Low Gearing is now Autophiles.ca

From now on I will not be updating my blogspot blog and will be doing posts at Autophiles.ca. Click the title to see the new site.

Japanese Grand Prix Live Blog

Set your reminders now for the F1Fanatic Japanese Grand Prix Live Blog. The first session is tonight at 10pm AST/9pm EST.

Embargo Breakage: 2009 Corvette ZR1 Review

Jalopnik has just posted their review of the 2009 Corvette ZR1 thanks to someone in South Florida breaking the embargo. Enjoy...

Chrysler Employee Pricing For EVERYONE; Some Conditions Apply

After Chrysler just (kinda) announced losing $515 million in the first quarter of 2008, I guess they figured they should go diving deeper into the pool of red ink around the back of HQ in Auburn Hills, MI.

I've heard through the grapevine that all Cerberus employees (at least in Canada) are now eligible for employee pricing. Also, they are allowing employees to give six (yes, SIX!) codes per year to family or friends to get the same prices on Chrysler products.

The website, available here (password 'affiliate'), was sent out to employees of Cerberus companies about a month ago in an effort for Chrysler to squeeze out some more sales in July. This comes right before they decided to not lease anymore cars.

Though Cerberus is in the business of making money, not making cars, you wonder what their decision makers are thinking when they decide to make their profit margins smaller than they already are. For instance, on the 2008 Dodge Ram Light Duty 1500 Quad Cab 4x4 SXT (I know, mouthful!) they are offering $18,806 in rebates and discounts bringing the price to $20,969.

It seems like all mouths on this three-headed dog are busy gnawing at its own last leg.

UPDATE: After a little bit of digging I've found a document to dealers outlining the program. It seems to have started January 3rd, 2008 and ends January 2nd, 2009. The best part of the letter:

VEHICLES AVAILABLE:
Select new and unused 2006MY, 2007MY, or 2008MY Chrysler vehicles purchased or leased from participating Dealerships.

Because only Chrysler would have a 2006 'new' car on their lot. Go figure. Full letter can be seen here.

UPDATE 2: If you are wondering if you might be eligible, check the list of Cerberus companies here. Even if you don't think you are part of their investments, you may be.

Nissan Sebring? Chrysler Altima? America and Japan's Number 3s Doing The Mid-Size Tango

Chrysler is really taking this who mid-size thing seriously, at last. The Chrysler Sebring has been the automakers sore point for quite some time now. With a bad visual design and the car itself not thought out all that well, it is no surprise that they haven't been flying off the lots.

Nissan and Chrysler have made some recent partnerships with regards to small cars and full size trucks. Now, it is rumoured, that they are looking to get together on a mid-size car.

From details over at Reuters, it is thought that Nissan will produce a mid-size car for Chrysler that will be sold under the Chrysler name. It would probably be build on the same platform as the Nissan Altima, with powertrains possibly coming from either company.

Let's just hope that it doesn't look like an Altima with a Sebring grille pasted on to the front.

Andrea Pininfarina, CEO of Pininfarina, Dies In Road Accident

Though, there has been no confirmation as of yet on the Pininfarina press release page, Autocar is reporting that Pininfarina CEO, Andrea Pininfarina, was killed this morning on his way to work in Cambiano, Italy. Pininfarina was riding his Vespa scooter when struck by a car in Turin.

Pininfarina (the company) has been responsible for such cars as Ferraris, Fiats, as well as the Euro Ford Focus. The company was started in 1930 by Battista "Pinin" Farina, Andrea's grandfather.

Andrea joined the family design firm in 1983 after receiving a mechanical engineering degree. He is survived by his wife and three children.

Our condolences to his family, friends, co-workers, and admirers.

[Source: Autocar]