MINI Roadster Concept – Click above for a high-res image gallery
, perhaps more than any other automotive brand in the world, is defined by the style of its vehicles. Sure, Minis are decent performers and score pretty well on the fun-to-drive quotient, but the initial attraction of the brand is often due to the brand’s excellent execution of “the look.”
And, beside Alec Issigonis, the designer behind the iconic original Mini, this successful design language can be most directly attributed to Gert Volker Hildebrand, who up until now served as the head of the Mini Design Studio. That means Hildebrand is responsible for the reborn from 2001 and its siblings, the Convertible, and . He also oversaw the designs of the from 2009, which are now nearing production.
A tough act to follow, no? Certainly, but it would seem the mantle will be ably handled by Hildebrand’s replacement, Anders Warming, who currently serves as head of Exterior Design, Automobiles. Warming is attributed with recently updated models from BMW that include the , and, most recently, the .
Warming, we wish you the best of luck. A full press release announcing the transition can be found .
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Widestar by Brabus – Click above for high-res image gallery
What’s more important, speed or girth? Brabus says can have your proverbial cake and eat it too with its new Widestar kit for the .
Upgrading on their (and sounding like a minivan), the Widestar SLS benefits from a carbon fiber body kit with a 20mm wider rear track, encompassing Brabus Monoblock F Platinum Edition wheels available in a variety of colors and finishes and coated in either Pirelli or Yokohama low-profile rubber (275/30ZR-20 front and 295/25ZR-21 rear).
Brabus is also offering an electronically adjustable suspension with Bilstein shocks and Ride Control system, a titanium exhaust with quadruple tips that squeezes out an extra 10 horses, while the interior can be outfitted with a number of extras you can read all about in the press release .
has been looking to offload Nexteer Automotive from the moment it received the business as part of the deal to help Delphi exit bankruptcy. The Detroit automaker indicated that it agreed to terms with Chinese company Pacific Century Motors , and now, The General has officially announced that the paperwork is now signed, sealed and delivered.
Pacific Century takes delivery of a company with 22 steering and halfshaft manufacturing facilities, six engineering facilities and 14 customer support centers spanning the globe. The company, which relies on GM for nearly half of its business, had $6.2 billion as recently as 2008. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Hit the jump to read over GM’s brief press release.
Fiat Doblo – Click above for high-res image gallery
Fiat and Opel have been dancing at arms length for years. The relationship looked like it could grow closer as a result of GM’s recent downsizing, but the Italian automaker didn’t end up acquiring the General’s European operations in the end. The two automakers have, however, announced a new arrangement that will have Fiat supplying Opel and its British counterpart Vauxhall with rebadged versions of its Doblo van.
Not even taking into account impending platform-sharing with , Fiat already produces a number of vehicles with or for other automakers, including commercial vans with PSA Peugeot-Citroën and the compact /Sedici with .
The Opel vans will be produced at Fiat’s Tofas plant in Turkey, with several derivatives planned, including chassis cabs, cargo vans and passenger vehicles. They’ll be sold in Europe and overseas markets (but not in North America), replacing the Opel Combo that itself was based on a Fiat platform that underpins the Corsa.
Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport reviewed by EVO’s Chris Harris – Click above to watch video
We know what resident lucky bastard Autoblog contributor . Now we get another perspective on the hypercar courtesy of EVO magazine’s Chris Harris. His thoughts? Occasionally frustrating, yet worth every penny. Harris laments that he gets an amazing sensation of speed yet he has to be off the gas almost as quickly as he gets on it. The 267-mph Veyron Super Sport just moves too quickly for everyday situations.
Since it is Chris Harris behind the wheel, we’re treated to a nice patch-laying takeoff before he launches into a discussion of the car. The clip, which you can find , also treats us to a little over a minute of no talking… just footage of the car. Wonderful.
2011 Pirelli Calendar by Karl Lagerfeld – Click above for high-res image gallery
The Pirelli Calendar is an annually produced gift, intended for friends and VIPs who associate with the top-tier tire manufacturer. It’s also become a fashion icon, with 12 months of high-art photography that typically includes nude or near-nude subjects. For the 2011 edition, Pirelli has teamed up with fashion maven Karl Lagerfeld and a host of models, both male and female, including actress Julianne Moore. The theme for this year’s calendar is Greek and Roman mythology, with Moore playing the part of Hera and Brad Kroenig portraying Zeus.
Past calendars have chosen to show off Brazil, , and even . Lagerfeld’s 2011 edition sticks to the mythology theme but was shot at his Paris studio, and then unveiled in Moscow. No, this doesn’t make a ton of sense to us either…
For additional information on the 2011 Pirelli calendar, be sure to hop past the jump and check out the press release – in all of its nearly 16,000-word glory. More importantly, safe-for-work shots from the calendar can be seen in our gallery below.
Just over an inch of extra width makes all the difference to the 2011 WRX.
Our in-company pals at Translogic decided it was time to add a new stamp to their passports, so they gathered up their video equipment and hopped on a plane to Japan.
Saab’s rebirth is in full swing and we sit down with two of its principles to see what the future holds.
Also of interest:
suing Old GM over shutdown of NUMMI plant?
Azera/Grandeur caught in motion
previews BamBoo well ahead of Geneva debut
confirmed for 2012 rollout, won’t be Alfa 8C-based
Ken Block presents the Gymkhana GRID Invitational – Click above to watch video
If you haven’t seen parts , or of Ken Block’s Gymkhana clips, then this must be your first time on the internet. First off, thanks for checking out Autoblog.com and second, you should probably click links one, two and three from the previous sentence… sorry, a “link” is one of the underlined words. Okay. Block is looking to expand Gymkhana from the solo event that we have now seen and turn it into a , complete with tire-smoking, limiter-popping action.
The Gymkhana GRID, which will take place December 3 and 4 at the Irwindale Speedway in Irwindale, California, is a one-on-one showdown where two drivers attack mirrored examples of a course designed by Ken Block. A host of hot shoes will be on hand to try and knock Block off the top of the podium, including Tanner Foust, Vaughn Gitten Jr. and Andrew Comrie-Picard. Notably absent is one Travis Pastrana, which the video uses as a chance to call him out for .
The Gymkhana GRID nonetheless sounds like it will be a rather fun event to watch – especially because of the level of talent taking to the track. Grab the e-brake and to check out a trailer for the event (*WARNING: language may be not safe for work).
has been pretty polarizing, right out of the gate. Some diehard fans are so excited that it’s here, they may not care about the obvious issues the game has at launch. On the other end of the spectrum, some folks are quick to deride the racing sim as being terrible when that’s far from true. The reality is that . It is pretty amazing, while its flaws are clearly visible. Creator Kazunori Yamauchi has revealed that fixes are planned, and should arrive by early December.
What exactly do these fixes include? Mechanical damage will be added to the existing cosmetic damage, the “blocky shadows” will be resolved, online functionality will be increased and the ability to disable the HUD is mentioned as a possible option.
Whatever your gripes with the game may be, it’s nice to hear that Polyphony Digital is listening. The ability to implement fixes and dole them out by way of a download is a far cry better from the old days of waiting for the next generation game.
continues to clean up its ledger book, and the latest transaction has GM wiping $1 billion off the table. In Korea, the GM Daewoo Auto & Technology subsidiary, otherwise known as GM Daewoo, plans to pay back the 10-figure debt it owes to its Korean revolving credit facility. The debt will be paid in full by the end of this month. Perhaps is in order?
[Source: General Motors]
Incoming and outgoing BMW Motorsport directors Jens Marquardt (left) and Mario Theissen (right)
For over a decade now, has had its racing program directed by one man: Mario Theissen. Having joined the Bavarian automaker as a development engineer back in 1977, Theissen became the company’s motorsport director in 1999, driving BMW onto the Formula One grid as an engine supplier to Williams before spearheading its acquisition of the Sauber team, which he then ran until the from the sport at the end of the 2009 season. Since then he’s been overseeing the construction of the carmaker’s racing programs, but he’s now stepping down to make way for new leadership.
Taking the reins in Theissen’s place will be one Jens Marquardt, who – similar to his mustached predecessor – directed ’s Formula One program until it, too, withdrew from the grid. Prior to joining Toyota Motorsport in 2000, Marquardt worked on F1 and Indy engine development at Ilmor Engineering. He’ll take over at BMW Motorsport on July 1, working in tandem with Theissen for six months as the company’s new DTM program takes shape. Details in the press release after the jump.
is rolling out a new solar program for its fledgling fleet of eTron electric vehicles. The German manufacturer is planning to expand the solar panel system at its facility in Ingolstadt so that the electric vehicle’s batteries may be charged using clean, renewable energy from the sun. Audi says that by the end of the year, it hopes to cover some 80,730 square feet of the plant’s roof with new photovoltaic panels. By the end of the project, Audi says it will have nearly 205,000 square feet of its German manufacturing facility’s roof covered with the solar cells. The company says that the new installation alone should produce enough electricity to power 180 homes.
Audi plans to only use about one third of the electricity produced by its solar system directly at the plant, with the juice going to both charge the company’s eTron vehicles and assist in the manufacture of other products. The rest of the energy will likely be fed back into the surrounding power grid. for the full press release.
Subaru, Hyundai and Kia set full-year sales records
The subtitle above should surprise no one. Of all the automakers operating in the U.S., , and are the only automakers to increase sales month after month through this years-long recession while their competitors have faltered. As such, all three are enjoying new full-year sales records a month ahead of the Times Square ball dropping.
The rest of the industry, however, is apparently done fumbling around and is clearly finding its footing. The vast majority of brands saw increased sales last month except for the usual suspects (GM’s non-core brands that are just about dead, also-dying , along with and ) and a few cellar-dwelling surprises like , , and . We’re not sure what Toyota’s banking on to turn things around, aside from mass amnesia of its recall woes, while Chrysler is doing its best to either fully redesign or substantially upgrade its existing models to keep customers interested.
Either way, when the book closes on 2010, automotive historians will write that the competitive landscape on December 31 looked markedly different than it did 365 days earlier. With one more month to go, we doubt the list of winners and losers is going to look very different from what you see below.
*Brands and companies are displayed in descending order according to their percentage change in volume sales. There were24 selling days in November 2010 versus 23 selling days in November 2009, so the change in monthly sales volume will be different than the change in average daily sales rate (DSR) for each brand/company.
Max Wolff, formerly of , has been hired by to head up ’s design team effective January 3, 2011.
During his tenure at GM, Wolff was most recently responsible for leading ’s exterior design team, though he also held positions at the automaker’s and divisions. Ford sees Wolff’s global design experience as a benefit for Lincoln, bringing “a fresh perspective that will challenge us internally and take Lincoln to new levels of prestige,” says Derrick Kuzak, Ford’s Group Vice President for Global Product Development.
Wolff, 38, is tasked with creating a definitive design language for Lincoln that extends beyond the large split-grilled creations we currently see. Specifically, Ford has cited that the Lincoln brand will debut seven all-new or significantly refreshed vehicles over the next four years, including the automaker’s . For the full details, for the official press release.
Mazda celebrates 90 years and we look at its changing logo – Click above for high-res image gallery
turns 90 years old this year, and during the Japanese automaker’s near-century of building cars, it has stayed true to the Zoom-Zoom ethos that defined it. One thing that has changed over the years, however, is its logo. In 1936, Mazda entered the world of automobile manufacturing and hit the ground running with not one, but two logos: a simple “Mazda” written in script and a triple “M” symbol that was said to be both a tie to its headquarters – home of Hiroshima City and the sense of speed and agility that Mazda puts into its cars. That triple M also served to stand for Mazda Motor Manufacturer.
Over the course of Mazda’s 90 years, its logo would be changed four more times. Today, The stylized M more closely resembles outstretched wings and the Laguna Seca Blue font below it shows just how dedicated Mazda is to making cars that are, at their core, fun to drive.
Take a look through the gallery below and travel through a timeline of Mazda logos.
is still upset about how its joint NUMMI venture with was handled, and according to Automotive News, the Japanese automaker has now filed a lawsuit to the tune of $73 million. The suit is against Motors Liquidation Co., the company created to pick through the discarded ashes of “Old GM.”
Toyota states that when in 2009, it breached the contract between the two automakers. The $73 million covers research and development costs that were poured into the Fremont, California facility before it was shuttered last year.
The plant now belongs to , who purchased it from Toyota in May of 2010, for $42 million.
The news has been making in the past few months – the , declining sales numbers, – runs counter to the feel-good story of the brand’s very existence. On the other side of that, though, the brand is still here, there’s a resurrected factory in Sweden still pumping out cars, Jason Castriota is still working on an anxiously anticipated 9-3, and the 9-4X – recently at the LA Auto Show – is just months away from retail.
That’s a lot going on for such a small, and new, company. We sat down with Saab chairman Victor Muller and president Jan-Ake Jonsson to find out what makes the 9-4X a real Saab, how the 9-3 is progressing, and where the 9-2 and ePower rank on the company’s to-do list.
Unions and southern auto plants go together like ice cream socials and diabetes, but the mere thought of an organized plant in Chattanooga must give Tennessee Senator Bob Corker bad dreams. The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports that Corker was asked by VW to give input as to whether or not the facility should take a pro-United Auto Workers stance. The senator reportedly told representatives at the German autoworker that the presence of organized labor would be “highly detrimental.”
So why the negative stance on unions? Corker claims that his dealings with the UAW during the bailout of Chrysler and General Motors is the reason he’s so sour on the idea in his home state. The senator claims that the UAW put the success of the automakers “way, way, way way” behind the needs of union, adding “I just can’t imagine any company of their own accord of being desirous of entering into a relationship with UAW.”
Volkswagen currently has a reported “neutral position” concerning unionization in Chattanooga, but according to a study by the Grand Rapids Press in Michigan and other Booth newspapers, the UAW could lead to higher labor costs for the German automaker. The paper says that overall labor costs, which include pension funding and health care, adds up to about $74,000 per year per employee. Non-union automakers reportedly average a much lower $53,000 per year.
But while Corker’s feelings about the UAW may or may not give VW pause, neither the senator or the automaker will have the final say in the matter. VW Communication Manager Guenther Scherelis says “the employees will decide for themselves about their representation.”
How’s your math? If you have 240,000 “potential buyers” but only 10,000 vehicles to sell them in the first year, what can you do? If you’re and the item in question is the , then you look for ways to seriously increase the number of Volts you can build (and, of course, sell).
That’s exactly what CEO Dan Akerson says his company is trying to do, looking to double or triple production rates of this very important car. The problem, according to GM North America President Mark Reuss, is the bottleneck created by the limited number of battery cells that vendor . The current plan is to make around 10,000 in 2011 and 45,000 in 2012. That 2012 number .
Upping the production numbers is good for GM for another reason. According to Steven Rattner, who was President Obama’s former auto bailout chief and worked intimately with GM, “At least in the early years, each Volt would cost around $40,000 to manufacture (development costs not included).” GM won’t confirm this number, but increased production will get the company, presumably, better economies of scale and thus lower production costs.
The subtitle above should surprise no one. Of all the automakers operating in the U.S., , and are the only automakers to increase sales month after month through this years-long recession while their competitors have faltered. As such, all three are enjoying new full-year sales records a month ahead of the Times Square ball dropping.
Max Wolff, formerly of , has been hired by to head up ’s 
