Hungarian GP this weekend
As
a racing venue, Hungary has a long history, with its first
GP run in 1906, and regular events in Budapest since 1926.
Built with state backing, and laid out in a natural
amphitheatre, the Hungaroring opened in 1986 and attracted
an estimated 200,000 spectators. Though the event was well
organized, and the hosts very appreciative, it was felt that
the 2.494 mile Hungaroring had been laid out more in the
style of a twisty street circuit rather than a bespoke road
track. There were few opportunities for overtaking, though
things were eased from 1989 when a tight corner was
by-passed and the lap distance became 2.466 miles. However,
it remains a circuit that is not high on any of the drivers’
lists, unless you are after a piece of quick action behind
the pits, as the Hungarian government actually erected (nice
word in the sex scene) some mobile brothels a couple of
years ago. I think they are still in use today!
The racing begins (I think) at 7 p.m. but check your local
TV feed.
Chinese car production
If you think that Thailand is leading the
Asian motoring revolution, then I have some very bad news
for you. In the first six months of this year, China
produced 1.3 million motor vehicles, with many of them being
home-grown such as the Changfeng Liebao, the Great Wall
Hover or the Chery Tiggo or the FAW Xiali. And the Xiali is
the top selling car in China, with 93,800 going to new homes
in the first six months of this year. That was more than
double the figures for Toyota Corolla, for example.
China Business Weekly also stated that Chinese motorcycle
manufacturers, such as the Lifan group, are diversifying
into motor cars, having seen the transition in the fortunes
of another motorcycle company that went the four wheeled way
– Honda. In fact, today the revenue from Honda two wheeled
sales are just one ninth of its revenue from the auto
business, claims China Business News.
Lifan, who are fairly late entrants into the motor vehicle
sales, will knock out 80,000 units this year, with export
orders going to Africa. By 2008, they intend to be producing
150,000 units a year.
Called the Lifan520 this new compact sedan is powered by a
4-cylinder 1.6 liter petrol engine supplied by Tritec of
Brazil. It is apparently the same engine as found in the
Mini Cooper and the Chery Fengyun. It is sold in China for
under USD 10,000, but the export models will be around USD
14,000 (under 600,000 baht).
There’s no money in Malaysia?
An
expensive day
Our Down-Under correspondent John
Weinthal, now occasionally domiciled in KL, sent the photo
of a cavalcade of three car transporters, each carrying six
AMG SL55s, which turned into the Sepang F1 circuit last
weekend. AMG do not indulge in expensive track days like
this, if they did not think there would be 18 orders at the
end. I am assured that if John Weinthal had the readies, he
would have gladly signed; however, since his budget would
almost go as far as buying the transport drivers a cup of
tea, he returned without an AMG.
New Mercedes E class is coming
New E class
A new Benz E Class is coming, though you
probably won’t immediately spot the difference. After making
only minor modifications to the vehicle’s exterior but 2,000
parts changes, Mercedes-Benz is banking on the freshened
2007 E class to increase sales, worldwide, but especially in
America.
According to Automotive News, mid-cycle changes include
major engine, performance and safety upgrades. In the US,
the new model Mercedes will be more expensive, with the
E350model up by $500, to $51,275, including shipping,
despite the addition of what it says are $2,750 in features.
Those include the Pre-Safe system, which anticipates crashes
by rolling up windows, tightening belts and adjusting seat
backs.
A diesel E320 BlueTec will cost $52,325, including shipping,
when it goes on sale in mid-October, when low sulfur fuel is
available, but expect to pay around 4 million baht in this
country.
Mercedes-Benz has launched the E class sport model at no
extra charge. It has a chrome grille with black inserts; 18
inch, 10-spoke wheels; a lowered sport suspension; and
cross-drilled front disc brakes.
Mercedes-Benz wants to lure buyers who prefer sportier cars
- a strategy that worked in the C class when a sport model
was introduced in January 2003, says Bernard Glaser, general
manager of product management for Mercedes-Benz USA LLC in
Montvale, N.J. Glaser says Mercedes-Benz is making the shift
to sportier models because of the invasion of Asian makes
and Cadillac into what was traditionally the marketplace for
the Europeans. These newcomers include the Lexus GS,
Infiniti M, Acura RL (Honda) and Cadillac STS. Glaser
admitted, “None of them were serious competitors before. It
has made life difficult for us.”
Mercedes-Benz wants to attract buyers from those brands and
give C class sport version owners a step up, Glaser says,
“Internally, C sport people can move up. Right now they have
nowhere to go.” With the C class sport being almost the same
price as the standard E class, a sports E does make model
sense. Glaser says Mercedes-Benz is confident the new E
sport model will make significant sales gains because of
what’s happened with the C class. He would not make specific
sales predictions, but indicated that the previous model had
peak US sales of about 55,000 units in 2004. (When you
consider that total M-B production for March this year in
China was around 8,000 units and in Thailand 500 units, you
can see why we have to wait for new models to come here;
however, I would expect that the right hand drive new E
class would be given its world debut at the Bangkok
International Motor Show.)
Hybrids drive your dollar even further than before
The hybrid technology which is being used by both
Toyota and Honda makes them currently the leaders in the
fuel miser stakes, but private enterprise has further
developed the electric side of the Prius Hybrid vehicle.
What has been done is to increase the range of the vehicle
using the electric motor, by installing the very latest
technology battery. This can be charged up by the owner
overnight, and since the vehicle can then use the electric
side more than the internal combustion (petrol) side, the
distance traveled per liter of fuel is reported to be in the
range of 60 km per liter, whilst a standard Toyota Prius
Hybrid returns around 20 km per liter. When you consider
that an average 2 liter petrol engined vehicle will return
around 10 km per liter, this new technology would cut your
fuel bill by 5/6ths. That is not to be sneezed at. The
modification will cost around USD 12,000, and the fuel
savings should return that sum very quickly.
Whilst this ‘after-market’ modification may void warranty,
Toyota themselves have admitted they are also looking at
increasing the distance that can be traveled with electric
power alone. “We are currently in the R&D phase and have
made significant progress with the project, but until we are
confident of the product, no release date will be set,” said
Toyota spokeswoman Cindy Knight.
Daimler and Chrysler to
share engines
DaimlerChrysler AG plans to invest about $2
billion in a new global family of V6 engines. This is the
beginning of the end for Chrysler, in my book, as
Mercedes-Benz technology will swamp the home-grown American
automobile company.
The ‘modular’ engines will begin appearing at the end of the
decade. The project, known internally as Phoenix, will build
the V6s at three Chrysler engine plants in the United
States, as well as at a Mercedes factory in Germany.
“We are working on a new family which can operate on a
modular base,” DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche said in a
recent interview. The program will reduce DaimlerChrysler’s
V-6 engines “to one family instead of five,” Zetsche said.
Chrysler spokesman Mike Aberlich said the company is still
completing some “business plan issues” on the program. He
said those issues should be resolved within a few months;
however, the cost figures came from the United Auto Workers
union sources who claimed that DaimlerChrysler is investing
a total of $2 billion in the three American engine plants.
When the two firms announced the amalgamation a few years
ago, the Chrysler side denied that it was the junior
partner. I predict that within 10 years Chrysler will be
without an identity. I hope I am wrong, as Chrysler has a
wonderful history, but so did Austin, Morris and MG.
Biodiesel gets the nod
in Munich
For Munich Airport’s ground services fleet,
biodiesel will be part of the fuel mix of the future. With
the launch of this project, FMG, the airport operating
company, aims to substantially increase the use of renewable
energy sources at Munich Airport. Already the site of a
hydrogen fueling station for some years now, and with the
world’s largest photoelectric generating facility on an
airport terminal roof, the airport has long been a
trailblazer in testing and utilizing renewable energy
technologies.
Munich Airport CEO, Dr. Michael Kerkloh, says the airport is
an ideal setting for presenting modern technologies, “By
making biodiesel an important fuel for our airport
equipment, we are clearly signaling our belief in
regenerative energies. Munich Airport, which welcomes a
large international audience every day, is the perfect
setting for showcasing convincing concepts for a sustainable
energy supply.”
Considering that Rudolf Diesel’s first engine ran on
biodiesel (peanut oil), it has only taken 100 odd years for
the concept to really be developed.
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week I mentioned the Land Speed Records. The
John Cobb Railton in 1938 employed ice cooling. Another two
record breakers used this method before then, rather than
radiators. I asked what were they? The answer was the Stutz
Black Hawk in 1928 (which killed driver Frank Lockhart) and
Kaye Don’s Silver Bullet in 1929.
So to this week. What was the first British make to win a
Grand Prix? Clue, the driver was also the first British
driver to win a GP.
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct
answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
