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I love cars! I try to stay in sync with the automotive industry as well as history. This blog will chronicle interesting events as well as my own commentary on the state of the industry.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Another race car




A little different interpretation of racing than what you see today. Best I can figure (reading the Google translated version of the webpage) it was created because Voisin won the previous year and the rules were changed to preclude something in his design that others didn't like.
I love random design exercises like this, and you really have to admire them for finding new and creative ways to reduce weight. I think even Colin Chapman would have been impressed with things like narrowing the rear end to eliminate the need for a differential, and having the water pump be propeller driven (this also to coax a bit more power out of the tiny engine).
Also note, that even for a race car this has a nicely detailed (albeit spartan)interior. Of course I read that it has never won a competitive event. It reminds me of the Frenchman's line in The Patriot: "If I die, I die well dressed".



http://translate.google.co.in/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fpagesperso-orange.fr%2Fautomobiles-voisin%2FC_6.html&sl=fr&tl=en

Monday, December 21, 2009

Going Racing!

Well at long last we have an honest-to-goodness race-car in the family now. My dad, brother and myself are eligible for SCCA regional licenses after our Bondurant experience this year, so now it's just a matter of getting on track and going for it.

Got a 1979 RX-7 prepared for the SCCA IT-7 class. Seems like a good, relatively economical place to start and get going. Of course we still have lots of details to figure out, but it's a step in the right direction!





Friday, December 18, 2009

McQueen



I just got done reading this article. WOW!
It's very cool to read original reviews like this of what are now timeless classic cars, from someone who was a true enthusiast. Of course, he makes a few factual slips, like thinking that the 427 "Turbo-Jet" in the Corvette meant it was turbo-charged.
but I suppose we can forgive him for that. Such a great variety of cars too, from traditional sports cars (the "new" Porsche 911, Alfa), to luxury GT (Mercedes, Aston). Very complimentary reviews of all, but so no-nonsense, seat of the pants, gut feeling reviews from a legendary car guy. Even if I do find his movies pretty boring.

Read it all here
http://42ndblackwatch1881.wordpress.com/2009/05/14/sports-illustrated-vintage-1966-steve-mcqueen-reviews-the-hottest-new-gts/

Another McQueen photo gallery here
http://42ndblackwatch1881.wordpress.com/2009/05/14/steve-mcqueen-whatll-it-be-today-jaguar-xkss-or-ac-cobra/

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Satisfied Buyers

New JD Power Sales Satisfaction index shows that buyers this year were more satisfied with their new-car purchases than last year overall. Apparently when the salesmen are begging for business, and actually pay attention to the customers it's a good thing!

Top honors to Jaguar for luxury brands and Mercury for mass-market brands. Interesting as Jaguar has much lower sales compared to Cadillac, Lexus, and Mercedes (2-4 respectively), and Mercury never seems to be on the top of anyone's wish list. For Jaguar this is the 2nd year running with this honor. Guess they are doing some things right!

At the other end of the scale were Audi for luxury vehicles and Mitsubishi for mass market vehicles.

Full release
http://www.jdpower.com/autos/articles/2009-Sales-Satisfaction-Index-Study/page-2

Friday, December 4, 2009

Shuffle Shuffle

Looks like GM Has shuffled some people around in the executive suite.
Looks like we at least get an engineer as the President of GM North America in Mark Reuss. His list of experience seems very well rounded for the position, with depth in both engineering and administration. I don't know too much about his reputation, but seems to be a solid choice.

Lutz "remains vice chairman and will act as advisor on design and global product development"

It's not very clear what that means, but at least he will still be on board. It looks as though he's been removed from direct management though.

I guess what we wait for now is a new CEO. Or maybe Whitacre will just crown himself?

Full article
http://media.gm.com/content/media/us/en/news/news_detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2009/Dec/1204_GM_Leader

Lutz gets a new job!

After the shakeup recently with Fritz "resigning" there was a flurry of proposals and suggestions over who should be the next CEO. Lutz seems to be a popular favorite, but he just took over marketing not that long ago. This morning Automotive News reports that Lutz is going to be reassigned but doesn't say where, or how. Apparently there is an annoucement coming at 9am. Stay tuned.

Bloomberg News said Whitacre, who became interim CEO following Henderson's departure three days ago, is building a team until a replacement chief executive can be found.

The Wall Street Journal said Lutz will have a new role as younger managers are given “more prominent” positions.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Time for a new CEO

The car world is abuzz with mention of GM CEO Fritz Henderson's "resignation". I think we all knew this time would come, but the timing is a little odd and very sudden. Of course this is really good news for GM, *IF* they get it right this time. I mentioned in a previous post that we need more car guys and less acountants running GM (http://foremostcarguy.blogspot.com/2009/06/enough-with-accountants-wheres-car-guys.html) and now is their opportunity. Someone with a car background, preferably an engineering background that really understands the product.

The easy-inside choice is Bob Lutz as a short term solution. However, he already tried to retire once, so I don't think he'll be around for the long haul. He could certainly do a lot to get them going in the right direction though.

Roger Penske would also be an interesting outside choice but again probably not someone who can fill that position for 10 years or so and get GM really going again.

Another interesting option would be the internet blogger and former Buick salesman "Buickman" who seems like a pretty good choice and a good mix of outside and inside. He already has a clear plan to return GM to the forefront of the automotive world.

There's a lot of talk that GM can't attract qualified people due to salary caps. The problem with this, is the "right" person shouldn't need a huge salary for this. Lee Iacocca was famous for his $1 salary, and lots of stock. If the company did well, so did he. If not, then he didn't gain anything. GM needs someone who will take this job out of passion for the product, company, and sheer challenge. If GM's next CEO is successful, GM changes its image, goes public, pays off government debt, then that CEO will be a legend in the business world. There will be nearly limitless opportunities for someone of that caliber who proves themself in one of the most public, difficult jobs around. For the "right" person I'd say this is an opportunity not a "job". Once GM is back into using black ink and a world leader then they can start talking about industry competitive salaries.

Of course, the other question is... where do I submit my resume? I'm a car guy, engineer, and working on my MBA AND at 24 I could stick around for a while.