Nelson Piquet has been given the civilian version of a drive-through penalty in his hometown of Brasilia, Brazil.
The three-time World Champion and hero of Formula One’s turbo age had his license suspended as a result of numerous speeding tickets and other violations. Piquet will be required to complete a weeklong driving course and pass an exam before privileges are reinstated.
As so often is the case, Piquet’s lead foot runs in the family. It seems his wife Viviane, will be joining him in the refresher course as a result of similar driving indiscretions. Of course, motor sport aficionados will recognize his son, Nelson Junior, as a test driver for Renault’s F1 outfit.
For his part, Piquet seems to recognize the problem saying, “I think we have to pay for our mistakes. It’s not just a speeding problem, I got tickets for all kinds of reasons, like parking where I shouldn’t.” Sounds like a lesson learned to us.
Perhaps confirming what we already knew, General Motors is officially admitting that it is taking a long, hard look at offering an Asian-sourced minicar in North America.
General Motors tested the city car waters with a trio of concepts at the New York Auto Show, and its Korean partner Daewoo has apparently been charged with building its new mini cars over the next “couple of years.” Whether they will make it to North America remains something of an open question, but with increasing federal and societal pressures to “go green,” a small car for America and Canada is very much on the table.
+ The Car Connection: GM May Bring Over Korean Minicars
In the category of impressive automotive monikers, the 1984 Ford Granada Grosvenor Limo RHD by Coleman Milne has got to be at least top ten. The fact that the name is nearly longer than the limousine itself makes it a truly unique eBay find.
Based on the unremarkable British Ford Granada, (not to be confused with the completely unrelated domestic Ford of the same name) the Grosvenor limo doesn’t exactly have automotive gold for DNA. The lack of donor pedigree seems to be somewhat offset by the magic touch of Coleman Milne, claimed as a first rate limousine constructor and “an important player in the funereal car market.”
As a coach for the living or otherwise, the Grosvenor isn’t without charms. Looking a bit like a stretched BMW E30 3-series wearing a funny hat (and a Tempo grill) the seller isn’t far off the mark by describing the car as “Germanic.” While the Brit limo admittedly lacks the TVs, wet bar, 22-inch chrome wheels, and 15-person capacity of some of its more modern competition, the subtlety is quite refreshing. About as small as a limousine can be, the Grosvenor only carries six people including the chauffer, but its low-profile and clean lines really set it apart from today’s big-box, ultra-stretch jobs. Despite the size, future owners are sure to enjoy period Eighties touches like twin car phones and loads of faux-wood inserts.
At $5000 with no bids on the table, we’d do it for the phones.
Remember the wacky Honda Step Bus concept from the 2007 L.A. Auto Show? Rumors suggest that this, um, distinctly styled five-passenger, mid-engined van will become the next Honda Mobilio Spike (above) for the Japanese home market.
Happily, Honda is no stranger to creatively designed–and named–box vans. Some in Japan see the Mobilio Spike (launched in September 2002) has a successor-of-sorts to the quirkily pioneering Honda Step Van (right) born 30 years earlier–a vehicle which Suzuki cheekily re-invented in the ’90s as the domestic Wagon R with massive success.
Honda’s sometimes too far ahead of the times with some things it comes up with, like that original, slab sided ‘72 Step Van. Question is, has it hit the mark this time with the LA Show Step Bus? And would it (could it) play in Peoria?
As part of its bid to make Pontiac live up to its “We Build Excitement” mantra, General Motors is taking steps to focus the brand’s lineup on affordable rear-drive performance offerings.
To that end, Automotive News is confirming that the popular Solstice convertible is slated to receive a fastback model for 2009, along with some higher-horsepower four-cylinder options. For 2011, a reworked and restyled model is expected. Regular WINDING ROAD Daily News Site readers will recall that we first broke this story back in December, when a glib Bob Lutz all but confirmed the plans for a tin-top Solstice during a GMC Acadia media drive.
In other news, the bottom-rung G5 will go away in favor of a rear-drive replacement, but that won’t be until 2010 at the earliest. The Torrent crossover will also go away in January of that same year, which means that Pontiac will be a car-only lineup. Of more pressing concern is that the long-serving Grand Prix sedan will go off to the Great Crusher In The Sky later this year.
Pontiac’s plans, however, are somewhat up in the air, a victim of the growing debate surrounding Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards. Proposed changes to drastically increase mileage is threatening designs for a next-generation rear-drive G6 successor, and federal changes could also scuttle plans for higher-horsepower models in the future.
Jingle quality can really make or break a commercial. Done right, a good jingle can stay in one’s head for days, constantly reinforcing the message advertisers are trying to communicate, and the products they’re trying to ply. Done wrong, well it’s awfully easy to change that channel.
Mazda’s Zoom-Zoom-Zoom spots certainly are of the catchy variety. Perhaps it took near misses like this song, extolling the musical virtues of Mazda’s RX-3 rotary engine versus those of a piston engine, to help them figure it out.
Peugeot has gone public with images of its white-hot 308 RC Z Concept car, set for a September debut at the Frankfurt Auto Show.
The 308 RC Z comes complete with show-car imperatives like deeply sculpted sides, crouched stance, and central exhaust. While clearly borrowing a page from Audi’s TT, the Peugeot’s high, prominent nose and gaping grill give it a sort of wild-edged character lacking from the more reserved German.
With emphasis placed on lightness of build, the Peugeot concept utilizes aluminum, carbon fiber, and impressively, polycarbonate in the form of a rear window. The company maintains that the fetching, (and quite feminine) double-bulge shape of the window wouldn’t have been possible in traditional glass.
Power comes from the same THP (turbo high pressure) 1.6-liter four seen in last year’s 207 RC. The engine mapping has been reworked to produce 218 hp, giving it 43 hp more than its previous output. Coupled to a 6-speed manual, Peugeot promises an “efficient compromise between performance and fuel consumption.”
(Click on the thumbnails below to launch a high-resolution photo gallery, or on the jump below to read Peugeot’s official press release)
The Spirit of Ecstasy looks to be in good form, as Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is on track to eclipse 1000 units next year. According to a new article in Ward’s, Rolls is “operationally profitable” now, and should be in even finer fettle once the new Phantom Drophead Coupe weighs in on the bottom line.
The nautical-by-nature convertible will likely account for around 100 units this year, with around double that number scheduled for assembly next year.
Ward’s also took the time to note some interesting things about the prototypical RR buyer. Most apparently have at least three homes, with around 30 percent having use of a corporate jet. Better still, in excess of 40 percent have their own yachts, and one even owns a nuclear power plant. Excellent.
Volvo S80 T6
Price as tested: $45,790
Miles driven: 500
Bentleys, Rolls-Royces, or Audi R8s not withstanding, beautiful interiors rarely stop us in our tracks at WINDING ROAD. It’s typically a footnote in a luxury or exotic’s overall sense of grand abundance. But one interior really gave us pause recently—and it was this Volvo S80 T6 that was in our fleet for a week.
Mention Volvo and most people think safety, or, perhaps, a potential sale by the Ford Motor Company. That might have to change: my understanding of the car’s image was reordered the minute I sat in this S80, and I imagine shoppers are doing the same when they’ve sat in one at a showroom. The interior is really special, with just the sort of subdued sense of contemporary design that brands such as Mercury and Saab have been trying to hone in on over the past decade. The Volvo does it, and does it well.
Mitsubishi ought to have an interesting stand at the Frankfurt Motor Show this fall, as evidenced by this rendering of their promised Concept-cX, a Lancer-influenced crossover.
Powered by a 1.8-liter turbodiesel four yoked to an Evo X-sourced Twin Clutch SSG sport-shift transmission, the all-wheel drive softroader looks to be even more tarmac-oriented than the Outlander, a model that’s already spun from Lancer cloth.
The Euro 5 emissions friendly diesel isn’t the only element with which Mitsubishi is hoping to boost its eco-index—the interior has various trim bits made from bamboo and plant resins.
(Click on the thumbnails below to launch a high-resolution gallery of renderings, or on the jump below to read Mitsubishi’s official press release)
According to Automotive News, Cadillac’s SRX crossover is living on borrowed time. The trade publication indicates that the slow-selling mid-sizer will likely give way to what it is calling the BRX, a V-6 powered crossover built on new architecture.
As part of its growing move to “sportify” its image, General Motors will, over time, also euthanize its STS and DTS sedans, brooming them in favor of a high-performance rear-drive offering.
Finally, a new small sedan is also apparently in the cards, although it isn’t without controversy. The smaller-than CTS–sized sedan would form the first rung on Caddy’s ladder, but certain executives feel that the marque’s range already extends downward far enough.
What do you think about these rumored changes? Have your say in ‘Comments.’
It might be the weekend, but Volkswagen’s engineers are hard at work out in the Death Valley sun, likely hoping to get a testing session completed without detection from our spy shooters. Fortunately, the team at KGP Photography recognizes no timetables, and they managed to catch some of the first clear shots of VW’s next-generation Golf/Rabbit hatch. Judging by a certain engineer’s hand signals, we’re guessing that VW was less-than-pleased to see our boys and their cameras.
The new look (or what’s visible below the camouflage, at any rate), is unlikely to jar VW enthusiasts, as it appears to be rather predictable evolution of the current hatch. KGP notes that this prototype does evince “some more involved surface development, with a more chiseled character line running along the car’s waistline.” Given how pivotal this model is for VW (it’s a particularly huge seller in European markets), it isn’t surprising that Wolfsburg isn’t keen to make a daring design statement, but we’re hoping for some interesting front- and rear-end treatments to give this sixth-generation car a more dynamic look.
While no official date has been given for the next iteration of the VW stalwart, the model is expected to see European showrooms in 2008—far sooner than American dealers, who probably won’t see the car until 2009 or 2010. This makes a degree of sense given that the current Mark V model has been on sale abroad since 2003, but only on offer (as the Rabbit) in the U.S. since last summer.
As before, a range of four- and six-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines is planned, with both manual and dual-clutch DSG transmissions on offer. (Click on the thumbnails below for a high-resolution gallery, or on the jump to read KGP Photography’s own thoughts on what they saw)
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