While announcing the resignations of Technical Director Sam Michael and Chief Aerodynamicist Jon Tomlinson, Williams F1 team Chairman Adam Parr had also said that one of the founder members of the team (along with Frank Williams) and a former Technical Director of the team, Patrick Head was going to retire. In an interview with the Guardian recently Head said that Adam Parr was not in a position to make this announcement and that he (Head) himself would reveal his plans if and when he makes them. That is saying a lot without saying anything.
Yearly Archives: 2011
Saab has always been a problem child, first to GM and now to Spyker. GM reeling under an economic crisis sold off Saab to Sypker which is now finding it difficult to get funding for production and new models. Spyker has decided to let go off 29% of Saab to Hawtai, a car manufacturer in China and Russian investor Vladimir Antonov and this seems to have secured funding for the near and middle term for Saab. It is believed that Spyker will now call back its workers to Saab factories. They had been away from the factories due to lack of funding.
Ford India has re-launched its used car business in India. In the past Ford had done the same on a small scale. Now given the fact that Ford is in the midst of a bull run with its hot selling Figo has decided to get the Ford Assured business arm up and running. It will be an initiative that will sell all brands of cars. The strategy is clear to see. Trade in your existing car for a new Ford. Tata does this too as does Mahindra with its First Choice.
Hero Honda has reported that its net profit is down by 16.23 % in the fourth quarter of the last financial year. Hero Honda is the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and has become an Indian icon. The small fall in profit is probably due to increased production costs that were not passed on to the end customer.
Indian Autos Blog has reported that a business conglomerate has shown interest in taking the Tata Nano to Pakistan. However the website also has raised questions of Pakistan getting it. But we don’t see any problems. The Nano is not a sensitive national security issue. The Tatas will want to expand into as many markets as possible with the Nano and this is their stated intention. So if there is a genuine interest on the other side, why should there by a problem taking it there?
Reports on the Indian Autos Blog have suggested that the diesel version of the Chevrolet Beat which has been seen testing and the details of which have been posted on our website in the past is about 8 weeks away from a launch in the market. The Beat is a funky car with edgy styling and internal and external features which are futuristic. The car while being relatively successful, has not garnered in the numbers that GM wants it to. To boost its sales and make it a proper best seller, GM has decided to put in a three cylinder diesel engine. We believe that the Beat deserves better numbers than it does in India. We hope the diesel trick will pull in more to buy the car.
Mercedes Benz in India seems to be stung by the fact that BMW has overtaken it as the No.1 luxury car maker in India. If you were Mercedes you would be too. Mercedes has a past in India which can only be equalled by Rolls Royce in terms of the halo that the brand has. Also Mercedes set up shop in India 10 years before BMW. So to make amends and t0 ensure that it gets the crown back Mercedes has launched a two pronged attack on the market. The first prong will see the introduction of newer products such as the A and B class vehicles and the second will be to penetrate newer areas of the Indian car market. So Mercedes has decided to go to tier II and III cities/towns with its dealerships. But BMW will not be behind in countering these. So may the best brand win.
Vijay Mallya loves to be in the limelight for whatever reason. His detractors say that he is only enjoying the fruits of the wealth that his father earned and some accuse him of trying to cartelize the Indian airline industry. Without doubt he is the king of booze in India, owning almost all beer brands that are sold in India and also brands in all kinds of spirits. It is therefore but natural that a spirited and soaring in the sky boss of team Force India F1 should join the gang of big talkers (who are becoming a rarity in F1) such as Luca Di Montezemolo and Bernie Ecclestone. Mallya, who seems to have acquired a doctorate at some point of time, now says that Force India should score points at every race. Very good idea but why discuss these things in public?
The Ferrari team has had a fairly poor start to this year’s Formula1 season with neither Fernando Alonso or Filipe Massa looking like they could challenge for wins. This has annoyed Luca Di Montezemolo, the team’s big talking boss to say that this situation is not acceptable. Ferrari have been working hard to get the car up to speed by working on some upgrades, and it is believed that some of these will be used in this weekend’s Turkish Grand Prix at Istanbul. Team Principal Stefano Dominicali is under pressure this year especially in the context of last year’s pit stop strategy mistake in the final race that cost Fernando Alonso and the team a World Championship. Already Chris Dyer has been demoted for a less important role at the factory. Dominicali could be next in line.
Rupert Murdoch owned Newcorp has revealed that it is looking at taking over the commercial rights of Formula1 from CVC Capital Investments, by tying up with Italian finance firm EXOR which has very close links with Fiat. Bernie Ecclestone is against this move because he fears that Murdoch will make F1 a pay per view thing for TV and Bernie believes that this will kill the sport. Free to air for him is a necessity to sustain interest in the sport.