Williams without Frank Williams just wouldn’t be Williams, but the elderly, wheelchair-bound founder of the eponymous Formula One team knows he can’t be running things forever. That’s where Adam Parr came in, but now he’s on his way out.
Parr joined Williams back in 2006 as chief executive officer, was subsequently promoted to chairman in 2010, and was seen by many – including Sir Frank himself – as a potential successor to take over the team when the founder was ready to retire. Under his direction, Parr oversaw a comprehensive restructuring of the team’s technical staff, a new engine supply deal with Renault, the team’s emergence as a hybrid powertrain consultant outside the sport, and the company’s IPO.
However, Williams has officially announced that Parr is stepping down and leaving the company. In his place will be appointed Nick Rose, a board member of Williams Grand Prix Holdings and a former CFO of liquor giant Diageo. No word on where Parr will be headed next – the statement alludes only to his desire to find “a better balance in his life” – or the real reason behind his departure, but it looks like Sir Frank will have to find a new successor.
It’s been two years since the , and now the first fruits of that labor are about to be unveiled. The joint venture will sell a line of electric vehicles under the Denza brand name, starting with the E6 built on the platform from the first-generation Mercedes-Benz B-Class, a preview of which is shown above in a .
is said to be handling design and chassis duties, while BYD is developing the lithium-ion phosphate cells and driveline that will occupy the sandwich floor. Prototypes have been , at least 40 of which have racked up nearly two million miles as taxis. Range is said to be up to 186 miles, and we should get a first look at the real thing at next month’s .
Not to be outdone today by Ford’s debut of a , has taken the wraps off its redesigned .
The big news is all up front, where the 2013 Traverse features what Chevy is calling the new face of its crossover utility vehicles. It includes a three-bar upper and two-bar lower grille design, as well as a “powerdome” hood, though no changes have been made to the direct-injected 3.6-liter V6 underneath. Though everything was redesigned ahead of the A-pillars, the rest of the body was left alone until you reach the D-pillars. Aft of those you’ll find a redesigned rear end with new taillights and liftgate and a relocated license plate pocket.
Chevy has tinkered with the interior too, but not much. The Traverse’s biggest selling point has always been its voluminous interior passenger and cargo space, and that hasn’t changed. The most noteworthy addition inside is that of MyLink, GM’s branded infotainment system that supports Bluetooth voice and audio, as well as apps like Pandora and Stitcher.
Minor suspension adjustments round out the rather short list of changes for this mid-cycle refresh. The segment’s current leader is the aforementioned , which sold around 135,000 units last year. The Traverse wasn’t too far behind with sales surpassing 107,000 units. Our guess is that these 2013 model year changes probably aren’t enough to unseat the Explorer, but should be enough to keep the Traverse selling well in this quickly growing segment.
has just revealed its to the assembled media in Dearborn ahead of its debut. And while the 350-horsepower, 350-pound-foot-of-torque crossover will be the performance capstone for the nameplate, Autoblog has learned that the Sport also previews a number of subtle performance updates that will roll out throughout the entire range for the new model year.
The Sport isn’t just an engine upgrade and appearance modifications – there are meaningful tweaks across the entire vehicle.
Among those changes is a new solid mount for its electric power steering rack, a move designed to take some of the slop out of the system and deliver more accurate direction changes (the Sport also receives its own unique boost tuning to add both quickness and heft). In addition, engineers have gone over the Explorer’s suspension and steering, fitting new ball- and steering joints, with the goal of increased stiffness so that shock and bushing tuning can be more finely adjusted. The result, say Ford officials, is a better controlled vehicle – one that allows for greater performance differentiation model to model (Sport versus XLT, say) through simple tuning of the vehicle’s compliant bits.
To be clear, the Explorer Sport stops well short of a full-on performance model like the – Ford itself suggests likely competitors include the and its . Even so, the Sport isn’t just an engine upgrade and appearance modifications – there are meaningful tweaks across the entire vehicle, including everything from a 3.16:1 final drive ratio to a water-cooled Power Take Off faceplate cooler that keeps the standard all-wheel-drive system at proper operating temps when it’s being worked harder by those 350 pound-feet.
Ford says the Sport knocks a full two seconds off the 0-60 time of other models.
Apparently Ford has learned its lesson based on feedback it received from (a vehicle that shares much of this CUV’s architecture and drivetrain). Like the , the Explorer Sport has received a brake upgrade, moving from 13.1-inch rotors to 13.8 inches. In addition, the discs themselves are thicker, leading to a 22-percent increase in stopping power. That’s good news, because Ford says the Sport knocks a full two seconds off the 0-60 time of other models, but it declined to cite a hard number.
Other Sport-specific hardware changes include a throatier dual exhaust with large polished tips, a reworked Terrain Management System to take advantage of the 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine’s extra torque in all conditions, as well as larger shock tower braces and a new cross tunnel brace for added rigidity.
Ford says it sold 135,000 Explorers last year, and fully 50 percent of those were conquest buyers. Of that percentage, 12 percent were luxury brand converts, so Ford is clearly betting that the 2013 Sport’s augmented performance and style can yield even more higher-end transaction prices.
It’s going to be a big year for , which will soon be reloading its model lineup with the new and XTS sedans. The compact slots in below the , while the larger 2013 XTS aims to take care of traditional Caddy buyers looking for immensity above all else. While at diametrical ends of the spectrum, the two new models will share a technology package that all revolves around a new seat.
General Motors is throwing around fifty-cent words like “haptic” and phrases like “directional tactile sensation” to describe its new Safety Alert Seat, which vibrates to warn the driver of potential dangers like wandering out of one’s lane. The seat employs two electric motors to create its directional feedback, and it’s at the center of both safety packages Cadillac will be introducing this year. The first is aimed at merely providing the driver with safety alerts, while a more comprehensive suite will also offer vehicle intervention. Cadillac is using six radar sensors, eight ultrasonic sensors and two vision cameras to drive the new safety systems.
The Driver Awareness Package will debut with the launch of the XTS in the spring and offers the seat, Forward Collision Alert, Lane Departure Warning, Side Blind Zone Alert and Rear Cross Traffic Alert. In the fall, Cadillac will begin offering the Driver Assist Package, which adds Adaptive Cruise Control, Front and Rear Automatic Braking, and Automatic Collision Preparation. Both packages will also be offered on the crossover, details of which we expect to hear about at the . Click to read more and to view two demonstration videos.
The last time we remember talking about a high-performance was 2007 when a rare . For the 2013 model year, however, will start producing high performance Explorers right at the factory. Dubbed the Explorer Sport, this new addition to the Explorer lineup sports the same twin-turbo 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 found in the , , and and . It produces the least amount of power in this application – 350 horsepower – and while Ford doesn’t mention torque figures in the press release below, we can assume somewhere around 350 lb-ft.
Ford is projecting fuel economy numbers in the neighborhood of 16 miles per gallon in the city and 22 mpg highway, and says the Explorer Sport can also tow up to 5,000 pounds. Other tweaks to get this three-row crossover dancing include reinforcements to the chassis, a faster ratio for its electric steering system, a unique 3.16:1 final drive ratio and larger brakes. There are also paddles to shift the six-speed automatic transmission and special settings for the Explorer’s Terrain Management System.
When treating the Explorer Sport to a few exterior changes, Ford designers went with a dark theme, blacking out the lighting elements, roof rails and sideview mirrors, as well as the grille, lower front fascia and wheel faces. Inside the Explorer Sport gets Charcoal Black leather seating, with or without contrasting inserts, and special stitching on the seats and steering wheel.
No pricing was given, but the new Sport model will sit atop the Explorer line, which means a base price north of the Explorer Limited’s at $38,180. Ford is showing the Explorer Sport at a media event near its headquarters in Dearborn as we speak, so stay tuned for the first live images of the Explorer Sport as we get them.
has big plans for the New York Auto Show next week, notably with the reveal of the replacement for the aging . The new vehicle, which will likely be called the RLX, will still make use of a V6, all-wheel drive powertrain, but will rely on electric motors to spin the rear wheels.
Car and Driver reports the system will actually be lighter than the components found on the current RL while still offering torque-vectoring capability. Acura has already gone through the pains of registering the RLX name with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office, and the move seems to be part of a larger effort to expunge two-letter names from the company’s stable.
With the RL on the way out the door, the is the last of the old guard still hanging around, and word has it that model may be on the short list for execution as well. As Car and Driver points out, Acura is also in the process of registering the TLX name.
We have to wonder if the name swapping will do the company any good. From our vantage, it seems like Acura is simply swapping one meaningless moniker for another. Expect to see more details emerge as we get closer to the 2012 New York Auto Show next week, but in the meantime, feel free to peruse the brief press release .
It looks as if the rumors swirling around the supposed resurrection of the limited-edition have some substance. Our spy photographers caught this creation out and about for a little testing just a short hop away from the Nürburgring recently. From the looks of things, this could be our first glimpse at a new version of the JCW GP. New aero work, including a new front splitter and more aggressive rear spoiler, help set the model apart from its more pedestrian siblings. It looks as if the vehicle will also boast a set of revised rockers with what functional air inlets for cooling off the rear brakes.
With unique four-spoke wheels that pay homage to the first GP and a lower ride height, the hatch looks downright sinister. Early reports have hinted that the hot hatch may boast somewhere in the neighborhood of 220 horsepower with less weight to boot. Like its sought-after 2006 predecessor, odds are there’s a big stiffening brace where the rear seats used to reside, too.
made all kinds of news during its recall woes, with one headline item being the it paid to the . The charge was levied by NHTSA because it considered Toyota tardy in announcing its recalls, and was almost twice the additionally record-setting $16.4 million fine that Toyota paid to address the recall itself. According to a report in Reuters, though, NHTSA Administrator David Strickland believes that such fines aren’t strong enough deterrents for automakers.
Currently the maximum fine the NHTSA can levy per infraction is $17 million. Due to last year’s climate catastrophes, Toyota’s profit for its 2011-2012 fiscal year is expected to drop 42 percent from the year before, but this month the company ($2.5 billion U.S.) for operating profit. Having to pay government fines is never ideal, but Toyota’s total fine of $48.4 million, when compared to $2.5 billion, probably made the public stoning far more painful than writing that check.
Carmakers are said to be doing more, and doing it more quickly, when it comes to investigating and announcing recalls. Still, Strickland wants the maximum civil penalty raised by almost a factor of 15, to $250 million per infraction. The language to do so has been included in a transportation bill approved by the Senate, but a House version omits that provision. Republicans – and automakers – have no interest in seeing it added, but unless he’s just rattling the cage to keep the heat up, this probably won’t be Strickland’s last effort to get a bigger bat.
Back when Ally Financial was known as GMAC Financial, the U.S. Treasury gave it $17.2 billion in TARP funds to weather the global economic crisis. GMAC is now Ally Financial, and although it has repaid $5.4 billion of what it was loaned, there doesn’t seem to be a clear path for repaying the outstanding amount. Bloomberg reports that Ally’s mortgage unit, Residential Captial (ResCap), is teetering on the ledge of bankrupcty, and its banking operations didn’t perform well in the Federal Reserve’s stress tests that assess a bank’s health.
An IPO for the entire company faces dim prospects (one was ), so in a private equity ploy, the Treasury would like Ally to divvy itself up and sell the pieces to unlock value. Estimates are that the pieces could fetch $23.1 to $28.6 billion. The plan is supported by Elliott Management Corp, a shareholder that holds 2.3 percent of Ally stock. However, Ally’s CEO and its board don’t want to break the company up, and the Treasury – which holds 74 percent – doesn’t want to lean on the leadership too hard for fear of “appearing as a heavy-handed owner.”
In addition, the looming bankruptcy of ResCap will have an unknown effect on Ally’s ability to do anything. Before the mortgage implosion, GMAC’s auto unit was struggling and ResCap was restructured as a separate entity so that it wouldn’t be dragged down by the captive finance department. The situation is reversed now, with ResCap in trouble and the captive finance arm supporting itself, but Elliot feels that the restructuring won’t be enough to shield Ally from perhaps 18 months of litigation and billions in claims.
Ally execs feel differently, but no one will know until the trigger is pulled and the courts weigh in. With the Treasury reluctant to compel a move, it could be some time before it sees its $11.8 billion again.
The new Ford Transit cargo van promises improved fuel economy compared to the outgoing , in part because it will be powered by the . But that’s not the only mill that will be powering the Transit. Ford announced that the fresh take on cargo vans will also boast a diesel powerplant option when it makes it to production in 2013.
hasn’t yet delved into any specifics about the diesel powerplant, but The Blue Oval is confident that buyers will experience some serious fuel savings. The automaker says the choice of a turbo-six or an oil burner plus over 300 pounds in weight savings versus the Econoline should combine for 25 percent better fuel economy. That could lead to serious savings at the pump for the independent contractor and large fleets should save some major cash as well.
In fact, Ford is so confident that the new Kansas City-built Transit and its other products will deliver big fuel economy benefits that it’s developed a tool to show fleets just how much fuel and CO2 can be saved. The Vehicle Emissions and Fuel Cost Calculator utilizes a wide range of data like vehicle type and traffic conditions to evaluate overall fuel costs and carbon emissions. to read over the Ford press release.
Like , is keen to welcome visitors at its headquarters in Munich, and you don’t even have to buy a car to see it.
The Bavarian automaker’s principal visitors center is BMW Welt, a dynamic attraction that has welcomed some two million visitors every year since opening in 2007. BMW Welt (from the German for “world”) includes a delivery center where as many as 100 new customers pick up their new cars every day, as well as interactive exhibits showcasing the company’s operations in R&D, design and production, as well as concert venues and conference rooms and even a Junior Campus for younger guests.
Visitors to BMW Welt can also stop by the neighboring BMW Museum to check out the 120 original exhibits covering 90 years of BMW history laid out on a virtual roadway across 25 exhibition areas that some 400,000 visitors see each year. Finally, visitors can also tour the company’s main plant in Munich where BMW produces the sedan and wagon as well as the bulk of its engines.
Planning a trip to Germany sometime soon? to read more in the full press release and scope out the enormous gallery of high-res images for an idea of what to expect.
We got our at what the may look like thanks to a an artists rendering that appears to take some creative license. The teaser really only shows us that wasn’t kidding when it said it was taking the Avalon upscale, with a dramatic, sloping roof line that conjures thoughts of the .
The Avalon is only days from its world premiere on the big stage at the 2012 , but we have some spy shots that tell us even more. The photos show us what we already knew; that the artist rendering isn’t exactly representative of reality. But the pics also show that the sleek roof line and vastly reworked proportions are very real.
The Avalon prototype has enough protective cladding to give the Storm Chasers tank a run for its money, but we do see what looks like a very different front fascia, LED taillights and a pair of impressive chrome-tipped exhaust outlets. From the rear, we get a better sense of how the sedan will look, and it appears there may be some tape covering up the lines that would tell us if these prototypes are in fact hatchbacks.
Spy photos were also taken of the reworked interior, but the insides were also covered up beyond recognition. We are able to see an attractive leather steering wheel and completely reworked redundant controls. We can also see expensive-looking french stitching above the gauge cluster, as well as upscale gauges themselves.
Click on the gallery above to view the high-resolution spy photos of two different prototypes. Stay tuned to Autoblog for the official reveal pics of the 2014 Toyota Avalon.
Are you the parent of a teenager who hasn’t found enough reason to hate your ever-loving guts? Well then OnStar has a new product for you. Dubbed Family Link, the new service will tell you exactly where your OnStar-equipped vehicle is at any time. It will even send you emails or text messages at particular times of day with a location update. It’s OnStar’s first separately priced feature from its main suite of services, and at $3.99/month is an inexpensive way to invade the privacy of your loved ones while they’re driving the car you pay for.
At least, that’s how we imagine 16-year-old Tiffany will feel when she finds out her dad is paying the Eye of Sauron to keep its gaze fixed on her little .
OnStar, of course, paints a much more flattering picture of the service’s purpose. In their own words, it allows “subscribers to stay connected to their loved ones when driving an OnStar-equipped vehicle.” In fact, 4,500 subscribers have already tested the service in a pilot program ahead of its limited roll out next month. Family Link will be available to all OnStar subscribers in the U.S. by the end of the year.
Truth be told, we’re old enough now to look past Family Link’s inherent issues with privacy and see its value as a peace-of-mind bringer to parents and spouses alike. Knowing a loved one arrived safely or is where they’re supposed to be is worth having Tiffany hate your guts a little extra. She’ll understand one day, and until then: my house, my car, my rules. See the video and the press release .
It looks as if General Motors may be considering a version of the Buick Encore. L’Automobile Magazine managed to source a few patent drawings depicting the vehicle with a Chevrolet face. If our Google translator and murky comprehension of the French language are to be trusted, the images originated in the European patent office. All told, the model is likely to be a little more than a foot shorter than the current but still offer buyers the option of all-wheel drive.
So, is this vehicle headed to the U.S.? It’s entirely possible. While GM already has a platform heavy with crossover vehicles, the truth is the company could use a smaller model to compete with the likes of the , and .
Odds are the smaller Chevrolet CUV would be targeted at European and Asian markets, including China, though there’s a chance the vehicle could also show up as a Canadian-spec model. L’Automobile seems to also suggest the baby hatch could also play a role in the new partnership between Citroen and GM.
New Technology Aims To Take Your Hands Off The Steering Wheel
The biggest hurdles to autonomous cars will be legal, not technical.
Most car enthusiasts hate the idea of cars that can drive themselves. But autonomous cars will get here faster than most people realize. Slowly but surely, automobiles are doing more of our driving for us. It’s only a matter of time before they take over completely.
Just look at how much control we’ve already ceded to the computers under the hood. Anti-lock brakes, which are consistently better at threshold braking than mere mortals, are pretty much standard equipment. So are traction control and stability control. We now have blind spot detection, lane departure warning, active lane control, and even self-parking.
Now comes the next step. and recently demonstrated Traffic Jam Assist, which uses adaptive cruise control and automatic steering to completely take control of a car up to 60 kilometers an hour (about 37 mph). has racked up tens of thousands of miles on its fleet of fully autonomous hybrids on California roads. The technology will be showroom ready before the end of the decade.
The biggest hurdles will be legal, not technical. For example, who’s at fault when one of these cars gets in an accident? And how will the police pull over an autonomous car if they need to? But we’ll resolve those issues, and when we do, autonomous cars will have a bigger impact on society than when the first horseless carriages appeared over a century ago.
John McElroy is host of the TV program and daily web video . Every month he brings his unique insights as a Detroit insider to Autoblog readers.
Most gearheads know the is the European near-twin of the . There are obvious exterior differences, such as the Ampera’s “boomerang” headlights and Opel badging, but inside, the only noticeable difference is another Opel badge on the steering wheel.
Bradley Hasemeyer and the crew traveled to Germany to find out if the trans-Atlantic differences were more than skin deep. Surprisingly, he found one rather interesting revision.
In the U.S., Volts get three driver-selectable operating modes. We get Normal, Sport and Mountain modes. But German Amperas get a fourth mode: Halten mode. When cruising the Autobahn, drivers can restrict the use of the Ampera’s battery and run only on the small, fuel-efficient engine. Once back on surface streets, they can turn loose the battery and bask in bank-account-boosting, ridiculously good, low-cost electric motor cruising.
Why don’t we get Halten mode in the U.S.? Well, the obvious reason is probably that most Americans don’t speak German. Beyond that, though, Hasemeyer can only guess that government regulations might hold back implementation here. The again, maybe General Motors just likes Germans more.
If you hear the pejorative “chick car,” what comes to mind? ? ? Would you believe neither made Inside Line’s list of 2011 models with the highest percentage of female ownership? No. 1, with 57.9-percent female ownership was the . Considering the female dollar is sought-after, it’s probably too bad that Volvo decided to for 2012.
That means No. 2, the with 56.9 percent, could take the top spot for 2012. Or maybe the at No. 3 with 56.4 percent. We’re also kind of wondering how the new will fare this year.
No. 4 is another VW that shouldn’t surprise. The cute has been a perennial favorite among the ladies. It was No. 1 , but as we know, the newer, more aggressively styled Beetle is enjoying among the guys. No. 5? The , of all things.
Here’s how the rest shake out according to Inside Line:
Top ten 2011 models with the highest proportion of female buyers
It’s been six months since extensive flooding put a strangle hold on manufacturing in Thailand. Now, Reuters reports that has finally resumed production at its Ayutthaya plant. All told, the disaster is said to have cost the company the production of around 260,000 vehicles worldwide for the fiscal year that ended last month.
While a rash of parts suppliers and other manufacturers were forced to shut down during the flooding, Honda was arguably hit the worst. According to Reuters, and were able to adjust production to include suppliers from other countries, but Honda was stuck with a fully flooded facility.
The Ayutthaya plant builds the for the Asian and Australian markets. After the flood waters receded in October, Honda vowed not to use any parts or sell any vehicles damaged by the disaster. As a result, hundreds of otherwise new vehicles were sent to scrap. to see video of the cars awaiting their destruction.
has just released a teaser image of what it says is an all-new, designed-in-America sedan that will debut at the next week. It isn’t immediately clear if the vehicle will be a concept or production car, but Toyota has issued no showcar qualifiers, suggesting it’s something that will be in dealers soon. Described as having “an elegant yet athletic look,” the teased rear end most likely belongs to the next-generation full-size sedan.
While we can’t be sure until the wraps are removed in New York, the Avalon is our best guess based on who were shown it last year in June. The dealers drew comparisons between the redesigned Avalon and upscale cars like the and , suggesting it will transition from a traditional sedan to a four-door coupe shape. The teaser image provided today by Toyota supports this, showing a severely sloped C-pillar and little-to-no rear deck. And while the cut lines for the trunk aren’t visible in this rendering, we wouldn’t be surprised if that’s a hatch.
Toyota’s new sedan, whatever it is, will makes its worldwide debut on April 5 at the New York Auto Show. We’ll be there covering it live, so keep your computer tuned to Autoblog for more.
John McElroy is host of the TV program and daily web video . Every month he brings his unique insights as a Detroit insider to Autoblog readers.
