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Pininfarina to stop contract assembly business

January 1, 2009 at 1:41 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News

Pininfarina B0

Pininfarina will stop doing contract manufacturing for automakers after its current manufacturing contracts expire in end-2011. It currently builds the Alfa Romeo Brera and the Ford Focus coupe-cabriolet, but volumes have been only about 25% of what was originally planned. It doesn’t mean Pininfarina will be shutting down its production lines though, as they will be used for its Pininfarina B0 electric car (pronounced B-Zero, image shown above), set to go into pilot production in 2010. The Pininfarina B0 is a joint development together with French comapny Bollore.

Everything seems to be going downhill for the Italian company ever since its chairman and CEO Andrea Pininfarina died in a scooter crash sometime last year. The Pininfarina family will no longer be in control this year, as 50.6% of its shares will be transferred to the banks that the company owes money to in exchange for writing off 180 million Euros of the total 597.7 million Euros that the company owes to the banks. The Pininfarina family shares in the company that bears their name will total to only about 4.5% after the share transfer. The banks will be the new controlling shareholder, however they will not ask for any board seats or management changes.
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Man to be charged for speeding 200km/h in a 60km/h zone, thanks to YouTube evidence!

January 1, 2009 at 11:23 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Bikes, Videos

Kawasaki Z750

Be very very careful what you upload onto YouTube! A random search on the popular video sharing site will easily reveal many “topspeed” tests recorded by amateur videographers, to show off or perhaps just as footage proof that said vehicles are truly capable of such speeds. But beware, if the road you’re on isn’t one without speed limits such as the Autobahn, you could be making it really easy for the law enforcement to track you down, as the video itself is evidence of sorts!

One YouTube user learned this the hard way. User jmm006, or Joel as his profile indicates, recorded videos of himself riding his Kawasaki Z750 through the streets of Canberra, specifically in a zone that had a 60km/h speed limit.

The coppers traced his YouTube account to his home and paid a visit with a search warrant. Among items seized were footage, a camcorder, a laptop and a hard drive. 20-year old Joel will face the court in a future date.

“We take these offences seriously. As a result of some good work from officers in traffic operations, this investigation was quickly concluded and it should send a message to anyone who seeks to glorify actions that place the lives of innocent people in danger, that they will not be tolerated,” said Superintendent Mark Colbran.

If you want to watch the incriminating videos, check them out after the jump.
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B7 A4-based SEAT Exeo gets priced in the UK

January 1, 2009 at 9:38 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, SEAT

SEAT Exeo

Volkswagen Group automaker SEAT has put a price on its new SEAT Exeo sedan in the UK, which will come in 7 variants with 3 engines, two diesels and one petrol. The entire range is turbocharged, with the 2.0 litre TDI diesel coming in 2 power outputs – 143 PS and 170 PS. The sole petrol engine is the nice 2.0 litre TSI engine with 200 PS.

The Exeo starts at £17,740.00 OTR including VAT and other misc charges for the SEAT Exeo S 2.0 TDI model, all the way up to £21,340.00 OTR for the SE Lux 2.0 TDI model with 170 PS of power. The only variant with the 2.0 TSI engine is the SEAT Exeo Sport 2.0 TSI priced at £19,410.00. All models are equipped with a 6-speed manual.

  • SEAT Exeo S 2.0 TDI 143 PS – £17,740.00
  • SEAT Exeo SE 2.0 TDI 143 PS – £18,345.00
  • SEAT Exeo Sport 2.0 TDI 143 PS – £19,230.00
  • SEAT Exeo SE Lux 2.0 TDI 143 PS – £20,410.00
  • SEAT Exeo Sport 2.0 TDI 170 PS – £20,160.00
  • SEAT Exeo SE Lux 2.0 TDI 170 PS – £21,340.00
  • SEAT Exeo Sport 2.0 TSI 200 PS – £19,410.00

SEAT is the only brand of the entire Volkswagen Group that is not here in Malaysia – Volkswagen, Skoda, Audi, Lamborghini and even Porsche are all here, but if you’re still interested in the B7 Audi A4 I heard there’s still a few Quattro units from Euromobil. The rest of the world (well, Europe at least) can buy a brand new one with a SEAT badge.
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Fisker Karma S Sunset Convertible Concept set for Detroit 2009 unveiling

January 1, 2009 at 9:06 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars

Fisker Karma Sunset S Convertible

Fisker will be displaying a concept convertible version of their Fisker Karma at the Detroit 2009 show this month. The concept car will be called the Fisker Karma S Sunset and it will be an EREV (Extended Range Electric Vehicle), which means it will run primarily on an electric motor, but will feature a combustion engine meant to generate power to recharge the onboard batteries. The combustion engine will probably be the same 260hp 2.0 litre turbo engine from General Motors. The Karma sedan can do 0 to 100km/h in 5.8 seconds, so this convertible will probably clock in at about 6 seconds or so thanks to its likely heavier weight thanks to extra reinforcement needed to compensate for having no rigid roof.

Related Posts:
Fisker Karma to use 260hp turbo from GM

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Ssangyong may face liquidation without aid!

January 1, 2009 at 8:11 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Koreans, Ssangyong

Ssangyong C200 Concept
The pretty decent-looking Ssangyong C200 Concept may not see the light of day if things go the way they are

The first manufacturer to hit the dust in this depressing economy could be Chinese-owned South Korean manufacturer Ssangyong. There is a whole list of problems right now happening with the company, which makes trucks and SUVs based on Mercedes-Benz technology, such as the Ssangyong Actyon SUT.

First of all, a huge amount of debt is goin to mature early this year, and Ssangyong needs a cash injection from its Chinese parent SAIC to be able to settle these debts. Things aren’t going that well for Ssangyong financially, as it recently posted its 4th consecutive quarterly loss of US$21 million.

But before SAIC injects any cash into Ssangyong, it wants to make sure the cash will be well-spelt. Ssangyong must restructe its worker union and lower labour costs, which as usual is rejecting any changes, just like their overpaid counterparts in Detroit. Understandable of course, who would want to be paid less in this already tough times, but it’s better to have a job that pays less than no job at all?

The workers union are also asking for the Chinese executives in Ssangyong to resign, obviously oblivious to the fact that a Chinese company owns them. SAIC is obviously not very happy about all of this at all, and there is talk that it may just pull out of Ssangyong and let it sink. Ssangyong has also tried to get aid from the South Korean government, but all it got was a response from the Ministery of Knowledge Economy that the government “is not planning direct financial support” for Ssangyong.

Rather than go into bankruptcy for debt restructuring, an unnamed official from the Korea Development Bank says that it would liquidate the company instead, but no firm decision has been made on this matter.

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Chrysler kicks itself in the nuts with wasteful “Thank You” full-page ad campaign

January 1, 2009 at 1:01 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Chrysler, International News

Chrysler Thank You Ad
Click for enlarged version

So you’ve just got US$4 billion in bailout money. What do you do? Do you immediately get to trying to turn your company around, cut costs, boost sales, etc? Well no. Not if you’re Bob Nardelli and the bunch of monkeys working under him.

One of their first moves are to blow several hundreds of thousands, perhaps even up to a million US dollars on full-page ads in mainstream American newspapers, including USA Today and the Wall Street Journal. A full page ad in the WSJ can cost between $206,000 to $264,000 while a similiar ad in the USA Today costs between $112,000 to $217,000. Of course, this money probably has already been paid for in advance via a bulk buy for the whole year.

But still, even if the taxpayer treasure trove raiders wanted to thank the public for the money (which apparently more than half the Americans did not agree to), what they could have done is write a letter to the editor’s mailbox or something, I’m sure the papers would have got it published considering how Chrysler probably regularly takes up ads for its cars. Or maybe call a press conference. Haven’t they learned by now how to get coverage through press management, or is throwing random amounts of money at problems their lazy way of solving things? Their PR people should have seen these public sentiments from miles away!

Here are some of the angry repercussions found written in Chrysler’s blog:

Mr Nardelli, Fire your PR and advertising teams and execs immediately. We the People did not want to see any more ads and money wasted on ads, be it from Chrysler, et al, or from your own pocket. You should have put up a website thanking the people and just submitted it to various online news aggregators for free. Once again, I am pained to see you are demonstrating a lack of common sense and fiscal responsibility.

First of all, do you need to spend your precious dollars on expensive newspaper space? Second of all, it’s hard to say “America” is really responsible for granting the bridge loans. One survey said that 61% of Americans were against it.

Your resignation and the resignations of senior executives who have mismanaged the business would have been much more appropriate.

Dear Mr. Nardelli and the “over one million people who depend on Chrysler” – You’ve got some nerve to thank us for our forced “investment” when we didn’t want it to happen in the first place. Isn’t forced or coerced investment akin to robbery?

Mr. Home Depot has now shown that he can take extravagance to another extreme high. Why in the world are you thanking people that didn’t want this. You need to spend the money you spent on this ad to bailout one of your line workers whose house is about to go into default.

I’m speechless. And I’m saddened that a corporate management team is so inept at understanding public opinion. Some advice: issue a press release stating that you regret that you made a mistake using taxpayers’ money in this manner.

This ad just goes to show that you and your company has not learned anything, and like the rest of the US I am upset. This opportunity was squandered, by you and your incompetance. For the sake of my tax dollars I hope you succeed with a restructure like the late 70s early 80s when you received your first bail-out. However, with the poor decisions of this ad I forsee a bad investment on the horizon by the US Government.

Obviously nothing has changed. Chrysler is still making stupid decisions by wasting its stolen taxpayer money on useless ads. I will never, ever even consider buying a Chrysler.

What a great way to spend the taxpayer money!!! Spend hundreds of thousands if not a million to put full page ads in news papers all over the country. The NYT add alone cost over $200,000!!! I will never buy a Chrysler vehicle!! You guys suck!!

Way to blow hundreds of thousands of dollars on a useless ad campaign that will surely only worsen your public image. We weren’t buying your cars before because they are all gas guzzling, unreliable, uninteresting cars that look like they were styled by the coleman plastic cooler division, inside and out. So then you steal our money through the government so you can waste more of it on useless ads, and you have the audacity to remind us all about it. Go to hell Chrysler.

Sharp words, but I bet all those billions of dollars are a quick cure for the pain. What a way to end 2008! Happy New Year people!

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