By 2015, Audi wanted to overtake BMW and become the world’s largest maker of premium cars. These plans have been postponed. Not until 2018, but until 2020. The road ”is getting bumpier,” Audi CEO Rupert Stadler told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, and said that world domination now will happen “by 2020 at the latest. It is not about overtaking BMW tomorrow or the day after, but to seize and secure the top position.” (Read More…)

Not all automakers in Europe have too much capacity. BMW will invest $388 million over the next three years to increase capacity at its Mini plants in the UK, Reuters says. (Read More…)

Privacy is highly valued – until we can sell it for a small discount. Hundreds of thousands of auto insurance customers allowed an electronic ankle bracelet fitted to their car in exchange for a possible insurance discount. A year ago, Progressive offered its “”Snapshot“ device.  It plugs into your car’s OBD system keeps and collects data that help Progressive to profile your driving. According to Reuters,   Progressive already analyzed more than 5 billion driven miles. The company says its driving-behavior data is twice as good as any other factor in predicting risk, and that bad drivers cost Progressive more than twice as much as good ones. (Read More…)

One of two circular looms on the planet. 12 layers of seamless carbon fiber are woven into what will be part T3-3RH, part A-pillar, part roof support

This 5 chapter series gives you unprecedented access to the LFA Works in Motomachi. Here, 500 LFA supercars are being handmade by 170 people, and you can watch how they do it.

The baking happens in the autoclave next door. Picture it as a garage-sized pressure cooker. Pieces in the autoclave are covered with foil, then vacuum is applied that presses the layered piece into its mold. Two bars of pressure is applied to the autoclave, and at a constant temperature of 150 C, the parts are cooked to perfection.””

Chapter One: From A Bar To Bar None. How the LFA was born, and why it is made from carbon fiber.

The strongest parts of the LFA are made in a clean room. Our hair is covered. We wear long white coveralls. Booties go over our shoes. Someone vacuums me from top to bottom.””

Chapter Two: In The Clean Room. Where the LFA is made from the strongest and most expensive type of carbon fiber available.

Building the body of one LFA takes four days, we race through it in three hours. On the fourth day, there is what is called a body-in-white in the car making industry. Except that in the case of the LFA, it is a body-in-black. In a shiny, glossy black that we usually associate with carbon fiber.””

Chapter Three: Call Me Names. How the LFA really received its name.

Some likened the sound to “the roar of an angel”, some to “an F1-inspired tune.” Lesser poets could compare it to the sound of a circular saw.””

Chapter Four Balance Of Power. We watch the V10 engine go into the LFA.

What will happen to the LFA Works at the end of the year? Will Tanahashi, now 59, simply go into retirement? Will the 170 associates who make the LFA go back to making Crowns, Corollas and Camrys?
Tanahashi collects his thoughts, then says:””

Chapter Five: Exam Week. We examine Chief Engineer Tanahashi about how the LFA influences future cars, and what will come after the LFA.

This coming week is LFA Week. From Monday, July 9 through Friday, July 13, TTAC will run a five-part series documenting the production of the Lexus LFA. Readers of TTAC will receive unprecedented access to the LFA Works in Motomachi. You will receive a behind-the-scene look, exclusive, never before published proprietary pictures, and a glimpse into the future. Here is a preview: (Read More…)

The irrational electrification exuberance  claims another victim: Battery maker A123 Systems Inc is running out of money. A lot of it is your money. Says Reuters: (Read More…)

Gasoline prices are falling in Japan, not only due to lower crude oil prices, “but also because the widespread popularity of fuel-efficient vehicles has lowered demand for gasoline,” The Nikkei [sub].

The Tokyo paper predicts … (Read More…)

Associated Press writes (via the Clarion Ledger) that a company called GreenTech will today roll out a “two-seat neighborhood electric vehicle, a cross between a golf cart and conventional car, with a 115-mile range.” It won’t do more than 35 mph, and will cost around $10,000. The “car” might be unremarkable, the guest list of today’s event is not. The party in Horn Lake, Mississippi,will be attended by a lot of formers. Former President Bill Clinton and former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour will attend, with former Democratic National Committee Chairman and now chairman of GreenTech, Terry McAuliffe, doing the honors. The CEO is Chinese businessman Xiaolin “Charles X” Wang. (Read More…)

Car-shopping service TrueCar allegedly is getting disenchanted with its partner Yahoo. In January, TrueCar became Yahoo’s exclusive auto-shopping partner, for a fee. Automotive News [sub] says the price was $50 million per year over three years. AN also says that TrueCar ended that deal. (Read More…)

They do that in South Africa.  Use your phone for texting or gabbing, and police in Cape Town will arrest your cell. (Read More…)

Honda lifted the embargo on its updated NBOX+, a sister-model of its bestselling NBOX minivehicle that passed our feared “from the backseat” test drive with flying colors. (Read More…)

GM got itself a great new partner. Global sales of PSA Peugeot Citroen, the besieged company that is now 7 percent owned by the General, dropped 13 percent, Reuters says. PSA’s European sales dropped 15 percent, which illustrates how much PSA’s ill fortunes are tied to those of Europe. (Read More…)

Volkswagen wants to be the world’s biggest, most profitable, most innovative, and most loved automaker by 2018, and everybody at Volkswagen has been sworn-in to do their share. US managers promised that they will deliver a million sales a year to the group. It’s a tall order.  To get there, “American consumers will need to buy a lot more new Volkswagens, Audis and Porsches,” Reuters says. (Read More…)

Our patent-pending oracle for the Chinese market has spoken and predicts slight June gains for the world’s largest car market. GM China did this by announcing a 10.1 percent gain on 213,495 units sold in June. (Read More…)

The United States will report China to the WTO tomorrow, Reuters says. The contention: China’s decision to impose extra duties on more than $3 billion worth of cars imported from the U.S. According to Reuters, “the complaint comes as President Barack Obama campaigns in Ohio, where auto plants have been affected by the duties.” The Prez goes on a “Betting on America” bus tour. (Read More…)