This week's snippets of automotive news include news on Alfa Romeo, Honda’s Urban EV, Ford Focus RS production and Volkswagen board members on Twitter.
Alfa Romeo:
The reaction to the Alfa Romeo Giulia and Alfa Romeo Stelvio “prove we’re not sitting in a technical space reserved for a few German brands”, said FCA Group boss Sergio Marchionne. He added that the investment in Alfa will also give Maserati a new lease of life as the two forge a future sharing platforms and powertrains.
Honda Urban EV:
The Honda Urban EV and Sports EV were designed as a “set of two”, said design boss Makoto Iwaki, who confirmed there are no other models planned with a similar design language. He said the styling wouldn’t translate to larger models: “This design is only really possible on smaller cars.”
Ford Focus RS:
The Ford Focus RS Orange Edition – the final 50 cars to come off the production line before Focus RS manufacturing ends later this year, all painted in a bright orange hue and featuring Mountune performance upgrades and styling modifications – sold out in 30 minutes, off the back of a single Facebook post, Ford UK boss Andy Barratt has revealed.
Volkswagen board members on Twitter:
Volkswagen sales boss Jürgen Stackmann is the only member of the firm’s board on Twitter but he is aiming to change that. Stackmann (@jstackmann) said he has been pressuring CEO Herbert Diess (and new VW Group boss) to join the social media platform and Diess has agreed – if Stackmann can double his 15,000 followers (he's now up to 18,600).
Having initially had all his posts approved at multiple levels, Stackmann now does his own tweets, with help from his PA, and has said it’s a vital tool for keeping in touch with the brand’s customers.
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Please can we also have a Honda Sport EV Convertible?
I think it looks excellent, and a convertible version could be the thing to tempt me out of an ancient MX5 and into a weekend EV.
bol wrote:
Thats a great idea. I would love to see Honda build that.
Nothing wrong with the Jazz's
Nothing wrong with the Jazz's design.
It's tidy enough and the interior space beats pretty much every competitor into a cocked hat - and gives a couple of alternatives from the class up a run for their money.
I'd much rather have a Jazz than one of the dull 'me too' designs from VAG.
The only genuinely good looking car in that class at the moment is the Clio.
odie_the_dog wrote:
I think the Jazz looks ok as well, colour dependent though as some look a bit tall, as for the rest in class, I quite like the corsas styling even though its an old car. As for these honda ev's, I really rate their styling highly and don't see why it wouldn't work on future cars including larger ones.
Honda design
Someone should tell Mr Iwaki that the Jazz is also a small car, and it's much in need of some attention re its design.