Cars Archives - Page 6 of 52

Saab Snippets – Time, Koenigsegg And Double Dipping

Time

It’s well past December 31, which is the time we all expected a decision from Mahindra as to whether or not they were going to invest in the ghost of Saab.

NEVS’s money was expected to run out by then and Mahindra were going to provide two tranches of funds IF the deal was going to go ahead – $5mil for January and $5mil for Febraury – to keep the ghost afloat in ‘reorganisation’ (bankruptcy protection) until the deal is finalised.

NEVS got a financial lifeline by selling tooling for spare parts to Orio, which explains why there was no urgency around the end of the year. The price paid in the deal wasn’t mentioned in the press release so the amount of time they’ve bought is unknown. It wouldn’t be too long, however.

When will Mahindra make a decision? It’d be nice to know.

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Koenigsegg V4

My mate Tompa has been speaking with Christian Von Koenigsegg about engines. Specifically, the potential for cutting a Koenigsegg V8 in half and using the resulting V4 in a passenger vehicle.

You can read the article here, at a site I hadn’t seen before called Saab Tala.

The good news is that Christian believes it’s entirely possible. And considering that Christian knows more about cars and engineering than anyone else I’ve met, I’ll take that as given. In fact, not only is it possible, but Christian estimates that a half-Koenigsegg V4 could reliably produce plenty of power.

Quote from Christian:

If [you’re] looking at a 2 litre engine with 4 cylinders with a slightly smaller turbo to get a fantastic response, we are talking about 450 hp and 500 Nm on Unleaded 95 octane.

Sounds fascinating, doesn’t it?

There’s no bad news in this story, but the $64,000 questions remain unanswered – how much would it cost? And would that cost gel with the market(s) Mahindra would pursue with Saab if they got control of the company? Are they looking to take on the Audis and BMW’s of the world?

They’d better be. Because the engine won’t be cheap and consequently, the car won’t be cheap, either.

I don’t agree with Saabtala’s point of view about the BMW/Mini 1.6 engine being a mistake. I think it would have been a great engine for Saab, as it has been for Mini. The salient point is this: That BMW/Mini engine was considered to be a very expensive choice and it’s an engine that was used across several brands and made in the hundreds of thousands of units. How much, then, for a purpose-designed V4 from one of the most expensive carmakers in the world that’d be made in the tens of thousands?

Quality has its price. Your level of comfort with that price depends on the market you’re chasing.

It’s an interesting story and I know Tompa’s going to chase it a little more. I’m keen to see what he comes up with, if only from an engineering point of view. You can build whatever Saab you like if you’ve got the money, but you’ve got to be able to sell it to someone. That’ll be the hard part – whatever path they choose.

Side note: Tompa first met Christian when I asked via SU for someone in Sweden to provide a convertible Saab for Tompa’s wedding a few years ago. Christian was the only person to respond to the request, so Tom and Carola got to drive Halldora von Koenigsegg’s car on their wedding day. Result! 🙂

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Double Dip

I remember the early days of Spyker’s ownership of Saab, with Victor Muller saying that the biggest threat to Saab’s future was a double-dip recession.

It’s interesting to ponder, then, what might have been if Spyker had access to finance and stuck it out until 2015.

Why?

Well, 2014 saw Western Europe record it’s first rise in new vehicle sales since 2009. And they’re forecast to grow in 2015, too. From Just Auto:

The US market also saw sales rise in 2014, but then the US market has been rising for a while. The US market’s recent low was also in 2009 with just 10.4 million vehicles sold. There were 16.5 million vehicles sold in 2014 and the last time the US market was that big was in 2006.

I wonder what would have happened, then, if there were no ban on Vladimir Antonov’s money (and no Antonov charges in Lithuania) and no supplier backlash in March 2011. What if all the new vehicle launches went ahead according to schedule and Saab kept making cars through 2011 and beyond? Would Saab have sold enough with the 9-4x, the new 9-5 and whatever would have happened with the 9-3 between then and now?

Such a prolonged slump was the economic situation that Victor feared the most in those early days. I wonder if ‘we’ could have survived it to prosper in 2015 and beyond?

PSA: Explaining “You Can’t Call Yourself A True Car Enthusiast (Gearhead) Unless You’ve Owned An Alfa Romeo

Hemmings had a post on Facebook overnight that drew some amusing comments.

Here’s the post:

And here are a few of the comments:

One good reason (Of Many) not to watch “Top Gear”.

That’s why I don’t watch their show. SNOBS!

Overrated, just like that idiot.

You’re not a real gear head unless you’ve built a classic big block Chevy for a 1968 Camaro

Sorry. Just more English nonsense.

Obviously they are on the Payroll at Alfa Romeo..

Right: Top Gear executing their marketing duties as per their employment agreement with Alfa 🙂

They haven’t sold them in the US for quite some time…Guess the most car-crazy country on earth isn’t full of gearheads.
An , Alfa? Ha , ha , drive Mopar! Morons…. Your , English , humor amuses us….
Hell no I don’t agree. I consider myself a gearhead and I’m never own anything but American cars an American motorcycles.
Ridiculous. I can see that coming from England, those folks have a long history of thinking that tinkering and repairing for 4 hours to drive 1 hour is normal.
Owning an Alpha makes you either gullible, naive or a masochist whatever to own one of these losers is not something to be proud of.
What a stupid statement. …I think my 32 Ford Roadster qualifies me…
Seems a little snobbish to me.
Top Gear staff snobbish? I think if you look in the dictionary, their picture illustrates the definition.
I had one. Didn’t make me a gear head, made me hate AR. Overrated POS.

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The comment that comes closest to understanding the meaning of the Top Gear statement is this one:

76 Alfetta 2000. Spent fortunes on the damn driveshaft knuckles more than once. Great driver when it wasn’t broken.

Yep. I think he gets it.

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OK.

So let me break it down for you.

The first thing to remember before you get all emotional, bull-headed or defensive is that it’s just a saying made up by Jeremy Clarkson. Nothing more, nothing less. Like most of the things Clarkson says, it’s quotable, provocative and it’s good theatre. You’re not less of a gearhead if you’ve never owned an Alfa.

Having said that, however, there IS an element of truth to it. It’s not definitive, but it’s a very good illustration.

Why?

The essence of the theory is that there are few brands in the world that can deliver such extreme pleasure and such dire frustration, often on the same day. Alfa’s not the only brand that offers the basics of this experience, of course. But it’s probably the most storied brand to do so, with the best looking cars and the most romantic automotive history.

Classic Alfa Romeos come as close as any car can to having an automotive soul. It’s so easy to fall in love with an Alfa. And yet like any human that you’re in love with, an Alfa can infuriate you with its flaws.

An Alfa can be mouth-watering in its beauty but eye-watering as you watch that beauty fade to rust. The interior will charm you with its sporting attitude and then slowly crack, fade and fall off. The crescendo from the exhaust will exhilarate as you climb through a twisty mountain pass, only to resolve into the crackle and pop of a car cooling by the side of the road after it’s overheated. You’ll love engaging that sweet 5-speed gearbox – until the second-gear synchros die on you.

Of course, every car has it’s highs and lows. It’s just that an Alfa Romeo’s highs are SO high that it makes the lows feel absolutely cavernous.

The charm of an Alfa is all the more alluring because up until recently, they’ve all been quite accessible. Any car nut can afford an Alfa experience at some level. Sure, a few select models have risen in value at an almost silly pace in recent times, but most of them are still quite accessible, with a potential reward factor only found with stupidly priced supercars.

But you have to EARN the rewards, which is the point of Clarkson’s statement. You earn them with cash, sweat, tears, love, patience, time and loyalty. And it’s going through the fire of Alfa ownership – experiencing the highs and the hard work that goes with them – that Clarkson says makes you a true car enthusiast.

Most former and/or current Alfa owners will agree, but then of course we would. It makes us look a little holier than thou. The sensible ones will also see that it’s a thought that can apply to plenty of other brands, too.

OnStar: The Future Of Driving Is Creepy

OnStar and an insurance company called Progressive recently announced the latest developments in creepy connected driving. Available soon on certain GM vehicles, OnStar will be able to track and record your driving behaviour and then share that information with Progressive, who may (or may not) offer you a discount based on your driving.

From the Detroit News:

General Motors Co.’s OnStar subsidiary will offer motorists a new service this summer that gives feedback on their driving skills and allows some to seek driving-based discounts from Progressive insurance.

OnStar, which provides emergency, security and embedded Wi-Fi connectivity services to 7 million subscribers in North America and China, will allow U.S. customers to enroll in a driving assessment. After 90 days, OnStar technology that connects with the vehicle will tell customers how they performed in certain driving metrics, comparing them against an aggregate of other enrolled customers and offering individualized driving tips.

It’s tempting to put on my anti-GM hat and damn them for being evil overseers, but GM are just one of many. The ‘connected car’ is on its way. GM are just a little ahead of the pack.

Google have had their self-driving vehicles in testing for years. Audi sent an automated, self-driving A7 from San Francisco to Las Vegas earlier today and they say they could potentially launch a self-driving model as early as next year. Volvo are working feverishly on cars that will be able to talk to one another about road hazards.

Doesn’t it feel a little creepy, though?

The idea of having Mr OnStar looking over your shoulder like a silent back-seat driver is not at all appealing. The idea of getting driving tips from Mr OnStar, who can’t see the wandering pedestrian or the panicking pet dog that caused you to swerve is a little annoying. The idea of an insurance company using this information to categorise you is more than just a little bit Orwellian.

How long until this is standard and they use it against you?

How long will it take for some company to sell your driving information to Mr Google, who then plasters your regular routes with targeted advertising via electronic billboards as you approach them? I love Alfa Romeos, but I don’t want to see ads that focus on my likes EVERYWHERE I GO.

It’s creepy.

Sadly, it seems inevitable.

Again, from the Detroit News:

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners says usage-based insurance is set for rapid growth in the U.S. It cites experts that predict up to 20 percent of U.S. vehicle insurance will use some type of usage-based metrics within five years.

It gets pitched as providing a service to the customer. In this case, the bait is an insurance discount. Of course, it’s really all about opening up new revenue streams.

GM has said it sees many opportunities to boost revenue through connected vehicles by working with other companies in areas such as helping customers access fuel, parking, travel or hotel information. Some industry analysts see OnStar as a revenue boon for GM. In 2013, IHS Automotive estimated 4G LTE could add $400 million gross profit to GM by mid-decade.

As with Facebook, you can be offered products as you use it but in reality, you are the product.

I’m not one of the tinfoil hat brigade, but I do enjoy the comfort and character of older cars. The fact that they’re free of most of this electronic tomfoolery is just a bonus.

Classics By The Beach – January 2015

After a stinking hot Saturday, Hobart turned on its best conditions on Sunday – 21 degrees and sunny – for the first Classics By The Beach for 2015. And the people and cars turned up accordingly. It was a bumper field today, with many of the best regulars plus a fantastic gathering of ‘occasionals’ too.

As is the case every month, I have to apologise to a few for talking too much and not taking enough photos! I missed a few great cars today.

Cobra

I didn’t get to catch the owner of this car, but it was the first car to draw my eye this morning, for obvious reasons. If it’s the real deal (which I assume it is) then what you’re looking at is a 1978 XC Ford Falcon Cobra hardtop coupe. The Cobra was a special edition created to clear out the remaining 400 hardtop bodies that Ford had in stock prior to an all-new Falcon model being launched in 1979.

The concept was created by Henry Ford’s grandson, Edsel Ford II, who was working in Australia at the time. The cars also celebrated Ford’s dominant Bathurst win in 1977. The 400 cars were mixed in terms of mechanical specification – some had 302 engines and some had Ford’s famous 351. Some were autos and some were manuals. 30 of them were special homologation spec cars and these are now the holy grail of Cobras.

You can read more about the Cobra here.

In the meantime, here’s the car…..

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Ford Falcon Futura

I know the Americans don’t rate their Ford Falcon that high, but the Falcon badge is part of the backbone of Australian motoring. The first Aussie Falcons were based on their American counterparts and all-Australian designs followed after that.

This Falcon’s a US model. I’m guessing it’s from the mid 1960’s, which makes this one dedicated owner given that there are Australian Falcons from this era available.

The matte-black won’t be to everyone’s tastes but I really liked it. The red interior was sensational.

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Rollin’

I’m not sure I’m recalling the correct year here, but I think someone told me this Rolls Royce is from 1924. Think on that while you consider how good you’re likely to look at 91 years of age 🙂

I’ve taken a few shots of this car before, but I thought I’d get some more detailed shots this month. Take a close look. My favourite has to be the leather covers protecting the leaf springs! But all the details on this car are beautifully finished. It’s a real credit to the owner.

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De Tomaso Panty Twister

Adrian had his De Tomaso Pantera at Classics again this month. It’s a breathtaking car. Pure Italian/American grunty goodness.

A few facts….

It’s a 1974 vintage in LHD with a mildly worked Ford 351 engine that sounds amazing. Not all Panteras look this aggressive. This one has a Group 5 body kit, which was added to the car in the mid-1980’s. Adrian imported the car from Washington state back in 2013 and had it repainted in ‘Colorado Red’ in 2013.

The wheels are 17’s with 335/35’s fitted at the rear and 245/35’s fitted at the front.

Pantera interiors are usually all black. The same owner who did the Group 5 body also did the timber and leather upgrade to the dash, doing all the work himself. The car has electrically controlled seats from a Corvette.

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Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV Coupe

This car sold for a very modest price around 18 months ago (and it was only a few miles from my place – why-o-why did I not know about this??). With prices rising for 105 series Alfas in the last year or so, I reckon the owner could probably book a value increase of around 100% in that time.

Why? Well, not only is it a 1750 – said to be the sweetest drive of all the 105 series cars – it’s also a Series 1 model with what looks to be mostly original paint and the beautiful ‘batwing’ seats.

A truly lovely classic Alfa.

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A Pair of Loti

The guy who owns this Series 2 Esprit has the sweetest car collection – and they’re all in beautiful condition. This is another car that I’m going to have to feature properly next time it appears at Classics.

As a side note: I just love that steering wheel. There’s something about two-spoke wheels that really works.

The engine’s a show-piece sitting proudly in the back for all the world to see……

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The engine’s a little less conspicuous in this Esprit V8…..

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The Rest Of The Field

With no disrespect intended – I wish I could do features on all of these – here are the rest of the cars I photographed today. Note the Alfetta with log interior 🙂 , the blue Berlina, the BMW 323i with Zender kit and Bruce’s superb, clean 911 Carrera.

Thanks for visiting.

1986 Alfa Romeo Sprint First Photos

It’s Christmas morning! Merry Christmas to all of you!

We did Christmas dinner last night so I’ve got a little time this morning to post up the first photos of the Alfa Romeo Sprint I bought yesterday.

Here is the car in our front yard, which is starting to represent an automotive palliative care ward for Italian and Swedish cars 🙂

I picked the car up yesterday, put some fresh fuel in and was surprised at how well it drove on the short trip home. After being parked for six years, I expected it to cough and splutter a fair bit but the power was smooth and the brakes worked OK, too. I’m pretty sure it’s going to need a new clutch, though, which is a bit of a bummer.

The not-so-good bits

Let’s look at the downsides of the car first…..

A couple of rust spots. I’m going to try some basic repairs myself with a wire wheel, some rust converter, filler and colour-matched paint. This is a fun daily driver, not a show pony.

Sadly, there is some dampness in the carpet on the passenger-side footwell so the window seal isn’t great. That’s something I’m not going to fix (cheap fun runabout, remember), but I’ll do my best to keep the car covered and out of the rain. Thankfully, I live in the second-driest capital city in Australia, so it’s not the challenge some people imagine it to be.

I’ve just ordered a new tail lamp lens……

…. And I’ll keep an eye out for a steering wheel in good condition to replace this one. Or maybe look into getting some sort of decent leather cover for it. Any tips are welcome.

The fabric in these Sprints looks great, but it’s notoriously prone to wear. Three of the four seats are OK but the driver’s seat is…… well……

(note: that’s a green rag sitting on the seat. I should have removed it)

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The good bits

To the rest of the car, then, which seems pretty tidy. There’s no evidence of accidents anywhere, the interior is very comfortable and the engine seems to be pulling quite well. This little Sprint should only need a few mechanical repairs, a lick of filler and paint and it’ll be ready for duty.

The front’s in good order. It even has the groovy Alfa covers on the fog lamps:

The phone dial wheels have a small amount of pitting, but no curbing. Good condition, over all. Tyres are OK, too.

The back end is very neat. The rear hatch could do with some new struts but everything else is fine. The luggage cover is in perfect order (which is unusual for one of these)

One notable bonus with the interior is the dash pad. These are prone to cracking but this one’s completely intact. I think I’m going to have to employ some sun protection to keep it this way.

The instruments all seem to be working OK. It even has the original Alfa Romeo stereo and speakers, made by Pioneer. The car has air conditioning, but the belt has been removed. It most likely needs an overhaul, which I’m not going to bother with.

Rear seats are factory fresh.

Here’s the heart of this little Italian beauty – the dual-carb 1.5 litre boxer engine. It needs a cleanup – that dirty-water look is from when the water pump gave out – but the engine is running well. It needs a water pump so I’ll get the timing belts done at the same time, along with the clutch and a full fluid service. That’ll be early in the new year.

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So there you have it.

The car’s not perfect but at the price I paid, it’ll do just fine. It won’t take much to pass inspection and it should be registered and back on the road in no time at all.

Viva l’Italia!

Christmas Cheer – 1986 Alfa Romeo Sprint

I haven’t had a fun car in my garage for 3 months so when this Alfa Romeo Sprint popped up for sale in my area, I was interested. When the price nearly halved earlier this week, I felt it would be downright rude if I didn’t check it out.

I pick it up this afternoon 🙂

It’s a 1986 Alfa Romeo Sprint. I used to own a Sprint back in the late 1990’s. Regular visitors to this site may remember that I took care of my mate Gavin’s Sprint earlier this year and I fell in love with these little cars all over again. This one’s a later model than Gavin’s so there are a number of differences, but it’ll be just as fun to drive.

It has a twin-carb 1.5 litre boxer engine that puts out around 105hp. It’s been off the road for the last 6 years and it needs a new water pump but it started fine when I checked it out last night. It also needs a full service, of course.

Downsides: the Sprint has one rust spot about an inch-square at the base of the windscreen that should be relatively easy to touch up. There are two more very minor rust areas, too, and I’ll take a look at all of them over the holiday break. The fabric is worn on the driver’s seat and the steering wheel leather has basically disintegrated.

Upsides: everything else. The car is essentially a wonderful little runner in very tidy condition for a 30 year old Alfa and should take next-to-no-time to get back on the road. And given that it’ll cost me just 50% of the going price for a decent Sprint by the time it’s on the road, I’m a pretty happy camper 🙂

Those of you keeping score will note that right now, we have a Lancia, a Fiat and an Alfa at home. The sad part is that none of them are in correct working order, but that’ll change soon. Now I just have to work on getting a Maserati, a Ferrari and a Lamborghini and I’ll have all the main Italians covered 🙂

I’ll post some more photos after I get the car home, but here are some photos from the ad.

Can You Help? Saab 9-5 Air Conditioning Problem

I got this question in from a friend in Sydney today. Any of you 9-5 owners had the same problem? Any of you know of a fix?

Fire away in comments…..

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Hi there,

I have a 2006 SAAB 9-5 Sports Wagon which apart from one issue is an awesome car.

The one issue seems to be related to the usage of the air-conditioner, which reduces the cars power down to a fraction of its normal power.

This doesn’t happen as soon as the AC is turned on. Perhaps 10 minutes later… it can vary. I most notice the effects in start stop city routes.

If I could describe the behaviour from a driving perspective:

– it’s most pronounced when moving off from a complete stop.
– pushing down on the accelerator has a distinct lag.
– then after the power kicks in, it has a very sluggish feel. Perhaps only 30% of normal power.
– turning off the engine or the AC will typically get rid of the issue…. but not instantly. After a few minutes.

I’ve taken it to a couple of mechanics and they seem unsure what could cause that behaviour. Because it doesn’t kick in straight away, they don’t get to see it in action.

Any ideas or thoughts would be most appreciated.

As I said, it’s a great car and I’d love to have my AC back in use this summer.

Piers.

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As I said, if you know of a solution (that doesn’t involve selling the car 🙂 ) then please feel free to enlighten Piers in comments.

Volvo Pushing For Internet Car Sales

Decision 1 for Volvo last week was to end the company’s factory-backed participation in motorsport.

Decision 2 is a substantial shift in Volvo’s marketing mix that’s going to be very interesting to watch. Volvo is implementing a new plan called the “Volvo Way To Market” and it means big changes in the way they’ll do things.

The Volvo Way To Market can be summarised as follows:

Marketing tools

And increased spend on better defined and more focused branding.
Only three motor shows a year – Detroit, Geneva and Shanghai/Beijing. Volvo will also conduct their own major event in Sweden to court the press and push their new products and brand values. This will replace attendance at ‘minor’ auto shows in other cities.
A decrease in sponsorship activities, such as motor racing and other sporting activities. The only major sponsorship to remain (and get an increase) is Volvo Ocean Racing.

I really like the idea of limited motor show activity. It’s a massive spend and while they’re great fun if you’re involved, the jury is out on how many cars they help to sell. Most car companies now see motor shows as a chance to 1) engage the press and 2) peek down the trousers of their rival carmakers. These three are the shows that everyone attends.

Digital Leadership

This will be an interesting part for me. Volvo argues that people are doing their car shopping online and since the company is seeing the profits of doing business on the Web, it seems interested in opting for online cross channel marketing solutions to attract more customers who would like to buy their automobiles online. However, this is not just it! Volvo also seems to be making a huge investment in improving their old customers’ online experience–some of the ways that they are going to do that are written below.

Volvo will create an industry-leading website that promotes the brand’s values.
Volvo will create a new type of vehicle configurator, one that starts with a fully loaded car and allows the customer to customise it from there. Customers then have a video link emailed to them so they can see the car in motion.
Finally, Volvo will move to selling cars online, to compliment the dealership experience

The first two of those sound rather ho-hum. Every brand wants an industry leading website that promotes their brand values. Every brand wants a vehicle configurator that customers find easy and interesting to use. Right now there are only generic statements of intent. The whole notion turns on how Volvo will achieve this.

The final point is the really interesting one. Establishing online vehicle sales in parallel with the dealership sales experience. I firmly believe that there will be a reasonable selection of customers who will like the idea of ordering online. They’ll still want a dealership around to see the vehicle, maybe even for a test drive, but the idea of avoiding all the sales games and ordering at your leisure will resonate with some.

In order to cater to the surge in demand for cars through online orders, bringing out the best practices facility management would be necessary. The increase in demand would need a higher manufacturing volume of cars which could be achieved through automation practices in manufacturing units– to boost worker productivity as well as the speed of manufacturing.

This calls for some serious research on Volvo’s part in knowing how to pivot their offline customers to online sales-marketing techniques will most likely come into play, and a deeper understanding of demand generation vs lead generation is necessary to get the ball rolling in Volvo’s favor.

Which leads us to….

Dealerships

Dealers might fear Volvo’s proposed online push, but Volvo will argue that dealerships don’t make much money off the initial sale anyway. Their money comes from parts and services, and dealerships will still be needed for those activities. Additionally, car dealers may need to implement effective techniques in order to increase sales. One way to reach more audiences is by consulting with a company that provides SEO for the automotive industry, which enables dealers to rank higher in search engines. Another option is to use search engine marketing to generate more traffic by running advertising campaigns. It is likely that car sales will increase through such effective marketing strategies.

Volvo want dealers to become full-on brand centres. New dealerships will have a standard Volvo-designed presentation that emphasises the Scandinavian heritage of the company. Existing dealerships will be asked to refine certain details to do the same.
Example – Dealers will be asked to serve traditional Swedish fare, and drinks in Swedish glass. So instead of looking up a recipe for Swedish meatballs and going to a dealership to buy a car, you’ll now go to your dealership for Swedish food and then go online to order your car.
European dealership staff will be dressed by a funky Swedish designer. American dealership staff will be dressed by Will Ferrell. OK, I made the Will Ferrell bit up, but the first bit’s true.

Service

After hooking customers in with its tasteful yet all-pervading internet presence, Volvo aims to cosset them with a very personal service experience.

New vehicle customers will meet their personal service technician when they pick up their new Volvo and that technician will stay with them for their full period of vehicle ownership. Phone numbers will be exchanged, presumably along with Christmas cards and other niceties.

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Volvo seem to be going to great lengths to let everyone know that this is not a reduction in dealership-based sales activity. In fact, Volvo are going to increase their marketing spend by a reasonable sum in order to implement the Volvo Way To Market.

What will be interesting is to see exactly how it unfolds, and how it affects Volvo sales. Volvo will need to do some serious investment in online marketing to reach the right people. And when that’s done, their new website and configurator will have to be something special to get people to commit online.

Other companies will be watching, too. You can bet your bottom dollar that the Teutonic crowd will be very interested in how this goes for Volvo. It won’t take long for other companies to replicate this venture if Volvo proves it can be successful. As with safety, this is something that can be learned and then snuffed out as a differentiator in reasonably quick time.

I take my hat off to Volvo for having a crack at this (but please keep racing).

Volvo To Stop Factory Support For Racing

Volvo made some ripples last week with a couple of announcements likely to have various parties feeling just a little bit nervous.

Decision 1 will effect anyone involved with a factory-backed Volvo racing team – unless they’re in a boat. Volvo’s global Marketing Manager, Alain Nisser, was quoted in the press last week saying that the company will cease direct participation in racing. Volvo’s sponsorship of ocean racing will continue, but car racing is on the chopping block.

Volvo support efforts by their performance partner, Polestar, in several racing series around the world, including the Swedish Touring Car Championship and the Australian V8 Supercar Championship. Polestar has won the last two STCC titles and won four races in the Australian series, in just the team’s second year.

Polestar will have to make decisions about their continued participation in some series’ if they’re going to have to fund their own efforts fully through competition and sponsorship in the future.

From an Australian perspective, this would be a major disappointment. Volvo and Polestar’s inclusion in the V8 Supercar series via the Garry Rogers Motorsport organisation (GRM) has created plenty of interest. Mercedes and Nissan joined the series – dominated by just Holden and Ford for two decades – but neither have had the success of Volvo. GRM Volvos took pole position in 10 out of 38 races this year, winning four of them.

Volvo’s contract with V8 Supercars runs until the end of 2016. The STCC contract finishes a year earlier.

The big question is WHY?

There are two reasons – the one that sounds a little bit warm and fuzzy, and the real reason.

Warm and fuzzy, by Alain Visser:

“Motorsport does not conform with our brand, where we stand for smaller engines and safety,”

The real reason, by Hakan Samuelsson, CEO of Volvo Cars Group:

In the end, we do it if we think we can make money from selling more cars.

Follow the money, as they say in the classics. It costs money to race and unless you’re making it back somewhere, the cost is going to come under scrutiny. In Australia, Volvo has been racing for two years with some considerable success, yet their sales in 2014 are down 7% year-to-date. Sales were down a whopping 37% in November.

Samuelsson did actually echo the warm and fuzzy quote a little, when he went on to say:

Long-term it’s not really the cars we will be producing so it’s on the negative list, but let’s now continue the contract we have. Long-term it would be more interesting [to] maybe look into a hybrid formula. That’s open for discussion but there’s nothing I’ve heard about.

The good news is that the V8 Supercars group will be altering the rules for 2017 – the year after Volvo is due to quit racing in Australia – and the new rules will allow for classes other than V8s. Maybe there’ll be something there that will suit Volvo’s future vehicle plans a little better.

Volvo and Polestar have won a lot of friends down here in Australia, even if those friends haven’t bought cars yet. Racing is an investment and all good investments take time.

Here’s hoping Volvo might choose to stay around.

I’ll get to Decision 2, which concerns Volvo’s marketing plans and dealers, tomorrow. For now, here’s 8 minutes of the most exciting racing from the V8 Supercar Series this year. Take the time to watch it.

Fulvia Friday – Great In Grey

When I first saw a Lancia Fulvia colour chart the idea of a grey Fulvia didn’t excite me too much. I still wouldn’t want a grey one, myself, but seeing this car today has caused a massive mindshift over the basic idea of a grey Lancia Fulvia.

It’a also the best looking Fulvia-with-bumpers I’ve ever seen. I think it might be the wheels and the low stance. Whatever it is, this Fulvia looks the business.

This car is for sale in Holland for 16,000 EUR …. and just quietly, what is it with the Mad Dutchies and outstanding cars?! They seem to have heaps of them!