mlstephens.com

Chrysler Dealers to hear pitch from Fiat

mlstephens — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 20:01:23 +0000

Chrysler dealers to meet in Detroit to hear Fiat pitch | detnews.com

So the real news in this story is that Fiat will require Chrysler dealers to have a separate facility for Fiat (and future Alfa Romeo) sales. This is good strategy. The Chrysler target customer and the Fiat customer are two very distinct individuals, and I’d imagine there is little crossover (no pun). I have to believe that this is also to position for the re-introduction of Alfa Romeo in 2012. If they have committed dealers the Fiat and Alfa may have a chance in the USA. Maybe the Fiat 500 introduction later this year is a way for Fiat to get their feet on the growing before the much bigger effort needed to launch Alfa Romeo.

By requiring the capital investment in a separate facility they take a big step towards making sure that the dealers who are adding the brand are fully committed to it’s success. This was a mistake made in the 1990s and it is good to see that at least they have learned that lesson. Now it will be interesting to see the marketing commitment and effort from Fiat that will actually persuade buyers to purchase one.

Ferrari F40 and a 60 Hour Restorative Detail

mlstephens — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 02:54:10 +0000

Auto detailing done right is tedious and challenging work. This is a fine example of how a master completes a job. Certainly a few tips can be gleaned from how a sixty (!) hour job was required to clean up this stunning Ferrari F40. Personally I use products from GriotsGarage.com but there are certainly other great quality suppliers out there. The key is in how the products are used. Learn the process and the products are really secondary. Man does that red look fantastic…

via detailedimage.com. Click for full story.

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Street in Lucca, Italy

mlstephens — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 15:34:53 +0000

Shot with my Hipstamatic for iPhone
Lens: John S
Film: Ina’s 1969

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Vespa in Lucca, Italy

mlstephens — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 15:32:15 +0000

Shot with my Hipstamatic for iPhone
Lens: John S
Film: Ina’s 1969

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Ducati racing short film shot with the iPhone 4

mlstephens — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 15:11:13 +0000

Video from a Ducati motorcycle race team, shot entirely with the iPhone 4 using 8 phones and the very cool Bubo iPhone camera mount. The cost of making a high-quality video just keeps dropping. Check out iphone4filming.com for information on the skills needed to pull this off, though. Its not all about the hardware, its the artist that matters.

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Alfa Romeo at 100

mlstephens — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 14:14:01 +0000

via news.google.com

“Yet if it is Alfa Romeo for whom the birthday cake has been baked, it seems a lot of Americans do care — particularly the enthusiasts, collectors and racing fans who hold that Italian marque especially close to their hearts. Young people, whose Alfa exposure has mainly been to rusty 1980s convertibles on American streets, may not understand. But for baby boomers who remember the Duetto that Dustin Hoffman drove in the hit 1967 film “The Graduate,” or hard-core enthusiasts who know all about Alfa’s win at Le Mans in 1938, the mystique lives on.

Who cares? It seems that the organizers of the year’s top automotive concours events do. Alfa Romeo will be a featured marque at the prestigious Concours d’Élégance at Pebble Beach in California in August. Alfa will be celebrated at many other classic-car events this summer, including the Concorso Italiano near Monterey, Calif.; the Fairfield County Concours in Westport, Conn., and the Concours of the Americas at Meadow Brook, near Detroit.

Topping the birthday events is a gathering of Alfas in the company’s hometown, Milan, on June 26-27. More than 1,500 historic Alfas are expected, and parades are planned for both days.”

I wish we could have stayed in Milano for this event, it should be spectacular.

Alonso: Ferrari is too far away

mlstephens — Sun, 30 May 2010 23:48:13 +0000

Alonso: Ferrari is too far away
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/84032

“The points are good. Logically we wanted more but we were third in the championship, now we are fourth so we are still there.
“We don’t have the fastest car, and yet we are one point ahead of Vettel, so we aren’t doing too bad.”

Clearly the driver still matters, and McLaren leads in the points because of it. Massa finishing 7th, Schumacher 4th, and Vettel blowing it (again) makes for interesting racing. The Hamilton pass to overtake Button was fantastic, if a bit more gentlemanly than the Vettel attempt over his teammate. It is shaping up to be quite a season.

(via Instapaper)

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Ancient Alfas at Goodwood – Classic Driver

mlstephens — Sat, 29 May 2010 01:39:37 +0000

Ancient Alfas at Goodwood – Classic Driver

Classic Driver

Ancient Alfas at Goodwood
Classic Driver
Rediscovered in the 1970s and restored to how it had been, it now lives in Alfa Romeo’s Centro Storico. There’s plenty of whining when it starts up, …

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Volkswagen Buys Majority Stake in Italdesign Giugiaro

mlstephens — Sat, 29 May 2010 01:30:47 +0000

Volkswagen Buys Majority Stake in Italdesign Giugiaro

The Volkswagen Group has bought a 90.1-percent stake in Italdesign Giugiaro S.p.A. The new partnership between the German automaker and the storied Italian design works will see Italdesign taking on a bigger role in styling future Volkswagen products, beginning with the forthcoming Volkswagen Up!

Founded in 1968 in Turin, Italdesign has a long history of creating futuristic concepts and groundbreaking production cars. The company’s production-car legacy includes classics like the original Lotus Esprit, Lancia Delta, DMC DeLorean, Maserati Quattroporte, and Lamborghini Gallardo, and more ordinary cars like the Saab 9000, Hyundai Sonata, Subaru SVX, Lexus GS300, and Fiat Punto. The company also designs commercial trucks, tractors, and forklifts.

VW and Italdesign first hooked up in the 1970s, when the latter penned the Golf I, Passat, Scirocco, and (later) the Audi 80. Since then, Italdesign has created dozens of concept and production designs for VW as well as subsidiaries like SEAT and Lamborghini. Buying a large stake in the company likely gives VW a bigger say in new styling projects and keeps the Italian group from courting other manufacturers.

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Austin: Mixed reactions

mlstephens — Wed, 26 May 2010 14:40:20 +0000

Austin: Mixed reactions
As news of the United States Grand Prix being hosted in Texas finally begins to sink in, it has been revealed that three sites are under consideration for the purpose built permanent road track. However, reaction to the news is mixed.

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