Category Archives: business

is VW trying to buy Alfa Romeo (!?)

Well this is a hell of a rumour, that has been getting louder and louder over the past few months.  Fiat has been whining about Alfa Romeo not making any money for the company for a LONG time now….and according to several articles I have been reading as of late, it seems that Walter De Silva (ex-Alfa Romeo design chief, now VW/Audi design chief) has been urging Martin Winterkorn to really go after buying Alfa Romeo should Fiat decide to sell the brand.  Walter De Silva is so excited about this all, that according to one article i found, it states: “Given what is assumingly the passion for Alfa design, de Silva has in thoughts already about 8 models for Alfa, along with designs as well as drawings.” Easy boy!

To be honest, as someone who is REALLY into Audis and their philosophy, I have been seeing Audi as the new Alfa Romeo for the past few years…..they’re making the cars that Alfa should be making….and the Volkswagen group buying Alfa Romeo could REALLY rejuvenate the brand.

Is there any truth to this? we’ll have to see!  It could just be substance-less, gossip…..or it could be the real thing.  Knowing the way Volkswagen works, i wouldn’t doubt they are after the brand.

here are some articles about it:

http://www.alfaamore.com/news/vw_aquisition

http://www.autosnewspaper.com/2010/08/01/volkswagen-to-squeeze-alfa-romeo-marchionne-to-sell-to-germans/

http://www.motobullet.com/news.php?id=10344

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Audi & the design of “inward flow”

CLICK TO ENLARGE ANY FOTOS

Well i gotta give it to Audi, not just because they are my favourite car company, but because they are the only company I can think of who are currently designing cars which will look classic in 10, 20, or 30 years from now (pardon me Alfa Romeo, but you’re kinda losing it).  They are the only company I can think of who have attention to detail.  The evidence for this is in the brand new Audi A7 introduced this past week in Germany.   The rear end of the new A7 has been getting under my skin since the introduction….and now i know why.

The back end flows inwards, going back towards the body.  Sure there is a bumper, however this inward flow hasn’t been used in many modern cars….until now. They have brought back the inward flow of the rear end!  I know Alfa Romeo have used this ‘inward flow’ (as i refer to it) in their 8c Competizione, however it was a bit overdone with the weird round tail light, but i’m not complaining! The 8c was a stunningly designed car.  I think Corvettes and special edition cars like the Ford GT also used this, but when have you recently seen it on a production sedan? i can’t remember any car in the last 10 or 20 years with this….production sedan, shall is say.

Alfa Romeo has a long history of sports cars with this inward flow, I generally recollect one of my favourite Alfa Romeos, the superb Montreal:

Audi claims their inspiration for the new style rear-end comes from them analyzing the 1970s Audi 100 Coupes and i can definitely see what they were looking at…..in fact, i think this new car has more similarity to that design than any other current Audi.

Apparently, this was a very conscious effort to consider ‘older’ designs when designing the A7.  Check out this drawing that Audi issued to the press about the influences of the A7 design.

It seems though, that Lamborghini has been flirting with this idea for a while!  Well at least in concept form.  Check out the Lamborghini Estoque Concept and the Lamborghini Miura Concept from the past several years.  Same indented inward flow rear end.  Lamborghini, however, is a company essentially operated by Audi, so this isn’t surprising at all….

So what do you guys think about this? will this set a trend and bring this design sense back into the currently lackluster japanese & korean-influenced automotive design world? Can Audi influence other car makers to bring something new & old back into design?  Alfa Romeo from a few years ago (2000-2007) really influenced alot of automotive design, however it didn’t last…..but I feel that Audi has already caused all these companies to use “big grilles”….can they get the rest of the industry to throw a bit of retro in the game? I hope so.

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fw: an open letter to Lancia

Came across this interesting “letter to lancia” on a site called Petrolblog.

http://petrolblog.com/2010/06/24/an-open-letter-to-lancia/

I gotta agree with you MajorGav, Lancia has lost the plot and really needs to get back to their identity.  The stuff they have been releasing for several years is GHASTLY……and in my opinion; Lancia might be THE biggest waste of a marque i’ve witnessed….amazing how Fiat just turned that company into slop.

But i gotta remind my friends over at Petrolblog, that Lancia is now going to be shacked up very closely to Chrysler; and it seems that for the time being, the identity of Lancia will continue to be lost.  A friend of mine who works in the auto industry had told me a couple years ago that there was a good chance that Lancia was going to be shut down; but now it seems they’ve found a new use for the marque Lancia.  It’s going to serve as a channel to pass Chrysler products into Europe.  What a shame.

It’s been said that the next generation Chrysler 300C is going to become Lancia’s flagship car in Europe….but the worst part is: there are supposedly only minimal changes done to the badges and the grille before it will be sold as a Lancia…….if that’s true, Lancia will be all but dead in my opinion…if it isn’t already.  I wish VW would buy Lancia and bring it back properly……imagine a Delta Integrale based on a modified R32/R20 platform? That’d be pretty sweet.

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oh hello Audi R8 GT.

Press release just issued by AUDI.

~200,000 euros.

Limited to 333 cars.

560hp, 5.2L V10.

Weight reduced by 220 lbs.

R-TRONIC transmission only ===== OOPS. that sucks.

0-60mph in 3.5s, 0-124mph in 10.4s, Top Speed = 198mph.


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aha! the Audi Q3 must be on its way to the USA soon…..

(click to enlarge)

Yeah we don’t care much about SUVs here at IEDEI……however I am pretty into Audis….and having driven an Audi Q5 through an autocross track before here in NY, I must say I had gained quite a bit of respect for Audi SUVs.  Well anyways, it seems IEDEI stumbled upon a ‘future plan’ by accident!

Auto Trader has placed the AUDI Q3 in its drop down menu of cars for selection on the site (SEE PHOTO ABOVE).  This surely hints that the Q3 is on its way to the US market sometime soon.  The Q5 has been a huge success for Audi (a waiting list to buy one at the moment), so it would make sense that Audi is bringing a smaller and even cheaper small SUV.

it’s actually a pretty damn good looking SUV if i must say so myself…..even though SUVs are parasites and should be burned in massive flames! err…just sayin…

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Alfa Romeo return to the USA confirmed for 2012?

(above: Alfa Romeo Dress)

Motor Trend is reporting some info on the return of Alfa Romeo to the US market in 2012.  Fiat supposedly released a 5-year plan today, with information on the US market, Chrysler, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, and how these products will be integrated into this market.

So 2012 is supposedly the debut of the Alfa Romeo Giulia (159 replacement) and MT is saying these will be RWD and based (loosely, hopefully) on the 300c and Challenger platforms.  This should be in Sedan and Wagon formats.  In 2013, will be the addition of a (new) Spider which will be based also on a RWD Chrysler format (wait a minute…the Challenger and 300c are HUGE….so what platform!?).

Either way, FIAT have been giving us this crap for many years now…so whether it happens is unknown….whether it happens on TIME is even more unknown…..but i DO hope it happens.

http://wot.motortrend.com/6636382/auto-news/breaking-new-alfa-spyder-on-chrysler-rwd-platform-in-13/index.html

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McLaren MP4-12C: how to build an unimaginative, ugly, and boring supercar.

The McLaren MP4 can do blahblahblahblahblah in blah.blah seconds.  It can reach a top speed of blahblahblahblahblah.  It has technology everywhere, including a blahblahblahblahblahblah….it is the successor to the legendary blahblahblahblahblah.

Don’t even care.  It’s so bland and painfully boring from every angle.  It looks like a rejected 90s build-your-own-supercar-kit-car.  Yeah you copied a Ferrari from the front, you copied the outline of an R8, and you tried add some Lamborghini-ness……BLAH BLAH BLAH.  blech.

Hey McLaren! YOU SUKZ AT DESIGN!  try again sometime…..

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Saab Aero X…production?

It’s an exciting time for SAAB in IEDEI’s opinion.  They get a fresh start, under a native Swedish company, with alot of press in the last 6-12 months and only one way to go: UP.

The CEO of SAAB-SPYKER has been hinting that the Saab Aero X Concept (2006) could get built, even saying “it deserves to be built”.  Motor Authority are reporting there may be an increasing chance it does get based, possibly on the existing Spyker Aileron platform.  As a concept, it was definitely a stunning example of SAAB design….and what better way to relaunch the company than to make a statement.

GO ON THEN! Build it!

http://www.motorauthority.com/blog/1043446_saab-spyker-to-build-aileron-based-aero-x-supercar

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Audi A1 Configurator!

You can now configure the A1 to different specs!  Interestingly enough the A1 microsite also offers customizing abilities to North American customers! Is this a sign the car is coming to the US? Or is this to gauge interest? Either way, play around with it and imagine throwing a little Audi around the city!

There’s also a competition on the microsite, for designing the A1.

LINK: http://microsites.audi.com/a1onlinespecial/html/popup.html#/customize/customizer/

thanks to Fourtitude for the heads up and the photo!

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EXCLUSIVE: MTM Horchaus bringing C6 Audi RS6s (and more) to North America!

Well i’ve been gathering information about this for a few days, straight from Francois over at Horchaus (Official Canadian distributor of MTM (V.A.G. tuning company).

It seems that they have worked out a plan with Audi of Germany to be able to bring Audi RS6s (C6, current) as well as B7 RS4 Avants and R8s to North America directly from Germany! To any other Audi afficianados such as myself—this is HUGE news.  For a very long time, we’ve been stranded by the products being provided to the US market when it comes to ‘special’ Audis.  We did receive the previous generation C5 RS6, but only in sedan form (NO Avant in North America).  We also received the B7 RS4 sedan (NO Avant in North America).  We are not going to receive the C6 RS6 at all——until NOW!

After creating a working agreement with Audi of Germany in Ingolstadt, Francois and Horchaus have found a way for certain cars such as the current RS6 to be modified according to US Spec BY Audi themselves!  After these modifications, the cars are imported into North America (Canada OR the United States) and undergo customs, duty, etc….and are brought here as legal, street-ready versions of these European cars.  Since Horchaus is working directly with Audi to ensure the modifications are done to North American spec, this is a whole new way of getting these cars into the United States legally and safely.  The OEM spec cars will have an AUDI WARRANTY, since they are brand new from the factory.

The prices of these cars vary, however If someone really wants a brand new C6 Generation Audi RS6 Avant, it’s gonna cost them $115,000 CAD (Canadian dollars) and $125,000 CAD with the 730hp MTM upgrade (including  all import, shipping and duty fees).

******As of right now, they have already brought TWO C6 RS6s successfully; one into the US and another into Canada******

At the moment, they have another 4 cars on the way.  one R8 (sold), a B7 RS4 Avant (sold), and one C6 RS6 Avant and a C6 RS6 Sedan; which are both available to purchase.

A further reason to be excited, is that Horchaus is currently also evaluating the possibility of bringing other Audis in the same manner; cars such as the current Audi TT-RS and Audi S3.  Really exciting stuff, and groundbreaking progress in the world of importing Audis.

Stay tuned to IEDEI for further updates about this as I get more information.  So far I only have the pricing for RS6s, when I receive further information about pricing for others I will pass them along! Meanwhile, if you are interested in these cars, follow the link to the MTM/Horchaus website for more information and contact info.

UPDATE: B7 RS4 Avants are CEO company cars, and will be titled as 2nd hand.  They are $70,000 CAD (Canadian dollars) and the R8 V10 is $105,000 CAD (Canadian dollars) which is amazingly good pricing….the R8 V10 turns out to much less than a comparably ordered US version.

UPDATE 2: Some people have been asking “well why wouldn’t Audi bring these cars in the first place????”…..the answer was explained to me by Francois. Audi of Germany wants them to go everywhere, the reason why these cars don’t come to the US or Canada is simple; Audi of America and Audi of Canada don’t believe they have a market and do not readily import them here.

Horchaus Website: http://www.horchaus.com/Car_imports.html

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Saab 9-3X now on order sheet at US Saab dealers…

Amidst the soap opera of what has become SAAB, The SAAB-Spyker deal seems to be building confidence in its conclusion.  The latest positive sign seems to be that after over a year of US market dormancy, the SAAB 9-3X has been added to US dealer order lists!  It will be months til customers get their orders filled, and maybe this is a way for the company to gauge interest in products after all the hooplah….but it seems that the 9-3X would nicely fill the gap that the Audi Allroad’s absence in the US market has created; an upscale, european wagon with AWD.

To all those people who have been rooting for SAAB to be rescued, this is your time to walk the walk and place your order for a pretty cool AWD wagon.  Good decision SAAB, now back up all this talk with some kick ass new products, and success will be yours!!

more info:

http://www.saabhistory.com/2010/02/03/saab-9-3x-now-available-to-order-in-the-united-states

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Take a tour of the Mercedes-Benz Museum.

As expected, MB has constructed a damn cool museum to display alot of their motorsports and production car history.  Here are some of the pics presented by the company to highlight their new museum.  You can tour the museum virtually on their website as well.  Easier than getting a flight out to Stuttgart!

Online museum tour:

http://www.mercedes-benz-classic.com/content/classic/mpc/mpc_classic_website/en/mpc_home/mbc/home/museum/virtual_tour.html

(CLICK TO ENLARGE TO GET HI-RES….for wallpaper use)


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Toyota = FAIL FAIL FAIL!

Well Toyota has really f*cked up, haven’t they?   Too bad Prius weren’t recalled though….that’s sad. Recall a bunch of Lexus-es (Lexii for plural??) while you’re at ToMoCo…for being BORING!

At least 5.3 million cars are being recalled across Europe and the United States.  Toyota has stopped production of all of these cars, AND if you are gonna walk into a Toyota showroom and try to buy a Corolla (why!??!), they will not let you—–as Toyota will not sell you a new car affected by the recall.

Massive fail…..Toyota is in BIG trouble.  Japan gonna bail em out? let’s see what happens….

http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/27/autos/toyota_recall_expanded/index.htm?hpt=T2

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SAAB IS SAVED!

All hail the rescue of SAAB.  I was rooting for it all along, and now it seems it has happened.  Spyker, with the deep $600 million help of the Swedish government, has had their bid accepted by the fat slobs at GM.

Rumour is that upcoming SAAB models will be known as SAAB SPYKER. The 9-5 (new) will be released in the US market later in 2010.

Great news.  Good luck, Spyker!

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Audi unveils 3rd E-Tron concept…and IEDEI is in love!

I want it.  MAKE IT.  I’ll be in the order list. 100% (assuming it’s not over $60k…LOL)

This is probably the most beautiful Audi since the MK1 TT….i’m thoroughly impressed.  It looks like the perfect combination of italian and german.  Brilliant proportions.  Could this be an Audi R4? MK3 Audi TT?  My source tells me it is unknown what this car exactly is at the moment.  All we know is that it is the 3rd in a string of E-Tron concepts, however this one is far more developed than the previous two, and is jaw-droppingly gorgeous.

Photos taken courtesy of Speed Sport Life

http://www.speedsportlife.com/2010/01/11/2010-naias-photo-gallery-audi-e-tron-concept/

CLICK TO GET HI-RES VERSIONS


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SAAB DRAMA: Spyker places last-minute bid for SAAB!

“Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) — Spyker Cars NV today said it has submitted a renewed offer for General Motors Co.’s Saab unit.

“An 11-point proposal had been submitted to GM, addressing each of the issues that arose during the due diligence process” which will “remove each of the obstacles that were standing in the way of a swift transaction,” Spyker Chief Executive Officer Victor R. Muller said in a statement.

GM last week said it will shut the money-losing Saab unit after talks collapsed on a sale to Spyker, the second failure in less than a month to keep the 72-year-old Swedish brand alive.

GM and Spyker decided there was “no point in carrying on” after encountering issues that couldn’t be resolved, GM Vice President John Smith said on a conference call on Dec. 18.

“We have made every effort to resolve the issues that were preventing the conclusion of this matter and we have asked GM and all other involved parties to seriously consider this offer,” Muller said in today’s statement.

“We are very confident that our renewed offer will remove the impasse that was standing in the way of an agreement on Friday, and this would still allow us to conclude the deal prior to the deadline of Dec 31st”

READ!

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601209&sid=aPAUHW8aHK3c

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foto of the day/ Will the Swedish Government save Saab!?

Rumour is that the Swedish government have called emergency meetings to meet with GM! Maybe Saab will survive!?

In honor of the beating of Saab that’s occuring at the moment, today’s foto of the day is devoted to the ORIGINAL 1st Saab ever made..URSaab, the Saab 92. It had a drag coefficient of 0.30 (!!!) in 1947! Amazing.

DO NOT LET SAAB DIE, SWEDEN!!!

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Heuer Silverstone, resurrected!

(original Heuer ad above, for the original vesrions in the 70s)

One of THE coolest chronograph Heuer watches known as the Silverstone has been launched as a limited edition reissue!  So exciting! What’s not so exciting is the price tag.  $6500.  Time to sell a kidney?

http://www.luxist.com/tag/tag+heuer+silverstone+chronograph/

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Audi introduces the D4 A8.

Audi has just introduced the new A8 in Miami at some art festival (can’t be arsed to look up which one!). On first impressions, the car looks GREAT.   MORE INFO AFTER THE PICTURES.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FULL PDF PRESS RELEASE —–>>> PDF

Drivetrain Highlights:
• Optimized 4.2 FSI V8 specifications:
o FSI direct injection
o Audi Valvelift System (AVS) variable intake valve lift
o 8-speed transmission for improved fuel economy, responsiveness and driving comfort
o 372 hp (D3 A8 had 350 hp)
o 328 lb-ft (D3 A8 had 325 lb-ft torque)
o 0-100km/h (62 mph) in 5.7 seconds
o 15% improvement in fuel consumption estimated vs. current A8 (EPA figures TBD)
o quattro ® AWD – latest generation with asymmetric rear-biased torque split (40/60)

(inches) LENGTH WIDTH HEIGHT WHEELBASE
2011 all-new Audi A8 (NWB) 202.0 76.7 57.5 117.8
2004-2010 Audi A8/S8 (NWB) 199.3 74.6 56.9 115.9
2004-2010 Audi A8 (LWB) 204.4 74.6 57.3 121.0
BMW 7 Series (NWB) 199.7 74.9 58.2 120.9
BMW 7 Series (LWB) 205.2 74.9 58.3 126.4
Lexus LS (NWB) 199.2 73.8 58.1 116.9
Lexus LS (LWB) 203.9 73.8 58.1 121.7
Mercedes-Benz S Class (LWB only in USA) 205.1 73.7 58.0 124.6


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new Chevy Cruze interior inspired by early 90s boom box.

Why can’t GM get interiors right?  They design a reasonably nice exterior for this new Chevy Cruze, and then when I rummaged through the promo photos of the INTERIOR—–i started to think it reminded me of something….and then i remembered.  I then searched, and then confirmed the truth.  Why GM? Why can you not make a nice, clean, functional interior without making it look like a drunk 11-year old designed the dash and buttons?

Chevy Cruze interior VS. cheesy early 90s boom box


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VW entering F1?

Well, at least the ENGINE portion of the game…..that’s what Autocar is saying.  I’m still waiting for the day that VW enters F1 completely and uses the name Bugatti on blue F1 cars…imagine that…or maybe even Auto Union.

“The imminent expansion of the grid and the reduced costs of the sport have caught VW’s eye, and the firm is not deterred by the pullouts of Honda, BMW and Toyota in the past 12 months.”

LINK: http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/245349/

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Ferrari guitar.

Blackbird makes some pretty great carbon fiber guitars, and now they’ve created a custom version of their Blackbird Rider guitar with Ferrari badges on it.  Pretty interesting. $1500.

info: http://www.blackbirdguitar.com/pressreleases/ferraripressrelease.html

 

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