Alfa Romeo to Have Smaller Stand at 2011 Geneva – autoevolution

Things aren’t exactly going great for Italian company Alfa Romeo and probably the main proof for this is the carmaker’s plan for the upcoming Geneva Auto Show, one of the largest venues in Europe. Alfa will reduce the size of its stand at the 2011 Geneva show from 979 square meters this year to just 639 square meters, thus lending less space than Fiat, Lancia, Chrysler, Jeep, Ferrari and Maserati, the other brands in the Fiat Group that will attend the event. What’s interesting is that Alfa will cease its space in Hall 3 to Ferrari and Maserati, as Luca Ciferri of Automotive News Europe wrote today, with the Italian brand to move in Hall 4. Curiously, Alfa Romeo’s stand will be close to Volkswagen’s, the German carmaker that has already confirmed its interest to take over the Italian company. Wondering what’s the reason for such an insignificant presence at such a major event? A Fiat spokesman says that Alfa has nothing new to display in Geneva, so why lend more space? More goodies are likely to be revealed in 2012, so expect a larger Alfa stand in two years.

My own take is that Fiat is in a real bind. They don’t know what to do with Alfa Romeo, and apparently they have no new models in the immediate future. A launch of the brand in the USA, while hopeful, is a major undertaking and is likely doomed to failure. Talk of the next generation small Chrysler cars being based on the Alfa Giulietta may give Chrysler the product they’ve been sorely lacking to compete, particularly with the Koreans, but it certainly doesn’t do the Alfa Romeo brand any favors. Maybe a sale of the brand to Volkswagen would be the best thing, although the thought of it makes me cringe. What do you think?

Photo: The Airport

Taken with Hipstamatic – iPhone 4

Ferrari F1 Drivers Alonso and Massa get their own Abarth 695 Tributo

Ferrari F1 Drivers Alonso and Massa get their own Abarth 695 Tributo

http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2010/09/ferrari-f1-drivers-alonso-and-massa-get.html

This time, Alonso and Massa were handed over the keys of two Fiat 500-based Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari special edition models finished in Scuderia red with Racing grey details.

The limited special series Abarth model is powered a 1.4-liter force-fed four-cylinder engine tuned to develop 180HP, and comes with a bevy of goodies including carbon fibre parts, body hugging bucket seats from Sabelt, four-pot Brembo discs and unique 17-inch Corsa Grey alloy wheels.

The Abarth version of the Fiat 500 looks really fantastic.  I saw the Abarth EssEsse while in Europe, which is a very sporty version of the 500;  the 695 takes that up several notches, in looks, trim, handling, power, and performance. It should be quite a fun car to drive.  I wonder if Felipe and Fernando will actually keep the cars?  Doubtful, as they are likely suited for us mere mortals rather than an F1 driver.  Mere mortals with a big wallet, that is, as the price is huge for this little car!

(via Instapaper)

2011 Hyundai Equus – First Drive Review

2011 Hyundai Equus – First Drive Review September 8, 2010 at 5:14 pm by Justin Berkowitz

Encouraged by the success of the Genesis, Hyundai drives further up-market. When Hyundai announced the Genesis luxury sedan in 2008, some were skeptical. A $40,000 Hyundai? But the Genesis has been a hit with buyers, outselling the Audi A6 and Lexus GS combined. After two years on the market, sales of the Genesis are still increasing. Hyundai says this is a sign that American consumers are seeing the brand differently, and are ready for Hyundai to head even further up-market. And so, with the 2011 Equus, the company has its sights set on the top of the luxury heap: cars like the Lexus LS and Mercedes-Benz S-class.

I’ve been thinking that it would not be at all a surprise if Hyundai’s plans were to spin off Genesis as a luxury brand, like Toyota did with Lexus.  They’ve been deliberately moving upmarket and differentiating models from Kia, improving fit-and-finish as well as styling and quality.  Could the Genesis and Equus models become their own brand? (via Instapaper)

Mazda Shinari unveils new ‘Kodo’ design language for the brand

“Mazda’s new design chief, Ikuo Maeda, previously said that he is aiming for a more “Japanese Alfa Romeo” look and that means no smiley faces. The company today unveiled a new concept called Shinari, a four-door-coupe study that shows the future design direction for the Japanese brand. Mazda said that it will use the word ‘Kodo’ (Japanese for soul of motion) to describe the new design language, which was created through a collaboration between Mazda’s styling studios in Germany, the United States and Japan.”

Well the new look is pretty dramatic and exciting. Certainly it is much better than the bulging wheel wells of the RX-8 and the smiley face of the Mazda3. I’m not sure if I like the jowl extensions, which look like extra fat on a chin. The nose looks more Maserati-influenced than Alfa Romeo. And this is a big car. Lets hope they’re serious and that the claims of aiming for Audi and BMW for fit and finish are a real target. Go Mazda.

Alfa Romeo Giulia 1750 GTAm Named Favorite Alfa Ever

Alfa Romeo Giulia 1750 GTAm Named Favorite Alfa Ever
“LONDON — British Alfisti were asked to help celebrate the marque’s centennial by voting for their favorite Alfa Romeo of all time. Surely many lively debates were had, both among fellow fans and inside the voters’ own heads, on the way to naming the winner: the Giulia 1750 GTA, taking 21.6 percent of the votes cast on the Alfa Centenary Web site. ”

Well the Giulietta would get my vote, probably the SZ. But there certainly are a lot of choices, and I’m sure there was a lot of very animated discussion about this vote. Great list of cars anyhow.

Photo: The Berghoff

Shot with my Hipstamatic for iPhone
Lens: John S
Film: Kodot Verichrome

Volkswagen interested in acquiring Alfa Romeo

Apparently according to a number of news articles over the past week, Volkswagen is on an acquisition binge and it has heavy interest in acquiring Alfa Romeo.  Reports have detailed unnamed sources at VW who have admitted that a team has been put together to develop potential strategy and future models for the Alfa brand.

Other anonymous sources at Fiat have reported that they have no intention of selling the brand to VW.  What remains to be seen is whether they have intention of selling the Alfa Romeo brand, or just no intention of selling to VW.  Reports haven't specified this, and the statements read to be very clear about the VW part.

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has previously laid out plans to transform Alfa into a “full-line premium carmaker”, increasing unit sales from 102,000 last year, to 500,000 in 2014.  In the plans are six new model launches, including two SUVs.  This would certainly come at the expense of German car sales, so maybe VW sees these plans as realistic and is concerned about loss of sales.  

Certainly Volkswagen is a very successful multi-brand company, selling everything from economy cars to luxury sporting models like Audi as well as large commercial trucks and vans.  Where they haven't been so successful, however, is with their Spanish brand Seat, which sells mainly in the home market and is has been bleeding market share.  Seat doesn't carry nearly the cachet, history, or brand awareness of Alfa Romeo, which could fill a very important spot in VW's lineup.  

Fiat's own plans for Alfa Romeo are to fuel growth by expanding the lineup, positioning it as more of a luxury car brand and adding two SUVs.  Yikes.  The sporting heritage of Alfa Romeo comes from its success in racing, and producing wonderful sports cars throughout the first sixty or seventy years of the company's existence.  Fiat's plan might grow sales, but there goes history.  

VW, however, seems to recognize the history of the brand, and from all published reports it appears that they would look to transform Alfa Romeo into a successful sporting brand again.  There is quite a bit of synergy between the Alfa and VW platforms, after all they are both front-wheel-drive cars with relatively small displacement motors.  This is what they tried to do with Seat, and failed, however no one outside of a small radius of Spain has any awareness of who Seat is.  Alfa carries a much larger following worldwide.  Maybe VW would be a better caretaker than Fiat.  Who knows?

Ferrari F40 and 60 Hour Restorative Detail

via detailedimage.com

Auto detailing done right is tedious and challenging work. This is a fine example of how a master completes a job. Certainly a few tips can be gleaned from how a sixty (!) hour job was required to clean up this stunning Ferrari F40. Personally I use products from GriotsGarage.com but there are certainly other great quality suppliers out there. The key is in how the products are used. Learn the process and the products are really secondary. Man does that red look fantastic…

Ducati racing film, shot with the iPhone 4

Video from a Ducati motorcycle race team, shot entirely with the iPhone 4 using 8 phones and the very cool Owle Bubo iPhone camera mount. The cost of making a high-quality video just keeps dropping. Check out http://iphone4filming.com/ for information on the skills needed to pull this off, though. Its not all about the hardware, its the artist that matters.