Designing cars ain’t what it used to be. Aesthetics now come well after safety matters, aerodynamic efficiency, corporate strategies, fashion & trend, etc, etc. Some of those are for our best. But I canʼt help yearning for the beautiful cars of the past. Take a look at the Ferraris in production these days. Any of them drop-dead gorgeous? I understand that the F430 needs to be aerodynamically top-notch and I wonʼt pick on that. But, what about the 612 Scaglietti?! That is visually challenged without any upsides on the technical side. The fact that it was inspired by the 1954 375 MM shouldnʼt be an excuse either. This is even worse if you consider that the car it replaced, the 456 GT(M) is one of the best 2+2 designs in history. Yes, the Scaglietti is much roomier, but do you really want four real seats in a Ferrari? I wonder who would like to ride in a Maranello car in the back, especially when the engine is not even placed there? Therefore today the photochop peephole shows you how a future Ferrari GranTurismo could look like and the way it could manage to mix 2+2 seats with some 2010 neo-retro looks. You can see I went for an accentuated fast-back design, that makes those extra seats usable (if really necessary), but doesnʼt totally mess the rear (as it does for the Porsche Panamera). The front outlook was intended to remind of the 250 GTO. However the lights that stretch on the wheel arches ensure this is a stand-alone design, easily recognized. The Ferrari traditional grille is a powerful identity element and I think it should be used more often, especially on GTs. The fender holes are a mix of those seen on the 456 GT, 250 GTO and the (new) California. Decently aggressive aerodynamic spoilers and side skirts complete the GT profile.
Category: News Blog
Barron‘s, the weekend edition from those warm and fuzzy people at the Wall Street Journal, is little known outside the financial world, and read by everyone inside it. Today Barron’s is hyping Honda stock, big time. Writer Jay Palmer loves him some Honda. He cites the 200 FCX Clarity fuel cell cars motoring around Santa Monica as clear evidence of technology leadership. Never mind that the hydrogen economy is about as likely as the Moller Skycar. More urgently, “amid a savage sales slump that has led the Detroit Three to plead for government aid, threatens to bankrupt General Motors and has battered most European and Asian vehicle makers, the Japanese car manufacturer is a standout.” Honda, along only with Subaru, managed to keep unit sales above 2007 levels throughout the first nine months of 2008. “Recently, however, the downturn’s severity has taken a toll on Honda. Its U.S. sales plunged 25% in October, but that still was better than the overall industry’s 32% slide. Honda now expects its 2008 U.S. sales to be off 2.4%, the first yearly decline in 15 years. But the company remains confident; it will open a new plant this month in Greensburg, Ind., that soon will be turning out 30,000 vehicles a month. And it has opted not to follow Toyota, Nissan and others in offering 0% financing.” That last bit is interesting. Honda isn’t following Toyota’s lead into the Saved by Zero swamp.
“Even as Detroit’s Big Three teeter on collapse,” The Detroit News [finally] concedes. “United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger said Saturday that workers will not make any more concessions and that getting the automakers back on their feet means figuring out a way to turn around the slumping economy. ‘The focus has to be on the economy as a whole as opposed to a UAW contract,” Gettelfinger told reporters on a conference call, noting the labor costs now make up 8 percent to 10 percent of the cost of a vehicle. “‘We have made dramatic, dramatic changes and the UAW was applauded for that.'” And speaking of applause, GM CEO Rick Wagoner ought to give Big Ron a big hand; the UAW boss is towing the party line on the Motown meltdown. “”We’re here not because of what the auto industry has done,” Ronny G said. “We’re here because of what has happened to the economy.” But wait! More high fives to follow. Gettelfinger dismissed any talk of a GM (Ford or Chrysler) Chapter 11 with a Wagoneresque “Would you buy a car from a bankrupt automaker?”
Executives at photo enforcement firms American Traffic Solutions (ATS) and Redflex have been caught ignoring their own speed camera tickets. Arizona motorists may safely throw away citations sent in the mail as state law requires that they be personally served with a violation notice within ninety days of the alleged offense. Tickets that are not properly served must be dismissed within 120 days. That worked out well for Shoba Vaitheeswaran, 33, the spokesman for the Arizona office of Redflex Traffic Systems. A ticket filed against her in September 2005 was dismissed after she ignored it. Vaitheeswaran was not an employee at the time, as she has only recently taken over the media relations role from Michael Ferraresi, 28. Ferraresi, himself a frequent ticket recipient, has been through a revolving door with the Australian camera vendor and the Arizona Republic newspaper. After writing stories about the company for the Republic, Redflex hired Ferraresi to be spokesman– often speaking to his former colleagues at the paper about the company. Ferraresi is once again reporting for the Republic, a paper that offers enthusiastic editorial support for the use of speed cameras and red light cameras.
We’ve already reported that the White House isn’t keen on Democratic plans for a Motown bailout. As Automotive News [sub] reminds us, George W. doesn’t want the dems to appropriate the $700b appropriation earmarked for bailing out America’s financial system. As an alternative, the Prez signaled Pelso, Reid & Co. that he’s OK with the idea of “diverting” some of the Department of Energy’s $25b no to low-interest retooling loan program to bailout Chrysler, Ford and GM. Only the Democrats do not, I repeat DO NOT, want to be seen to be watering-down their commitment to encouraging forcing The Big 2.8 to build fuel-efficient vehicles. So… Nancy Pelosi told the press today that the U.S. automobile manufacturers need to restructure “to ensure their long-term economic viability.” Huh? Sorry, I got distracted. I mean, WTF does she mean by “restructure” and do we really want a politician deciding how Motown goes about it business? Right. OK. Nancy is digging-in, sticking with her TARP usurpation strategy. Here’s the money shot [via Bloomberg]:
According to Canada’s Financial Post, Toyota and and Honda are freaking-out about the potential failure of Detroit’s three car companies. “We’re very concerned” about a Detroit meltdown, ToMoCo spokesman Mike Goss told the Post. “In the past couple of days I’ve been asked ‘Wouldn’t it be great for Toyota if others fail?’ We think the opposite is true.” Toyota is concerned about a Motown meltdown’s catastrophic effect on its NA supplier base; “The vehicles Toyota builds in North America contain an average of 75% domestically sourced parts and systems, and Toyota is reliant on many of the same suppliers used by GM, Ford Motor Co. or Chrysler LLC. The Japanese automakers are working to identify which suppliers have the biggest exposure to the Detroit firms. They are also developing emergency plans in the event they need to replace a company providing them with parts. “Everything’s on the table about what we might have to do,” Mr. Goss said. Meanwhile, the industry shills at the Center for Automotive Research seized on the comments to predict, you guessed it, carmageddon…
When the leaders of the G20 meet this weekend, they’ll look to Canada’s conservative but durable banking model as a template for the rest of the world. Since the Liberal reign of Paul Martin as Canada’s Finance Minister, Canada’s been the “Wealthy Barber” of the developed world, deploying bland but solid fiscal policy to great effect. And now, more sense from the current Canadian Finance Minister, Conservative Jim Flaherty. CTVNews reports that Jim isn’t too keen on giving the ailing Canadian auto industry the US-style bailout that’s currently being debated in Washington. Why not? Well sometimes, the story just tells itself: “Nobody wants to see taxpayers’ money taken — and then in effect wasted — where a company is not going to survive … we want to see the plan for survivability,” he said. In order words, before the FinMin spends one cent of taxpayer dollars propping up Canadian production, he wants to see a turnaround plan. You know – the same kind of plan GM has failed to publish ever since it first bled red under its current CEO Rick Wagoner. Don’t hold your breath, Jim.
Political analysts are having a field day with this bailout business. Do Democrats want the multi-billion dollar automakers’ rescue pack to fail along partisan lines, so they can blame the fall-out on Diego the Republicans– before there are no Republicans left to blame? Are the Republicans stonewalling the bailout because they’re against the bailout on principle, or because they don’t think it will work, or so they can blame the Democratically-controlled Congress? Or even, God forbid, the lame duck President? (Praise be to GM for dropping Washington into the legislative soup between regimes.) I don’t pretend to know what’s in the hearts of our elected representatives, assuming that this vital organ even exists within their cash-padded chest cavities. Anyway, the AP reports that White House “Spokeswoman Dana Perino says the Democratic proposal [to tap into the existing Wall Street bailout fund] would lead to partisan gridlock because the $700 billion rescue package was never intended to help automakers and shouldn’t be now. For that reason, she told The Associated Press that the White House is now actively asking Congress to accelerate loans it first approved in September.” WTF?
I’m not the only online automotive writer that got the pink slip this month. Forbes Autos has been shut down. Not to speak ill of the dead, but the site was mostly “Buyers Guide” fluff with the occasional top ten list. With manufacturers pulling their advertising dollars (likely to be spent on perks for the executives), sites like Forbes are taking a major league revenue hit. As such, their scribes are welcome to join me in the land of unemployment.
My colleague is hard at work debunking a GM-funded poll. It’s the latest weapon girding The General’s belt as it bolsters its claim on bailout billions. As several of TTAC’s Best and Brightest have already pointed-out, Motown’s strategy in this bailout push has been an enormous mistake. By publicly lobbying for taxpayers’ funds– without a concomittant PR campaign explaining their survival strategy– The General and the not-so-dynamic duo are advertising their incipient insolvency. In other words, if GM CEO Rick Wagoner’s right and “no one buys a car from a bankrupt car maker,” isn’t it also true, Mr. Wagoner, that only a slightly larger percentage of American consumer will buy a car from a carmaker that’s ABOUT to go bankrupt? To wit: “Do you believe that America’s automakers will face bankruptcy without government loans?” the Peter Hart poll asks. Sixty percent say yes, 22 percent say no and 18 percent don’t know. So 78 percent of respondents have a damn good reason NOT to buy an American automakers’ products. So why NOT file Chapter 11?
A few days ago, GM CEO “Red Ink” Rick Wagoner told his man in Germany to ask the German government for €40b (and sundry other goodies.) Opel-Chief Hans H. Demant’s request was shot down in Berlin faster than a 747 over Kamchatka. In fact, Opel/GM’s mental sanity was publicly called into question. Deeply humbled, Demant has penned another letter to Berlin. We paraphrase in the spirit of brevity: “Dear Angela: I’m sorry I rubbed you the wrong way. Can you maybe spare €500m? No? How about €200m? Please! I’ll pay you back. Real soon, honest. Ever your humble servant (and master of 25700 jobs), I remain respectfully yours, Hans H. Demant.” You think we are kidding? Here’s the real rub-a-dub-dub:
With my private jet finally out of fuel, we decided to crash land in North Korea. It turns out to have been a wise choice, because aside from the fact that it’s a tyrannical dictatorship with millions of starving people, there are no “Saved by Zero” ads from Toyota. So that’s a hint of silver lining. Also, while my Gulfstream had poor cell phone reception, I’m able to make all the phone calls I want from Kim Jong Il’s pool house, which he has been kind enough to lend to me. All he wanted in return, oddly enough, was a box of Ray Bans and an the newest DVDs. So, after surrendering my copy of “Employee of the Month” to the Dear Leader, I’m now able to podcast freely.
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