Godzilla strikes back
Some of the best production performance
cars were the Nissan GT-R series, known throughout the world
as Godzilla. In fact, the racing version of these twin turbo,
all wheel drive cars, won championships everywhere and were
eventually (in Australia at least) banned from competition!
They were just too good!
Nissan
Proto GT-R
However, the GT-R series eventually came to
a production halt when by 2001 they were having difficulty
meeting emission standards. But fortunately, some people in
Nissan had not forgotten the GT-R.
As a ‘teaser’, Nissan showed the Proto
at the Tokyo Motor Show and everyone is sure that this is the
Proto(type) for the next generation of GT-R’s due out in
2007.
The GT-R Proto, the concept two-door, is
said to be close to the real thing, according to Nissan design
chief, Shiro Nakamura. Nissan insiders say the car is “80
percent to 90 percent” production ready.
The show car featured extensive use of
carbon fibre to keep weight down and although Nissan is not
talking about engines, everyone expects a high-performance
twin-turbocharged V6, possibly up to 3.8 liter capacity with
an output of around 380 kW.
The V6 is tipped to be mated to a
close-ratio seven-speed sequential gearbox and all-wheel
drive, similar to the original GT-R’s AWD concept. This is
the first time Nissan has designed the GT-R as a specific
two-door body style and the production version is not derived
from the Skyline sedan.
The original GT-R was a hit in Australia,
prompting Nissan Australia in 1990 to import 100 of the then
R32 model Skyline GT-Rs into the country, at a cost of
$107,000 each. I drove one and the performance was simply
sensational! This new one looks even more so.
They will not be cheap, but get one and put
it on blocks. It will be an instant classic.
Tokyo Motor
Show hints at another Lancer Evolution
Automotive News reports that the Lancer Evo
Series looks as if it will carry on past the Evo IX which is
currently awaited.
At the show, Mitsubishi rolled out their
Concept-X which everyone believes is another teaser for the
next Lancer Evolution. Don’t think of “Concept Ecks”,
say “Concept Ten”.
Evo
IX
The word is that Mitsubishi wants to
broaden its base to include more than male performance
enthusiasts. So it will offer a car that looks more elegant
than the current model. An automatic transmission may also be
available, remembering that the current Lancer Evolution is
equipped only with a six-speed manual.
“The overall shape is close to the
production model,” said Akinori Nakanishi, chief designer
for Mitsubishi Motors Corp. “We want a more mature looking,
upscale and sophisticated model.”
The redesigned Evolution Lancer will be on
a new platform. Nakanishi said that there will be more
interior room than the current model and the new four-cylinder
engine will produce at least 300 bhp, up from the current 286
bhp. Upscale or sophisticated, call it what you like, but 300
bhp spells performance to me!
LF-Sh concept shows a new,
sharp look for Lexus
The Lexus brand has certainly made its mark
throughout the world, with some of the newer models looking
very desirable. However, the first model and flagship is
certainly starting to show its age. Again at the Tokyo show,
Lexus, which is looking to challenge Mercedes-Benz and BMW,
unveiled a new look for its top of the line sedan.
Original
Lexus LS 400
This was the LF-Sh concept which points the
direction for the redesigned LS 460 production car, due next
spring.
Kazuo Okamoto, executive vice president for
R&D of Toyota Motor Corp., said the LS 460 will have a
newly engineered V8 engine, as well as an all-wheel-drive
hybrid V8 edition with the equivalent power of a 6-liter V12.
But the car’s styling is as important as
its mechanicals. The new edition continues Lexus’ expressive
“L-Finesse” theme. Lexus wants a family resemblance that
avoids small, medium and large versions of the same car. Lexus
sources also have confirmed there will be a long wheelbase
edition of the new LS.
Okamoto, who was closely involved in
engineering the first and second generation LS sedans, said,
“It is not at all like any other car. The flagship’s
driving performance, compared to the (Mercedes) S class or
(BMW) 7 series, can excel over these other makes. The
generation to come will have the same impact and shock as the
first generation LS 400.” Big words from a little man, but
never underestimate what Toyota can do. The “Big Three”
did and look where that got them.
A Daihatsu Mira for disabled
drivers
There are those unkind persons who say that
when you get out of a Daihatsu Mira after an extended drive,
you will probably be a cripple, but the company has pre-empted
all this by showing the Mira Selfmatic.
This is a current shape Daihatsu Mira which
has been adapted to allow people in wheelchairs to get behind
the wheel and drive again.
Mira
Selfmatic
The usual way to get wheelchairs into motor
vehicles is to have ramps to roll up from behind the vehicle,
or to have driver’s seats that can swing out of the car to
allow the invalid to shuffle over from wheelchair to
driver’s chair.
The Daihatsu people have come up with
something much more practical for the problem. Instead of
having to change chairs, the Selfmatic has its own wheelchair
which is then taken completely into the vehicle where it
becomes the driver’s seat.
Kiyotaka Yamaguchi, Daihatsu’s senior
chief designer, is proud of the aptly named Mira Selfmatic,
the car for those with disabilities. According to Yamaguchi,
“There are a lot of young guys who have been in motorcycle
accidents and lost the use of their legs. They want to drive a
real car. And they want to go on dates - but they don’t want
their mother to go with them to help them in and out of the
car.”
To drive the Selfmatic, a person in a
wheelchair rolls into position by the driver’s open door. A
lift then brings the entire customized wheelchair into the car
behind the steering wheel. The wheelchair is locked in place,
and the driver is ready to go. The entire operation takes
about 35 seconds.
Apparently it took Daihatsu’s engineers
and designers three years to get it to work. The lift had to
fit the size and price limits of a standard Mira car. The
four-seater goes on sale in Japan on Nov. 14, at a price of 2
million yen, or USD 17,773 at current exchange rates.
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week I said that during the
hostilities (a lovely euphemism for WW II) there was no real
motor racing, but after the war, motor sport began afresh,
mainly using pre-WW II race cars. The first post-war race in
the UK was run at Ballyclare. I wanted to know, who was the
driver, and what car did he drive? It was Thailand’s Prince
Bira and he was driving an ERA.
So to this week. Four wheel drive is
commonplace these days, but this was not always the case. What
was the make of the first four wheel drive to run in a hill
climb? Clue, the car was crashed on its second outing, driven
by a man with the same name as the car.
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be
the first correct answer to email automania@ pattayamail.com
Good luck!
Toyota aiming to be Number 1
in 2006
The usual yardstick to compare the
different manufacturers is to look at production figures. This
kept GM and Ford at the top of the list for many years, until
Toyota quietly slid past FoMoCo and into second place.
Other yardsticks looking at the
profitability of the various companies saw Toyota at the top,
as GM and Ford became embattled with financial problems, but
GM still manufactured more than Toyota.
However, the Japanese press claims that
Toyota is poised to overtake GM, and will be the world’s
number 1 as far as output is concerned, in 2006. To do so, it
will raise its production to more than 9.2 million units, the
Japanese business daily reported.
Toyota has decided to increase its global
production volume by 12 percent next year compared with the
8.3 million units projected for this year, a 900,000 unit
increase which, incidentally, is more than Mazda’s annual
domestic output, said Nihon Keizai Shimbun.
Daihatsu and Hino Motors of the Toyota group have not
completed their plans for next year, but they expect to raise
their total production from the 2005 projection by about
900,000 cars amid strong domestic sales. Meanwhile, General
Motors is expected to fall short of its global production of a
projected 9.12 million units for 2005 due to a drop in sales
and factory closures, the newspaper said. However, the General
is still looking strong in Asia, with China and Thailand
returning good figures. 2006 could be very interesting.
Delphi plans massive wage
cuts or no more union contracts
Delphi Corp. in the US wants its 25,000
United Auto Workers (UAW) represented employees to accept wage
cuts from $27 an hour to as little as $9.50 an hour or the
company will ask the US Bankruptcy Court in New York to
terminate labor contracts.
Delphi also is demanding an end to the
company’s job bank, which pays about 4,000 idle workers. The
supplier also wants major new employee cost-sharing on health
care, reduced holidays and the right to sell, close or
consolidate any of its 45 U.S. factories and support centers.
These are all hefty proposals, and
obviously ones that the rank and file will not be happy to
agree with.
Delphi is not commenting on the proposal,
except to say that the provisions are needed for the company
to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, said Lindsey
Williams, Delphi corporate affairs manager. Delphi, North
America’s largest auto supplier, put its U.S. operations
under Chapter 11 protection Oct. 8.
Delphi proposes paying one group of
production workers $9.50 an hour and another group $10.50 an
hour. Skilled workers would earn $18-$19 an hour. A wage of
$9.50 an hour is equal to $19,760 a year without overtime,
just $410 above the national poverty threshold for a family of
four.
The proposal says that Delphi plans to
implement the agreement Jan. 1. It would run through Jan. 1,
2012 and Delphi said it sought Chapter 11 protection to
relieve losses from high labor costs and from operating
unnecessary plants.
