+++ A healthy bank balance can buy you a lot of things, but it can’t always get you behind the wheel of the most exclusive FERRARI . That has long been the case when it comes to purchasing an exclusive, limited-run model Ferrari, but one collector’s dilemma exemplifies how stringent the Italian marque can be. David Lee, a multimillionaire watch and jewelry entrepreneur from California, and a regular in the local car scene, set his sights on owning one of the 209 Ferrari LaFerrari Apertas to be built. Instead, Ferrari responded with a flat out “no”. It’s also not the first time Ferrari has given a pass on wealthy, important figures. Last August it was revealed the late Preston Henn, owner of what’s possibly the world’s most expensive car, sued Ferrari after being denied a LaFerrari Aperta. Lee owns a dozen Ferraris, some new and some older, more sought-after models, but Ferrari won’t budge. Not to mention, he’s built a solid relationship with an influential Ferrari dealership, has been to Ferrari’s driving school in Italy, and has invested heavily into Ferrari’s pro-racing program. Heck, he even has one of the Formula One cars driven by Michael Schumacher in the 2002 season. Ferrari won’t give an exact answer as to why it turned Lee down, but his social media habits may be the root cause of the problem. Ferrari has never been a fan of flashy self-promotion. Lee, who regularly updates his social media feeds with his Ferraris, may embody Ferrari disdain. He’s also created some pretty outrageous content with his collection of Ferraris, including a 5-Ferrari deep drag race. Lee sees it a different way, however. “My love of the brand and the enjoyment I get from sharing my special collection with the public is nothing but a good thing for the future of the brand”, he said. “If people at Ferrari think that is self-promoting, I can’t help that”. Ferrari’s approach to exclusivity has been an unmatched game so far. Those interested in one-off editions normally must meet a set of qualifications Ferrari deems necessary. For example, buyers of the first LaFerraris were banned from selling their cars within 18 months to ensure the right buyers selected. Lee doesn’t plan to stop his pursuit anytime soon, however, even if that means he’ll have to purchase a LaFerrari Aperta on the pre-owned market. “I will keep sharing my experiences as an owner with the public and drive them as much as I can”, he said. “I don’t see how that could be worse than collectors who hide their collections in a garage and never drive them. That’s the real shame”. +++
+++ U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said he would support taking action against FORD ’s decision to move some production to China if the shift was because of “non-economic reasons”. Lighthizer did not give details on the factors that could trigger action from the administration of President Donald Trump or what sort of action it might take. But he made clear he was not enthused about Ford’s announcement earlier this moth that it will move some production of its Focus to China and import the vehicles to the United States. “I find that very troubling”, Lighthizer said. “It doesn’t necessarily make sense to me”. Ford’s plan suggests China could play a much larger role in future vehicle production for North America, perhaps eclipsing Mexico as a low-cost manufacturing source. “This is a business decision to improve profitability and deliver even better small cars to customers in a way that makes business sense”, said Ford spokeswoman Kelli Felker. Felker said no U.S. hourly workers would lose their jobs as a result of Ford’s decision. Trump campaigned with promises to win better terms for U.S. workers in international trade, and has accused both China and Mexico of unfairly competing with U.S. industries. Automaker Tesla said separately it was exploring the possibility of establishing a Chinese manufacturing plant. Ford has said the production shift from Mexico to China, slated for mid-2019, is a purely financial move that will save the company $500 million in reduced tooling costs. Lighthizer said he wanted to know more about the incentives for the move. “If it happened for reasons that are non-economic reasons, then I think the administration should take action”, he said. +++
+++ GERMANY ’s Transport Ministry is in talks with car manufacturers about updating the engine management software of up to 12 million diesel vehicles, people familiar with the talks told. The cost of updating cars could amount to as much as 1.5 billion to 2.5 billion euros and the ministry is demanding that vehicles with engines conforming to the euro4, euro5 and euro6 standards be part of the recall, government sources said. The German government has demanded that the auto industry shoulder the costs of the update and is pushing for a solution to be presented before German elections on Sept. 24. The ministry is in talks with German auto industry associations VDA and VDIK as well as representatives from local governments to try and cut nitrogen oxide pollution by about 25 percent, the sources said. The talks come amid growing opposition to diesel in the wake of an emissions cheating scandal at Volkswagen. Several European cities including Stuttgart and Munich have considered banning some diesel vehicles because of emissions of nitrogen oxides, which are blamed for causing respiratory disease. +++
+++ JAGUAR has made further revisions to their XE, XF, and F-Pace families by fitting them with a new 2.0-liter gasoline engine. Part of the brand’s Ingenium range, this new unit delivers 300 hp and 400 Nm of torque to the ground thanks to its twin-scroll turbos and high-flow compressor wheel. When equipped with this engine, the XE needs 5.5 seconds to reach 100 km/h, while consuming 6.9 liters of petrol every 100 km, and the larger XF covers the 0-100 km/h acceleration in 5.6 seconds, and uses 7.2 liters. The F-Pace reaches 100 km/h in 6.0 seconds and has an average fuel economy of 7.7 liters/100 km. “We continue to broaden the range of our Ingenium engine family, giving customers more choice than ever. Our new 300 hp petrol engine provides the performance synonymous with Jaguar, while delivering enhanced fuel economy, thanks to its state-of-the-art exhaust technology and pioneering valve train design”, commented the brand’s Executive Director for Product Engineering, Nick Rogers. The introduction of this new 2.0-liter engine is the latest in a series of enhancements made by the automaker to the XE, XF, and F-Pace, as the trio has already received a 200 hp (XE and XF only) and 250 hp version of this unit, joined by a 240 hp 4-cylinder twin-turbo diesel. +++
+++ The beloved LAND ROVER Defender was sent to the automotive graveyard in early 2016 after decades of production. But, Land Rover will produce a follow-up act and it’s coming very soon. Land Rover design boss, Gerry McGovern, told the new Defender is “not far away” and it will appeal to faithful Defender enthusiasts. However, he said it will also court a new generation of buyers. “The anticipation is incredible”, he said, but offered no further details into the vehicle’s launch. The Defender has long been rumored to return in 2018. The original Defender remained in production for more than 60 years and traced its roots to the original Land Rover from 1948. The most recent iteration of the SUV began production in 1983. Updating and launching the first new version in decades of an icon has been a difficult task, according to McGovern. He said it will not just be a “facsimile” updated to meet current regulations and will keep an emotional connection to the original. “This was a vehicle that for a very long time was the emotional core of our brand. In order to move our brand forward we need to create desirable and relevant vehicles to appeal to a wider group of customers”, he said. Previous reports peg Land Rover to be working on 5 different variants of the new Defender: closed and open 3-door versions; a 5-door version with 3rd-row seats; and 2- and 4-door pickup versions. The Defender’s new platform will also reportedly be an aluminum-intensive unibody design. Still, it’s expected to feature a live axle setup and a low-range transfer case with 2 differential locks. In the case a new Defender just won’t do, a British billionaire has already firmed up plans to produce a Defender-like SUV. McGovern said the new Defender will be one tough cookie, just like the original and he offered a glimpse of insight into what fans can expect. “You’ll be able to kick the hell out of them and they’ll get up for more”. +++
+++ The Czech Republic’s SKODA brand was among the first former communist companies in the automotive industry to have a taste of capitalism, thanks to Volkswagen’s acquisition in the early 1990s. A wholly owned subsidiary of the Volkswagen group since way back in 1991, Skoda saw success coming with measure at first, with the Octavia Typ 1U presented back in 1996 having the honor to kickstart the revolution. 26 years after Volkswagen took command, the Czech manufacturer is celebrating an important milestone: 15 million vehicles. Last year alone the Skoda brand contributed to the calling card with sales of 1,126,500 examples, including in faraway places such as China. “Skoda has developed very dynamically as part of Volkswagen Group”, commented a spokesman. With globally successful products and a motivated team, we continue along our path to growth. Strategy 2025 describes the major process of change, with the expansion of our SUV campaign, the digitalization of our products, processes, and production, as well as by turning our attention to electromobility”. Taking up the models, the bestselling Skoda product of the modern age is the compact Octavia (5,618,597 units), followed closely by the Fabia (4,004,569), and the Superb (1,026,055) taking the last place in the top3. In the future, Skoda is going to solidify its newly minted SUV presence with a Kodiaq Coupe flagship model, as well as become interested in electrification as a way to stay up to date with the trends. +++
+++ SUBARU has confirmed it has no plans to produce autonomous vehicles, despite major industry players aggressively pursuing research to that end. In comments reported by Reuters, Tetsuo Onuki, chief general manager of Subaru’s engineering department, declared: “We’re not aiming to develop driverless cars. What we’re trying to do is make driving safer for people”. Onuki-san noted the company is “looking at how to develop more advanced self-driving capabilities, but we believe such functions will remain beyond the reach of Subaru customers”. He made these comments at an event to launch the company’s new Touring Assist technology. Using the company’s EyeSight system, Touring Assist can steer, brake and accelerate without driver intervention, and can keep the car within its lane during heavy traffic or on highways. Touring Assist will make its debut soon on the Japanese market Levorg and WRX S4, although it’s not clear when this technology will appear in overseas markets. The company will reportedly continue to develop driving assistance features on its own, although it will use external suppliers when necessary. Despite the company’s ongoing sales success, it is significantly smaller than top-tier automakers, including Toyota, Honda, General Motors, Ford, and Renault–Nissan. Subaru has an annual research and development budget of 134 billion yen ($1.6 billion). That’s dwarfed by Honda’s plans to spend 750 billion yen ($9.1 billion) this financial year, and Toyota, which plans to allocate 1.05 trillion yen ($12.7 billion) this year to R&D. With these restrictions in mind, Yasuyuki Yoshinaga, Subaru’s CEO, recently revealed the company plans to direct most of the company’s limited funds towards developing electric drivetrains, with its first EV model due in 2021. +++
+++ Autotalks, an Israeli provider of vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication for improving road safety, said it extended a recent fundraising round to 40 million dollar after getting new investments from TOYOTA and other groups. The company, whose technology has been selected by several car manufacturers, first said in March it would finish the late-stage funding round with 30 million dollar. The increase is a result of new investments from investors such as Mirai Creation Investment Fund, of which the principal investors are Toyota and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, Autotalks said. Current investors also increased their funding, the company said. “The funding round will allow Autotalks to prepare and expand its operations for the upcoming start of mass productions as well as continue to develop communication solutions for both connected and autonomous cars”, said Chief Executive Hagai Zyss. +++