Fiat's Grand Design

Fiat S.p.A.(Fiat), an acronym for Fabrica Italiana Automobili Torino, is an Italian automobile manufacturer, financial and industrial group based in Turin, Italy. Founded in 1899, Fiat based cars are constructed around the world in Brazil, Argentina, and Poland. Fiat currently owned the Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and Ferrari brands. The auto shown above is 2009 Ferrari California!

Fiat and Chrysler LLC announced that they were going to form a global alliance. Under the terms of the agreement, Fiat would take a 20% stake in Chrysler and gain access to its North American dealer network. Chrysler in exchange will get the platforms to build smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles in the US and reciprocal access to Fiat's global distribution network.

Fiat would have the option of increasing that to as much as 55%, when the government loans are repaid. Fiat would not put cash into Chrysler, but will pay for the cost of retooling a Chrysler plant to produce one or more Fiat models, which will be sold in the us. Fiat would also provide engine and transmission technology to help Chrysler introduce new, fuel-efficient small cars.

The deal is the latest maneuver by Fiat's chief, Sergio Marchionne, who has pulled the Italian company back from the brink of collapse since taking over in 2004. The partnership would provide each company with economies of scale and geographical reach at a time when both are struggling to compete with larger and more global rivals like Toyota, Volkswagen and the alliance of Renault S.A. and Nissan.

The auto shown below is a 2008 Fiat 500, which won the 2008 European Car of the Year Award. This car will probably be one of the vehicles manufactured in the U.S.

In every difficult financial time, there are tremendous opportunities to profit! Since this is such a severe downturn, the opportunities are magnified. Car companies that would have sold for substantial amounts of money are being sold a fraction of the previous value.

The Chrysler acquisition is only part of Sergio Machionne's plan. Fiat is attempting to buy General Motors (GM) European operations. Those operations include GM's German Opel division, British Vauxhall and Swedish carmaker Saab.

It is anticipated that Fiat would have to spin off the current auto business into a core of a new company, then add the new additions Chrysler and GM Europe. It will take a substantial amount of capital to realize Machionne's plan. Another suitor Magna International, Inc. of Canada has submitted a plan for the purchase of GM's Opel unit.

Shown below is a Alfa Romeo 159!


My take on this is that with every severe financial downturn opportunities like this come up. The corporations that have the cash and the financial backing to pull this off will succeed. Fiat would go from bring a side-line player to a major player on the world automotive stage.

Information via Wikipedia!

Tucker The Man and The Machine

Here is an interesting auto story about Preston Tucker. He started in the racing business working on Indianapolis 500 cars during the 1930's. Since WWII was in progress, he designing a armored combat car for the U.S. government. The car could reach over 115 mph (185 km/h), far in excess of the design specifications. The armored combat car was rejected by the government. Shown above is a rare example of Tucker Torpedo.

The U.S. Navy selected the highly mobile, power-operated gun turret the combat car featured earned the interest of the U.S. Navy. The Tucker Turret was soon in production... it was used in PT boats, landing craft, B-17 and B-29 bombers.

After the war, he had visions of building a advanced automobile superior to anything else on the road. He was able to get preliminary funding and production started on the 1948 Tucker Torpedo.

The technical features of the Tucker Torpedo were very innovative. A perimeter frame surrounded the vehicle for crash protection. General Motors in the in the 1980's came out with their "space frame" which is a similar design. The space frame design was used on the Saturn line of vehicles, and the Chevrolet Camaro, Pontiac Firebird. If this design had been used as a standard in the U.S.....it would have saved tens of thousands of lives. Currently, there are over 40,000 automobile related fatalities in the U.S. every year. GM subsequently discontinued the design due to cost and weight factors.

The Tucker engine was a flat-6 cylinder with hemispherical combustion chambers, fuel injection and overhead valves. These features would have been auto industry firsts in 1948. Most have become industry standards in the subsequent fifty years. The flat-6 has been a BMW engine design feature on their 3-series for decades....and does Hemi sound familiar.

The following features were left on the drawing board... magnesium wheels, disc brakes, and a direct-drive torque converter transmissions. One of the Tucker's most unusual features was a third headlight located directly in the center of the front facia. It was called the "Cyclops Eye", the light turned as the vehicle turned. This feature has just been re-introduced almost fifty years later...except both headlights turn rather than a center light.

One of Tucker's most innovative business ideas caused trouble for the company, however. His Accessories Program raised funds by selling accessories before the car was even in production. The SEC brought formal charges against Tucker and six other executives in 1949. It went to the jury in January 1950, and Tucker and the other executives were acquitted on all charges just seventeen hours later. However, Tucker Corporation, now without a factory, was no more. Only fifty one of the cars ended up being assembled before it was said and done.

To counteract the bad press, Tucker again took the cars on the road. He scheduled a two-week public test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway a few of the cars that had been built. One car was rolled at 100 mph (160 km/h), and the driver walked away with just bruises. Public perception changed from outrage at Tucker's alleged misconduct to anger at the press and the government.

During the trouble Tucker faced while trying to promote his car and get it into production, he claimed that the "Big Three" automakers were deliberately attempting to sabotage his efforts, through the influence of Detroit Senator Homer Fergusion, who is commonly held responsible for initiating the SEC's pursuing of Tucker's business.

This is one of the saddest stories of the automobile business in the U.S. Tucker was a visionary, and an innovative entrepreneur. In fact, 1988 movie, Tucker: The Man and His Dream is based on the his story and production of the car. I would highly recommend the movie...it is quite entertaining and informative!

The great majority of the Tucker Torpedoes are in excellent condition. When the cars are sold at auction, which is rare, they command premium prices. The last Tucker sold was for the record-setting price of $1,017,500. The Tucker can be viewed at the Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles...they have a wonderful collection of classic cars! When you are in the Los Angeles area, it is well worth the trip.

My take on the Tucker is that is a car that should have been built! The big three auto manufacturers and the government were responsible for holding a innovative and forward thinking entrepreneur from improving cars for decades to come! The auto companies would have had to improve their products to compete....only recently have they come to that conclusion.

Information via Wikipedia!

April Auto Sales Reports

U.S. auto sales are still down 34% versus a year ago. That decline was the smallest for 2009 according to Bloomberg. Chrysler was obviously impacted by the negative news, during that month, they they might be filing for bankruptcy.

Chrysler down 48%
Toyota down 42%
Nissan down 38%
BMW down 38%
General Motors down 35%
Mazda down 32%
Ford down 32%
Mercedes down 31%
Honda down 25%
Volkswagen down 16%
Hyundai down 14%


Kesse Toprak, director of industry analysis for auto-research firm Edmunds.com indicated that "We've seen stability in demand, the variable in coming months is how consumers will react to Chrysler." My concern is that with a potential GM bankruptcy looming might also impact sales. I will be monitoring GM sales... since they have the June 1st deadline to submit their new restructuring plans to the government.


April sales ran at an annual pace of 9.3 million units, versus March of 9.9 million units. Sales for 2008 were 13.2 million autos. My take is that these numbers are still down materially....the economy must improve to give people the confidence to buy big ticket items like cars.

Duesenberg Model J

Due to the current economic climate, we are going to see a number of brands disappear from the automotive landscape. Here is one that disappeared due to the Great Depression! Most of you probably do not know this manufacturer! Duesenberg was an automobile company that started in Auburn, Indiana....producing cars from 1913 thru 1937. Approximately fifty percent of the cars manufactured still remain as collector cars. Currently, Duesenberg models J and SJ are among the most prized collector cars. A Duesenberg in good condition can be worth in excess of several million USD.

In 1913, brothers Fred and August Duesenberg founded the the Duesenberg Automobile & Motors Company in Iowa to build sports cars. The two brothers were born in Germany and were self-taught engineers. Duesenberg cars are considered some of the very best cars of the time, and were built entirely by hand. A Duesenberg won the the Indianapolis 500 race in 1924, 1925, and 1927.

The cars were extremely advanced, offering features such as dual overhead camshafts, four-valve cylinder heads, and the first hydraulic brakes offered on a passenger car.

In 1926, E.L. Cord, the owner of Cord Automobile, Auburn Automobile, and other transportation firms, bought the company in 1926.....he was a business legend in his day. The newly revived Duesenberg company set about to produce the Model J, which debuted in 1928. The standard Model J produced 265 hp. with a top speed of 119 mph. The supercharged version, called the SJ, was reputed to do 104 miles per hour with a top speed of 135–140 mph. Zero-to-60 mph (100 km/h) times of around eight seconds. Duesenbergs generally weighed around two and a half tons; up to three tons was not unusual, considering the wide array of custom coachwork available.

The interior and body of the car would be custom-made by an experienced coachbuilder to the owner's specifications. The bodyworks for the Duesenbergs came from both North America and Europe. The finished cars comprised some of the largest, grandest, most beautiful, and most elegant cars ever created. The chassis cost $8,500 ($9,500 after 1932); the completed base model cost $13,500; and a top-of-the-line model could reach $25,000 at a time when the average U.S. physician earned less than $3,000 a year.

The Duesenberg quickly became one of the most popular luxury cars in America and also in Europe, driven by the nobility, rich and famous, among them Clark Gable, Gary Cooper(each driving one of the two very rare SSJ 125″ short-wheelbase convertibles), the Duke of Windsor, the King of Spain Alfonso XIII, who was very keen on motoring, chose his now missing Duesenberg J, among his cars, to go to exile after the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic.

Duesenberg advertising claimed it was the best car in the world, and their world-beating performance and extreme opulence tended to back that up. to some of the last supercharged models to produce 400 hp (298 kW). Duesenberg ceased production in 1937 after Cord's financial empire collapsed due to the depression.

After World War II, August Duesenberg tried to revive the Duesenberg name, but was unsuccessful; several later attempts were also unsuccessful.
My take is these cars were from a different time....excellent examples of a wealthy era! Obviously, they were expensive for their day! Today, they will cost a new owner a small fortune!
Information coutesy of Wikipedia!

Can Chyrsler Be Saved?

The talks between the Chrysler and some of the lenders broke off yesterday! Chrysler will go into a government sponsored bankrupcy probably on Friday. Apparently, the government had worked out a deal with the largest banks, which they have given billions of loans in support. But, some of the hedge funds were balking at taking a hair cut! Obviously, no one wants to lose money on their investment, but the current situation is dire.

One of the difficulties for Chrysler in the negotiations is that are a number of different parties involved.....Fiat, four major banks, forty hedge funds, the United Auto Workers (UAW) and the Chrysler dealers. Apparently, for this restructuring to work all the parties involved would have to cooperate. Most if not all would have to take a substantial haircut...that is the million dollar question. Apparently, the hedge funds were the creditors that would not accept what they were offered in negotiations.

The Chrysler production plans are to produce Fiat designed vehicles in the U.S. for sale here and abroad. Car & Driver has an excellent flowchart that shows which vehicles will be produced going forward.

My take is that Chrysler will be put into a government sponsored bankruptcy! If Chrysler survives, the government will have saved Chrysler! So here are a couple of the autos that probably be produced!

Chrysler executives said the day is coming when the whole Chrysler fleet has electric powertrains. "The goal is to achieve fundamental technology, get economies of scale, improve our ability to make the future generations more robust, less cost, smaller, more powerful, better performance," according to Bill Press V.P & President. "Ultimately it will lead to a transformation of our entire fleet that will be in some manner electric drive."

The Dodge EV development vehicle, also called Dodge Circuit EV sports car, is a two-passenger, rear-wheel-drive, all electric sports car that combines a lithium-ion battery pack with a 200-kilowatt motor, capable of generating 268 horsepower. That's enough to propel the vehicle to 60 miles per hour (mph) in less than 5 seconds and to reach a top speed exceeding 120 mph (190 km/h). This car would be in build in cooperation with Lotus Motors and is almost identical to the Tesla Roadster.

The Dodge Zeo is a concept car, which is a four passenger sport wagon, powered by a single 268 hp. electric motor in coordination with a lithium-ion battery pack. It is a rear wheel drive 2+2 that can go 0-60 in 5.7 seconds. It has an effective range of 250 miles (400 km). between charges.

1445 Miles On A Tank Of Gas

My son Brian suggested that I do a post on the Ford Fusion Hybrid! In a ground breaking event for Ford, Ford has developed their own hybrid system. The system was developed internally within Ford, and does not utilize any of the Toyota Synergy drive components.

The first car to have the system installed is the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid. The Ford Fusion Hybrid is the most fuel efficient mid-sized sedan in America. Please see my February post labeled Can Detroit Build Hybrids?

In an effort to promote the new Ford Fusion Hybrid, Ford initiated a Fusion Hybrid 1000 mile challenge. Ford attempted to drive more than 1000 miles on a singe tank of gas. The Ford hybrid team drove for more than 43 continuous hours – on a single tank of gas. The Ford Fusion Hybrid was an average vehicle with no modifications for the race. A team of Ford hybrid engineers, a fuel efficiency expert and a NASCAR star drove the car for more than 43 continuous hours. See the Ford press release!

The results, of the the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid 1000 Mile Challenge, are that the Ford Fusion Hybrid actually averaged 81.5 mpg. and finished the challenge after going 1445.7 miles on one tank of gas.

The mileage-maximizing techniques that the Ford team used are:

• Slowing down and maintaining even throttle pressure
• Gradually accelerating and smoothly braking
• Maintaining a safe distance between vehicles and anticipating traffic conditions
• Coasting up to red lights and stop signs to avoid fuel waste and brake wear
• Minimize use of heater and air conditioning to reduce the load on the engine
• Close windows at high speeds to reduce aerodynamic drag
• Applying the “Pulse and Glide” technique while maintaining the flow of traffic
• Minimize excessive engine workload by using the vehicle’s kinetic forward motion to climb hills, and use downhill momentum to build speed; and
• Avoiding bumps and potholes that can reduce momentum
  Click here for more Eco-Driving tips
  

The Ford Fusion Hybrid starts at $27,270, and is eligible for a $3400 federal tax rebate. The EPA rating for the 2010 Fusion hybrid is 41 mpg city, 36 mpg highway. This model gets the better fuel economy of competing Toyota Camry Hybrid mid-size sedan.

My take on this is that this shows how far that hybrids have been developed. Congratulations to Ford for developing a such an effective green vehicle. There will be many more developments over the next several years.

Maserati Gran Turismo

This will be the last of the luxury supercar posts for the short term, but they are cars that instill such passion. Passion describes today's post of the beautiful Maserati Gran Turismo!

The Gran Turismo is a true 2+2 coupe. It is not the fastest versus it's competition! It does not have a lot of the electronic gadgets found on much of the competition..no heated and cooled seats, no adaptive cruise control, no night vision, or overly complicated stereo system. It is a gorgeous car with a unique driving personality...it is an incredibly smooth driving car. What this car has in abundance is panache! Check out this Maserati video!

Maserati is an Italian manufacturer of racing cars and sports cars. Maserati was originally founded in 1914, and competes directly with Aston Martin, Jaguar and to a lesser extent Audi, Mercedes Benz and BMW. Maserati has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since since 1993. Prior to that Chrysler under Lee Iaccoca owned Maserati.

The Gran Turismo comes in a huge number of colors, nineteen exterior colors, ten interior leather colors and believe it six colors for the brake calipers. A 4.2 liter V-8 generates 405 hp., the performance numbers are approximately 0-60 mph. 5.1 seconds, with a top speed of 177 mph.

Pricing for the Gran Turismo starts at $117,500 USD. My take is that this is not an average persons car, but a car that car enthusiasts should aspire to own. It is car that people find very rewarding!