For those who enjoy Gran Turismo Sport on Playstation 4, the December update should provide new challenges with not only the addition of 7 new cars but also the Laguna Seca raceway in California. The update was released recently as Update 1.53 and includes a range of Safety Cars.
The cars are:
Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Safety Car | 2017 Ford GT | Toyota Crown Athlete G Safety Car
The WeatherTech Laguna Seca raceway is located in central California and was opened in 1957. WeatherTech has been the main sponsor since 2018 but before that, Mazda was the main sponsor for 17 years.
The 3.6-km circuit’s famous feature is a very challenging section known as ‘The Corkscrew’. This has a blind crest apex on the uphill approach and drops 18 metres. It’s regarded as a technical circuit with 11 corners and drivers need to be able to maintain precise control over their speed at all times as any errors in estimation will result in them going off track or crashing.
In addition, Update 1.53 also has 7 new rounds added to GT League events. These include a ‘Beginner League’ with 2 new rounds added to the ‘Z Heritage’ (only for racers using Z cars) and an Amateur League is added to the ‘Super Formula Championships’.
Incidentally, in case you missed it in November, there is also a single player game mode in which the player challenges best lap times set by none other than the ‘Maestro of Gran Turismo Sport’ and real-life 6-time F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton, who personally set the lap records in Gran Turismo Sport.
In addition to the challenges themselves, the package includes replays and video tutorials by Lewis himself, where you can take on the challenges while really learning to improve your skills from the Maestro.
Remember our report about ‘The Last Overland’, a journey by a team reversing the famous 1955 Oxford & Cambridge Far Eastern Expedition between Singapore and London? The expedition – The First Overland – made history in 1955 by being the first-ever to drive from London to Singapore. That young team inspired generations of adventurers through their extraordinary endeavour, showing many remote corners of the world on film for the first time.
Two Land Rover stationwagons had been loaned for the expedition, and they were named ‘Oxford’ and ‘Cambridge’. Cambridge was lost after the expedition, but Oxford somehow ended up on the remote island of Saint Helena in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. It was just left there rusting until a Yorkshireman – Adam Bennett – spotted it in 2017 and realized its historic value. He recovered the 4×4 vehicle, refurbished it and brought back to life in the UK. It passed its MOT (vehicle inspection) at the first attempt, and its original SNX891 registration could be used again on the vehicle.
The toughness of Land Rovers has now been further demonstrated by the fact that Oxford was used by a team this year to recreate The First Overland – but in reverse. It was shipped to Singapore and then travelled through some of the densest jungles, highest mountains and most arid deserts on the planet, bringing the vehicle from Singapore to London.
114 days and some 16,000 kms after setting off from Singapore, the expedition team and Oxford were met at the finish line – just steps from the original expedition finish line in 1956 – by a New Defender 110 with specially commissioned Oxford & Cambridge Expedition livery. The special livery was commissioned in the original Oxford Blue & Cambridge Blue, alongside Oxford & Cambridge Expedition lettering on the door – both being features of previous expedition vehicles.
“This journey has definitely been an action-packed one, filled with many ups and downs, and I can’t believe how quickly the 18 months that went into planning this journey has brought us here, all in one piece so far! We’ve managed to drive this incredible 64-year-old car once more, to so many remote and fascinating parts of the world, through tropical monsoons, -20 degrees and at more than 5000 metres above sea level. Oxford has taken it all in stride. From Nagaland to Tibet, from Turkmenistan to Serbia, the welcome we’ve received has been unbelievable,” said 31-year-old award-winning filmmaker, Alex Bescoby, who had long wanted to do a documentary on the original expedition.
Bescoby not only got to do it in one of the original vehicles but also had Tim Slessor, now 87 years old, accompanying the expedition team. “As I get older, I have been bothered by a recurring and nagging whisper: ‘Go for it – before it’s too late.’ Which is why I am here today – I am 87, and if I don’t do it now, I may never get another chance. After all, as that whisper reminds me, ‘you’re only here once. If you like, it’s a case of ‘this Old Man helps take the Old Lady home,” Slessor said at an event held prior to the flag-off from Singapore.
New vehicle sales in the month of November declined by 2.4% or 1,286 units, bringing the Total Industry Volume for the month to 52,584 units of passenger and commercial vehicles. By segment, passenger vehicles accounted for 47,754 units (91%) of the month’s TIV with the remainder being commercial vehicles (including pick-up trucks).
Compared to the same month in 2018 when the market was still in a state of ‘fatigue’ after the surge during the 3 months of GST-free sales, it was to be expected that the figures in 2019 would be higher, with 4,302 units more sold in 2019. A larger volume of passenger vehicles (10% compared to 2018) was sold but commercial vehicles were actually 2% lower.
As for the TIV for the year to date, ie 11 months, the cumulative volume has reached almost the same level. From January to November, the TIV was 549,445 units which was just 965 units less than for the same period in 2018.
The output of locally-produced vehicles was lower than in November 2018, probably as companies started preparing to scale down stocks with the year coming to an end. 46,517 vehicles were produced, about 8% less than in 2018.
However, the cumulative TIV for 11 months shows that 2019 saw a higher output of 528,333 units where in 2018, the output during the same period was 522,572 units. Passenger vehicles accounted for the boost in numbers but commercial vehicles declined.
One month remains and in order to achieve the forecast of 600,000 units for the year by the MAA, 50,555 units would have to be registered in December. This is likely to be possible, with some extra added, as companies will be pushing hard to clear stocks and offer special deals in sales promotions. Many will also be closing their financial year and will want to be able to report the highest numbers to shareholders.
Just as in the late 1990s when the changing business environment forced companies to merge or form alliances to be more competitive, the same thing is happening as this decade ends. Groupe PSA and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) will enter a 50:50 merger of their businesses which will create the 4th largest global automotive manufacturing group (by volume) and 3rd largest by revenue.
The new combined company will have annual unit sales of 8.7 million vehicles, with revenues of nearly 170 billion euros, recurring operating profit of over 11 billion euros, and an operating profit margin of 6.6%, all on a simple aggregated basis of 2018 results. At present, the combined balance sheet is strong and therefore provides significant financial flexibility and ample headroom both to execute strategic plans and invest in new technologies throughout the cycle.
Broad-based brand portfolio
The combined entity will have a balanced and profitable global presence with a highly complementary and iconic brand portfolio covering all key vehicle segments from luxury, premium, and mainstream passenger cars through to SUVs and trucks and light commercial vehicles. This will be underpinned by FCA’s strength in North America and Latin America and Groupe PSA’s solid position in Europe.
The new Group will have much greater geographic balance with 46% of revenues derived from Europe and 43% from North America, based on aggregated 2018 figures of each company. The combination will bring the opportunity for the new company to reshape the strategy in other regions.
Sharing platforms will be key to efficiency
As has been the case with mergers of other groups, sharing platforms will be key to efficiency. The efficiencies that will be gained from optimizing investments in vehicle platforms, engine families and new technologies while leveraging increased scale will enable the business to enhance its purchasing performance and create additional value for stakeholders. More than two-thirds of production volumes will be concentrated on 2 platforms, with approximately 3 million cars per year on each of the small platform and the compact/mid-size platform.
While mergers often see downsizing exercises in facilities and manpower, it has been stressed that this one will not see plant closures or losses of jobs. In a letter to employees, Mike Manley, Chief Executive Officer of FCA, said: “The success of this merger will be underpinned by the history of our companies – a history where we have shown our leadership ability to deliver the successful integration of multiple cultures, passionate care for our iconic brands and a smart, tough, creative determination to succeed.”
About FCA and Groupe PSA
FCA was established in October 2014 when Fiat and Chrysler merged into a new holding company with two main subsidiaries – FCA Italy (previously Fiat Group Automobiles SpA) and FCA US. The portfolio of vehicle brands includes Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Lancia, and Maserati from the Fiat side, and Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, Jeep from the Chrysler side. In 1998, as Chrysler Corporation, the company had merged with Daimler AG in what was the first of ‘mega-mergers’ in the auto industry. Described as a ‘merger of equals’, it never worked out and the two companies separated in 2007.
Groupe PSA, earlier known as PSA Peugeot Citroen (between 1991 and 2016) has brands with a very long history, notably Peugeot which was founded over 200 years ago and Citroen which celebrated its 100th anniversary in March this year. The Group currently has 5 vehicle brands – Peugeot, Citroen, DS Automobiles, Opel and Vauxhall, the last two brands having been acquired in 2017.
The Volvo Group and Isuzu Motors plan to work together as a strategic alliance within commercial vehicles in order to capture the opportunities in the ongoing transformation of the industry. In the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed today between the two companies, the intention (in the first phase) is to establish a global technology partnership and to create a stronger, combined heavy-duty truck business for Isuzu Motors and UD Trucks in Japan and across international markets.
This will entail transferring ownership of the complete UD Trucks business globally from the Volvo Group to Isuzu Motors in order to accelerate growth by leveraging greater volumes and complementary capabilities. There is great complementarity between the two groups from both a geographical and product line perspective, with further opportunities to be explored over time.
Speaking on behalf of Isuzu Motors, its President & Representative Director, Masanori Katayama said: “Isuzu Motors and the Volvo Group strongly believe in the business opportunities and synergy potential between the two Groups. We intend to derive the full value from each other’s different specialties across product and geographical strongholds. Our collaboration will actively contribute to service improvements and strengthened customer satisfaction as well as to prepare ourselves for the forthcoming logistics revolution.”
The intended strategic alliance between the Volvo Group and Isuzu Motors will include forming a technology partnership which will leverage the parties’ complementary areas of expertise within both well-known and new technologies as well as to create a larger volume base to support necessary, forthcoming technology investments.
The alliance also aims to create the best long-term conditions for a stronger heavy-duty truck business for UD Trucks and Isuzu Motors in Japan and across international markets. There will be exploration of opportunities for even broader and deeper collaboration within the commercial vehicle businesses across geographical areas and product lines, such as light and medium-duty trucks.
“The Volvo Group and Isuzu Motors have a well-established relationship on medium-duty trucks in Japan based on mutual respect, shared values and win-win spirit. We see great potential to extend our cooperation within technology, sales and service as well as other areas going forward, for the benefit of our customers and business partners,” says Martin Lundstedt, President & CEO of the Volvo Group. “Our UD Trucks colleagues have done a great job to improve performance in recent years and the alliance opens up a great opportunity to continue the successful journey.”
All technology cooperation between the Volvo Group and Isuzu Motors will be managed through individual contracts. The MoU is non-binding. The next steps will be finalizing the scope of the business to be transferred, due diligence by Isuzu Motors and negotiations of binding agreements. Signing of binding agreements is expected to take place by mid-2020 and closing of the transaction is expected by the end of 2020.
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