Ford shift their Asian production base to Thailand and India

Ford Kuga

Currently, Ford is exporting the Fiesta and Ranger, but that will change during 2012 and 2013, with the Ford Kuga compact SUV and Focus to be produced at Ford’s new Rayong factory.

Sourcing of the current model Focus sedan and five-door hatchback for Australia is already set to be switched from Germany to the all-new Thai plant at Rayong in about six months.

With the new Focus architecture being used to produce different vehicles, and the Kuga compact SUV being built off the same C-segment platform, it almost certainly will be another export from Rayong.

The current first-generation German-made Kuga is due to be introduced into Australian Ford showrooms in March next year and then the following generation from Thailand in 2013.

Ford Australia president and CEO Bob Graziano said that consumers would not notice any difference in production quality when Focus production was switched to Thailand from Germany in the second half of 2012.

This move will not only generate savings in manufacturing and shipping costs, but also eliminate the five percent import duty, thanks to Australia’s free-trade agreement with Thailand.

Unfortunately, production of the high-performance Focus ST model is expected to remain in Germany. Powered by a turbocharged 2.0 liter EcoBoost direct-injection four-cylinder engine, the front-drive ST (Sport Technologies) hatchback will be offered exclusively with a six-speed manual gearbox, 18 inch alloy wheels and torque vectoring control to get rid of torque steer, always a problem with hot hatches with FWD.

Another Asian-built vehicle almost certainly destined for Australia is the ladder-chassis SUV being developed from the T6 Ranger platform by Ford Australia for Thai production. Thought to be called Endeavor, this SUV would bring Ford Australia’s showroom fleet of Thai-made Ford nameplates to five - Fiesta, Ranger, Focus, Kuga and Endeavor.

In the meantime, the current 4x4 dual-cab diesel Ford Ranger pick-up is set to be joined by other variants in 2012, including Single Cab, Super Cab, 4x2, 4x2 Hi-Rider and Wildtrak.

The engine line-up will be expanded to three, with a 2.5 liter petrol and 2.2 liter diesel joining the current 3.2 liter five cylinder diesel.

According to media sources in the pipeline for Australia - although not yet officially announced - is a new Indian-made Fiesta-based entry-level compact crossover, reportedly called EcoSport, which is scheduled to be unveiled at the New Delhi motor show in January 2012.

Dust off the Ducati

Rossi on Ducati

While many people are of the opinion that Japan rules the two-wheeled world, that is not quite true. Italy’s Ducati brand has been a driving force in motorcycle technology, and has been a MotoGP winner. Ducati is now also assembled in Thailand!

To celebrate the branding and its achievements, there is the World Ducati Week (WDW) which will be 21-24 June 2012 at the circuit of Misano in Italy.

First organized in 1998, WDW successfully brought together ‘Ducatisti’ from all over the world to celebrate their shared passion for the legendary Italian-made motorcycles. The event has since attracted an ever-increasing attendance of people who enjoy the high-powered fun and community spirit of the iconic brand, with a record-breaking attendance of 60,000 fans from five continents and 28 countries recorded at the last event in 2010.

WDW2012 is sure to follow the tried and tested formula of race track events, shows, top riders, competitions and great music all combined with the incredible atmosphere created by thousands of motorcycles arriving from all around the globe.

As the event’s massive attendance is sure to invade the entire Riviera Romagnola, Ducati’s WDW2012 organization has enjoyed the close cooperation and special partnership of authorities such as the Province of Rimini, Municipality of Misano, Municipality of Cattolica, Municipality of Riccione and the Republic of San Marino. Continued cooperation with the Leardini Group has also underlined the region’s Misano circuit venue as the ‘theatre’ for WDW, an event further supported by APT Emilia Romagna, promoting a region of Italy famously known as ‘Motor Valley’.

Ducati offer further information at wdw.ducati.com.

The 10 worst cars of the last 50 years

Ford Zephyr convertible

A few months ago, I started this discussion and got as far as the Austin A40 Devon. A very, very slow car, which you time over 400 meters with a calendar.

The next car? One of my university buddies came from a well-heeled family and his mother had a convertible. Open top motoring no less. A guaranteed crumpet catcher. It was a Mk 1 Ford Zephyr, complete with a two speed automatic transmission. Show the car a photo of a hill and it would immediately hunt up and down the gearbox, looking for the right ratio, which it never did find. Low was ridiculously low, while high was too high.

It did have a 2,262 cc (138 cu in) six-cylinder engine producing 68 bhp (51 kW). It also had MacPherson Strut independent front suspension and a live axle with half elliptic springs at the rear. A Zephyr saloon tested by The Motor magazine in 1951 had a top speed of 79.8 mph (128.4 km/h) and could accelerate from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in just 20.2 seconds, slashing seven seconds off the A40’s time. Now we are talking! 20.2 seconds, without additional oxygen!

Holden FE

The next in my list of personal dreadful cars came from Italy, the home of GT motoring, Ferrari, Maserati and later Lamborghini. Mine was not a GT car, but a Fiat 1100 D I purchased for five British pounds and it was a well-worn example. So worn that it used more oil than gasoline. I used to collect oil from my local garage that had been drained from better cars coming in for a grease and oil change. Remember those days? In its heyday (the first week after coming out of the factory) the Fiat 1100 D boasted performance figures of: top speed 120 km/h (75 mph) (factory); acceleration 0- 60 mph 27.2 seconds; 0- 100 km/h 30.2 seconds and a standing start 1/4 mile in 23.2 seconds. My rather more knackered version would go nowhere near those figures. Another very bad car. Incidentally, I never sold it. I parked it on Tilbury docks in London, threw the keys in the water and hopped on to the MV Adelaide Star where I was to be the ship’s surgeon for the voyage to Australia. It may even still be there? However, being left in light-fingered London, I doubt it.

Arriving back in Australia, with no money and no credit, I was somehow shoehorned into a 1957 FE Holden, the four door Aussie family transport. It is difficult to dredge up details on this car. A single piece windscreen was a sales feature and other improvements included a 12 volt electrical system (replacing the previous 6 volt system), improved steering, a front stabiliser bar and wider wheel rims. All models used a 2,172 cc in-line six cylinder engine, coupled with a three speed manual gearbox column change, known as “three on the tree”. Engine improvements over the previous model included the use of bigger valves and the lifting of the compression ratio to 6.8:1, which increased the power output from 45 kW to 53 kW. In actual fact, the 53 kW were hardly enough to pull the skin off a rice pudding.

I shed no tears for the Holden (the only one I have ever owned) when I replaced it with a Morris Mini 850, which definitely went into my ‘good’ car list.

Hot Nissan March coming?

In other markets, our Nissan March is known as the Nissan Micra, and news has broken of a performance version Micra complete with a supercharged engine. This is still in the planning phase for Asia, but would certainly expand the range for what has been a very successful release for Nissan in Thailand.

The supercharged engine in question is marketed in Europe as a low-emissions hero model, Nissan could add this model as a sporty flagship to the local range.

Fitted overseas to the 1.2 DIG-S model, the HR12DDR direct-injection three-cylinder Miller Cycle unit features a supercharger, idle-stop and the Nissan’s Continuous Variable Valve Timing Control System to deliver 72 kW of power and 143 Nm of torque.

The five-speed manual version returns 4.1 L/100 km and emits just 95 g/km on the Euro cycle, while the equally economical CVT version emits 115 g/km.

In the existing K13 range, the ST’s naturally aspirated version of the 1.2 liter three-cylinder engine has 56 kW, 100 Nm, 5.9 L/100 km and 138g/km with a five-speed manual, while the ST-L and Ti employ a 1.5 liter four cylinder engine with 75 kW, 136 Nm, and 6.5 L/100 km and 153 g/km.

At the Micra/March global launch, Nissan CEO Toshiyuki Shiga announced that the car would be sold in more than 160 countries, with Thailand, China, India and Mexico being the four main manufacturing and export hubs; however, some export models are now to be sourced from Indonesia.

Since the price structure is tightly controlled in this country to remain inside the eco-car tax reduction, it is probably unlikely that we will receive the supercharged version.

Autotrivia Quiz

Ascari Ecosse

Last week I asked what car is this? Built 1998-99. Named after a famous F1 driver. Zero to 100 km/h in 4.2 seconds. This was a little more difficult and eluded most of the “Googlers”. It was the Ascari Ecosse.

So to this week. The first BRM’s were very advanced racing cars with V16 supercharged engines. However, in 1953 they were beaten by prewar two liter cars, What cars were they?

For the Automania free beer this week, be the first correct answer to email [email protected].