productivity by 20%. Also, the future investment will upgrade company’s IT infrastructure in emerging countries.
The new system will be launched this year and will help Nissan to build vehicles closer to the demand.
Source: Nikkei
February 18, 2008
Ford reveals the Kuga

Ford will finally unveil the Kuga crossover at the Geneva Motor Show set to compete with the successful Nissan Qashqai and the new Renault Koleos.

As expected, the production version is very close to the Iosis X concept car shown at Frankfurt last year. The Kuga follows the new corporate design theme with an appealing styling although a bit more conventional than the new Ford Fiesta the company will also reveal at Geneva. On the inside, Ford cut cost by featuring the dashboard from the C-Max minivan and miss an opportunity to keep out of the fray. The production version will pay tribute to the concept car by offering an exclusive Electric White colour. The Kuga will offer trim levels: Trend and Titanium.

The Kuga is based on the C platform shared with almost all Ford vehicles sold on the C segment. It will be available either as a front-wheel drive or a four-wheel drive. The four-wheel drive will feature a full-time Haldex system. However, one does not expect the Kuga to be a serious off-roader as it is road-biased.
At launch, the new crossover will only be available with a diesel engine, the 136bhp 2.0-litre TDCi hooked up to a six-speed manual gearbox.
The Kuga will be built on the same assembly lines as the Focus three-door, five-door and wagon variants and C- MAX at the Saarlouis plant in Germany. It will hit our showrooms in summer of this year.
February 18, 2008