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Hemi 6.1 V8 425 cv come sulle versioni Srt del gruppo Chrysler

http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=103629 Rising to the Challenger: Detroit auto show debut for Dodge muscle coupe concept BOB GRITZINGER Posted Date: 11/20/05 To all those purists who still can’t forgive Dodge for building a four-door Charger, here’s your answer: the 2006 Dodge Challenger concept. The Dodge boys released a sketch of the car to the world, but we obtained these exclusive spy photos of the car, which will premiere at the North American International Auto Show in January in Detroit. Challenger draws on the 1970 model as the icon of the series, says Tom Tremont of Chrysler’s Pacifica studio in California. But instead of merely recreating that car, designers tried to build the Challenger most people see in their mind’s eye, without imperfections like the tucked under wheels and long front overhang of the old car. At the same time, the concept incorporates distinctive Challenger cues like the rear fender kick, wide mouth front end, functional hood scoops and rectangular exhaust tips. Built on a shortened Chrysler 300/Dodge Charger chassis (116-inch wheelbase vs. 120 inches), the Challenger gets a 6.1-liter Hemi hooked to a six-speed manual transmission with a pistol grip shifter. All that’s left to ponder is “will they build it?” With all the hardware in place and a primed marketplace, we can’t see why Dodge wouldn’t rise to this challenge. E' bellissima. Sarà una vera avversaria per la Mustang. Insieme alla Chevy Camaro e alla Ford Mustang, la Challenger rappresenta le pony cars statunitensi. Auto con trazione post. basso prezzo e divertimento assicurato. Sarà presentata a Detroit come concept.

For many years, neither the Fiat group nor Fiat Auto CEOs believed Lancia had a strong future. But you have approved three additional new models for Lancia. What has driven you to bet on an almost domestic brand in an increasingly global industry? Lancia is a unique brand, truly Italian, stylish, a bit arrogant. It has a great past - it will be 100 years old next year - and no heavy legacy to deal with. Consequently, it is a perfect base for a new growth period. I agree that in terms of sales, Lancia is currently too Italian, but, step by step, this will change. We aggressively attacked the French market this year and in 2006 we will approach Germany and Spain. In term of investments, it is a sustainable bet because Lancia's investments are incremental to the new models we are developing for the Fiat brand. Some analysts say Lancia's positioning is near premium. Do you agree? Absolutely. It is above a volume brand like Fiat, but under the German premium brands. This is a unique position. No other Latin carmaker has a brand that could be truly defined as near premium. Maserati had been the most over-promised and under-delivered champion within the Fiat group. Every 5 years, the 10,000 units a year target is postponed for another 5 years. The latest target is now 2010. How will Maserati get there? First, by strengthening its current product range. The Maserati Quattroporte is an excellent car, but it needs to be produced, for example, with a true automatic gearbox for the US market. The Quattroporte platform also will be the basis of a new, top of the range coupe. At the same time, Maserati is too small to have its own platforms so it needs synergies with other brands. I think the industrial cooperation with Alfa Romeo on the premium platform is the proper answer. What about the Kubang GT wagon, which would be Maserati's first crossover? Nothing is decided yet, but I can say that a Kubang for Maserati makes sense only if Alfa cooperates on the project by making its own large crossover. These two vehicles could be the first fruit of the industrial cooperation between Alfa and Maserati. A Ferrari IPO has been on and off for three years now. What does the owner of a 56 percent stake of Ferrari say? When Mediobanca bought a 34 percent stake of Ferrari in June 2002, it said it was not going to keep it as a strategic investment. When Mediobanca decides to sell its Ferrari stake, the Fiat group will help it as much as possible. It could be an IPO or a private placement like the 5 percent bought in July 2005 by Mubadala Development Company of Abu Dhabi. Anyway, Mediobanca is a shareholder of both the Fiat group and Ferrari and we are pleased about that. Ferrari is about to decide on its new entry-level model, dubbed the new Dino. Does Ferrari take its own investment decisions or does the Fiat group CEO have the final word? The Fiat group only sets the financial targets for Ferrari. All the product decisions are taken by Ferrari itself, which is run by Fiat group chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo. Personally, I do not even know Ferrari's product planning. Ferrari hasn't made a product mistake in the past 10 years, so they are pretty good in running their own business. In just a few weeks, you will be elected president of ACEA, the European car makers association, for 2006 and 2007. As ACEA president, what will you put at the top of your agenda? There is not a single item to put at top of the agenda, but the entire competitiveness of the European automotive sector. I will work hard to implement the CARS 21 initiative, which has the objective of building a competitive automotive regulatory system for the 21st Century. This objective is ambitious, but absolutely necessary, if we are to tackle the major challenges facing the European automotive sector today. We also have to consider that the European automotive industry is not profitable enough in its home market. This is slowing down the uptake of more advanced technologies necessary to compete effectively at the global level, and by the same token challenging its potential for investment in both capital and human resources. Will ACEA address the lack of global emission and homologation standards, which add to carmakers' costs and do not represent any value for the consumer. I would love to get to a world emission and homologation standard soon, but unfortunately I think it will take much longer than my two-year term at ACEA. At ACEA, you inherit a controversial topic - Toyota's request for admission. On a personal basis, do you think ACEA should be open to any company doing business in Europe? On a purely personal level, I think we should talk and involve Toyota on as many issues as possible, but ACEA structurally is an association of European manufacturers. Toyota's proper membership is something that has to be discussed at ACEA board level. If Fiat won e500 million in a lottery, how would you invest it? I would buy Fiat shares. There currently isn't a better investment than this.

By making the next 500 with the Ford Ka replacement, will Fiat save e200 million over the vehicle's life cycle, as press reports suggest? Luckily not. In the entire life cycle, we hope it will be more. Reports suggest you have lost confidence in Alfa Romeo. What are Alfa's problems - and possible solutions? The Alfa issue is complicated and simple at the same time. Alfa is a great, world-renowned brand, but it is selling fewer cars than planned. To address the problem, we recently announced a change of leadership. Karl Heinz Kalbfell will concentrate on Maserati and on the future strategic development of the industrial and commercial alliance between Alfa Romeo and Maserati - the "polo sportivo" (sporting cars division) of Fiat group. Antonio Baravalle, who has done a great job at Lancia, will take over the day-to-day running of Alfa with his great commercial and marketing skills. Sales of the 156 are fading and the 147 is not living up to expectations. Why? The 147 suffers from the belief that the BMW 1 series its the most significant competitor. It did not take into account other competitors like the VW Golf (pricier versions of the Golf compete with entry-level versions of the 147). We forgot about the Golf and did not pay attention to what they have done in the marketplace. I think we need to respond effectively to the competitive pressure of Volkswagen. We have learned the lesson and I think we need to be a lot more cautious and a lot more humble about Alfa's aspirations. I think we need to fight where we need to fight. It's less of an issue, I think, for the new products that are coming - the 159 and the Brera - which certainly have a right to select the premium marketplace within which to fight. The 939 project was born as a joint project with Saab, but after Saab's withdrawal the premium platform turned out to be exclusive to Alfa. Can the Alfa 159 and Brera range be profitable with combined volume of about 150,000 units if the platform is not used for another model? We have invested in the premium platform - which, by the way, is an excellent platform - and now we have to find a broader application within the group. The (front-wheel drive/all-wheel drive) premium platform is an excellent basis for cooperation between Alfa Romeo and Maserati. The current 147 is based on a shortened platform of the larger 156. Can we expect the 147 successor, dubbed 149, to come out of a shortened premium platform? This is an option we are considering. On one side, the premium platform is much more expensive than the 156 platform so it would be much harder to make a profitable smaller car out of it. At the same time, if Alfa wants to really compete in the premium portion of the C-segment, it would need such a platform. Over the past 5 years there has been talk about Alfa returning to the US? What is the current position? We are still working on that, but it won't be next year. Does the current plan remain to begin Alfa sales with the Brera coupe and Spider sold by Maserati US dealers? This is the most likely scenario. Does Alfa really need a four-door sedan at the top of its range or would it be better to offer a crossover because the 159 sedan has grown and is nearly the same size as the current flagship, the 166? In my view, a large crossover would be the best choice. All premium carmakers have moved downmarket. Alfa, though, has always ended up killing projects to make a sporty small car, even the latest one, based on the project 199 (Grande Punto), which only required a limited amount of investment. Why? Maybe Alfa is changing its mind on this topic, but it is still too soon to elaborate further.

With so many changes, is there not a risk that inexperienced managers take over important positions? There is a risk, but I rather prefer to position leadership over knowledge. You can build your knowledge, as I am personally doing, step by step, in the auto business. But you cannot acquire leadership as a skill. What does it mean to be 'Italian' for a company like Fiat Auto? The design of our products should look Italian. The entire management that faces the market - the sales and marketing team, or the soft factors - is primarily Italian. Everything behind the product - engineering, manufacturing and quality - is managed by leaders who have been trained for the most part by our German competitors. They have the right level of discipline and rigor to properly run the hard factors in this industry. How long do you think you will need to remain Fiat Auto CEO? I do not have fixed a date. The priority is to make Fiat Auto profitable next year. When the time comes for a hand-over, I will pass on a healthy Fiat Auto. You have two jobs so how many hours are you working? I sleep four and half to five hours a night and the rest of the time I work. My working week goes from Monday to Saturday night. Do you have any complaints? No. It comes with the territory. What went wrong under Fiat Auto's former CEO, Herbert Demel? Demel is a first-class engineer with an astonishing knowledge of the auto business. I highly respect him both as an engineer and as a person. Nevertheless, in running an auto company, you should also look at the sales and marketing side of the business, not just the technical and industrial sides. And when a business is losing e820 million a year like Fiat Auto did in 2004, you have to tackle these problems at the speed of light. This is what I began doing in February. Fiat Auto was - and is - Fiat group's biggest issue. I think it is almost a given that a group CEO has to take direct charge of the biggest single problem his group is facing. Will Fiat Auto achieve your target of a e317 million trading loss for 2005, compared with Fiat Auto's e820 million trading loss last year. The e317 million trading loss for the full year remains our target. The fourth quarter is crucial for Fiat Auto, as we are introducing key models such as the Fiat Grande Punto and the Alfa 159. Right now we have seen the October numbers, which are promising, but we must not forget that we are reading a fourth quarter that last year was not too bad compared to Fiat Auto's past history. Fiat Auto usually shows a good financial improvement in the fourth quarter, followed by heavy losses in the first quarter the following year. Will this happen again? No, it was a bad habit that has stopped. If we don't perform well in the first quarter next year it will be because we are not able to compete. What's happening between Fiat and Tata Motors? We are talking with Tata about an alliance not only for cars, but also in our other sectors such as engines and components. We are offering Tata access to our entire automotive knowledge and are looking to Tata for its knowledge of the southeast Asian market. Sometimes European companies have an approach to these markets that is somewhat arrogant, (telling them) "we are bringing you our best technologies." They don't care what the local marketplace wants. Tata should help us to read properly the needs of the southeast Asian market. Should we expect Fiat to build vehicles in India in cooperation with Tata Motors for the southeast Asian markets and for export? Both. Last December you began talks with SAIC to cooperate in the heavy truck business in China. Could SAIC become your No 1. Chinese alliance partner also in passenger cars? With SAIC we are looking for a wide-ranging cooperation for everything except Fiat passenger cars, for which we have a partnership in China with Nanjing Automobile. What if SAIC takes over Nanjing Automobile? For Fiat, it would be fine to have a single ally in China. Did you also talk to First Auto Works? No, we don't know FAW very well. We just supply them with our Magneti Marelli components and Comau production systems. Long term, does Fiat need a third global partner in addition to Tata Motors and SAIC? In general, we are open to talking with everyone on all subjects. For Fiat Auto, these two strategic cooperations would be enough, as we have - and will have - other industrial cooperations on single models and projects. I am looking at a 15-20-year perspective. By that time I am convinced that both Tata and SAIC will be serious players in the global auto industry. I am amazed both by their determination and by their discipline in reaching the targets they have set. Will there be an exchange of equity with Tata Motors and SAIC? I do not think so. Strong and structured industrial alliances are enough. You were quoted as saying the Grande Punto's operating margin is over e1,000 per unit. Considering Fiat Auto will get about e10,000 revenue for each Grande Punto sold (net of dealer margin and bonuses) that would be over 10 percent. Isn't that too good to be true? I never heard of an automotive CEO confirming operating margins on a specific model. I do not want to be the first in breaking such a tradition. Production of the Grande Punto starts in the Mirafiori plant in northern Italy early next year. You have already started Grande Punto production in Melfi in southern Italy. Will the Mirafiori production be in addition to the 360,000 units a year planned for Melfi in 2006? We have a capacity to make 360,000 Grande Puntos a year between Melfi and Mirafiori. If the market requires more, we could easily reach 420,000 units. Our target is to sell 360,000 Grande Puntos next year. What is really important to us is that Fiat Auto eventually will be able to reach its sales targets. Unfortunately, this was quite rare in the past years. Right now we are seeing an encouraging number of orders not only for the Grande Punto - 30,000 from September to October - but also for the old Punto, which we are confident will sell some 60,000 units next year.

Condotta Da luca Ciferri su europe automotive news TALK FROM THE TOP: Fiat group CEO Sergio Marchionne By Luca Ciferri Automotive News Europe / November 14, 2005 After dissolving its troubled five-year alliance with General Motors on February 13, Fiat group CEO Sergio Marchionne said Fiat Auto wasn't looking for another equity partner. Instead, said Marchionne, Fiat would seek joint ventures and other business arrangements. Since February, Marchionne has: Taken on the job of Fiat Auto CEO Sealed a third cooperation contract with PSA/Peugeot-Citroen for a new entry-level light commercial vehicle Approved joint development and production of a new generation of minicars with Ford of Europe Licensed Suzuki to build Fiat diesel engines in Asia. Long term, Marchionne is looking for strong and structured industrial alliances with Tata Motors of India and Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corporation (SAIC) of China for all sectors in the Fiat group. Marchionne was appointed Fiat group CEO on June 1, 2004 after the abrupt resignation of Giuseppe Morchio. Two months later, he announced a restructuring plan that should take Fiat group to a e1.4-1.8 billion net profit in 2007. Last year Fiat group made a e1.95 billion net loss. Marchionne spoke with Automotive News Europe Luca Ciferri at Fiat group headquarters in Turin, on November 28. Critics say: "Marchionne is a great poker player. He extracted money from the contracts that Paolo Fresco (Fiat group chairman who resigned February 2003) left him with General Motors and Italenergia, and from the mandatory convertible loan with creditor banks. But now the gambling phase is over and it is time to be an industrialist." How do you respond? Good contracts are just an important starting point but then you have to play your cards properly. Closing any of these three deals was not a walk in the park. For one, the separation from Fiat Auto was painful for General Motors. Then, our creditor banks had to convert the mandatory convertible loan at a premium, while, on the other hand, continue to support the Fiat group in its restructuring. And Electricite de France had to complete the transaction to buy our Italenergia stake. On the industrial side, we announced in July 2004 a number of goals for the coming years. We will return into the black this year at Fiat group level thanks to extraordinary items. Beginning in 2006, our net profit will be generated by industrial activities. By 2007, the net income should be between e1.4 and 1.8 billion. Quarter by quarter, we are delivering on our commitments and maintaining all our targets. We are no way at the end of the Fiat group restructuring process, but we are definitively in better shape than we were 19 months ago when many were betting Fiat group was not going be around for long. On a scale of 0 to 100 percent, where are you in fixing the Fiat group? At a group level, 20 percent. I mean, 20 percent done, 80 percent to be done. The level of implementation differs from sector to sector and we are still at the beginning: 10 percent done at CNH (Case New Holland - Fiat group's agricultural and construction equipment division), which we have just restructured from a geographical organization into a brand organization, and 6 percent at Iveco heavy trucks. The Magneti Marelli component arm is at about 20-25 percent, and Comau production systems at 30 percent. On the strategic front, we are trying to find the right role for a component supplier and for a robot maker within the Fiat group. Will Fiat sell Magneti Marelli or Comau? Absolutely not. We are working to develop these businesses. The engine and gearbox management systems by Magneti Marelli are strategic for the future development of our Fiat Powertrain Technologies unit. At the same time, Automotive Lighting (a Magneti Marelli subsidiary) is a state-of-the-art lighting supplier with global reach, crucial for creating new appealing designs for our cars. But I have still to find a similar link in the strategic development of the group for other sectors such as vehicle suspensions, exhaust systems and dashboards. Where does Fiat Auto stand on the fixing scale? At Fiat Auto we have done much more than it seems, but a lot has still to be done. On the structural side, I think we are at 80 percent. I am pretty confident we have now put in place a totally market-oriented organization in a company that traditionally was not market-oriented at all. But Fiat Auto also has a legacy of some rather large faulty decisions that were made in the past - the half billion euros invested in the Lancia Thesis, just to mention one. Today, we would have approved a totally different model range. But this is the product range we have and our daily battle is to extract as much value and sales as possible from our existing models. Why have you reshuffled top management so often? I never hesitate to make changes if they improve the quality of the team. I look for dedication, rigor and discipline. The issue of leadership is complex and crucial to any industrial organization, and especially for Fiat in its current state. The complexity reduces to one simple set of traits that we look for in Fiat leaders, (called) the 4Ds - drive, develop, decide and deliver.

DaimlerChrysler sells MMC stake TOKYO/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - DaimlerChrysler AG has sold its entire 12.42 percent stake in Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (MMC) to a unit of Goldman Sachs effective Friday, MMC said, making the brokerage a top shareholder in the Japanese auto maker. The fate of DaimlerChrysler's reduced ownership of Japan's only unprofitable car maker had been a subject of speculation after the German-U.S. auto giant refused its former affiliate further financial assistance in April last year. Stuttgart-based Daimler, which still has some close operational tie-ups with MMC such as the joint development of engines and vehicle platform sharing, had repeatedly said it would hold on to its former partner's stake. The partners said existing projects with MMC would not be affected by Daimler's disposal of the shares, adding the companies planned to extend mutually beneficial projects. Analysts touted DaimlerChrysler's move. "Daimler showed good timing with the sale," said Michael Punzet, an analyst at Landesbank Rheinland-Pfalz. "The money will help offset the financial burden from its planned job cuts," he added, referring to a planned reduction of 8,500 jobs at the Mercedes group in Germany. DaimlerChrysler said its earnings would also improve, by about 500 million euros, this year from the sale. Goldman Sachs would not comment on the purpose of its purchase of DaimlerChrysler's 548.372 million MMC shares. However, a financial source said the deal was likely not meant for Goldman's own investment but that the London-based unit, Goldman Sachs International, would sell the shares to third parties or to other institutional investors. Since DaimlerChrysler refused MMC further help, the Japanese auto maker has been bailed out by sister companies in the Mitsubishi group and investment funds through their purchase of new shares, reducing Daimler's controlling 37 percent stake. If shares held by group companies are included, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. will still be MMC's top shareholder with a combined 13.9 percent as of end-September, the auto maker said.

Può essere un indicatore ma sicuramente non suffficiente.

Se abiti in germania credo che conoscerai il tedesco. Vormonat siginfica mese precedente e sai bene che il raffronto di vendite si fa tra lo stesso mese di 2 anni differenti e non tra un mese e l' altro. Se vedi una classifica unrae salta all' occhio che in agosto in italia le vendite sono molto più basse rispetto che a luglio. Il -30% della Fox in settembre rispetto a agosto non significa niente ai fini dello stabilire se ha avuto successo o no. L' unico modo per stabilire il succcesso o meno di un auto è quello di controllare il target di vendite ed il risultato finale. Esempio la Volkswagen annunciò che il target della Golf nel 2004 per il mercato dell' europa occ. era di 600.000 invece ne hanno vendute 550.000 quindi 9% circa sotto il target. Per adesso la Fox non mi sembra un flop però bisogna aspettare almeno un anno intero per vedere se ha raggiunto il target prefissato ( 80.000 unità in tutta l' europa compresa quella orientale).

Volkswagen Nine-Month Profit Rises on Sales Increase (Correct) Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Volkswagen AG, whose profit has fallen for three straight years, said nine-month profit rose 49 percent as sales increased and the company's German employees agreed to work more for less pay. Net income at Europe's largest carmaker increased to 685 million euros ($826 million) from 459 million euros a year earlier, Wolfsburg, Germany-based Volkswagen, said in a statement today to the Frankfurt exchange. Sales for the period gained 5.3 percent to 69.9 billion euros. Chief Executive Bernd Pischetsrieder, 57, has introduced new models such as the Passat midsize sedan and the Audi A4 luxury car and is reducing costs by 3.1 billion euros this year to boost profit. Wolfgang Bernhard, hired from DaimlerChrysler AG last year to revive profit at the Volkswagen brand, has won price concessions from parts suppliers and from employees to work longer hours. The shares have risen 35 percent this year, erasing last year's 24 percent drop and valuing the carmaker at 17.9 billion euros. Volkswagen's European vehicle sales rose 9.5 percent in the third quarter, led by a 13 percent gain at Audi and a 12.4 increase at the Volkswagen unit. U.S. sales of the Volkswagen brand fell 4.2 percent in the third quarter to 66,282 units on a 16 percent decline in July. U.S. sales rebounded in August and September, climbing 2.6 percent to 44,729 units on demand for the Passat and new Jetta compact sedan. Pretax Profit Target Pischetsrieder plans to increase pretax profit by 4 billion euros to 5.1 billion euros by 2008. The chief executive has said first-quarter operating profit, or earnings before interest and taxes, of 464 million euros would be the lowest this year. Second- quarter operating profit was 911 million euros. Bernhard, 45, who helped fix DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler division by cutting 30,000 jobs, closing factories and trimming supplier costs, said in July that Volkswagen's costs are 40 percent higher than those of competitors. He plans to cut 7 billion euros in expenses by 2008 and introduce as many as 10 new models. Bernhard won three separate agreements from suppliers and German workers in the last two months to reduce spending. The deal with suppliers may save at least 100 million euros. Employees at Volkswagen's factories in Wolfsburg and Emden, Germany, agreed to work more hours for less pay in exchange for a guarantee to build new models at the plants. Pischetsrieder said Sept. 5 the carmaker needed to reduce its western German workforce of 103,000 by several thousand positions. Volkswagen is offering severance packages and early retirement programs to get workers to voluntarily leave. Porsche AG, the German sports-car maker, announced Sept. 25 plans to buy about 20 percent of Volkswagen's voting shares. The Stuttgart-based company has since acquired 18.53 percent of the shares and has the option to purchase another 3.4 percent. Cosiderazioni: I datti del terzo trimestre sono molto positivi, le vendite sono aumentate del 6,1% ( escludendo la Cina dell' 8,1%), i ricavi di ben il 12,6% qunidi sta migliorando il mix delle vendite ed anche la qualità di queste ultime. Il profitto netto aumenta del 273% arrivando a 282 milioni di euro anche se bisogna ricordare che il risultato del Q3 2004 era stato miserevole. Dal punto di vista delle business lines, il marchio Volkswagen torna in attivo ma sono i servizi finanziari e Audi a fare la parte del leone dei profitti operativi ( Volkswagen +115 milioni di euro Audi +957, Veicoli commerciali +1, serviz finanziari +840. Continuano i buoni risultati sul mercato europeo (da 1.884 milioni di euro a 2.749) mentre il mercato americano è ancora in forte perdita (da -614 milioni di euro a -818). In definitiva la ripresa di Volkswagen è iniziata e sul mercato europeo sta dando ottimi frutti, ma i mercati cinese ed americano si stanno defilando come voragini per i conti in risanamento del colosso di Wolfsburg.

Le auto tipo Crosswagon/audi allroad non sono di gran successo, ma hanno una piccola nicchia. Le suv sono in discesa ma attenzione: negli Usa c' è una distinzione. I giornalisti americani distinguono tra suv e crossover ma con un significato diverso dal nostro. Per loro il termine suv indica i veicoli che hanno una base truck cioè un pianale non derivato da una berlina. Crossover sono i suv non col telaio a langheroni ma con un pianale di derivazione automobilistica. Ad esempio il chevrolet suburban e il ford Explorer sono catalogati come suv mentre Honda Crv ( il pianale deriva dalla Civic) e il ford Escape sono chiamati crossover ( per noi sarebbero suv). Negli Usa le vendite di suv stanno crollando ma i crossover sono in ascesa. Per una casa europea trascurare il segmento suv sarebbe un suicidio. Infatti Audi che non ha ancora suv è molto indietro a Mercedes e Bmw negli states ( dati del 2004 Audi 77.000 unità, Mercedes 224.000 Bmw 270.000). Il diesel è ancora poco diffuso negli stati uniti a causa di regole molto dure ( in California, stato di new York e altri i diesel automobilistici non possono essere venduti) e di ricordi non positivi dei diesel degli anni 80. Cmq Honda, Daimlerchrysler, Bmw stanno sviluppando motori adatti a quel mercato quindi c' è un buon potenziale.

Marchionne, Montezemolo e Kalbfell hanno tutti ribadito che ci vorrà tempo per il ritorno di Alfa negli usa. Se tornerà le convene proporre la 159-Brera-Spider, una vettura di segmento E, una vettura tipo Mercedes kl. S e due suv uno tipo X5 e l' altro delle dimensioni della X3. Una compatta servirebbe solo per consolidare i numeri di vendita. Negli Usa l' unica casa di lusso ad avere una segmento C è l' Audi. Mercedes e Bmw per adesso hanno rinunciato a vendere la Kl. B e la serie 1.

Secondo me una vettura di segmento C premium, se focalizzata per il mercato europeo, non dovrebbe avere una versione 4 porte. Il ragionamento di Audi è concepito in funzione del mercato americano. Negli usa il successo delle versioni hatchback ( col portellone) è molto risicato, ad esempio si vendono 140.000 Jetta e solo 35.000 golf all' anno. La Bmw non ha ancora importato la serie 1 negli Usa, oltre che per motivi di cambio, anche per il fatto che non ha una versione a 4 porte. In europa le versioni 4 porte hanno un pò di successo nei segmenti C generalisti non credo che ne avrebbero in quelli premium.

http://upl.silentwhisper.net/u...2.jpg http://upl.silentwhisper.net/u...1.jpg da carspyshots http://www.carspyshots.net/zerothread?id=16415

Negli ultimi anni i segmenti si sono iperframmentati. Certo ogni marchio non può pensare di fare qualsiasi modello gli viene in testa. La Volkswagen Phaeton ne è un esempio. La Golf ha pagato caro la mancanza di differenti versioni ma entro il 2007 avrà: una berlina a 3 e 5 porte, una sw, una versione rialzata ( la plus), una versione minivan ( la Touran), una versione suv, una versione 4 porte ( la Jetta) ed una CC ( la Eos). Così lo scarso successo della berlina è attutito. Oggi lanciare poche versioni di un modello è un suicidio. Se la Fiat avesse lanciato la versione monovolume della Stilo probabilmente l' insuccesso commerciale di quel modello sarebbe stato meno pesante.

No sul pianale della A6. L' estensione della gamma l' hanno fatta tutti i costruttori, generalisti e non. E' necessaria per non perdere quote di mercato a causa dei nuovi arrivati ( giapponesi e coreani). Chi non estende la propria gamma lo fa perchè è a corto di investimenti.

Articolo di automotive news europe Audi targets BMW, Mercedes VW subsidiary will bolster its product lineup to catch rivals By Luca Ciferri Automotive News Europe / October 31, 2005 Audi's aggressive product expansion plans show it will do whatever is necessary to catch premium-class rivals BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Audi plans to sell 1.5 million cars a year by 2015, supplier sources say. The carmaker is outgrowing its old position as the sportier wing of parent Volkswagen group, supplier sources reveal. Under the VW group's reorganization in 2002, the Audi brand group (Audi, Seat and Lamborghini) is supposed to be more expressive and performance-oriented than the Volkswagen brand group. Audi is developing a unique architecture for core models and expanding its product lineup with extra body styles and new niche models. Both steps are part of an effort to compete more directly with BMW and Mercedes. BMW group and Mercedes already have expanded their lineups and each sells more than 1 million cars a year. BMW group's aim is 1.4 million sales by 2008 and Mercedes Car Group (Mercedes, Smart and Maybach) wants to sell 1.8 million by 2010. Audi sold 779,000 units worldwide last year. But Audi's product push -- and press reports revealing that it may take more direct control of Seat -- show it is making a more concerted effort to catch its rivals. BMW and Mercedes boosted sales by offering new models and more variants of existing cars. Audi will grow by expanding the number of body styles it has per vehicle and offering more niche models. For example, BMW and Mercedes each offer multiple SUV models. Audi starts selling its first SUV next year and plans to add another SUV by 2008. A key aspect of Audi's drive is the development of an exclusive architecture code-named B-C-D that will form the basis for replacement models of the A4, A6 and A8, the core of Audi's lineup. But VW group product development has moved from related models sharing physical platforms toward models that share components and modules. Other VW group brands could use the B-C-D architecture, but it is conceived as an almost specific platform for Audi. This shows the VW group's resolve to increase the differences between its two brand groups. A new coupe According to a supplier source, the first application of the B-C-D architecture will be on a new four-seat coupe to fit between the A4 and A6 that will debut in January 2007 at the Detroit auto show. About a year later, Audi will introduce a cabriolet variant that will replace the A4 cabriolet. Audi will continue using a canvas roof for the new Cabriolet. Audi does not plan to switch to retractable hardtops, even on sportier cars such as the next TT roadster. Two Audi product lines will continue to use the VW group's PQ35 architecture: the A3 and the TT. The next TT coupe, due to appear in March 2006 at the Geneva auto show, will keep its 2+2 seating configuration. A two-seat TT roadster variant will follow. It debuts in September 2006 at the Paris auto show. Audi is about to approve production of the Shooting Brake concept as a third derivative of the TT. It appeared as a concept car at this month's Tokyo auto show. Expected on the market by 2007, Audi wants the Shooting Brake to extend the reach of the next TT range to two new customer groups. A prime example of Audi enlarging its lineup is the next-generation A3. Audi will add a four-door sedan, a coupe, and possibly a cabriolet to a lineup that also will include three- and five-door versions of the A3. More model expansion The carmaker's expansion in new segments started with the Q7 SUV unveiled in September at the IAA in Frankfurt. The growth will continue with another SUV called the Q5, expected in 2008. The Q5 will be derived from the next-generation A4. As top of the range, Audi will unveil at the end of 2006 the production version of its Le Mans concept car, which will be called the R8 or R9. Audi plans to make about 5,000 units a year of the R8 or R9. Despite the introduction of the Q7 and Q5, Audi will not replace the SUV-like allroad quattro variants. Instead, Audi is expected to introduce next year an allroad quattro version of the current A6 station wagon, which Audi markets as the Avant. It could also add a smaller allroad quattro on the next-generation A4 station wagon. The next A4 sedan is planned for 2007. The car will be slightly bigger that the current A4. Quattro all-wheel-drive variants are a significant source of revenue growth for Audi. The premium-priced technology increased to 27 percent of all Audi's sold last year, up from 15 percent in 1997. Spunti interessanti di questo articolo: 1) audi punta a vendere ben 1,5 milioni di auto all' anno entro il 2015, oggi è in forte crescita ma venderà nel 2005 800.000-840.000 unità. Secondo i manager di Inglostadt ogni modello dovrà avere più varianti. La A3 oltre alle versione a 3 e 5 porte avrà una coupè, una cabrio e una 4 porte ( per il mercato americano presumo.) 2)Audi costruirà un pianale solo per sè che non condividerà con gli altri marchi della Volkswagen 3) la nuova A4 uscirà nel 2007 e avrà probabilmente una versione allroad (oltre la Q5)

Citroen's Coco moves to Ferrari By Luca Ciferri TURIN - Donato Coco is expected to become Ferrari's new chief designer. The change is set to take effect November 15. Coco, 51, has been Citroen's chief designer for small-car projects. He headed the Citroen teams that created the Xsara Picasso medium minivan and a trio of minicars - the C2, the C3 and the C3 Pluriel. At Ferrari, Coco will fill a position that has been open since February. That is when Frank Stephenson switched from being head of design at Ferrari to vice president of design for Fiat, Lancia and light commercial vehicles. Strategy role Coco's role will be to lead design coordination and strategy at the Italian sports car maker as Ferrari does not have its own design department. Since 1952, Ferrari has relied on Pininfarina to design its cars and build its styling models. Coco joined Citroen in 1984. He was named head of design for the brand's small cars in 1998. It was his first job in automotive design. Previously Coco had worked as a photojournalist for the French daily newspaper L'Est Republicain and as an illustrator of children's books. He has a degree in automotive design from the Royal College of Art in London. Coco was born near Foggia, southern Italy, but moved to France with his family when he was 5 years old.

Forbes mi sembra un giornale qualificato ed è un giornale specialistico per quanto riguarda l' economia. L' articolo dice Fiat has 'learned a lesson' from VW, including on selling the Alfa 147 model, which is to be repositioned to face VW's rival model and which is the 'benchmark' for this market segment, he said. Mi sembra abbastanza chiaro. Cmq con onestà mi sembra che Marchionne dica che c' è da lavorare nel segmento C per il gruppo Fiat. Difatti nel 2006 uscirà la Stilo e nel 2007-2008 la nuova 147.

C è un articolo di forbes.com che riprende alcune dichiarazioni di Marchionne. Marchionne sostiene che la 147 deve essere riposizionata contro la Golf che, ammette il ceo di Fiayt, è il benchmark del segmento C Fiat CEO sees Alfa Romeo brand as key mgt issue after underestimating VW threat 10.26.2005, 01:14 PM MILAN (AFX) - Fiat SpA CEO Sergio Marchionne said sorting out the Alfa Romeo auto brand is a key management issue for the company, adding that Fiat had underestimated the threat from Volkswagen AG. Speaking in an analysts conference call, Fiat said in a slide presentation that Alfa's sales in the third quarter were 'disappointing' ahead of the launch of the new 159 and Brera models. 'Bayerische Motoren Werke has been seen as the most important single competitor' for Alfa Romeo models, said Marchionne. 'There is other competition from VW's Golf. We have not paid enough attention to what they (VW) have done. We need to respond to competitive pressures from VW in the market place,' he said. Fiat has 'learned a lesson' from VW, including on selling the Alfa 147 model, which is to be repositioned to face VW's rival model and which is the 'benchmark' for this market segment, he said. In particular, Fiat has added front wheel drive technology to some 147 versions, as well as providing a low end of the range version, he said. The results of a three to four week exercise on understanding the Alfa's market positioning should lead to a company statement in the next five to six weeks on how it will distribute Alfa models, he said. However, he said there is 'less of an issue' with the new 159 and Brera models, which are currently being launched and which face a 'cleaner' market. On other issues at the Fiat Auto unit, Marchionne said Fiat has time in the next 18 months to overhaul its European distribution network outside Italy after a steady loss of market share. In Germany, where Fiat's share has fallen under 2 pct, Fiat will this year see a profit on sales of new cars for the first time in many years, while in the UK, there will be profit in 2006, he said. Outside Italy, the number of distributors has not fallen from a year ago, and with a more competitive product range Fiat can hold this position, he said. http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2005/10/26/afx2300780.html

Gli utili operativi salgono del 38%. Gli utili netti ( 751 milioni di euro) scendono perchè l' anno scorso Daimlerchrysler aveva venduto la sua partecipazione in Hyundai durante il terzo trimestra ricavandone circa 500 milioni di euro netti. Il risultato del Q3 2004 era 951 milioni di eur. Tolti i guadagni straordinari l' utile netto è salito. A parte il risultato netto devi confrontare Daimlerchrysler con i suoi competitori americani che nel terzo trimestre hanno registrato perdite pesanti. Chrysler è l' unico costruttore americano in attivo.I veicoli commerciali hanno registrato quasi 500 milioni di euro di utile operativo, rendendo questa divisione la prima al mondo nel settore per vendite ed utili.

Puzza molto non poco. Nel 2005 Mercedes ha dovuto pagare 1,2 miliardi per la ristrutturazione più 500-600 milioni di euro di perdite.

In breve Il risultato è ottimo 1,8 miliardi di utile operativo +38% Mercedes ha avuto un risultato spettacolare nonstante le fortissime perdite di Smart. I nuovi modelli stanno funzionando e nel 2006 grazie alla ristrutturazione delle fabbriche tedesche Mercedes dovrebbe tornare a utili superiori a 2 miliardi di euro. Chrysler è riuscita ad aumentare i profitti nonstante il clima ipercompetitivo negli Usa. Per capire l' eccezionale risultato di Chrysler basta ricordare che Gm in Nord america nel terzo trimestre ha perso 1,2 miliardi di euro mentre Ford ne ha persi 0,9. I veicoli commerciali registrano un utile di 498 milioni di euro superiore a quello di diverse case europee. I servizi finanziari sono stabili e le partecipazioni approfittano del buon andamento di Airbus. Il Q4 dovrebbe essere migliore rispetto a quello del 2004 grazie alla vendita di Mtu Friedrichshafen ( valutata 1,6 miliardi di euro) e nonstante i costi di ristrutturazione di Mercedes ( 950 milioni di euro)