Spyker Cars NV said chief business development officer and management board member Richard Borsboom will resign effective June 1. Spyker declined to provide a reason for his resignation and did not say when or if a replacement will be named.
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Photographs of the new Vauxhall/Opel Insignia have leaked all over the internet - days before the official embargo. These pictures of the Vectra replacement reveal a sleek family car clearly inspired by the GTC concept car (pictured bottom row, middle and right).
It’s telling that GM has scrapped the Vectra badge. The new Insignia name is supposed to herald a new era in the brands’ family car aspirations; where you’d never lust after a Vectra, Vauxhall and Opel are hoping that the sleeker new Insignia will appeal on looks alone as well as price. How much will the Insignia cost? That’s still a secret, but don’t expect much change from today’s £16k starting point.
Vauxhall Insignia: at a glance
Other headline news expected on the Insignia includes:
• Three bodystyles (saloon pictured, plus hatch and estate)
• Based on Epsilon 2 architecture (front- and four-wheel drive)
• Bigger all round than today’s Vectra
• World debut at the London motor show in July 2008
• New design language (eg blade running along car’s flanks)
• Radical cabin overhaul (neater switchgear, exterior blade reflected in door grab handles)
We’ll have the full details on Friday 18 April 2008, but for now we’ll have to admire these official hand-out shots, leaked originally by a Dutch magazine website. It’s yet another example of how difficult it is for manufacturers to hold worldwide embargos on their new product unveilings.
Have embargos had their day? Should manufacturers try and manage the news agenda by insisting that websites and magazines publish first official pictures on particular days? Have your say by clicking ‘Add comment’ below
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A very emotional Danica Patrick was greeted by family, team members and teammates as she exited her car in Victory Lane on Saturday night. After 49 career Indy Racing League starts, Patrick earned her first win, in the Indy Japan 300 at the 1.5-mile Twin Ring Motegi oval. Helio Castroneves finished second and Scott Dixon was third.
Patrick, 26, inherited the lead on the 198th lap of the 200-circuit race when the leaders pitted for fuel. She finished 5.8594 seconds ahead of pole-sitter Castroneves.
“It’s a long time coming. Finally,” Patrick told The Associated Press. “It was a fuel strategy race, but my team called it perfectly for me. I knew I was on the same strategy as Helio and when I passed him for the lead, I couldn’t believe it. This is fabulous.”
A replay of the race will be shown Sunday at 10 a.m. on ESPN2.
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You know what? I didnât even notice that rear glass hatches had seemed to disappear until recently, when one showed up on my Toyota Highlander test vehicle. Again this week, I found one on the 2009 Honda Pilot. I didnât realize Iâd missed it until I started using it again, and remembered how handy it can be.
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After reading Patrick Callahan’s post over at The Real JDM about bringing uniqueness to the world of “JDM” tuning, I couldn’t help but think of one of my favorite underdog platforms, the HP10 Nissan Primera/Infiniti G20.
Originally imported to the United States in the early 90’s as an entry level sport sedan to compete with the BMW 3 series, the car’s front wheel drive layout, compact car roots and lack of engine choices kept the car from being a mainstream success. The G20 was eventually replaced by the massively successful, Skyline-based Infiniti G35.
While the car never really caught on with luxury car buyers, it offers a lot of potential as a project car. Even in stock form, the car offers a decent driving experience with its tight suspension and naturally aspirated version of Nissan’s famous SR20 engine. The car also has its motorsport credentials as it appeared in both the British and Japanese touring car championship series under the Nissan Primera nameplate.
I like the car because it offers the look and feel of a compact European sedan while retaining Japanese simplicity. When it comes to power, there are a number of options available, both naturally aspirated and turbocharged.
When going the turbo route there are many shared components with the famous Nissan Pulsar GTI-R and its individual throttle body-fed SR20DET.
The naturally aspirated route also offers a lot of potential. The car is perfect candidate for Nissan’s later model variable valve timing equipped VE-series SR engines. The VE motors are easily capable of 200hp with little modification.
Here are a few examples of tuned Primera’s in Japan-
The car was even popular enough to get its own Hyper Rev book.
Used G20’s can be found now for well under 2 grand now, making them a perfect start for a low buck, yet unique project.
Anyone other Primera fans out there?
The Real JDM - Dare to be Different
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By Robert Farago
April 17, 2008 - 1,995 Views
While it seems perfectly natural to assume that clicks on cars reveal trends down at the showroom, I’m not entirely convinced. For example, Autoblog’s post on GayWheels top ten researched vehicles would have you believe that a large number of Dodge Caliber buyers are that way inclined. So when the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) put out a press release claiming “interest in motorcycles increases as commuters seek two-wheel alternatives” based on their website’s traffic, I was interested to see if they mentioned any “real world” impact. To their credit, they did, right from the git-go. “Motorcycle buying interest at NADAguides.com increased 48 percent in March 2008 compared to March 2007, even though sales of motorcycles were down over seven percent at the end of 2007, with NADAguides.com estimating sluggish sales so far this year.” And yet, motorcycle ed Lenny Sims is ready to climb out on that limb. “We believe the current state of the economy, coupled with recent summer fuel price predictions, has caused consumer mindset about motorcycles to shift. In our opinion, motorcycles have become attractive options as primary vehicles for daily drivers — due to their fuel efficiency — and are no longer considered just a luxury, ’secondary-vehicle’ purchase.” Your take?
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High insurance / death rates do not outweigh rising fuel costs, at least for me.
They may be viable in the southwest where it rarely rains and never snows, but up here in the north motorcycles will largely remain recreational vehicles.
Mmmm, high death rates.
My next car will definitely be a motorcycle.
Sorry Dad!
If large cities pass laws to allow motorcycles to drive between cars at red lights to get ahead of the pack you’ll see a bigger swing.
You guys are unbelievable.
High insurance is fixed by buying something smaller than 1000cc’s. If you’re new to riding, you might not want one of those anyway. A nice Kawasaki KLR650 (perfect for commuting!) would run you all of about $10/mo.
Death rates. Yeah, well. How do you argue that. It’s a vehicle with no protection other than it’s rider’s “sixth sense”.
Here in CA (yes, I know, I know, but it’s Northern CA) real motorcyclists ride rain or shine. I’ve done many commutes in the rain, have a suit just for that, and often see other motorcyclists. I will grant you that snow is another issue altogether–one that we don’t face here.
Oh, and yes- lane sharing is legal here in CA. Even at stoplights.
As a motorcyclist, I’ve seen this debated on cycle-centric forums before. Unless you buy a beater bike for next to nothing, or get rid of/de-insure your car altogether, the economics usually do not support the use of a motorcycle to save money.
Do it for love, baby!
detroit1701 nailed it. The only thing I would add is that motorcycles are not practical as daily drivers in northern climates. You have to be real hardcore to drive a motorcycle between October and May here in Ontario.
The majority of motorcycle sales in North America are big bore cruisers which are primarily used as recreational “toys” in most instances.
Scooter sales seem to have peaked, especially that in many areas a 50cc scooter does not have enough speed to stay with the flow of traffic.
Sport bikes are challenging to insure for many people.
Will motorcycles cross from recreational to transportation? People that ride bikes are aware that many motorists have little to no respect for the individual on a bike. Which raises the element of danger in a transportation application.
I have had a bike since the age of 10. Would never even consider using one on the road. Too many variables (by which I mean idiots) beyond my control. Every incident is a potential catastrophe.
It’s tempting though. Lane splitting, gliding effortlessly through city traffic, squirting away at stoplights, slashing commute times, and so forth.
But again, with Mary Clearasil talking on her cell about her evening out, or Joe sixpack living up to his name, it’s only a matter of time before all of the time saved is spent in a hospital bed, or a special line at the airport where all of your metal screws single you out for special attention.
I really tried to convert to a motorcycle. However, it becomes are real pain to don the armored riding suit (an absolute necessity when you commute) every freakin time you need to go somewhere, and there is the nagging paranoia all day long that someone is messing with your bike when it is parked and you’re away. I finally gave up riding when I started saying after every ride, “Thank god I didn’t wreck this time.” No thanks.
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KatiePuckrik had me all a dither yesterday. The TTAC commentator sent an email asserting that “I like TTAC, I really do, but I think it’s starting to lose its way.” God I hope not. Sure, we may have lost a bit of edge here and there. Maintaining our current output AND editorial quality is a daily make that hourly challenge. But it’s kind of hard to “lose your way” when the name of your website is The Truth About Cars. I never have to wonder, hmmm, what should we cover today? And whenever we write about something– from a story about the auto industry to a used car review– there’s never any doubt how to play it. We stick our tongue in our cheek, speak from the heart, call it like we see it and let the chips fall where they may. The Truth About Cars is who we are AND what we do. In addition, I promise you this: we will never take ourselves too seriously or take your concerns lightly. If you’ve got a beef with us, follow Katie’s lead and let us know. Your vigilance and passion makes us stronger, and there is always room for improvement.
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“We are satisfied with the judge’s decision,” Ford spokeswoman Kristen Kinley told Reuters. “We feel that although the case is without merit and we proved that in court, we also believe the settlement is right for our customers.” Well duh. Some 800k Ford owners and lessees file a class-action lawsuit against the Blue Oval Boyz for lost value– due to the whole Firestone/Explorer rollover deal– and FoMoCo gives them a discount towards the purchase of a new Ford. We’re talking certificates good for $500 off a new Explorer, or $300 off any other Ford, Mercury or Lincoln product. Oh, and the plaintiffs’ lawyers get $25m. Hang on. Say half of those people buy a new Ford. Excluding Ford’s own legal fees (which are probably part of their normal overhead) and the discount itself (as usual), the marketing cost for those “disgruntled customers’” sales will cost Ford just $62.50 each. Given the money to be made on trade-ins and re-financing… Call me crazy, but this class action lawsuit thing sounds a genuine business opportunity. [props to KatiePuckrik for the link]
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An internet website called Autoblog is reporting (through the hilarious power of Google translate) that Chinese battery firm BYD will unveil a plug-in EV minivan next week. The e6 strikes the Autoblog crew as reminiscent of a J-Market Honda Odyssey. On the whole, you have to admit the comparison reflects pretty well on a company that was building cell phone batteries not so long ago. But enough of my gushing, on to the stats: 186 mile range on full charge (220V), 0-62 in 10 seconds, and a top speed of 99 mph. Details on the recharging process are “dodgy,” as Autoblog calls the translated hilarity. “The battery slowly filling civilian 220 V power supply; fast charge for the three C rechargeable battery, about 15 minutes can be a battery 80%,” is the official word. But don’t worry, the safety is fine. “The car carrying iron batteries at high temperatures, high pressure, impact tests testing, safety performance is very good, will not be explosions.” Autoblog gives BYD the benefit of the considerable doubt, by assuming these “iron batteries” which “will not be explosions” are, in fact, lithium ion batteries. Why don’t we all just wait until it gets an official launch in Beijing next week? After all, “e6 will be one or two years before the formal launch…”
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GM Canada is going on the offensive re: its contract negotiations with the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union this September. They’ve released a “background paper” claiming the total cost (wages, pensions, benefits, etc.) for one hour’s work in Canada runs the automaker $77.75. Instead of comparing those wages to other industries in Canada or “core” U.S. GM workers’ ($70/hour), the paper uses the U.S. transplants for comparison ($47.50/hour). Report on Business quotes GM Canada spokesman Stew Low: “The status quo just won’t do.” CAW president Buzz Hargrove responded with righteous indignation. “I’ve told Rick Wagoner, I’ve told the head people at Ford and Chrysler - all of them - that there’s absolutely no way in hell [we’ll agree to reductions in wages, health care benefits or pensions].” The CAW says it’s willing to “look at” the amount of paid time off they get. GM claims CAW employees get 155 more hours per year off and 16 minutes break time a day than… the transplants. Fair enough?
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