^^ this car is waaaaaay too small, it'd fit on my kitchen table fer gawd's sake.
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2006 Onyx Blue Pearl IS350 with Luxo package and ML DVD changer. Tanabe springs, Volk CE28N, Teck Ground kit First one made for the IS350(Thanks Paul)
Now it's the Russians vs the Chinese for the Tritec engine
Quote:
Originally Posted by jruhi4
Maybe it won't after all, according to a surprising story from The New York Times. Here's an edited version:
China Seeking Auto Industry, Piece by Piece
By KEITH BRADSHER
CHONGQING, China, Feb. 16 — China is pursuing a novel way to catapult its automaking into a global force: buy one of the world's most sophisticated engine plants, take it apart, piece by piece, transport it halfway around the globe and put it back together again at home.
In the latest sign of this country's manufacturing ambitions, a major Chinese company, hand-in-hand with the Communist Party, is bidding to buy from DaimlerChrysler and BMW a car engine plant in Brazil.
Because the plant is so sophisticated, it is far more feasible for the Chinese carmaker, the Lifan Group, to go through such an effort to move it 8,300 miles, rather than to develop its own technology in this industrial hub in western China, the company's president said Thursday.
If the purchase succeeds — and it is early in the process — China could leapfrog competitors like South Korea to catch up with Japan, Germany and the United States in selling some of the most fuel-efficient yet comfortable cars on the market, like the Honda Civic or the Toyota Corolla.
The engine plant is one of the most famous and unusual in the auto industry. Built in southern Brazil in the late 1990's at a cost of $500 million by a 50-50 joint venture of Chrysler and BMW, the Campo Largo factory combines the latest American and German technology to produce the 1.6-liter, 16-valve Tritec engine.
Lifan says it is the sole bidder for the factory and wants to bring it here to start producing engines in 2008. Though China's Communist Party is actively behind the effort, the bold moves are being driven by one of China's remarkable entrepreneurs: Yin Mingshan has become one of China's most successful and most politically connected corporate executives, with a hardscrabble upbringing that included spending 22 years of his earlier life in Communist labor camps and prison as punishment for his political dissent.
Now the enormously wealthy and prominent president and principal owner of Lifan, Mr. Yin has his sights on exporting to Europe in 2008 and the American market in 2009.
Trevor Hale, a DaimlerChrysler spokesman, and Marc Hassinger, a Bayerische Motoren Werke spokesman, each said separately that their companies were assessing their options for when their joint venture legal agreement expires at the end of next year, but that it was premature to provide details.
The Tritec engine is one of the most technologically sophisticated and fuel-efficient car engines in the world, said Yale Zhang, an analyst in the Shanghai office of CSM Worldwide, a big auto consulting company based in the Detroit suburbs. Mr. Yin said he wanted to rebuild the factory on vacant land next door to his car assembly plant here. His goal is to understand the technology thoroughly so that he can supply engines not only for Lifan but also for other Chinese automakers.
Any attempt to buy a comparable factory in the United States might be blocked. But Mr. Yin said that Brazil did not have comparable restrictions on the export of high technology.
Chrysler and BMW began construction of the Campo Largo factory in April 1998, a month before Daimler-Benz began a takeover of Chrysler that it completed in November of that year. Heralded in the automotive press at the time as arguably the most advanced engine factory ever built, the factory had already become a corporate orphan by the time production began in September, 1999.
The Brazilian auto market had entered a slump by then and Daimler already had ample engine manufacturing capacity of its own and was uncomfortable collaborating with its longtime German rival, BMW.
BMW installs its half of the engines from the factory in its award-winning Mini Coopers. But it has already announced that future engines for these cars will come from a factory in France that is owned and operated by PSA Peugeot Citroën.
Chrysler used to put the Brazilian-made engines in its Neon compact cars and the PT Cruiser. But it is now selling its half of the engines to Lifan and to Chery Automotive and a Chinese joint venture by Mazda.
Mr. Yin and spokesmen from DaimlerChrysler and BMW declined to comment on the price under negotiation for the factory.
Now it seems the Russians are also interested in buying the Tritec engine plant, according to this WardsAuto.com article:
Russians Enter the Bidding for Tritec Tooling
By Sol Biderman
SAO PAULO – Not so fast China.
Reports surfaced last month that China’s Chongqing Lifan Industrial (Group) Co. Ltd. was close to a deal to purchase engine manufacturing tooling from Tritec Motors Ltda. a joint venture between DaimlerChrysler AG and BMW AG.
Tritec’s plant, located in Campo Largo, Parana, produces 1.4L to 1.6L inline 4-cyl. engines once used in Chrysler’s Neon small car and PT Cruiser sold in markets outside the U.S. The engines currently are offered in BMW’s Mini. At the time, the plant was heralded as the most-advanced engine factory ever built.
But word now is that Russia manufacturers OAO AvtoVAZ and OAO GAZ are interested in forming a consortium to purchase the factory.
Russian publication Kommersant says executives from the two companies will come to Brazil in April as part of a planned visit by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov.
The Russians may want to keep the factory in Campo Largo, although shipping the tooling to Russia has not been ruled out, a spokesman says.
Lifan has said it would transfer the tooling to its operations in China.
The plant represents a $500 million investment by DC and BMW. However, the JV expires in 2007, and BMW already has said it no longer will take engines from the facility, making its future uncertain beyond Jan. 1.
Tritec has capacity to produce 350,000 engines per year. Beyond the two JV partners, it makes engines for Lifan, First Auto Works and Chery Automobile Co. Ltd.
The independent Brazilian group Obvio plans to use Tritec engines for its Obvio car, scheduled to begin production near Rio de Janeiro in 2007.
Currently Tritec exports 100% of its production. Employment at the plant totals 460 workers.
In the 1990s, before poor quality performance diminished the Lada brand, AvtoVAZ sold cars and SUVs through 140 dealerships in Brazil.
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"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use."—Soren Kierkegaard
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"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use."—Soren Kierkegaard
I think its alright.
Everything that makes it look decent wont make production, so... no thanks.
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What is steel compared to the hand that wields it? Look at the strength in your body, the desire in your heart, I gave you this! Such a waste. Contemplate this on the tree of woe.
Here's the latest from Automobilwoche via AutoWeek:
Small car planning Chrysler giving itself more time to find partner for new entry-level Dodge
By HARALD HAMPRECHT
LONDON -- The Chrysler group is giving itself more time to find a partner for a new entry-level Dodge to be sold in the United States and Europe.
"At the start of the fourth quarter, at the latest, we will announce who we will build the new Dodge model with," Chrysler CEO Tom LaSorda told Automobilwoche.
Frank Klegon, Chrysler's development chief, said in January that the decision would be made during the first half of 2006.
In addition to Volkswagen, Hyundai Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motor Corp., Chrysler is talking "with yet another European (manufacturer) as well as a Chinese manufacturer," LaSorda said. Discussions with a Chinese automaker involve Chery, industry sources said.
LaSorda said he had no quality concerns about working with the Chinese.
VW is seeking the business because it would be able to build a five-door, front-wheel-drive car on the same platform as the next Polo, thereby reducing costs.
By producing a new small car, Chrysler is responding to the trend toward small fuel-efficient cars. The Dodge vehicle may be called the Hornet.
"We will also sell this model in Europe," LaSorda said.
In contrast, Chrysler sees "insufficient demand" for sporty cars such as the Dodge Challenger and Charger in Europe, said Joe Eberhardt, the Chrysler group's sales and marketing chief.
And Chrysler "doesn't want to unnecessarily distract" dealers as it pushes to increase European sales, he said. "We have to cut back on the pace of our new introductions, since our sales training and showroom capacities are limited."
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"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use."—Soren Kierkegaard
VW is ruled out as a partner for the production Dodge Hornet
Here's the Automotive News via AutoWeek story:
Searching for a Partner DCX turns to Asia for small car project
By HARALD HAMPRECHT | JASON STEIN
DaimlerChrysler AG is focusing on Asian manufacturers in its search for a partner to help produce a small car for the United States.
One potential partner, Volkswagen, no longer is in the running because a VW vehicle would be too expensive, says a high-level DaimlerChrysler source.
Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co., Mitsubishi Motors Corp. of Japan and Chinese automaker Chery Automobile Co. are being considered as possible partners for the small car, sources said. But they did not rule out other European automakers.
The Chrysler group wants a small-segment car to meet a shift toward fuel-efficient subcompacts in the United States. Chrysler needs a partner because of the high costs and relatively low profit margins associated with building a small car in the United States.
VW and DaimlerChrysler executives had considered cooperating on such a car for Dodge. In May, a VW executive said VW was preparing a proposal to build a small car for Dodge.
A VW spokesman later told The Wall Street Journal that the two automakers were discussing an entry-level car that could be sold by Dodge in the United States.
Chrysler CEO Tom LaSorda said in March that VW, as well as automakers based in Asia and Europe, were being considered to build the small car in cooperation with Dodge. The subcompact possibly would be based on the Dodge Hornet concept that debuted in March at the Geneva auto show.
LaSorda is expected to announce Chrysler's partner for the project in the fourth quarter of this year.
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That's the claim that appears in this story from The Detroit News:
DCX may sell China-built car here
by Christine Tierney and Josee Valcourt
DaimlerChrysler AG is close to finalizing a deal with China's Chery Automobile Co. Ltd. to produce Dodge-branded subcompacts for sale in the United States, in what is likely to be the first such arrangement between a leading global automaker and an aspiring Chinese manufacturer.
General Motors Corp., Toyota Motor Corp., DaimlerChrysler and other industry leaders make vehicles in China with local venture partners. But the deal between DaimlerChrysler, Chery and possibly a third partner would mark the first time a Chinese automaker would be building vehicles for export for a U.S. or European company.
The deal, reported by the German magazine Der Spiegel, was confirmed to The Detroit News by people familiar with the negotiations.
DaimlerChrysler had no comment.
The automaker provoked an uproar a year ago when its top China strategist, board member Ruediger Grube, said the company was exploring the possibility of making vehicles in China for export, including a subcompact for the Chrysler Group's U.S. lineup.
Grube's comments stirred concerns that U.S. and European automakers would accelerate the shift of vehicle production to low-cost countries, eliminating jobs at home.
But most major automakers cannot earn money selling tiny and inexpensive cars built in western Europe or North America. That is a growing handicap for Detroit's automakers as high gas prices push consumers toward smaller, more fuel-efficient cars.
Japanese companies have taken advantage of the trend by importing small cars they sell in other parts of the world, such as the Toyota Yaris and Honda Fit, to the United States.
Honda exports a Fit built at its Chinese venture to western Europe, but not to the U.S. The Fit sold in the U.S. market is built in Japan.
GM's small Chevrolet Aveo was designed by the GM Daewoo Auto & Technology, and it is built in South Korea.
"It's just a segment we don't compete in," Chrysler CEO Tom LaSorda said last week. "We need to look at that segment, if we can make a profitable case."
He pointed out that the cars in that category that Chrysler's competitors sell in the United States are built mostly in Asia.
Chrysler has displayed concept cars in that class, such as the Dodge Hornet, which is slightly smaller than the Caliber compact.
LaSorda is likely to address the subject today at an Automotive Press Association luncheon. Chrysler executives have said in the past that they want to forge a deal with a company that already builds subcompacts in large volumes and could turn out a few more for Chrysler.
Chery, a state-owned carmaker based in Anhui province in eastern China, previously formed plans to export cars to the U.S. in a venture with entrepreneur Malcolm Bricklin. But that partnership has fallen behind the original schedule and recently postponed the date at which the first models were expected to arrive, by a year to 2008.
No Chinese-built cars have been sold in the U.S., but industry analysts say the Chinese are likely to follow in the footsteps of the Japanese and South Koreans.
Chinese manufacturers now export vehicles to a few emerging markets, such as Syria and Sudan, and analysts say the quality of their vehicles is improving rapidly.
Privately, many U.S. auto executives believe the only way to prepare for competition from China's carmakers is to establish their own low-cost production and export operations in China.
In U.S. auto industry circles, Chery has gained some notoriety because GM has accused the Chinese company in court of copying one of the small cars it makes in China, the Chevrolet Spark.
"The Chinese are learning quickly and efficiently how to make cars, but they don't have the distribution networks," said auto analyst Peter Schmidt, Warwick, Britain-based publisher of the AID newsletter.
"They realize that, to speed up the process and gain a foothold in the important markets, they need a little bit of help," Schmidt said.
The deal would be timely for Chrysler, which has too few small cars to offer in a market which is now rewarding fuel-efficiency.
DaimlerChrysler stunned investors last week when it said Chrysler is expected to lose $1.5 billion in the third quarter, more than double its previous loss estimate for the Auburn Hills carmaker.
Chrysler also could benefit from having a subcompact in its model range to offer in Latin American markets.
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Industry Editor, Moderator, All-around Car Nut and the official my.IS Grandpa
"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use."—Soren Kierkegaard
Here's an edited version of the latest Automotive News article:
Chrysler close to deciding on partner for small car LaSorda: Chery is leading candidate
by Jason Stein
BEIJING -- Chrysler group CEO Tom LaSorda said today that Chinese automaker Chery Automobile Co. is the leading candidate to build a small car for the Dodge brand.
LaSorda said western Europe, Mexico and Canada will be the first markets to get the car. Other regions such as the United States would come later.
"We'll have a decision by the end of the month," (November 2006) LaSorda told Automotive News Europe at the Beijing auto show today.
"We are down to two and Chery is the leader," LaSorda said.
He declined to name the other potential partner. Media reports have suggested that the Chrysler group also is talking with PSA/Peugeot-Citroen or Hyundai about the project.
Volkswagen is no longer a candidate. A VW-made vehicle would be too expensive, a high-level DaimlerChrysler source told Automotive News Europe last month.
LaSorda said a partner could either co-design the small car with the Chrysler group or develop it alone.
__________________
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"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use."—Soren Kierkegaard
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