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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons , Jaguar We're in the South of France getting ready to drive Jaguar's new XFR and XKR sports models, and Mike O'Driscoll, Jaguar's managing director, has just confirmed that to us that the long-awaited Jaguar XJ successor will debut this July, with sales beginning in late summer. Although details about the new XJ are still scarce, expect a thoroughly redesigned exterior that moves away from the current car's evolutionary design (shown above) by taking several cues from the new XF. Similarly, expect an all-new interior that adopts the company's Jaguar Drive transmission (recently ported over to the new XK) and an aluminum architecture that's rumored to keep the curb weight below 4,000 pounds. At launch, look for Jag's all-new naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V8 to makes its way under the hood, with an XJR model following sometime in 2011 packing the XFR's 510-horsepower supercharged bent-eight. 2010 Jaguar XJ to debut in July,...
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Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs , Chrysler, LLC. , UAW/Unions , Canada Remember the worker standoff at Aradco, the Canadian supplier of engine mounts to Chrysler? The automaker had said that the dispute would need to be settled by the end of the week - that would be today, of course - and that's exactly what has happened. According to Canadian Driver , an agreement has been reached between the Canadian Auto Workers union employees and the automaker that sees the displaced employees repaid most of what they were owed, which they claim included a total of $1.7 million in severance, termination and vacation pay. Even though this particular event had a mostly happy ending, union officials in Canada have scolded Chrysler for allowing it to happen in the first place. With a possible bankruptcy looming over two of America's major automakers, this is a salient point that could be revisited time and time again until things get back on track. In Canada's case, though, the country...
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Filed under: Convertibles , Coupes , Sports/GTs , Plants/Manufacturing , Chevrolet , GM , Rumormill Chevrolet Camaro Convertible Concept - Click above for a high-res gallery var digg_url = 'http://www.autoblog.com/2009/03/20/report-chevrolets-camaro-convertible-delayed-z28-facing-cance/'; The crew at freshly-minted The Detroit Bureau is reporting that while the Chevrolet Camaro has started rolling off off production lines, there are some serious hitches with future model plans that could result in a substantial delay - or outright cancellation - of two hotly-anticipated models. According to Paul Eisenstein (veteran auto journalist and founder of TheCarConnection ), the Camaro convertible and Z28 are both in jeopardy. As the story goes, budget crunches for both General Motors and its suppliers could grenade products that were seen as foregone conclusions. At the moment, TDB says that saving the droptop is the most pressing issue, as the German supplier responsible for the convertible...
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Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs , UAW/Unions Despite rumors to the contrary, United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger is getting off the merry-go-round in 2010. The embattled union head honcho had been rumored to be considering seeking a third four-year term , but Gettelfinger himself has since gone on record saying that such notions are "totally untrue and totally unfounded." Instead, he will retire at age 65 next year in accordance with UAW policies. There is no word yet on who will replace Gettelfinger next year, and if the current economic and auto industry malaise continues, whoever succeeds him will assuredly be stepping into a very difficult position. In the meantime, Gettelfinger will continue to work with the Detroit 3 and other union officials to try and protect worker benefits and compensation packages. [Sources: DowJones via CNNMoney.com ; Detroit News | Image: Bill Pugliano/Getty] REPORT: UAW Chief Ron Gettelfinger confirms retirement in 2010 originally...
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Filed under: Etc. , Euro , Government/Legal , Spyker Reuters is reporting that Alexander Antonov, the owner of flamboyant Dutch supercar company Spyker, has been seriously wounded in an apparent assassination attempt while leaving his Moscow residence. The Russian billionaire, who is also the chairman of the board of the Konvers Group (a banking concern), was shot along with a bodyguard. According to the news agency, Antonov has survived the attack and his injuries have been identified as non life-threatening, although he remains in intensive care after being shot five times in the stomach and losing a finger to another bullet. The security guard, shot in the leg, is also in intensive care but is expected to survive. Moscow police are now investigating the crime, and though they have yet to make any arrests, they apparently suspect that the shooting is related to Antonov's business dealings. Sources: Reuters ; Autocar ] Spyker owner shot in apparent assassination attempt originally...
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Filed under: Green In a newsletter distributed today by Tesla Motors, CEO Elon Musk provides an update on the business including an announcement that a driveable prototype of the Model S would be unveiled on March 26. The Model S reveal will take place at the Southern California headquarters of Musk's other company, Space-X, which is where Tesla's design studio is located. According to ex-Tesla SVP Darryl Siry who refused to show us images of the car no matter how much we begged before his departure, "the Model S a very beautiful car." As long as it doesn't have a hump back like the new Porsche Panamera we're looking forward to seeing it. However, before it becomes anything more than a prototype, Tesla will need a lot more cash to pay for engineering and a factory to build it. As Musk told us when we talked to him in Detroit last month, he fully expects the company to be profitable by mid-year thanks to price increases and cost reductions for building the Roadster...
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Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing , Chevrolet , GM 2011 Chevy Cruze and its new 1.4L Turbo engine The bad news just keeps on coming for General Motors and Flint, Michigan. It was reported late last night that construction contracts for the new $370 million engine plant that was going up in Flint have been canceled. GM actually stopped work on the project in early December. The plant was to produce the new 1.4-liter four cylinder engine for the 2011 Chevy Cruze and Volt . GM spokeswoman Sharon Basel told AutoblogGreen that the intention all along had been for engines for the early production runs of the Cruze and Volt to be supplied from a European facility that already builds variants of GM's so-called "Family 0" powertrains. The Flint plant would not have been ready for start of production of Cruze next spring. With the continuing financial crisis and weak sales, GM's European factory has enough capacity to supply Cruze and Volt for a time so that the automaker can conserve...
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