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Report: Porsche denies KERS-equipped 911 reports

Filed under: Concept Cars, Coupe, Hybrid, Performance, Europe, Porsche, Rumormill

2013 Porsche 911

2013 Porsche 911 – Click above for high-res image gallery

Sources within Porsche told us that KERS would be available throughout the entire next-gen 911 range, but now, a Porsche executive calls it “nonsense.” While the automaker is developing ways to make electric range extenders work in some Porsche models, a hybrid 911 reportedly isn’t in the cards – for now.

When and if there’s a 911 hybrid, it will be a long way down the line and will likely employ a plug-in system rather than a KERS-style regenerative braking setup. The reason the 911 won’t get a hybrid drive anytime soon is pretty simple: Porsche has no interest in homogenizing its driving experience across the entire lineup.

Since electrics deliver all their power from zero rpm, they offer an extremely predictable power curve, and Porsche would rather each of its cars vary from its stablemates in power delivery and behavior. For now, it seems hybrid technology will be limited to the likes of the Panamera and Cayenne.

Porsche denies KERS-equipped 911 reports originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 30 May 2011 16:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Great Wall Motors denies Saab talks

Filed under: China, Europe, Saab, Earnings/Financials

Man affixes 'Save Saab' sign to car window

According to The Detroit News, Chinese automaker Great Wall has made it clear that the company has not been in talks with Saab over a potential partnership. After word trickled down that a $233-million deal between the Swedish automaker’s parent company, Spyker, and Hawtai Motor Group imploded, rumors of various other Chinese suitors have cropped up in a serious fashion.

Spyker said that Hawtai was forced to back out of the arrangement due to the company’s inability to obtain proper government consent, while Hawtai denied those claims. Instead, the Chinese automaker said that claim in a statement by saying that the true issues were commercial and economic realities.

Meanwhile, both BAIC and China Youngman Automobile Group have said that they aren’t in negotiations with either Spyker or Saab at this time. The Detroit News reports that BAIC recently bought the rights to some Saab technology, though the automaker said that no further discussions had been made about the future of the relationship between the two organizations.

Great Wall Motors denies Saab talks originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 13 May 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Reports: Volvo denies talk of Saab takeover,
Muller looking for partner in China

Filed under: Europe, Saab, Volvo, Earnings/Financials

It looks like Volvo and Saab won’t be teaming up to create one Swedish carmaker to rule them all. According to Reuters, Volvo has made it clear that the company has had no talks with Saab about buying the besieged automaker and that none are scheduled to take place. The Swedish newspaper De Telegraf had previously reported that the Swedish government was urging Volvo into talks with Saab about a potential takeover. The move would mean that a government loan previously granted to Saab by the European Investment Bank would have a greater chance of being repaid.

Saab has hit (further) rough waters in recent months with multiple supplier hiccups resulting in production stoppages including instances of the automaker being unable to pay for parts. In addition, sales fell well short of 2010 forecasts, resulting in a further cash crunch. The Swedish automaker has since performed a few economic stunts to get production rolling again, including selling the company’s properties and re-leasing them at a lower cost.

In related matters, Automotive News reports that Saab CEO Victor Muller is looking to broker a deal with a Chinese automaker to help finance the company, although it is understood that Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co. is not one of those parties. BAIC, you may recall, purchased old Saab assets (the previous generation 9-3 model, among other things) back in 2009 for $200 million, and it also expressed interest in buying Saab from General Motors before Muller’s Spyker stepped in and completed the purchase.

[Sources: Reuters, Automotive News]

Reports: Volvo denies talk of Saab takeover,
Muller looking for partner in China originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 13:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Muller looking for partner in China”

Reuters: Montezemolo denies plans for Ferrari listing

Filed under: Etc., Europe, Earnings/Financials, Ferrari, Fiat

Despite the prophecies that many analysts made last year, it looks like neither Fiat nor Ferrari has any pressing interest in listing the supercar maker as a separate entity from its parent company. According to Reuters, Ferrari CEO Luca Cordero di Montezemolo has said that there are no current plans to list the company, and that while such a project may crop up in the next four-to-five years, it’s not something that’s on the table at the moment. Montezemolo made the comments while speaking with foreign media, and he added that it’s possible that Ferrari may never be listed at all.

Just last year, analysts predicted that Fiat was considering a separate listing for the Prancing Horse. Fiat currently owns about 85 percent of the Maranello-based automaker, though when the reports surfaced, the company said that a separate listing for Ferrari was only one of several different strategies that it was investigating at the time.

[Source: Reuters | Image: Noah Joseph / AOL]

Reuters: Montezemolo denies plans for Ferrari listing originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 14:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Porsche CEO denies Chinese SUV rumors

Filed under: Performance, China, Europe, Crossover, Porsche, Luxury

Porsche Shield

It would seem that some of the rumors surrounding the upcoming Porsche Cajun were greatly exaggerated. Porsche CEO Matthias Müller has announced that his company won’t be producing a new small SUV based off of the Audi Q5 in China or anywhere else, for that matter. Müller said that while the future may force his company to consider moving production of one or more models overseas, right now the automaker will stick to cranking out vehicles in Germany. Previously, Porsche had said that it was taking some time to consider a new manufacturing facility in China – one of the fastest growing car markets on the planet.

Interestingly enough, Porsche hasn’t said that the Cajun is dead all together. Müller simply made it clear that the vehicle wouldn’t be based on any bones currently bumping around the Volkswagen family tree. The vehicle is intended to land just below the current Cayenne and allow younger buyers to jump into the exclusive Porsche brand at a more accessible price point. Early reports have the Cajun landing in show rooms no sooner than 2014.

[Sources: The Truth About Cars, Gasgoo]

Report: Porsche CEO denies Chinese SUV rumors originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 18:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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China denies involvement in Renault EV spy case; over $841k found in secret bank accounts?

Renault’s zero-emissions lineup

The industrial espionage case involving three top Renault execs and electric vehicle secrets (and maybe China) continues, as the French carmaker has officially filed an accusation against a foreign private company. The company involved was not made public, but the filing does not cite a foreign power, according to Jean-Claude Marin, a Paris prosecutor, in Reuters. In fact, the French government began stepping away from rumors that China is involved with this industrial espionage case. Even still, a member of the conservative UMP party told France-Info radio that, “There are in effect several sources that are typically thought to be serious who consider that a Chinese buyer is in fact behind this operation.” That buyer might be a Chinese power company, which French newspaper Le Figaro reported laundered at least 630,000 Euros (around $841,800 U.S.) into bank accounts in Switzerland and Liechtenstein opened by the executives. For its part, China has denied any involvement.

Prosecutor Marin must now make a decision to either oversee his own investigation or to open a judicial inquiry that will go before an independent magistrate. The French intelligence service, Direction Centrale du Renseignement Intérieur (DCRI), has also been looking into the case.

We still don’t know the details of what was allegedly stolen, but Renault Chief Operating Officer Patrick Pelata tells Reuters that the company’s key technology for electric vehicles is still safe. Nissan executive Carlos Tavares said he “completely trusts” Renault in handling the matter. The Renault-Nissan alliance has invested 4 billion euros ($5.17 billion) in electric vehicles.

The three senior Renault executives who have been suspended are denying their guilt. A lawyer for the highest-ranking of the three defendants notes, “He’s shocked by it, let’s be clear about it… He’s going to clear his name.” Another described his suspension as Kafkaesque, and that the men are reportedly still trying to figure out what they are being accused of. So are we.

[Sources: Reuters, Independent, Economic Times, The Wall Street Journal, Plug In Cars]

China denies involvement in Renault EV spy case; over $841k found in secret bank accounts? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 14 Jan 2011 15:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Camry pedal recall prompts secondary repair, Toyota denies it’s recalling a recall

Filed under: Recalls, Safety, Toyota

Toyota pedal assembly

“On November 30, 2010, Toyota issued a Technical Service Bulletin that instructs technicians how to repair two weld nuts that may be damaged when removing the bolts used to attach the accelerator pedal to the bulkhead.” So says the automaker in a statement you’ll find after the jump.

It seems this pair of weld nuts on the 2007-2010 Toyota Camry and 2005-2010 Avalon are occasionally stripped during the process of performing one of two recalls instituted last year by Toyota – either inserting a little metal spacer in the throttle pedals in order to ensure the pedals don’t stick in the open position or when slicing three-quarters of an inch off the bottom of the pedals so that they can’t interfere with the floor mats.

According to Toyota, it’s not particularly uncommon for nuts such as this to become stripped when removed, which is certainly true. Where some reports differ from Toyota’s own statement is whether or not owners prompted the secondary repairs after noticing that their pedals weren’t firmly attached to their cars after the original recalls were completed.

Consumer Reports writes that “as many as 500 owners of those cars have complained of gas pedals that feel loose or have play side-to-side.” Toyota, on the other hand, claims that “no customer vehicles on the road are affected” and that “suggestions that this TSB was issued to resolve customer complaints about accelerator pedal feel after the recall or that this TSB is a recall are wrong.”

Whose report is accurate? That’s up for discussion. Feel free to read Toyota’s official statement after the jump and read CR’s initial report here and try to figure out this mess for yourself.

[Sources: Consumer Reports, Toyota]

Continue reading Camry pedal recall prompts secondary repair, Toyota denies it’s recalling a recall

Camry pedal recall prompts secondary repair, Toyota denies it’s recalling a recall originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Dec 2010 11:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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