Continue reading Confirmed: Mercedes to shift some production of next-gen C-Class to Alabama

Confirmed: Mercedes to shift some production of next-gen C-Class to Alabama originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 08:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's a pretty lengthy story, but in the course of our trip, by way of an entertaining diversion to keep up our spirits during an especially lengthy drive, we had devised a plan whereby we would each try to get the others killed.

[W]e all felt that we would cause, at worst, a ripple of offence no deeper than that which might be generated among the residents of Cornwall by three visitors driving their cars through Truro with "Cream teas are rubbish" painted down the sides. We covered three miles before being placed in genuine fear for our lives.

Continue reading Hammond says Top Gear crew's scariest moment was infamous Southern U.S. episode [w/VIDEO]

Hammond says Top Gear crew's scariest moment was infamous Southern U.S. episode [w/VIDEO] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gallery: Mercedes-Benz C-Class

Mercedes-Benz pondering C-Class production in Alabama? originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 27 Sep 2009 16:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Another Alabama force gets Porsche police car... this time a "935" Slantnose?! originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 27 Mar 2009 10:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Rumormill: Mercedes-Benz expected to expand Alabama plant originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 23 Mar 2009 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Nearly 4,000 employees of the Mercedes-Benz assembly plant in Vance, Alabama, are being offered buyouts in advance of another expected round of production cuts at the facility in January. The Vance plant produces the M-Class sport utility, R-Class crossover and GL-Class full-sized sport utility for the Mercedes-Benz lineup. In July, Mercedes slowed production for the first time in more than a decade of U.S. production as rising gas prices in June drastically cut sales. Although the buyout packages are being offered to all employees, Mercedes spokespersons are quick to point out that these are not to be considered layoffs. In fact, the automaker will only hand out an undisclosed limited number of buyout packages as it makes changes to the plant to bring production back in line with demand.

Alabama has been hard hit this year by the global auto industry slump. The state's automotive industry is 134,000 workers strong, and the sobering news from Mercedes-Benz only adds to earlier production cuts from Honda and slowdowns from Hyundai, two other automakers with assembly plants in the Heart of Dixie.

[Source: AL.com]

Mercedes offers buyouts to all Alabama workers originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 04 Nov 2008 09:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A 15-percent drop in Sonata sales since the beginning of 2008 is one reason Hyundai will idle its Alabama plant for 11 days between now and the end of the year (the near-2-percent drop in Santa Fe sales didn't help either). According to Hyundai Motor Company officials, the current sales slump and future sales projections of both models warrant the assembly slowdown. To limit the financial impact on the plant's workers, Hyundai will schedule the days on Fridays, and around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Hyundai also added, "We will continue to monitor the situation closely and hope that the economic conditions affecting our industry will soon normalize and allow us to return to a full production schedule as soon as possible." You and everybody else.

Gallery: Hyundai Santa Fe Limited (UK)

Gallery: First Drive: 2009 Hyundai Sonata

Hyundai to slow production of Santa Fe, Sonata originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 19 Oct 2008 15:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

As consumer demand for thirsty vehicles continues to wane, Mercedes-Benz is being forced to slow production at the Alabama plant which manufactures their GL- and ML-Class SUVs and the R-Class crossover. Sales of Mercedes domestic trucks fell to 5,090 vehicles in June, representing an 11.9 percent decline from the same period last year. The move marks the first time in more than a decade of U.S. production, that the German automaker has reduced output due to market and economic conditions. The cuts will affect more than 4,000 of the plant's employees, and unfortunately will trickle-down to hurt the countless other companies who provide just-in-time components to support Mercedes production.

[Source: Automotive News, subs. req'd]

Mercedes cutting production in Alabama originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Following-up on last week's announcement that Volkswagen was looking at Alabama for a new manufacturing facility, the German automaker's management board is expected to make their final recommendation today. Following that announcement, Volkswagen's supervisory board, headed by former VW group CEO Ferdinand Piech, will make its decision by tomorrow. Whether Huntsville, Alabama, or second-choice Chattanooga, Tennessee, gets the nod, the move is key for Volkswagen as they attempt to increase sales in the United States with more targeted, and lower priced, vehicles. In addition to the Volkswagen Jetta (itself being redesigned to better compete with the Honda Civic) the new facility will produce an all-new Passat-sized sedan with a base price of about $20,000. Larger, in order to compete with the Toyota Camry, the new sedan would undercut the current Volkswagen Passat's pricing by about $5,000--a significant margin. The plant would open in late 2010 with an annual production capacity of nearly 250,000 vehicles.

[Source: Automotive News, subs. req'd]

Next Volkswagen Passat could be built Stateside originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 14 Jul 2008 10:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Volkswagen's management will meet tomorrow to refine plans to expand automobile production into the United States. While a final recommendation isn't expected until July 15, Alabama appears to be the front runner (over second-choice Tennessee) to receive the $788 million plant that will initially build the Volkswagen Jetta sedan and an all-new Passat-sized sedan. VW is also rumored to be considering production of a long-wheelbase version of the Volkswagen Tiguan and the Audi's Q5 on our shores. Volkswagen isn't the only German automaker to announce manufacturing expansion in the United States this year. The falling value of the dollar has also encouraged BMW to increase U.S. production in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

[Source: Automotive News, subs. req'd]

Volkswagen looking at Alabama for new plant originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

VW decision on U.S. plant in July, sorry Michigan originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

As domestic automobile manufacturers cut production and lay off workers because they were caught off-guard when consumer buying habits switched to more fuel-efficient vehicles, Honda will effortlessly shuffle its production to meet U.S. demand for small cars. Without cutting any jobs in North America, Honda will move assembly of the Honda Pilot SUV and Honda Ridgeline pickup from Alliston, Ontario, to Lincoln, Alabama. This move will allow the Japanese automaker to increase production of the fuel-efficient Honda Civic in its Canadian plant. Later this year, Honda is expected to add another 2,000 jobs as it begins to build Civics in Indiana, as well. That plant will be Honda's seventh in North America. Honda has sold 34,163 units of the Civic in North America through April of this year, which is 8.2% more Civics sold on average per day than in 2007. For comparison's sake, Toyota has sold 32,435 Corollas, Ford has sold 23,850 Foci and Chevy has sold 18,636 Cobalts so far this year.

[Source: The Detroit News]

Honda shuffles production so it can make more Civics originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 May 2008 15:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

There is certainly no shortage of extraordinary stories about Ferraris being dug out of somebody's barn after decades of neglect, but few are quite as intriguing as this one. As a student at the University of Alabama in 1966, Darrell Westfaul bought a competition 1950 Ferrari for $1,500 which he drove during his senior year. He planned to restore the car after graduation, but plans changed and the car was relegated to moving from garage to warehouse to garage for forty years.

Now 63 years old, the owner took the car out of storage and donated it to the university where he enjoyed it four decades earlier. The university sold the car for upwards of $1 million under an arrangement that will provide Mr. and Mrs. Westfaul with dividends on which to live for the remainder of their lives, after which the interest from the capital will go towards a scholarship fund.

Sounds extraordinary? That's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Well researched and documented by the owner, the 1950 Ferrari 166MM Touring Barchetta turns out to be far more than an "ordinary" Ferrari, imbued as it is with an extensive race history and pedigree. Already one of the earliest Ferrari models, s/n 0046MM, originally owned by famed designer Nuccio Bertone, was made even more special by the fitting of custom bodywork by Zagato in 1953, after having competed four times in the famous Mille Miglia race in 1950, '51, '52 and '53.

The car was sold to a museum in Arizona, whose owner will put in an additional $300,000 to properly restore the car to original condition.

[Source: University of Alabama via Tuscaloosa News and Alabama Press-Register]

Old School: Alabama grad donates million-dollar Ferrari originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 09 Jul 2007 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Honda plant confirmed in Alabama originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 09 Feb 2007 09:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Alabama's deep-south image may to some seem better suited to NASCAR moonshine-runnin' than the globe-trotting, jet-setting world of Formula 1, but a new motorsport complex in the southern state is keen to change that.

Alabama Motorsports Park is a $350 million project to be built in Mobile on the Gulf coast and will feature four tracks: a road course, a drag strip, a high-speed oval and a dirt track, giving it the ability to host numerous races for a variety of series around the year.

The project's investors expressed initial interest in hosting a second US Grand Prix, alongside the race currently held in Indianapolis. Given the elimination of Italy's and Germany's second races, this seems like an unlikely scheduling move for F1. The Alabama site is not set to be completed before 2009, though, and if the race continues to fail as it has at Indy, it may be up for grabs.

The last time the United States hosted two grands prix in one season was in 1984 in Detroit and Dallas.

[Source: F1i and the Mobile Press-Register]

Good Ol' Boys Grand Prix? Alabama site interested in F1 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 14 Sep 2006 17:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.