Now we are getting from the concept cars to the kind of real ones. BMW electrified its BMW 1 Series Coupe and uses it as a test mule. “The knowledge gained from field tests with the BMW ActiveE will be fed into the further development of the BMW Group’s future Megacity Vehicle, which will be ready for series production in the year 2013,” says BMW. Guess they had to come to China with a plug-in, even if it will never see production.
Honestly, I have no idea what this is. I googled it and found this great article, written after the concept was shown in Geneva. From what I can see, it’s more than a concept. It’s a vision of a concept. A vision that will most likely give Ray LaHood nights of distraction. BMW Vision ConnectedDrive concept gallery after the jump. Right this way .. Read More >
I had planned to go to the Shanghai Auto Show which will open its doors to the press on April 19th. Then BMW sent a long distance bomber over Beijing and carpet bombed me with pictures of everything they will show in Shanghai. Now I can save the money for the ticket and the hotel. I have seen all I need to see. Instead, we declare this Monday BMW Day. BMW Concept M5 gallery after the jump. Right this way .. Read More >
As a rally driver, you have a navigator in the other seat. What do you need him for? He knows the road ahead and tells you how to drive in the fastest and most efficient manner. As in “you want to take that turn at around 80. When you come out of the turn, stay in low, there’s another sharp right turn right behind that.” Or fewer words to that effect.
When I met Jutta Kleinschmidt, Volkswagen’s Touareg Dakar Rallye driver, she had this lithe Italian woman as a Navigator. “She’s a skinny little thing,” said Frau Kleinschmidt in her usual don’t-mess-with-me style, “but at least she doesn’t weigh much.”
BMW will do one better. Soon, BMW will give you a navigator that weighs just about nothing. As for the skinny little thing – let’s just say that you won’t be interested in the navigator of someone who lists her homepage here. But let’s not get sidetracked. Read More >
So, you want something with four-doors, blazing speed and sharp handling? Germany has got you covered. Photos have leaked of the next generation of Teutonic supersedans, giving an insight into a new wave of four-door performance. First up is the BMW M5, which is set to debut at the forthcoming Shanghai Auto Show, displaying the 560 HP sedan in remarkable detail. In response, Audi has let its own turbo-V8 luxury sedan be snapped in testing, even though the S6 shown here won’t be a true M5 competitor, offering “only” around 440 HP. A twin-turbo version making an M5-rivaling 555 HP is said to be waiting for the RS6, as well as a Bentley Continental GT V8. [Gallery after the jump]
From the sounds of a story at the Freep, both GM and Ford appear to get ready for bigger losses from Europe. Led by fanfares inflated by their hometown paper, Ford and GM seem to embark on a PR campaign to soften the blow at home:
“Europe was GM’s only unprofitable global region in 2010, extending the company’s streak of years in the red there to 11, with a $1.8-billion European operating loss. GM is hoping to break even in Europe this year before restructuring charges.”
(It’s the restructuring charges that will be the humdinger. Even if kept as non-recurring items, they will hit the bottom line in a big way.)
“Ford unexpectedly lost money in the fourth quarter in Europe, losing market share because it refused to match competitors’ incentives. It made a profit on European operations for all of 2010, albeit just $182 million of its $6.6-billion companywide profit for the year.”
And who’s to blame? The customer of course. The Freep’s informers see a gaping perception gap that is widening every day: Read More >
One of my jobs in China was to help out with the launch of the Passat B6. Except that there was no Passat B6 in China. In 2005, the car was introduced in Europe to great acclaim. A year later, it was supposed to be made in China. In China, Volkswagen has two joint ventures, Shanghai Volkswagen in Shanghai, and FAW-VW in frigid Changchun. SVW made and makes the Passat and was the logical choice to make the B6. Except that SVW didn’t want it. They deemed the 1996 vintage B5 and its Chinese variants as good enough for the Chinese market. The folks in Wolfsburg shook their heads. “They always complain that they don’t get the latest technology, and when we give them the latest technology, they keep the old stuff.”
Making the best out of having two joint ventures in China, Volkswagen sold the B6 license to FAW-VW. As the name “Passat” was taken, the B6 received a new name, “Magotan.” Pronounced “Ma-GO-tn”. Except that in Chinese, it’s called “May Teng.” (Are we confused yet? Gee, there is a company that is proud of the mess.) The Ma-GO-tn/May Teng was launched to limited success.
Last year, a new generation Passat was launched in Europe, dubbed the B7 internally, but detractors say it’s no more than a big facelift. The Chinese version will be shown at the Shanghai Motor Show. Guess who will make it? Read More >
Like most manufacturers, BMW is getting ready for the pilgrimage to Shanghai, where the Shanghai Motor Show will open its doors to the press on April 19, and to the public on April 21. Some at BMW go with mixed feelings. There will be some delicate discussions between BMW brass and their Chinese joint venture partner Brilliance. The reason: At Asia’s and possibly the world’s most important auto show, Brilliance will show their A3 SUV. Germany’s Auto Bild calls it “a brazen BMW X1 rip-off, with inspirations from Audi.”
The matter becomes even more touchy as BMW plans to produce the X1 in China with a launch date in 2012. It will be built by BMW’s Chinese joint venture with Brilliance. Read More >
A truck at the Nordschleife? No, no service truck. One that does some 190 mph. Possibly more. A truck made by BMW. In a press release, BMW dubs it “the world’s fastest pickup.” If they say so. One needs to be very careful with these statements in Germany, lest someone will sue you faster than the truck completes the Nordschleife lap. Read More >
Coming home from work, I tend to get used to seeing various prototypes driving around, and cutting me off, after all, I’m only in a little white Peugeot 205 GTI, barely worth mentioning when it comes to the sheer amount of exclusive metal running around the Nurburgring. However, today, I spied some prototypes that you never see during the day running freely around city streets, namely, the testers from BMW and Porsche. Reclusive beasts they are, Dale Lomas from Bridge-to-Gantry, and my friend was able to nab several shots of the latest salvos from southern Germany while I only managed one hazy shot from an iPhone while trying not to pilot my little Pug into a lightpole.
Who will be the world’s largest car company this year? There appears to be at least one car company that is (so far) totally unaffected by any parts malaises, supposed bursting bubbles in China and any other possible impediments to vehicular growth: Volkswagen. Veedub’s sales jefe Christian Klinger remarked at the sidelines of a press conference today that Volkswagen’s sales will hit record levels in March.
The Wall Street Journal could not believe its ears and sought confirmation. A Volkswagen spokesman said they heard right. Klingler didn’t give any further details, says the WSJ, but record levels can’t mean anything else than the best March ever in VW’s storied history. Read More >
Our friend, frequent RoundAbout Show guest Mirko Reinhardt, has found an Infiniti dealership that’s kind of like Surf City. In Surf City, as our older readers will remember, there are two girls for every boy, but in Germany, there’s an dealer with two Infinitis in stock for every one sold across the entire country last month. What’s a Japanese wanna-be luxury brand to do?
We’ll let Mirko tell the tale:
Read More >
Renault has had quite a bit of success in recent years with its budget-brand Dacia, prompting Peugeot-Citroen to reach back into its bag of abandoned brands for a name to put behind its own low-cost car offerings. Having briefly considered the Talbot name, it seems that PSA has settled on something a little more modern and relevant to low-cost offerings: Simca. Which makes quite a bit of sense, if you think about it. Rather than naming a budget brand after the makers of hugely expensive pre-WWII luxury cars (a trick Chrysler tried once already with the Horizon), PSA can reference one of the most influential (if forgotten) small-car brands. At least, it can if it deals with that most modern of problems, the patent troll. AutoBild reports
Joachim W. “Simca” signed in September 2007 at the German Patent and Trademark Office as a trademark for the class “cars”. Then a cancellation request was made - probably by Peugeot. The French made at least one attempt to register Simca on 2 June 2008, whereupon Joachim W. submitted an application for cancellation.
It’s not clear what claim Mr Simca might have on the name, as SIMCA stands for Société Industrielle de Mécanique et Carrosserie Automobile.
The Autochannel in the UK is talking about a long wheelbase Audi A8 with built-in LTE 4G connectivity. That shouldn’t be a big feat, it’s new technology, but it can be bought off the shelf. The Autochannel pistonheads however are deeply in awe: “LTE technology offers data transfer speeds of up to 100Mbps, which is similar to a fixed-line broadband connection. This means passengers in the prototype can use the LTE broadband connection to stream music, high-definition videos and other data on up to six computer or mobile phone devices with ease.” Sure, and Ferdinand Piech invented the Internet. Read More >
New twist in GM’s hunt for the elusive carpart: Opel’s Eisenach plant will resume normal operations tomorrow, Tuesday. It was reported to suffer a serious shortage of Japanese parts. Read More >
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