Jonathon Ramsey

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Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG priced for Europe, now taking orders

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) on Nov 16th, 2009 at 2:30PM LuxuryPerformance

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG -- Click above for high-res image gallery

The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG now has an order form and a price. While it's not cheap, it's nowhere near the most expensive car in the range: for €177,310 ($265,531 U.S. – note: that is a straight conversion, not an indication of the car's U.S. cost), you can put one of the gullwinged wonders in your – probably climate-controlled – garage.

That fits well in between the prices for the SL63 AMG at €148,155 and the SL65 AMG at a blistering €224,672. You get four more cylinders, 40 more hp and a folding hartop on the SL65; yet the SLS gets you gullwing doors, retro styling and €47,000 left over in your pocket. And you're still cooler than the folks in a Mercedes-McLaren SLR, who spent €450,000 when it was new.

What the SLS AMG purchase price won't get you is expedited delivery: the car still won't arrive until Spring of 2010. If you're one of those who needs to keep up, some gent named Matthew K. has been designated "the SLS AMG reporter" and he'll be posting all manner of info and clips online. You can read about it in the press release after the jump, check the car out again in the gallery of high-res photos below, or call your Luxembourger account manager in three, two, one...


Gallery: First Drive: 2010 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG


Photos copyright ©2009 Chris Paukert / Weblogs, Inc.
[Source: Mercedes-Benz]

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Geely looking for 1M units from Volvo, plans Chinese factory

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) on Nov 15th, 2009 at 4:59PM



Should Geely succeed in its bid to purchase Volvo, the Chinese automaker does not plan to spend any time playing in its new Swedish sandbox. Ford moved about 380,000 Volvos around the world last year; Geely wants to sell 2.5 times that amount within five years. How so? By injecting "two or three bigger, more luxurious cars" into the lineup and working its home market of China, which Geely feels could be unlocked for 200,000 vehicles alone. Those units could be supplied by a Chinese factory capable of making 300,000 cars per year and would presumably be larger than the upcoming redesigned S60 (above).

Ford has designated Geely its preferred bidder for Volvo. However, in an echo of the tensions between General Motors and Magna's Russian bidding partner Sberbank, Geely will need to address Ford's intellectual property concerns among other issues to complete a sale. Volvo's technologies and reputation for safety are probably worth as much as the company's physical assets, so it's not surprising that Ford wants to negotiate the technology transfer. Assuming they can come to terms, closing the deal is expected to cost Geely $2 billion.


Gallery: 2010 Volvo S60


[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd]

REPORT: Toyota may offer to fix 4 million accelerator pedals

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) on Nov 15th, 2009 at 3:02PM


While Toyota maintains its position that recent accelerator issues have only to do with floor mats, the company has reportedly agreed to "make changes to gas pedals in certain U.S. models under an agreement with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration." That means that 3.8 million Toyota products – among which are the Camry, Avalon, Prius, Tacoma, Tundra, and Lexus IS250, IS350, ES350 – will be recalled to address the accelerators.

With negotiations said to be ongoing between the NHTSA and Toyota, the automaker hasn't said what those changes will be, nor has it stated exactly when the recall will begin. According to Reuters, Toyota has a $5.6 billion slush fund to pay for recalls so the repair costs, while sure to be intergalactic, shouldn't affect earnings. The company can only hope now that the rumors, current lawsuits, other current lawsuits, yet-to-be-filed lawsuits, and the 24-hour news cycle don't do the kind of damage that is much worse than merely financial.

[Source: Reuters, MarketWatch]

Spy Shots: 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee out testing in Detroit

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) on Nov 15th, 2009 at 12:56PM Spy ShotsLuxury

2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee – Click above for high-res image gallery

A little lawsuit isn't going to keep Chrysler from getting the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee ready for production. The next generation family-sized Jeep was spotted on Michigan roads. Looking rather spiffy in a matte black coat, from the side the SUV is a Cherokee with just a bit of a twist. However, the revisions to the rear and front, as well as its stance, appear to give it more European feel than any Jeep has ever had. Especially from the back it is heavily scented with an X5 influence.

If it gets an old world luxury interior to match, then who knows – the 2011 Grand Cherokee could be all growed up. You can have a look at it for yourself in the gallery of photos below. Hat tip to Peter.


Gallery: Spy Shots: 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee


[Source: Jeep Garage via Accelerating Perspective]

2010 Heavy Equipment Calendar is for you who like your pinups big and dirty

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) on Nov 14th, 2009 at 9:27AM

2010 Heavy Equipment Calendar – Click above for image gallery

Sure, there's a Porsche calendar and a Mini calendar, but what if you're the kind of enthusiast who likes the bigger things in life – and we mean really big. Like, industrial-mining and earth-moving big. If so, then the 2010 Heavy Equipment Calendar is for you. The folks at Baumaschinen24 spent four months all over Europe capturing some of the biggest objects man has ever built , such as the Terex O&K RH120-E Mining Excavator, in slinky, naked, dirt-flinging poses.

As with the date-keepers from Pirelli et al, there's quite a bit of airbrushing. Still, as a symbol of what went into it, its makers call it "THE Construction Equipment Calendar," to distinguish it from all those other construction calendars you've been eying. It's available now for €29.80 ($44.69 U.S.), and make sure you check out the 'Making of' section at the site. Sports Illustrated, watch out... Hat tip to Jens.


Gallery: 2010 Heavy Equipment Calendar


[Source: Bauforum24]

Platoon: GPS-based road trains set to test on European roads?

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) on Nov 13th, 2009 at 4:31PM


GPS-based road train – Click above for gallery

It goes by the name "Sartre," but it has nothing to do with existentialism and just a little bit to do with exits. The Safe Road Trains for the Environment program is a three-year European study centering on the creation of 'platoons' of drivers behind a lead vehicle on the highway. It involves wiring cars to speak to each other, and to a lead vehicle – the platoon commander – behind which up to eight cars could follow in automated bliss.

One of the keys to the study is finding a way to make travel more efficient and lower gas usage without spending the treasury on putting sensors in roads, or creating an entirely new standard of equipment. Also, using a lead vehicle that could take control of the vehicles behind – cars, trucks or buses – makes Sartre much more flexible since it can travel on any highway.

So say you need to get to the Alhambra in a hurry. You see a Sartre platoon on the highway ahead, and if there's room, you signal your wish to join. The lead vehicle takes control of your car, and it is pulled into the formation, leaving you free to do whatever you want to do. When you want to get out, you signal your intention, a gap is made and you get control of your car again. The study will be conducted on test tracks in Spain, Sweden and the UK, with additional trials on public road in Spain. Gentlemen, mount up... Hat tip to Ben!


Gallery: "Sartre" GPS-based road trains


[Source: BBC]

Parts Imitating Life: Sculptor uses car parts to make cars... and animals

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) on Nov 13th, 2009 at 1:29PM

James Corbett's car parts art – Click above for image gallery

One man's junk is... well, you know. Watching the shiny metal grommets roll through his auto recycling plant in Brisbane, Australia, James Corbett doesn't appear to know the word "junk" when it comes to cars. He takes all of those leftover bits and makes superbly detailed sculptures of mostly vintage racers and, of all things, animals. None of the parts are bent or altered to help make the pieces, either. Corbett even built a full-size car out of parts and stuck a flathead V8 in it, and he still takes it racing.

Corbett has an exhibit coming up in London this month and then takes his show to Palm Desert, CA next year. If you don't get a chance to see the real things, we suggest you have a well-worth-it look at the images in our gallery below.


Gallery: James Corbett's Car Parts Art


[Source: James Corbett via Pistonheads]

GoPro introduces HD line of Hero cameras

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) on Nov 13th, 2009 at 8:01AM

GoPro Hero Motorsports HD -- Click above for high-res image gallery

GoPro has unveiled its line of HD cameras specially adapted for motorsports, helmets, surfing, and R/C – although a bendy arm and a suction cup mean you could use them to record your performance vacuum cleaning as well, should you wish.

The cameras offer the option of five different shooting modes, from WVGA up to 1080p (1920 x 1080, 16:9), and even at the highest resolution you get more than four hours of footage. The 5 megapixel camera can shoot from intervals of 2 to 25 seconds and get you 2.5 hours of snapshots. It retails for $299, and if you want to see what else it's got, follow the jump for the press release.


Gallery: GoPro HD Hero


[Source: GoPro]

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REPORT: Chinese automaker SAIC accused of hybrid tech theft by SsangYong

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) on Nov 12th, 2009 at 6:32PM



In the beginning of the decade, before SsangYong got into really deep doo-doo, the Korean automaker began work on a hybrid control unit (HCU) with German engineering firm FEV. From 2004 to 2008, as the research continued, the South Korean government provided nearly half of the financial resources for the development of the technology. In 2005, as Ssangyong's stumbles began, Chinese automaker SAIC took a majority stake in the Korean company.

A year later, in 2006, SAIC saw the success SsangYong was having with the HCU and allegedly pressured SsangYong engineers to hand over the technology. And that, according to Korean state prosecutors, violated laws regarding the transfer of "homegrown technologies... without state permission." Since the Korean government paid for almost half of the tech, SAIC's rights to the HCU needed to be approved by the Korean government.

Seven indictments have been brought against SsangYong engineers, none of whom were financially compensated for revealing the HCU plans to SAIC. It appears to be a simple case of bullying. No action is planned against SAIC. Hat tip to Regular Man!

[Source: Korea Times | Image: Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty]

REPORT: Germany wants GM's plan for Opel - and a billion dollars - "quickly"

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) on Nov 12th, 2009 at 11:28AM



General Motors' bouleversement on the sale of its Opel brand has caused the European head of Opel vacate his office, the head of Opel labor to gulp "a bottle of wine" to get over the shock, the German head of state to request "GM to present a reliable plan for Opel quickly," and Germany's economic minister to prod GM to pay back the rest of the €1.5 billion ($2.25B U.S.) bridge loan.

GM's response has been for CEO Fritz Henderson to Germany on an "Opel charm tour," to pay back a portion of the borrowed fund and promise the remaining €600 million by the end of the month, and to declare that it will only need €3.5 billion ($4.5B U.S.) to restructure Opel. GM crows that the amount is "significantly lower than all bids submitted as part of the investor solicitation" and how, in fact, it's less than the €4.5 billion the German government pledged to give Magna in aid (much less Magna's anticipated restructuring costs).

The gap in this scenario: Where did GM get that number? It was rumored that Belgian investment bank RHJ was only looking to hold on to Opel for a turnaround sale to GM, which would seem to indicate they weren't going to spend a ton of money on restructuring, and even its final bid was more than €3.5 billion. Moody's predicts GM will actually need €5.8 billion ($8.5B USD) to turn Opel fully around. Nevertheless, some see this as a good thing. For us, the only conclusion we can come to is the same one we've been held at for six months: a lot of questions still need answering.

[Source: Automotive News, sub req'd | Source Image: Warner Bros.]

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Phil Berg puts his reputation on the line and hangs with the podcast crew.

 
 

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