Perhaps one of the biggest disappointments in the much-hyped world of electric vehicles is the fact that no major OEM has committed to proving their battery-powered cars in the crucible of competitive racing. But it seems that this crucial oversight is being addressed by Nissan, which is unveiling a race-spec Nissan Leaf NISMO RC, aimed at pushing the electric racing world forward while proving that green isn’t synonymous with dull. Nissan’s presser explains:
“Combining the talents of NISMO, Nissan’s world renowned motorsports group, and engineers behind some of the company’s Super GT and FIA GT1 race teams, the Nissan LEAF NISMO RC will serve as a rolling laboratory for the accelerated development of EV and aerodynamic systems, as well as a platform for the development of new green motorsports series,” said Carlos Tavares, chairman, Nissan Americas.
The new electric race vehicle will likely make a series of special demonstration appearances at various motorsports venues in 2011, with the company exploring pioneer zero emission competition spec series in future years.
The shorter, lower, lighter racing Leaf has the same battery pack as the production version, but shifts the drivetrain to a mid-mounted position, driving the rear wheels. Early testing points to a 0-60 time of around 6.85 seconds and a top speed of 93 MPH. Nissan’s not announcing any details of the hinted-at racing series, but we’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for the first manufacturer-backed EV racing effort.
Plenty of things have happened since I began writing for The Truth About Cars that I would never have been able to predict, but perhaps one of the happiest surprises came when Timothy Ogden contacted me for an interview that would go into a book on Toyota’s recent recall scandal. That book, Toyota Under Fire, is now complete, and it references work published here at TTAC as well as interviews with myself and Bertel Schmitt. Not only does the book admirably document the media-fueled scandal, but it also contains profound insights into Toyota’s response to the recall challenge as well as Toyota’s efforts to respond to the economic downturn of 2008-2009. A review will be posted first thing tomorrow, and at 1 PM Eastern Mr Ogden and his co-author Professor Jeffery Liker (author of The Toyota Way) will join us in one of our popular author livechats, in which he will answer your questions about Toyota, its recent challenges, and the culture that helped propel it through its darkest hours. Mark your calendars or, if you can’t make it to the livechat, just leave your questions for Mr Ogden and Professor Liker in the comments section below.
Our man in Brazil has been sharing his love of the Citroen DS line of late, and in the process he’s managed to coax more than a few fans of Citroen’s funky “anti-retro” experiment out of the closet. Of course, the Citroen love has also drawn out a few detractors, who criticize the DS line’s out-there looks, the brand’s weak links to the glorious DS past, or the overall Frenchness of the whole thing. And with the latest installment in Citroen’s ongoing love note to French automotive savoire faire, the DS5, Citroen isn’t shying away from the controversy. Just introduced in Shanghai, the DS5 is funkier, freakier and, well, Frencher than ever, all while bringing the DS line into its most practical application to date. And with Peugeot’s diesel-hybrid drivetrain in which the rear wheels are driven electrically (lowering drivetrain complexity and weight), the DS5 even has a hint of the old-school Citroen creativity in its engineering. Fans of the French car, it’s time to let your freak flags fly.
What was old has become new… again! After letting the old New Beetle languish on the market for a remarkable 13th year, VW has revisited its ’90s retro hit with a longer, lower, wider update on the new Jetta’s platform [The 2012 Beetle is 71.2 inches wide (3.3 inches wider), 58.5 inches tall (.5 inches lower) and 168.4 inches long (6 inches longer)]. The engine options are largely the same as the Jetta’, with TDI, 2.5 liter five-cylinder and 2.0 Turbo mills on offer, with a 200 HP range-topper offering an electronic limited-slip diff and dual-clutch gearbox.
Convertible and Hybrid versions should be coming down the pipe shortly, but for now all VW wants to talk about is the Beetle’s return to an original-style profile, its status as a “new original” and its ability to “respect the past while looking to the future.” Which is all well and good, but no matter how well the New New Beetle may tickle the Boomers’ retro sensibilities, it’s got nothing to to do with original Beetle’s values. If anything, the New New Beetle should do some of its best work by making at least a few sub-Boomers just a little bit nostalgic for the late 1990s, a simpler time when retro cars didn’t even have to be faithful to the original as long as they offered a plastic flower vase. Now those were some special times…
It’s promising to be a bit of a slow weekend, with the entire auto media preparing for a week of madness at either the New York Auto Show, or on the other side of the world, the Shanghai Auto Show. So here, to add to the building sense of anticipation, is yet another image of Chevy’s forthcoming 2013 Malibu. Enjoy… but just be sure to save some enthusiasm for next week.
Ask an industry-watcher to name an automaker that seems to be doing things right, and chances are one of the top choices would be Ford Motor Company. And though Ford is enjoying favorable perceptions in the media, according to the company’s own internal goals, it’s actually underperforming. And in a key metric, no less: retail market share. Bloomerg reports: (Read More…)
That’s right folks, for the first (and likely only) time, Fiat will be putting cash on the table for Chrysler’s equity, as Reuters reports that Fiat’s new credit facility will include $1.5b with which to exercise the 16% call option in its agreement with the US Treasury. At that rate, Chrysler’s market value would be under $10b, considerably less than the nearly $13b spent on Chrysler’s rescue (not counting assistance to Chrysler Financial). But what is Chrysler actually worth? Hit the jump for a look at what Chrysler’s Shareholder Agreement says about valuation in a Fiat Call Option scenario. (Read More…)
What keeps powertrain engineers up at night? C’mon, get your mind out of the gutter. The move towards downsized, turbocharged engines is creating a number of new engineering challenges, and “torsional excitations” grabbed the spotlight at this year’s Society of Automotive Engineers Congress. Steven Thomas, manager of Ford’s global transmission and driveline, research and advanced engineering, illuminated the issue [via Wards].
As we reduce the engine torque, particularly just off idle prior to the boost coming on, we’re going to adversely impact the ability to accelerate the vehicle. I would challenge you all to think about new ways of dealing with this. We could really use new designs to deal with these challenges to optimize the fuel economy, but at the same time deal with (noise, vibration and harshness) and performance issues presented by these new engines.
The problem: the increased inertia of forced-induction engines. The practical example: a turbocharged Fiesta. A worthy adversary, a worthy cause. Let’s do this. (Read More…)
The ever-evolving world of auto journalism ethics took an interesting turn recently, when GM’s European brand Opel offered 200 journalists the opportunity to test “some interesting models from our product range” on the Mediterranean vacation island of Mallorca. What raised the eyebrows of the German Journalist’s Association: the fact that the test offered access to only a few new features (stop-start on the Astra Sports Tourer diesel, and a six-speed autobox on the Insignia OPC), while offering journalists the opportunity to bring their families along at “a special rate neogtiated by Opel.” The GJA called the offer “practically an attempt to bribe journalists,” prompting Opel to withdraw the offer. Hit the jump for a translation of Opel’s statement [via Autobild].
Buick has gone back to China in order to find the way forward… and based on these renderings of the soon-to-be-launched Envision Concept, their designers have been spending some time with Mazda’s “Japanese Alfa Romeo”-focused stylists. Which is an interesting state of affairs: When Buick’s US managers lost their way, GM’s Chinese staff rediscovered the essence of the brand in designs like the Riviera and Invicta concepts. Now, it seems that Buick’s Chinese stylists may be starting to lose the plot, turning out this effort that looks like it could carry nearly any auto brand in existence. Is it time to bring Buick design back home?
The South Norfolk Regional Growth Fund has denied Lotus’s request for a £27.5m loan intended for expansion at its Hethel headquarters, reports Autocar. In a statement the sportscar firm, which is in the midst of a major turnaround, said
Despite the clear synergies between Lotus’s growth plans and the fund’s objectives to enable private sector organisations to invest in projects that would create jobs and secure long-term growth, the bid team decided that the money was better invested elsewhere
Now why would that be? After all, even Lotus’s own adviser, Bob Lutz, gives the firm a 60% chance of success. What investment could possibly offer better odds than that? But don’t cry for Lotus. The firm’s parent company, Indonesian automaker Proton, has secured some £270m in private loans from six banks with which to fund the brand’s turnaround. The only question now: will the funding shift from British taxpayers to Asian bankers mean a shift in production away from the UK, as Lotus had threatened might happen if the RGF loan didn’t come through? There’s no word on that yet, and based on Lotus’s desire to loft its brand into Porsche/Ferrari territory, we’d have to argue against leaving the country that birthed the brand.
With Fiat flying towards taking a majority stake in its Chrysler subsidiary, Reuters reports that the necessary private loans are very close to being arranged.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup Inc and Bank of America Corp are in advanced discussions with Chrysler to finalize a deal that will replace all of its roughly $7 billion government loans with term loans and bonds, these people said on Thursday.
In addition, the banks will also arrange a revolving credit facility for the automaker’s future liquidity purposes that will remain undrawn, these people said. The revolver will not be used for paying down government loans.
Look for Chrysler to wrap up a deal sometime after it reveals its Q1 financial performance next month.
Under current Cuban law, only cars built before the 1959 revolution can be legally bought and sold. This has kept Cuba’s pre-revolution American cars running, creating the island nation’s unique automotive landscape. But now, reports NPR, proposed liberalizations of Cuba’s property laws might threaten Cuba’s fleet of classic American cars. Though reforms could bring much-needed investment to Cuba, they would also mean an end to the laws that have kept Cuba’s streets looking like a time capsule from the late 1950s. But luckily Cubans have come to feel deeply attached to their classic American cars, vowing to keep them running as symbols of Cuba’s history.
As for Cuba’s classic cars, mechanic Jorge Prats says he thinks they’ll be around for at least another 50 years.
“These cars are a part of our national identity now, like rice and beans, or roast pork,” Prats says as he shows off his two-toned, bright red-and-white 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air coupe. “We take care of these old American cars as if they were another member of the family.”
Back in November of 2009, when GM announced that it would repay its government loans, it didn’t take much investigation to realize that The General was simply shuffling government money from one pocket to the other and that true “payback” was still a ways off. The New York Times asked me to write an op-ed on the subject, and I took the opportunity to point out the reality of the situation and note
G.M.’s global interests are far too diverse for it to serve its taxpayer owners faithfully, and it can’t afford to subjugate its business prerogatives to the political needs of its major shareholder in the White House. So, unless Americans develop a sudden obsession with G.M.’s $40,000 Volt electric car just in time for an I.P.O., taxpayers will be stuck with tens of billions of dollars in losses.
Afterward, while our government contemplates its runaway deficit and getting rid of its 8 percent of Chrysler’s equity, perhaps we’ll get an admission that General Motors still owes the American people. Without one, the relationship between the public and the automaker, and the Obama administration as well, may never be the same.
And now that our government finds itself “contemplating a runaway deficit and getting rid of its 8 percent of Chrysler’s equity,” would you believe that a similar federal money-shuffle is under way? Believe it.
Who are the anthropomorphic robots in this latest bit of engine porn from BMW (highlighting its new TwinPower modular engine), and why are they installing engines transversely? Oh right, we’ve been through the BMW-FWD thing before. Well, carry on then, you ruthless, mechanical-yet-somehow-almost-human heralds of an alien but inevitable future.
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