Audi’s RS6 wagon is an absolute blast to drive, but you can’t help wondering whether 426kW is a little excessive for a family wagon, especially in these times of global warming and melting polar ice caps.

Audi says there is still a place for low volume, niche sports cars like the RS range - and that their customers demand it. They also point out that the average RS6 buyer usually has more than one car and that they don’t use it as a daily commuter. In other words, they drive very few kilometres, so their carbon footprint is no worse than an A4 that drives 25,000km a year.

But even Audi admits that future sports cars are likely to pursue the same power output through smaller, more efficient engines. The company recently released a supercharged V6 that produces V8 power while producing emissions you’d expect from a six-cylinder.

The company’s head of vehicle physics, Peter Gebhard, told Drive that the push towards smaller capacity turbocharged and supercharged engines was inevitable.

He gave this comparison as proof the company was serious about reducing
emissions while keeping the fun factor in motoring: the 2.8-litre V6 in the previous generation A4 produced 144kW and 280Nm of torque, while using 9.4 litres per 100km and emitting 223 grams of CO2 per km.

The current A4’s 2.0-litre TFSI engine produces 155kW and 350Nm of torque, while using 6.6 litres of fuel and emitting just 154g/km of CO2. In other words the new engine is smaller and more fuel efficient, but more driveable, with a lot more torque, or pulling power, at low revs.

Is this the way forward, or is there no substitute for cubic capacity? And are people willing to pay the same or more for a V6 than they are for a V8?

And, finally, do you think Audi is guilty of double standards, or is it simply a company trying to balance its customers’ demands for more power with the need to protect the environment.

Richard Blackburn

Casey Stoner wins the German MotoGP.

Australia’s world champion Casey Stoner won the German MotoGP at wthe weekend to give Ducati its first win in the race and Australian riders their 100th in the top category.

Stoner, winning his third successive race, beat home five-time champion Valentino Rossi of Italy, on a Yamaha, while Stoner’s compatriot Chris Vermeulen was third on a Suzuki.

Rossi took the overall lead ahead of Spaniard Dani Pedrosa, who dramatically crashed out with 26 laps remaining when he was holding a commanding advantage.

“I have been feeling sick since Saturday morning and my concentration levels were low,” Stoner said.

“I was losing it in all different places. We were lucky to come out of this with the victory.”

Rossi, too, was delighted with the result as it saw him move 16 points ahead of Pedrosa — 187 to 171 while Stoner is third on 167.

“I am very excited about the result as it has seen me take back the overall lead,” the extrovert Italian said. “I eventually got up to a great pace and very close to Casey. These 20 points are very important.”

Pedrosa got a great start in the wet conditions which saw Stoner fail to take advantage of his pole position and drop to third after the first lap as nearly 100,000 spectators literally soaked up the atmosphere.

The Spaniard — whose compatriot Jorge Lorenzo had become the first casualty of the race on the third lap — had built up an enormous lead of over five seconds over Stoner, who had moved into second place, by the third lap.

However, his storming start came to an abrupt end with 26 laps remaining as he came off the bike and slid into a safety barrier leaving Stoner in front with Rossi hot on his tail while Vermeulen climbed into third.

- The Australian

Lotus shows first photo of new car.

The Proton-owned company will officially unveil and name the mid-engined 2+2 coupe — the first all-new car from Lotus since the Elise in 1995 – at the British Motorshow on July 22.

The car will be powered by a Toyota 3.5-litre V6 with dual VVT-i (‘intelligent’

variable valve timing) developing 206kW, sitting on a lightweight chassis Lotus says aimed at ensuring “visceral all-round dynamic performance”.

Lotus ride and handling engineers claim that it is faster around the Nürburgring than the Elise and more stable at speed than the Exige.

The prototype is said to have a maximum speed of 257km/h and to hit 100km/h in less than five seconds.

The Project Eagle production car will be also be available as a two-seater, with the rear seat of the 2+2 given over to luggage space. Lotus says other versions are being planned, including a convertible and hi-po version.

The car’s interior features leather upholstery, and high-tech flush-mounted controls with glowing blue LED haloes.

Just 2000 cars will be built per year, with deliveries starting in 2009.

Penned in-house by Lotus Design boss Russell Carr, Project Eagle is the first of three new models on the Lotus drawing board, aimed at revitalising the company.

In the press blurb, Carr points to the dramatically sculpted lines of the car, cab-forward proportion, muscled haunches and gaping air intakes as cues that highlight its “serious” sportscar intent.

The fit-out includes sport seats, flat-bottomed steering wheel and touchscreen multimedia system with a removable hard-drive for the satnav function. The Alpine audio set-up sound enhancement technology to cancel acoustic imbalances caused by different areas of the cabin.

Lotus swears the boot will take a set of golf clubs, and both back seats feature child seat mounting points to strap the kiddies in tight while you’re exploring the handling boundaries.

- Carsguide

Green performance cars are the new darlings of today’s small crop of boutique auto builders. From the Tesla Roadster to the Fisker Karma, and now, the new Ultimate Aero EV. The easiest way for the little guys to attract big attention is to make attractive, high performance cars with green credentials. So, it’s with a grain of salt that we bring you news of the aforementioned electric hyper coupe from Shelby SuperCars. Considering that the supercar manufacturer claims that its battery will not require a charge “for six years” (should we proclaim them early favorites for McCain’s battery prize?), powering dual, five-hundred horsepower electric motors, the whole thing sounds more than a bit fishy. It deserves noting that the battery technology doesn’t exist to support those claims and, while five-hundred horsies can indeed be extracted from an electric motor, that would have to be one big honkin’ motor… and they plan on using two in their EV. Guiness World Record for the fastest car? Check. Really big EV aspirations? Double Check. And now, it’s time for a reality check.

[Source: Shelby SuperCars]

GM to cut salaried staff, dividend, retiree health care

The Detroit News

DETROIT — General Motors Corp. Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner outlined a new round of cost-cutting measures today, including white-collar job reductions and a suspension of the dividend, to bolster the automaker’s cash position this year and next.

At a news conference at GM’s Detroit headquarters, Wagoner, flanked by his top executives, said the new plan reflects an unexpectedly rapid deterioration in U.S. auto sales and assumes that the market will remain weak in 2009.

“Today’s actions, combined with those of the past several years, position us not only to survive this tough period in the U.S., but to come out of it as a lean, strong and successful company,” Wagoner said.

GM’s stock, which has stumbled to historic lows in recent weeks, was up 7 percent at $10.05 at 1:15 EDT as the announcement quelled concerns about a liquidity crunch or possible bankruptcy at the largest U.S. automaker.

The latest cost-cutting plan affects the automaker’s investors, salaried and hourly workers, and senior executives who lose their cash bonuses this year.

GM cautioned that it would report a “significant” second-quarter loss, on top of a $3.3 billion first-quarter loss, due to the market’s weakness and the impact of the American Axle and other strikes.

The main elements of the plan are:

• A 20 percent reduction in salaried worker costs through a variety of means including normal attrition, early retirement and voluntary separation programs. GM’s salaried workforce has declined by about 12,000 to 32,000 since 2000, when Wagoner became CEO.

“The vast majority of actions will come without involuntary layoffs,” said Wagoner. He said he expected an early retirement offer to be successful because such packages haven’t been extended to white collar workers for the past several years.

• Cutting health-care coverage effective Jan. 1, 2009 for Medicare-eligible salaried retirees, partially offset by increased pension payments.

• No pay raises for salaried workers through the end of 2009.

• No discretionary bonuses for executives.

• Reducing truck capacity and related component capacity. GM expects to cut 300,000 units by the end of 2009, about half by already announced actions and half by new steps, Wagoner said. Last month, GM said it would cut 170,000 trucks from its production plan later this year.

• Cutting and consolidating sales and marketing budgets, including motorsports activity.

• Holding engineering spending to 2006-07 levels through the end of 2009.

• Reducing capital spending.

• Suspending the dividend on common stock, to save $800 million through 2009.

Wagoner also said GM would defer until 2010 its payments to the UAW-run health-care trust agreed upon in last fall’s contract negotiations, saving $1.7 billion.

“These measures will provide us with ample liquidity,” Wagoner said. He called the acts difficult but said, “We need to take them as part of our plan to keep GM on track.”

The company also wants to raise $4 billion to $7 billion through asset sales and financing using some $20 billion in assets as collateral. Examples of the assets include foreign subsidiaries, brands, a stake in its financing arm GMAC or real estate, Wagoner said. GM already has said it’s reviewing a possible sale of its Hummer brand.

Wagoner mentioned several future products including a sport wagon and coupe version of the popular Cadillac CTS sedan; a new Buick sedan designed in China to be sold in the U.S. and a new Saab crossover.

GM’s board of directors met Monday to approve the plan, which executives took weeks to prepare. The directors also reaffirmed support for the management team led by Wagoner and its newest turnaround plan.

The plan seeks to address concerns that have sent GM’s stock to historic lows, such as the rate at which the company is burning through cash and concerns that its production plans are not adapted to the swift and radical changes taking place in the U.S. auto market.

“The hysteria began to build over the last couple of weeks across the whole industry,” said David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor.

GM’s stock fell 5.4 percent Monday to finish at $9.38 a share, its lowest close in more than 50 years.

The automaker’s sales have fallen 16.3 percent in the first half of the year, more than the auto market as a whole, and analysts say the automaker could face a liquidity crunch as early as next year.

Wagoner and other GM executives are holding a public press conference right now; come back to www.detnews.com for continuing coverage.