bmwracer wrote:I just saw on the news that the Saab brand is being shut down by it's owner, GM. :shocked:
Yup all part of the bloodbath which is the legacy of mismanagement on the part of what used to be the largest car company....that's what happens when gimps design shit and get lazy while competitors innovate.
BERLIN (AP)—Seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher is coming out of retirement to drive for Mercedes in 2010, saying Wednesday that he expects to contend for the title again.
The German, who turns 41 on Jan. 3, announced his comeback after three years away from the sport that he dominated for the first half of the decade—putting an end to weeks of speculation.
gThree years of absence gave back all the energy that Ifm feeling right now,h Schumacher said in a telephone conference. gI feel ready for some serious stuff.h
gI still feel absolutely on the edge. Itfs thrilling and exciting,h he said. gI believe I can be absolutely competitive.h
Schumacher, who will partner Nico Rosberg in an all-German team for the 2010 season, said he and Mercedes are in discussions about a deal through the 2012 season.
gWe are talking about a three-year deal. Itfs not a one-off thing,h Schumacher said. gWe are looking for some continuation.h
Financial terms were not disclosed, but Germanyfs Bild daily—which first broke news of the deal—reported that Schumacher would earn ?7 million ($10 million) under an initial one-year contract.
Schumacher competed in 249 F1 races from 1991-2006 with Jordan, Benetton and Ferrari.
He won the F1 driverfs championship in 1994 and 1995 and five straight years from 2000-2004. He set records with 91 race wins and several other milestones in the sport which still stand.
gOur aim can only be to fight for the championship,h Schumacher said.
gWhat do you expect? I have won it (the title) seven times; Ifm now with the team that won both titles last year, we have on top Mercedes as a partner and team owner,h he told the British Broadcasting Corp. gSo you cannot expect anything else than to go for the world championship, and thatfs what wefre aiming for.h
Schumacher had planned a short-term comeback with Ferrari last season to fill in for the injured Felipe Massa, but he had to call that off due to a neck injury from a motorcycle accident.
gI made sure myself, and 100 percent with the neck there are no more issues,h he said. gThere has been enough time now for it to heal completely.h
Schumacher had been working as a consultant with Ferrari since his retirement, attending some F1 races. He said he had not envisioned a permanent comeback until approached by Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn—the man who oversaw the Germanfs seven world titles: five with Ferrari and two with Benetton.
Brawn said he was convinced that Schumacher would be competitive.
gHefs the best judge of what he can do and I trust him implicitly, and he told me he can do it so Ifm very confident,h Brawn said. gHefs always been his own best critic.h
Mercedes took over the Brawn GP team that won the driversf and constructorsf championships in its first season in 2009. Jenson Button, who won the driversf title with Brawn, has since left for McLaren while Rubens Barrichello has gone to Williams.
Schumacherfs return gives him a chance to pay back Mercedes, which steered his pre-F1 career.
gThe one reason I seriously thought about my return is because an old friend asked me,h Schumacher said. gMercedes gave me a chance to enter Formula One and throughout the years we were never able to work together, but now I have that chance. I am happy to give back for what Mercedes gave me in the early days.h
gI was not thinking I would have an offer,h Schumacher said. gI could not have imagined I would have returned. Due to this special combination, that no one could have planned in advance, I just thought, eWhy not?hf
Schumacher acknowledged that parting company with Ferrari was gcertainly not an easy step.h
He said he still feels gstrong solidarity and loyalty to these guys who have accompanied me and have always built great cars for me.h
Rosberg said it would be gfantastich to have Schumacher as his new teammate.
gItfs a great challenge for me to be up against one of the best drivers of all time,h he said. gIfm sure that we will form a very strong partnership as he will have lost none of his speed.h
Schumacherfs brother, former Formula One driver Ralf Schumacher, said he understood his older siblingfs decision to sign with Mercedes.
gI wouldnft have hesitated either,h he said. gI know this fulfils the dream of many German Formula One fans. There couldnft be a better Christmas present for all those fans.h
Former champion Niki Lauda, who himself quit the sport after winning his first two world titles but returned to win a third in 1984, predicted that Schumacher will be among the front-runners gfrom day one.h
gThe Vettels, Hamiltons and Alonsos will be thinking, eWefll show this old guy how itfs done,hf Lauda said on German radio. gBut I fear that they will have to watch out.h
Tu_triky wrote:Yup all part of the bloodbath which is the legacy of mismanagement on the part of what used to be the largest car company....that's what happens when gimps design shit and get lazy while competitors innovate.
Yup.
GM seems to do that a lot: Look what they did to Hughes Aircraft... Totally effed the company and now it's gone. :shakehead:
The car manufacturers may be drifting out of Formula One - or should I say gfloodingh - but Bernie Ecclestone has not finished with car manufacturers yet. Hefs making a bid to buy Saab in a joint deal with Genni Capital, which, by the way, is the company that bought into the Renault team.
I can imagine that Bernie the deal maker is having the time of his life as the car manufacturers leave disgruntled from his series and open up the possibilities for all these moves on the paddock chessboard.
gItfs a good brand that has probably been neglected by the current owners,h Ecclestone told Bloomberg. gWe donft own it yet, so letfs see what happens.h
Genii Capital ghas decided that given an adequate and short time frame for finalizing its offer, it will aggressively work towards a successful closing of the transaction with all the relevant stakeholders of the companyh, it said in a statement.
Itfs interesting to see this latest Saab story when you think that another of the other bidders for the car manufacturer is the Spyker sports car company of the Netherlands. Remember Spyker? Thatfs the company that briefly owned the team that began as Jordan, then became Midland, then became Spyker, then became Force India. (This is starting to sound biblicalc.) So, will the Renault team, which had been begot by Benetton soon beget Saab?
Orders no longer being taken for wildly popular Lexus LFA
Toyota Motor Corp. has announced it has stopped accepting reservations in Japan for its Lexus LFA sports car, after domestic orders nearly caught up to the number of units to be sold worldwide.
The automaker has a global sales target of 500, but pre-orders for domestic sales (165 units) have already reached about 500. Although the pre-order deadline was initially set for late March, the company stopped accepting orders on Wednesday due to the flood of reservations. Purchasers will be chosen by lottery by April.
The 4.8-liter, V10 560-h.p. LFA is currently priced at 37.5 million yen, making it the most expensive Japanese car on the market.
The LFA, unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show in October last year, will go into production in December this year. Orders for global sales will be available as scheduled.
Toyota Motor also plans to sell an upgraded LFA model some time between 2011 and 2012.
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