All About Cars

The Citgo station at the junction of East Colonial Drive and Old Cheney Highway has been closed after a number of motorists had their vehicles break down subsequent to filling their tanks with what was supposed to be premium fuel.

According to the Florida Department of Agriculture “water and/or suspended matter” was present in the fuel. The station must now get its tanks cleaned and wait for state approval before it can reactivate the pumps.

“You can see it’s mixed with sewer water or something. It is brown fluid, some type of sewer water. It smelled like a toilet,” said mechanic Tony Sarmiento, who had to repair one of the affected cars.

There will be a major announcement, putting one of GM’s locally made vehicles in the global spotlight. Motor Trend Magazine has named the new Cadillac CTS its 2008 car of the year. Their editor says the award only goes to show that GM is back in the car business after years of focusing on SUVs and Trucks.

The countdown has begun for 2007-2008 Japan Car of the Year and so far it’s all going pretty much as expected.

JCOTY is Japan’s most prestigious gong and jurors start out by picking their “10 Best” from a big list of eligible cars.

The rest of the slate is made by Daihatsu’s new 660 cc minicar, the Toyota Mark X ZiO, the new Mercedes C-Class, Peugeot 207 series, and TSI versions of VW’s Golf, Touran and Golf Variant.

So far, so good. Just getting on to that 10 Best list JCOTY is enough for some manufacturers who promote it extensively in advertising.

Others take the whole thing more seriously and are determined to win. Honda, for example, loves the buzz of winning JCOTY and will be pushing hard with the new Fit.

There again, this year is the 50th anniversary of the Skyline, which could make Nissan a sentimental favorite to win. On paper, Mitsubishi has a great chance with the brilliant new Evo, however many believe in the end it’ll come down to Skyline versus the Fit….

Many European car and car parts makers have shrugged off the dollar’s fall against the euro because they have hedged against the risk or avoided it altogether by operating plants in the United States.

Some of them like Ferrari and Lamborghini sell their vehicles at such high prices that the impact on their results is minimal. They also benefit from the hedging done by their parent companies: Fiat and Volkswagen, respectively.

Others like France’s Renault and PSA Peugeot do not sell their cars and vans in the United States so the dollar’s behavior is of no consequence to them.

Their vulnerability would lie in eastern Europe and Latin America where they do business in many different currencies.

The few that export to that market are seen as the most exposed to the dollar’s weakness, such as BMW, the biggest premium car maker in the world.

“It is a big issue for BMW,” Maria Bissinger, a Standard & Poor’s corporate ratings director, told the Reuters Autos Summit in Frankfurt. “They face headwinds.”

Fears about the state of the U.S. economy has sent the dollar to record lows against the euro at about $1.4850 per euro.

The Federal Reserve has forecast growth in the world’s biggest economy slowing next year to between 1.8 and 2.5 percent, a sharply lower estimate than those made earlier this year.

The lower forecast comes after defaults on U.S. mortgages hit banks hard and raised the cost of borrowing.

Bissinger said Standard & Poor’s economists expected the dollar to rise above 1.50 against the euro in early 2008.

BMW has said the impact of the dollar on its results would be less this year than in 2006 when it took a hit of 666 million euros. It has also said it was looking at ways to better hedge its foreign exchange exposure.

“They believe in partial hedging and not 100 percent,” said Bissinger. “There are some open gaps in (their) hedging.”

On the other hand, Volkswagen learned its lesson in 2004 and 2005 when it lost 2.4 billion euros from adverse currency effects — and that did not include the additional losses at its Chinese joint ventures due to the dollar-linked Renminbi.

Foreign exchange headwinds only exacted a 300 million euro hit on its operating profit in the first nine months of 2007.

“It has improved its hedging,” Bissinger said. “Much is the same for Daimler”.

Andreas Renschler, a Daimler board member and head of the truck division who also took part in the Summit, said the dollar’s impact on the division was “limited” because it built its trucks in the United States, its biggest single market.

“It is all local. So the export issue with the exchange rate is not an issue,” he said. “The only impact we have is on revenues when you convert into euros.”

The same went for Valeo, which has 14 plants in the North America making compressors, electrical systems and other parts for auto manufacturers.

“It is not a problem in terms of operations,” Chief Executive Thierry Morin told the Summit. “We have lost 7 percent of sales in the last four years against the dollar (after converting into euros).

German wire and cable supplier Leoni also does not have a problem with the exchange rate because its plants like the one in Detroit that makes wiring harnesses did business in dollars, not euros.

“The U.S. dollar situation is not a threat to us,” its chief executive, Klaus Probst, told the Summit. “We have a natural hedge.”

The biggest risk that Leoni faced was the hit that some of its customers could take from the dollar’s weakness, he said.

The Holden Gemini was GM-H’s version of the parent company’s World Car, but thankfully it was a version significantly re-engineered for Australian conditions. Gemini replaced the small TA Torana. Initially the car should have been an adaption of the German Opel Kadett but GM-H wanted something more suited to the local market and a joint development with GM’s Japanese partner Isuzu produced the Australian/Asian version of the T-car.

In Australia GM-H coded the Holden Gemini the TX, which was planned as a counter to the steadily growing Japanese domination of the small car sector. Importantly the Gemini offered a real alternative to the totally Japanese-developed small cars.

In the planning stages GM-H influenced many areas of the eventual design. Some of these included improved ventilation, re-designed door and body seals, suspension settings and brake specifications. The engine was a 1584cc Isuzu-built motor which produced about 74.6kW of power at 6000 rpm and revved easily and with the Gemini’s power-to-weight ratio of 11.7kW/kg resulted in good performance and a relatively low fuel consumption.

Road tests at launch suggested a figure of 7.4 litres per 100km was feasible. These tests also indicated good acceleration times, reaching 100km/h from rest in 12.7 seconds and covering the standing 400 metre run in 18.7 seconds.

Stopping this 880kg flyer was no problem either. The power-boosted disc/drum system pulled the Gemini up time and again without fade, or loss of efficiency. Tests at launch also suggested that no sign of rear wheel lock-up occurred and straight line braking was impressive.

GM-H has always made a point of ensuring that car suspension performed well and this was certainly the case with the Gemini. The four-link concept adapted to a small car design, with the upper link removed and a panhard rod fitted to resist lateral movement of the back axle certainly worked well in the Gemini and soon gave it a reputation as a very safe handling small car. There was sufficient spring travel to soak up bumps and corrugations and the rack and pinion steering was light and direct.

A version of the GM-H three-speed automatic was especially developed for the Gemini being operated by a central T-bar and the car pulled well in the mid-range and top end.

The four-speed manual had very close ratios and a light, easy movement with positive, short travel shifts. Despite the very conventional design of the Gemini, which made for easier servicing and lower maintenance costs, it was an appealing car which was well conceived and relevant to the motoring climate at the time of its availability.

Jaguar’s new supercharged 4.2-litre XKR coupe and convertible models arrive in Australia late next month with the first two months’ Australian allocation already spoken for.

While Jaguar Australia is a bit coy about actual numbers, the company says that already 60 per cent of its 2007 allocation is sold and if a customer placed an order today, the car would be delivered in July.

The XKR coupe is priced at $227,900 and the convertible is $249,900.

Built around an aluminium-monocoque structure that is both light and rigid, the car’s 306kW/560Nm supercharged V8 engine is mated with a six-speed automatic transmission with steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters.

The engine’s peak torque arrives at 6250rpm and maximum torque at 4000rpm. Jaguar claims a combined fuel-consumption figure of 12.3litres/100km.

The water-cooled cylinders are arranged in a 90-degree V configuration and the crankshaft is supported by five main bearings.

Each of the two cylinder heads has twin camshafts operating a total of 32 valves and

continuously variable valve timing helps deliver a wide spread of torque.

To help lower emissions, the engine uses an electronic return-less fuel system and a three-way catalyst exhaust system.

Twin air inlets and variable inlet camshaft timing is used for the first time on the XKR and continuous as-required adjustment of the timing of the inlet camshaft on both banks of the V8 delivers significant improvements in torque, particularly at lower revs.

The XKR’s styling persona is dominated by a new-look front bumper, bonnet louvres, aluminium-finish grilles and side power vents.

The cars ride on 19- and 20-inch alloy wheels designs and a quad-exhaust system makes a strong statement from behind.

The coupe can sprint to 100km/h in 4.9 seconds (the convertible is a tad slower) and top speed is an electronically limited 250km/h.

At 1665kg, the coupe is 70kg lighter than its predecessor and the 1715kg convertible is 100kg lighter than the previous convertible XKR.

The new engine produces more power and more torque that the previous model and this combined with a significantly stiffer and lighter aluminium monocoque body structure, means a significant boost in the power-to-weight ratio of 12 per cent and a 7.7 per cent improvement in the torque-to-weight ratio.

To achieve the equivalent improvements in power- and torque-to-weight in the outgoing XKR would have required nearly 37kM more.

For the new models, the spring ratings have been modified and new dampers and a recalibrated computer-active technology suspension system combined to improve ride and handling.

Interior tweaks include unique aluminium ‘weave’ design for the fascia (other veneers such as polished burr walnut are available at no extra cost) and sports seats.

Chevrolet Camaro is a great looking coupe showing a nice combination of modern and retro styling.

One of the best surprises on display at the 2007 Melbourne Motor Show is the Chevrolet Camaro concept car. The coupe is on the Holden stand and is a great looking machine with a nice amalgam of early 21st century styling and a late 1960s muscle car.

Just look at the long bonnet and short tail and the way in which the distinctive guards follow the lines of the wheels.

Though only the concept is being shown at this stage, Chevrolet has already confirmed that the new Camaro will definitely go into production, so the lines we see here can’t be too far off the real deal.

First sales in the USA will be early in 2009. Even better, Chevrolet has announced it is also going to build convertible version of the new Camaro and launch it later that year.

Holden is, of course, a division of GM and a considerable amount of development work on the new Chevrolet is being done right here in Australia. This country is regarded as one of the world’s best within the GM empire, even more so after the success of the VE Commodore.

It goes without saying that this American sporty model will have a longitudinal front engine and rear wheel drive, just like Commodore, so our engineers are heavily involved in the new Chevrolet. This presumably happening at Fisherman’s Bend as I write this, with testing of prototypes to follow at Lang Lang in the not too distant future.

The mechanical layout of the new Camaro will be very familiar to Holden fans. Not only are the engine and differential in the right place from their point of view, but the car also features a 6.0-litre LS2 V8 engine and T56 six-speed manual gearbox sound. Chevrolet tells us it will also produce the vehicle in a lower-cost format with a V6 engine.

Will this new Camaro be sold in Australia, and if so will it carry Chevrolet badges, or Holden ones? If it was the latter, could this be Australians’ first glimpse of the next Monaro?

The answer to all of the above is yet to be revealed by GM-Holden. But the concept Camaro hasn’t been air freighted here just for the fun of it. The attitude of the Australian public to the car at the Melbourne Motor Show will certainly taken very seriously by the marketing people. If you want to have your say it might be an idea to get to the Show as soon as possible.

Ferrari aims to have future models of its luxury sports line consume 40 percent less fuel by 2012 in response to the growing pressure on car makers to reduce CO2 emissions.

Amedeo Felisa, general manager of the Italian luxury sports car maker, said Ferrari wanted to reduce CO2 emissions from 400 grams per kilometer per vehicle to 280-300 by the same target date.

“We have to face the challenge of reducing consumption but not affecting the performance of the car,” he said at the Reuters Auto Summit in Frankfurt. “Otherwise we move (away) from our position in the market and we do not want to do that.”

Felisa said Ferrari engineers were looking at everything from improving the performance of the engine to using lighter materials for the body of the car.

“The answer is efficiency,” he said.

At a press event at its headquarters in the northcentral town of Maranello last summer, Ferrari showed off the Millechili, a concept car that weighed less than existing models at 1,000 kilograms.

The European Commission is preparing legislation to require average CO2 emissions from new cars to come down to 120 grams per km by 2012.

All of the major car makers in Europe are far away from that goal but some are making progress.

In the greater scheme of things, Felisa said he did not think Ferrari was causing much damage.

“Our volumes will not … affect the environment,” he said.

For 2007, Ferrari aims to sell a little more than 6,000 cars.

At auto companies all over the Southland, the majority of employees are forbidden to walk through the doors of the studios where future car designs are drawn, sculpted and modeled. So it is a rare treat, indeed, for those of us who aren’t industry insiders to see the actual sculpting of a future Mazda3 model at Mazda’s exhibit on the L.A. Auto Show floor.

The design is the result of what you could call an “American Idol” for young, undiscovered car designers held on Facebook.com. This search for the next generation of automotive design talent asked entrants to come up with their concepts for what a Mazda3 would look like for model year 2018. The winner, based on votes by Mazda designers and Facebook members, was Mallory McMorrow, a 21-year-old University of Notre Dame industrial design student.

McMorrow — deemed “Car Girl” by her fellow students — and four other finalists were chosen after submitting 150-word descriptions of their future cars. Each had a Mazda designer’s help in bringing his or her concept to life in a final design sketch.

The clay-fashioning sculptors will be forming McMorrow’s design from noon to 8 p.m. daily for 10 days, with the finished full-scale model to be unveiled at the show at 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 24.

It was impressive simply watching the industrial calibrator mark each spot for the sculptors to pinpoint as the clay form took shape. An artfully worthy sight to see if you make it to the show this year.

OVERVIEW

It’s a bigger Mini Car, with split-tailgate doors and one rear passenger door, hinged at the back to open in the opposite direction to “normal” doors (think Mazda RX-8). The body is longer than a standard Mini by 9.45 inches, and within that the wheelbase has been extended by 3.15 inches.

All the elements we know and love about the Mini are still there — the great engines, the fine handling, the snappy design — except now it can take some luggage and accommodate passengers in the rear seats who are more than 3 years old.

And about that one rear passenger door? Mini calls it the (wince) Clubdoor. It is on the right side of the vehicle, it can open only when the right-front passenger door is open, and Mini says it will provide easier access to and from the rear quarters. It doesn’t have an exterior handle, so the car’s clean lines are retained.

UNDER THE HOOD

Mini Cooper Clubman
1.6-liter four-cylinder engine
120 horsepower at 6,600 rpm
114 pound-feet of torque at 4,250 rpm

Mini Cooper S Clubman
1.6-liter four-cylinder engine, turbocharged
175 horsepower at 5,500 rpm
177 pound-feet of torque at 1,600 to 5,000 rpm

WHEN?

Feb. 19

HOW MUCH?

Mini Cooper Clubman: $20,600
Mini Cooper S Clubman: $24,100

OUR TAKE

As great as the standard Mini is, space and practicality aren’t its strengths. This is an intelligent addition to the range and shouldn’t dilute the overall appeal. But if someone really wanted something sensible, they would probably buy a bigger car for the same money. The Clubman could go either way: be a big hit or create a segment for which there is little demand.