NY Preview: SRT releases final teaser of new Viper

Below is a rendering of the Next Gen Viper....

By Mark Kleis
Chrysler’s SRT division has released its fourth and final teaser of its 2013 Viper, giving us our first look at the car’s overall shape. The 2013 SRT Viper will debut in just a few days at the NY auto show.

This latest teaser isn’t in high-resolution, but gives us a basic idea of what to expect when SRT finally pulls the sheet on the new Viper this week. From what we can see in the photo, the Viper will come with a far more sculpted body than the last version of the car.

Set to become the first vehicle marketed under the SRT banner, the 2013 Viper has been a long time coming. Its Dodge Viper predecessor has been out of production since mid-2010, but a fifth-generation snake will bring the nameplate back sans “Dodge” for the first time in its history.
Our illustration is based on information culled from a number of sources, one of which is rather unusual, to say the least. While information gleaned from insiders, including those few members of the public who have been allowed to see the car, and photos of cleverly disguised test mules form the basis of much of the illustration’s details, a leaked image of a Hot Wheels 1/64-scale toy car helped put the finishing touches on our rendering.

That Hot Wheels model made its way online last week when it was posted on a Viper forum.

We expect the Viper’s proportions to remain mostly unchanged, but its rear end is more aggressive and angular than the one seen on the last generation. As predicted by spy shots and previous reports, the car features a high-sculpted hood fitted with two big air vents.

Those vents will be needed as the SRT Viper is expected to arrive with an 8.7-liter V10 engine that will send over 600 horsepower to the rear wheels. Early rumors suggested the car would share some of its architecture with the voluptuous, if slightly un-engaging Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, but SRT chief Ralph Gilles has been quick to dispel those rumors by stating that “The new Viper is not based on anything else.”

As previously reported, Chrysler is reopening its Conner Avenue Assembly Plant in Detroit to build the Viper. The automaker has offered jobs to all 150 workers it once employed at the facility, which it uses exclusively to hand-build Vipers.

“The next generation Viper will make its return to the product lineup in late 2012 as a 2013 model,” said SRT Brand & Motorsports President/CEO Ralph Gilles in a statement released to the media. “We’re extremely excited that our ultimate American sports car will continue to live on and be produced exclusively here in the Motor City.”

Source;

http://www.leftlanenews.com/srt-viper.html

Daimler Faces New German Probe in Accident

By CHRISTOPH RAUWALD

Daimler AG and Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche were Friday facing a new probe into the death of a company engineer on a test track last year, but Daimler said it expects the company and CEO to be cleared.

A Daimler spokeswoman said the investigation by a German public prosecutors office was "a pure formality." In Germany, a prosecutor is obliged to look at any allegations of serious wrongdoing. A German media report said the new probe was at the request of the dead engineer's family.

"We firmly expect Mr. Zetsche to be cleared from these allegations," the Daimler spokeswoman said. The public prosecutor's office wasn't immediately available for comment.

In July, a separate probe by another prosecutors' office into the same accident ended with a German district court and public prosecutors finding the company and Mr. Zetsche not guilty of any wrongdoing. Instead it found that a driver of one of the vehicles in the accident was solely responsible, a Daimler spokeswoman said.

The Daimler engineer had been sitting in a second vehicle involved in the crash. Mr. Zetsche himself was not involved in the accident but was being probed because he is the CEO of the company.

Source;

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903927204576574672468850748.html

Honda names former Chrysler exec to steer U.S. marketing

By Mark Rechtin, Crain News Service



LOS ANGELES (Aug. 19, 2011) — American Honda Motor Co. has chosen an outsider and former Chrysler executive Michael Accavitti as its chief marketing officer.



Mr. Accavitti most recently was executive automotive adviser for Cisco Systems, but is better known as the veteran Chrysler executive who was president of the Dodge brand and lead marketing executive of the Chrysler Group before his 2009 departure.



Mr. Accavitti replaces Steve Center, who will lead a new enterprise within American Honda called the Environmental Business Development Office.



Mr. Center has been in Honda’s top U.S. marketing post since June 2008.



Mr. Accavitti inherits an organization that’s battling production shortages stemming from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. American Honda’s U.S. sales have declined 3 percent this year through July in a market that’s up 11 percent.



To retain U.S. customers until stockpiles are replenished, Honda has taken the unusual step of extending leases or offering vouchers or rebates toward the future purchase of a new Honda.



Honda has told its U.S. dealers car and light truck inventories are not expected to return to normal levels until the last quarter or early 2012.



New group

The new environmental group will oversee Honda’s various green business initiatives, from the Fit electric vehicle to solar panel arrays to home co-generation units fueled by natural gas.



“Honda is structured by distribution group, by auto brands, motorcycles, and power equipment.



But these futuristic energy creation groups are transcending those silos,” Mr. Center said in an interview.



With “the dynamics (of) the utility business, you can see that things are starting to break through all the distribution channels,” he added.



Mr. Accavitti first worked for Chrysler starting in 1977. He installed axles on trucks at Chrysler’s Warrren, Mich., truck plant—known as Dodge City—to save money for college. He worked on the line for two years and one summer before starting college.



He rejoined Chrysler in 1984 when the auto maker was hiring engineers and spent time in product marketing, brand management and racing.



At Honda, he will oversee the marketing of the Honda and Acura brands, public relations, auto shows and emerging-markets advertising.



The transition is occurring immediately, although it was announced internally on Aug. 1.

Mr. Accavitti is in the process of relocating to Los Angeles and was not immediately available for comment.



Fresh blood

“You need the fresh blood,” Mr. Center said about the changes. “Fresh thinking is good, but too much and you can lose your culture or focus.”



Last year, Honda extended voluntary retirement offers to certain employees and lost about 50 managers, many of whom had more than 30 years of experience at the company. Center said Honda is “still a very young company.”



Mr. Accavitti will have a full plate awaiting him as Honda strives to recover from the March earthquake.



Because of the earthquake-related inventory crunch that killed the momentum of the spring launch of the Civic, Honda will re-launch the compact car this fall. Also, a redesigned CR-V crossover arrives later this year, and a new Accord comes next spring. Those are three of Honda’s four “pillar” vehicles, Mr. Center said.



Honda brand sales are off 2 percent this year, and Acura sales are down 6 percent.



Like Mr. Center did, Mr. Accavitti will report to Tetsuo Iwamura, president of American Honda. Unlike other auto makers, Honda separates its auto operations—such as product development, product planning and marketing—from auto sales, which covers distribution, wholesale and retail and is overseen by executive vice president John Mendel.



Mr. Center, 54, joined Honda in 1993 as part of Dick Colliver’s team of transplants from Mazda North American Operations. Mr. Mendel was formerly executive vice president and chief operating officer for Mazda North America before joining Honda in 2004.



Mr. Center’s career has included managerial positions in market support, e-business, Acura sales, advertising and public relations.



The Environmental Business Development Office will receive additional staff, but Mr. Center declined to give further details.



He called it “a combination of a brain trust, think tank and venture capital firm.”



Source;

http://www.tirebusiness.com/subscriber/headlines2.phtml?cat=1204552929&headline=Honda+names+former+Chrysler+exec+to+steer+U.S.+marketing&id=1313763465