Category: Auto Industry

Report: GM will no longer release monthly production figures

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, GM

General Motors has announced that it will no longer disclose monthly production figures to automotive data providers. Automotive News reports that GM notified research and data providers IHS Automotive, Automotive News Data Center and Autodata Corp. about the change, saying that the company will now provide numbers for wholesale deliveries. Up until now GM, along with many other car companies, provided monthly North American production figures, broken out by individual models.

The automaker says that the new policy is due to a change in the way it records financials for vehicles. In the first part of this year, GM started assigning profit and loss to the country in which a vehicle is sold, rather than to the facility at which it was manufactured. This, says GM, makes the production numbers less critical to keep track of.

Concerns about the change in reporting are multitudinous. Many automotive suppliers use production forecasts that are based on real production data to plan their own manufacturing schedules for coming months. What’s more, Automotive News tells us that the GM numbers have been used in many other standard indicators of economic health in the US, including those published by the Federal Reserve. While models exist for estimating the production data, nobody is exactly sure how accurate they’ll be, or what the longer term fallout in the industry will look like.

GM will no longer release monthly production figures originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Arrest warrant issued for NASCAR driver Mike Harmon

Filed under: Motorsports, Government/Legal

Mike Harmon

The next step in the off-track saga involving NASCAR Nationwide Series drivers Mike Harmon and Jennifer Jo Cobb has been taken, with arrest warrants issued for Harmon and business associate David Novak. In May, Harmon was charged with stealing a car hauler and other goods worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from Cobb’s shop, and after saying he didn’t steal them and maintaining his innocence, seven of the stolen vehicles were found on two of his properties that same month.

The issue is an acrimonious commercial separation with Cobb on one side, Harmon and Novak on the other. Harmon drives for Novak’s team – and Cobb did too until last year – and Harmon and Novak allege that the stolen property actually belongs to the team, but Cobb took it. Novak and Cobb are in court over the matter, but when a judge declined Novak’s request to have Cobb return the property, it appears he worked with Harmon to get it back the five-finger way.

Harmon and Novak have been charged with breaking and entering, as well as larceny after breaking an entering. At the time of writing, neither man had been arrested, the hauler still hasn’t been found, and as for the cars that were recovered it’s been claimed that they were stripped and are worth something like $10,000 apiece, a steep drop from their original reported value of $150,000 apiece.

Arrest warrant issued for NASCAR driver Mike Harmon originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Official: Suzuki back in MotoGP for 2015

Filed under: Motorsports, Suzuki, Motorcycle, Racing

It had been planned for 2014 but it’s going to be 2015 instead – that’s when Suzuki returns to the manufacturer ranks of MotoGP after quitting the series at the end of 2011 because of The Great Recession. When Suzuki stopped after 37 continuous years of racing, it said it intended to return three years later and it has been in talks with MotoGP’s rights holder, Dorna Sports, since last year. No doubt, though, that fan anticipation of the team’s return outdoes any dismay at the delay. It will join Yamaha, Honda and Ducati in the premiere league.

Its bike has already been testing in Japan and was with the official MotoGP tribe in Barcelona, Spain on Monday when Suzuki announced its return. It’s said the development bike is called the XRH-1, being ridden by official tester Randy de Puniet (who currently races in MotoGP on an Aprilia-based bike with TeamAspar). and after a day of testing de Puniet got the new Suzuki to within seven-tenths of a second of the top time posted by other MotoGP teams. Davide Brivio, who once ran the Fiat-Yamaha team and has been close with Valentino Rossi, will be the team manager.

Speaking of Rossi, The Doctor is back with Fiat-Yamaha after a bad run with Ducati but is only contracted to the end of 2014. Brivio is the man who got Rossi to join Fiat-Yamaha, then got him to Ducati. Until he took the head of Suzuki’s works effort, Brivio was working with Rossi’s VR46 management company, heading areas like merchandising. The rumormill has already begun its work, with folks wondering if Rossi will head to Suzuki in 2015 if his second stint at Yamaha doesn’t prove fruitful before then. Scroll down below for the official press release from Suzuki.

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Suzuki back in MotoGP for 2015 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 09:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spy Shots: Lamborghini Cabrera spotted, ready to fill Gallardo shoes

Filed under: Frankfurt Motor Show, Spy Photos, Coupe, Performance, Lamborghini, Luxury

Lamborghini Cabrera

Facebook user Marchettino (already a minor YouTube celebrity for his supercars channel) spotted the successor to the Lamborghini Gallardo throne out and about on public streets and was kind enough to snap a few photos of the machine. Word has it that a concept car precursor to the newest supercar will bow at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show this September under the Cabrera name. As you’ve likely already heard, the model is said to ride on the second-generation Audi R8 platform, complete with a composite aluminum and carbon fiber construction to reduce weight as much as possible. How light will will the Cabrera be? Lamborghini is reportedly shooting for a curb weight of around 3,300 pounds.

Power will likely come from a massaged version of the 5.2-liter V10 in the current Gallardo. Expect around 600 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque.

The vehicle in these photos looks to have abandoned some of the Gallardo’s angles in favor or more organic lines, though it’s possible body cladding is hiding the car’s true design. Murcielago SV-style sills and side air intakes serve up quite a bit of aggression and the quad exhaust looks properly menacing as well. We can’t wait to see the finished product.

Lamborghini Cabrera spotted, ready to fill Gallardo shoes originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 08:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Porsche-Piech buy 10% stake in VW’s holding company

Filed under: Europe, Porsche, Volkswagen, Earnings/Financials, Middle East

F.K. Piech

In August, 2009, as the scuttled merger of Porsche and Volkswagen had gone bad and Porsche was backed up against the ropes, Porsche Automobil Holding SE (PAHSE) relinquished a ten-percent stake in itself to Qatar Holdings as well as options it held on 17 percent of VW shares. The sale meant that, for the first time since the founding of the company 61 years before, an entity outside the Porsche and Piech families had a say in the running of PAHSE.

Buying that ten-percent stake back returns full ownership to the two families, the holding company’s sole possession being ownership of 50.7 percent of VW’s common shares. The price paid wasn’t disclosed, but at market rates the purchase would be worth close to $1.25 billion. Qatar intends to hold onto the 17-percent stake it has in Volkswagen.

Porsche-Piech buy 10% stake in VW’s holding company originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Watch these dudes pull off amazing stunts with some Fiat 500C Abarths

Filed under: Convertible, Videos, Humor, Fiat

Dude Perfect Fiat 500 stunt driving

These dudes are perfect, which, we surmise, is why their YouTube channel is called Dude Perfect. But we digress. In their latest video, Dude Perfect performs some amazing trick shots with footballs, basketballs and baseballs, along with a trio of Fiat 500C Abarth convertibles. It’s perfect, dude.

Joining the dudes this week are stunt drivers Roger Richman and Samuel Hubinette from LA Motorsports, and some of their coolest tricks wouldn’t be possible without some equally precise driving. Looks like they had a total blast, but remember, these guys are professionals and performed their tricks on a closed course. In other words… do not try this at home.

Dude. Scroll down below to watch the video.

Continue reading Watch these dudes pull off amazing stunts with some Fiat 500C Abarths

Watch these dudes pull off amazing stunts with some Fiat 500C Abarths originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: The Shredder is like a jet-ski for land, with tank treads

Filed under: Videos

Blending the attributes of an ATV, a jet ski, a tank and a skateboard is no easy task, but that is just the diverse kind of capability that the BPG Werks DTV Shredder is offering to the powersports market.

The Shredder is powered by a 196cc, two-stroke gasoline engine, which is connected to a dual-CVT drive. A total of 13 horsepower offer riders a top speed of 30 miles per hour, which probably seems plenty fast on an upright rig like this one. Riders stand on a pivoting, spiked deck that turns by way of leaning, just like a skateboard, while the upright handle offers throttle and brake, and a place to hang on. And, of course, ownership of the vehicle grants one admin status on all Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan boards.

We could go on, but the Translogic crew does a first-rate job of explaining what the Shredder is, as well as getting the low down about the project from BPG Werks CEO Ben Gulak. Watch it all, below.

Continue reading The Shredder is like a jet-ski for land, with tank treads

The Shredder is like a jet-ski for land, with tank treads originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Nismo GT-R poised to be fastest Nissan ever

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Nissan

For almost every year since the Nissan GT-R first debuted, Nissan has been figuring out how to cram more power under the hood or give it 911-like quickness around the Nürburgring. Looking to create a brand image for its performance arm, we already knew that a hotter, Nismo-branded GT-R was in the works, but it seems some details may have leaked regarding this new Nismo GT-R.

While little has been spoken of this Super GT-R since February, Top Gear is reporting that Nismo is planning to make improvements to the coupe’s power, handing and styling – three things that we’re sure few have complained about since 2009. What could this mean for the GT-R? According to the article, Nismo could be looking to raise horsepower from the current 545-hp mark to more than 570 hp, and handling upgrades could give the car a ‘Ring lap time of seven minutes and 22 seconds, which as Top Gear points out, is four seconds quicker than the new 911 GT3.

Nismo GT-R poised to be fastest Nissan ever originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Lamborghini to show Gallardo replacement concept in Frankfurt

Filed under: Concept Cars, Frankfurt Motor Show, Coupe, Performance, Lamborghini, Luxury

Lamborghini will give us a big clue as to the look and feel of the impending replacement for its Gallardo model at this September’s Frankfurt Motor Show. According to a report by Autocar, the Italian supercar maker will have a concept car in Frankfurt that will preview a 2015 replacement for the current Gallardo (pictured above).

While nothing is set in stone, the word is that Lamborghini is still considering “Cabrera” as the Gallardo-successor’s name. We didn’t know the company had so many Tigers fans, but the Autoblog Detroit office is stoked.

The same report tells us that the new Lamborghini, currently going by the internal designation LP724, will be based on the same platform as the second-generation Audi R8, rather than on the more exotic Aventador underpinnings. That means a modular spaceframe, aluminum and carbon fiber construction and a reduction in curb weight as a result – the target is less than 3,300 pounds. Even with the diet, the next Gallardo will be slightly longer than the current car, but about the same height and width.

The svelte Lamborghini will draw power from an updated version of the current 5.2-liter V10, which should be good for more than 600 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque. Autocar also indicates that both a six-speed manual and a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission will be optional on the new Gallardo, replacing the existing six-speed E-gear automated manual. Standard cars will offer all-wheel drive, but rear-drive models will be available at some point as well. Bring on Frankfurt, we’re ready to see this one in the metal.

Lamborghini to show Gallardo replacement concept in Frankfurt originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: There’s no substitution for BMW’s E30 Mmmmm3

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

If you told someone that you had a friend with a four-cylinder BMW who “would let me wash the car,” and in exchange for the privilege then let you drive that clean BMW once around the block, your first question would probably be “What kind of BMW is this?” There’s a chance you wouldn’t be surprised once you found out the coupe in question was the E30 M3, a car our own Zach Bowman dubbed the “Mmmmm3.”

Petrolicious talks to Gabor Mester about the car he fell in love with, a black version of the original “Munich mauler” that was owned by the parents of a high-school friend – oh, and Mester was also in high school when this washing and driving took place. When the original owners were ready to sell, Mestor was ready to buy, and he hasn’t had a single regret about it since.

You can enjoy his story in his words in the video below.

Continue reading There’s no substitution for BMW’s E30 Mmmmm3

There’s no substitution for BMW’s E30 Mmmmm3 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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