Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo is a very ambitious man. So ambitious, in fact, that he wants to trade in his Ferrari presidency for another of its kind, albeit on a much larger scale.
In an open letter he sent to Italiafutura, a liberal-centrist think-tank that he himself formed in 2009, Montezemolo finally pulled the cat out of the bag, declaring his intention to run for the highest seat in all of Italy in 2013.
In the letter, Montezemolo wrote: "Italiafutura, with its 40,000 members will be actively engaged in 2012 to try and change politics in Italy. The Second Republic has failed. When the Italian voters return to the polls, they must be offered a whole series of new ideas and new leaders in the elections, so that they can turn their backs on what has been a period of total failure in Italian politics."
It’s no secret that Italian politics have, in fact, been a complete mess in the past couple of years, punctuated by the blackest of black eyes when former president, Silvio Berlusconni, resigned amid growing accusations of being involved in numerous scandals that completely undermined his position as the Italian president.
We don’t know the schematics on the political climate in Italy, but considering that Montezemolo has made his intentions clear of seeking the highest seat in the land, we’d venture a guess that it’s a lot more complicated than what we think.
The question now is, will he win?
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Porsche can’t seem to shake the lemons off it’s model tree. Once again the Stuttgart manufacturer has been forced to issue a recall, this time centering on 235 2011-2012 models which may have had defective seat belts installed. According to Inside Line, the models that are affected include the 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera 4, 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 GTS, 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S, 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS, 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S, 2011 Porsche 911 Speedster, 2012 Porsche 911 Targa 4, 2012 Porsche 911 Targa 4S, 2012 Porsche 911 Turbo, 2012 Porsche 911 Turbo S, 2012 Porsche Boxster S, 2012 Porsche Cayman, 2012 Porsche Cayman R, and 2012 Porsche Cayman S. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration points out that these defective seat belts are centered on the mounting holes in the seat belt anchor plates fitted to the vehicle being too small. If the hole diameter is too small, the anchor plate may not be able to rotate about the fastening bolt as designed. Should this occur, the seat belt may not be routed optimally around the occupant, or may potentially loosen at some point in the future increasing the risk of injury during a crash. Although this problem is serious, it is noted by the NHTSA that no deaths or injuries have resulted from these defective seat belts. Porsche also says this defect stems from a "manufacturing issue" at their seat belt supplier.
We don’t think this will affect Porsche at all. We still look at Porsche cars as the one of the finest sports car manufacturers in the world.
Usually unflappable German engineering has taken a hit today. BMW has announced that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has initiated an investigation that centers on 120,000 2002-2008 7-Series models, ranging from the 730d to the 760li. This investigation began after a 2006 7-Series experienced an incident in which, after being placed in park, did not fully engage the park gear and proceeded to roll a short distance. This gearbox is designed to automatically shift into park, for example, when the vehicle is turned off.
If this pending investigation makes you nervous, keep in mind that the NHTSA has said that a) "thus far, no cause has been identified for any of the rollaway incidents" and b) it is not a full scale recall, just a preliminary investigation.
You may ask us, would we still buy one? Well, we have nothing but praise for the 7 series. We find it to be truly staggering, leaving us to shake our head in disbelief that a car the size of the state of Kansas can be made this fun to drive. This potential gearbox glitch does not affect our view of the Roundel and we continue to look reverently upon each model. This full size luxury sedan did not disappoint us and it won’t let you down either.
Last Monday, we brought you news that the first U.S. bound Pagani Huayra had been delivered to a customer in the United States. Now it seems like Pagani may have jumped the gun in selling cars on U.S. soil, thanks to a requirement that automakers implement advanced airbags beginning with the 2000 model year. In the past, low volume manufacturers such as Lamborghini and Tesla had been granted an exception to the regulation, which lead Pagani to believe they’d be granted the very same exemption. It was a logical assumption, since Pagani’s production is far less than Lamborghini’s, and Pagani lacks the technical support of Lamborghini’s parent, Volkswagen/Audi.
Pagani learned the hard way what happens when you assume. Ignoring Pagani’s low-volume manufacturer status and limited technical resources, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has denied the automaker’s request, which gives Pagani only two choices: either develop the required airbag system for the Huayra before deliveries can begin, or forgo the U.S. market entirely as they did with their Zonda supercar. Pagani estimates that designing an airbag system to meet NHTSA requirements will cost them some about $5.7 million, which surely means that the price of U.S. spec Huayras will be raised to cover development. That doesn’t bode well for buyers who’ve already put money down on Pagani’s latest, since the best they can hope for is a higher purchase price. The alternative, sadly, is that the U.S. again loses out on the opportunity to experience one of the world’s premier supercars.
To meet upcoming fuel economy requirements, automakers are expected to embrace turbocharging as a cost-effective way to maintain performance and increase fuel efficiency. In 2009, only five percent of vehicles offered for sale in the United States came with turbocharged engines. By 2020, an automotive industry executive expects that number to reach 82 percent, thanks to increasing fuel economy standards agreed to between the EPA, automakers, and the state of California. By 2025, automakers must achieve a Corporate Average Fuel Economy of 54.5 miles per gallon, fleet-wide. Producing smaller displacement, turbocharged engines is a cost-effective way of reducing fuel consumption, while maintaining expected levels of horsepower and performance.
There are a limited number of ways to achieve significantly better fuel economy from today’s cars. Going the hybrid drivetrain route adds expense, weight, and complexity, and using lightweight materials such as carbon fiber, composites, or aluminum usually have a significant increase in cost. Downsizing the engine is a one time-honored method, but American consumers are only willing to sacrifice so much performance in the name of better fuel economy.
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