Memo To Porsche From Nissan- "Here's Your Daddy"

Source: Autoblog

The GT-R will be impressive when it debuts in just a couple of months, and from the numbers, it looks like it'll give a Porsche 911 Turbo quite a run for its (big pile of) money. The horsepower figure for both cars is 480ps, and while the GT-R gives up some torque to the Porsche, the GT-R rips off equally quick dashes to 100 km/h (3.9 seconds) and has been designed with vehicular balance as an overarching theme.

Okay, so it's all still rumour at this point. And at a rumoured weight of 3800 pounds, it's probably not going to eat the world for lunch as was rumoured a few years ago. But still, the rumours are continuing to point at the upcoming GT-R as essentially an AWD Japanese Z06 equivalent. And that's not bad at all.

Toyota and Subaru to Jointly Develop Sports Car

Toyota, a company not famous for performance vehicles (in fact, the company no longer sells any sports cars, now that it has discontinued the MR-S sports car in Japan), is rumored to be co-developing a small sports car with Subaru for sale in Japan, according to the Japanese Asahi newspaper. The new car would be branded as a Toyota and will have an engine smaller than 2 liters. It will be priced at less than 2 million yen ($16,900) in Japan.

Details about the car are still cloudy at this point, including whether the car will feature Subaru-specific technology such as a horizontally-opposed engine and symmetrical all-wheel drive powertrain. While all-wheel drive seems to be a possibility, the boxer engine does not, as that might take away from Subaru's uniqueness and quirkiness.

Toyota and Fuji Heavy Industries (the parent company of Subaru) have been allied since GM sold its stake in Fuji Heavy Industries in 2005, and Toyota bought 8.7% of the company to gain access to additional US production capacity and jointly develop models. Subaru is building Toyota Camrys at its factory in Indiana and has already benefited from Toyota's manufacturing expertise through the venture. Let's hope that the jointly-developed sports car can combine the best of both companies.

The car is expected to hit the market in 2010, although both companies declined to comment on future product plans.

VW City Expert Coming to Frankfurt This Fall

Volkswagen is set to unveil a new mini car at the Frankfurt Auto Show this fall called the City Expert. The car is primarily designed for emerging markets, and will be designed to be low-cost, low-weight, and simple to manufacture.

VW has not released any teaser images of the new car, but on paper, it sounds a lot more like a true successor to the original VW Beetle than the current New Beetle has been, primarily because it will be rear engined and driven by (at most) a three-cylinder engine. Some developing markets will get only two-cylinder versions, while a one-cylinder version (which likely sounds like a lawn tractor) are also under consideration.

Because of cost constraints (and thanks to the vehicle's low weight), power steering will not be available. The City Expert will likely include both front and rear cargo areas (only the air conditioning unit, radiator, and battery are in front of the driver).

VW is uncertain as to whether the City Expert will be sold in North America; no doubt, they are closely watching the Smart ForTwo's US launch in early 2008 (more information here and here on the Smart ForTwo) to see how that similarly-configured car fares in the US before making a decision. The City Expert is, however, expected to be sold in Western Europe, and I'm guessing if the styling and pricing are right, could prove to be a formidable competitor to the Dacia Logan, discussed extensively here.

I can't wait to see this car, although I don't expect it to look anything like the Beetle. Now, if only Volkswagen could do something about the name, which sounds ridiculous to me.

Future Scion Product: Subaru Tribeca Rebadge?

According to industry publication Automotive News, Japanese magazine New Model Magazine X recently showed a spy photo of a camouflaged vehicle that had Subaru Tribeca-like proportions and dimensions with what looked like a Scion badge on the grille. The magazine went on to speculate that Toyota would rebadge a Tribeca as a Scion to sell in the US.

Toyota has made a point of denying that it plans any additional models for the Scion brand, and sales have climbed steadily for the past several years (up 10.6% during 2006). But with Toyota owning 8.6% of Subaru's parent company, Fuji Heavy Industries - and Tribeca sales not meeting expectations in its first two years on the market (only selling 18,614 units in 2006) - anything might be possible.

My question is - how exactly would a rebadged Tribeca fit in with the rest of the Scion lineup? Scions generally come from the factory with only two different variables: manual or automatic transmission, and color. The rest of the equipment - appearance, comfort, or performance - is installed by the dealer or the owner. The most expensive 2008 Scion will be the tC coupe, at $17,580 (including destination), while a 2008 Tribeca starts at $30,620 (including destination), or 74% more money. The value proposition just seems very different between the Tribeca - arguably Subaru's flagship - and Scion. Not only that, but Toyota has taken a lot of criticism for the way the 2008 xB has grown in size, weight, and power - but seen its fuel economy decline in an environment of high gas prices. Do they really want to hear about a six cylinder, seven seat crossover from the Scion faithful?

Frankly, I don't see this happening, but if it did, it would be another fascinating case study to see how Toyota manages the marketing message, pricing, and styling of a Scion-ized Tribeca.

4.0 HF Engine Coming To Cadillac?

An internal source is indicating that Cadillac and GM are couching a bit on the upcoming 2008 CTS. Everyone knows that the base engine will be the current 3.6 motor making 255 horsepower. Likewise, Cadillac and GM have announced that the uplevel motor will be the same engine with direct injection making about 300 HP. What hasn't been unveiled yet is that Cadillac will be receiving an exclusive High Feature variant with a 4.0 litre displacement for model year 2009, slotting above the 3.6 DI engine. It will make about 350 horsepower and will be a placeholder until the Ultra V8 can be slotted into the CTS as it moves upmarket to battle the BMW 5 Series.

What does this mean?

It means that someone has their head on straight at GM. The 2008 CTS is a porker and a half. This should help immensely.

**UPDATE**

The current 3.6 HF V6 is a sleeved 3.8 liter engine, and that would have been the obvious easy upgrade path for Cadillac in terms of getting this new motor out the door. However, an internal decision was made to move beyond the 3.8 liter size because of past associations that would come up with the soon to be extinct 3800 V6 which dates back to a time when many were still a twinkle in the eyes of their father. The same reasoning was used to preclude a 3.9 upgrade, which could possibly be confused with the 3.9 OHV found in the G6, Impala and Malibu.