Autoblog

Don't go getting too excited, it probably won't mean a crate version of the S65 or N54 for Roundel fans. Running an automaker is expensive, especially a manufacturer that leans more toward niche status than casting a wide net. BMW is looking at all options for future revenue, and one of the thoughts that's occured to the well-respected manufacturer of cars with chutzpah is to bank on its engineering chops and sell engines to other carmakers. Lotus has pimped themselves out for years to other automakers, and the Porsche name has ended up on things like hard drives, so BMW selling their award-winning engines to gain an extra stream of return on their investment is a far less radical move. Hey, if selling their more mundane powerplants to emerging markets like India and China keeps the coffers full and awesome performers rolling our way, we're all for it.

[Source: Motor Authority]

Recent comments by Volkswagen's new head honcho Martin Winterkorn could counteract rumors of the automotive giant spinning off or selling its two golden-boy exotic supercar subsidiaries, Lamborghini and Bugatti.

Winterkorn, you may recall, was promoted to the big chair at VW Group from his former seat as head of Audi. He was reported to have been opposed to his successor's seemingly frivolous expenditures on the Bugatti Veyron project. As head of Audi he was in charge of Lamborghini and oversaw the final development of the Murcielago and Gallardo, so he is certainly not without his supercar credentials. He's also seen the direct benefit of the Gallardo's contribution to the Audi R8 sports car and to the engines in the S6 and S8 sports sedans.

Porsche AG, which has been increasing its stake in VW Group, has made public its opposition to Volkswagen's production of such exotics (surprise surprise), and has threatened to relegate Bugatti to near oblivion. Not on my watch, says Winterkorn. "Development in the upper segments undertaken by Lamborghini and Bugatti has been advantageous for all the brands."

[Source: Leftlane News]

Take this for what it is, a rumor about which General Motors and DaimlerChrysler have refused to comment. According to a report today in German magazine Manager Magazin, DaimlerChrysler is in talks to sell its Chrysler Group division to GM. The magazine cites sources within DaimlerChrysler as saying that talks are in full swing but at an early stage. Dieter Zietsche, CEO of DaimlerChrysler, refused to comment on the report when asked at this morning's press conference where the company's Recovery and Transformation plan, a.k.a. Project X, was announced.

So neither side is talking about whether such talks exist, which leads one to speculate that there's some truth to these rumors. GM, however, would not seem to be in a position to purchase a rival domestic automaker with numerous competing products considering that it's just beginning to emerge from its own turnaround and restructuring plan. What's more, we can't imagine the complexities GM would encounter trying to absorb Chrysler's union workforce.

We bet DaimlerChrysler and GM are talking about something, but wouldn't put money on the subject being the wholesale purchase of the Chrysler Group.

Thanks to all who tipped on this!

[Source: Yahoo.biz]

You may remember reading our original post on this Lotus Elise and feeling the abject horror that accompanies the site of such a car pointing towards the sky. Well, the owner has decided to salvage what he can from the debacle that saw his beloved Elise tumble from a mechanic's lift by selling it on eBay. Actually, he's really selling it because a bad motorcycle accident left his leg not strong enough to shift the car anymore. He does give pretty good disclosure of the accident on the auction page, saying that his buddy, a body repair man, could fix the damage done by the fall for $2,000. Hmm... no thanks. It sounds like the car is still in driveable condition, however, and at the moment the bidding has reached only $13,601 with a litle over 3.5 days to go. Somebody needs to give this car a good home and nurse it back to health.

Thanks for the tip, Thomas!

[Source: eBay]

GM revealed today that it's "considering strategic options" for one of its more well known subsidiaries, Allison Transmission, which produces automatic trannies for both commerical and military sale. In boardroom-speak, that means they want to sell it off. GM's turnaround has been aided so far by its strategy of selling non-essentials like the stakeS it held in both Subaru and Suzuki, so we're not particularly surprised to see a For Sale sign on Allison.

While doing a bit of research for this post we stumbled on an entry in Wikipedia for Allison Transmission and learned some pretty interesting stuff about the company's history. It's founder, James Allison, was one of the four original businessmen who financed the construction of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1909 and started up the Indy 500 in 1911. The company also got into aviation engines and was the only U.S. manufacturer to develop and produce a V12 liquid-cooled engine during WWII. Finally, Allison Transmission was one of the driving forces in developing GM's two-mode hybrid drivetrain that first saw use in commercial buses before being adapted for passenger car use.

Allison Transmission is clearly a storied old American company, so it will be very interesting to see who, if anyone, steps up to buy it.

[Source: GM]

That Porsche owns a significant stake in the Volkswagen group (and all its subsidiaries) is no secret. In fact, Porsche is even in the process of increasing its stake. Oddly, though, little seemed to be done to minimize the competition presented to Porsche products by those of VW divisions: Lamborghini Gallardo vs. Porsche 911 Turbo, Audi TT vs. Porsche Boxster and Cayman, Audi Q7 vs. Porsche Cayenne, etc. But now Porsche is reportedly taking aim at an easy target: Bugatti.

Truth be told, it's really Bugatti's lack of profitability that Porsche is targeting. Porsche remains one of the only sportscar manufacturers that generates profit (copious amounts of it, actually), while Bugatti loses VW money continuously. The development costs of the super-expensive Veyron were to be offset by the application of technology towards future Bugatti vehicles (like a new saloon or four-door coupe), but if Porsche gets its way, a new Bugatti will never see the light of day, with Stuttgart evidently preferring to cut their loses (and a competing supercar maker).

Volkswagen would be unlikely to find a buyer for Bugatti even if Porsche applied enough pressure for them to sell. Stuttgart's proposal, then, would be to turn the exclusive marque even more exclusive, as a coachbuilder, creating unique one-off vehicles (like Jim Glickenhaus' Ferrari P4/5 by Pininfarina) for over $4 million a piece. And here we thought the existing Veyron was expensive....

[Source: Car magazine via Motor Authority]

Ford Motor Company continues its effort to pare down and get lean (anybody wanna buy Aston Martin?) by announcing today that it has "begun the process of exploring strategic options for Automobile Protection Corporation, with particular emphasis on a potential sale of the business." That's PR speak for "We already took an ad out in the Tradin' Times".

APCO is apparently a company that offers extended care warranties and service contracts for new and used vehicles through dealerships, although we have to admit... never heard of this particular subsidiary before. Ford bought APCO in 1999 and says that it's performed well and achieved growth in sales in revenue since then, but hopefully this announcement means Ford's ready to get back to the business of producing well built and attractive cars and trucks rather than conceding the fact its vehicles will break and selling aftermarket service contracts to fix them when they do.

[Source: Ford]

The A1 Grand Prix World Cup of Motorsport is in the process of being sold to a consortium of investment firms. Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum, literally the biggest name in racing and the founder of the series, is selling all his stock in A1GP for an as-yet undisclosed cash (yes, we said cash) sum.

Maktoum will step down as head of A1GP and a new chairman and director will be named, after which the Maktoum will be focusing his attention on his "other business interests".

The announcement comes at the start of A1GP's second season, currently kicking off at the historic Zandvoort track in Holland. The multi-million dollar transaction will be completed within a month's time, in advance of an anticipated IPO.

The it's-a-small-world-afterall racing series was Maktoum's brainchild, but his departure is expected to help the series grow from a fledgling start-up to a permanent part of international motorsports.

[Source: A1GP.com]