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quote:There's no question Jaguar, which just got $2.1 billion of the $5.6 billion Ford banked from the recent sale of Hertz, has been a money pit. Dearborn paid way too much for the company back in 1989--more than $2 billion--in its haste to beat GM to the prize. And when Ford execs finally got to do more than just kick the tires on their new ride, they found to their horror that Jaguar was far from a fully functioning auto company. Worse than a 1990s Taurus. Man, that's bad. Still, you could argue the Chinese have inherited that since SAIC bought the steaming leftovers of British Leyland aka MG Rover. Though unfortunately SAIC and Geely are not related.
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May 25, 2012 03:23
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Cream_Filling posted:Worse than a 1990s Taurus. Man, that's bad. Still, you could argue the Chinese have inherited that since SAIC bought the steaming leftovers of British Leyland aka MG Rover. Though unfortunately SAIC and Geely are not related. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TX4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyundai_Pony
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May 25, 2012 03:42
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Naky posted:I think that's probably for the best. I might be remembering wrong, but wasn't the Demon going to be manufactured by Geely in a new partnership with the Chinese in an effort to save on costs or something? The Geely was either going to be the Hornet or another unseen rebaged Geely. There was talk it would never been sold in the US regardless. Kind of like what they did in Mexico with Hyundai.. http://www.ooyyo.com/used-cars/dodge-atos/mexico
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May 25, 2012 04:21
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Cream_Filling posted:Yup. The only thing potentially less reliable than a Fiat-Chrysler-Mazda would be a Fiat-Chrysler-Mazda-Geely made in China. Manufactured exclusively on Fridays!
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May 25, 2012 17:44
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Hot Cops posted:Manufactured exclusively on Fridays! At a Chrysler plant! edit: Without drug testing! KYOON GRIFFEY JR fucked around with this message at 17:57 on May 25, 2012 |
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May 25, 2012 17:49
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BMW Zagato Coupe: They only made one with no plans of putting it into production because they hate money. ynotony fucked around with this message at 21:33 on May 25, 2012 |
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May 25, 2012 21:08
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ynotony posted:BMW Zagato Coupe: I REALLY hope this is the direction they take the new Z4
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May 25, 2012 21:32
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BMAston Z370.
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May 25, 2012 21:37
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I think if I saw one of those in person, I'd be nursing a semi. EDIT: By which I mean "that one specifically" because there is only one.
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May 25, 2012 21:40
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I hope this means the next Z4 won't be a folding-hardtop-only model without an M version.
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May 25, 2012 21:54
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ynotony posted:BMW Zagato Coupe: Probably quite expensive. Any creases or corners in sheet metal make the sheet far more expensive to produce.
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May 26, 2012 00:23
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ynotony posted:They only made one with no plans of putting it into production because they hate money. It is a great looking car, but it would look terrible as a convertible. There is no good place to remove the top that will maintain the flow of the car, it would just end up looking like a rock-hard cock beset by an ascending scrotum.
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May 26, 2012 02:37
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:Probably quite expensive. Any creases or corners in sheet metal make the sheet far more expensive to produce. That car is going to be like $70k if they make it, I think they can make it work, with hydroforming and all that.
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May 26, 2012 03:27
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:Probably quite expensive. Any creases or corners in sheet metal make the sheet far more expensive to produce. This is true, if you have artisans hand-craft each panel.
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May 26, 2012 15:46
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ynotony posted:BMW Zagato Coupe: Can somebody photoshop the top off of this? I think it could look pretty drat good
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May 27, 2012 02:49
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Cakefool posted:This is true, if you have artisans hand-craft each panel. Tooling for metal panels is fabulously expensive, especially for more complex designs, so artisans might actually be cheaper unless they have some decent volume going. Just tooling can account for like 40-50% of the total cost of a low to mid volume car. OXBALLS DOT COM fucked around with this message at 04:38 on May 27, 2012 |
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May 27, 2012 04:34
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Guru Yaekob posted:I build these at the plant, have not driven one however. The leather on these cars is REALLY nice feeling but wayyyyy to soft I would worry about it ripping or wearing out fast. The interior on these cars is much nicer than anything Ford or Chevy have. I'm 6' 3" and i just hardly fit comfortably inside one, the seats don't go back very far. The front end and back end look really nice the side of the car looks really bland though, thats the only thing I don't like about it. If you have any other questions I can try to answer them. I've been reading the reviews as they come out and really appreciate your insight. Can't really think of anything to ask though...
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May 27, 2012 06:06
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I saw some weird angle shots of this a while back but I just saw these new photos of the custom 458 Italia that Pininfarina did for Eric Clapton. The whole new-retro thing that all the American pony cars have been doing? It works even better on a 512bb.  I think they should have gone for more retro inspired wheels to make it fit better though. I like the 458 okay but it just feels too over-designed. Somehow the custom one-off designed version feels more Ferrari to me.
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May 27, 2012 07:00
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davebo posted:I saw some weird angle shots of this a while back but I just saw these new photos of the custom 458 Italia that Pininfarina did for Eric Clapton. The whole new-retro thing that all the American pony cars have been doing? It works even better on a 512bb. I wish the matte grey didn't make me think Aztek.
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May 27, 2012 11:06
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Cream_Filling posted:Tooling for metal panels is fabulously expensive, especially for more complex designs, so artisans might actually be cheaper unless they have some decent volume going. Just tooling can account for like 40-50% of the total cost of a low to mid volume car. I know, I work in a press for a major automotive manufacturer. The difference between style lines & compound curves is gently caress all in trends of tooling costs. The expense comes with cams & flanging. The bonus for a boutique manufacturer like ferrari is that tooling for composite panels is a lot cheaper.
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May 27, 2012 13:18
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davebo posted:I saw some weird angle shots of this a while back but I just saw these new photos of the custom 458 Italia that Pininfarina did for Eric Clapton. The whole new-retro thing that all the American pony cars have been doing? It works even better on a 512bb. It also has a V12. So boss. He needs those F40 inspired wheels I posted a while back on it though. 
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May 27, 2012 13:21
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Steve McScene posted:It also has a V12. So boss. These should be on every car. What an incredibly good looking wheel. I am entirely convinced these would turn my Mazda6 into a track-ready race car.
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May 27, 2012 14:30
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Steve McScene posted:It also has a V12. So boss. The article on autoblog said that Clapton had wanted the V12, "but all signs indicate that the 458 Italia's 4.5-liter is still in place" I don't know what that means exactly. Were they actually able to fit one in okay?
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May 27, 2012 14:51
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Cakefool posted:I know, I work in a press for a major automotive manufacturer. The difference between style lines & compound curves is gently caress all in trends of tooling costs. The expense comes with cams & flanging. Ah, my bad then. That car done in carbon fiber would be very cool, too, then. Sort of a new M coupe done in the style of the 1 series M or even M1 as a super-low production balls-out performance thing.
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May 27, 2012 14:58
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davebo posted:The article on autoblog said that Clapton had wanted the V12, "but all signs indicate that the 458 Italia's 4.5-liter is still in place" I don't know what that means exactly. Were they actually able to fit one in okay? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ue30EB6io0 E: I can't tell what an engine is from sound but I assume someone here can 
Bape Culture fucked around with this message at 15:21 on May 27, 2012 |
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May 27, 2012 15:06
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Chrysler product news.quote:Marchionne: No Compass, 1 minivan Maybe a 300hp V6 for the Dart SRT? 
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May 29, 2012 02:09
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Dart SRT will be a high output turbo 4. I do like the brand rationalization strategy. I think Fiat-Chrysler is already proving to be a little more intelligent than DC ever was.
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May 29, 2012 02:21
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So, several weeks ago I ordered a nicely-specced '12 Ford Fiesta. Turns out, they couldn't put the order in because production on 2012 models was done. My 2013 Fiesta will be built in the next couple of weeks, and it's a bit cheaper! Problem is, I think the '13 is getting a facelift of some sort. Also, the interior of the 2013 Fiesta ST concept is considerably different (like the new Taurus with its high-tech looking buttons) and I'm wondering if the production 2013 is getting the updated interior with (maybe) the new Ford touchscreen system. Anybody know what changes the 2013 has?
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May 29, 2012 17:52
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Shame if they make the Liberty into just another car based CUV, though. It was never as good off road as the Cherokee, sure, but it's still a capable machine (with real 4WD!)
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May 29, 2012 18:18
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Wondered if there were any car-news websites that weren't filled to the brim with imbeciles in the comments? Like I tried reading TTAC, saw the word marxist mentioned in article by a writer for the site, closed the window. I mean the article was about EV charge stations, and I was interested in that, then it quickly was not at all about EV charge stations. I wonder if they've released a concept for the SRT-4 yet? I hope it will be a looker. I'm not happy with the awkward leg room in the back of the focus, and the ST has to have 4 doors. Nonsense fucked around with this message at 22:12 on May 29, 2012 |
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May 29, 2012 22:06
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CornHolio posted:So, several weeks ago I ordered a nicely-specced '12 Ford Fiesta. Turns out, they couldn't put the order in because production on 2012 models was done. My 2013 Fiesta will be built in the next couple of weeks, and it's a bit cheaper!
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May 29, 2012 22:20
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Nonsense posted:Wondered if there were any car-news websites that weren't filled to the brim with imbeciles in the comments? No. Jalopnik can be less terrible but there's always a whole lot of whining about too heavy not diesel sport rwd wagon abloo abloo.
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May 29, 2012 22:25
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:No. On the bright side, for whatever reason the proportion of  Obama commentators on jalopnik is lower over the past year. Or maybe I just stopped noticing them.
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May 29, 2012 22:34
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:Dart SRT will be a high output turbo 4. Ma Benz taking over Chrysler was one of the worst things that ever happened to it. They took a profitable company and loving destroyed it. Being a Mopar guy I was leery of Fiat merging/owning Chrysler, but I think they actually "get it". They have not made one move that has led me to believe they intend to hurt the brand. In fact, they've improved it way more than I thought possible. Ram becoming its own brand, along with SRT becoming one, are seriously two amazing moves. Fiat is so cool.
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May 29, 2012 22:39
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Product rationalization is so key and is one thing that I always hated about DC. HEY LETS TAKE A CAR AND MAKE A VERSION OF IT FOR ALL BRANDS  it was like Old GM at its worst.
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May 29, 2012 22:47
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Nonsense posted:Wondered if there were any car-news websites that weren't filled to the brim with imbeciles in the comments? Like I tried reading TTAC, saw the word marxist mentioned in article by a writer for the site, closed the window. I mean the article was about EV charge stations, and I was interested in that, then it quickly was not at all about EV charge stations. They're all terrible, and unfortunately TTAC and Jalopnik are some of the least-terrible with regards to comment quality out there. That's why I love AI so much.
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May 30, 2012 00:27
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:No. Jalopnik probably has the highest concentration of enthusiasts, but the signal to noise ratio is still pretty awful. Their comments section is like getting slapped across the face, whereas something like autoblog is a full on kick to the groin.
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May 30, 2012 00:29
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:Jalopnik can be less terrible but there's always a whole lot of whining about too heavy not diesel sport rwd wagon abloo abloo. This sounds like a dream compared to Autoblog where every car is a piece of poo poo if it isn't putting more power to the wheels than a Rav 4
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May 30, 2012 01:31
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From what I've seen, leftlanenews' articles are devoid of cheap politics and tribalistic MY BRAND chest thumping. There are some idiotic posters, which are an unfortunate given with high traffic blogs, but there are also regulars who call out their bullshit. It's currently the only autoblog that doesn't make me roll my eyes every other page.
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May 30, 2012 01:45
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:Product rationalization is so key and is one thing that I always hated about DC. HEY LETS TAKE A CAR AND MAKE A VERSION OF IT FOR ALL BRANDS As much as I hate Daimler for nearly killing Chrysler, They did this well before that whole nightmare started. Did Plymouth, Chrysler AND Dodge all need a Minivan? Hell, for a brief Period they even made a Plymouth version of the Rampage.
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May 30, 2012 02:02
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