Toyota Eco-cars Guru Speaks On The FCX Clarify and Mass Produced FCVs

Bill Reinert is the National Manager at Toyota Motor Sales USA's Advanced Technology Group. Reinert also represents Toyota as a key partner with WWF on environmental conservation efforts in the Galapagos islands. The former navy submariner is sort of an environmental vehicles guru and a poster child for Toyota's green image.


In a recent interview with Australian publication GoAuto, he made some interesting comments regarding Honda's FCX Clarify hydrogen fuel-cell powered car.

“Honda is taking a very different approach to us with the (fuel-cell) car,” he said. “And hats off to the Clarity. It’s a wonderful car, wonderfully well-engineered, and a beautiful car.

“But their approach is to develop a unified car. Our approach is to not focus as much
on the car, and focus more on systems development. So our car has a more open
architecture.

“The Clarity is very difficult to change the stack, just because it is a dedicated format for where you put the stack.

“(Instead) what you will see from us are incredibly well finished test mules, so we
can change our stack as things improve, we can change our motors as things improve,
and we can change our electronics as things as improve.

“Now all the while this leads to new product development for the car that will
probably hit the streets. That’s probably some time in the middle of next decade …
beyond 2010 but before 2020.

“And when I say hit the streets, I don’t mean in limited partnerships or in
demonstration projects. I mean you go to the dealers, trade-in your SUV and drive away in your fuel-cell car.”

His words hinted that mass produced Toyota branded fuel cell cars possible by around 2015, but stopped short of predicting any specific year or month citing refueling infrastructural challenges as the main obstacle, rather than the cost of the cars or even technical challenges surrounding packaging of fuel cell powertrains. He also mentions that together with Honda and Daimler, car manufacturers have done most of the heavy work in terms of fuel cell vehicles development. What remains now are government support and initiative in rolling out hydrogen fueling infrastructure.

“Obviously, they (customers) are not going to want to jump into something that they can’t get the energy for, and the fuelling stations globally have to be there. We’re a global producer, so it’s not just a problem for us in the United States or in Japan (where there is a hydrogen vehicle refuelling infrastructure). It is a big
problem in Europe, and it is going to be a problem in Australia.”

I am quite surprised by the rather casual references to works of other competing car companies. Car company executives, especially Japanese ones are usually very reluctant to make any comparisons or even to drop references on other competing models in official interviews. Attend a new Japanese car launch, executives / engineers usually mention the outgoing model as a benchmark, rather than to make any blatant comparisons with another rival product. I can only infer that the guys at TMS Advance Technology Group are allowed a freer reign at the fringes of Toyota's massive corporate hierarchy. Managing a team of innovators and creative thinkers require a slightly different approach. Even BMW's DesignWorks and Nissan's Design Center and Creative Box Inc. are intentionally placed far away from the dogmatic limitations that guys in grey suits and ties in corporate headquarters usually impose. Just look at the style of Adrian van Hooydonk and Shiro Nakamura.

Reinert also has an ally in Toyota headquarters in TMC Japan - Executive Technical Adviser Norihiko Nakamura who works at TMC's Higashi Fuji Technical Center.

But personally I see it as just differences in the corporate cultures of Honda and Toyota. The more conservative Toyota tends to adopt a wait and see approach, conducting a lot of market potential studies before jumping on the bandwagon. Honda has shown itself to be more ready to adopt new technologies. Plus, even though it was an early pioneer in hybrid cars Honda was forced to sit back and watch decades of their hardwork being rolled back as the popularity of Toyota's Prius swept across USA, Japan and Europe. The Prius became almost synonymous to hybrid when in fact Honda's first generation Insight was the first hybrid to be sold outside Japan. But poor practicality of the Insight and the lack of a distinctive design of the Civic Hybrid to appeal to greenies keen to shout their eco-friendly image meant that Honda was quickly forgotten as an also ran.


Insight II and second generation Prius. Image from Auto Bild.

Honda is keen to make a comeback with the Insight II and the FCX Clarity. Though the FCX Clarity lacks a convincing business case, I would guess Honda wants to continue pressing ahead by introducing the FCX Clarity for lease in California and Japan because they had to reclaim Honda's lead in next generation eco-friendly powertrain development. The FCX Clarity is supposed to be a sort of "halo-car" for the mass produced, lower priced Insight II. Note the similarity in their front fascia design. Its role is not necessary to generate profit but to build the technology lead and imprint Honda's green car image in the eyes of consumers as Honda slowly rolls out the regular hybrids. Bean counters might not agree easily to such a decision though, especially in the light of the current collapsing car market.

The lesson to be learned - the phrase the early bird catches the worm / first mover advantage does not always ring true in all cases. It is more important to have sufficient studies and planning backing any new product introduction than just being crowned 1st. Honda lost the Hybrid Wars 1.0 because it focused too much hard data on the product and consumer demographics, but failed to realise the "soft factors" - like the lifestyle of eco-conscious consumers and their keen interest in evangelising their gospel of environmentally sensitive living. The Prius's slightly quirky and distinctive shape won them over. Let's hope in Hybrid Wars 2.0, Honda will reclaim their lost ground. Personally I find the cheaper, more practical Insight II more appealing than the 3rd generation Prius which have become a bit too bloated with unnecessary gizmos and electronic toys.

Schaeffler and Continental to form Europe's next giant automotive parts supplier

Germany's corporate landscape is seeing a double case of David vs Goliath like story unfolding within a short time frame of less than a year. Late last year Porsche AG completed its takeover bid of Volkswagen AG. Volkswagen is Europe's largest automaker and is also the third largest automaker in the world, behind second place GM and first place Toyota. VW Group which includes brands like Audi, Skoda, Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini sells more than 4.7 million vehicles annually while Porsche is a small independent sports car maker who sells less than 100,000 cars annually.


Schaeffler Group is a family owned company that is little known outside the mechnical parts supply chain industry. Truth is Schaeffler Group, which owns INA, LuK and FAG brands is among the world's largest bearings manufacturer (Swedish bearing company SKF holds the top title), and transmission parts maker, whose products move millions of mechanical machinery around the world, including the TGV, the fastest wheeled train in the world.

As far as the auto industry is concerned, Schaeffler Group have suddenly become a very often mentioned name when it acquired a controlling 49.9% stake in Continental AG. The Continental brand is well known among consumers for its tires but in actual fact the company produces a lot more than just tires. Continental is among the world's largest suppliers in automotive electronics, especially in the field of electronically controlled brake modules (brake-by-wire), climate control systems and vehicle telematics.

Continental is estimated to be more than 3 times the size of Schaeffler Group. German autoparts journal Automobil-Produktion ranks Continental as the 11th largest autoparts supplier in by the end of 2007 (excluding subsidiary Siemens VDO) while Schaeffler's autoparts business is 28th largest (excluding aerospace, locomotive and other industrial applications) in the world. It is interesting to know that Schaeffler's largest automobile customer is VW, which as mentioned earlier was subjected to a takeover by a far smaller company.

With the acquisition of Continental, Schaeffler Group is now Europe's second largest automotive parts supplier, behind Bosch GmbH, and possibly third largest in the world behind second place Toyota-affiliated Denso. The current third and fourth largest automotive suppliers are Delphi and Magna but these companies are not expected to hold their position very much longer given their heavy reliance on GM, Ford and Chrysler. Delphi is a spin-off from GM.

Schaeffler is primarily a mechanical parts manufacturer and is facing strong competition from cheaper Chinese brands. The expanding use of electronics in modern cars is opening up huge business potential and the current trend in automotive technology is that mechanical parts are being slowly replaced by electronics, especially in the area of throttle and brake control and in the future, camshaft and valve controls. Schaeffler needs to move up the value chain and the fastest way to do so is via acquisition of Continental, which is strong in electronics and hybrid vehicle components.

Continental made headlines when it supplied lithium ion batteries to the world's first lithium ion battery powered hybrid car - the Mercedes S400 BlueHybrid. It is also a supplier to the highly publicized Chevy Volt - whose Lithium Ion cells were made by A123 Systems (a start-up of MIT graduates) but were packaged in a casing developed by Continental which made the cells suitable for automotive applications. Continental also supplies the battery management electronics and cooling systems, two extremely critical areas for Li-ion applications in hybrid cars as these cells have a very narrow 3 degree Celcius operating range.


Continental supplies the world's first production lithium-ion hybrid car battery, for the Mercedes-Benz S400 BlueHybrid



The lithium-ion battery pack for Chevy Volt. Battery cells were made by A123 Systems while the overall packaging and battery management electronics and cooling is by Continental.

Like the VW-Porsche takeover, Schaeffler's bid for Continental is not without controversies. Schaeffler managed to snap up Continental's stocks as a result of Continental's earlier purchase of Siemen's VDO unit. The two-year long integration and heavy debts that Continental was left with made Conti vulnerable. Conti's then CEO Manfred Wennemer have earlier questioned Schaeffler's timing of their hostile bid. He has since left Conti and would later be replaced by Hubertus von Gruenberg. But the drama does not end there. Schaeffler Group would later demand for von Gruenberg's resignation as chairman, charging him of sabotaging integration efforts of the two companies. Schaeffler threatened to replace all 10 investor representatives on the board, if von Gruenberg didn’t step down and demanded four seats in Conti's supervisory board. Hubertus von Gruenberg have since stepped down but remains in the company's supervisory board. Following this, Conti's CFO Alan Hippe will be leaving the company for a steel maker group in Europe.


Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler and her son Georg F. W. Schaeffler, co-owners of Schaeffler Group.

Dr. Jürgen M. Geißinger, President and CEO of Schaeffler KG and Chairman of the managing board Schaeffler Group

The recent credit crunch and rapid collapse of the car market have complicated matters further for Schaeffler and Continental. The company is now saddled with a combined debt of 11 billion Euros and some of the German business media is reporting that Shaeffler is considering to sell parts of Conti's stocks to finance the deal. Both Schaeffler and Continental are negotiating with their respective state governments of Bavaria and Lower Saxony to grant a 11.8 billion Euros aid package.

Schaeffler's corporate website.

More Undisguised Photos of Proton MPV

A fresh set of undisguised images of the upcoming yet to be named Proton MPV made its way to a local Malay news daily. The front three-quarter, interior dashboard and console area can be clearly seen from the latest shots below. Compared to an earlier circulated photo, the Persona styled grille have been dropped.



Note the foglamps - this should be a higher specs variant.




Check out the reflection on the upper dash area! Later model Wiras suffer from this too. But as mentioned below this could be just a pre-production model.

Judging by the less than ideal finishing, these could be either PP1 or PP2 (pre-production) models that manufacturers usually build prior to actual production, either as a test run for the plant workers and tooling or also for TV commercial shooting and brochure preparations. However with actual launch just 3 months away, it could very well be an actual production model. If this is the case, then the interior doesn't look too promising. Prices better be sub-RM55k to justify the "nasty-plasticky" interior finishing.

Proton have about 6 months to corner the entry level MPV market before its domestic rival and Daihatsu outpost in Malaysia, Perodua releases its own yet to be named MPV model sometime between September and October this year. Sources within Perodua suggest that the localised version of the Daihatsu Sirion Luminas / Toyota Passo Sette will feature a more sporty front-end and different tail lamp clusters, as opposed to its more conservatively styled Japanese domestic market equivalents. A Modelista kit inspired Perodua?

A Japan domestic market Passo Sette with optional Modelista styling package.

On a separate note, the fact that these images were taken from inside a Proton facility highlights the poor enforcement of staff discipline and non-adherence to intellectual property policies. Shouldn't plant workers be barred from bringing cellphones into the assembly plant in the first place? You obviously can't have workers texting or yapping away while unfinished cars are rolling down the production line! It's not just about quality but potential liabilities from health and safety policy related issues.

Via Paultan.org
Related link: Passo Sette / Sirion Luminas - preview to Perodua's MPV

2009 Mazda 6 Improvement - Australia

I was quite surprised to learn that the Mazda 6 requires RON95 fuel, at least until recently. Mazda Australia recently announced a series of improvements for its 2009 year model Mazda 6. For 2009, all Mazda 6 variants will get an extensive list of upgrades - Bi-Xenon headlights with Adaptive Front Lighting System (AFS), rain-sensing wipers, front and rear parking sensors, auto on/off headlights and auto-dimming rear-view mirror are now available as standard items. In most other markets including Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore these items remain exclusive to the higher end 2.5-litre models. Fitment of these features are rather specific to the respective importer / local market and thus they have very little meaning to markets outside Australia.

What is more interesting is that for 2009, the MZR 2.5-litre engine can now run on cheaper RON91 fuel, where it previously required RON95 fuel. The improvement couldn't have come sooner as most modern engines are now tuned to run on fuel with octane ratings as low as RON 90 or RON 91. It is something that we almost take it for granted and thus I was surprised to learn that pre-2009 Mazda 6 engines require RON95 fuel. The MZR engine is a pretty regular 4-cylinder powerplant, not too different from the ones powering an equivalent Camry or Accord, which can happily run on RON91 fuel. No mention have been made on the 2.0-litre models as Mazda Australia does not carry them in their product line-up.

Owners of pre-2009 Mazda 6 should be aware of their vehicle's fuel requirement (if they don't already know). However, it is unclear if this improvement to the MZR fuel systems applies to Mazda 6 models sold outside Australia. In theory, running a lower than recommended octane fuel should not cause any permanent damage other than reduced power, as modern electronic engine management system feature knock sensors that will alter the ignition timing accordingly to avoid any pinging / knocking. But for the sake of mechanical sympathy, please follow the manufacturer's recommendation.

Australian car importers, including Mazda Australia have been struggling to contain rises in prices due to the fluctuating currency exchange between Aussie dollar and the Japanese Yen, which is now working against Aussie importers. Beginning of 2009, all imported cars in Australia will see a price increase of between 2% to 4%. So the recent gesture by Mazda Australia to improve its value proposition would be very much appreciated by buyers.  

Source : PressPortal

Related link : Fuel RON ratings explained

President Obama's Limo

Yesterday is President Barack Hussein Obama's first day in office as the 44th President of the United States of America. Following his inauguration, he will also be taking delivery of his new limousine - dubbed as Cadillac One, in similar naming convention to his presidental plane Air Force One. The Secret Service guys who will be maintaining the vehicle however, calls it "The Beast." Built by General Motor's Cadillac division, The Beast weighs an estimated 7 to 8 tonnes, and is protected by armoured platings that are up to 8 inches thick. As such each of the doors are as large and as heavy as those on a Boeing 747 jetliner.


While the exact specifications are unknown for security reasons, the car is rumoured to be based on a truck chassis, from the mega huge GMC Topkick truck. Below are some of the interesting features that the Cadillac One is rumoured to have.
1. A pack of the President's blood type.
2. 8 inch thick armour plating, including ceramic materials included to detonate any projectiles before penetrating the vehicle's armour plating.
3. Kevlar reinforced run flat tires with inner steel wheels to allow the car to continue driving even after the rubber tires are completely destroyed.
4. 5-inch thick steel plate armour underneath the car to protect against bombs.
5. Completely air tight cabin and an emergency oxygen supply to protect against chemical and biological attacks.
6. Armoured and foam filled fuel tank.
7. Counter-offensive weapons including pump-action shotguns and tear gas cannons.
8. All windows are bullet proof and only the driver's window opens, for only 3 inches.

Check out the thickness of those doors!


Click to enlarge

Of course none of the above could verified since among the specifications given to Cadillac by the US Secret Service is "no discussion on the specifications."

Images from US Secret Service, Car Advice, and eGM

US Presidential limousines have a lifespan of around 10 years, but it will only be in service of the President for 4 years, after which the car will be handed down to the vice-president and other head of states. In fact, President George W. Bush's Cadillac DTS limousine, delivered in 2004 will still continue to be in active service as a backup car.

President George W. Bush's Cadillac DTS Presidential limo.

All presidential limousines will be destroyed at the end of their lifespan to avoid falling into the hands of terrorists. This practise was implemented during the Bush administration, in response to the terror attacks on United States interests. Prior to the Kennedy assasination, US Presidents used to ride in open-top limousines, thus President Kennedy's Lincoln open-top limousine was the last open-top presidential limo. A slow moving car on a predictable path meant that the the occupants are easy targets for terrorists / snipers.  

President John F. Kennedy's Lincoln open-top limo. The same car he was assasinated in.

Cadillac have been supplying cars to US Presidents since 1919, when President Woodrow Wilson rode through the streets of Boston during the World War 1 victory parade. Until 1993, all Cadillac presidential limos were converted by independent coach builders. It was only until the Clinton administration era in 1993 when Cadillac started building the bespoke limos in-house.


Another interesting point to note is that prior to his election as President, Senator Barack Obama's previous car was a Chrysler 300C. But facing an increasingly environmentally sensitive American public, Obama had to ditch his fuel guzzling V8 Chrysler for a hybrid. But of course, he cannot be seen driving a Japanese Toyota Prius lest he loses support from the UAW guys and also financial support for his campaigning efforts from Big 3; GM, Ford and Chrysler. Obama replaced his 300C with a Ford Escape Hybrid SUV. He had to buy American. In fact, Obama's Chrysler was once put up on sale on eBay.

Related link : Mercedes S600 Pullman Guard armoured limo.

Pakatan Rakyat Ditches Proton In Favour of Toyota

The Toyota Camry have been unwittingly thrusted into the limelight of Malaysia's soap opera like political landscape. If a country's political struggles are a drama series, Malaysia would have scored have scored first. Thailand may be getting most of the news in the international media mainly due to the disruption it caused to international businesses when Survanabhumi airport was shut down by anti-Thaksin protesters, but it lack the saucy bits involving a Mongolian beauty, C4 bombs and dirty cops, and a celebrity prince whose fame rivals that of any local rock star.

Following the footstep of the Pakatan Rakyat government led Perak state, the coalition of opposition parties led state of Selangor will be replacing the Proton Perdana official cars in favour of Toyota Camry. The controversy surrounding the replacement of Proton Perdana official cars have been brewing since last year, first with the state of Terengganu's decision to purchase a fleet of Mercedes E200K, citing high maintenance cost of the Proton Perdanas as an excuse, the same reason given by Selangor state exco member Ronnie Liu.

My take on it? A bunch of political bollocks! I hardly speak in defence of the Malaysian state owned Proton car company, for reasons which require a separate blog post. But on this issue I think Proton have been unfairly used as a scapegoat by a bunch of politicians who can no longer tolerate doing long distance commutes in the Perdanas, whose design dates back to early 1990s, and is largely a rebadged Mitsubishi Eterna.

These politicians claim that their Perdanas keep breaking down and some have raked up repair bills of over RM 100k, more than the price of the car when new! Ronnie Liu even mentioned that in one incident, the hood of his Perdana became unlatched while driving, flipped open and crashed into the windscreen.

To be fair Proton made an inquiry into all these allegations. Yes the Perdanas might not be a final word in reliability but it is ridiculous for the maintenance cost to be over RM100k. Proton's inquiry later revealed that none of these cars were maintained by its authorised service centers, but were instead serviced by third parties using non-original Proton parts. One unit inspected even had cross drilled brake rotors fitted! There were signs pointing that these parts were not only non-genuine but were cannibalised parts from other cars. What sort of a reliability do you expect then? A manufacturer, no matter how bad should never be faulted of any reliability issues if the vehicle is no longer maintained by its trained technicians with genuine parts. However most of the mainstream media stop short at that. They did not reveal the parties responsible for the vehicles' maintenance and why were these cars charged up to 5 times the normal price to carry out simple maintenance work. More importantly, why weren't the government's account books audited and surely something is clearly wrong to pay RM10k for a routine service?

The Perdanas are known to have problem with the automatic gearbox, word from owners is that it tends to overheat after prolonged use in harsh driving environment. Fitting a transmission oil cooler usually sort things out. But surely transmission failures alone cannot cost up to 100 grand.

Image from The Star.

I understand that many of the Malaysian government vehicles are not maintained the vehicle manufacturer's authorised service center, but by a third party company by the name of Spanco. The company's dodgy looking website does not reveal much but they claim themselves to be "Malaysia's Leading Fleet Management Company." In 1994, Spanco was awarded with a contract to supply and maintain government fleet vehicles until 2018. Why does the local state government need to outsource its vehicle maintenance to a third party instead of the vehicle manufacturer? You form your own conclusions. Yes some fleet operators contract the services of such companies, but those fleet operators run thousands of vehicles in their fleets - i.e. police force, logistic / postal companies. But the end result of these outsourcing should be more efficient operations. Doesn't seem to be happening here. In short, the public should not be questioning Proton. They were unfairly dragged into this mess. Look to who were the ones who authorised for these repairs and who authorised for these payments.

Next problem I have Pakatan Rakyat's choice of vehicle - a top of the line Camry 2.4V. As far as the car is concerned I don't have a problem with it. They can choose a Maybach 62 for all I care. The problem arise when you recall Pakatan Rakyat came into power after a landslide victory on March 8 2008 general election, promising to not spend on unnecessary items like changing cars.

Which now raise the question, not only on the reversal of their stance, but why a Camry 2.4V, which retails at around RM170k? Our local Camry models are imported from Toyota Motor Thailand's plant in Gateway Plant in Chachoengsao Province, shipped over to Port Klang using foreign shipping companies. Toyota also sells a lower grade 2.0E version, which retails at around 141k. The Star claims that the Selangor government fleets are purchased at RM150k each while Malaysian Insider claims RM 160k. So I am not sure which is the correct sum, but my guess is both figures are wrong as the Perak state government purchased their Camrys at market price, inclusive of tax as the BN led Federal Government refused to grant them any tax waiver. By the way, contrary to The Star's report, there is no such colour as stone-Black in the Camry colour options list. There is however Black Mica.

Toyota Motor Thailand's Gateway plant is a regional production hub for the ASEAN / Asian specs Camry. This year, TMT's Gateway, along with Australia TMCA's Altona will begin production of the Camry Hybrid.

All these begs the question, why the choice of a Thai-built Camry? And why a top of the line 2.4V when a base model 2.0E will do just fine. So it is down on power from a smaller engine and lacks one cog from the 2.4V's 5-speed transmission. But surely the fuel savings from the extra gear ratio cannot account to RM30k within the reasonable lifespan of the car.


Honda Malaysia builds the similar class Accord locally at its Pegoh plant in Alor Gajah, Melaka, at almost the same price but with even better equipment list. Support locally made goods they say? Did I hear them correctly? A typical locally assembled car is usually assembled at a plant built by local contractors using local materials and other support services. Locally assembled cars are built with locally made batteries, wheels, tires, glass for windscreen and windows, noise and heat insulation materials, rubber linings / weather strips, plastic interior components, audio head units and speakers, suspension, interior lights, headlamps, tail lamps, fog lamps, car alarm / security systems. I think you get the picture. And all these items are transported from their respective manufacturing plants to Honda's plant in Melaka and the completed car is then transported to the showrooms with local transport / freight forwarding companies. The contribution to the local economy is immensse.

Accords at the end of the production line at Honda Malaysia's Pegoh plant.

An imported Thai built Camry contributes almost none to these local manufacturers. The only link between Pakatan Rakyat's decision and Toyota that I can think of is that the government owned investment vehicle Perbadanan Nasional Berhad is one of the main shareholders in UMW-Toyota, the local distributor for Toyota vehicles in Malaysia. But shouldn't support for local industries come before self-interest?

Of course, many will conveniently ignore this. The current psychological state of the Malaysian public is that it is not cool to criticise the opposition Pakatan Rakyat, who is supposed to bring change. Criticising the incumbent Barisan Nasional party however, and the people will cheer you on.

Anyway, all these talk by politicians about supporting local products are just lip service. Ex-PM and brain child of the Proton national car project Tun Dr. Mahatir himself did not fancy a Proton. When he was in office he was often chauffered in a Lexus LS430 and later a Volkswagen Touareg. Minister of PM's Department Nazri Aziz travels in a Toyota Hilux while the Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim uses a Lexus RX350. Some of these might be their privately owned cars, as in the case of Khalid Ibrahim. But the point is, what is the message you are sending, as a state leader?


Chancellor Angela Merkel's armoured Audi A8L

If you think that state leaders should be seen in a posh car, then by all means go ahead. European Union technocrats in Brussels travel in Bentley Arnages anyway and German Chancellors have been alternating between armoured VW Phaeton, Audi A8s and Mercedes S-class models, despite all their talk about capping CO2 emission. If the government runs a hyper-efficient, crime free state, I don't think voters will be quite bothered with whatever car the government fancies. Just don't hoodwink voters that you are all for change, that you very careful with taxpayer's money and that you are so much different in every way from the previous corrupt administration, and then do exactly the opposite!

Ronaldo Crashed His Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano

Millionaire footballers, fast cars, usually more showoff than being a proper driver. More or less the same kind of stories every time. The story this time involved Cristinano Ronaldo. Footie guy rode his prancing horse too fast, footie guy lost it, prancing horse bounced off roadside barriers.

The car in question is a Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, crashed inside a tunnel on the A538 Altrincham Road, near Manchester airport. More images here.

W212 2010 Mercedes E-class Brochure Leaked.

Earlier, we have already seen spyshots of the 2010 E-class undergoing hot weather testing in the deserts of California.

Follow up to that, Autospies has posted some scanned images of what it claims to be a German market brochure for the 2010 E-Klasse. Apparently these were "leaked" out to the web ahead of their March 2009 Geneva Motor Show debut.

Something doesn't seem right about the rear...maybe it's just me.


Conservatively styled Elegance model on the left and the sportier Avantgarde model on the right. Avantgarde model comes with larger 17" wheels, different grille, LED daytime running lights at the lower front bumpers, Bi-Xenon headlamps. Aluminium inserts for the interior trim is optional.


AMG sports package includes sportier front seats.


No mention were made on the rumoured Night Vision system.

Estate variants will be released 6 months later, while hybrid variants might be introduced between 2010 and 2011.

More images at autospies.com

Related link
Mercedes product plans - 2009 and beyond
W221 2010 S-class facelift

Suzuki Kizashi is NOT dead.

Contrary to earlier reports circulated by many blogs, Suzuki today denied that its first D-segment sedan has been cancelled. American Suzuki Motor Corp reiterated that the Kizashi 3 concept is on track for production and is set to debut at this April's New York Auto Show. This was confirmed by the spokesman for American Suzuki Motor Corp Jeff Holland, in an interview with Automotive News.

Earlier, a Japanese business news daily Nikkei reported that Suzuki CEO Osamu Suzuki merely commented that the Kizashi project could be shelved in view of poor economic conditions.

The Kizashi 3 represents more than just a new model, it's culmination of Suzuki's new found confidence and rising aspiration. After many decades of building hyper-fast motorcycles and Japanese compact sub-660cc "kei" cars, Suzuki is now ready to take on the big boys at the all important North American market (i.e. Camry and Accord). The mid-size / D-segment sedans represent the largest passenger car segment in USA. Despite the economic crisis, the North American market is still the largest car market in the world and there is no way Suzuki can make a decent entry there with their dinky little compact hatches, which are fine for the rest of us but are too small for hamburger and soda feed Yank butts.

Suzuki is currently selling the cheap but unattractive XL7 SUV in USA, co-developed with GM (shared platform with Chevy Equinox and Saturn Vue) but sales have been poor, what more in the current tanking SUV and truck market.


Under the leadership of the controversial Osamu Suzuki, Suzuki Motors have been reaping many success of its early venture into developing markets like India, Pakistan and China when most car manufacturers were still too busy with USA, Europe and Japan. Suzuki knew it could not compete with the big boys in developed markets, thus it had to built on its core competence in the motorcyle business, where Suzuki is very strong in developing markets. That strategy paid off greatly with the rapid motorization of India, where the Maruti-Suzuki partnership is now the top selling foreign car brand in India


In its home country Japan, the Suzuki Wagon R is the best selling "kei" car. Sales of Suzuki cars closely rival that of larger Honda Motor Co. but this is not usually reflected in Japan vehicle sales figures as for some reason, the Japan Automobile Manufacturer's Association does not include registration figures kei cars into the their final tally. Which is why Japan's best selling car are always officially recognised as either Toyota's Corolla or Honda Fit (Jazz), despite the fact that compact kei cars are the largest vehicle segment in Japan. Kei cars are exempted from the mandatory "parking space" fee / tax in some rural areas and are given many form of tax breaks. They can be easily spotted in Japanese cities with their yellow registration plates.

A Mitsubishi i kei car
Besides Honda, Suzuki is the only other manufacturer that can claim expertise in all sorts of internal combustion engine - cars, motorcycles, outboard marine, lawnmowers, etc etc.