A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Star spotting at the Frankfurt motor show
MERCEDES GP drivers Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg pulled the covers off the German brand's new C-Coupé DTM challenger for the 2012 season at the Frankfurt motor show. Meanwhile, Rowan Atkinson was at the Rolls Royce stand displaying the 16-cylinder Phantom 9-litre that will feature in his latest film, Johnny English.The "monster Rolls" is meant to turn the Rolls into the "ultimate luxury car", with the ultimate engine. The company apparently made three or four of these engines that produced "unbelievable power and torque".
Celebrity association is part and parcel of the industry and Fiat has just signed Jennifer Lopez to promote its 500 in the US, while Jay Leno does promotions for Jaguar. Neither, however, seemed prepared to put the time in at Frankfurt.
Car executives were not completely immune to events outside the motoring world. Industry bosses urged Europe’s politicians to take bolder steps to solve the bloc’s two-year-old debt crisis, warning its single currency could be derailed without more decisive action.
The car industry, with production sites scattered across the continent, has always been a strong supporter of the single currency. Before the euro it had to juggle costs and sales in multiple currencies.
Sergio Marchionne, chief executive of Italy’s Fiat and US carmaker Chrysler, was most outspoken, warning that without a decisive resolution the single currency could “go off the rails”.
“The problems must be confronted in a serious way . . . We are not totally calm about this instability and the way in which the European crisis is being managed,” he said. Ford Europe chief executive Stephen Odell said Europe’s leaders need to act fast. “My request to the politicians is: even if the medicine’s painful – and there’s a lot of painful medicine out there – we need to apply it quickly and robustly so we can have a sustainable base.”
Back to the soapbox?
FOR those who remember the soapboxes of yesteryear built upon old pram wheels, there seems to be a sudden resurgence in the design format for future concept vehicles. Volkswagen, Audi and Opel, to an extent, all offered up electric-car concepts that bore remarkable resemblances to soapbox racers of old. Large, ultra-thin wheels stuck out beside two-seater cockpits that owe more to motorbike engineering than everyday cars.
The work of idle minds, according to some at the show, but the principle behind these vehicles is research into future urban transport and ways to bring affordable electric cars to the masses at a cheap price. Don’t expect them in a showroom anytime soon.