plus 4, In Cuba's Time Capsule, an Automotive Legacy - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |
- In Cuba's Time Capsule, an Automotive Legacy - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
- In Chariho, he turns teenagers into mechanics - Providence Journal
- Videos From the Web: Car Videos - San Francisco Chronicle
- Auto cos end 2009 with superlative growth - MoneyControl.com
- German car industry changes gears to suit global market - Deutsche Welle
| In Cuba's Time Capsule, an Automotive Legacy - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Posted: 01 Jan 2010 11:12 PM PST Havana EXCEPT for the security guards toting machine guns, this could have been any Caribbean island airport. Until we walked outside, that is. Then it was apparent that we had either entered a time machine or landed in Cuba. Actually, it was both. As we left the terminal, the taxi lane was crowded with vehicles I hadn't seen since childhood. Brightly colored American cars, all built before 1960, crowded the passenger pick-up area. It's a time warp created by the suspension of trade between Cuba and the United States after Fidel Castro's revolutionaries took control in 1959, cutting off the flow of new American cars. That was no drawback to a group of five automotive historians, including me, who had been invited here to research the Cuban Grand Prix sports car races of 50 years ago. In particular, we hoped to learn more about the 1960 race for a 50th anniversary celebration to be held in March at the Amelia Island Concours d'Élégance in Florida. The race was won by Stirling Moss in a Maserati Tipo 61, known as a Birdcage; both Moss and the winning Maserati will attend the March 14 concours. (Full disclosure: I am co-chairman of the event.) Our host for the research mission was Eduardo Mesejo Maestre, curator of the Depósito del Automóvil, the country's official antique car museum. Our group had received Treasury Department permission to travel directly to Havana from Miami on cultural exchange visas. Call it spark plug diplomacy. From the airport we went straight to the Depósito, housed in a open-air warehouse in the heart of Havana's historic district. We had hoped to see Castro's personal cars on display in this former navy facility, but that was not the case. Castro's cars, it turns out, are stored in a warehouse at Communist Party Central Headquarters, Mr. Mesejo told us; the museum's collection comprises about 40 cars, trucks and motorcycles that represent the last 100 years of Cuba's automotive history. Just past the admission desk -- admission is one CUC, or Cuban Convertible Peso, or about $1.08 -- visitors are greeted by a 1926 Rolls-Royce Phantom I with coachwork by Letourneur & Marchand of France. We were told this car was found abandoned after the 1959 revolution and kept safe by the government until the museum opened in 1980. The Rolls, like all of the cars on display, is not the sort of pristine example seen in most modern museums. The vehicles are well used and unrestored, but clean. Mr. Mesejo told us the cars were given a daily sponge bath to remove the potentially caustic dust that blows in from nearby building renovations. The Depósito is arranged in two large rooms. The first room allows visitors to get close to the cars. In the second room, velvet ropes keep visitors at a distance. All informational placards are written in Spanish, so a translation guide is needed when the only English-speaking person on the staff, Mr. Mesejo, is not available. While some auto museums apply faux finishes to give floors and walls a patina of period correctness, the Depósito's concrete, stucco and painted surfaces are authentic. The rough-hewn building reeks of character. Most of the cars in the collection are American, including a Chevy touring car and Model T and Model A Fords. Against the back wall are two 1959 Oldsmobiles, one originally owned by Camilo Cienfuegos, a revolutionary leader considered a hero by his countrymen. The few European cars include a 1953 MG TD, a 1920s Fiat (discovered hidden behind a secret wall in a mansion) and a bright red Alfa Romeo roadster. "I know that car from when I was a child," Mr. Mesejo said of the Alfa. "My father would not let me stand any closer than one meter from it, which is very hard for a little boy. When it came here to the museum, I sat in it for an hour." Some of the newer cars -- a 1970s Daimler and a 1980s Chevy -- were left to the museum as gifts by departing foreign diplomats. The museum's most important car is a 1905 Cadillac, which was in continuous use until the 1980s. The Cadillac is now being restored, the first such project for the museum. Much of the technical information needed for its restoration came from collectors in Philadelphia. Fords and Oldsmobiles were assembled on the island in the 1940s and '50s, Mr. Mesejo said. "After the Revolution the car companies left, and Cuba, as an auto assembly country, was paralyzed." We were told of the country's dire economy, where street sweepers and doctors make the same wages. So auto repair for the island's vintage cars becomes a creative endeavor: shampoo is used for brake fluid; iron pipes are cut up for piston rings; Coca-Cola is used to loosen rusty bolts; and cars are painted with sponges, then buffed with toothpaste. "We call it the Cuban way," Abel Contreras de la Guardia, our translator and tour guide, said. "We do anything to keep our cars running." Besides hoping to one day display the personal cars of Fidel and Raul Castro, as well as the Chevrolet Impala of Che Guevara, Mr. Mesejo said he would like to secure what is perhaps Cuba's most important car. "I have seen Ernest Hemingway's 1955 Chrysler New Yorker convertible," he said. "It is hidden, but it is still in the country and still restorable." Front and center in the museum's second room is a replica of the 1960 Maserati raced by Juan Manuel Fangio, the five-time world champion. If this bright blue sports car were real, it would be worth millions of dollars, but this one was cobbled together from Citroën parts for a movie about Fangio. It was donated to the museum after filming was completed. Parked next to the fiberglass Maserati is a car that holds special meaning for Mr. Mesejo: a plain-looking dark brown 1953 Dodge sedan. "That was my father's," he said of the car he inherited. "With this I learned to drive and work on cars. "This car never let our family down." • Depósito del Automóvil is at Oficios No. 13, Habana Vieja, C.P. 10100, La Habana, Cuba. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| In Chariho, he turns teenagers into mechanics - Providence Journal Posted: 01 Jan 2010 01:47 PM PST  Richard Picard stands by one of the big diesel rigs his students maintain at the Chariho Career and Technical Center. At left is the hood of Chariho's hydrogen-powered pickup. The Providence Journal /Tom Meade WOOD RIVER JUNCTION –– The automotive department of the Chariho Career and Technical Center is all about collaboration. In one area is a new Chevy pickup that Richard Picard and his students have converted to run on hydrogen as well as gasoline. Next to the truck is a laboratory bench where Chariho Regional High chemistry teacher Paul Rodarmor and his students are working with Picard's kids. They are conducting experiments to determine whether they can economically extract hydrogen from sea water to fuel the truck. Outside are two big diesel rigs, owned by the USS Saratoga Museum and maintained by the automotive students. One is fixed with a crane that lifts storage sheds, built by carpentry students, for delivery to customers in the community. Near the diesel rigs stands a Navy landing craft about to be restored. Automotive students will handle the engine, marine technology students will restore the hull, and carpentry students will build a new wheelhouse. Outside the automotive department's door is a classic Allis-Chalmers farm tractor that had been abandoned. Automotive students are restoring it so agriculture students can use it. What do automotive students do on weekends? Many of them, along with automotive alumni, drive to Picard's home in Woonsocket to help him work on his hot rod, two classic cars, and the experimental airplane he is building. It's a three-quarter-scale replica of the P51 Mustang. A pilot since he was 17 years old, Picard already owns a Cessna 172. "Teaching is my second career, and I love it," says Picard, formerly a diesel mechanic who climbed the corporate ladder to become an executive at Gulf Oil. "I retired in 1994, and stayed retired for a year until my wife said, 'You've got to get a job because you're driving me crazy.' " Picard already had degrees in mechanical engineering and criminal justice. (For a while, he was a prison guard who taught automotive mechanics to inmates.) He enrolled in Rhode Island College to study education, and earned a teaching certificate. Picard accepted temporary teaching assignments in Coventry, Cranston and Woonsocket until December 2001 when a position opened in the Chariho automotive program. He applied for the job, and was hired. He commutes from his home in Woonsocket. Each year, 38 to 45 students enroll in the automotive program, certified by the National Automotive Training Education Foundation and the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE). Picard runs his classroom like a business. "School starts at 7:30 a.m., not 7:31," he tells his students, preparing them for employment beyond high school. Besides working on landing craft, big-rig diesels and farm tractors, Chariho's automotive students work on ordinary cars with sophisticated electronic components. The department accepts work if it is relevant to the curriculum at hand, the teacher says. Tenth-grade students study brakes for half a year and engine rebuilding during the second half. Eleventh-graders study electrical components and starters at the beginning of the year and engine performance later. Seniors learn about suspension and steering during the first half of the academic year and welding and air conditioning before graduating. (They study diesel and alternative-fuel technology after school.) The automotive program accepts jobs by appointment. When a vehicle arrives, students interview the owner, and then prepare an estimate for parts and time needed to complete the job. The school has three diagnostic computers with software that is upgraded as frequently as necessary to keep up with the changing technology of American, Asian and European cars. Picard says, "We can diagnose every car on the market except Rolls-Royce and Lamborghini, but we don't get many of those in here." Some of Chariho's automotive students go on to college or to advanced studies at such schools as New England Technical Institute. Others volunteer for military service and they often become mechanics working on tanks, ships and even submarines. Some go on to good-paying jobs. "One student who graduated two years ago is working as a second-shift diesel technician, earning $28 an hour," Picard beams. "That sure beats $7 an hour at McDonald's." Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Videos From the Web: Car Videos - San Francisco Chronicle Posted: 01 Jan 2010 08:13 PM PST www.buycolonial.com At Colonial Automotive Group our long-term customers know us as a trusted source for pre-owned car values such as this 2004 Ford F-150 FX4, conveniently located in Boston, MA. For the best in service, selection and value, visit our website to learn more about this great 2004 Ford F-150 FX4.Colonial Automotive Group 231 Linden St. Boston MA, 02482 (781) 237-3553 The Colonial Automotive Group began in Acton, Massachusetts with the establishment of Colonial Chevrolet in ... Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Auto cos end 2009 with superlative growth - MoneyControl.com Posted: 01 Jan 2010 11:05 PM PST
Four-wheelers grow The country's largest four-wheeler manufacturer Maruti Suzuki sold 71,000 units in India, a 36.5% increase over previous year's December. Counted with exports, Maruti's sales grew at 50.6%.
Hyundai Motor India, the number two player in India, too registered an impressive 42.6% domestic growth year-on-year. In December, Hyundai sold 47,217 units compared to 38,502 units in December 2008. Exports for the company grew by 9% taking the cumulative growth tally to 22.6%. Expectedly, Hyundai's A2 segment cars like Santro, Getz, i10 and i20 cornered the bulk of its sales. "With the overall economic scenario improving the Indian automotive market seems to have stabilized but we must thank the Indian government for the timely intervention last year. The stimulus package certainly helped the automotive industry and we hope the government will continue with this at least for some more time," said Arvind Saxena, Director – Marketing and Sales, HMIL. "For Hyundai, introduction of new products like the i20 helped as in the last few months it has become an important contributor to our sales," Saxena said. Sales for Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), a major player in the utility vehicles (UV) space with vehicles such as the Scorpio, Bolero and Xylo, grew at 122%. It sold 22,754 units last month compared to 10,253 units in December 2008. Two-wheeler tally Among motorcycle, leader Hero Honda said it sold 3.75 lakh units versus 2.15 lakh units year-on-year, a 74% growth. Hero Honda said it would launch new models across various segments by March. The number two player in the segment, Bajaj Auto, has not yet released its December sales tally. TVS Motor Company registered a domestic growth of 42% in December over the same month last year, selling 1,02,479 units compared to 72,355 units. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| German car industry changes gears to suit global market - Deutsche Welle Posted: 02 Jan 2010 12:02 AM PST
Europe's auto makers are heading for a major decline in sales 2010, according to a new study published on Friday, January 1, which forecast that nearly a million fewer cars will be sold in western Europe this year compared to 2009. "The auto world is re-adjusting itself and that will result in major changes for production sites", said a study published by automobile industry expert Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer of the University of Duisburg-Essen. Despite the financial crisis, 2009 was the sixth best year for sales worldwide, thanks to car scrapping schemes and government-sponsored economic rescue packages. According to the study, 52.8 million cars were sold in 2009, 5.4 percent fewer than the previous year. Germany bucked the trend with 3.8 million cars being sold, a 24-percent increase on the same period a year ago. In western Europe, the number of sales also rose significantly. In other countries, it was a different story: sales in North America fell by 22 percent to 12.5 million cars. The Russian car industry was hit by slumping sales of around 44 percent. Similar figures were registered by Japan, Canada, Spain and the United Kingdom. Market changes ahead
Dudenhoeffer estimates that 2010 will see a fundamental shift in markets. The worldwide market will develop positively. Global demand is expected to rise 4.3 percent to 55 million vehicles – mainly thanks to gains in the markets in the USA, China, Russia and India. In western Europe, however, nearly a million fewer cars will be sold in 2010, a drop of seven percent. "In particular, the strong artificial push from the 'cash for clunkers' program in Germany is responsible", said Dudenhoeffer. "Germany will now pull western Europe down". Germany's car-scrapping bonus entitled car owners to trade in cars older than nine years old for a 2,500 euro ($3,500) bonus towards a newer, fuel efficient vehicle. The program, which cost roughly five billion euros, not only proved a welcome shock absorber but in fact provided a boost to the industry which had taken a battering from the global economic meltdown. Some 3.8 million cars were sold in 2009, posting a 25 percent growth in sales, according to figures released by the VDA automotive industry federation. However, the car trade-in scheme not only benefited German carmakers but importers of motor vehicles as well. They were able to increase their market share in Germany from one third to over 40 percent.
Small is big According to the head of Germany's VDA automotive industry association, Matthias Wissmann, German automakers will hold and further expand their position globally even as competition in the global auto industry intensifies. "At the same time we are attacking in the small car segment, with cars that only use about 3 liters of fuel for 100 kilometers (62 miles)," Wissmann told French daily Les Echos in an interview published on Thursday.
Wissmann said that he expected the German auto market to normalize in 2010, with up to 3 million new registrations – only slightly lower than the multi-year domestic average. With three out of four cars built in Germany being made for export, German auto makers are expected to follow closely developments on the international market. "If BAIC buys GM's unit Saab, and another Chinese company buys Ford's Volvo, then that is a sign that the balance is shifting in the global auto market," he said, referring to recent market developments. As China overtook the United States as the world's biggest auto market, Beijing Automotive Industrial Holding Corp (BAIC) agreed to pay about 140 million euros for the technology of General Motors' Swedish Saab subsidiary, and US rival Ford is nearing an agreement to sell Volvo to China's Geely. "Nobody can rest on what has been achieved so far," Wissmann said. nrt/rb/Reuters/AFP/AP/dpa Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
Auto sales in December continued to grow at an unprecedented rate, mirroring the health and resilience of the Indian economy. Most companies registered high double-digit growth in the month.| You are subscribed to email updates from Add Images to any RSS Feed To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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