Auto News linked by TVR&FF "Closed"

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I disagree that TVR is a 'failed' car company, but the car looks nice.
At present they are nothing short of failed, the cars have been fantastic and the pricing of them was cometetive, but Smolenski has all but killed them off. They currently have no proper work force, no production line, okay they've recently announced a supplyer and are headed on course to get things moving again but there's a hell of a lot of work to be done to get them back to where they were when Wheeler was in charge. I wish Melling was able to buy them when he made his bid though. They'd be back up and running by now probably. The Griffon looks great, not quite as nice as the griffith looked, but it's good enough.
 
Oh good grief.

Melling, man, you sure can make an engine.... but bite down on the engineering pride and hire a felt-tip fiddler for the curvy bits.
 
It's not meant to look exactly like the Griffith, just bear an uncanny resembelance to it, if he made it look the same he'd be wide open to Smolenski taking legal action against him.

While I don't think it looks as nice as the Griffith, I like what hes done, he's given it that resemblance but he's also incorporated design cues from the Hellcat as well.
 
Melling, man, you sure can make an engine.... but bite down on the engineering pride and hire a felt-tip fiddler for the curvy bits.
I don't understand your point. At least from that angle and resolution, if you put a different front end on it the Melling car would be a dead-ringer for a Griffith.
 
I disagree that TVR is a 'failed' car company, but the car looks nice.

I don't understand your point. At least from that angle and resolution, if you put a different front end on it the Melling car would be a dead-ringer for a Griffith.
Not quite, the outtake on the bonnet on the Griffith is all one, it isn't seperated in the middle. Also theres a line down the side of the Griffon that isn't present on the Griffith. The overall shpe is virtually the same, the crease down the side if the biggest change shape wise, the headlights and grille are the biggest change design wise.
 
Is it coming to the US? We've got TVRs now, apparently, can he do the same?
 
My point is not whether it looks like a Griffith or not, it is whether it looks good.

IMO (which is really bloody picky when it comes to cars) this car is not a cohesive design. A cross between a BMW Z4 (again IMO, quite possibly one of the most hideous looking cars you can buy) and a TVR Griffith, it manages to take all that's good about the Griffith and destroy it with all that's bad about the Z4.

Amateur, I guess would be a good description. Whoever penned the TVR shapes and detail, and the team that translated that fine sense of high drama and good proportion (even when 'striking' as opposed to 'beautiful') into fibreglass reality knew how to makes cars look good. This car looks to me like a poor Chinese copy of a TVR. The Hellcat, equally, a very kitcarish attempt.

There are extremes. Good: Jaguar XK180 - Bad: FBS Census. If FBS had designed a bodyshell that looked like the Jaguar, they'd have sold everything they made. As they didn't... well, have you heard of them since? Don't search for images of the Census unless you've got a sick bag handy.

I think Al Melling is a top bloke. I've read a lot of information about him, studied his engine designs, know a few TVR owners as passionate as me about all things automotive and we agree - brilliant, brilliant engine designer. But ultimately, it doesn't matter what makes it go, people (not necessarily people like you or I) buy cars because they look good. This will sell, but it won't stun the world - and there's no reason why it shouldn't have.
 
Source: AutoCar

Maserati recalls UK Quattroportes

If you were one of the first Brits to take delivery of a Maserati Quattroporte Automatic, it might be wise to schedule a trip to the dealership sometime soon. That’s because the marque is about to recall the first 96 examples of the car sold in the UK in order to rectify a fault that could disable its electronic stability control system.

The Italian brand’s problem is with the Bosch ECU that controls the ‘Maserati Stability Program (MSP)’. When the car’s battery is low, a bug in the software slows down signals sent by the car’s electronic sensors. The car’s onboard computer then assumes that there is a fault with the MSP system and disengages the car’s traction and stability control; its antilock brakes will continue to work.

"If you use your Quattroporte every day, you’ll probably never encounter the fault," a company spokesperson told Autocar, "and if you do, it’ll go away once you charge the battery and restart the car."

"We’ll be informing the affected owners individually in the next few weeks, and they’ll be asked to bring their cars back to their nearest service outlet, where a new ECU will be fitted free of charge. The fix should only take a few hours."

Maserati assured us that it had updated its factory stock of Bosch ECUs to fix the problem on new-built cars some months ago, so if you buy a Quattroporte Automatic today, you’ve got nothing to be concerned about. Equally, the problem is with Bosch' component, not anything Maserati itself has produced.

However, with 96 cars affected here, 38 affected in Australia, and 595 in the USA, it's an episode that the Modenese car-maker will want to quickly forget.
 
Yet more news on the next Fiesta:

Source: AutoCar

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Next Fiesta gets more Verve

Ford has dropped the strongest hints about the shape and size of next year’s Fiesta in an ultra-sporty three-door concept called Verve, one of the stars of next week’s Frankfurt Show.

The car is the first of three Fiesta concepts — all with near-production shapes — to be unveiled in the next four months. The others are believed to be a four-door saloon for Beijing in November and a US-spec five-door hatch earmarked for Detroit next January.

Verve, which uses the all-new chassis and component set just launched in the Mazda 2, is clear evidence of Ford’s intention to dramatically lift the emotional design content of its small cars. Martin Smith says his team has been greatly encouraged by the results of several years’ research among “design progressives” — notably young female supermini owners across Europe.

This group has already okayed radical features like the Verve’s aggressive egg-crate grille, the radically raked windscreen, the coupe-like roofline and the fascia design, which draws heavily on mobile phone technology. Ford won’t confirm it, but it seems the only major Verve feature that won’t make production is its lack of a centre pillar and use of frameless doors.

The car, which shares the present Fiesta’s overall length and wheelbase, also shows Ford’s intention to call a halt to “dimension creep” in B-cars. The Mazda 2 has already won copious praise for being slightly smaller and lighter than its predecessor. The present Fiesta is smaller than rivals like the Fiat Punto, Opel Corsa and Peugeot 207, and Ford has established that its research group wants it kept that way.

The new Fiesta, to be launched in various versions between mid-2008 and 2010, will be powered by a comprehensive range of Ford-PSA diesels and Ford-Mazda petrol engines.
 
Huuuuuuge grille and gillette whiskers do show up on the real concept, too.
 
My point is not whether it looks like a Griffith or not, it is whether it looks good.

IMO (which is really bloody picky when it comes to cars) this car is not a cohesive design. A cross between a BMW Z4 (again IMO, quite possibly one of the most hideous looking cars you can buy) and a TVR Griffith, it manages to take all that's good about the Griffith and destroy it with all that's bad about the Z4.

Amateur, I guess would be a good description. Whoever penned the TVR shapes and detail, and the team that translated that fine sense of high drama and good proportion (even when 'striking' as opposed to 'beautiful') into fibreglass reality knew how to makes cars look good. This car looks to me like a poor Chinese copy of a TVR. The Hellcat, equally, a very kitcarish attempt.

There are extremes. Good: Jaguar XK180 - Bad: FBS Census. If FBS had designed a bodyshell that looked like the Jaguar, they'd have sold everything they made. As they didn't... well, have you heard of them since? Don't search for images of the Census unless you've got a sick bag handy.

I think Al Melling is a top bloke. I've read a lot of information about him, studied his engine designs, know a few TVR owners as passionate as me about all things automotive and we agree - brilliant, brilliant engine designer. But ultimately, it doesn't matter what makes it go, people (not necessarily people like you or I) buy cars because they look good. This will sell, but it won't stun the world - and there's no reason why it shouldn't have.
The looks are subjet to personal opinion, I really like the Hellcat, I don't like this as much, and I like the Griffith more than both of them, but I still see a nice looking car here. They certainly don't look kitcar ish to me, though I'm sure we can both agree that it would be nice if Melling could hire some of TVR's designers because I do agree, they could make the difference between a good looking car and a great looking car.

To me, Mellings cars are good looking, TVR's were great looking.
 
Hooray if the Fiesta looks anything like the "concept." Compared to a Fit/Jazz or Versa, the Ford looks much more appealing, particularly if they do end up bringing it to the United States soon.
 
Source: Auto Express

Hybrids give taxpayers £1m bill

Nearly £1million of public money is being "wasted" by the Govern*ment on hybrid vehicles, it was claimed this week.

Campaign group the TaxPayers’ Alliance says such "green token*ism" has little environ*mental benefit, and the Govern*ment could save £888,000 by switching its 110 hybrids to 1.4-litre petrol Ford Focus cars.

According to the TPA’s figures, the dual-power Toyota Prius is £8,555 more than the Ford and the Honda Civic Hybrid £4,163 extra. Both cars are on the fleet. Policy analyst Matthew Sinclair said: "The money would be better spent on planting trees. There’s only a marginal difference in carbon emis*sions saved from switching to hybrids. But trees breathe in 730kg of carbon dioxide over a lifetime."

The TPA said the money saved by switching to the Focus could buy 74,028 trees, which would remove more than 54 million kilogrammes of CO2 from the air. Sinclair added: "You would have to drive a hybrid car nearly six million miles before the carbon saving would equal that achieved by planting these trees."
 
On building rooftops? in places where there's been forest fires? In the middle of fields, aggrivating farmers to no end?
 
So we (you) taxpayers are paying the government to clog our (your) streets.

You could probably plant the trees in open spaces like the sides of freeways or public parks.
 
Well no, it's not saying that you plant tree's anywhere, you plant them in reserves or plots of land where tree's have been cut down or something. You don't fill your own back yard with 70,000 trees. It's not really telling people to just go out and plant tree's somewhere because that would probably be illegal. The point it's making, is that buying a petrol car, and spending the extra money you would have spent on buying the hybrid on planting tree's, is much more green than buying the hybrid. The tree's planted from one purchase could be worth the difference of over 30 hybrids. Hybrids are not the solution.
 
Source: Auto Express

Theory Exam changes hit Learner drivers hard

Learner drivers are facing even higher costs. The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) is set to introduce a longer theory exam, which will set candidates back £28.50 – a £7 rise. By adding questions to the test, the DSA aims to broaden drivers’ knowledge, raise standards and increase safety. The changes take effect from 3 September.
 
Source: Auto Express

Theory Exam changes hit Learner drivers hard

Learner drivers are facing even higher costs. The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) is set to introduce a longer theory exam, which will set candidates back £28.50 – a £7 rise. By adding questions to the test, the DSA aims to broaden drivers’ knowledge, raise standards and increase safety. The changes take effect from 3 September.


Not really news, this was planned aaaages ago.

A £7 rise shouldn't really be too much of a problem either, since if you do it right you only take it once.
 
Source: AutoCar

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Meaner Maserati Quattroporte inbound

Modenese sports car specialist Maserati has today announced details of a sporty makeover for its Quattroporte four-door executive saloon.

The £80,000 four-seater will be on show at next month’s Frankfurt show in a new, more driver focussed specification called Sport GT S. Described by Maserati as "the ultimate expression of Maserati’s saloon sportiness," it’s a version of the brand’s recently introduced Quattroporte Automatic with a new chassis setup, new brakes, new wider 20in alloy wheels, and a more aggressive look.

Sharper, lower, harder…

This new Quattroporte rides 10mm lower than standard at the front axle, and 25mm lower at the rear. Maserati has thrown out its variable rate Skyhook dampers for this incarnation, and replaced them with single rate dampers and a firmer "racing set-up".

At each corner of the car are new dual-cast brake discs developed in collaboration with Brembo, and made of a hybrid of cast iron and aluminium for greater resistance to brake fade. It’s the first time brakes such as these have featured on a road car. Outside of them are new 20in alloy wheels that run to a profile of 295/30 at the rear, and specially developed tyres.

… and meaner to look at

Aside from all that, you’re most likely to clock this meaner Maserati by its stealthy black makeover; it's got a new black mesh front grille, black side window trims, black exhaust trims and dark chrome 20in, seven-spoke alloy wheels.

Inside, there’s a combination of Frau leather and Alcantara on the seats, the interior door panels and the steering wheel. The dashboard is finished in a new mix of carbon fibre with aluminium treads, and the front seats have even been redesigned for a more sporty, supportive shape.
 
Well, that's one way to cover up the recall issue...
 
Source: Auto Express

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Fiat 500 stars in EuroNCAP safety test

EuroNCAP has released its latest round of crash test results – and it’s good news for the Fiat 500. The iconic Italian supermini scored the maximum five stars for adult protection. This is one point higher than the new Renault Twingo, which was tested at the same time.

The 500 achieved a total of 35 points, giving it a higher ranking than cars in the class above. It also logged three stars for child protection, but could only manage a disappointing two for pedestrian safety.

Meanwhile, two of the latest family hatches have also undergone evaluation – with both notching up top marks. Kia’s impressive Ce’eed earned five stars - which is first for the Korean manufacturer – while the French newcomer was applauded for its excellent child passenger protection.

EuroNCAP Secretary General Adrian Hobbs concluded: "I’m particularly happy to see the results for the Fiat 500. It’s satisfying that manufacturers from all parts of the world are putting safety first".
 
I'd like one...And now that I know it's relatively safe, I'd like it even more.
 
That should help help sales in the land of "OMG that SUV is gonna squash me!"

Not really news, this was planned aaaages ago.

A £7 rise shouldn't really be too much of a problem either, since if you do it right you only take it once.
Except now there's a 7 week waiting list for the practical test cause everyone is booking right after they take the theory.

:banghead:
 
That should help help sales in the land of "OMG that SUV is gonna squash me!"


Except now there's a 7 week waiting list for the practical test cause everyone is booking right after they take the theory.

:banghead:


In other news, I nearly hit a cow today.

:(
 
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