Autoblog

We've posted a number of articles in recent months about coachbuilders like Pininfarina and Bertone finding themselves in financially troubled waters. The difficulties these and other independent manufacturers around Europe are suffering now appear to be part of a larger trend that's forcing these companies to either adapt to the changing market or face extinction.

While major manufacturers once subcontracted the production of niche vehicles – sports cars and convertibles especially – to smaller companies, the larger carmakers have been adapting their assembly lines towards small runs of diverse automobiles, leaving the indie coachbuilders with declining business. As a result, Pininfarina, for example, has been dipping further and further into the red, while Bertone was forced to sell its business on the verge of bankruptcy hearings.

Industry experts now advise that the coachbuilders will have to change their focus in order to survive and return to profitability. Although some have been receiving patronage from wealthy customers seeking original automotive creations like Zagato's Maserati GS and Pininfarina's Ferrari P4/5, that business is sporadic at best. Magna Steyr continues to be awarded contracts from carmakers like BMW, and Karmann is gearing up for an anticipated contact from Kia, but these and other coachbuilders will need to begin looking elsewhere for continued viability. Pininfarina and Bertone can return to their erstwhile core business of automotive design while shutting down or severely downsizing their manufacturing divisions, while emerging markets like China could provide potential contracts in the future. But while there may be a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel, European coachbuilders will need to streamline to reach it.

[Source: Automotive News (subscription required) via Winding Road]

Scott Dixon won the Camping World Watkins Glen Grand Prix this past weekend. Who cares? There was another altercation in the pits following the one between Danica Patrick and Dan Wheldon after the Milwaukee race in early June. This weekend's tangle, however, had a twist. In one corner we have Andretti Green Racing driver Tony Kanaan, the Vin Diesel of IRL we like to say. In the other corner we have... Sam Hornish Jr.'s dad, Sam Hornish Sr. Whaa?

Here's the run up. Early in the race Hornish Jr. and Kanaan made contact in a corner. Hornish got the edge there, which prompted Kanaan to attempt pushing him into the wall going into the pits after the race. With cars parked, Hornish Jr. approached Kanaan before the Brazilian had even gotten out of his car. Clearly words were said, but both drivers still had their helmets on. Hornish Jr. backs off, but after exiting his car Kanaan follows. Before you know it, Hornish SENIOR, who had begun restraining his son, turns around and plants a nice two-handed shove on Kanaan. Kanaan is literally stunned and stands there with what must be the look to end all looks hidden under his helmet.

Had Kanann and Hornish Jr. been left to work it out with words, most agree it would have gone no further, but the shove invited a whole mess of bystanders to enter the ensuing fray, which somehow resulted in Hornish Sr. hitting the ground.

Kanaan was quoted after the race saying, "That's why dads should be in the grandstands, not in the pits." BURN! Seriously, after watching the video, we had to wonder what the hell this guy in a short-sleeve button-down shirt from Sears was doing amongst the crowd of racing professionals.

The video is embedded after the jump, and a great write up of the action with quotes from each driver can be found by clicking the Read link.

[Source: Indy Car and ESPN]

Last weekend's ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225 Indy race at the Milwaukee Mile saw Tony Kanann take the checkered flag, but a confrontation after the race between Danica Patrick and Dan Wheldon is getting more media attention than who stood atop the podium after the race concluded. On Lap 88, Danica Patrick was running fifth when her car made contact with Dan Wheldon's in Turn 1. Wheldon was ahead and on the outside and Patrick wasn't give him much room while coming up on left. The exchange forced Patrick to lose control for a split second, though she saved her car from going into the wall. Wheldon went on to finish third behind Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti and race winner Tony Kanaan. Patrick scrambled back up to eighth place. After the race, Patrick confronted Wheldon in the pits, grabbed his arm and gave him a shove. Worse things have happened after a race in which two competitors have gotten into it on the track, though Wheldon provided some choice quotes after the incident, including "She's messing with the wrong person if she wants to get feisty. I'm a lot tougher than she is on track,." and "She's just feisty. There's a lot of pressure on her because she has not won a race, and her teammates are (winning)."

[Source: Paddack Talk and AutoWeek]

Hyundai's labor union has taken a note from the Teamster playbook and is attempting to strong-arm the automaker. During a ceremony to celebrate the new year, union members ganged up on Hyundai's president and discharged fire extinguishers. The ceremony came screeching to a halt with the president suffering a facial wound in the melee. The hubub arose over bonus pay. Workers were given a bonus equivalent to 100 percent of their normal pay. The extra pay was directly correlated to how close they came to hitting their production target. In this case, 1.62 millon cars was 98 percent of the goal. Nice and tidy, eh? Not so fast.

If labor had managed to eke out that last 2 percent of volume, they would have found 150 percent tucked in their envelopes. Unfortunately, the union isn't acknowledging that the reason for the near miss was their own doing. 2006 was rife with labor unrest for Hyundai. The unions kept striking in an effort to increase pay, while the Won climbed against the dollar, putting Hyundai in a bind between labor's outstretched hand and a vehicle that was suddenly more expensive than its competition. Disregarding the slip in market share, Hyundai's union kept ringing the bell for more pay, all the while forcing losses on Hyundai. Hyundai even lowered the production target to accomodate labor's inability to attain the original number. Hey, we'd love to get paid more for doing less, but demanding a bonus you didn't earn seems counterintuitive to us.

[Source: Digital Chosunilbo]

If we learned anything from the story of Cole Trickle, it's that rubbin's racing. Michael Simko, a driver in the Great Lakes Chevy Dealers/Budweiser Glass City 200 at Toledo Speedway sponsored by the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA), apparently disagrees. After fellow driver Don St. Denis tagged him and sent him into the wall, Simko exited his vehicle and drop kicked the plastic windshield of the offending driver before throwing his helmet at him. After Denis was able to extricate himself from his vehicle, the two exchanged punches on the infield. ARCA immediately issued indefinite suspensions for both drivers. In the above video, Simko tries to explain his actions after the incident, but really, who hasn't wanted to drop kick another driver after a bone head move on the road. No explanation needed, sir.

Thanks Paul for the tippage!

[Source: Sports Illustrated]

From his hospital bed, Top Gear's Richard Hammond is asking the BBC to show on television the footage of the crash that put him there. But the BBC has said the show will only continue when Hammond is able to appear on it. With forces at work to have the show canceled (or prohibitively curtailed), the Hamster is also prepared to go on TV from his bedside.

In typical Top Gear fashion, Richard has been speeding down the fast lane towards full recovery, but he's afraid he won't be back fast enough, leaving no show for him to return to. According to a "close friend", "Richard could not stand to feel he was to blame for the demise of the show he loves... He's terrified they're going to axe it while he's stuck in hospital."

Now that's dedication to motor journalism.

Watch this space for more info as the parallel sagas of Richard's recovery and Top Gear's fight for survival unfold.

Related posts:

• Top Gear fights for survival as BBC postpones show indefinitely
• Hammond Update: "Was I driving like a tw*t?"
• Giving in the name of Richard Hammond
• Top Gear's "Hamster" in stable but serious condition day after crash
• UPDATE: Details on Richard Hammond crash
• Top Gear's Richard Hammond in critical condition

[Source: The Daly Mail]