As the luckless inventor of interactive video (at least when it comes to car shows), I usually avoid electronic attractions. But then, amongst TTAC’s Best and Brightest is Perisoft, developer of bitchen race simulators, and I absolutely had to test-drive the thing. If you are at the Shanghai Auto Show, it is at the Ford booth, in the left corner. Perisoft can remote into the machine from the U.S. to China, and we discussed cheating enhancing the performance of the simulator. We dropped the idea, because we didn’t want Perisoft to lose future business.
The simulator consists of three screens (made by Dell) and a cab that moves around. There also is a button that says “Motion Stop” – in case you get car sick, I guess. Before they let you drive, you need to sign a release form bigger than what I signed when I drove offshore race boats – a truly murderous undertaking at times. (Read More…)
When the first rumors of a possible tie-up between Volkswagen and Isuzu were floating around, they were vigorously denied by Isuzu, and meekly (“currently not on the agenda”) denied by Volkswagen. Here they are again. The Nikkei [sub] writes without the usual qualifications that „Isuzu Motors Ltd. and Volkswagen AG have begun negotiating a tie-up involving the mutual supply of truck engines and related technologies, a move that could create a formidable force in emerging markets.”
According to the report, if that engine deal progresses well, “they will also consider acquiring stakes in each other.” (Read More…)
After Nissan’s Leaf drove away with the European Car Of The Year title and the Volt snagged the American Car Of The Year title, what else was there to win? The WCOTY, of course. The champion of champions, the World Car Of The Year. And the winner is … (Read More…)
It becomes immediately clear why the Chinese government did not want an upstart manufacturer of bridge pontoons to buy HUMMER: Unnecessary duplication of what is has been available at state-owned Dongfeng for ages. They even have a Chinese version of Arnold Schwarzenegger. (Read More…)
“Herr Professor Piech! I guess all of us here at the Volkswagen Group are still working on becoming the world’s largest auto maker … by 2018, that’s right.
In the meantime, we built the world’s largest convertible!” (Read More…)
No, this is not the Mercedes B Class. It is the Beijing Auto BC301. Supposedly, it is a blatant copypaste, performed by Daimler’s joint venture partner BAIC. (Read More…)
The attentive TTAC reader knew long before the Shanghai Auto Show what BMW would put on display. What they wanted to see were pictures of the inside of the M5 Concept. Attempts to fulfill that request were frustrated. First of all, access to the car is barred. A metal-glass barrier, along with an earpiece-toting muscular guard, make it impossible to fulfill the journalistic duty. Also, the glass of the car is heavily tinted. Not just from the side … (Read More…)
In a few months, Fiat will own 46 percent of Chrysler, Fiat announced today in Turin. With another 5 percent milestone reached by the end of the year, Fiat will have the 51 percent majority in Chrysler. According to Germany’s Automobilwoche [sub], the 46 percent level will be reached after Chrysler has paid back the government loans. Payment of the loans is expected for the second quarter of 2011. (Read More…)
Nissan’s Iwaki engine plant is back on line, as this video from Nissan’s in-house channel attests. The plant, located some 35 miles away from the stricken Fukushima power plant, was severely damaged by the quake and had been off-line ever since March 11. (Read More…)
During an intimate round table in Shanghai, usually well informed reporters were harping on the influence of radiation on Toyota sales. I expected the heads of communication of Toyota worldwide and Toyota China to blurt out: “Radiation? What impacts sales is the fact that we don’t have any cars to sell.” But they kept their cool in the face of a hot topic.
After a month-long quake-induced hiatus, Toyota restarted production in all Japanese factories on Monday. In the meantime, the shockwaves of the tsunami ripple through the supply lines. (Read More…)
The fifth generation of that other legendary car was launched on China by Shanghai GM. Ample 50s cues were not spared. Rock’n’Roll and a historic Camaro were on hand that had served as the official pace car of the 1967 Indy 500. (Read More…)
It’s odd that China’s two largest carmakers, Volkswagen and GM chose Shanghai as the launchpad of their retro cars. After all, the 50s and 60s have zero appeal in China. Nobody thinks of Rock’n’Roll when they think back in China. Those were the forgotten times of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. The iconic cars of China’s past are the Santana, the Buick Century, the Jeep Cherokee of the 1980s and 1990s.
73 years after the original Beetle was launched, 13 years since the first-edition New Beetle came out, a new New Beetle took the stage in Shanghai. (Read More…)
Remember the Brilliance A3 SUV that the German press called “a brazen BMW X1 rip-off, with inspirations from Audi?” After BMW spokesman Frank Strebe said that the matter would be taken up with their joint venture partner Brilliance, Strebe had said: “Maybe the vehicle won’t be at the show.” (Read More…)
Due to some adroit planning, important auto shows in the world’s largest market and the world’s second largest fall in the same week this year. CEOs of the world’s top automakers have a dilemma: Shanghai or New York? (Read More…)
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