Before Audi revolutionized rallying and four-wheel drive cars with the Ur-Quattro circa 1980, the company made front-drive vehicles underpinned by Volkswagen platforms (some things never change). Today’s Rare Ride 5000 hails from the waning days of Audi’s front-drive era, not long before an all-new 5000 set the template for aerodynamic sedan design.
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Tag: EU
Jaguar Land Rover intends to close factories in the United Kingdom for a week in November. While the move is to safeguard the company against a messy Brexit, the company has said it will take place whether or not the nation actually splits from Europe at the end of October. JLR Chief Executive Officer Ralf Speth confirmed the company’s decision late last month.
Brexit has been a long time coming. While the UK voted to leave the European Union over three years ago, considerable energy has gone into postponing the event to either undo the vote (via a follow-up referendum) or delay things long enough to reach a trade agreement with the EU. Automakers have encouraged a deal in order to avoid supply chain disruptions. However, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the nation has waited long enough, promising a no-deal Brexit on October 31st if an accord cannot be reached beforehand.
While JLR won’t be the only automotive manufacturer to temporarily shutter European plants over Brexit fears, reports suggest it’s likely to be the one with the broadest implications. (Read More…)
Today’s Rare Ride is one of the more obscure vehicles seen on these pages. The result of an argument between two men, the Le Mans was a short-lived model from a short-lived manufacturer.
We’ve lately had some fun Citroën times here at Rare Rides, with the most recent entry being a custom-built and luxurious ID19 coupe. Today’s Rare Ride is not quite as luxurious, and there’s certainly nothing bespoke about it. But it is interesting, and it also looks like a corrugated shed on wheels.
Say hello to HY.
(Read More…)
Wary that China might have the battery market totally cornered by the time electric vehicles become mainstream, the European Union is trying to jumpstart the industry at home. This year, the EU has started working with manufacturers and financial institutions to develop a reliable supply chain of the lithium-ion packs that have been difficult to come by.
European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic is targeting 100 billion euros ($113 billion) for the program, which Bloomberg said would help the EU “act like China.” (Read More…)
A recent study from consulting firm AlixPartners has suggested that automakers could be in for a financial ass kicking of epic proportions. As it turns out, reaching emission quotas is a difficult business and the European Union wants 95 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer by 2021. The study suggests few automakers are on track to reach that goal and, as a result, will be forced to pay out sizable fines. We’re talking billions.
Can you guess which manufacturers are supposed to get hit the hardest?
Here’s a hint: we’ve discussed one of them having similar issues in the United States earlier this year and both of their names are in the title of this article. (Read More…)
It’s been nearly a year since President Donald Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker kissed and negotiated a temporary truce aimed at buying the United States and the EU time to renegotiate their positions without fear of new tariffs.
Unfortunately, it seems everyone had better things to do following the smooch. (Read More…)
U.S. President Donald Trump pushed the threat of tariffs on imported vehicles to the background on Friday, announcing a 180-day pause as the country negotiates trade agreements with Japan and the European Union.
The delay comes a day ahead of a Saturday deadline imposed by the Commerce Department. In February, the department delivered the findings of an investigation on whether auto imports represent a national security threat to the United States. The report, not seen by the public, issued recommendations to the White House. (Read More…)
Pick your jaw up off the floor. As automakers struggle to offer electric vehicles deemed “affordable” by the motoring public, those buyers aren’t exactly swamping dealers with requests for EVs.
Even in the Europe Union, members of which punish drivers of fossil fuel-powered vehicles with high taxes, EVs amounted to just 2 percent of new vehicles registered last year. And yet the EU plans to drastically cut down on greenhouse gas emissions in the coming years.
New data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) shows that the EU’s green dreams will be hard to realize without some sort of massive incentive for the purchase of electric vehicles, as right now those vehicles are only marginally popular in extremely wealthy countries. The EV “people’s car” is still a dream. (Read More…)
Europe, the continent where tech-savvy bad guys in action movies come from, finds itself in a rapid and transformational shift. As European lawmakers and city governments turn their back on diesel, so too are automakers and customers.
Compared to past years, the take rate for diesel automobiles now resembles the trajectory of American-market passenger cars. Last month, the continent posted the worst sales showing for diesel vehicles this century. In what DPRK News Service calls “Belgian’s colonies,” the take rate for diesel — which once surpassed 55 percent — is accelerating its descent to zero.
It seems you can tax the evil away. (Read More…)
The Rare Rides series has broached the subject of De Tomaso a few times before. The luxurious Longchamp coupe was accompanied by the Qvale-branded Mangusta, and the tangentially related Chrysler TC.
But today’s De Tomaso takes the cake for rarity over any of those previous Rare Rides. It’s a Guarà Barchetta, from 1995.
It might have taken two years of investigative raids and Daimler acting as a whistleblower, but Germany’s Big Three automakers finally stand accused by the European Union of collusion. On Friday, the European Commission claimed that Volkswagen Group, BMW and Daimler broke antitrust rules by acting together to delay the introduction of two emission cleaning systems between 2006 and 2014.
The Commission’s preliminary view is that BMW, Daimler and VW participated in a collusive scheme, breaching the EU’s competition rules by limiting the development and proliferation of new emission cleaning technology for diesel and gasoline-fueled passenger cars sold in the “European Economic Area.” This collusion occurred in the framework of the car manufacturers’ so-called “circle of five” technical meetings — which includes VW Group’s Porsche and Audi. (Read More…)
A month after a European Parliament committee approved a host of measures designed to reduce roadway fatalities, the European Commission has signed off on the plan. New vehicles sold in Europe starting in 2022 stand to be more connected and nanny-like than ever, with speed limiters being just one of the mandatory safety features.
Other features include connection points for alcohol ignition interlock devices, driver monitoring cameras, and a range of lesser tech that drivers might actually approve of. (Read More…)
The European Commission is said to be investigating several automotive companies over possible antitrust violations relating to the sale of auto parts. According to Germany’s Der Spiegel, Renault, Nissan, PSA, Jaguar Land Rover and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles have all been placed under government scrutiny for possible price fixing. The report claims the manufacturers may have colluded to elevate the value of certain auto parts by as much as 25 percent.
Assuming the report is accurate, that would make this the EU’s second major automotive cartel investigation in the last two years. (Read More…)
The showdown between the European Union and United States over auto tariffs reminds this viewer of Charles Bronson and Henry Fonda in Once Upon a Time in the West, and with good reason. Both players appear ready to reach for their Colt Single Action Army in a bid to do maximum damage to the other.
After the U.S. Commerce Department delivered a confidential report to the White House on Sunday, the EU is warning its trading partner that any tariffs imposed on European-built vehicles will be met with similar levies on American goods. (Read More…)
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