Tag: plans

Reuters: Montezemolo denies plans for Ferrari listing

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

Ferrari Badge

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: Toyota plans to add turbo, direct-injection to most of lineup

Filed under: Etc., Toyota

Toyota engine production

Toyota has big plans for its model lineup, as the automaker intends to introduce 11 new or redesigned vehicles by 2012. This will be accomplished by offering hybrid versions of existing models, as well as introducing all-new hybrid vehicles. However, Toyota’s focus isn’t going to be entirely on improving the electric half of the hybrid equation. The automaker is looking at ways to produce more efficient gasoline engines, and turbochargers and direct fuel injection are both in the cards.

There’s no word yet on which models will benefit from either technology first, but the initial round of products should also come equipped with start-stop technology in addition to the DI and turbo. It was hard to believe at the time, but maybe a turbocharged, hybrid MR2 really is right around the corner.

[Source: Autoweek]

Report: Toyota plans to add turbo, direct-injection to most of lineup originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Nov 2010 19:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Porsche puts all new model plans under review

Filed under: Porsche, Rumormill

Porsche Badge

According to Autocar magazine, Porsche chairman Matthias Müeller has announced that the German automakers plans for future models are currently being put on hold. This includes both a small, sub-Boxster roadster and the Cajun small crossover. The company needs to review currently proposed new models and see where they fit into the current lineup of Porsche vehicles. A business case needs to be presented and many questions have to be answered before Porsche proceeds. The planned strategic review is understood to not impact revisions of models that are currently in production.

This is not to say the vehicles won’t be built. Müeller says the ideas for both of the smaller Porsche models are still very much alive, but each design needs to make financial sense. The business cases will be presented and the questions will be answered, with a decision-due date set for the end of this year.

[Source: Autocar]

Report: Porsche puts all new model plans under review originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 12 Oct 2010 17:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Lincoln plans to close 200 metro dealers, upgrade the rest

Filed under: Ford, Lincoln, Luxury

Lincoln Concept C

Lincoln Concept C – Click above for high-res image gallery

Now that Ford has officially announced that its Mercury division would be going the way of the Dodo, and with Blue Oval-branded models like the Taurus SHO proving that the Dearborn automaker can indeed move itself a bit upmarket, the next logical concern is addressing what will happen to Lincoln. That’s especially true given the fact that Lincoln’s 82,847 total sales in 2009 are a mere pittance compared to that of class-leading Lexus, which moved 215,957 vehicles.

One of the big problems with Lincoln is that there are just too many dealerships trying to sell a car to in-market customers. To wit, Lincoln currently boasts a whopping 1,221 stores in the States. By way of comparison, Lexus has 230, Audi has 270, BMW has 338 and Mercedes-Benz has 352. Do the math and it’s easy to see that each Lincoln dealership doesn’t sell very many vehicles – in fact, they’re averaging just two sales per week.

According to Automotive News, Ford has a two-part plan to inject some life into its moribund Lincoln outlets. First, the total number of dealerships will be reduced by at least 200, and most of those closures will happen in large metropolitan markets where there are already multiple stores. Second, remaining outlets will be heavily upgraded in order to compete with Lincoln’s targeted competitors.

Will it work? Hard to say, but if the brand can build models like the rumored production version of the Concept C showcar, it could certainly inject some life into Lincoln. In any case, we should get a few more details around October 4, which is when Lincoln’s annual dealer meeting is scheduled to begin.

Gallery: Lincoln Concept C

[Sources: Automotive News – sub. req., Bloomberg]

Report: Lincoln plans to close 200 metro dealers, upgrade the rest originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 18:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Toyota plans budget sports car line

Filed under: Aftermarket, Concept Cars, Coupe, Budget, Hybrid, Japan, Hatchback, Toyota

Toyota MR2 Sports Hybrid Concept – Click above for high-res image gallery

Akio Toyoda may want to bring driving excitement back to Toyota, but he and his team have two major hurdles to overcome: The brands’s limited enthusiast base and the fact that Japan’s youth have very little interest in cars.

To combat both fronts, Toyota plans to launch a new line of budget-oriented vehicles that offer a modicum of sport. But so far, things don’t look too promising.

Despite debuting an FT-86-based concept at this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon, Toyota’s G Sports line of products have mainly focused on the Voxy and Noah minivans, while a “sports” version of the Prius is apparently in the works.

More interestingly, the Mainichi Daily News reports that a version of the GRMN sports car concept has been given the greenlight, meaning a mid-engined hybrid successor to the MR2 is in the works.

All these developments come after Toyota established a sports vehicle management division in January, which now has a hand in the brand’s overall product planning. We should get a look at the fruits of their labors during next year’s auto show season and could see this new breed of budget sports vehicles on the market – at least in Japan – within the next few years.

Gallery: Toyota MR2 Sports Hybrid

[Source: Mainchi Daily News]

Report: Toyota plans budget sports car line originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 05 Sep 2010 18:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumormill: Range Rover plans fourth model

Filed under: SUV, Crossover, Land Rover, Rumormill, Luxury


Range Rover Evoque – Click above to enlarge

According to Autocar, Land Rover isn’t done expanding its Range Rover model lineup now that the Estoque has made its official debut. Citing so-called “well-placed sources,” the UK mag suggests that LR is surprised by the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the new entry-level Range Rover – enough that it’s now considering another model to slot in below the Range Rover Sport.

The report goes on to suggest that development of the proposed machine has barely begun and there’s no clear indication of what exactly is in store, though a seven-passenger “lifestyle” (whatever that means…) vehicle has been hinted at. It’s thought that the Range Rover Sport may be moved slightly upmarket from its current £46,000 (just over $60,000 U.S.) starting price to make room for this theoretical new model. In any case, considering that the Evoque is still quite a way off, we don’t expect to see this new rumor fulfilled any time soon.

[Source: Autocar]

Rumormill: Range Rover plans fourth model originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 07 Aug 2010 17:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nissan announces Leaf rollout plans, 8-year battery warranty

Filed under: Hatchback, Nissan, Electric

Nissan Leaf EV – Click above for high-res image gallery

At the Plug-in 2010 Conference in San Jose, CA today, Nissan North America’s executive vice president, Carlos Tavares, announced that the Leaf’s battery pack will be covered by an eight-year/100,000-mile warranty – exactly what Chevrolet is offering on the Volt pack. He said that feedback from people interested in the Leaf was important in setting these levels, so that explains why Leaf hand-raisers received email surveys about the topic recently.

For what it’s worth, the official Leaf battery warranty is what about half of AutoblogGreen readers voted for in our unscientific poll on the topic. Almost 45 percent said the eight-year/100,000-mile level was good for electric vehicles, while a few more thought 10-years/150,000 miles was the preferred level.

In other Leaf news, Nissan has also announced its official rollout plans. As we already knew, the electric car will first launch in December, in California, Washington, Oregon, Arizona and Tennessee. Firm orders from these five states, which make up the so-called EV Project, will begin in August.

Following that initial wave, the machine will be sent to Texas and Hawaii in January 2011. Next up will be North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina and Alabama in April 2011. The rest of the nation will see their Leafs beginning in the fall of 2011 with availability in all markets nationwide by the end of that year.

There are plenty more interesting tidbits to glean from Nissan’s press release on the matter, which can be found in its entirety after the break.

Gallery: 2010 Nissan LEAF

[Source: Nissan]

Continue reading Nissan announces Leaf rollout plans, 8-year battery warranty

Nissan announces Leaf rollout plans, 8-year battery warranty originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Honda announces plans to sell plug-in hybrid and electric vehicle by 2012

Filed under: Hybrid, Japan, Honda, Electric

At a news conference yesterday in Japan, Honda chief executive officer Takanobu Ito outlined the company’s future plans to roll out advanced technology vehicles. Among the highlights: Ito revealed Honda will introduce both a mid-size plug-in hybrid and an electric commuter vehicle in the U.S. and Japan by the end of 2012. As part of the company’s global push to develop more-efficient vehicles, Honda will also introduce a small diesel-powered car in Europe around the same time that its battery-powered vehicles hit our shores.

Honda will also begin testing “next-generation electric personal mobility products, including electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles, electric scooters and electric carts” in the Kumamoto and Saitama regions in Japan before the end of 2010. The purpose of the tests is to verify “the effectiveness of next-generation personal mobility products with electromotive technologies,” i.e., plug-in vehicles and how to best use renewable energy (solar) with these vehicles. Honda will test all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in the U.S. once the Japan tests are underway. U.S.-based participants include Stanford University, Google Inc. and the City of Torrance, CA. Torrance will get a plug-in hybrid electric test vehicle by the end of this year. Honda said its first hybrid to get a lithium-ion battery will be the next-generation Civic Hybrid, coming in 2011. More details are available in the press releases after the jump.

[Source: Honda, Reuters]

Continue reading Honda announces plans to sell plug-in hybrid and electric vehicle by 2012

Honda announces plans to sell plug-in hybrid and electric vehicle by 2012 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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