Rajiv Dube, the mind behind ‘ move into the passenger car world, has decided to part ways with the company after 27 years. Dube joined Tata way back in 1983, and neither he nor the company are saying exactly why the long-standing exec decided to move on. Our guess is that after 20 years, retirement was sounding plenty tasty. Cars like the and Indica hatchback can all pledge their allegiance to Dube’s market-minded approach to the automobile.
According to Automotive News, Dube’s position will be filled internally. S. Krishnan will now helm the premier car division while Girish Wagh will take on both small-car and passenger-car operations.
If automotive designers can agree on one thing, it’s that the future will be more diverse. Three current designers and one teacher came together to discuss the way forward at the monthly Automotive Press Association luncheon in Detroit. Clay Dean, Phil Zak and Scott Strong joined Larry Erickson from the at the Detroit Athletic Club.
There will be multiple forces driving this increased diversity, including the emergence of megacities (like Paris, Beijing, Shanghai, Mumbai and Singapore), changing demographics and new powertrain systems.
The increased urbanization we’re seeing in many regions is leading to larger, more crowded cities that make traditional automobiles unsuitable and unsustainable. There simply isn’t enough room for large vehicles carrying only one or two occupants on the roads of these metropolises. Dean discussed vehicles such as the being shown at the Shanghai expo as one possible answer to the increasing density. Read on after the jump to hear more of what the panelists said.
It’s no secret that the motorcycle industry as a whole is undergoing the same kind of turmoil as the automobile industry, and that’s true for Harley-Davidson just as much (if not ) than any other manufacturer. There’s been a lot of conjecture on what the Bar and Shield brand needs to do to get itself back in order, but the one thing that remains constant is the need for interesting and desirable product.
What those products should be, though, is up for debate. Should H-D continue to focus on its core line of big-inch air-cooled V-twin machines or should it branch out even further with its lower-cost Sportster line or its high-performance, liquid-cooled Revolution-powered bikes? According to designer Jonathan Russel, Harley’s future should include a major infusion of Apple.
Yes, that’s Apple as in the technology company, not the fruit. Russel envisions lots of aluminum and laser etching, as seen on Cupertino’s latest laptops. Also on the menu are lots of perforations with LEDs hiding underneath, which make up the tank-mounted instruments (including an interesting GPS) and the rear tail lamps. Intrigued? Check out our high-res image gallery below. Thanks for the tip, Radhika!
Hispano-Suiza – Click above for high-res image gallery
The car you see above is not a Hispano-Suiza. That much every one seems to agree with. But is it a Hispano Suiza (note the intentional lack of a hyphen)? And, does that lack of a hyphen make any difference at all? Apparently, the answer to those questions would depend on whom you ask.
According to Erwin Leo Himmel, a designer that formerly worked for Volkswagen, his company “is not the legal successor of the historical brand Hispano-Suiza.” He stated as much at the earlier this year at the Geneva Motor Show. It seems rather obvious, though, that the car was given that name on purpose to bring to mind the awesome pre-Depression vehicles built by the original Hispano-Suiza. Right?
That point may soon be argued in court, it seems, as La Hispano Suiza Fàbrica de Automòviles SA and Safran SA – two European companies that apparently do hold the rights to the somewhat famous moniker – “are determined to take appropriate legal actions against such unlawful conduct that infringes their rights and constitutes a practice of unfair competition misleading the public’s and consumer’s opinion intentionally.”
As a refresher, the Hispano Suiza in question is based heavily on the , though pumped up with the addition of twin electric superchargers to the tune of 750 horsepower. That’s all well and good, but we’re not so sure there will be a large contingent of buyers for a rebodied and boosted R8 that carries a sticker price of $950,000 (€700,000). In the end, depending on the outcome of any possible legal proceedings, it may not matter at all.
Currently, there are 130 different automakers existing in , and in an effort to create stronger companies, the Chinese government will be releasing plans to encourage mergers and buyouts between the different manufacturers. These new guidelines, drawn up by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, is said to prohibit automakers from building new plants unless they acquire another existing manufacturer first.
Autocar reports that presently, the majority of China’s automakers sell less than 10,000 units annually, with only five manufacturers moving more than one million cars last year. To put that in better perspective, the country’s top ten automakers accounted for 87 percent of the country’s automobile sales, or 11.89 million cars. With statistics like that, it’s no wonder that the government is urging these different car companies to merge.
What’s more, this restructuring plan is all part of the Chinese government’s long-term goal to have 20 percent of its automakers’ sales to be exported, something that the country hopes to achieve by the year 2015. And with larger, stronger companies making up the bulk of the country’s auto industry, that might not be too hard to achieve.
[Source: Image: Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images]
Not long after announced that it would be building the car that ultimately became the , rumors of a revival of the 928 began. Porsche’s last front-engine GT went out of production in 1995, and it certainly would certainly make sense to reuse the new front-engine car platform for a coupe. If the car, which could be called the Panamera GT, does come to fruition, it will likely go on a shorter wheelbase and perhaps be lighter than the four door.
Hopefully, if the coupe is built Porsche’s designers will decide that it’s no longer necessary to accommodate six-foot-three-inch former CEO Wendelin Weideking in the back seat. That would allow for a far more graceful roof-line than the humpbacked Panamera. Now would be the time to start crossing all those fingers and toes.
Think the has the market cornered on ridiculously fast, large sport-utes? ASI is here to tell you to think again with the new Invader. Based on the , the ASI Invader packs a host of (largely unspecified) performance and visual upgrades to take the soccer-mom-mobile into serious hot-rodding territory.
Upgrading the lux-ute’s 5.7-liter V8, ASI has boosted power up from 380 horsepower in stock form to around 600. The result is a 0-60 sprint in less than five seconds. And lest ye forget, the four second range is insanely quick for just about anything this side of a supercar, much less a big SUV like the LX 570.
To go along with the performance modifications – which we also gather include suspension and (hopefully) brake upgrades – ASI has also imbued its Invader with a series of appearance and aerodynamic “enhancements” to give it the visual attitude to go with the power boost. Successful? Ahem, well, you’re certainly not going to miss it, are you?
2009 Audi A4 – Click above for high-res image gallery
Over the course of the last 20 years, each new model has weighed in around 10 percent more than its predecessor, but that all changed when the all-new (B8) debuted last year. Audi’s mid-size sedan gained less than 100 pounds over the previous model (B7), despite growing in every possible dimension. And when the next A4 arrives in five year’s time, Audi claims it will weigh even less than the current model.
Heinrich Timm, head of Audi’s Lightweight Design Center, told us earlier today that the next generation A4 – likely due out in 2015, judging by Audi’s normal product cycle – will shed some 150 kg (330 pounds) over the B8. The move to drop the A4’s curb weight is part of a larger initiative by Audi to reduce the tonnage of its future vehicles by using more aluminum, innovative structural techniques and composites.
And the benefits of weight reduction aren’t just limited to fuel consumption and emissions. As any gearhead knows, weight affects every aspect of the vehicle’s dynamics – from handling to braking to acceleration. For every 220 pounds lost, a vehicle can accelerate to 60 mph in an extra 20 feet. Lose 440 pounds and that amount nearly doubles.
While other automakers are employing high tensile steel to increase rigidity and reduce weight, it costs nearly three-times more than a normal stamped piece. By limiting the use of tensile steel, the overall cost savings will allow Audi to utilize more exotic materials – carbon fiber in particular – reducing weight and further enhancing the driving experience.
As the father of the spaceframe, Timm knows all too well that weight reduction is the key to the next generation of automobiles. Not only will it decrease fuel consumption, increase safety and pay dividends for the driver, it’s the only way automakers can simultaneously meet new emission standards while delivering the content and driving experience customers expect. Timm says, “we want to bring it to a higher volume” and the next generation A4 is sure to be the first in a long line of lightened Audis.
2011 Honda CR-Z – Click above for high-res image gallery
According to John Mendel, executive vice president for automobile sales at American , people his age (55, for what it’s worth) remember the seminal CRX as a highly tunable and fun-to-drive little hatchback that happened to get excellent fuel economy. Sure, we’ll go along with that. Mendel continues, though, to suggest that the Japanese automaker expects its new to sell in large numbers to those older-generation tuners. Really?
Sure, we suppose we can buy the argument that the tuning crowd will see the the car’s hybrid system as more than just a means to boost fuel efficiency. After all, it does add about 20 horsepower to the car’s final output. But bear in mind that the power figure we’re talking about is still just 122 ponies and 128 lb-ft of torque. And that’s not a lot of power to work with, though we’d imagine the six-speed manual gearbox will help extract those overworked horses.
Now that it’s a decade old, the original two-seat has indeed earned a bit of credibility from the tuner crowd… but most of its credentials come from all-out engine swaps that allow the car’s light weight and aerodynamic prowess to truly shine. We can’t imagine much of that going on with this brand-new CR-Z. But what do we know? Here’s hoping that Honda’s upcoming sporty hybrid hatchback beats all of our lofty expectations.
Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter on the next Chevrolet Corvette – Click above to
At the annual C5/C6 Bash at the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, chief engineer Tadge Juechter took the mic to dispel a few myths about the next-generation C7 Corvette. The first myths he addressed were those he said could be found in AutomobileMagazine, and his manner of dispelling them was to give Automobile and the entire automotive print journalism industry a beatdown worthy of an MMA pay-per-view bout.
Then, having saved a few backhands and knees-to-the-gut for the Environmental Protection Agency, he preemptively addressed any erroneous ideas that CAFE requirements will emasculate the next-gen Corvette, which is still a few years away. There isn’t much hard content, but it’s good enough to hear him make sure everyone knows that the next Corvette will still be a suitable mascot for hairy chests. to watch the vid.
Iron Man 2 movie footage – Click above to watch the video
What is it with Iron Man movies and the wanton destruction of perfectly good, desirable automobiles? In the first flick, the crew purposely crashed a pair of coupes, and neither sequence actually made it into the final film. For their sophomore effort, the crew reportedly dissected a pair of Rolls-Royce Phantoms – supposedly the first two identical machines that the famous marque has built.
According to The New York Times, the two luxury cars were cut up and slapped back together with strategically placed pyrotechnics to give the illusion that they were being sheared apart in real time. At least this time, the trashed Rollers actually do make an appearance in the final cut, though how they got there is a story unto itself.
It seems that, instead of filming the scenes at the Monaco GP circuit as originally planned – though approved by the government of Monaco, F1’s no-fun chief Bernie Ecclestone rather unsurprisingly nixed the idea – the actual filming was done in Southern California on a makeshift Monaco replica track at the location that the first Space Shuttle was built. The fake grandstands were filled with inflatable blow-up doll fans. Monaco backdrops were the added in post-production.
In addition to the Rolls-Royce jigsaw puzzles, there were eight cars supplied by the Historic Grand Prix Association along with two running race cars built specifically for the movie using molds of a 1978 F1 car, powered by 5.7-liter GM V8 crate engines. Seventeen more non-running prop cars were built. Our friend Tanner Foust was the stunt driver of the blue and white Stark Industries car. Finally, though the other F1 replica car says Elon Musk on its side, we don’t think the Tesla exec was actually behind the wheel.
The result? Movie Magic… maybe – we haven’t yet gone to the theater to see Iron Man 2, which opened up just today. We’ll get back to you in a bit. In the meantime, perhaps you’ll enjoy the movie trailer that we’ve pasted . Oh, and you can see some Rolls-Royce splitting action .
2010 BMW Z4 sDrive35is Mille Miglia Limited Edition – Click above for high-res image gallery
In celebration of the 70th anniversary of its historic victory in the famed Mille Miglia automobile race in Brescia, when the classic 328 not only finished in first place but also in third, fifth and sixth places, thereby ensuring overall team victory as well, the German automaker has announced that it will build just 99 examples of the limited edition sDrive35is Mille Miglia.
Setting this car apart from other Z4s, each Mille Miglia edition will be finished in a coat of matte Polaris Metallic with a blacked-out front grill, an M aero kit and 19-inch wheels finished in Dark Chrome. Inside, the seats and steering wheel will get a dash of red stitching. And of course, the limited edition model will also get unique badging inside and out.
Power will come from the standard 340-horsepower turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six, mated up to a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. In somewhat related news, BMW has also recreated a classic 328 Kamm Coupé to take part in this year’s Mille Miglia festivities. Check out the press release after the break for more.
Are you a fanboy? It’s fine, you can admit it. While the term often carries a negative connotation, being a fan of one particular brand isn’t really anything to be ashamed of, and we all have our built-in biases and preferences anyway. So strong was Steve Marsh’s love of automobiles that his family decided it would only be proper to bury him under one when he died at the young age of 51 years old.
Marsh, somewhat ironically an engineer at , apparently had a particular fondness for the convertible. Nothing wrong with that, we say. And so wife and two children contracted a mason to help them design a headstone in the shape of that very automobile. No big deal, right? Wrong. This particular headstone happens to be life-size and was chiseled out of a single block of granite.
So large is the M3-shaped stone that it cost a whopping £50,000 (over $75,000 U.S.) and had to be shipped in from China. Total weight comes in at one ton, which meant it took a crane and 20 operators to lower the stone in position in its final resting place at the Manor Park Cemetery in East London.
A tad offbeat, for sure… though not nearly as much as the Puerto Rican who was . As you might expect, the massive hewn BMW headstone is raised the ire of some locals. Local resident Rene Dryden commented:
You have to admit it’s totally different to everything else around it. It’s definitely not my taste. I think some people will say it’s tacky and it could end up as a target to be vandalised. It could open the floodgates for anything to be built in a cemetery. When I walked past it the other day, though, I have to admit it did make me smile.
Honestly, it’s not really our taste either. We’d have gone with a hardtop for all those rainy London days.
Car accidents are the cost of doing business for a society that can’t live without its automobiles. Ever since some not so subtle prodding back in the ’60s (Thanks Mr. Nader!), automakers have continued to improve the car’s ability to not only protect us when accidents do occur, but also avoid them in the first place. Nevertheless, one-third of all accidental deaths in the U.S. per year still involve cars. In fact, someone in this country dies in a car accident every 15 seconds. Sobering stats for sure, more of which can be found after the jump in our latest infographic.
The Williamson Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic – Click above to enlarge
Widely regarded as one of the most beautiful automobiles ever created, it’s not every day that a Bugatti Type 57 Atlantic changes hands. Only four of examples were ever made, and only two or three of them are still around today. One is , and another belonged to the late Dr. Peter Williamson. Californian auction house Gooding & Company has now announced that the Williamson Bugatti has changed hands for a record sum, and though the buyer and exact amount paid remain undisclosed, reports place it between $30-40 million, easily eclipsing the $12.2 million paid for a 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa this time last year.
Until his recent passing, Dr. Williamson had amassed a considerable collection of classic Bugattis. Gooding had helped assemble the collection, and since his passing has helped his estate sell them off. But the Atlantic – the crown jewel of the collection and winner of the 2003 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance – was saved for last. According to reports, the car was acquired through Gooding by the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, California, where we recently went to check out the , so with a little luck we might have the opportunity to bring you the Atlantic in due course. Follow the jump for the press release from Gooding.
Chinese Lamborghini replica – Click above for high-res image gallery
We’ve seen our fair share of of legitimate cars and trucks. While The People’s Republic seems to have no problem generating genuine auto manufacturers, everyone’s favorite communist nation must suffer from a dearth of designers. It’s always hard to embrace a faux or half-hearted , but there’s something about this creation that we can get behind. You see, the “Lamborghini” you see above wasn’t created out of some desire to trick buyers or onlookers. No, it was built out of the same genuine love for the automobile we all share.
Chen Jenmiao, a 25 year-old mechanic with a bent, decided that if he couldn’t own a genuine Raging Bull, he’d build his own. The guy pulled together around $3,000 worth of parts and materials and set to work. The finished product has a top speed of somewhere between 60 and 90 mph, though you won’t hear us criticize the guy for falling short of performance figures. After all, when was the last time you put together an entire car from scratch?
BMW iDrive BlackBerry connectivity – Click above to view the video
Research In Motion has been hard at work bringing new ways to integrate the functionality of its BlackBerry devices into the automobile. We recently brought you news of , but before that partnership comes to fruition, several automakers (most recently , for example) have been working with the Canadian electronics firm – now one of the top five mobile phone-makers in the world – to bring the BlackBerry into the cabin in a distraction-free manner.
The latest collaboration revolves around ’s iDrive system, which has now been linked up with the BlackBerry to provide limited functionality while behind the wheel. Connecting through Bluetooth, the iDrive controller will now be able to read email messages aloud to the driver and occupants, and initiate calls either from the email sender or from the phone’s contact list, displayed on the dash-top screen. The feature is being rolled out first on the new Pearl 3G, but is slated to arrive to all new devices running the new BlackBerry 6 mobile operating system.
to watch a video of the feature in action, as demonstrated on a .
Audi’s musically gifted S3 – Click above to watch the video
What is it about music and driving that make the two so inexorably linked? Hard to say, but there’s simply no doubting that the right tune can turn a boring and mundane drive home from work into a truly enjoyable experience.
But have you ever actually tried making music using your automobile? It’s been done before, but never in quite the same way as you’ll see performed in the video after the break, courtesy of our friends at . Sure, you might say that the 265 horses under the S3’s hood make more than enough neighswhinnies music all on their own, but there’s no use crying over spilled… um, water.
to watch the video, and see more funny car commercials at .
We’ve wrapped up our Beijing Motor Show coverage as April closes and May begins, signaling the end of the major international auto show season. We’ll have a spring and summer full of concours, racing, meets, exhibitions and more to keep us busy though until the new car reveals pick up again in October at the Paris Motor Show.
This month racing fans will be busy with Formula 1 action from Spain and the legendary Grand Prix de Monaco. NASCAR stops at Richmond, Darlington and Dover before the two-week extravaganza that leads up to the Coca-Cola 600. IndyCar starts off with the Road Runner 300 from Kansas City, but the month of May means only one thing to open-wheel fans – The Indy 500.
The ALMS guys and gals head to Monterey for their annual crack at the corkscrew of Laguna Seca. WRC fans can see action from New Zealand and Portugal, while Rally America stages the Oregon Trail Rally. The NHRA schedule finds the Southern Nationals in Atlanta and the Summer Nationals in Topeka following the conclusion of the Midwest Nationals that start at the end of April.
Other racing action in May includes the Speedfest at the Classic Motorsports at the Mitty at Road Atlanta, Jefferson 500 at Summit Point, Historic Grand Prix of Monaco, Portland AHRMA Classic, SCCA Pro Racing at NJMP, SVRA Spring Vintage Weekend, 20th Annual Vintage Racing Celebration at NHMSNew Jersey Vintage Grand Prix and Family Festival, and the Olthoff Racing VIR Track Day with the SVT Cobra Mustang Club.
May auctions include two biggies – The RM Auctions Sporting Classics of Monaco and the Mecum Spring Classic.
Concours, meets and shows are beginning to fill out the calendar again as the weather improves and May is the month for the Newport Concours as well as Keels and Wheels, All-AMC Show in Gettysburg, Britfest 2010, Long Island Car Show, Pindar Vineyards – Run Out East, The Petersen Museum Discovery Days: Pop-up Greeting Cards, East Coast Boardwalk National Car Show, The Quail Motorcycle Gathering, MOPARS in May, Meguiar’s Orange County Get-Together, Saratoga Automobile Museum Spring Invitational and Auto Show, Marin Sonoma Concours d’Elegance, and Micro/Mini Car Cruise – Bear Mountain Silver Mine Roundup among many others.
If none of those events appeal to you, check out our Google Calendar for even more listings, all with detailed info and links. And please don’t forget to use the comments section to add or modify listings.
If you thought Jay Leno was the only late-night talk show host who was into cars, think again. Sure, Jay’s got the garage full of priceless automobiles and regularly contributes to Octane magazine, but Letterman is part owner of an Indy racing team, and Conan’s had his share of four-wheeled shenanigans.
If the shtick wasn’t enough to convince you, have a look at the video . On a segment of the CBS news program 60 Minutes, Conan takes his interviewer around Los Angeles in a dirt-green 1992 Ford Taurus SHO. Check it out; it’s worth a laugh of two.
![6d443 iron man rolls Rolls Royce builds first two identical Phantoms, Iron Man 2 destroys them [w/video]](http://theautoblog.ru/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/6d443_iron-man-rolls.jpg "Rolls Royce builds first two identical Phantoms, Iron Man 2 destroys them [w/video]")
What is it with Iron Man movies and the wanton destruction of perfectly good, desirable automobiles? In the first flick, the crew purposely crashed a pair of coupes, and neither sequence actually made it into the final film. For their sophomore effort, the crew reportedly dissected a pair of Rolls-Royce Phantoms – supposedly the first two identical machines that the famous marque has built.
