William Maley

Nissan Builds A 520 HP Juke-R William Maley - Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com October 4, 2011 Nissan has taken a turn with crazy with introducing vehicles like the Juke and Murano CrossCabrio. Now it has left the reservation with the news of their European division building a 520 HP Juke. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the Nissan Juke-R. Nissan engineers and RML Motorsports have taken the twin-turbo 3.8-liter V6 from the Nissan GT-R and somehow fit it into the Juke's engine bay. Other parts coming from the GT-R include the all-wheel drive system, brakes, and 20-inch Rays forged wheels. “Juke lends itself perfectly to a sports derivative and Juke-R explores that territory. Equally at home on road and track, Juke-R showcases two of the most exciting cars in our range and highlights the technical innovation that drives Nissan. This car will more than live up to the dynamic driving experience we engineer into all our cars,” said Paul Willcox, Senior VP, Sales and Marketing for Nissan in Europe. Only two Juke-Rs will be built; one left hand and one right hand. Nissan says the Juke-R will be road legal and says testing will begin sometime in November. Press Release is below. Nissan Announces The Juke-R The Ulimate Compact Crossover Juke-R Set To Inject New Excitement Into The Crossover Market Juke and GT-R brought together to create the ultimate compact crossover One-off concept to test the public's reaction to a seriously sporty Juke Underlines the compact crossover's fun factor Fully road legal with GT-R drive train Developed for Nissan by RML with input from Nissan Technical Centre for Europe (NTC-E) Car currently in development; expected to complete first tests in November ROLLE, 4 October 2011 Question: What do you get when you cross a Nissan Juke with a Nissan GT-R? Answer: The fastest, most exciting and daring compact crossover in the world. Not content with re-shaping the new car market by pioneering the crossover - a success reflected in the soaring sales of its Qashqai and Juke models - Nissan is now creating the Juke-R, the first ever super crossover. Currently under development the bold design of the Juke is clear to see. However, with the addition of flared wheel arches, revised front and rear bumpers plus a unique split rear wing, highlights this is no standard crossover - It's a Juke that thinks it's a GT-R - and with good reason. However, the car is not for production and is a one-off, road legal concept car, developed by Nissan and built by leading motorsports outfit RML with input from Nissan Technology Centre for Europe (NTC-E). Under the bonnet is a 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 engine adopted directly from Nissan's flagship supercar. Under the boot floor hides the GT-R's six-speed transaxle, with the front and rear ends joined by a modified GT-R 4WD driveline and prop shaft, while chunky 20-inch RAYS forged alloy rims fill each wheel arch. The interior merges crossover and supercar with finesse, as the Juke's dashboard has been transformed to accommodate the gauges, dials and 7-inch customisable LCD display from the GT-R. The Juke's iconic centre console, inspired by the fuel tank of a motorcycle, remains while the rest of the interior has the look of a machine bred for the track. Twin race-seats with five-point harnesses sit inside a visible roll cage that gives FIA safety standards as well as enhanced rigidity to provide the ultimate performance. "Nissan Juke is one of the most exciting cars on the market today. Its bold crossover design has captured the imagination of car buyers all over Europe; after just a year on sale we are celebrating sales of more than 100,000 units," said Paul Willcox, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing for Nissan in Europe. "Juke lends itself perfectly to a sports derivative and Juke-R explores that territory. Equally at home on road and track, Juke-R showcases two of the most exciting cars in our range and highlights the technical innovation that drives Nissan. This car will more than live up to the dynamic driving experience we engineer into all our cars". For full details on Juke-R and to follow the car's development, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/NissanJukeOfficial http://www.youtube.com/user/NissanJuke

Fiat Gives Green Light To High Performance 4-Cylinder For Alfa William Maley - Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com October 3, 2011 Fiat has given the go ahead to a new 1.8L four-cylinder engine that will find their way into Alfa Romeos. The engine, which has been in development since 2006 will be equipped with technologies like direct-injection and turbocharging will be able to produce 300 HP. The engine has been also been engineered to be used in transversal and longitudinal applications and meet Tier 2 Bin 5 regulations for the US. “This is an extremely important step for Alfa Romeo, as we continue to reposition our brand and prepare it for global distribution. The United States remains our primary objective as we prepare for a 2013 introduction of our models,” Harald Wester, Fiat’s chief technology officer and head of the Alfa Romeo and Maserati brands, said in a statement. The first home for the 1.8L will be in Alfa's 4C sports car in 2013. Source: Automotive News Europe (Subscription Required)

Bob Nardelli Laments The Loss Of Chrysler William Maley - Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com October 3, 2011 Former Chrysler CEO, Bob Nardelli isn't happy with Obama Administation still to this day. Speaking with The Detroit News, Nardelli had some interesting thoughts about Chrysler. Nardelli says he "laments all the time" that private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP, who he still works for, isn't running the pentastar. "If the government gave us the deal they gave Fiat, we'd be doing just fine — really. There was no reason for the government to give Chrysler away," Nardelli said. Back in 2009, Cerberus sent a plan to US Government outlining how they would turn around Chrysler and a request for $5 billion in additional aid. The US Government said no to the plan and told Cerberus to step aside for Fiat to help out the struggling automaker with a $12.5 billion investment and 20% stake into the company. When the News asked former auto czars Steve Rattner and Ron Bloom for comment, both declined. Previously though, Rattner has said the government saw they couldn't leave Cerberus in charge. "We did make a decision that we wanted to have a completely fresh management team," he said. Chrysler spokesperson Gualberto Ranieri said "it is literally much better not to comment." Rebecca Lindland, a New York-based analyst with IHS Automotive says Nardelli is overstating Cerberus' role in Chrysler. "This is like a foster parent who briefly raised a child at age 5 taking credit when they grew up to be president of the United States or an Olympic athlete. I don't think many people at Chrysler would agree with him." Source: The Detroit News

Yes, There Will Be An Impreza WRX & STI... In Due Time William Maley - Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com October 1, 2011 With the next generation Subaru Impreza coming to dealers next month, questions have been raised about whether there will be next generation version of the WRX and STI. Well, the good news is there will be a WRX and STI versions. The semi bad news is no one knows when the cars will be brought out. Car & Driver says no one is saying a date because Subaru wants to give the new Impreza time to gain some foothold in the market and allow time for important internal decisions to be made. If you do have the craving for a WRX or an STI, Subaru will still be selling the current models for the time being. Source: Car & Driver