Three decade driver loses badge support.

Blueblood Dick Johnson was tossed on the tip yesterday by Ford.

After more than 30 years as a blue oval battler, often fighting single-handed against a horde of Holdens, he was left behind in a dash for cash.

Craig Lowndes will also be caught in the crossfire from a decision by Ford to centralise its cash commitment with just two V8 Supercar teams, Ford Performance Racing and Stone Brothers Racing.

Lowndes’ team, Triple Eight, was dumped by management at Broadmeadows in a money move which also affects former Bathurst winner Jason Bright’s team. The decision is likely to save Ford around $3 million, a significant sum as it battles falling sales of its flagship Falcon.

“This is a weird one,” a stunned Johnson said yesterday.

“It’s a bit disappointing. We always knew things were up for negotiation, but . . .

“I’m 63 but right now I feel more like 190. It’s already been a tough year.”

Roland Dane, the head of Triple Eight, was also not happy.

“I’m surprised, given our record,” Dane said.

“Team Vodafone has won 16 rounds of the V8 championship in the past three years. FPR has won four, Stones have won two and Dickie Johnson’s team has won one. We’ve also won four of the six enduros in that time, including two Bathursts.

“Ford have clearly got some issues they have to deal with. I wish all the employees at Ford all the best, because the company has obviously got a few challenges at the moment.”

The Ford cutback comes as the company looks for more bang from its V8 Supercar buck, although it says motorsport its still its single biggest sporting spend and well ahead of cricket. It has only just completed its all-new FG Falcon racer, which is set to race from the start of the 2009 season.

Full details of Ford’s future will not be revealed for some time, with FPR believed to be working on a three-car program for next year with James Courtney moving from Stone Brothers to take the extra wheel. But FPR and SBR will form a technical liaison, with the Melbourne team building cars and the Queensland outfit responsible for engines.

The impact is likely to be extensive and could even shake the foundations of V8 Supercar racing, as Holden has also scaled-back its involvement in recent years and new company chief Mark Reuss has recently said he would be happy to see another carmaker in the contest.

“I think it’s probably time to move on from the whole Ford-Holden thing, because it turns off as many people as it turns on. We’ll crack on with life. I work on the basis that there is no point in getting too steamed up if there is no money to be earned or it doesn’t make us go faster.”

Johnson joked that he might even end up driving a Toyota, although his lifetime commitment to Ford is unlikely to change.

“We’ll see where it goes from here. I need a bit of time to think about things. I see no reason to stop being a Ford person.”

“We’re pleased to see that Ford continues to support the sport. How they spend their money is entirely up to them,” is all the CEO of V8 Supercars, Wayne Cattach, said.

Johnson actually began his racing career in Holdens, but had his first start in a Falcon in 1975.

Since then he has raced American Mustangs and British Sierras, and even a production-class Laser, before returning to Falcons in the V8 Supercar era. He also rallies in an Escort.

His ties to the company came in 1980, after he hit a rock while leading at Bathurst and Edsel Ford - then the marketing chief at Ford Australia - offered to a dollar-for-dollar deal to match donations from his fans.

“It went from there. I guess the biggest win for me was getting the first championship in 1981,” Johnson said.

“And Bathurst in the Sierra days was pretty good, before the Bathurst wins in the early 1990s.”

Johnson’s team has been hit hard by money troubles in recent years, with the laconic Queenslander losing more than $2 million of his personal fortune in keeping the operation running. He is now facing a bankruptcy proceeding, although a re-structure and a new partner has kept his team on the track.

Youngster Will Davison even gave Johnson a much-needed win at Eastern Creek in Sydney this year.

“We looked like we were back on track. Now this,” Johnson said.

“It’s not quite seven figures that we’re losing, but Ford was a significant part of our budget because we haven’t had much to work with.”

Dane was less worried about the cash, as his Vodafone deal is the biggest in the V8 Supercar pitlane.

“Ford’s contribution to our budget is not that great. So I’m not particuarly concerned from a commercial standpoint,” he said.

But he is now re-assessing the future of his team, which was founded in the UK and won last year’s British championship, and admits he has been talking to other carmakers.

“Who knows what is going to happen in future? I’ve only ever spoken to other manufacturers, and it’s plural, in the context of understanding their long-term marketing plans in Australia.

“Only a fool would rule out another brand. Never say never.”

V8 SUPERCAR RETHINK

The rising cost of racing and falling returns from Falcon sales have forced Ford’s re-think on its V8 Supercar program.

“The days of winning on Sunday and selling on Monday are well and truly gone,” the vice-president of sales and marketing at Ford Australia, Mark Winslow, told the Herald Sun yesterday.

“And the costs of this sport are getting larger and larger.”

He admitted Ford has cut its Supercar spending but defended the move by saying the company’s overall sponsorship budget was unchanged and V8 racers still got the biggest slice.

“It’s reduced from what it was, but it’s still our largest sponsorship,” Winslow said.

His new strategy is to maximise the Ford force in the sport, both in results and in cars which look more like blue-oval road cars than high-speed billboards for other brands.

“We’ve been very successful but now the time has come to focus and leverage our brand. From our point of view, this will give us the best chance for success,” he said.

“Up to now we haven’t got our true-blue brand out there, which is a problem for us. We want them to look like a Ford car.”

Winslow backs the decision to focus Ford’s spending on FPV and SBR, despite the company’s history with Dick Johnson and the racetrack success of Team Vodafone.

“They have both got the depth. We think it’s a good strategy to go forward.

“How you define success isn’t just about what step you take on the podium. You also have to leverage every dollar you invest.

“Triple Eight is stellar. Clearly Vodafone are a strong sponsor . . . but they are predominantly red and we are blue.”

Winslow also denied the cutback was the start of a withdrawal from V8 Supercar racing or the company’s other motorsport spending in Formula Ford.

“I’ve always said V8 racing is valuable to the brand. We just need to make an investment and get a return on that investment.”

- Herald Sun

Here’s the world’s first look at BMW’s fifth-generation 7 Series sedan/limo, which is due here next year.

These images, released this morning in Europe, reveal a less confronting design than the previous model. That edition of the 7 Series was the first to bear the mark of style-meister Chris Bangle, whose design gambits appear to be present mainly about the car’s rear. The latest generation appears to have acquired a more streamlined shape, if not quite so “sporty” as some pundits had forecast.

This is crucial in reducing drag _ a central tenet in BMW’s much-touted efficient dynamics philosophy, which in the past decade has seen the German marque reduce emissions and fuel consumption by up to 20 per cent across its passenger vehicle line-up.

Most important is the latest range of engines, of which the bi-turbo 4.4-litre V8 is the star with its 300kW and 600Nm.

Yet for all its output, BMW claim consumption in combined conditions of 11.4litres of premium unleaded petrol per 100km and emission of 266 grams of CO2 per kilometre _ figures that compare favourably with locally-produced six-cylinder family cars and make an Aussie bent eight seem Jurassic.

The sedan version of the 7 Series accelerates from 0-100km/h in a claimed 5.2 seconds and the bigger limo wouldn’t be far behind.

The other engine available from launch is an enhanced version of the award-winning bi-turbo 3.0-litre inline six, boosted to 240kW and 450Nm. This engine moves the 740i from 0-100km/h in 5.9 seconds, uses 9.9L/100km on the European combined cycle while emitting 232g/km of CO2.

All engines are Euro V compliant - appreciably greener than any Australian government requirements. The others in the 7 Series are designated 740i and 750i, with the 140mm longer wheelbase versions called 740Li and 750Li.

All models have a six-speed automatic transmission with an electronic gear selector and power going through the rear wheels. Lately BMW’s steering, with and without active steering, has been criticised. The integral active steering system makes its debut as an option on the hydraulic rack-and-pinion set-up of the 7 Series.

BMW says that this applies active steering on the front axle and speed-related rear-wheel steering. Dynamic damping control and dynamic driving control are standard. The dampers, gearshift dynamics, as well as the throttle and steering assistance map, are varied by the dynamic driving control button on the centre console. This offers comfort, normal and sports settings. A special traction mode and sports+ setting with reduced or deactivated DSC control is available for owners and chaffeurs who fancy pushing on a bit.

The 7 Series is the most driver orientated car in its class and the newcomer is likely to continue in this vein, despite the continued handicap of run-flat tyres. Against the harsh riding boots there is an updated air suspension system.

BMW makes much of the weight-saving measures. The roof, doors, bonnet and side panels are made of aluminium, while aluminium pressure-cast suspension supports at the front, and a final drive with an aluminium housing, work towards keeping overall weight as low as possible. The engines are also aluminium.

The Bavarians have persisted with the iDrive multimedia system, known even to the more polite critics as “bloody iDrive”. The mildly revised system is here given a larger display with high-resolution graphics and a better menu structure. Like more recent Bimmers it gets direct selection buttons.

The latest 7 Series makes its international debut later this year and arrives locally in 2009. Further pricing, specification and information for Australia will follow closer to launch, although prices should start from about $185,000.

- The Daily Telegraph

Hard as it may be to believe, the existing stock of Ferrari road cars just isn’t enough for some. For those discerning (and exceedingly wealthy) customers, a unique Prancing Horse of their own is the only thing that will satisfy their need for automotive individuality. Far be it for us to complain, because their investment leads to eye candy, like Jim Glickenhaus’ Enzo-based P4/5. Until now, such customers have had to turn to custom coachbuilders like Pininfarina and Carrozzeria Touring for such exclusivity, but reports now suggest that Ferrari will offer such extensive customization directly from the factory.

Show up at Maranello with 2 million euros in hand and an idea in mind, and Ferrari will cook you up your very own sportscar based on one of its existing chassis and powertrains. The only limit which Ferrari will reportedly impose is no SUVs, sedans or wagons (unless your first name is Sultan, of course), but we have a feeling they won’t just slap their vaunted Prancing Horse emblem on any tail-finned, taupe-colored abomination you can cook up. We are, however, looking forward to finding out.

[Source: eurocarblog]

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Gordon Murray Design T25 (2012) first pictures

By
Ben Oliver

First official green pictures

04 July 2008 11:40

These are the first pictures of the radical new T25 city car from legendary McLaren F1 designer Gordon Murray.

The gift-wrapped full-sized model was unveiled last night at an event to mark the first anniversary of Gordon Murray Design, the Surrey-based outfit creating the car.

‘This is the biggest revolution in motoring since the Model T,’ says Murray. ‘It is a complete rethink of the way we make and use cars.’

Until now the T25 project has been shrouded in extreme secrecy. Murray won’t manufacture the car himself but plans to licence the design to a large company able to put it into production around the world by 2012 at the latest. Keeping it secret is therefore a top priority.

But some details have now started to emerge. In four-seat MPV form the T25 will be just 2.4m long and 1.3m wide, including cleverly integrated wing mirrors. It will weigh just 550kg and is designed around a 51bhp 3-cylinder petrol engine, giving 93bhp per tonne, as much as a conventional 2.0-litre saloon and with equivalent performance.

It will return 81mpg and emit just 78g/km of CO2. Its flexible design means the T25 will also accept alternatives powertrains such as fuel cells. Its lifetime CO2 emissions will be 40 percent less than an average car and emit one tonne less CO2 each year.

Click ‘Next’ below to find out more about the Gordon Murray Design T25

Citroen MPV CAR spy video

By
Tim Pollard

Video

04 July 2008 09:53

Fancy watching a Citroen MPV oversteer? Check out our spy video below where you’ll see French engineers cold weather testing the new C3 MPV and getting it sideways.

Don’t forget, if you’ve got any videos you’d like to share with the world you can publish them directly onto this website. (If you’re having problems viewing this video you may need to update to the latest version which you can do free here.)