Autoblog

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Tata Nano

Raze 1,000-acres of farmland to build an automobile factory, and somebody is going to protest. Even in India. The automaker is Tata, and the protesters numbered at least 1,000 strong as they went head-to-head against police in eastern India yesterday at the future manufacturing site of the Tata Nano (rumored to be the world's cheapest car at just $2,380). The protests are rooted deeper than just "open space" issues. In fact, the real tension is between India's ruling party, and the communist-run government in West Bengal where the plant is to be located. The farmers are unwilling to part with their agricultural livelihood, while the government continues to promote industry. After blocking a highway for a few hours, the stick-wielding protesters were dispersed without injuries. Once again, progress wins out over pastures.

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

Porsche didn't win... this round. The German cabinet approved amendments to the Volkswagen Law yesterday, but lawmakers left Porsche's key clause untouched. For those of you who haven't been following this saga, "Volkswagen Law" is the legislation that includes a provision to allow the federal state of Lower Saxony to keep a blocking minority vote in Volkswagen. That minority position is just 20 percent, exactly the amount currently held by Lower Saxony. With Porsche gobbling up shares in VW, intent on capturing a majority position so they can control plant closures, and Lower Saxony determined to protect thousands of jobs in their state... rest assured we haven't heard the last of this.

[Source: Automotive News]

Click above for a high-res gallery of Fiat's Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione

As the dollar weakens, European manufacturers continue to scramble for manufacturing opportunities offshore to salvage profits. Fiat is the latest to jump into the fray. Company sources are saying the Italian automaker is currently considering Mexico as a production site -- with their eyes on an existing plant that could be tooled up for 150,000 cars a year. With their Alfa Romeo brand launching in the United States next year, and Fiat sales up significantly in South America, a plant in centrally-located Mexico could easily supply demand for both markets. If approved, the Mexican plant would start building Alfa Romeos and Fiats in 2011.

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

When the second quarter of 2010 rolls along, 1,400 workers at General Motor's Windsor transmission factory will be out of work. The plant, which currently produces four-speed gearboxes for GM, will be phased out at the turn of the decade, with no plans to retool the facility to produce any other components. GM's Canada President, Arturo Elias, made it clear in the announcement that the decision was not a "reflection on our excellent Windsor workforce," but instead is due to a lack of available, "replacement products in the relevant timeframe for this location." Fortunately or unfortunately, today's announcement of the plant's closing takes place as the General negotiates a new contract with the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union.

[Source: Detroit News]

The Italians are coming, the Italians are coming! And when they get here in the guise of Alfa Romeo, they will be looking for a factory where the 8C and other cars wearing the cross and serpent can be built. Alfa is looking at two options regarding a U.S.-based factory: buy one of GM, Ford, or Chrysler's closed factories, or expand a Case New Holland factory.

Case New Holland, which is actually owned by Alfa, makes agricultural machinery and construction equipment. It already has 11 plants in the U.S., and Alfa could simply expand one of them to make cars. The plant, a location for which will be selected in May, will begin churning out Alfas in 2011 or 2012. At capacity, production is expected to be around 150,000 cars for the North American and European markets. Alfa Romeo will decide on the distribution network and particular vehicles to be made within three months, which makes it sound as if the Italians are definitely coming.

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

VW hasn't yet publicly committed to building one or even two factories in the U.S. (though it's apparently considering the South, specifically South Carolina), but is making statements that sound like it's definitely on the way. VW's head of production, Jochem Heizmann, has said that the requirements for a factory are that: it not be in a hurricane zone, it be near a major airport, and that there be "no other production car in the vicinity" -- or at least, Google Translate said that for him.

The factory that will might be coming in 2011 will also source, according to Heizmann, 80% of its parts locally, or at least, in the dollar zone, which again rules out a factory in Mexico. The first couple of years it will produce up to 150,000 cars, with full production being 250,000. The boon to whatever region is chosen should obviously be significant. The reason for all this, according to Heizmann, is that in addition to developing cars with U.S. tastes in mind, the current Passat is too expensive by at least $4,000.

[Source: Auto Bild via German Car Blog]

While repeatedly denying the existence of an upcoming entry-level Ferrari, company executives have stated that the real entry-level Ferrari is a used Ferrari. To back that up, the company's outfit in the UK has established the Ferrari Approved program to certify second-hand Prancing Horses.

The program covers the 360, 430, 465M, 612, 550, 575 and 599 models, in all their derivations, with the oldest stretching back no earlier than 1998. As part of the process, factory-trained technicians put the cars through a 190-point inspection, replacing or repairing defective parts; an independent investigation is conducted into the car's history ensuring there are no outstanding debts on the car; and the service record is verified. Only non-modified cars, dealer-serviced throughout, are eligible for the program, and once the cars come out, they're backed by a 12-month factory warranty and 12 months of roadside assistance.

Although Ferrari North America offers a pre-owned vehicle program, it does not appear to be nearly as extensive in its certification process as the one Ferrari GB Ltd has just launched. Maybe the British program will serve as a pilot before it comes stateside.

[Source: Ferrari GB]

Alfa Romeo isn't kidding around about its return to the US market: Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne revealed that Alfa is planning to open a factory in the United States.

Citing the drop in the US dollar against the Euro as a principal motivating factor, Marchionne said that manufacturing cars in America was vital to the profitability of Alfa's stateside venture. The Canadian-Italian industrialist anticipated that Alfa would only begin making a profit after three or four years in the US.

This won't be the first time a Fiat division has manufactured in the United States. In 1909 the Italian automaker inaugurated a plant in Poughkeepsie in upstate New York which it closed a decade later.

Meanwhile, industry sources indicate that Alfa's main factory at Pomigliano d'Arco in southern Italy will close for two months beginning in January as a last-ditch effort to get Alfa Romeo build quality up to spec or else face complete closure.

[Source: Automotive News (sub. req.) via Italiaspeed]

Click on the image above to jump to our 52-image high-resolution gallery

Can't get enough of Ferrari's latest hotness? Neither can we, and the first batch of eight official images to come out of Maranello just weren't enough. So we flew out to Germany and got some more from the 430 Scuderia's unveiling at the Frankfurt auto show. But that still wasn't enough. So we got in touch with Ferrari North America to ask for more, but unfortunately our requests went unheeded.

Thankfully our Italian friends over at Automobilismo.it came to the rescue with a whole F1-calibre convoy full of new press images of the new Scuderia, that stripped-out supercar that laps Ferrari's private Fiorano test track faster than any Ferrari road car in the company's sixty-year history – including the Enzo.

Without confirmation from Ferrari, we can't be 100% sure these are all factory-issued, but until we hear otherwise, we give you this gallery of 52 high-resolution images. Enjoy them, because it can't have been easy for the photographer to get the 430 Scuderia to stay still for long.

[Source: Ferrari via Automobilismo.it]

For many BMW fans, visiting the automaker's M performance division in Munich is akin to finding the Holy Grail, which is why the workshop's factory tour program has been a runaway success. Strangely, rival tuner AMG has been very slow to open its doors to the public.

All that could change, as new European delivery arrangements may give AMG customers a chance to visit the factory and see their cars being built. Management at the Affalterbach-based tuner is considering opening the doors to the factory to satisfy a growing desire from many of its customers to visit the premises. "We have been working on a factory tour in Affalterbach for awhile," revealed AMG's director of marketing and sales Mario Spitzner. "We are starting slowly because the demand would be more than we could handle."

Unlike BMW's M range, which is limited to a handful of cars, AMG offers a substantial number of cars, meaning getting a chance to go behind the scenes will likely entail dealing with long waiting lists. or could be limited to customers ordering only the most expensive models.

[Source: Edmunds]