Posted by George Peterson on August 24, 2016 at 12:05 pm
This is the second time I have attended The Quail, a Motorsports Gathering and it did not disappoint. Held at The Quail Lodge and Golf Club in Carmel, California, the event drew 5,000 attendees. Cars and motorsports are supposed to be the highlight of the event, but food, drink and people are even more interesting. The attendees were enthusiasts, collectors, owners and motorsports personalities. Some of the vehicles on display had their owners hovering nearby. Other vehicles had their attendants close to make sure spectators did not touch them. Some of the restorers had worked on the cars for years and were bringing them out in public for the first time since the restoration was complete. Getting more popular all the time are “barn finds”. These are vehicles that have not been restored to a level never even attained from the factory. They have their fifty, sixty, seventy or eighty year patina intact.
There were over 250 vehicles to gaze at. Most were luxury and sporting marques like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Rolls Royce, Bentley. One of the highlights was the new Bugatti Chiron in a deep French blue with a highly chromed character line sweeping up the A-Pillar along the door and then down and back forward towards the front fender. Very dramatic. Framing the Chiron was a “sea” of Bugatti Veyrons in a rainbow of colors.
While The Quail is an event for individuals to showcase their vehicles, corporate displays seem to be on the upswing as well. Bugatti showcased the Chiron. Bentley showed off the Bentayga and the new Mulsanne. Acura was there celebrating 30 years on the market. BMW was celebrating its 100th Anniversary. Cadillac was featuring its CTS-V. Alfa Romeo featured the 4C and upcoming Guilia sedan. Singer, the classic Porsche upfitter, had a small display and a large crowd.
My favorite display was the Bowlus travel trailer hitched to a Bentley Bentayga. This all-aluminum $219,000 travel trailer is reminiscent of an aluminum Airstream but is totally high tech. The Bowlus folks say you can live off the grid for two weeks in their travel trailer and be totally comfortable.
The Quail is a signature event for Peninsula Hotels. Six Peninsula hotels had a spectacular pavilion with gourmet food appropriate from their cities – Bangkok, Beijing, Chicago, Beverly Hills, Paris, and New York. Most people probably couldn’t get through all six pavilions. While all six of the Peninsula pavilions were outstanding, perhaps the best was Beijing with great food and music to set the ambiance for a truly luxurious experience.
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Posted by George Peterson on February 5, 2016 at 1:37 pm
AutoPacific, an automotive specialist research and product planning consultancy, forecasts that trucks, including XSUVs will be about 60% of the market for the foreseeable future. In fact, reading the crystal ball for the next five years, this percentage of the mix may be low. The charts above detail how cars and truck sales and market penetration have evolved since 1987 and the forecast for the future.
The hottest product segment in the American light vehicle market is the crossover SUV (XSUV). A crossover SUV can be as large as a Chevrolet Traverse or as small as a Chevrolet Trax. There are dozens of XSUVs in between. And there will be more.
The XSUV segment has become so hot because this type of vehicle corrects the criticisms buyers had of traditional SUVs which sold very well, but were not optimal. Buyers wanted products that were not hard-core off-roaders, but more civilized and city friendly. The SUV market exploded in the early 1990s with the introduction of the Ford Explorer and Jeep Grand Cherokee. It wasn’t until 1996 that the crossover SUV began slipping into the marketplace. First the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V appeared. They were followed by the luxury crossover RX300. Clearly the manufacturers were listening and reacting.
Here are just a few of the things we know about the evolution of the SUV market over the next five years…
Cadillac Cadillac states that it has too few XSUVs (one, the upcoming XT5) and wants to add two or three more to its lineup while adding one more car as a range topper between now and 2020.
Buick Buick is adding the small Envision XSUV to its lineup this Spring. Envision is assembled in China.
FCA Drops Cars to Add XSUV and Pickup Capacity Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is dropping its Chrysler 200 and Dodge Dart in favor of more capacity for XSUVs and pickups. The Ram pickup will take over the FCA Sterling Heights, Michigan Plant when the Chrysler 200 is dropped. FCA’s huge Belvidere, Ilinois plant will be populated by XSUVs when the Jeep Compass and Patriot plus the Dodge Dart fade away.
Toyota Pushing RAV4 Toyota Motor Sales has stated that they would not be surprised if the RAV4 XSUV overtook the Camry mid-size car as its best selling product. Camry was the best selling car in the USA in 2015.
Lexus will add a 3-row XSUV above the RX350 in the next few years.
The charts above show the impact of crossover SUVs on the light truck market. Huge volume increase and market share increase.
Hyundai Aggressively Adding XSUV Capacity Hyundai is replacing 50,000 units of car capacity in its Montgomery, Alabama assembly plant with the Santa Fe Sport. That drops capacity for the Hyundai Sonata and Elantra from 400,000 to 350,000 units per year. Hyundai admits that they underestimated the demand for XSUVs years ago. This capacity move reacts to market demand and dealer pressure to get Hyundai dealers more XSUVs that are easier to sell and require less incentives and discounting.
Hyundai will add 45,000 units to its Tucson compact XSUV volume this year. Built in South Korea, Tucson has been limited because it is popular around the world and the vehicle was capacity constrained.
Hyundai also recognizes there is a hole at the bottom of their XSUV lineup and are adding a sub-compact B-Segment XSUV to fill that hole. There is a possibility that a smaller A-Segment XSUV will replace the Hyundai Accent hatchback.
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Posted by dbarrett on June 20, 2009 at 10:53 am
On May 13, 1950, the first ever (modern era) Formula One Championship Grand Prix was won by Giuseppe Farina in an Alfa Romeo-dominated event in which the Italian manufacturer cruised to a 1-2-3 finish. Luigi Fagioli and British driver Reg Parnell filled the remaining podium positions. The circuit was a WWII bomber airfield called Silverstone. The circuit has been a part of Formula One since that time, although races have, on occasion been run at other Britich tracks. This weekend, Silverstone hosted its last Grand Prix, and in addition to the race, manufacturers and the governing body announced they are going their separate ways as well. And so, Silverstone may go down in history marking the beginning and in some respects, the end of an era in modern motorsport.
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Posted by George Peterson on July 14, 2008 at 11:49 am
Does Alfa Finally See Their U.S. Dreams Come True?
In another example of automakers looking to partner and share synergies rather than swallow one another whole, Fiat and BMW entered into a memorandum of understanding to evaluation cooperative opportunities. They’ve formally agreed to talk about how, and if, they can help one another.
Alfa Romeo may have the most ego wrapped up into the outcome. Desperate to get back into the U.S. car market, Alfa wants the next-generation of the 147 be the lead volume product. They’ve further announced the intent to start building cars in the States in 2011CY, and have started looking for partners to make that happen as well. Technically they do return this summer with the low-volume 8C Competzione and next year with the convertible 8C, but Alfa’s only building 1000 8Cs, including both bodystyles, for worldwide consumption. With only about 100 8C coupes being offered here, the image-building 8C doesn’t make much of an impact on the market.
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Posted by dbarrett on March 16, 2008 at 5:16 pm
During the recent CES, I had a chance to spend some time with the Alfa Romeo Spider being displayed as a part of Microsoft’s Sync display. What a lovely car. Powered by a 260Bhp 3.2 liter V-6 engine hooked up with a 4-wheel drive system, the Spider is both sexy and technically clever.
Visually, I love the flowing lines of this car. Check out the detail around the headlights and the lovely use of a canvas, folding top. Designed as a collaborative effort between the Alfa Styling Center, Giugiaro and Pinnfarina, the Spider includes traditional Alfa cues, such as the log and front grill, not to mention the the very Alfa interior.
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Posted by George Peterson on September 29, 2006 at 4:42 pm
Sports Car Concepts Reach Production
Three years ago, in September 2003, there were two head-turning concept stars at the Frankfurt auto show. This year, the Paris auto show (Mondial de l’Automobile) hosted introductions of both in production form. Both are low volume propositions, both borrow chassis from related low-volume models, both offer 420HP V8 engines, but each takes a different personality. One is the German all-wheel-drive, mid-engine Audi R8 and the other the front-engine, rear-drive Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione.
The good news is that North America will see the R8. Unfortunately, the Alfa is a tease. Though the brand intends to return to the North American market, the limited-edition 8C is not among the expected products.
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