Category: Auto Industry

Report: Ferrari reports fewer sales, more profit to prove strategy is working

Filed under: Earnings/Financials, Ferrari

Ferrari badge

Ferrari’s angle of emphasizing exclusivity by limiting deliveries is appearing to bear fruit. The company posted a 7.1-percent increase in revenues to 1.7 billion Euros ($2.2 billion at today’s exchange rates) during the first half of 2013. Net profits, meanwhile, saw a jump of 20 percent to 116.2 million Euros ($153.5 million). The Prancing Horse delivered 3,767 cars, which, while an increase of 2.8 percent, represents a rate of growth that’s slower than in the first quarter of 2013.

While Ferrari may be actively trying to slow its sales down to below 7,000 in 2013, it’s seen increased numbers in the US, Great Britain and Germany, along with double-digit growth in the Middle East and Japan (39 percent and 28 percent, respectively).

The move to limit sales should have a greater impact on the numbers that come in later this year, which we told you about back in May. Ferrari’s controversial move has already seen a drop in sales to China, which saw 50 fewer Prancing Horses than this time last year.

Still, the early stages of Ferrari’s new plans have been a success, as the Chairman said, “An increase of just over two percent in volumes has been matched by 20 percent growth in EBIT which is and will remain our primary objective along with maintaining the exclusivity and value of our cars over time.” We love seeing automakers do well, but somehow, the world just seems a sadder place with fewer Ferraris in it.

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Ferrari reports fewer sales, more profit to prove strategy is working originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 01 Aug 2013 19:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Official: Volvo prices revamped 2014 lineup

Filed under: Car Buying, Sedan, Crossover, Volvo

2014 Volvo XC60 R-Design

Volvo has made quite a few changes to its US lineup for the 2014 model year. The C30 hatchback and C70 convertible are gone; the S60, S80, XC60 and XC70 have all been reschnozzed; and in a few months, Volvo will bring its V60 wagon across the pond for Stateside consumption. Only the range-topping XC90 carries on unchanged, though a brand new version is expected to launch sometime next year.

The S60 starts as low as $32,400 for the entry level T5 model, and reaches as high as $45,700 for the T6 R-Design Platinum trim. The larger S80 sedan starts at $39,900, with its range-topping T6 Platinum version commanding $48,150. XC70 pricing ranges anywhere from $34,500 for the 3.2 FWD to $45,650 for the T6 Platinum, XC60 numbers span from $34,850 to $49,800, and XC90 prices start as low as $39,700 and as high as $45,400. None of these prices include $895 for destination, and pricing for the swoopy V60 wagon has not been released just yet.

While the majority of Volvo’s 2014 model year enhancements are visual, some neat updates have been made mechanically, as well. There’s a new Advanced Quick Shift mode for the six-speed automatic transmission that’s paired with the turbocharged six-cylinder engine, and Volvo says that the S60 R-Design will now scoot to 60 miles per hour two-tenths of a second quicker (5.3 versus 5.5). In the XC60 R-Design, AQS improves 0-60 acceleration by four-tenths of a second, down to 6.2 from 6.6 seconds.

Volvo will continue to offer three engines for its full range: a naturally aspirated 3.2-liter V6 with 240 horsepower, a turbocharged 2.5-liter inline-five with 250 horsepower, and a turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six with 300 horsepower. R-Design versions of the S60 and XC60 get a slight bump in power, up to 325 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of torque. The T5 engine can only be had on the S60; the S80, XC60 and XC70 use both the NA V6 and the T6; and the aging XC90 can only be had with the 3.2-liter mill.

Have a look at the full list of changes and pricing information in Volvo’s press blast, below.

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Volvo prices revamped 2014 lineup originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 01 Aug 2013 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Read This: Toyota donates engineers, not money, to country’s largest anti-hunger charity

Filed under: Etc., Toyota

The Food Bank of New York City

Key to production of any kind is efficiency – the ability to achieve maximum productivity with minimal effort or waste. Toyota has become a master of efficiency, with streamlined manufacturing operations around the world. In fact, the Japanese brand has become so well known for efficient operations that it now offers consulting services for organizations and companies outside the auto industry.

It also offers the same consulting for non-profits, free of charge. The New York Times took an in-depth look at the transformative impact that Toyota’s engineers had on the city’s charities, including The Food Bank, the country’s largest anti-hunger charity. The auto manufacturer helped revolutionize the way these organizations served the community, showing that there’s more to corporate philanthropy than just donating money.

Head on over to the Times‘ website and give the story a read.

Toyota donates engineers, not money, to country’s largest anti-hunger charity originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 01 Aug 2013 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Petrolicious gets super Seventies in a Ferrari Dino 208 GT4

Filed under: Classics, Coupe, Performance, Videos, Ferrari, Luxury

Petrolicious highlights Bradley Price's Ferrari Dino 208 GT4

The Ferrari Dino 308 GT4 was the automaker’s first sports car with a V8 mounted amidships, and that formula quickly became the Italian automaker’s bread and butter. The 308 in the name denotes a 3.0-liter V8, but for the Italian market, where a tax was imposed on cars with engines larger than two liters, Ferrari decided to de-bore the V8 to avoid the tax. Thus the 2.0-liter Dino 208 GT4 was born, and New York resident Bradley Price likes his 1976 model just the way it is.

Price initially was attracted to the Bertone-styled wedge because it “fit into the whole aesthetic of the space age and of the boundless possibility of [the late 1960s and 1970s],” he says in the Petrolicious video, adding that the opening scene of the original The Italian Job struck a chord with him, and the feeling never left. With 170 horsepower on tap, the 208 isn’t very quick, but, in his opinion, it has a sweeter song than the bigger V8 and the driver-centric interior is one of his favorites.

Watch Price snake the original wedge through some East Coast back roads in the video below, and, just for kicks, we’ve also included the opening sequence of The Italian Job.

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Petrolicious gets super Seventies in a Ferrari Dino 208 GT4 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 01 Aug 2013 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Official: Land Rover tests electric Defender with impressive results

Filed under: SUV, Technology, Work, Land Rover, UK, Electric, Off-Road

Land Rover sent its first Electric Defender to be tested at the Eden Project.

Unveiled at this year’s Geneva Auto Show, six Land Rover Electric Defenders were produced to research the electrification of all-terrain vehicles in real-world test scenarios. The first Electric Defender to receive a test assignment, a four-wheel-drive 110 Pick Up, was sent to the Eden Project in Cornwall, England, to pull the four-carriage road train that transports visitors around the environmentally friendly plant research site. The SUV has no problem pulling up to 12 tons up a six-percent incline.

The Electric Defender in its original, single-battery configuration can operate for up to 50 miles, with a little over 12 miles in reserve. Functioning at low speeds, it can pull the carriages around the site for about eight hours before it needs a recharge, Land Rover states, but the recent addition of a second lithium-ion battery should lengthen the Defender’s run time while helping to even out out the truck’s weight distribution for better stability. Amazingly, the truck is able to pull the road train with one electric motor that produces 94 horsepower and 243 pound-feet of torque.

One of the new technologies the Electric Defender is testing is a hill-descent function linked to the regenerative braking system. Up to 80 percent of the batteries’ power can be regenerated in this way. During each downhill trip made at the Eden Project, the SUV regenerates up to 30 kilowatts of power.

We don’t know where the other Electric Defenders will be sent for testing, but we’ll let you know as soon as we find out. Meanwhile, you can take a look at the full press release below.

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Land Rover tests electric Defender with impressive results originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 01 Aug 2013 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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July 2013: It’s Gettin’ Hot In Here Edition

Filed under: By the Numbers

Toyota Edges Out Ford, Honda Leads All

By the Numbers graphic

Sales figures for the US auto industry during July 2013 are in, and the big automakers should be pleased with the numbers they’re seeing. American Honda led the pack with a 20.95-percent rise in sales last month, followed by Toyota Motor Company with a 17.28-percent gain and General Motors, which rose 16.32 percent. Ford Motor Company, Chrysler Group and Nissan North America were all up about 11 percent, as well.

The eye-catcher in last month’s numbers is that Toyota and its brands (Lexus and Scion) outsold the Blue Oval fold for the first time since March 2010, but barely. Team Toyota posted sales of 193,394, just 321 units more than the 193,715 sales reported by Ford and Lincoln.

Even more conspicuous is the poor sales performance by Infiniti last month. Nissan’s luxury arm in the US saw sales fall 33.2 percent in July, far and away the biggest drop of any brand. In fact, no other brand even experienced a double-digit sales dip. Fortunately, Infiniti’s fall was more than offset by a strong 16.79-percent rise in Nissan sales.

Check out the full sales figures in the chart below.

*Brands and companies are displayed in descending order according to their percentage change in volume sales. There were 25 selling days in July 2013 and 24 selling days in July 2012, so there is a difference between the change in monthly sales volume and the change in average daily sales rate (DSR) for each brand/company. Also, brands are combined and reported as companies only if their sales figures are released jointly.

July 2013: It’s Gettin’ Hot In Here Edition originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 01 Aug 2013 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Ford to pay $17.35 million over Escape recall

Filed under: Government/Legal, Recalls, Safety, Ford, Earnings/Financials

First-Generation Ford Escape front three-quarter

Ford had a bit of a recall spree around this time last year, with a pair of issues on the then-new 2013 Escape, followed by a recall of 423,000 2001 to 2004 Escapes because they might accelerate of their own accord. Accordingly, Uncle Sam pasted Ford with a $17.35 million fine because it took too long to inform customers, according to a report from Automotive News.

Ford agreed to settle with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, accepting the fine but not admitting fault. The recall, which afflicted Escapes with the 3.0-liter V-6 along with 217,000 Mazda Tributes from 2001 to 2006 and 2008, was due to faulty gas pedals that could stay down after a driver removed their foot.

Ford issued a statement regarding the fine, saying, “We take the safety of our customers seriously and continuously evaluate our processes for improvements. While we are confident in our current processes for quickly identifying and addressing potential vehicle issues, Ford agreed to this settlement to avoid a lengthy dispute with the government.”

Ford to pay $17.35 million over Escape recall originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 01 Aug 2013 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: LaFerrari design secrets explored at Ferrari museum

Filed under: Concept Cars, Coupe, Performance, Videos, Ferrari, Design/Style

For every finished vehicle design we see, there are probably hundreds of drawings and models that have long since been discarded. Housed in its own room inside the Ferrari Museum in Maranello, the LaFerrari has a unique exhibit that shows off some of the car’s design evolution, and Autocar caught up with Ferrari design director Flavio Manzoni for an even deeper look at what went into creating this hybrid supercar.

In addition to the final product, the LaFerrari exhibit also reveals some of the designs that didn’t make the cut – two of which made it to the full-size scale model phase, though. The display shows off five different designs (three from Ferrari and two from Pininfarina) that were in the running to become the final LaFerrari.

The interview with Manzoni even adds in some juicy bits of info, including news that one of the potential LaFerrari designs has been locked away and could resurface as a special, one-off model. Manzoni gets in a couple of good quotes while voicing his opposition of the current retro design language currently being used by some automakers, as well. Check it all out in the video below.

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LaFerrari design secrets explored at Ferrari museum originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 01 Aug 2013 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Official: LA Auto Show confirms it will host nine world debuts

Filed under: LA Auto Show

We still have a whole mess of auto shows to get through before we set our sights on Los Angeles this November, but when we arrive in the City of Angels, we’ll certainly have our work cut out for us. According to the LA Show organizers, more than 50 new vehicle debuts will take place over the course of two press days, though as usual, a lot of those will simply be North American reveals of hot new cars that we’ll first see in Frankfurt this September.

Of those 50 new debuts, nine of them will be world premieres, with BMW, Chevrolet, Ford, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Porsche, Subaru and Volkswagen all having confirmed that something brand-spakin’-new will be shown off at the LA expo. The only one of those automakers to officially confirm its world debut is Porsche; the German company will show its new Macan crossover in LA.

As for those eight remaining debuts, some outlooks are clearer than others. Automotive News suggests that Chevrolet could show its new Colorado midsize pickup truck, and Mini confirmed to AN that “a new Mini” would be on display, though it’s unclear if that just means a version of the current model, or the all-new one, previewed by the Mini Vision concept. Honda could use its LA stage to reveal the updated Fit hatchback, and Volkswagen may show off some sort of Golf-based vehicle – perhaps the redesigned version of the Jetta SportWagen (called the Golf Variant in other markets, which we first saw in Geneva this year). As we reported earlier, Mercedes-Benz will debut the new S65 AMG in LA, and as for the others, your guess is as good as ours.

This year’s Los Angeles Auto Show kicks off on November 20, with a two-day press preview to be held before the doors open to the public. Stay tuned for our usual smattering of live coverage.

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LA Auto Show confirms it will host nine world debuts originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 01 Aug 2013 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Court ruling to delay Fiat’s Chrysler buyout?

Filed under: Government/Legal, Fiat

Fiat logo

We’ve already reported on the attempts of Fiat to purchase the remaining 41.5-percent stake in Chrysler, currently owned by the United Auto Workers’ VEBA healthcare trust. And while the issues still aren’t resolved, Fiat has received both a bit of good news and a bit of bad news from a Delaware judge.

The good news is that the court ruled in favor on two key arguments of Fiat’s, relating to what is a fair price for the Chrysler shares. The rulings essentially slash half a billion dollars off the price of the 54,000 shares owned by VEBA, according to a report from Reuters.

The bad news is that this makes the UAW an even more difficult opponent in negotiations. Its VEBA fund is meant to cover ever escalating retiree healthcare costs, so naturally, the UAW wants to get as much money as possible. Losing a big chunk of cash isn’t likely to make the union more cooperative.

In the end, it looks like it’s going to come down to one of two options. The rulings could encourage the two to settle matters out of court, which would likely be the fastest and most beneficial for all parties involved. The alternative is a 12- to 18-month trial, in which Fiat needs to prove that its offering for the VEBA shares is fair, while the UAW needs to convince the court that it requires a certain degree of funds to cover its healthcare obligations. We’ll keep you updated.

Court ruling to delay Fiat’s Chrysler buyout? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 01 Aug 2013 13:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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