Audi R8 GT Spyder, Nissan Leaf sales suck, and Obama cashes out of Chrysler
1st Gear: Italian automaker Fiat agreed late Thursday to acquire the U.S. Treasury’s stake in Chrysler Group for $560 million, ending the Obama administration’s involvement with the Auburn Hills automaker. The move gives the Italian automaker a 52% majority stake in Chrysler. The U.S. exit ends a 30-month involvement of two administrations in saving the company from collapse, beginning with the Bush administration’s decision to bail out Chrysler with $4 billion in December 2008. President Barack Obama will join Chrysler and Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne at the company’s Toledo Supplier Park to crow about the deal today. Because you always crow when you receive $560 million in cash for a multi-billion dollar investment.
2nd Gear: Despite seemingly strong sales numbers last month, Nissan Leaf sales have failed to meet initial expectations in the US (Although it did beat the Volt, and isn’t some silly journalist-constructed faux race the only metric that really matters?). Nissan had initially planned on allocating up to 20,000 units of the Leaf’s 50,000 unit production run in 2011 to the US market, but Nissan has revised estimates downwards to 10-12,000 units. Maybe it’s because most of America doesn’t have a sub-100 mile commute.
3rd Gear: Audi continues its niche-filling ways, now offering natural air conditioning and enhanced UV exposure to drivers of its high-performance R8 GT coupe. That’s right, say a hearty Guten Tag to this week’s new Audi — the R8 GT Spyder. If you want one, you better mach shnell to call your Audi dealer as, like the coupe, it’s limited to just 333 units. By the way, if you add up the 333 GT coupes and 333 spyders, you come up with 666. Coincidence? We think not. Wallpaper-sized images on our Facebook page.
4th Gear: According to Bloomberg, Japan’s national broadcaster NHK is reporting that Mazda is preparing to withdraw from its joint venture US plant in Flat Rock, Michigan. The plant, shared with Ford, currently produces the Mazda 6 for the US market, but has been suffering from overcapacity and poor profitability in recent years. Mazda has not confirmed the report, but is known to have been reviewing the plant’s future. Oddly enough, I’m down in Flat Rock today. I’ll see what I can find out.
5th Gear: Volkswagen Group’s slow reveal of one-off concept cars continues at the Worthersee Tour on the shore of Lake Worthersee in Austria. The latest is the Volkswagen Golf R Cabriolet concept. And rather than inject its supermini with 496 bhp of steroids or decapitate its rally car, VW has decided to blend two of its most recent Golf variants, merging the Golf Cabriolet’s roofless bodyshell with the Golf R’s four-wheel-drive powertrain.
6th Gear: The next-generation Chrysler minivan and a companion crossover will have all-wheel drive, according to Chrysler Group LLC CEO Sergio Marchionne. In a brief preview of future product plans, Marchionne said the automaker will continue to produce a “classic minivan,” as well as a “people carrier that is still taking shape.” They will share underpinnings and be built in Windsor. “This platform better have more capability than the one we have, including all-wheel drive capability and the ability to get narrower,” Marchionne said. A more narrow body caters to European buyers. Chrysler offered all-wheel drive until 2004, when it was discontinued to make way for Stow ‘n Go seats that fold into the floor. In addition to the AWD minivan news, Marchionne told the Detroit News the next-gen Jeep Compass and Patriot will be built at Fiat’s Mirafiori plant in Italy.
http://jalopnik.com
Related Websites - Gear Overview for Golf Are you interested in playing golf the way that Tiger Woods does it? There is no way to promise or guarantee that, but with the right equipment, you can certainly improve your capabilities on the...
- ZENN Cars Perfect for City-Dwellers: Zero Emissions, No Noise! Haven't yet heard of Toronto-based ZENN Motor Company (TSX: ZNN)? I hadn't either until two days ago. Honda Schmonda and the fuel-cell cars that are only available in SoCal. You can buy your ZENN car...
- Callaway Women's Katy Golf Shoe User Reviews Send this to a friend Callaway Women's Katy Golf Shoe Manufacturer: Callaway Customer Rating: List Price: Varies based on product options Sale Price: View Sale Price Availibility: View Product Availability Buy Now Product...
- Benefiting from Golfing Lessons We all have to get started somewhere when it comes to playing golf. Even the greatest players started off needing coaching and lessons when they hit the fairways for the first time. If you are...
