30 May

• Aston Martin has already sold 400 Cygnet. It has the potential to build up to 1500 a year. (Car)
• Fiat will up its stake in Chrysler to 57% by the end of the year (ANE)

29 May

• Vauxhall will sell old and new Zafira alongside one another. That’s why the new one is called ‘Zafira Tourer’. It’s being taken upmarket. This is not a new trick, though - Citroen did it for years with the increasingly amazing-value Xsara Picasso and C4 Picasso.
• Bentley sold 396 cars in China in the first four months of 2011. That’s a 66% increase, and means China is now its largest market, overtaking the UK. The US remains top. (AN)

28 May

• The first Saab built since April 6 was a silver 9-5 Aero XWD. Saab Trollhattan now has an order bank of 6500 cars, including 1300 from the deal with Pang Da.
• Saab’s total order bank is 8100 cars – 1600 9-4X customers are waiting for the models, from the firm’s Mexican plant. The Saab 9-4X is actually sold out for 2011.
• JLR’s profit of £1.1bn for the year to March 31 compares with a profit of £15m for the same period last year. And what did Tata pay Ford for JLR in 2008? Yes, £1.1bn.
• Tata is also investing £1bn in JLR each year: aims are broad, and will see the UK’s 17,000 JLR employee count boosted by 1000.

27 May

• Lotus v Lotus: Group Lotus wins rights to sole use of ‘Lotus’. But Team Lotus can continue to be called Team Lotus. Group Lotus wins rights to black and gold colourscheme. But Team Lotus can continue to use its Lotus green-style colourscheme. Group Lotus has lodged an appeal…
• Toyota April production in Japan was down 75%.
• Jaguar Land Rover made £1.1bn last year, on revenues of £10bn.
• The BMW 5 Series GT isn’t selling well in the US. It replaced the 5 Series Touring in the lineup, but customers are not making the switch. In more bad news for BMW, 10% of 7 Series buyers have replaced their car with the cheaper 5 Series GT. Annual US sales were expected to be 4000-8000. Last year, it sold just under 2500. (CNET)
• Production has restarted at Saab.

25 May

• Now Chrysler has paid off all its loans to the US and Canadian governments, it will save more than $300m a year in interest payments. (AN)
• US government fleets must now order eco models such as the Chevrolets Volt and Cruze, and FordFiesta. Those who still order full-size saloons will have to confess this on a government website in six months’ time. This, along with a US government order for 101 Chevy Volts, is all part of Obama’s green plans for the 600k vehicle US federal fleet. (DET)
• Used prices in the UK suffered a 4.6% drop in used values last month, according to CAP. That was the second-biggest in five years (the previous high was during the 2008 dramas). “May and June have the hallmarks of 08,” said CEO of Marshall Motor Group Daksh Gupta.
• 90% of Ford’s nearly new stock goes to the Ford Retail network for resale. (ARN)

24 May

• Infiniti is planning a Red Bull-developed special edition, similar to the Renault Clio Williams. It could arrive within 2 years, says What Car?
• VW is taking its ‘Think Blue’ green campaign to the US. The idea is to emulate the Beetle’s ‘Think Small’ campaign of the 1960s: Advertising Age said that campaign was the 20th century’s best. (AN)
• Carlos Tavares, head of Nissan in the US, is favourite to take over from Patrick Pelata and become COO of Renault. Apparently, he’s already met French government ministers. (AN)

23 May

• MG Rover had the chance to base future models on a licensed Fiat Stilo platform. With Fiat JTD diesels. It passed. (AC)
• Saab owner Spyker will soon rename itself Swedish Automobile NV.
• Lamborghini is planning a third ‘everyday’ supercar, due in around four years’ time. This would help boost sales which last year stood at 1302. The record year was 2008, when it sold 2430: this year, it plans to sell 1500 cars. (AN)
• The world supercar market should hit 35,000 by 2013-14, matching the previous record of 2007. 26,000 supercars were sold last year.
• GM has removed the spare tyre on the Chevrolet Cruze Eco – but, unlike EU cars, US cars are fitted with tyre pressure sensors as standard, lessening the risk of being stranded by slow punctures. (AN)

22 May

• Thanks to Pang da, Saab has already restarted car production.

21 May

• Osnabruck-built VW Golf Cabriolet wil be most popular in 1.6 TDI Bluemotion Technology SE and 1.4 TSI 122 SE guise: each will take 20% of overall sales. It will start adding to the UK’s tally of 34,189 Golf Cabriolets sold since April 1980 in September.

20 May

• UK vehicle production was down 13% in April: firms are blaming components supply delays due to the Japanese earthquake.
• Renault has been accused of “inexcusable fault” in the suicide of a 39 year old engineer at its Guyancourt technical centre in 2006. Three engineers committed suicide between 2006-2007: Renault was developing 26 new cars at the time. It has since added 110 engineers, outsourced more work and employed a full-time director. (ABG)
• VW expects 14% of the Japanese new car market to be hybrid in 2011.

19 May

• Saab production IS underway, of sorts: the 9-4x is in full series build, as of 16 May. How? It’s built in Mexico, using a GM assembly plant.
• Chrysler has now secured the finance to pay back its $7.5bn in Government loans. This means Fiat can up its share to 46% and, by the end of the year, reach a majority stake. (DN)
• GM will close the Detroit-Hamtramck Chevrolet Volt plant for 4 weeks next month – to retool, and increase production capacity. There will be 1000 more cars this year, and 15,000 more next year: the 2012 total is now 60,000. (DN)

18 May

• The first model to roll out of VW’s new Chinese Foshan factory will be a Kai Li EV. Codenamed FV7002, it will be a Bora-derived electric car with a 42kW motor and iron phosphate batteries. Expect to see it within two years. (ANC)
• Saab’s deal with Hawtai fell through because of regulatory hurdles. The Pang Da deal won’t: the firm is a car retailer, so does not need regulatory approval. It is publically listed, after China’s second-largest IPO this year raised $1bn.
• Hyundai sold 204k cars up to April in the US, 31% ahead of 2010 figures.

17 May

• Kia currently has a 7.5% city car market share. With the new Picanto, it aims to boost this to 1 in 10 sales – that’s 15k cars a year. It also plans to boost last year’s 56k UK full sales total to 70k. (HA)
• BMW wants future engines to share 40% of parts, and same-fuel engines to share 60%. the 1.5-litre 3-cylinder, 2.0-litre 4-cylinder and 6.0-litre 6-cylinder range will debut in 3-4 years, using a common block of 500cc per cylinder. They’ll also boast both longitudinal and transverse mounting functionality. (ABG)
• In April, Porsche delivered 53% more cars than last year: 11,741.The Cayenne’s the driver: over 19k have been delivered so far this year, with sales almost doubling. Panamera sales were up 14.9%, but 911 was down 2.9% and Boxster was down 8.7% The tiddler’s the Cayman – just 544 were delivered in April.

16 May

• 16-times BTCC winner Jeff Allam is returning as ‘Driving Standards Adviser’ from the next round at Oulton Park. A role similar to the ‘ex F1 driver observer’ in today’s Formula 1 races, it’s Allam’s second time in the role. He used to do it in the mid-late 1990s.
• Saab latest: It’s signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Pang Da Automobile – China’s largest car dealer with 1100 retailers. The MOU consists of a 50-50 distribution joint venture for Saab cars, and a manufacturing joint venture for the Chinese build of both Saabs and a new own-brand model from the joint venture partners.
• Pang Da has paid €30m for a supply of Saabs, plus a further €15m in a month’s time for a further batch. It has also taken a 24% equity stake in Spyker for €65m, which secures Saab’s medium-term funding. Solution finally found?

15 May

• Renault is banning execs from revealing the range of the 2012 Zoe EV. Apparently, it will have the largest range of any Renault-Nissan Alliance EV, though: the Nissan LEAF can cover 160km, and the Renault Fluence is capable of 185km. (ANE)

14 May

• Vauxhall is to start making the 5-door Astra in Russelsheim, on the same line as the Insignia. Production starts in August, to help meet demand that’s taken Vauxhall/Opel EU market share to 6%.
• Astra Sport Tourer remains unique to Ellesmere Port, though. The plant made 46,247 between January-April: it’s the number 1 family sector estate in both the UK and EU.
• Saab latest: Great Wall is, apparently, undertaking talks about saving the brand…
• Austrian eco specialist gets 127.8mpg from a Skoda Fabia Greenline II. That’s 1245 miles on one 45-litre tank.

13 May

• Saab’s company-saving deal with Hawtai has fallen through: the Chinese firm could not get all the consents it required to go ahead. Analysts suggest complications around Saab’s previous deal with BAIC to buy the old 9-5 production line is part of the issue.
• Victor Muller is turning it into a positive: he says at least it remains people Saab’s still in business. Some, he said though the company went down with the rest of the killed-off GM brands. (DET)
• Tata Motors sold 12% more cars globally in April, including 14% more Land Rover – but 13% fewer Jaguar. 3079 were sold in the month – compare that to Audi figures… small fry. Hence, why Jaguar has to grow so much.
• UK PR agency Automotive PR has released a list of top 50 automotive influencers on Twitter. It’s caused controversy…

12 May

• US authorities may demand fuel economy improvements of between 2-7% between 2017-2025. This could double the 34.1mpg 2016 fleet mpg average target, to 62mpg. (AN)
• 1.5m car owners take their car keys to bed with them, to counter 200,000 stolen car keys a year. The 4.5m who leave them by the front door are probably the root cause, though.

11 May

• Merck KGaA restarted production of Xirallic on Sunday, ahead of schedule. Full production should be underway by June. Finally, a second factory in Germany making the pigment will start production by the end of the year.
• Parts shortages have forced Peugeot to suspend the popular 2.0 HDi 140 engine. A manual version of the formerly auto-only 2.0 HDi 163 has been introduced instead, in an example of very quick development, production and logistics action by Peugeot.
• Chinese sales growth slipped big in April, to just 3%. The ending of Government incentives is being blamed. (ANC)
• VW’s new Chinese brand is called Kaili – Chinese for ‘carrier’. It’s to be developed in association with First Auto Works. Meanwhile, VW’s other Chinese partner, SAIC, is to develop a new large luxury car for China.
• BMW in China is already BMW’s 3rd-biggest market, behind Germany and the US. And its ambitions continue to grow: BMW will now spend €1bn on a new plant, opening in 2012, to make 50k cars a year over there. (ANC)
• Ford’s testing 60 ST pre-production cars in Europe and, for the first time, the US: that’s because the 3rd-gen Focus ST is Ford’s first ‘Global Performance Vehicle’. Improvements for this one? Lower seats, a more eco engine and twin central-exit exhausts. More economical, too.

10 May

• All the 1′s from Saab’s new partner Hawtai: 1 million car production capability, 1 million engines, 1 million gearboxes, 1 million complete sets of car parts by 2015. There will also be 10 new cars.
• BMW Group’s success continues unabated: last month, it sold 17.9% more cars than the previous year – BMW itself was up 14.8% year-on-year, MINI was up 34.5% and Rolls-Royce was up 115.9%. BMW X3 sales rose 140%, X1 rose 34% and ‘X’ sales in total now account for 28.7% of BMW’s overall sales.
• BMW will recruit 2000 new employees this year, half of them based in Germany.
• Fiat has the option to own over 70% of Chrysler: next year, the UAW can release 8% of shares every 6 months. Fiat will probably also buy the US treasury’s 8.6% share in Chrysler.
• Wolverhampton is the front-runner for Jaguar’s new engine plant, says The Sunday Telegraph – but the firm wants Government aid for the £750m new facility. (STel)

9 May

• SAIC is 84% state-owned. Rumours indicate it’s seeing a technical partnership with GM, that would see the Insignia platform underpin the next Roewe 750 – aka the Rover 75 replacement.
• 60% of Toyota’s global production is made in Japan. For Nissan, it’s 30%; Honda, 25%. In March, Toyota global production dropped 30%. Honda’s dropped 19%. Nissan’s actually increased, as other worldwide plants made up for Japan’s losses. (AN)
• Autocar compared Audi to Alfa. Last month, Audi sold 125,700 cars. Last year, Alfa sold 112,000. Alfa want to sell 500k cars by 2014. Like MG Motor, Alfa plans to launch a compact SUV by 2014. (AC)

8 May

• The Fiat-Chrysler deal is bringing many benefits to both manufacturers, making it increasingly look like a move of brilliance from Sergio Marchionne. One example? Chrysler’s alliance with Fiat allows it to pool its fleet CO2 emissions with Fiat, to meet European Union requirements. Fiat has one of the lowest average CO2 figures of any car maker: Chrysler’s is less impressive, but dualling with Fiat will still allow both to come in under the fine-inducing cut-off.
• Ford of Britain centenary celebrations continue. Did you know, though, Ford Dagenham is London’s largest industrial employer?

7 May

• Toyota is the most well-recognised maker of electric and hybrid vehicles by the public. An independent survey asked people to name an EV/hybrid car brand: 15% said Toyota. The next-closest brand scored 6%.
• Ford increased its lead in the all-important UK market share stats in April. It commands 13.4% of all new car sales, up from 12.9% last year. Profitable retail sales saw a bigger gain, improving from 10.5% to 12.8%.
• Saab Q1 sales were up 73.5%, making it the fastest-growing premium brand in the UK. Yes, from a low base, but impressive all the same. The premium sector itself also rose 9.4% in that time, while the market overall was down 7.8%.

6 May

• Jaguar will build the amazing C-X75, using hybrid technology from Williams F1. 250 will be made from 2013-2015. Aston One-77, you have a new homegrown rival.
• GM posted is 5th straight quarterly profit since emerging from bankruptcy, of $3.2bn this time. The stock market still wasn’t happy, though – shares fell on the news. While GM has a margin of 6%, rival Ford’s margin tops 10%, and other balance sheet facts dampened the market’s confidence.
• Renault is planning a big advertising campaign for EVs later this year.

5 May

• Saab UK sales up 73.5% in Q1. From a low base, sure, but still very impressive. RVs are on the up, too: Saab UK’s best seller is the 9-3 1.9 TTiD Turbo Edition saloon – its used value has risen £1k in 10 months.
• Magna international Q1 profits have risen 44%, largely through increased vehicle production: it builds the Aston Martin Rapide, MINI Countryman and Peugeot RCZ.
• Secret behind Saab’s rising RVs? ”Increased confidence in the brand, allied to an improved product content, creating a better future used car,” said CAP Monitor editor Jeff Knight.

4 May

• Possible slight delay in Saab deal? Chinese central government has to OK any foreign investment deal that seems more than $100m taken out of the country. This stymied the mooted deal with Hummer back in 2009.
• MINI Countryman is driving US sales: April was its best month ever, with a 68% rise on 2010. On top of 2000 MINI Hatch sales, Countryman will add 1400, making it MINI’s second-best seller.
• Nissan has been selected as exclusive New York City taxicab provider. From 2013, it will supply bespoke NV200 (the same model seen on UK roads). The NYC taxi fleet is the largest in the US, with more than 13,000 cabs.
• US car sales are up 20% so far this year. Small cars are driving the rise: they now take 24% of the retail market, up 3% on last year.

3 May

• SEAT surprise: design head Luc Donckerwolke has moved back to VW Group, as no.2 to Walter de Silva.
• Saab SHOCK: is it to pair up with China’s Hawtai Automobile today? Set up in 2000, it did have a JV with Hyundai, but this ceased last year…
• Audi softener: three suspension grades have been offered up to now: standard, stiff Sport and hard S-line. Now, S-line gets the Sport settings, making it more supple but still keeping the visual identifiers that draw so many to it. Customers can still choose the ultra-stiff settings as a no-cost option, though.
• Ford’s F150 EcoBoost V6 is proving to be a success, despite the US’ love of V8 pickups: it accounted for 40% of April orders. The eco engine improves mpg by 20%.
• Volkswagen’s California Electronics Research Laboratory (VWERL) is working on integrating Google Street View into in-car sat nav. It’s about a year away from production, suggest insiders.
• 9 in 10 Chevrolet Volt buyers are conquest customers: meanwhile, this year’s production of 10,000 cars is expected to be oversubscribed.

2 May

• Saab is to restart production soon, after securing a €30m 6 month loan at a 7% interest rate. A further ‘drawdown request’ to the European Investment Bank will raise a further €29.1m – enough cash to pay suppliers and get components flowing again.
• Today’s frontrunning Chinese maker to save Saab longer-term? Beijing Auto (BAIC), suggest rumours today. Maker who’d benefit most, though? Youngman. It’s a massive company  that’s made buses and trucks for years – but has limited car building experience, despite contracts to make Protons in China. Saab could be its ticket to the car world.
• Chrysler posted its first profit since emerging from bankruptcy in 2009: Q1 profits of $116m were made on revenue of $13.1bn.
• Unexpected problem for Japanese-brand car dealers: limited choice of colours and trim packs. So, although cars may be available, they may not be the right ones for customers…
• On the other hand, while sales will be down, profits on each car sold will rise, due to supply and demand.

Last year it was brown. Thus year it is orange.

Geneva 2011 revealed the latest hit hue loved by the designers… and I’m all for it.

Even before Geneva, I’d ordered my next long-term test car in orange – much to the initial horror of my girlfriend, although she did come round when she saw it.

The latest makers to really embrace orange are Aston for the Virage and BMW for the 1 Series M Coupe. Who’s going to be next in 2011, I wonder?

Either way, orange is getting the juices flowing. Here’s my Geneva 2011 gallery of proof that orange is in for 2011.

+ My hit car colour of 2010

30 April

• Saab is reportedly in talks with three Chinese auto makers: Great Wall, China Youngman and Jiangsu Yueda, for a partnership deal that would see Saabs produced in China and, possibly, Chinese cars sold through Saab dealers in Europe.
• Saab admits it won’t meet its 80k 2011 sales targets. Last year, it sold 31,696 cars – it aimed to sell 50-60k.
• VW is preparing a Polo saloon for sale in China.

29 April

• Chrysler will repay its $7.5bn debt to the US and Canadian governments by June, says Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne.
• VW wants to double its production capacity in China, to 4 million cars a year, by 2018.
• VW, with Chinese partner First Auto Works, is also considering launching an entry-level brand. It’s a sector that takes 20% of all Chinese sales, and has already seen GM, Honda and Nissan launch joint-venture entry brands with Chinese partners. It’s something the Government is incentivising, too.
• Hyundai Q1 profits are up 46%: it made €1.2bn.
• Sweden has given the OK to Vladimir Antonov’s offer to buy a 29.9% stake in Spyker cars for around €30m. This will provide cash to reduce estimated unpaid supplier bills of €36m, and restart production that’s been halted since 29 March.

28 April

• European SUV sales will rise to 1.2m in 2-14, from the current 800k, says Jeep. Which is why it wants EU Jeep sales to rise to 125k by then, up from today’s 25k. It will help brand plans to sell 800k Jeep globally in 2014: today, the total is 420k.
• Proof of the SUV boom comes from Porsche: Q1 sales revenue rose 10% and earnings before tax more than doubled – thanks to the ongoing effect of the new Cayenne SUV.
• Vauxhall/Opel is GM’s 2nd best selling brand behind Chevrolet. And, in 2010, its only unprofitable one. This year, it hopes to break even (by selling 1.3-1.4m cars), and make a profit in 2012.
• Renault sales are up 15% on the back of good results from Russia and emerging markets.
• This year’s Tokyo Auto Show will see 14 foreign makers attend, showing 17 brands. In 2009, only 3 foreign brands were there. Ford, Chrysler and GM are not planning to attend this year, though.

27 April

• Lotus F1 boss Tony Fernandes has bought Caterham Cars.
• Fiat planned to sell upwards of 120k Bravo a year at launch in 2007, and said it would make a profit so long as sales were above 75k. Last year, it sold 44k. The Nissan Qashqai level-pegged it in 2007: it now outsells it 5:1.
• Spyker must seek approval from Saab to green-light any cash-raising deal to save Saab.
• Toyota may fall to world number 3 this year, because of the Japanese earthquake. This would see GM and Volkswagen Group jump ahead of it again.

26 April

• Ford of Europe helped boost Ford’s overall Q1 2011 profits to $2.6bn.
• Stats reminder: 2010 EU family hatch market was 3.16m, making it the second-largest of all. Superminis were top, taking 25% of sales.
• Audi needs to add 20% to its payroll by 2020 in order to meet rapid sales growth.
• A lack of management stability (following the fallout from the spy case) may cost Renault its ambitions growth aims – more than 3 million vehicles and a 5% operating profit by 2013. It’s achieved a market share below 8% for the past few years: in 2011, it was on 11%.

25 April

• Honda president Takanobu Ito announced at the Shanghai Auto Show that Honda is working on a successor to the NSX. It won’t use a V10 – the previous NSX replacement was canned in 2008 – and will be marketed as a high-performance halo to the CR-Z range.
• China could be Lamborghini’s number 1 market THIS YEAR.
• The Japanese eathquake means Lexus will use its position as the US market’s leading luxury maker. Residual values are increasing, though: a shortage of new cars means old models have gone up in value.
• Porsche currently has 700 worldwide dealers: it wants to grow this 30% by 2015.
• Latest audio ‘name’ to start badging up car ICE? Fender. It debuts in the 2012 VW Beetle.

24 April

• Toyota Japanese car production declined by 63% in March. Honda production fell by 52%.
• Fiat decided last month to make the 2013 Bravo family hatch replacement into a Nissan Qashqai-style crossover. The Bravo has been a Fiat flop – it’s currently 18th best-seller in its sector, outsold by the ‘niche’ Skoda Yeti.
• Nick Reilly, CEO of GM Europe, is calling upon the UK to boost the car manufacturing supply base. Suppliers should surround plants, rather than import from abroad: it’s harder to be competitive without local supply (due to shipping costs, a longer supply chain and currency variations).
• JLR is rumoured to be considering a new engine plant in the UK, creating 1000 jobs. Possible locations include South Wales and Wolverhampton.

23 April

• US car dealers are struggling from railway logistics. In the peak of the downturn, 500,000 railcars were put into storage. But today, more than 280,000 REMAIN in storage – that’s nearly 20% of stock. Rail companies are being blamed for their lax speed in returning them to operation, which is pushing up new car waiting times.
• Ford has been a little slow in broadening its Chinese model range. Not any more: by 2015, there will be 15 new Fords for the Chinese market, promised Ford Asia-Pacific president Joe Hinrichs.
• The Japanese earthquake will affect Toyota until late 2011, says the firm.
• Beijing Auto says it’s not in talks to buy Saab. The working relationship continues, though: in 2009, Beijing paid $200m for the old Saab 9-5 production lines, setting up a $1.8bn factory in China to make them.
• JLR is talking to Chinese partners about a production base there: Jiangling (30% owned by Ford) and Geely are among the potential suitors. It’s the only premium brand not to have a local China production base.
• Renault shares are down 15% so far this year, compared to an industry average of just under 4%. Fallout from the spy affair? Ghosn looks safe, though, after last week declaring ‘a captain should not jump ship in the eye of a storm’.

22 April

• Saab is looking to China for fresh investment, suggests boss Victor Muller – the firm’s talking to both both big and small companies (but not Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co, which said at Shanghai it wasn’t looking to invest in Saab).
• Muller also added he’d prefer a tie-up with a local niche player. This would give Saab a bigger voice: has he heard the stories of Saab under GM, then?
• The Rolls-Royce Ghost is having the intended effect: sales should double in Q2, reckons the company.
• The Chinese market is so extreme and diversified, there are reports of learner-drivers taking lessons and their test in Ferraris.
• Last year, the Chinese luxury car market grew by around 60% – far faster than the entire car market.

21 April

• Fuel prices in the US are approaching $5 a gallon – that’s £3 in UK money  (although US gallons are 17% smaller than UK gallons).
• Saab hopes to hear this week if the European Investment Bank is prepared to accept Saab’s proposed €30m sale of buildings, equipment and real estate to Russian Vladimir Antonov. He intends to lease back the buildings and machinery to Saab.
• Saab needs the money to pay off suppliers and restart car production, which will take a week if the deal is cleared. It’s complicated because the buildings and machinery were part of collateral for last years’ €400m EIB loan. The Swedish Government has said it will still guarantee the loan – but approval is needed for the change of terms.
• GM’s not been too affected by the Japanese earthquake yet – but it said yesterday that it may have to idle some plants if parts shortages worsen.
• Fiat confirmed today it will hike its stake in Chrysler to 46%. This will cost $1.2bn, and complete Chrysler’s refinancing of $7.1bn US and Canadian Government loans.
• Amazing stat: last year, Chrysler paid $1.2bn in interest on its huge debt. But for this payment, it would have been profitable. Hence, Fiat’s desire to refinance.

20 April

• Aston Martin sold around 30 new cars in China, in January alone. Now, it is launching the One-77 over there – but only 7 of the 77 will be available. Price 47RMB. A Rapide costs around 3RMB.
• China’s Great Wall wants to be in the US by 2015. Last year, it sold 500,000 cars, and exported 80k of them. This year, it comes to the UK with a supermini and pickup: a big SUV is mooted for the US.
• Auto Trader is the 7th most searched for online brand in the UK, beating Tesco. Last month, it past the 1 billion pageviews a month mark, and got 10.8 million unique users. The Auto Trader mobile app, launched in March 2010, has also had more than 1 million downloads.
• BMW will phase out the R56 MINI platform next year: according to Autocar, Saab will buy it, for use in the Saab 9-1. The next MINI 3 will be dubbed F56, and also used by the future FWD BMW.

19 April

• How to get round the issue of having your hit new Beetle available for launch, but needing to choose from either the New York Auto Show or Shanghai Auto Show? Launch it, simultaneously, at both, as Volkswagen is indeed doing.
• GM wants to double its sales in China by 2015. Last year, it sold 2.35 million cars there. 60 new or facelifted cars will be rolled out to achieve this.
• Nissan will repair circa 5300 LEAF affected by a non-start glitch in the software. The first EV recall? Impressively, customers have been notified via the car’s onboard display screen.

18 April

• The Chinese new car market became the world’s biggest in 2009. But last year, sales overtook even thehistoric peaks of the US market. Last year, they rose 32%, to 18.1 million.
• Predicted trend for Chinese cars in the coming year? EVs. Proven by the smog seen at this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix.
• In Europe, the German new car market accounts for 1 in 5 sales. VW, meanwhile, sells 22% of all the new cars in Europe.
• Morgan Stanley says the gap between Daimler and BMW in the race to cut CO2 emissions has grown – which will result in a potential $2bn ‘pricing disadvantage’ for Mercedes-Benz and Smart cars.
• My blog has been shortlisted in a ‘best blog’ poll.

16 April

• Mazda is mimicking Toyota’s ‘We Are Toyota’ ad campaign with its own ‘We Build Mazdas’ spots. It’s to focus on the driver-centric aspects of the cars, but still includes ‘Zoom-Zoom’, right at the very end. It’s also aimed at helping maintain Mazda’s 2% US market share.
• MG is targeting 3000 sales this year, after relaunching UK assembly (using engines, bodyshells and drivetrains shipped over from China) this week.
• Toyota has thus far lost around 260,000 units of production because of the Japanese earthquake (the number is rising all the time). It will continue operating on half-capacity until June.

15 April

• Land Rover sold 18,000 Defender last year.
• Fiat may up its stake in Chrysler to 46% by June.
• The Swedish Government is trying to help find cash for Saab: it has already acted as guarantor on the €400m loan from the European Investment Bank.
• Volvo has recruited Toscan Bennett as new VP of product planning. The former Volvo VP of product marketing and strategy in Volvo North America has had a 25-year career in marketing and communications.

14 April

• Last year, Chevrolet sold 198k Malibu in the US, a 23% year-on-year increase. Now, it’s going global: the new Malibu will be unveiled at the Shanghai Motor Show next week.
• There are now 215 cars that are London Congestion Charge exempt, says Automotive Finance and Leasing. Qualifiers? 100g/km CO2 or less, Euro 5 emissions, and signing up with Transport for London (oh, and paying an annual £10 ‘admin charge).
• Volkswagen may buy Isuzu, taking its brand portfolio up to 9 (10 if you include the partnership with Suzuki, although little progress has been made there  in over 12 months – cultural differences between Germany and Japan are to blame).
• Fiat’s stake in Chrysler is up from 25% to 30%.

13 April

• MINI is to sell its interpretation of the Aston Martin Cygnet business model, with an ultra-price new model. The MINI By Goodwood is trimmed by fellow BMW partner Rolls-Royce, and may have a £50k price tag.
• Business Car reports Kensington and Chelsea local council is slapping a £15 parking permit surcharge on diesel cars that don’t meet Euro 5 standards – to tackle local air pollution including high NOx levels.
• There are going to be even more Harman infotainment systems for VW Group cars: the firm has just signed an extended contract with the US firm, which is now worth a total of $1.6bn.
• It IS BMW that’s hired former Opel product planning head Frank Weber. He will become head of vehicle architecture and integration.

12 April

• Autocar reports Ferrari is leading the race between supercar makers to cut CO2 emissions. They were 12% lower in 2010 – half the improvement mass makers have to make by 2015. Bentley was down 1.9%; Aston, 0.6%.
• Car prices are the highest in the US since 1996. Why? Supply and demand: too much of the latter, too little of the former – which is set to worsen when the effects of the Japanese eathquake take hold.
• The Swedish Government is helping facilitate a loan for Saab, to ensure it remains in business.
• Another Autocar one: the next Audi A3 will in time be offered with petrol, diesel, natural gas, hybrid-plug-in hybrid and all-electric drivetrains.

11 April

• Skoda posted a sales record last month: 85,000 cars sold, including 6000 in the UK (we outsell Skoda’s home Czech Republic market: there, 5000 were sold). Overall sales grew 21% in Q1 2011.
• Renault’s COO (and, thus second-in-command) Patrick Pelata has resigned, following the EV spy case events of the start of the year.
• Pelata’s moving to a Nissan, so he remains within the group. Also to leave 15% state-owned Renault are the company’s general secretary, HR manager, legal director and director of security.
• Analysts are now saying Renault’s strategic plan, announced in February, many now be called into question. At least the three wrongfully-dismissed Renault employees are to be compensated – for bonuses Ghosn and Pelata will forego.

10 April

• Morgan Stanley say, in 5 years, there will be more mobile internet users than desktop internet users.
• Audi PR head Jon Zammett has been invited to the Royal Wedding, reports the Daily Mail.
• Alfa’s relaunch in the US is now delayed until 2013. Marchionne’s not happy with the design and manufacturing of the new mid-size 159-replacing Giulia, apparently: nor with the looks of its Chrysler 200 and Dodge Avenger siblings (and the link here could lead to the Giulia being built in the US).
• Alfa plans to sell 170k units in 2011: 100k Giulietta, 60k Mito, 10k 159. In 2010, it sold just over 110k. It also plans to be selling 500k by 2014.

9 April

• BMW Q1 sales up 21%, leading them to predict 2011 sales of “well over” 1.5 million. March sales in the UK were also higher than ever before.
• Rumours: it’s BMW that’s hired former Opel EV whizz Frank Weber.
• Interesting line in the Peugeot press release, announcing the arrival of new UK marketing chief Morgan Lecoupeur: “With a return to form with vehicles acknowledged for their exceptional ride and handling characteristics…”. Significant that it’s admitted what many have said for decades.
• Somebody got a mention in the MIPAA Hub Issue 3 this week.

8 April

• Toyota has halted overtime at its UK Burnaston (cars) and Deeside (engines) plants due to parts shortages from Japan. Last year, they built 137k Auris, Auris Hybrid and Avensis.
• Frank Weber, one of the key players behind the Chevrolet Volt, has resigned from Opel to go and work for a competitor. Identity of the rival is yet to be revealed.
• Reference terms for an independent review into the Strategic Road Network (motorways + major A-roads) have been published. Review starts after Easter, reports back in October: targeted with seeing if roads can be “more efficiently operated, maintained and enhanced”. Interestingly, it is added that it will not “consider introducing national road pricing”.
• Oil prices hit a 30-month high yesterday: $109 a barrel. Watch out if unrest spreads to Saudi Arabia, too: former oil minister says they could rise to $200 or even $300. Saudi Arabia is the world’s biggest oil exporter.

7 April

• Land Rover designers used a virtual dog to help plan the boot layout of the new Range Rover Evoque. It was a virtual Labrador.
• Alfa Romeo UK sales were up 66.3% in March, the biggest increase of any maker. Year-to-date sales are up 60.4%.
• Honda has cut production at its UK Swindon plant by 50% for 7 weeks, due to parts shortages from Japan.
• Saab owes ‘tens of millions of dollars’ to suppliers, say industry experts.

6 April

• Average time spent online researching a new or used car before someone buys? 18 hours, according toManheim Auctions. They’re still reluctant to actually buy it online, though.
• Fiat’s next-gen Dodge Caliber-based mid-ranger will launch in China and Russia in 2013. The latter, probably built at that massive new 300k-a-year factory it’s got planned. BIG volume world car, in other words.
• Subaru is restarting Impreza and Forester production today, for the first time since the Japanese earthquake struck.
• bmwblog.com started out as an enthusiast’s website. Is now read by more than 1 million people a month. Sign of the times: which is why the site is now officially recognised by BMW AG.

5 April

• Ford US has put prices up by an average of 0.4%, due to ‘higher commodity costs’. Significant? Toyota has also put prices up by an average of 1.7%.
• Auction4Cars disagrees that used car prices are stabilising: in the last month, the auction division of car supermarket Motorpoint saw used prices fall by more than 8%.The average price is now £2983.
• Kia designer Peter Schreyer still wants a roadster or convertible in the range, but has to replace two more pre-Schreyer models first: the Sedona and the Carens.
• VW will reveal the new Beetle on 18 April.
• Saab has halted production again: several companies have stopped deliveries of parts as the Swedish firm hasn’t paid its bills. Boss Victor Muller says it’s not surprising, though – he expects several such breaks while things get back into line.

4 April

• PSA is back to running two shifts at its 300k-capacity Slovakia plant, following delays caused by Japanese earthquake-inflicted parts holdups. It makes the Peugeot 207 and Citroen C3 Picasso: the 3000 workers will take on extra shifts, including Saturday working, to catch up.
• The EC is trying to get the FIA to run EV racing championships, to make electric cars ‘cooler’.
• Antonov could take a 30% stake in Saab: needs to be soon – suppliers are getting twitchy at the money they’re owed. Just In Time production means any halts in parts supply effectively stops production, so the situation is critical.
• Glass’s Guide doesn’t expect any big waves in used car prices – there’ll be little change over 2010 values. Used car demand remains 15-20% lower than 2007.

2 April

• BMW announced at a press gathering in Munich that current M GmbH boss, Kay Segler, will return to head up MINI at the end of April. MINI development head Friedrich Nitschke will take over M on May 1; Segler previously headed MINI between 2004-2008.
• Vertu Motors awards a flash watch to its top performing sales exec each month. In March, they were at Kings Norton Ford – and sold 62 cars in 31 days.
• Spyker says it needs fresh funds to secure the future of Saab.
• BMW is ‘greener’ than Daimler to the tune of €2 billion. It’s based on BMW’s EfficientDynamics-led CO2 and pricing advantage over Daimler.

1 April

• Renault-Nissan Alliance reminder: Nissan owns 15% of Renault. French Government owns 15% of Renault. Renault owns 43.4% of Nissan. Current rumours suggest the two companies could be combined, freeing up €billions for a financially-weak Renault.
• Sweden’s Debt Office will take “several weeks’ to consider an offer by Vladimir Antonov to buy a stake in Saab.
• Fiat may spend €1.6bn on a new plant in Russia, to make an Euro version of next January’s Dodge (relatively) small car – eventually building 300k a year. Why? If it builds that many, it becomes exempt from import tariffs on parts.
• BMW has unveiled an M3 Pickup. No, this is not an April Fool.

31 March

• Peugeot will, for the first time, sell more of a model outside Europe than within: China is to become the biggest market for the new 200k-a-year 508.
• Toyota’s core Japanese plants will remain offline until at least April 14.
• Obama has said that, come 2015, all new federal government cars must be hybrid, EV or alternative fuel. It’s a big fleet – 600,000 – and will play its part in cutting the US’ 11m barrel-a-day oil import total by a third come 2025.
• Fiat reckons its market share will increase in Europe this year. Why? New models towards the end of the year – including the key one, the new Fiat Panda.

30 March

• Car makers are opposing proposed US ‘Ejection Mitigation’ legislation, proposed for 2013 and to be mandatory from 2017. Demands unbelted adults move no more than 4 inches past the side window opening in a crash. Cost: half a billion dollars. Saving: 373 lives a year.
• Porsche says sales of some of its models could be halted by Ejection Mitigation: they won’t comply without a major redesign.
• Volvo is going on a product offensive, by recruiting more than 1000 new engineers: it’s part of an aim to sell 800k models by 2020. Last year, it sold 373k but has already said it will sell ‘significantly more’ this year.
• Ford has highlighted a flaw in the EU Commission’s call for a 50% reduction in internal combustion engine cars within city limits by 2030: “The White Paper… does not tackle the issue of how such a sharp demand for electricity within 20 years will be achieved”…

29 March

• EU wants to ban petrol and diesel cars in city centres by 2050, have a 50% ZEV car fleet by 2030, and (bizarrely) dictate that all journeys of 190 miles or less are taken by train.
• SEAT hopes to increase sales by 10% this year, as part of its 5-year ‘last chance’ recovery plan announced by Brit boss James Muir last year. by 2015, it will be selling 800k cars a year.
• Car dealers could be about to get a whole lot cooler: an SMMT survey reckoned dealers could save £20,300 a year by being smarter with the heating on their premises – saving 300k tonnes of CO2 a year.
• £1 in every £4 spent by British companies on advertising is now directed online. 27.5% increase in online advertising last year.

28 March

• Car makers may rapidly increase car production in the 2nd half of 2011, to make up for losses caused by the Japanese earthquake. Parts suppliers, though, fear they won’t be able to meet this demand, which could lead to more production delays.
• 40mpg is becoming the new magic mark for US cars – Ford admits discovering the new Focus could return high-30mpgs led it to seek 40mpg from aero and tyre mods. Oh, and remember: 40 US mg is 48 UK mpg…
• Standardisation of smartphones in cars is being boosted by a new ‘Car Connectivity Consortium’: Alpine, Daimler, GM, Honda, Hyundai, LG, Panasonic, Samsung, Toyota and VW have all signed up. It’s open-source, so Apple and Google will find it easy, too.
• Car Connectivity Consortium may lead to built-in sat nav becoming obsolete, says Autocar: people will use their phone instead.

27 March

• Ford will idle Genk in Belgium for a week, because of parts shortages caused by the Japanese earthquake. It builds S-Max, Galaxy and Mondeo, and has 4600 employees.
• US Patent and Trademark office is opening a new satellite in Detroit, due to increasing demand. Last year, the state was 7th-highest in the US for number of trademarks granted.
• BBC says a £191m loss last year is why Jan Ake Jonsson went from Saab. Saab sold 30k cars last year. This year, it’s meant to be selling 80k.
• F1 DRS moves aero balance forward by an amazing 8%. Which is why Adrian Sutil span exiting the final corner in the Australian GP.

26 March

• Saab is seeking a platform-share for its 2014 €20k-upwards Audi A1-sized small car, of which it plans to make 30-35k a year. It is also offering its plant for contract production to other makers – capacity is 190k a year.
• Volvo is an EU maker NOT slowing production following the Japan earthquake, despite sourcing 10% of components from Japan.
• Ford is testing the first US-built Focus for 30 miles before shipping to dealers, something only premium makers normally do. Cars are made at Wayne, Michigan.
• Volvo is taking full ownership of the JV it started with Pininfarina, to build the C70 coupe-cab in Sweden.

25 March

• Toyota will, at last, restart Prius production at its Tsutsumi plant in central Japan (near the Toyota Motor City HQ).
• Parts from Japan factories take between 2-7 weeks to reach plants in North America. This means the effects of the Japanese tsunami will start to be fed globally from around now.
• Analysts at Supplier Business say Hitachi, for instance, supplies 60% of the airflow sensors used by Ford, GMs, Renault, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen. Its plant was badly damaged by the earthquake and tsunami.
• Tyre facts from Kwik-Fit: incorrect pressures reduce mpg by 10%. 20% underinflated – 30% less tyre life. Yet overinflating increases tread wear and impact damage susceptibility. And, why fill with nitrogen? Reduces pressure loss and so reduces all the aforementioned.

24 March

• The next Vauxhall Vivaro WILL be built at Luton, saving the plant and 1000 jobs. This means both GM’s once-threatened UK facilities have not only been saved, but allowed to prosper. More good news, to bolster JLR’s decision to keep Castle Bromwich and Solihull, while also expanding Halewood.
• Volvo says HALF of all pedestrian accidents happen at speeds below 15.5mph. Its pedestrian detection/collision avoidance system works at speeds of up to 21.7mph…
• Scott Burgess has returned to his job on the Detroit News.
• Japanese earthquake to cut global car production by 30% That’s what analysts IHS Automotive reckon.

23 March

• Fiat suspends a €500m investment to restore a former Bertone plant it had earmarked to make a future Maserati rival to the BMW 5 (plus the new Quattroporte). Why? Couldn’t reach agreement with the unions.
• Japanese nuclear disaster to quell EU appetite for EVs, say some analysts.
• Fisker has started producing the Karma in Finland.

22 March

• 17 of the US’ top 20 Japanese imports are still offline, a week after the quake.
• Supply problems also affecting South Korea makers?
• The future for US pickups? More eco FWD models, if the Chevrolet Colorado concept is anything to go by.

21 March

• 1000 LTI taxis have been sold in Azebaijan, representing 80% of the firm’s 2011 volume already. The €19m contract is the firm’s largest ever, and should help turn around €7m losses in 2009, and €2m last year. But, beating that…
• 1200 new Ford Galaxy diesel autos (in black) will be delivered to Addison Lee in 2011, to serve as… taxis! At a rate of 28 a month, it means the firm’s 2500-strong fleet will be 100% Ford by November.
• Talks for Nissan to acquire a 25% stake in AvtoVAZ (Russian makers of Lada) have been put on hold due to the tsunami. Alliance partner Renault already owns 25%, for which it paid €700m in 2002. Nissan’s looking to pay €250m for its share. Carlos Ghosn wants a controlling stake in AvtoVAZ, to which the Russian Government has agreed.
• Honda has stopped taking new car orders in the US. It may not restart volume car production in Japan until May.

20 March

• VW is continuing to offer amazing deals on the Polo. A 1.2 S 60 can be bought on finance for £9495 (£500 off), at £99 per month – with 3 yrs’ free servicing and 1 yrs’ free insurance also chucked in.
• French Government has said it’ll see to ‘reform’ at Renault, after being embarrassed by the spy scandal.
• The US big 3 is trying to drive up sales in California, America’s largest new car market. The image-conscious state currently prefers the status of imports: Detroit sales there have slipped from 50% to just 30% of the car market.

19 March

• The US NHSTA may ban ‘off’ buttons for sound-emitting devices on EVs and hybrids. President Obama said in January that they must be fitted within a few years: feds may now outlaw any means of switching them off. Hyundai has already removed the ‘off’ button for the new Sonata Hybrid.
• Price of fuel in the US has rocketed – to £2.19 a gallon. That’s around £2.55 in UK gallons, or 56p a litre. A litre of unleaded in the UK is currently around 132p.
• Renault is to launch an even bigger ‘Maxi’ version of the Kangoo ZE electric van. Like the standard model, though, batteries are not included: they’re leased, at £59 a month, over 4yrs/9k miles pa.

18 March

• Nissan is going to check all vehicles built in Japan for signs of radiation, following recent nuclear power plant leaks.
• The lastest 40 MINI E trial drivers covered 128,000 miles between them in 6 months. The highest mileage of the group, who handed their cars back today, drove 7000 miles.
• Opel and Renault production is being hit by parts shortages from Japan. Opel’s Corsa-building Saragossa plant has been stopped for a day, while Renault’s South Korea plant will be down 15-20% following parts shortages.

17 March

• Lincoln now makes the most reliable vehicles in the US, according to the 2011 J.D. Power dependability survey. Lincoln’s ahead of Porsche and, impressively, Lexus.
• Detroit News admits responding to advertiser complaints and ‘softening’ Scott Burgess’ review of the Chrysler 200 was a mistake.
• Porsche SE is now not sure it will merge with VW AG, and may become a stand-alone entity. Porsche SE is the holding company of Porsche AG, of which VW Group owns 49.9%. It was set up in 2007, and the dealings have been massively complicated ever since…

16 March

• BMW is the latest car firm to consider building in Brazil – Jaguar is also underlining the region’s growing importance. The World Cup is there in 2014: the Olympic Games go there in 2016.
• EU car sales have risen for the first time in almost a year. 1 million vehicles were sold in February.
• Chrysler continues to be a bit PR-clumsy: it’s now suing a T-Shirt business for using the “Imported From Detroit” slogan.

15 March

• Sub-130g/km CO2 cars now represent 40% of the new car market. In 2000, they accounted for 1% of sales. CO2 emissions have fallen 20% since 2000: the average is now 144.2g/km, representing economy of around 50mpg.
• BMW expects profits before tax to rise to 8% this year. Beyond 2012, it wants to sustain margins of 8-10%.
• Porsche has explained the ‘Cajun’ development tag for its baby off-roader: ‘Cayenne-Junior’

14 February

• Stat of the day: 24.2mpg and 0-62mph in 3.1 seconds. McLaren has combined both within the £168,500 MP4-12C…
• VW Group PQ25 platform (VW Polo, SEAT Ibiza, Audi A1) wasn’t designed to take quattro four-wheel drive. Audi converted it for the A1 quattro – but the changes are expensive, so there won’t be a VW Polo R alternative. It would sit too close to the VW Golf GTI.
• VW ‘R’ fact does reveal something about the R line, though: a USP is four-wheel drive. No quattro for Polo? No Polo R.

13 February

• Ford boss Alan Mulally was behind the 787 Dreamliner when at Boeing – the (much-delayed) aircraft that consumes 20% less fuel than rivals. Fuel economy improvement of the 2011 Ford Explorer, a vehicle developed under his watch? 24%
• Latest petrol engine to do as diesels did a few years back, and astound with its fuel economy: Mercedes C-Class Coupe C 350 BlueDirect. Average eco: 41.5mpg.
• New WRC era starts this weekend, with 1.6-litre turbo hot hatches – Ford Fiesta, CItroen DS3. Manual sequential gearboxes and a reported torque deficiency (thanks to a smaller restricter) means lots of fun. Front-drive, too? I may just start following WRC again.

12 February

• Audi average waiting time is 3-4 months: it’s thus considering opening production plants on Saturdays to meet demand. Good idea: why is it only being considered now, though?
• Renault owns 43% of Nissan: Management loggerheads mean it won’t be integrating further in the near future, says Carlos ‘God’ Ghosn. Renault Group will also cap R&D spend to 9% of revenue, too. Good job it made £929 million last year, then: 2.8% ROI, as mentioned below.
• Big number: Volkswagen Group delivered 644,200 cars in January.

11 February

• Kia has sold 52k Rio in the UK since launch in 2005: worldwide, it’s shifted 860k. Despite age, it was Kia’s third best-selling car overseas last year.
• Renault operating margin last year was +2.8%. Ferrari’s? +15.8%. No wonder Ferrari says it’s more of aluxury goods maker than a car firm. Renault’s still chuffed: last year, margin was -1.2%.
• Infiniti premium compact concept due at Geneva next month is to use the next-gen Renault Megane platform.

10 February

• Ford says Focus EV will cost $1200 less in service and maintenance, over 10 years, than the IC engine alternative. Small fact that could really help convince buyers: shows how straightforward EVs are.
• 85% of the near-96k cars Nissan sold in the UK last year were also built here.
• Car firms more satisfying than average UK company, according to UK Customer Satisfaction Index. Average overall is 76.7%: car industry scores 78.4%. Mazda is most satisfying, on 83.3%. Overall UK CSI leaders? Waitrose and John Lewis, both on 89%.

7 February

• Mitsubishi’s Illinois factory has been open 25 years, has capacity to build 240k cars. Last year, it built 29,400. Adding Outlander will cost it $73m, boost this by 50k.
• Fiat is Italy’s biggest private employer, with 80,000 people working for it. No wonder there’s drama about creating a single company with Chrysler, and basing itself in Detroit.
• BMW wants to set a sales record of 1.5 million cars this year. It also wants to be selling 2 million by 2020. Audi has eyes on leading the Indian luxury car market – 25k this year, it will double by 2015.

4 February

• Mercedes sold more cars than ever last month: 82,700, up from 67k last year. 2011 should be a record year, up from the previous 1.29 million max in 2007.
• BMW says the 2013 MegaCity EV will be lease-only, rather than outright purchase. It’s selling ‘use of a car’, rather than a car itself.
• Online car retailer Autoquake says 35% of people buy online, sight-unseen. Average price they pay for a car they’ve never seen? £7500.

3 February

• Alfa Romeo to sell rear-engine, rear-drive 850kg coupe built by Dallara? Using ‘more powerful’ version of Giulietta Cloverleaf’s 1750 TBi? Yikes! Apparently, a Geneva show car will offer clues: can’t wait.
• Motorbike sales down 31% year-on-year in December. Yes, it snowed, but really: how much more can the market decline? See, it snowed last December, too…
• Renault will sell 43% of its cars outside Europe this year. Last year, it was 37%. in 2000, it was 17%. A clear indicator for those wondering from where the growth will come.

2 February

• Mercedes is to start selling Maybach in India: 2004 debut didn’t work out, but it’s up for another go.
• Maybach also sold 200 cars last year. That, coincidentally, is the same number Infiniti sold in the UK – from, effectively, just the single dealer.
• Most popular UK Infiniti in 2010? The most expensive one; the FX. Took 1 in 2 sales here.

1 February

• Vauxhall’s just made the 100,000th new Meriva: production is thus DOUBLE the 50k a year it originally intended.
• Ford dealers offering double Nectar points on MOTs and servicing during February: interesting initiative.
• Discovered a great F1 insight blog: check out Scarbs F1…

31 January

• Iveco is guaranteeing a 4% economy improvement from its ECOSTRALIS truck range. Interestingly, one of the mods is a speed limiter reduction from 55mph to 52mph.
• Fiat confirms 2012 crossover for Miafiori. Will replace the Jeep Patriot and underpin the first-ever Alfa SUV. Platform is a widened Giulietta base.
• Ford Europe sales plunged 23% in December: led to a massive 79% decline in Ford’s quarterly profits. FoMoCo still made $6.65bn full-year profit, though – the best since 1999.

28 January

• Ferrari launch their 2011 F1 challenger – the F150. Let’s hope it’s not truculent.
• Safest Euro NCAP cars of 2010 include BMW 5 Series, Honda CR-Z, Alfa Giulietta. Least-safe? Landwind CV9, which scored just 2 stars.
• Fiat has the cash to take a majority stake in Chrysler by the end of the year, apparently. And then what?

27 January

• Volvo safety no longer a USP, according to US commentators. If not that, then… what?
• VW are going to build 100 XL1 in 2013.
• Magna in Graz will build 20k MINI Paceman – aka 2dr Countryman – a year. It’s the 7th iteration of new MINI.

26 January

• Another Toyota recall: 15k Avensis and 3k Lexus IS 250. Admirable honesty, but is the message being lost in the ‘another Toyota recall’ headlines?
• VW Wolfsburg had a day off on Monday. Why – lack of demand? No: lack of parts supply to make all the cars that are so much in demand…
• Obama wants to see 1 million EVs on the road in the US by 2015. There are currently 3,500 EVs on the road in the US.

25 January

• Ferrari plans to make 1000 Ferrari FF per year.
• Maybe it’s the fact the Ferrari FF is, relatively, very green? CO2 of 612 Scaglietti it replaces: 470g/km. Ferrari FF CO2: 360g/km…
• GM wants to DOUBLE annual production of the Volt – already.

24 January

• Toyota remains global number 1, despite recalls: GM 2nd, VW 3rd.
• New VW Golf due end of 2012? Audi A3 will be the first on the new MQB platform, though: expect that in summer 2012.
• Coulthard to open Scottish Caravan Club show. Once a motorhome-touring F1 driver, always… etc.

16 January

• New Dodge Viper comes next year, set to take on Porsche. Apparently inspired by ‘a naked woman on the beach’.
• Bill Ford reckons fuel prices will only rise in the future. Company’s entire future strategy is built around this.
• Significance of 190PS Freelander SD4? Engine source for much-mooted 4-cylinder Jaguar XF..

LEARNING how to do folding hard-top roofs with the 3 Series Convertible served BMW well.

It meant it could launch a folding hard top Z4 relatively easily – simply because it had acquired so much knowledge.

What’s more, the shift over to the folding tin top is another reason for the car’s production relocation to Germany.

The Regensburg plant where it’s built has now become BMW’s official ‘centre of excellence’ for folding hard-top roofs.

It’s so well geared up, the supplier is even located there on site, an engineer insider told me.

‘This gives us the best possible means of achieving high quality levels.’

Engineering a folding hard top isn’t the work of a moment. Even one such as the Z4’s, whose lower 2-panel count reduces the number of joins and joints to worry about.

The problem come in areas you probably don’t even think about. Such as?

•    Packing the roof into the boot without the lardy bum of a Peugeot 307 CC. ‘A close working relationship with the designers is vital.’

•    Making it watertight – ‘this is the key. The biggest challenge is not to get the roof moving, it’s to keep the water out.’

•    The need to like coffee. ‘I was able to work closely with the expert from the 3 Series Convertible project – we could have coffee, chat about our weekends, and how to get the Z4 roof watertight. We did this a lot…’

‘Once you’ve got it watertight the first time, you then need to do it again. Repeatability is of huge importance.

‘Our approach is to always take one car at random and test it for water tightness.’

Passing the tough BMW test involves putting the car in a high-pressure shower. Literally. ‘It’s a severe test. At the moment, every car is being tested. In time, tolerances will be such that we can test a certain percentage.’

What’s a watertight test pass rate for BMW? 95 percent ‘right first time’. Which means that, basically, every single Z4 has to be built to be watertight.

‘We’re almost there…’

BMW Z4 development background

BMW Z4 chassis secrets

BMW Z4 photo stream on Flickr

HEAVENS, I’m admitting something here. That I used to be in Chess Club at College.

OK, not for long. And I did used to put Breeders tapes (yes, tapes) on in the background. But, partake I did. Which is why I know Ford is like a member of said Club.

The feared member. The Club player I never dared play. The champ, the whizz, the one who nobody could beat – his moves were like a perfectly-placed onslaught of brilliance from the off. The git.

Bit like Ford right now (well, apart from the git bit).

Market share is booming. The right cars are flying out of the showrooms just at the right time. The dealers find they’re still able to make all the right noises for customers.

Checkmate, rivals.

It’s almost momentous, Ford happening to launch the brand-new, brilliant, bedazzling Fiesta and pretty decent Ka, just as the country enters a major recession and switches wholesale (well, 35 percent or so, according to the SMMT) to superminis.

Think of the Blue Oval right now just as we thought of the St Georges Cross flag seller, in the 2002 World Cup. Yes, him, on the beach in the Costa del Sol right now.

Is this by chance or design? Did Ford foresee changing market conditions? Did it intentionally make the Fiesta so damn great because it KNEW the market was switching this way?

Whatever, it’s working. Historically so. Mainstream is back in vogue, and the blue collar’s fave is reaping the benefits.

Damn, it’s good. You won’t catch me taking it on. Now, where’s me Breeders tape…

The most depressing engines in esistance: Ford 1.8D

Ford gloom hides people carrier revolution?

Weller does a MINI Silverstone gig

YOU can’t get auto stories closer to home than a car company 3 miles from your door.

Westfield Sports Cars is based in Kingswinford. Or, down the road from me. Just because they’re close, though, doesn’t mean I have connections there. Alas.

Maybe this is because their sights are set further afield. See, in yesterday’s local paper came a story that the firm’s upped its exports by 80 percent.

80 percent!

Westfields, it seems, are now being distributed in the Middle East, France, Holland and Malaysia. There’s an international dealer network. And, says the company, it’s not stopping there.

See, Westfield now has European Small Series Specification – homologation for kitcars. This means they’re an even more consumer-friendly proposition, meaning Westfield could see production nudge up to 2 a day.

14 a week, 56 a month. Big numbers for someone the size of Westfield.

UK Trade & Investment cash is helping this foreign expansion. Apparently, at all international motor shows and track days, the cars carry UKTI logos – because the Government body is providing the company with the necessaries to develop this expansion.

Seems there could be a rumble down the road soon, too. (Not to mention a permanent Police presence on Tansey Green Road). That’s because Westfield is expanding its model range.

Soon, the company will start building The Bil Saperas. The what? A modern day AC Cobra. Whew.

With that in the pipeline, maybe this stay-at-home won’t be so hard after all. Now, Westfield MD Julian Turner, you know my email address…

World news on your doorstep

Totally random used car: MG ZT

What Porsche gives to BMW M

WELL, this great Mini search is not looking good.

I’ve got my trader alerts fully set up, and I’m thoroughly depressed by the results.

They’re either insanely expensive, or seriously scabby. Or both.

This is something AROnline whizz Steven Ward has discovered elsewhere, too. He posted a blog about his foray to BCA Brighouse.

His findings mirrored mine. Rusty Minis, going for eye-wartering money. One 96/P Cooper Sports Pack he saw ended up going for £2650. Plus £200 indemnity fee. As Ward said, that’s ‘one expensive restoration project’.

He persisted. Went to see a private City E, that he rated at £500, tops. As he said, ‘imagine my disappointment when it made double. Imagine my shock when I was told its reserve was over £1k…’

Chosen a great time to buy a Mini, haven’t I. 50th anniversary buzz and all that.

How to get a cheapie? Tips from Ward’s respondees include going for a Clubman, hanging the Mini and going for an Allegro or Metro. Or, well, choosing a Volvo.

Hey ho. I will persist! With, naturally, any tips on where to source bargains much appreciated…

Can you help me buy a Mini in 2009?

Mini brochure makes fascinating reading

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