Italian GP at Monza this weekend
Like many other circuits, Monza has not
been a single layout, but a series of more than a dozen
layouts which have ranged in length from 1.482 miles to
6.214 miles. The circuit was opened in the Monza Royal Park,
near Milan, in 1922 and featured bankings, though these were
demolished in 1939. The bankings which featured in some
races, 1955-69, were new structures built on the format of
the original. Bankings were used for the Italian GP in 1955,
’56, ’60 and ’61, and were last used for racing of any form
in 1969 when the concrete became in need of substantial
resurfacing and rebuilding.
The 1971 Italian GP holds the record for the fastest-ever
Formula One race but, emphatically, that is not the same as
saying the fastest race for Grand Prix cars. That honour
remains in the possession of the 1937 Avusrennen.
After 1971, the circuit underwent some revisions to
discourage slipstreaming and to lower the average lap speed.
Chicanes were added in 1976 and, in 1994, the second Lesmo
Bend was tightened and the Curve Grande was re-profiled.
With the Alonso-Schumacher fight in full swing, it should be
an important GP for both of them. I will be watching from my
perch at Jameson’s Irish Pub (Soi AR, next to Nova Park) and
the racing commences at 7 p.m., but check your local TV feed
to be sure. We watch the South African feed which has no
adverts and better commentators.
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week I mentioned the new Camaro, and
said to think back to the first Z28 Camaros. What was it
that identified the Z28 over the more humble Camaros? The
answer was the duck-tail spoiler on the rear boot lid (or
‘trunk’ if you like).
So to this week. Which British car company began as a piston
manufacturer?
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct
answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
Hyundai – the big mover
Poor little Hyundai, which once marketed a small range of
sad vehicles in this country, is going to surprise us all.
As part of its plan to sell five million vehicles annually
and become one of the world’s five top-selling car-makers by
2010 (Hyundai has jumped Nissan to claim sixth behind
General Motors, Toyota, Ford, Volkswagen and DaimlerChrysler
following an 11.6 percent jump in global sales in 2005 to
3,715,096 units), it remains committed to producing two
all-new models every year.
Hyundai
Genus.
The brand may have been thought of as moribund in Thailand
with United Auto Sales Thailand, the previous holder of the
brand name, being out of the action for many years, but here
is a new player, Hyundai Motor Thailand (HMT) ready to
market the offerings from the Korean manufacturer. HMT is
owned by Sojitz Corp, a Japanese parts manufacturer with
interests in China, Thailand and India.
While Thailand sales might be zero, the rest of the world
has been soaking up the 3.7 million units, with many going
to the US and others to Europe and Australia.
Hyundai Motor Company Australia (HMCA) plans to sell more
than 50,000 vehicles for the first time in 2006 - a five
percent increase on 2005 figures and well up on its 2003
tally of just over 30,000 vehicles. Year-to-date, HMCA sales
are up two percent despite a three percent slide in total
Australian vehicles sales so far in 2006.
Just three months after releasing all-new versions of its
Santa Fe medium 4WD and light-sized Accent sedan and
(three-door) hatch, Hyundai last month launched its all-new
Elantra sedan.
Hyundai
Genus rear
The US-oriented Elantra sedan will be followed by
German-designed five-door (FD) wagon and hatch body
derivatives next year (the latter will form the basis of
Hyundai’s 2007 WRCar), followed in 2008 by a folding
metal-roofed coupe-convertible.
Hyundai says it expects the bigger new Elantra to have
little impact on sales of Hyundai’s new medium sedan
launched last September (Sonata is currently being tested by
Victoria Police as part of what could become a lucrative
fleet deal for HMCA), let alone its new-generation larger
offering, the Grandeur flagship launched in February.
Next cab off the Hyundai rank will be the Santa Fe CRDi
variant, which the company says will be one of the first
soft-roader diesels available here. Available in New Zealand
since May and on sale in Europe and the US since early this
year, the 1823 kg CRDi is powered by a 110 kW 335 Nm
common-rail SOHC 2.2 liter four cylinder variable geometry
turbo-diesel that returns a claimed EU average fuel
consumption of 7.3 L/100 km.
The new Elantra sedan and oil-burning Santa Fe, HMCA says
could attract up to 30 percent of all Santa Fe sales at the
expense of some petrol model sales.
Their Tiburon (of which there are a few examples running
around Thailand) has been given a skin change, and was shown
in China last month and will go on sale in 2007.
Finally, for now, Hyundai’s luxury-oriented medium-large
crossover 4WD - codenamed EN, based on the Genus concept
from Geneva in March and recently approved for production
under the name Veracruz – could be the first model to be
sold under Hyundai’s long-mooted, but yet-to-be-announced
luxury brand.
Hyundai Tiburon
The likelihood of a Lexus-style luxury division to match
Toyota gained weight two weeks ago when Hyundai officially
announced it has no plans to buy Ford’s up-market Jaguar
brand - and again last week at the local Elantra launch,
where senior HMCA officials talked freely about the concept.
“EN could be the beginning of our new luxury brand,” said
HMCA sales and marketing director Theo van Doore, who has
driven the Veracruz but admits the US-targeted model is not
yet approved for right-hand-drive production.
“Hyundai is developing the concept of a new luxury brand – a
little bit like Lexus. I don’t know what the strategy will
be, but given the success of Lexus in the US you can
understand its significance. We’re a brand that’s on the
cusp. We spend a lot of money on R&D but we’re very careful
how we do it,” van Doore said in Australia.
Officially, the Veracruz (named after the Mexican state)
will be the ninth model to join Hyundai’s US range for 2007
and will be targeted at luxury SUVs like the Lexus RX350,
Honda Pilot (MDX), Nissan Murano and forthcoming models like
Mazda’s CX-7 and Subaru’s Tribeca.
Veracruz will also feature a six-speed automatic
transmission, standard ESC stability control and standard
side and side curtain airbags, and is claimed to offer more
cargo space than the upcoming Mercedes-Benz GL-class.
A new 4.6 liter DOHC 32 valve V8, first revealed in
Hyundai’s Neos-3 Tokyo show car, is also on the cards for
the Veracruz - and could also power a BH-codenamed
rear-drive luxury sedan, which may replace the current
(front-drive) Equus sedan sold in overseas markets and will
be targeted at the likes of Lexus’ GS and BMW’s 5 Series.
As you can see, with nine models available in the US,
covering everything from small vehicles, right through to
luxury models, Hyundai has aggressive marketing plans. That
Sojitz Corp should then be making a stake in Thailand is not
surprising.
The following is a list of new Hyundai models slated for
release:
HD Elantra sedan redesign October 2006
CM Santa Fe CRDi turbo-diesel variant October 2006
Tiburon coupe facelift February 2007
FD Elantra five-door hatch Mid-2007
FD Elantra five-door wagon Mid-2007
MC Accent SR turbo hatch variant 2007
FD Elantra coupe-convertible 2008
EN Veracruz crossover 2009
BH luxury sedan 2010
A few years ago, you would have laughed if someone said
Hyundai would be in the world’s top 10 by 2006. It is now
sixth and selling more than Nissan. Put your hand up now for
a Hyundai dealership. It’s the coming brand. Believe me!
2007 F1 calendar
The FIA has published the 2007 Formula 1
calendar. The San Marino and European Grands Prix have been
dropped, while Belgium returns, making for a 17 race
schedule. So pencil these into your 2007 diary, but remember
that there can be some late changes!
The San Marino and European races were this year staged in
Italy (Imola) and Germany (Nurburgring) respectively - both
countries that also have their own Grand Prix, and have been
dropped. The German round is now expected to alternate
between Hockenheim and the Nurburgring, but the four week
gap in the calendar between Bahrain and Spain will doubtless
lead to speculation that San Marino could yet be reinstated.
The Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne returns to its
traditional role of season opener after moving to round
three this year to avoid a clash with the Commonwealth
Games. Meanwhile, the Japanese round will move from Suzuka
to Fuji, the circuit which staged the country’s first Grand
Prix back in 1976.
There are five sets of back-to-back races on the 2007
calendar: Malaysia and Bahrain in April; Canada and the US
in June; France and Britain in July; Italy and Belgium in
September; and China and Japan in September/October.
The full line-up is as follows:
Australia, March 18
Malaysia, April 08
Bahrain, April 15
Spain, May 13
Monaco, May 27
Canada, June 10
United States, June 17
France, July 01
United Kingdom, July 08
Germany, July 22
Hungary, August 05
Turkey, August 26
Italy, September 09
Belgium, September 16
China, September 30
Japan, October 07
Brazil, October 21
Always follow the money
I have written before that you will find
some of the best auto stories in the financial pages of
newspapers, not in the auto columns (other than this one, of
course).
This week came the report that Nissan is advancing its
fortunes in China, by advancing the money so the Chinese
buyer can get a Nissan in his garage. In fact, Nissan are so
sure of the Chinese market they believe that 10 percent of
their sales will come through their own finance arm.
This concept is nothing new, FoMoCo having used their
finance arm Ford Credit for decades. Even in China, Nissan
are only playing catch-up, as both Volkswagen and Toyota are
offering ‘factory’ finance.
Nissan’s corporate VP Joji Tagawa said, “Instead of cutting
prices, for example, we can offer lower interest rates on
loans to attract customers.” This marketing ploy is well
understood by Toyota, who has been offering very, very low
interest rates on loans on new vehicles in this country too.
While currently most Chinese customers pay cash for their
new cars, market analysts predict that this will change,
with Nissan looking at 10-15 percent by the year 2010. By
comparison, around 50 percent of new car buyers in the US
use finance to get into the new models. With Nissan selling
297,000 vehicles in China last year (double the number from
the previous year) this is obviously a market that nobody
can ignore.
The financial gurus claim that Nissan will need at least 10
percent of sales going through their finance arm to make it
viable. However, the Japanese are good at the “long game”,
and I am sure they will wait.
Natter Nosh and Noggin
The monthly car enthusiasts meeting will be at
Jameson’s Irish Pub on Soi AR next to the Nova Park
development. The car (and bike) enthusiasts meet on the
second Monday of the month, so this time it is Monday
(September 11) at Jameson’s at 7 p.m. This is a totally
informal meeting of like minded souls to discuss their pet
motoring (and motorcycling) loves and hates. Bring along any
magazines, photos of old vehicles, old girlfriends or the
latest Lamborghini for us all to drive.
