Autoblog

Volvo hasn't been doing too hot lately, posting a $1.73 billion loss over the past five years as it flails to find its niche. Sales of almost every Volvo product have declined in 2007, with the S60 falling by 28.1 percent, the XC90 dropping 5.6 percent and the V70 station wagon losing 7.7 percent. For June of 2008, Volvo only moved 7,001 vehicles, down 14.2 percent compared to last year. Something has to be done on the retail side, and according to Automotive News, dealers are on their way out.

The automaker is looking to cut out approximately 30 percent of its U.S. dealer network by the close of next year, however, Volvo retailers won't be cut in Europe, nor Russia, where Volvo is a leader in premium vehicle sales.

Volvo recognizes that part of its problem is fuel efficiency, so it's focusing on producing smaller vehicles and pushing its C30 hatch hard in the States. A hybrid version of the XC60 is in the works, but that won't be out for at least another three years... in Germany, and as a stopgap, Volvo plans to implement start-stop technology on its smaller engines.

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

It's a long way to travel between Italy and America. Not only is it how far Lamborghini road cars have to travel to meet their new owners here in the US, but it's also the divide American dealerships have had to bridge in order to provide the level of service that customers expect when dropping six figures on a new car. And that's a gap Sant'Agata intends to narrow with the establishment of Automobili Lamborghini America LLC.

Establishing a field office in the US – to be placed somewhere on the East Coast or in California – will give its US dealership network a local address with which to coordinate instead of dealing directly with the factory. The American subsidiary will also provide product planning input back to the factory. The United States represents the largest market for Lamborghini where its sales rose from 100 units in 2001 to 900 in 2007.

Although Lamborghini has had operations in the United States under previous ownership – remember how it bounced around owners through the 80s and 90s? – this will be the first American division since Volkswagen/Audi took over in 1998. The field office will operate with a staff of ten, headed up by Pietro Frigerio, formerly Lamborghini's western United States regional sales manager.

Lamborghini has also announced that it will extend its warranties for 2008 from the previous 2 years/24,000 miles to 3 years with unlimited mileage. The company is also considering a certified pre-owned vehicle program and a financing framework.

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

There's a variety of flavors of in-car networking standards that corral the large number of embedded computers and nodes present in the modern automobile. BMW Research and Technology, an R&D division of BMW, has found Internet Protocol up to the tasks that the other standards currently perform. BMW engineers used a standard PC and connected it up to the expected gear -- ECUs, engine and chassis control systems, even a multimedia server for the entertainment system. The reasoning behind using IP versus the more specialized protocols is to anticipate future needs and requirements, as well as reducing costs. Costs drop because fewer specialized components are needed, and the new version of IPv6 is even better than the more than fine performance from IPv4. It's a little spooky to think that your fly-by-wire throttle could be trying to chat with the engine using the same technology that we use to send instant messages, but IP proved itself capable enough even for critical safety functions. The research is ongoing, but BMW's work bodes well for adding functionality and decreasing costs. Adding aftermarket goodies should be fairly painless and service shops will also have an easier time of it by going with a more universal language. Imagine surfing the web with iDrive, though. Blech.

[Source: Automotive Design Line, Photo: Zercustoms]

We tried hard to get a podcast going last week, but it just wasn't good enough. This week, the internet gods smiled on us with solid connections that cleared the way for our incisor-sharp banter. Kicking off #72, we discuss the dual surprise from Ford and GM - profit! The US operations showed losses, but overseas branches pulled in the dough, and as Alex points out "money is money." Moving on to less dull subjects, the MINI Clubman was officially unveiled, and it seems like all of the growth is in its arse. There's more legroom in the back seat, and cargo space gets a boost, as well. In typical German fashion, they took the long way around to achieve what could have been a simple platform stretch. Speaking of Germans - Wolfgang Bernhard is officially in at Chrysler. That is, if Hades 3-headed guard dog can pull it together on the funding side. It's not much of a surprise, and we hope that he can right the good ship Chrysler.

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Most carmakers produce automobiles for a wide variety of customers and adjust their marketing strategies accordingly. While a Viper may be used to promote the brand, Dodge isn't trying to sell one to the same customer considering a Caliber, for instance. A handful, meanwhile, only market to the über-rich. Brands like Ferrari and Bentley may come to mind, but compared to the crème-de-la-crème marques like Bugatti and Rolls Royce, they're a dime a dozen.

Rolls Royce, as was recently revealed in the Los Angeles Times, only targets potential customers who have liquid assets in excess of $30 million. That segment wouldn't be considered a mass market, and so the way Rolls Royce sells a car is markedly different from how, say, Dodge would.

[Source: LA Times]

Broadcasting motor racing in America is a big business. Unfortunately for F1, which enjoys the biggest audiences overseas, they're not the only game in town in the good ol' US of A. NASCAR, drag racing, Indy cars and a myriad other motorsports draw racing fans while F1 coverage has been spotty.

Now Fox Sports and SPEED TV, two Newscorp channels, have inked out a new three-year deal to share the US broadcast rights of the grands prix . The deal will see four races (Indianapolis, Canada, France and Britain) carried by Fox Sports, and the other 13 races will be covered live (including practice and qualifying) by SPEED.

Hosting the program will be Bob Varsha, joined by commentary from former F1 driver David Hobbs and former F1 mechanic Steve Matchett, plus pit-lane commentary by F1 journo-extraordinaire Peter Windsor.

So, for the next three years at least, American viewers will get consistent coverage of the grand prix racing action.

[Source: GrandPrix.com]

We've all seen a friend driving in the next lane and wanted to just shoot the breeze. We can do that with our cellphones, a sometimes clunky solution and often not entirely wise. Norweigan Designer Lieke Ypma has an idea that aims to streamline the communication process and make it safer, Carhood. Aiming to engender a neighborhood spirit among drivers, as opposed to the kill or be killed gladiator mentality out there today, Carhood enables a wireless LAN connection with a 300 meter range. Rather than fume silently, you and your cohorts can conduct a social round table as you sit in gridlock. If you want to communicate with another Carhood equipped vehicle, you call them using a roof-mounted module. The driver of the other car finishes the connection and away you go, kinda like a more-complicated version of the CB radio. While it appears to be mostly a concept at this point, Carhood was exhibited at Berlin's Designmai festival and the Car 2 Car Communication Consortium is working on getting manufacturers and suppliers to equip vehicles with WLAN technology in the name of enhanced safety. What we really want to know is will Carhood enable you to go berserk on the person who just cut you off? That seems like a much better solution than trading gestures while rocketing down the highway.

[Source: liekeypma.com]

Motor Trend will be launching a 24-hour broadcast TV network sometime in 2007 that will be available via multicast broadcasts. The network will be available in local markets where broadcasters find themselves with excess bandwidth during the transition from analog to all-digital broadcasts. Apparently MTTV will be the filler of choice for these stations that are looking for digital content to offer. Multicast Networks Group is partnering with Motor Trend’s parent company, PRIMEDIA, to shop the network around the country to station’s starving for content.

The endeavor will be an interesting experiment and will certainly test how far the Motor Trend brand can be stretched. Will you watch?

[Source: The Auto Channel]