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Aug 1, 2017

Another car-maker scandal * Germany - The EU vs. Volkswagen, BMW and Daimler

* Brussels - Investigation about three majors colluded via ‘secret technology working groups’

--- It came as no great surprise to learn that the EU competition authorities are crawling all over the three major -German car-makers, Volkswagen, BMW and Daimler, to investigate collusion via ‘secret technology working groups’ dating back to the 1990s. The most damaging allegation — reported by Der Speigel — is that the three groups colluded over the use of AdBlue, an additive that neutralises -diesel emissions, by agreeing to use small but inadequate AdBlue tanks in their cars when larger, more expensive ones might have done the job properly. (BMW denied that story, but the other two groups declined to comment) ... Some analysts argue in mitigation that this turmoil is in part the result of governments first favouring diesel engines with tax advantages, then belatedly discovering how noxious they really are. But what it also appears to show — put bluntly — is an embedded willingness to cheat in the German national interest across a sector that accounts for 20 per cent of the nation’s industrial revenues, employs 800,000 people and provides the most visible of all evidence of German economic dominance of the poorer parts of the EU... 
(Image: Getty - A Volkswagen logo in the guise of a devil) -- Brussels, Belgium - The Spectator (UK), by Martin Vander Weyer - 29 July 2017

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Feb 19, 2016

POTHOLES A BIG TROUBLE FOR TRUCKS * Europe

* Belgium - Ford's: Probing the pothole problem

(Video from Ford Europe - Feb 5, 2016: At Ford's Lommel Proving Ground in Belgium, there's a bone-shaking stretch of road that incorporates some of the world's worst potholes. To this spine jarring section copied from a real road in Essex, England)

-- At its Lommel facility, Ford created what it calls a “diabolical” 1.2‑mile road consisting of precise replicas of some of the worst potholes and road hazards from around the world to help its engineers create more robust chassis systems... Potholes and other rough road surfaces are a billion-dollar problem for vehicles the world over. Indeed, a recent study by indicates pothole damage cost drivers $15 billion in vehicle repairs over the last five years or some $3 billion annually. Thus figuring out ways to make its vehicles more “pothole resistant” is one of the primary missions of Ford Motor Co.'s Lommel Proving Grounds facility located in Lommel, Belgium... Ford said its Lommel site incorporates actual pothole conditions found in both Europe and the U.S., while simulating more than 100 other road hazards found in 25 countries worldwide... 
Lommel, Belgium - Fleet Owner (USA), by Sean Kilcarr - Feb 18, 2016

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Sep 8, 2013

* Europe - Fleet Markets in July 2013:

* Belgium - EU-5:  Less decrease, big differences

Brussels,Belgium -Fleet Europe, by Laetitia Fernandez -4 Sept 2013: -- According to a report published by DATAFORCE, new passenger car registrations in the EU-5 Fleet Markets declined by 0.7 per cent in July 2013... There were, however, fundamental differences between the individual countries... The range of growth rates varied between minus 19.8 per cent in Italy and plus 13.1 per cent in the UK. ... Skoda and Seat performed very well in such a difficult market environment, expanding their market shares in each of the five countries. Mazda ascended in four of the five markets and exactly hit their previous year’s level in Italy...

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Jul 13, 2013

CARMAKERS NEWS * Europe: Renault sals falls 1,9%

* France - Renault first-half sales fall 1.9% on European decline
Paris,France -Bloomberg News/The Detroit News, by Mathieu Rosemain -July 12, 2013: -- Renault SA, France’s second-biggest carmaker, said first-half vehicle sales fell 1.9 percent as a sixth annual contraction in Europe’s car market more than offset increases abroad... Deliveries dropped to 1.3 million cars and light commercial vehicles from 1.33 million a year earlier, the Boulogne- Billancourt, France-based company said Friday in a statement. Renault stuck to a forecast of a 5 percent decline in industrywide European car sales in 2013 while lowering its prediction for world auto-market growth to 2 percent from an estimated 3 percent gain... Renault Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn, who is also head of Japanese partner automaker Nissan Motor Co., predicted on July 6 that the European car market will probably shrink further in 2014 and 2015 as rising unemployment continues to sap consumer demand, and that he sees no “trigger” to revive the economy...


* France - Peugeot proposes early-retirement plan in France to lower costs
Paris,France -Bloomberg News/The Detroit News, by Mathieu Rosemain -July 12, 2013: -- PSA Peugeot Citroen, Europe’s second-largest carmaker, plans to offer French workers incentives to take early retirement to trim costs and return to profit, according to a union official... In talks with unions Friday, Peugeot proposed a bonus equivalent to 1.5 months salary to employees that either retire early of work part-time for lower pay... The plan would be available to French workers at least 57 years old, which totals 5,600 people... Staff that work part-time would receive 70 percent of their gross salary for as long as 36 months and workers would keep full retirement benefits. Financing of the plan hasn’t yet been discussed... Peugeot, which reported a $752 million operating loss last year, has started to implement a restructuring plan that includes closing a factory on the outskirts of Paris and eliminating 11,200 positions in France. Peugeot’s home country accounted for 40 percent of the company’s production last year...
* Germany - Daimler profit jumps to 5.2 Billion Euros on gain from EADS exit 

Stuttgart,Germany -Bloomberg News/The Detoit News, by Christoph Rauwald -July 12, 2013: -- Daimler AG, the world’s third- largest marker of luxury cars, posted second-quarter profit that exceeded analyst expectations, boosted by one-time gains... Earnings before interest and taxes rose to 5.2 billion euros ($6.8 billion), lifted by a positive 3.2 billion euros booked in connection with the sale of the manufacturer’s final stake in Airbus SAS parent European Aeronautic, Defence and Space Co., the Stuttgart, Germany-based company said Friday in a statement. Daimler reported Ebit of 2.24 billion euros a year ago, according to the company’s website...

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Jun 17, 2013

Automaker gains market share in Europe * USA

* Michigan - Ford applies lessons of U.S. crisis in Europe upswing

(Photo: Craiova B-Max production line) 
 -The Detroit News, by Karl Henkel -June 17, 2013: -- The slump in European auto sales that has prompted plant closings and layoffs may finally be turning the corner for Ford Motor Co.... Vehicle sales industrywide are running at 20-year lows in Europe, due to a sovereign debt crisis, plunging consumer confidence and automobile production overcapacity... But in May, Ford’s vehicle share in the 19 traditional European markets grew 0.3 percentage points to 8.3 percent, the second consecutive month of increases and the highest May share since 2009, according to Ford’s estimates... Vehicle sales industrywide are running at 20-year lows in Europe, due to a sovereign debt crisis, plunging consumer confidence and automobile production overcapacity... But in May, Ford’s vehicle share in the 19 traditional European markets grew 0.3 percentage points to 8.3 percent, the second consecutive month of increases and the highest May share since 2009, according to Ford’s estimates...

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Jun 6, 2013

The "Zonda Revolucion": 2.7-second 0-62 mph (100 km/h)

* Italy - The 800-hp Zonda Revolucion ends an era (for now)

(Photo: Pagani introduced the Zonda Revolucion at its Vanishing Point 2013 event) 
Modena,Italy -Gizmag, by C.C. Weiss -June 5, 2013: -- After a lifetime of designing cars and other products, including a stint at Lamborghini during the heyday of the Countach and Diablo, Horacio Pagani first introduced the world to the Zonda in 1999. The Zonda C12 laid the groundwork for a long series of Zonda models, but the entire essence of the Zonda – from its look, to its power, to its ultralight composite build – has always been that of a race car that does some street commuting on the side... The Zonda Revolucion appears to be the very last of those special editions and, by default, the very last Zonda... The automaker builds upon the sheer track aggression and potency of the Zonda R by tuning the same 6.0-liter Mercedes AMG V12 engine up to 800 hp and 538 lb-ft (729 Nm) of torque. A 6-speed sequential gearbox with lightning-fast 20-millisecond shifts helps to transfer all that power and torque as effectively as possible... An 800-hp V12 would make almost any car fast, but the Zonda's engine won't have to work that hard thanks to the Revolucion's 2,359-lb (1,070-kg) curb weight... Unfortunately Pagani hasn't released any other details, such as performance specs. We'll have to be content staring at the 2.7-second 0-62 mph (100 km/h)... Pagani will build just five Zonda Revolucions and each will cost €2.2 million (US$2.9 million)...


* Germany - Brabus B63 620 Widestar puts Mercedes-Benz AMG sibling in the rearview 

(Photo: The Brabus B63 620 Widestar) 
Stuttgart,BAV,Germany -Gizmag, by Angus MacKenzie -June 5, 2013: ... Brabus’ B63 620 Widestar conversion makes an already large piece of German engineering even bigger. With wider haunches and various aero add-ons, the 620 Widestar is now 3.1 inches (76.2 mm) wider than the GL 63 AMG. This girth adjustment is not only for aesthetic purposes, as it helps properly fit out custom 23 inch forged aluminum wheels and performances rubbers measuring 305/30 R 23... At 5,500 pounds (2,495 kg) and 16.9 feet long (5.2 m) the stock GL AMG 63’s dimensions are Titanically extreme. These larger figures are the reason why Brabus felt the need to up the existing 5.5 liter Biturbo V8s output from 557 hp (410 kW) to 620 hp (456.3 kW). This power increase is brought about thanks to the 620 PowerXtra module, a plug-and-play device providing new injection and ignition mapping and an increase in boost pressure to the twin-turbochargers...

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May 31, 2013

Aston Martin's Vantage S: A ANNIVERSARY CAR for James Bond * UK

* Gaydon - Ad-Vantage: Aston Martin's V12 Vantage S takes over

(Newly restyled V12 Vantage S is fantastically dynamic, especially when placed in dramatic pose against a monochromatic industrial backdrop) 
Gaydon,Warwickshire,UK -Gizmag, by Angus MacKenzie -May 29, 2013: -- One hundred years Aston Martin has provided car collectors and now as part of its centen Vantage Sry celebrations, the bespoke company from the UK has gone ahead and increased its Vantage’s advantage with the new 565 hp V12 Vantage S... The key bits of the already fantastic Vantage reside not in the open but under that beautifully proportioned skin... The new Vantage S start with an improved 6.0 liter V12, the new S now lays down power to the tune of 565 horsepower (573 PS), an increase of 11 percent from the outgoing model. Torque figures, have also increased. Twisting of the rear axle is upped from 570 Nm (420 lb.ft) to a very healthy 620 Nm (457 lb.ft )... Inside the new V12’s mechanical DNA, Aston Martin has implanted a new steering system, new suspension bits and a very angry exhaust system...  To manage lateral weight transfers and overall stability, the S has adopted 3-stage adaptive damping. This new suspension system, a first for the Vantage family, allows the driver to tailor the ride to the situation. Normal, Sport and Track mode, like other manufacturer’s suspension offerings, affects suspension rates and lateral rolling, depending on the level of performance or comfort required... Lightweight forged alloy 10-spoke wheels shod with serious rubber, plus new carbon ceramic brakes, and the addition of a “track-mode” setting with delayed anti-lock braking technology finishes out the performance part of the S package...

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May 1, 2013

* Germany - VW rollout of 60 new models for Europe

* Germany - VW rollout of 60 models seeks to offset Europe turmoil

(Photo by Sebastien Feval / AFP / Getty Images: People discover the new Bentley Flying Spur at the Geneva International Motor Show in March)
Wolfsburg,Germany -Bloomberg News/The Detroit News, by Christoph Rauwald -April 28, 2013: -- Volkswagen AG, Europe's biggest automaker, aims to offset plunging European demand this year by rolling out 60 new and updated models, including luxury cruisers like the Bentley Flying Spur... VW is targeting higher auto sales and revenue this year as the revamped Golf, an updated Skoda Octavia and a new Audi A3 sedan help make up for a slowdown in Europe, where demand is heading to a 20-year low. Maintaining growth momentum is key for the company, which aims to overtake General Motors Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. by 2018 to become the world's largest automaker... The manufacturer's growth all but stalled last month as sales edged up 0.2 percent to 864,400 cars, restraining the first-quarter advance to 5.1 percent as sales in its home German market tumbled 17 percent... Volkswagen is pinning its hopes for keeping up sales volumes on new models, such as the seventh generation of its best-selling Golf compact, introduced at the end of last year. The Audi premium brand, VW's largest earnings contributor, has been rolling out the revamped A3 hatchback and will add a sedan version of the model later this year to lure American and Chinese buyers seeking a small car with a separate trunk... Luxury brands account for more than half of VW's earnings and the presence in this market segment will expand...

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