VW Motorsport Unveils 330-HP Golf Race Car

Volkswagen Motorsport has gone to work preparing a seventh-generation Golf race car. 

The car seen in the photos is a concept developed by VW Motorsport, with the intention of helping them launch a race-ready Golf to customers by the 2016 race season.

Developed with Touringcar Racer International Series (TCR) regulations in mind, the Golf uses a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine to send 330 hp straight to the front wheels through a six-speed dual-clutch transmission.

SEE ALSO: Volkswagen Golf to Adopt Gesture Controls

The car’s intended purpose is pretty clear thanks to that massive rear wing and the full aerodynamic makeover that includes a front splitter. The actual chassis is about 15-inches wider than the standard production golf, while 18-inch racing rims are also fitted along with a safety cell, head protectors and safety fuel tank.

To speed up the development process, the Golf race car will be tested under competitive racing conditions at the next four international TCR races by Liqui Moly Team Engstler.

Discuss this story at our Volkswagen Golf Forum

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Nissan says Japan plant will make hot-selling Rogue for U.S.

Nissan sold 23,243 Rogues in June, up 54 percent from June 2014.

NASHVILLE — Nissan’s red-hot U.S. sales of its compact Rogue crossover are roiling global factory production.

The automaker said today that next year its plant in Kyushu, Japan, will begin building up to 100,000 Rogues annually for the U.S. market.

The move will spell the end of the Rogue Select, the lower-priced “last generation” trim package of the vehicle. When Nissan introduced the current generation of the Rogue in late 2013, built for the first time in the United States, it retained a limited flow of previous-generation Rogues from Kyushu to satisfy price-sensitive U.S. shoppers.

Now U.S. demand is pulling Kyushu into full-fledged support of the current generation.

Nissan sold 23,243 Rogues in June, up 54 percent from June 2014. For the first six months of this year, Rogue sales are up 36 percent to 135,397.

Summarizing the Rogue’s performance in June, Fred Diaz, Nissan senior vice president for U.S. sales & marketing and operations, said: “We haven’t hit the ceiling yet. We have more opportunity there if we can get our dealers more.”

The Kyushu solution for 100,000 Rogues a year is on top of 120,000 Rogues a year streaming out of Nissan’s Smyrna, Tenn., factory. In addition, as many as 80,000 more are scheduled to come from a Renault factory in South Korea.

That is three times the volume potential that Nissan originally anticipated for the crossover when it decided to move production to the United States back in 2011. At that time, Nissan assumed a factory capacity of 100,000-120,000 vehicles a year would suffice.

You can reach Lindsay Chappell at lchappell@crain.com.

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GM Recalls 200K Hummers Due to Fire Risk

General Motors is recalling nearly 200,000 Hummer H3 and H3T models due to an increased fire risk, Autoblog is reporting.

According to the automaker, the car’s HVAC system can overheat and melt surrounding plastic, which could increase the chance for a fire in the car. GM says the fire has burned 42 cars and injured three people so far, but no crashes or fatalities have been reported. The recall effects 2006-2010 H3 models and 2009-2010 H3T cars.

Dealers are being instructed to replace the harness and connector module for the blowers in the SUVs. In total, 194,379 cars are being recalled, 164,993 are in the U.S.

A separate, but unrelated recall, more than 50,000 Chevrolet Sparks and Sonics are being recalled due to a malfunction in the OnStar system’s software that can lock up the car’s radio and seatbelt warning signal. The malfunction may drain the battery, the automaker said.

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Hummer H3 Recalled for In-Cabin Fire Risk

General Motors is recalling its Hummer H3 and H3T models because a connector module in the climate-control blower fan can overheat enough to melt the surrounding plastic and possibly cause a fire. Some 42 fires have been reported, but GM says that there have been only a few minor injuries.

The company claims that running the blower fan at medium or high speeds can lead to the overheating. Dealers will replace the connector and the harness. As first brought to our attention on Twitter by automotive reporter E.W. Niedermeyer, the defect has led not only to melting plastic but in some incidents has caused sparks that can ignite a fire. Evidently, complaints to NHTSA about the problem date back to 2009, and also include the H3’s platform mates, the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickups—but the pickups as of yet are not subject to the recall.

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The vehicles involved are H3s from 2006 to 2010, and H3T pickups from 2009 and 2010 (which spans the entire production run). In total, nearly 200,000 vehicles are affected.

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Renault-Nissan names Olive as head of manufacturing engineering, supply chain

Jerome Olive currently serves as the European senior vice president of manufacturing and logistics for Renault.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance today named Jerome Olive its new executive vice president of manufacturing engineering and supply chain management, effective Aug. 1.

Olive, 57, will replace Shohei Kimura, who is moving to a new position in manufacturing with the Nissan Group. Kimura has served as executive vice president of manufacturing engineering and supply chain management since the position was created in April 2014.

Olive currently serves as the European senior vice president of manufacturing and logistics for Renault. In his new position, he will be responsible for overseeing engineering and manufacturing collaboration between the companies.

Olive started with Renault in 1982 and has held various manufacturing-related positions during that period. He was appointed to his current position in manufacturing and logistics at Renault in January 2014.

You can reach Nora Naughton at nnaughton@crain.com.

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HSV ClubSport R8 25th Anniversary Edition Packs a Punch

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When it comes to badass Australian performance, the Holden Special Vehicles bunch is in a class of it own. Even Chris Harris was impressed by the HSV GTS Maloo ute and its 430 kW (576 HP) supercharged V8, which is speaking volumes. If berserk utes aren’t your cup of tea, the HSV ClubSport R8 25th Anniversary Edition could be exactly what you were looking for.

Compared to its US-spec sibling – the Chevrolet SS, the bad boy from the Land Down Under packs more grunt. From an LS3 6.2-liter small-block V8 tower-of-power, engineers squeezed 340 kW (456 HP) and a meaty 570 Nm (420 lb-ft) of torque. Coupled to either a six-speed manual or automatic, this large four-door means business and boy does it like to show this fact.

Look at the press photo above. A car photographed standing on top of the rubber it laid down is badass and, if you poke it with a stick, this HSV can smoke the rear tires until they give up and call it a day. But hooliganism isn’t the only element in the ClubSport R8 25th Anniversary Edition’s nature. Handling is an important aspect as well if you consider that a limited slip differential, performance suspension components, and large AP Racing brakes are coming as standard.

Commemorating 25 years since the ClubSport name was born with the VN model, production of the 25th Anniversary Edition is limited to 108 vehicles, eight reserved for the New Zealand market. How much? AUD 73,290 or $54,515 at current exchange rates, which is about 10 grand more than a Chevrolet SS. The greenback is worth it though, not only because of the limited availability and the motor under the hood.

The styling enhancements are a tell-tale sign that this HSV is something truly special, a genuine collector’s item. Then there’s the added value of every little bit of equipment that comes as standard: Onyx leather trim, 20-inch alloy wheels, shadow-chrome exhaust outlets, a huge touchscreen for the infotainment system, sat nav, you name it, all the goodies are there.

PS: any performance car that wears a plaque with its dyno results on the engine cover is praiseworthy.

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Uber may purchase 500,000 self-driving Teslas in 2020

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What exactly do Uber and Tesla have in common? Not much it seems, at least for now. According to Leftlane News, the former could purchase up to 500,000 self-driving Tesla cars in 2020. That’s right: not 50, not 5,000, but rather 500,000!

Expect taxi drivers all over the continent to cringe at this report… and Elon Musk to jump with joy. 

Leftlane News quoted Steve Jurvetson, a venture capitalist who recently opened up about a conversation he had with Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. Apparently, Kalanick told him that Uber would buy all 500,000 vehicles Tesla plans to build in 2020 if they were fully autonomous.

Right now, Tesla is on track to sell just over 50,000 units in 2015. Production is set to ramp up in the years to come, and with the newly announced Auto Pilot system, most if not all Tesla cars could become self-driving machines by the end of the decade.

Is Uber that bold and rich?
Sure, that was only a verbal exhange between Kalanick and Jurvetson (who by the way has Tesla and Musk-owned SpaceX among his clients), but it reaffirms the interest of ride-sharing companies in autonomous cars. By removing the driver from their business model, they would be able to generate more profits and, in the case of Uber, steer clear of controversies involving drivers.

This hypothetical transaction also says a lot about Uber’s financial resources. Not only can the company afford to pay fines and compensate drivers who had their vehicle seized, but it would appear to also have the means to buy half a million cars from luxury-oriented Tesla. 

On the other hand, Bloomberg reported last week that Uber is generating $415 million in revenue and $470 million in operating losses, based on a document provided to prospective investors. It also revealed a 300% year-over-year growth.

Executives who know how to make headlines and enemies
Uber’s plan to buy 500,000 self-driving Teslas remains pure speculation at this point. Still, the company’s rapid rise is drawing more and more concerns, and its service has been banned or suspended in various cities around the globe. 

Meanwhile, will Tesla actually increase production to 500,000 cars within five years? And will Musk agree to sell all of them to Uber? Time will tell. 

I’m sure angry taxi drivers and car dealer associations in North America are anxious to find out, too.

By Josée Paquet, Thursday, 09 July 2015

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Ford Sollers Starts Building Facelifted Focus In Russia

Ford Sollers, Ford’s joint venture in Russia, has begun production of the facelifted Focus at the modernized Vsevolozhsk plant near St Petersburg, Russia.

The Focus is the fourth new Ford model to go into production at a Ford Sollers plant in Russia since the start of 2015 and will be built in three body styles for the local market: sedan, hatchback and wagon.

Produced at the Vsevolozhsk plant from 2002, the Focus was the first Ford model built in Russia in the modern era. The new model is tailored for the needs of the Russian market and specially-adapted for Russia’s cold winter climate and road conditions.

Ford says the new Focus has passed a series of complex tests on Russian roads with various surfaces, quality tests on the newest equipment, and has proven “completely capable of exceeding the harsh climatic conditions during the winter tests.”

The Ford Focus will be equipped with a special winter package, including an electric windshield defroster, electrically heated front and heated steering wheel. Furthermore, ground clearance for the Russian market has been raised up to 160mm (6.3in), but Ford says that doesn’t affect vehicle dynamics. The automaker also offers a 12-years perforation corrosion warranty in Russia.

The facelifted Focus is the first vehicle in the Russian Ford lineup to be equipped with the new 150hp 1.5-liter EcoBoost petrol engine. Prices for the local market will be announced on July 16.

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Lamborghini in no rush to turbocharge supercars

Lamborghini is preparing to launch what will not only be its first crossover (discounting the LM002 that was a proper truck), but also looks to be its first turbocharged model as well. But will the upcoming new Urus open the door for more artificially boosted Lambos in the future?

That was the question on our minds when Autoblog caught up with Stephan Winkelmann at the opening of the new Trigeneration Plant in Sant’Agata Bolognese. “Naturally aspirated engines are still the best engines which are on the market for super sports cars, in terms of acceleration, in terms of sound,” said Lamborghini’s chief executive during a roundtable discussion at the factory. “And unless there is [something] better, we are going to keep them.”

“Naturally aspirated engines are still the best. Unless there is something better, we are going to keep them.”

“We are constantly looking for alternatives. We are constantly seeing what we can do to make them better,” said Winkelmann. “And there will maybe a day when we are introducing turbos, when the turbos are equalizing or being better than naturally aspirated engines.” That moment just hasn’t come yet, in Lamborghini’s estimation. This in sharp contrast to rivals like Ferrari and McLaren (to say nothing of its sister company Porsche) which are wholeheartedly embracing turbocharged engines, as well as hybrid propulsion.

Any engine, turbocharged or otherwise, used to propel the Urus would not be so easily slotted into one of its mid-engined supercars, either. “Usually an SUV engine has a different stroke, so usually those engines have to be adapted if you want” to use them in mid-engined supercars, said Winkelmann. “Then they’re at the front so you have to turn them, and if this is going to make sense, I don’t know. At this time there are no plans to do that, but in general, these engines are not suitable” for models like the Huracán or Aventador. “There would be a day when we think that turbo can be better than naturally aspirated. And that day, we will step into it.”

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Uber may purchase 500,000 self-driving Teslas in 2020

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What exactly do Uber and Tesla have in common? Not much it seems, at least for now. According to Leftlane News, the former could purchase up to 500,000 self-driving Tesla cars in 2020. That’s right: not 50, not 5,000, but rather 500,000!

Expect taxi drivers all over the continent to cringe at this report… and Elon Musk to jump with joy. 

Leftlane News quoted Steve Jurvetson, a venture capitalist who recently opened up about a conversation he had with Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. Apparently, Kalanick told him that Uber would buy all 500,000 vehicles Tesla plans to build in 2020 if they were fully autonomous.

Right now, Tesla is on track to sell just over 50,000 units in 2015. Production is set to ramp up in the years to come, and with the newly announced Auto Pilot system, most if not all Tesla cars could become self-driving machines by the end of the decade.

Is Uber that bold and rich?
Sure, that was only a verbal exhange between Kalanick and Jurvetson (who by the way has Tesla and Musk-owned SpaceX among his clients), but it reaffirms the interest of ride-sharing companies in autonomous cars. By removing the driver from their business model, they would be able to generate more profits and, in the case of Uber, steer clear of controversies involving drivers.

This hypothetical transaction also says a lot about Uber’s financial resources. Not only can the company afford to pay fines and compensate drivers who had their vehicle seized, but it would appear to also have the means to buy half a million cars from luxury-oriented Tesla. 

On the other hand, Bloomberg reported last week that Uber is generating $415 million in revenue and $470 million in operating losses, based on a document provided to prospective investors. It also revealed a 300% year-over-year growth.

Executives who know how to make headlines and enemies
Uber’s plan to buy 500,000 self-driving Teslas remains pure speculation at this point. Still, the company’s rapid rise is drawing more and more concerns, and its service has been banned or suspended in various cities around the globe. 

Meanwhile, will Tesla actually increase production to 500,000 cars within five years? And will Musk agree to sell all of them to Uber? Time will tell. 

I’m sure angry taxi drivers and car dealer associations in North America are anxious to find out, too.

By Josée Paquet, Thursday, 09 July 2015

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Top Gear Script Editor Richard Porter Is Working on a Book About 2002 to 2015 Top Gear

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1977 to 2001 is the timeframe of the first Top Gear format. After the demise, Jeremy Clarkson made a daring attempt at reinventing the TV show with the help of executive producer Andy Wilman. What we now refer to as Top Gear started thirteen years ago and ended abruptly in 2015. However, there’s a 2002 to 2015 Top Gear book in the making, the project of long-time Top Gear script editor Richard Porter.

What, you’ve never heard of Richard Porter? Fine, does Sniff Petrol ring a bell? Yeah, he’s the guy we admire for its unusual but thoroughly entertaining stories about the automotive world. In his latest post, Richard informs that McLaren announced a new version of the Top Trumps card game. It’s laughing out loud material, and it’s genuinely kickass.

About that book on 2002 to 2015 Top Gear – Richard was a central figure of the team that put the Top Gear show together by writing scripts. Yes, plenty of studio bits were created or edited by him, so he knows what it’s like to be at the cutting edge of cocking about. In a guest post for Jalopnik, Richard explained the basics of “How We Made Top Gear,” an interesting read for those of us that always wondered what happens at the Top Gear HQ when the team is up to no good.

Richard handled script editing for 22 seasons of Top Gear, the reason this guy has some interesting stories about what happens behind closed doors and how a relaunched show became a worldwide phenomenon. In his latest tweets, the man behind Sniff Petrol asks a question: “You know those boring Top Gear stories I posted a bit back?” And here comes the big news. There’s going to be a whole book of them.”

Good golly, now that’s exciting. While the three chaps are negotiating their contracts for an upcoming show on ITV/Netflix/whatever, Richard’s tweets bring a little breath of fresh air and a little nostalgia trip as well. If you have anything you’ve wanted to know about Top Gear, you can tell Richard your curiosity on Twitter and who knows – maybe he’ll write a chapter about your suggestion in his upcoming Top Gear book.

You know those boring Top Gear stories I posted a bit back? Well I have news. There’s going to be a whole book of them. A whole boring book.

— Sniff Petrol (@sniffpetrol) July 8, 2015

So if there’s anything you’ve always wanted to know about Top Gear (2002-2015) let me know and I’ll probably forget to address it.

— Sniff Petrol (@sniffpetrol) July 8, 2015

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Florida lawmakers focus on flood insurance

Florida Rep. Patrick Murphy is behind both a new bill that would allow private flood insurers to enter the marketplace and a proposition to extend the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Florida representatives are turning their attention to flood insurance with a new bill and a proposition to extend a 2014 law.

Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Fla.) and Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) are calling for an extension of the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act, signed by President Barack Obama on March 21, 2014, which limited yearly flood insurance premium increases for most homeowners to no more than 18%. 

The law applied to owners of primary homes, second homes and rental properties, and averted sudden large hikes some homeowners faced under the Biggerts-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012, designed to improve the finances of the National Flood Insurance Program, which has been in debt since Hurricane Katrina, reports NOLA.com.

The proposition faces opposition from some lawmakers who believe people who could afford second homes or vacation homes generally have sufficient income to pay actuarial rates for flood insurance.

Additionally, Rep. Murphy teamed up with Rep. Dennis Ross (R-Fla.) to introduce bi-partisan legislation that would give states the ability to regulate and license flood insurance policies, reports National Mortgage Professional Magazine.

Called “The Flood Insurance Market Parity and Modernization Act of 2015,” the law would help develop a robust private flood insurance market that will provide homeowners greater coverage options and pricing. The competition generated by allowing private insurers into the flood insurance market will ensure NFIP is held accountable for its policies and practices, says National Mortgage Professional.

“Today, Rep. Murphy and I introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that would remove the excessive restrictions that the federal government places on private flood insurance companies,” Rep. Ross told National Mortgage Professional. “This would allow states to be able to fully utilize their regulatory framework to license flood insurance policies.”

“While I strongly support the NFIP, giving Floridians more options with their plans makes the most sense,” said Rep. Murphy. “This bill would get the federal government out of the way of letting Florida foster a competitive market to drive down costs for homeowners.”

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Study: Men Prefer Brighter, Bolder Car Colors More Than Women

A recent study by iSeeCars.com shows men prefer brighter, bolder car colors — orange, brown and yellow — compared to women, who preferred more neutral colors such as gold, silver and beige. The study analyzed more than 25 million used cars and 200,000 shoppers.

Orange was the big polarizer for 2014; men were 25 percent more likely to pick that color than women. Last year’s popular picks for men, red and black, fell out of the top three this year in favor of brown and yellow.

Women’s picks of gold, silver and beige may have more to do with the segment in which females traditionally shop. iSeeCars said men’s interest in muscle cars can help explain the palette preferences.

“With more brown and orange car colors being offered in these segments and the increased interest in these colors by male buyers, color specialists at auto manufacturers seem to have gotten their color forecasts right,” said iSeeCars.com CEO Phong Ly said in a statement.

For women, gold leapfrogged silver as the top pick this year. Last year, brown made the list of colors women preferred over men, but that color was replaced by beige this year. Ly said the shift may be due to a lack of available cars that appeal to women.

“One explanation for the popularity of beige over brown may be because the market share of brown cars in the minivan segment declined by 24.7 percent, and that segment tends to be extremely popular with women,” Ly said.

Enthusiasts were not surveyed in the study because a brown diesel wagon with a manual transmission can’t win everything.

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This 1:8 Lego Jaguar XJR-9 Prototype Model Should Be In Your Collection

If you thought the Lego Ferrari F40 was a treat, you might want to check this piece out.

I can’t explain why, but the fact this 1:8 scale model of the 1988 Le Mans winning Jaguar XJR-9 is made out of Lego makes it even cooler. It’s staggering how many details one can re-create using regular bricks and pieces.

Unlike the F40, which featured some bespoke elements created exclusively for the set, this particular model is completely made out of already existing parts. Nevertheless, the level of detail is astonishing.

The 7.0-litre V12 powerplant is gorgeously re-created using Lego Technic parts and it even has twelve pretend individual throttle bodies. The lengthy exhaust manifolds, with a pipe for each cylinder ending in two exhaust pipes, are an awesome touch and so are the TWR and Jaguar logos.

Using a two-tone colored pieces and custom decals, the car perfectly re-creates the TWR Racing, Silk-Cut livery. It has a flat underbelly, the front end and the hood are detachable and the interior is beautifully constructed. Just take a look at the gear knob and linkage.

The build was submitted on Lego Ideas – a site specialized in proposals for Lego sets, created by various enthusiasts and fans. If the project gets 10.000 votes, it enters the Lego review phase and from there it’s off to the stores. So, if some day you wish to own your very own Lego Jaguar XJR-9 Le Mans winning car, go over to the site and vote! Access the project here.

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The Reign Song: 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata Grand Touring vs. 1990 Mazda MX-5 Miata – Feature

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New VW Golf TCR For The Track Makes R400 Concept Look Timid

There’s something about wide-bodied cars that makes enthusiasts go all swoony, and VW’s new race-spec Golf TCR has plenty of that going on.

Developed by VW’s Motorsports division in cooperation with the sports department at SEAT, it’s a new concept car made in accordance with TCR regulations to help the German brand evaluate a potential customer racing program from the 2016 season onwards.

“The newly created TCR category provides a promising platform for customer racing – on a national and international level,” said VW Motorsport Director Jost Capito (of former Ford RS fame). “With exciting races, production-based technology and reasonable costs, it offers a new outlook for private racing teams.”

The Golf TCR is based on the production Golf R using a tuned version of its 2.0-liter turbocharged four that now generates 330PS (325hp) and 410Nm (302 lb-ft) of torque, up from the standard car’s 300PS (296hp) and 380Nm (280 lb-ft), linked to a DSG gearbox with steering wheel mounted shift paddles.

On the outside, the TCR is roughly 400mm (close to 16 inches) wider than the production Golf with is muscular wheel arches making room for 18-inch rims shod in super-wide racing tires, along with matching bumpers, a deeply vented hood and a massive roof wing.

The interior was gutted out and fitted with a full roll cage, racing steering wheel, and a single racing seat with head protectors in accordance with FIA regulations.

VW said that to accelerate development, it will test the car under competitive conditions at the remaining four race weekends in the international TCR series in association with Liqui Moly Team Engstler.

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Nissan to Build Rogue in Japan for US Market from Spring 2016

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Nissan is having trouble keeping up with demand for the Rogue crossover SUV in North America. So instead of expanding the factory in Tennessee, they’ve decided that as of Spring 2016, some units will be imported from the one in Kyushu, Japan.

What’s interesting is that they’ve already had to supplement the Rogue using models built at the South Korean factory in Busan. Demand has risen exponentially since the second generation was launched in November 2013. In the first six months of 2015, 135,000 units were sold in the US alone, up 36.3% from the same period a year ago.

Nissan studied ways to increase production and chose Nissan Motor Kyushu due to its quality, cost competitiveness and flexibility, especially with mixed-production lines. The plant already produces another version of the Rogue for export to North America, which was another key advantage.

The car company is extremely lucky because the Mk2 Rogue is identical to the X-Trail, which wasn’t the case before. Japan produces and locally sells the X-Trail, including a hybrid model launched this year.

Both crossovers are underpinned by the Renault–Nissan Common Module Family (CMF), a toolkit that helps them save money and offer better components. Other vehicles that use the same architecture include the Renault Espace minivan and Kadjar crossover, plus the Qashqai, which is like a smaller version of the Rogue.

Nissan believes that by increasing production at the Kyushu factory, which they opened in 2011, they will once again have annual Japanese production of over 1 million units by the next fiscal year.

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2016 Alfa Romeo Giulia Imagined as an Entry-Level Model

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When it comes to exciting cars of 2015, the all-new Alfa Romeo Giulia is up there at the top of the list. Mind you, what the Italian manufacturer presented at the Museo Storico Alfa Romeo is the range-topping and BMW M3-rivaling Quadrifoglio Verde model.

QV is the Alfa Romeo way of saying “twin-turbo Ferrari V6 under the hood, bro! You ain’t got nuthin’ on that!” Without considering the performance potential of 510 horsepower, what if the Giulia was an entry-level model? How would it look without the look-at-my-biceps visual details? Omniauto.it posed the same question.

Yes, in a daring attempt to have their 15 minutes of fame, Alfa Romeo launched the 159-replacing Giulia in the maddest and most fastest variant available. The thing is, the Giulia launch event didn’t feature any base models, nor any photographs of what the executive sedan would look like in no-frills clothing.

The Italian publication’s rendering tries to answer that mystery through the power of imagination. Omniauto’s renderer did the obvious pixel work to turn the Giulia QV into the base Giulia: less aggressive chicken wire, fog lights, no active aerodynamics, no vents in the bonnet, no carbon fiber side skirts, no fancy alloy wheels and carbon ceramic brakes from Brembo. Nothing at all.

If the publication’s rendering will be mirrored by the yet-to-be-revealed base Alfa Romeo Giulia, that would be fab. Look at it and imagine a base BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class or Audi A4 standing next to it. That’s the magic of the Alfa Romeo Giulia’s design – the ability to look great even on a bad hair day.

❐ Check out the 2016 Alfa Romeo Giulia Imagined as an Entry-Level Model photo gallery

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Source: Automotive News http://ift.tt/1KXY4jn

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F1: Michelin sure it can boost F1 excitement

By Ian Parkes

Thursday, July 9th 2015, 16:16 GMT

Michelin can inject excitement back into Formula 1 with a focus on performance rather than tyre management, according to motorsport director Pascal Couasnon.

The French manufacturer faces a head-to-head clash with Pirelli for F1’s next tyre-supply contract that runs from 2017-19, and Couasnon is convinced Michelin can play its part in helping to spice up the show.

Speaking to AUTOSPORT, Couasnon said: “We love competition, love automotive racing at its best, and like many people are sure Formula 1 can be very exciting.

“It’s not my role to criticise or to talk about what’s going on at the moment.

“We simply believe in giving an opportunity to the driver and the engineers of the cars to extract the maximum possibility from each component, and with the driver being a very noble component.

“To get there you need a very high performance tyre, phenomenal grip, and that’s what excites us.

“When you see what is going on today in sportscar racing, the great battle we had at Le Mans, where it was pretty much a sprint for 24 hours.

“It was interesting to listen to Nico Hulkenberg say ‘I was tired’, that the race was a fight for 24 hours, and he could go to the maximum all the time.

“That makes us happy, and the reason why we develop tyres, so if we could do that in Formula 1 it would be great.

“Michelin has injected excitement into sportscar racing, so why should we not be able do it in Formula 1?”

As part of Michelin’s technical proposal to the FIA, Couasnon has confirmed it wants to develop tyres on 18 or 19-inch rims.

If the FIA believes it is in the interests of F1 to remain at the current 13-inch, Couasnon concedes that will end Michelin’s interest.

“We need more modern sizes with a smaller sidewall which would bring us closer to reality with high-performance or super high-performance cars,” explained Couasnon.

“That means, yes, a minimum of 18. If it’s 19, why not? On that we are flexible.

“Where we have a major issue, and it is a [deal] breaker, is if the sport decides to stay with 13 inch, with a big sidewall. We don’t really see an interest.”

Michelin, however, is ready to fall in line with F1’s plans for a fatter rear tyre from 2017, with the width to expand from the current 375mm to 420mm.

“That’s a discussion we can have later,” Couasnon said. “It’s important to first understand what and not how.

“If the ‘what’ is a faster car, then we know how to go three, four or five seconds faster right away.

“Our proposal is we want the driver to be tired at the end of a race, so we want to give them good mechanical grip, to be closer to reality so our investment in terms of technology can be useful and transfer from track to street.

“If it means a wider tyre at the rear, why not.”

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Source: Automotive News http://ift.tt/1KXY5nw

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