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Brazilian GP this weekend
The Brazilian GP may be on, but you and I
are not going to see it at a civilised hour, as far as I can
make out. With the compulsory 2 a.m. closing it will be
impossible to see the telecast at Shenanigans, as I think it
will actually commence around that time, but remember that as
I write this, there is still no confirmation from UBC as to
the starting time. Watch the notice board at Shenanigans.
So what does the form card look like? After
the dominance in qualifying in Malaysia shown by Schumi (the
elder) in the rework of last year’s Ferrari, just how will
the F2002 go at Brazil? So far in testing the F2002 has been
up to half a second quicker than the F2001 at the various
tracks they have taken the new race car to, but will it be as
reliable? The engine failure at Sepang, suffered by Rubens
Barichello, might be a chink in the armour? However, it would
be a brave man who would dismiss Michael Schumacher’s
chances of victory.
 Eddie
Irvine and Jaguar are looking woeful so far
The (not really) surprise team at Sepang
was BMW Williams. Not only were the cars quick, but they were
very economical as well. Eventual winner Ralf Schumacher
stopped once only for fuel as opposed to the Ferrari’s two
stops. This will make them very strong in the race situation,
even if they haven’t got the ultimate package for pole
position (but they will soon). Both the cars were bullet-proof
reliable as opposed to McLaren Mercedes.
Ron Dennis at McLaren must be tearing out
the little hair he has got left. Coulthard had one engine
failure, followed by a spectacular blow-up for Raikkonen a few
laps later. Not only unreliable, but quite frankly off the
pace as well. Sleepless nights ahead at McLaren’s workshops.
Sauber got two cars to the finish in
Malaysia, with both in the points. Sauber have “customer”
Ferrari engines (read - last year’s) which have shown
themselves to be reliable and quick and Sauber are looking
good for the rest of the year.
The real surprise package was Renault, with
Jenson Button looking good for 3 rd
and his first podium finish, only to have a rear suspension
arm collapse on the second last lap, allowing a relieved
Michael Schumacher to grab 3rd
place instead.
 Kimi
Raikkonen blew up in Malaysia
Toyota continue to impress, with their cars
well up and McNish finishing just outside the points in 7th
spot. Up till then, Salo had been running in 6th
but had an electrical problem with three laps to go.
The rest? Woeful. The Jordans playing crash
test dummies, BAR nowhere, Arrows likewise with Heinz-Harry
Frentzen stalled on the grid (again!) and Jaguar still an
embarrassment to the Blue Oval. Poor old Minardi was back at
the tail of the field, their usual position, after such an
auspicious start to the season in Australia, which was,
however, occasioned by the multiple pile up off the start down
under.
After two rounds, the World Championship
standings are as follows: M. Schumacher 14 points, Montoya 12,
R. Schumacher 10, Raikkonen 4, a tie between Irvine and Button
on 3 points, another tie between Webber and Heidfeld on 2
points and another tie between Salo and Massa with 1 point
each.
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Bangkok International Motor
Show
The 23 rd
Bangkok International Motor Show kicks off this weekend.
Being held once more at BITEC (Km marker 1 on the
Bangna-Trat Road) it is easy for us Pattaya auto
enthusiasts as you don’t have to actually go into
Bangkok.
 Exhibitors
include Toyota, Lexus, Honda, Mitsubishi, Isuzu, Nissan,
Mazda, Suzuki, Subaru, Thai Rung, Holden, Mercedes-Benz,
BMW, VW, Audi, Porsche, Land-Rover, Jaguar, Rolls-Royce,
Bentley, Seat, Skoda, GM, Ford, Chevrolet, Peugeot,
Citroen, Hyundai, Ssanyong, KIA, Volvo, Saab, Maserati,
Ferrari, Fiat and Alfa Romeo.
With the confirmation that the Alfa
Romeo line will be starting up at the GM plant on the
Eastern Seaboard, to produce the new 156’s and that Alfa
are recruiting five or six dealers for Bangkok is all good
news for local car production. I expect to see quite a
push from Alfa Romeo at this year’s show.
If you’re into two wheels instead of
four then there’s Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, BMW,
Cagiva and Husqvarna.
The Motor Show runs from the 29 th
of March until the 7th
of April and I will have some first hand reports next week
in this column.
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Top man at VeeDub retires in a blaze of glory and no F1
VW
Ferdinand Piech, the ex Porsche man,
resigns as chairman of Volkswagen next month. He has been one
of the reasons that VW have done so well. At Volkswagen’s
annual financial results meeting this month, Piech reported
record results for 2001. Sales rose 6.5 percent to 88.5
billion euros, or $78.1 billion at current rates, and pre-tax
profits climbed to $3.89 billion - VW’s best ever.
Piech’s position as boss-cocky will be
taken by Bernd Pischetsrieder next month. While seated next to
his successor at the meeting, Piech was asked about the F1 VW
possibility. His reply was, “Mr. Pischetsrieder and I enjoy
watching Formula One as long as the other (automotive) groups
pay for it.”
Pischetsrieder, who previously as head of
BMW had clashed with Piech over the ownership of Rolls-Royce
and Bentley, is known as a tough negotiator. “Pischetsrieder
made a good deal for his side,” said Piech. “He secured
for himself the biggest cut possible. Fundamentally, we both
wanted both brands, Rolls and Bentley. Well, I ended up with
Bentley and Pischetsrieder!”
| Daewoo to
return the engagement ring?
The on-again, off-again takeover of
Daewoo by General Motors seems to have hit another rough
patch, with Automotive News in the US reporting that
Daewoo Motors America (DMA) may be another stumbling
block.
What does DMA represent on the
negotiation table? The numbers say it all. $80 million
debt for the inventory alone. The inventory is down from
45,000 units in December but still at 28,000 units which
is more than enough for 158 days. Profits? None!
According to the Automotive News
report, Daewoo Motor America president D.J. Lee late last
week confirmed speculation that GM has revised its
takeover proposal of Daewoo to exclude the US unit and
other overseas assets from any deal to buy Daewoo.
However, Daewoo’s creditors have apparently rejected
that proposal.
“The creditors refused the
proposal,” Lee said in a telephone interview. “I
can’t think of any deal happening without DMA being
included.” Lee also disclosed that GM in September asked
Daewoo to halt expansion of its U.S. dealer base.
A GM spokesman said the status of
Daewoo dealer networks outside Korea has not been settled
and that negotiations are continuing. “It’s really too
early to speculate on any given piece of the
negotiations,” he said.
Far from being the enthusiastic
bride-to-be, Daewoo is having second thoughts about this
marriage. In a speech to international fund managers in
Seoul last week, Korean Finance and Economy Minister Nyum
Jin acknowledged that Daewoo would have trouble surviving
on its own over the long term, but it appears that the
government no longer views the automaker’s sale as a
must. “(Korea’s) strong economic performance this year
buys more time to settle the Daewoo sale on Korea’s own
terms,” he said.
As outlined in this column a few months
ago, GM’s original bid proposed that it invest $400
million in a new company that would be set up to include
the 22 sales arms, four assembly plants and the output of
Daewoo’s aging plant in Korea for six years.
Under that plan, Daewoo’s current
creditors would pay $197 million for 33 percent of the new
company and supply long-term working capital lines of
credit of $2 billion. The company also would issue $1.2
billion in shares.
However, now it looks as if GM wants to
pay a smaller dowry to get a smaller share of Daewoo. GM
CEO Rick Wagoner has said several times that they are
interested mainly in Daewoo’s home market and only
peripherally in its overseas sales. He also openly has
questioned whether the Daewoo brand has a place under the
GM umbrella in the United States. In its memorandum of
understanding with Daewoo’s creditors, GM also refused
to be responsible for debt of the overseas sales arms, and
DMA would bring debt to the table of over $80 million.
So once again, I urge caution with your
proposed purchase of a Daewoo. It was looking good, but if
the bride thumbs her nose at her American suitor, you
could be left with an “orphan”.
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Autotrivia Quiz
Last week I showed a photo of a car which
was made in the UK. The year was 1972 and it was associated
with the tobacco industry. It was the Ogle Aston Martin built
to publicize a new brand of cigarettes called “Sotheby”.
The “Sotheby Special” vehicle was displayed in dark blue
with gold pinstripes. There was one other car built, this was
painted in a claret colour and the photo is of this one.
 Before
launching into the quiz, I must thank those very regular
entrants, Sean Jehan (Channel Islands) and MacAlan Thompson in
Bangkok. Fortunately all the glasses of beer I have posted to
Sean have either evaporated or been spilled on the way over to
the UK, and as for Mac, I have poured yours, but unfortunately
have drunk them before I get to the bus station to send them
up. Sorry, both of you!
And so to this week. And it is a test of
your mechanical automotive engineering abilities. What is a
“Sprague” and what was it used for?
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be
the first correct answer to fax 427 596 or email [email protected]
Good luck!
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