Ford have announced that they plan on killing off their 71 year Mercury project, which forecasters have said could cost them over £320 million.
Mercury was set up in 1939 as a mid-level luxury car producer but with no new models being produced since 2008 Ford has decided to cut the brand to concentrate on its other ventures.
Many believe that the downfall of the brand was due to Ford moving into making its standard cars luxury models, for example the 2008 Sable Premier is very similar in shape to a 2008 Ford Mondeo.
Company CFO Lewis Booth also confirmed that Ford had spent somewhere in the region of £159 million in the first six months of the year to begin closing down factories and dealerships.
Sales of the Mercury brand had plummeted over recent years (selling fewer than 90,000 a year) and as Ford now have the Lincoln brand in North America it is believed that the closure of Mercury will allow Lincoln to attain ‘best-seller’ status.
Despite Ford announcing that there would be no updates on the Mercury brand past 2010 the closure has come on the back of the American manufacturer announcing recently that it had no intentions of “letting the brand die". Despite many industry experts questioning whether the brand could survive.
A large portion of the money that is being put aside to close down the project will be used to buy out 700 of the 1700 US dealers, forcing them to close their businesses in return for the financial compensation. Various reports have suggested that each dealership could receive around about £130,000 as a settlement.
Ford has not yet announced how support for owners will be worked due to the closure, but it is likely that any parts may be difficult due to the halt of production.
Quentin Wilson recently reviewed the Mercedes SL63 and described it as “Mercedes best kept secret” well what is so special about this £100k supercar, is it the 0-60 in 4.5 or the 20 seconds it takes to go from hardtop to no open top? Well it seems that this car offers a remarkable amount for a supercar at the price it is.
At just over half the price of a Bentley and a Ferrari California what do you get for this? Well for starters you’re looking at 518bhp with 6.2-litre V8 that can power right up to 190mph. The seven speed gearbox with sport plus mode also give you the feeling of racing the car around country roads or taking the motorway as if you were doing Le Mans.
Something that sets this model apart from other supercars is the steering which from all reports is just like driving an A-class,Wilson even comments that at one point his fuel consumption was just 24mpg which is unheard of for a car with this remit. On top of this lets not forget the Usain Bolt of cabriolets roofs, a little over 20 seconds and your image change is complete. Although the main thing is that your perfect leather interior isn’t getting too wet.
The video below should give you an idea of the car and what to expect from Mercedes latest foray into commercial supercars.
If there is a make of car that is associated with reliability and dealer customer service it would be Toyota. So it has come as a surprise recently when Toyota have announced a recall of up to 8 models of cars with a accelerator cable fault, this will cover 10,000 cars in this country and millions worldwide. this just comes at a time when Toyota have announced some impressive profits during htis ression time, that probably will be wiped out with this recall.
The media are making a big thing of the issue, even though no problems have been reported int he UK, every issue has been in the USA. it also covers some Citroen C1′s which were made in the same factory, which suggests a factory or parts issue rather than a design fault. To be honest if there were a make of car to have a fault you would hope it would be a Toyota, we have seen represenetatives on TV assuring they will put the issue right, without passing blame to anyone else.
The media have suugested contacted your local dealer and if you have car lease you should contact that supplier, but Toyota have set up a phone line and are probaly better set up tpo deal with the issue, that will take only 30 minutes per car to pout right. Toyota dealers will be rubbing their hands in glee, as all recalls will be chargeable back to Toyota.
It seems that the Frankfurt auto show is smaller than 3 years ago and the amount of cars is also down by 30%, but what is not down is the amount of new exhibits, showing the trend that the motor industry thinks that innivation is the key to future success. Of course cheaper and greener fuels are a stroing point with car buyers now, so battery power is a consideration on many new models. But of course batteries in themselves are not the most green product, so there is still a way to go, to make battery power replace petrol as we know it. There are others who belive batteries are already old hat with compressed CO2 being the favourite to go the next step and Honda are doing it in a big way in California. As far as the Frankfurt car sho is concerned though, something new keeps the business alive. It may not be bigger, but there still should be something there for everyone.
In a world where soft top convertibles have been overshadowed by the new hard roofed coupe cabriolets it still comes as a surprise to see that BMW are considering a version for their sucessful mini range. Up to now the new mini has been based on the traditional classic one, including the mini clubman even though the car is much bigger with larger engines to suit the times. But at the Frankfurt motor show this year a concept mini coupe cabrioletis on show to show how the car would look should it be made.
The first impressions is from the back and it looks a bit too chucky of a traditional mini, and with its roof down it doesn’t really look that much different from a soft top mini, except the folding roof means it can only have 2 seats. This also means the boot section extends over where the rear seats were. It is difficult to decide if this car looks any better than a soft top mini, but with the usual UK winter there will be benefits.
When the roof is up, the coupe shape looks unusual on a mini, as it has never been seen before and would guess it would take time to get used or to like. This car is likely to be compared to marmite, you either like it or you don’t. The price should it be made will probably define its success.
The motor industry has had its problems over recent years but when you see the line up of cars at the latest auto show in frankfurt you would wonder where the money will come from. With the latest Ferrari, Lambourghini and electric powered Audi that resembles the Audi R8, you can clearly see there is still a market for expensive cars, or maybe it didn’t leave us in the first place.
With some motor shows cancelled throughout the world because they felt the market was too depressed and was not worth the investment, here we see the opposite a motor show quiet prepared to see what we would like to buy if we could. this video footage is from Edmunds and gives a good idea of what we have missed if we didn’t make it to Germany.
The new president Obama has set new fuel consumption targets for all new cars sold in the USA. The initial target is somewhere around 35.5 miles per gallon which for motorists here in the UK seems an easy task especially as they have to 2016 to do it. With large cars including SUV’s pretty much unpopular now, it should fall into most car manufacturer’s business plan anyway. Most drivers not see fuel economy as a major factor in buying their day to day transport.
What isn’t clear is weekend vehicles such as supercars used for leisure purposes. Does this mean the end of large engine cars used only now and again for pleasure? This target is inline with a target to reduce carbon emissions by 2030 by 50%, something the USA has been criticised for in the past as not being forward enough. The economic situation has given the leverage to pass these targets without too much criticism.
In the meantime another $4bn has been loaned to GM Motors with a statement that all USA car manufacturers should come out of this recession leaner and more efficient delivering more fuel efficient cars. There is no doubt the benefit a new face can have to the car industry and whilst Obama’s honeymoon with the world continues, be able to make difficult decisions with only the minimum of backlash.
Of course the UK has not been very successful in owning a new car plant when you consider all the UK brands of cars that have originated from the UK and then moved to the UK car manufacturer in the sky. But what is surprising is the amount of cars that are manufactured in the UK by foreign owners. There are Honda, Nissan, Ford, Vauxhall, Land Rover, Jaguar and Aston Martin which is now back in UK hands.
So when the recent down turn in buying a new car arrived many workers found themselves on a shorter working week or unpaid holiday or even made redundant. In total contrast the used car market has stood up well to the recent recession. It seems people still need to upgrade their cars or wish to have a newer one but have decided that the depreciation of a new car is no longer and acceptable cost to the ownership of their vehicle.
It has effected the used car market in a way not expected, in that some used cars have actually increased in value during difficult economic times as demand is sometimes outstripping supply especially as very few trade ins are coming from the new car market. The government has recently stepped in with a scrappage scheme offering to reward a buyer with £2000 should they buy a new car and trade in a car over 10 years old. Even though this has proved to be a winner in Germany and a few other countries there is more negativity across here, with statements that those who currently own a 10 year old car are not in the market for a new one. Condition that state you must own the old car for at least 12 months before you trade it in, stops anyone buying an old car for the purpose of the cash back.
With new car manufacturing down, so it the car parts market also. There have been many small car parts manufacturers forced out of business because all their eggs were in one basket supplying to one factory. As is normal in these economic climes, if one large manufacturer reduces capacity many other smaller businesses go to the wall.
The latest news is that an improvement in sales is expected in future months although not a previous levels, but some car manufacturers like Nissan have decided to re-employ some workers for the expected upturn. However around the world there are many other stories going on with ownership changes likely. Fiat who themselves have been bailed out many times by the Government are currently in talks to buy Chrysler and Opel Vauxhall arm of GM Motors is one story of many.
As the bank Of England stated yesterday, no-one really knows when this downturn will change around, but lets hope it is sooner rather than later.
