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Beijing car maker weighs its options regarding Saab.

November 25, 2009 by John Heintzman Leave a Comment

saab-95-2010-7

Beijing Automotive Industry Holding (BAIC) the Chinese partners in the Koenigsegg deal to purchase Saab are weighing their options regarding Saab.

On Tuesday morning, Swedish supercar maker Koenigsegg Group announced that they were abandoning the purchase of Trollhättan based Saab due to costly delays.  BAIC released a statement saying “It has always been an important strategy to go international… Given the pullout of Koenigsegg, we will reassess this project in a prudent manner and make proper arrangements.”

Several automotive analysts have said that BAIC might still proceed with the bid given the financial strength of the Chinese auto industry and their desire to gather foreign technology.

“There are chances that BAIC may continue the bidding using its own financial resources as long as it remains optimistic about the outlook of the Chinese auto market.” Xia Ping, an analyst with Core Pacific – Yamaichi told AFP.

“An aquisition is still possible judging from BAIC’s own financial strength. It may also win some policy support on financing” she futher added.

In the first two quarters of this year BAIC has reported a net profit of 370 million USD up 78% in comparison to the same time in 2008. Under GM’s stewardship Saab rarely posted a profit and lost 3 billion kronor (340 million USD) last year.

BAIC was founded in 1958. It is China’s fifth largest car maker, and is currently in joint ventures with both Germany’s Daimler and South Korea’s Hyundai.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ahDeo9OEqCso

In Swedish:

http://www.svd.se/naringsliv/nyheter/artikel_3845777.svd

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When German street racers try to go legit.

November 22, 2009 by John Heintzman 2 Comments

DEU BW  Formel 1 Hockenheim I will classify this article under “Odd automotive news from around the world.” Police in Baden-Württemburg raided the famous Hockenheim race track Saturday night.

Around 100 individuals with 43 cars slipped into the famous F1 track to hold some nighttime racing when they were confronted by German police.

The illegal participants were fined said a police spokesman. He also said that it quite likely illegal racing has been held regularly for some time now.

Those who had taken part organized the event on the internet. They had arranged to meet at a local parkplatz before entering the track to begin their nocturnal races.

http://www.localxxl.com/de/lokal_nachrichten/hockenheim/polizei-stoppt-illegale-autorennen-am-hockenheimring-1258888987/

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Electric Trabant to debut at Frankfurt Auto Show

August 13, 2009 by John Heintzman 1 Comment

herpa trabi

East Germany’s smoke belching, unreliable communist era auto is set to resurface as an electric concept vehicle at the Frankfurt Auto Show.

The original Trabi was launched in 1958. Throughout most of it’s life time the Trabi was powered by a two stroke, two cylinder motor. The Trabant was a monocoque design with it’s roof, trunk, hood fenders and doors made of Duroplast. Duroplast was a plastic resin which the former East Germans added cotton waste from Russia to strengthen. While this saved money and weight, they were far from safe.  Trabis were far from performance machines. 0-100 km/h took 21 seconds. The top speed was 112 km/h. According to figures there as many as 50,000 Trabants still registered in Germany. Many of the “iconic” East German autos are a tourist’s favourite ways of seeing Berlin.
[Read more…]

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Schumacher’s pain in the neck cancels F1 return.

August 11, 2009 by John Heintzman Leave a Comment

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Today, Michael Schumacher has cancelled his much anticipated return to the F1 circus.  Schumacher experienced neck pain following his first test in the 2008 car.

On his website Schumacher told of his Monday evening discussions with Ferrari executives and his regret of not being able to fill-in for Felipe Massa.

“Yesterday evening, I had to inform Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo and Team Principal Stefano Domenicali that unfortunately I’m not able to step in for Felipe. I really tried everything to make that temporary comeback possible, however, much to my regret it didn’t work out. Unfortunately we did not manage to get a grip on the pain in the neck which occurred after the private F1-day in Mugello, even if medically or therapeutically we tried everything possible.”

It was a motorcycle accident in February that has led to the problems with his neck.

Micheal Schumacher’s  agent Willi Weber revealed the gravity of motorcycle accident that put an end to Schumi’s plans for an F1 comeback.

“It was the most serious accident in Michael’s motorsport career.” Weber told German Press Agency today.

The seven-time world champion was set to make his return on August 23 at the European Grand Prix in Valencia Spain.

Schumacher’s most serious accident in F1 occurred at Silverstone in 1999 when he suffered a broken leg  after his Ferrari ended up in the tire barriers. The resulting fractures to the head and neck following his motorcycle spill have led to his neck muscles being to weak to withstand the forces of driving a Formula 1 car at competitive speeds.

Via Official Michael Schumacher site

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Schumacher to fill in for Massa… BMW to withdraw from F1

July 29, 2009 by John Heintzman 5 Comments


Micheal Schumacher will make a return to Formula 1 to replace Ferrari driver Felipe Massa.

The seven-time world champion, who retired following the 2006 season has agreed to drive in the European Grand Prix in Valencia Spain. Massa suffered a fractured skull during qualifying at the Hungarian GP.

Massa was released from intensive care today. He is responsive and speaking to his family. It will be some time before his Formula 1 future will be decided.

Schumacher has kept himself quite fit since his retirement and has taken up motorcycle racing. The ban on in-season testing means that Schumacher will not be able to drive the car until practice begins on August 21.

Scuderia fans have been buzzing about this for days. Many are excited at the thought of one of the greatest drivers in history competing against the current young guns in F1. The thought of Lewis Hamilton, Sebastien Vettel, and Jenson Button lining up on the grid with Schumacher is one positive piece of news on a day when another team will be folding at the end of the season.

BMW has announced today that they are withdrawing from Formula 1 at the conclusion of the 2009 season. The economic downturn has hurt sales and the company wishes to focus its resources on greener cars. BMW will not even continue in the capacity of engine supplier. They are the second automobile manufacturer to withdraw from F1 in the last 12 months. Honda shut down their team near the end of 2008. There are now only 4 engine manufacturers left in F1, Ferrari, Renault, Toyota and Mercedes Benz. Some are suggesting that BMW may not be the last to fold. Sources say that both Toyota and Renault are weighing their options.

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VW plans total takeover of Porsche.

July 18, 2009 by John Heintzman Leave a Comment

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Volkswagen is planning to take full ownership of Porsche.  According to to German news magazine Der Spiegel, VW is revising an earlier plan to acquire 50 percent of the German sports car maker.

According to the magazine the sale will be completed in two phases – first 49.9 percent will be taken over similar to the initial plan, then VW will buy the remaining shares.

Porsche will recieve a approximately 8 billion euros which will help deal with their massive debts. The Porsche family will instead become a 50 percent owner in a joint VW-Porsche company. VW plans on making Porsche the tenth brand in the VW family.
[Read more…]

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New GM rises from the ashes.

July 10, 2009 by John Heintzman Leave a Comment

gm_logo

General Motors has stepped out of bankruptcy protection a leaner greener company. The company now majority-owned by the U.S. government took just 40 days to restructure its assets.

GM is now made up of Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, and GMC. There is still 11 billion USD in debt carried over to the new company. In a press conference today, GM CEO Fritz Henderson implied that there is still more pain to come before profitability.

Salaried employees will be reduced 20 percent, and the number of white collared workers will be reduced some 35 percent. Among the positions eliminated is that of president of GM North America. No word yet if current GM North America president Troy Clarke will continue with GM.

Bob Lutz has reconsidered his retirement and will remain vice chairman. He will be responsible for “all creative elements of products and customer relations”. Lutz will report to Fritz Henderson and will be a part of a new executive committee.

The new GM will have its work cut out for it. Sales of the four best brands have been dismal. Buick sales are down 34 percent so far this year. Cadillac sales are down 45 percent. Chevrolet sales down 38 and GMC are down 39. In June 2009 GM saw its U.S. market share fall to second place behind Ford.  G.M had a market share of 16.5 percent   compared to Ford’s 17.2 percent. Toyota was third in the U.S. with 15.3 percent followed by Honda with 11.7.

Car buyers have been sceptical at best with GM. GM is planning several unique ways to get customers interested in GM again through the Internet. A website called “Tell Fritz” will let customers make suggestions directly to the CEO. Henderson also said in today’s news conference that GM will experiment with selling cars through the online auction site eBay.

As for the old GM. The company will have assets including 16 abandoned plants, including several contaminated factory sites, and of all things a 9 hole golf course in New Jersey. They will be sold through bankruptcy court and be funded by the U.S. treasury to the tune of 1.175 billion USD. The old company will be called Motors Liquidation Co. and will remain in Chapter 11. GM listed global liabilities reached a staggering 176.4 billion when it seeked bankruptcy protection on June 1st of 2009.

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GM Europe’s clouds of uncertainty.

July 1, 2009 by John Heintzman 2 Comments

Welcome to another chapter in the strange world once called GM Europe. Within a week the deal for Opel with Magna International and their  Russian partners seems on the rocks. Saab is waiting for a loan from the European Investment Bank and is seeing production slow in comparison to orders.

GM has rankled negotiations by insisting on a buyback clause which is strongly opposed by the government of Hesse the state in which Opel is headquartered.  Roland Koch prime minister of Hesse has backed Magna’s bid. Sources say that Sberbank and Magna may withdraw their bid due to General Motors latest demands. GM has raised the price of Opel.  GM is looking for an investment of 7 billion euros in Opel which is 14 times greater than the Sberbank initially offered.

GM is now looking to sign a non-binding agreement with Belgian holding company RHJ International and Beijing Automotive as a second option should the deal with Magna and partners fail.

Some of the sticking points on the Magna deal are:

  1. GM is concerned that Magna is planning significant changes in engineering and design which would eliminate parts sharing with other GM cars.
  2. GM is pertubed by Magna’s Russian partners. GM is worried that they will use Opel’s designs to help improve the Russian car industry.

Fiat also doesn’t seem out of the picture. Following a meeting with Fiat CEO Segio Marchionne, Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi told reporters the Fiat deal is “still on the table”.
[Read more…]

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Koenigsegg signs letter of intent regarding Saab.

June 12, 2009 by John Heintzman 1 Comment

koenigsegg

The sale of GM’s Swedish brand Saab has been fraught with red herring after red herring (no pun intended). While many Swedish observers have reported several companies from China, Italy and Germany being the potential new owners, it seems that Saab will be in Scandinavian hands.

According to Svenska Dagbladet,  Koenigsegg has signed a letter of intent regarding the negotiations and purchase of Saab.

Koenigsegg’s majority shareholder is Norwegian industrial designer BÃ¥rd Eker. Through his holding company Eker Group he owns 49 percent of the Swedish supercar manufacturer. It has been reported that Eker had told a Norwegian newspaper that his dream was to buy Saab. Eker Group Chairman Sture Berg’s only response to this news was “Ingen kommentar” or “No comment”. The same comments were coming from officials at GM Europe. BÃ¥rd Eker, and Christian von Koenigsegg were both unavailable for comment.

There has been speculation that Koenigsegg has been an interested party for some time.  Some industry observers have had their doubts. Koeniggsegg had 45 full time employees in 2008 or roughly about 1 percent of Saab’s workforce in Trollhättan. How does a car company that can make seven cars at a time, run a company that produces 100 cars every day?
[Read more…]

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VW’s new pickup truck… Amarok.

June 4, 2009 by John Heintzman 8 Comments

volkswagen_concept_pickup_wide

Volkswagen is planning to bring to their new pickup truck to dealerships in Spring 2010.  Originally called the Robust, the Amarok is named after the giant wolf of Inuit mythology.

Reports say that the first  Amarok will be a four dour model powered by one of several VW diesel engines mated to a six speed gearbox with four wheel drive.  A two door model will be debut later.  The bed is around 5 feet in length which is comprable to a Honda Ridgeline. VW’s prime markets for the Amarok are Africa, Australia, South America and Russia. There is no word on the Amarok coming to North America, but some believe that VW will bring a bluemotion version to highlight their clean diesel technology.

VW has not given the North American market a pickup since the old VW Rabbit pickup. America has given the Germans David Hasselhoff and Baywatch. He stars in one of their Max and Bus ads, and they made a  Baywatch inspired commercial with the previously named Robust.

The Amarok will initially be built in VW’s Argentine plant. It will debut at dealerships in South America in the Spring of 2010, followed by a European release around summer 2010.

Source auto motor und sport if you speak German!

Check out the the Robust ad after the break
[Read more…]

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