Due to the global economy slowdown, and the strain placed on automakers from falling auto sales, many automakers are pulling out of costly motorsports. The latest withdrawals from motorsports are Subaru and Suzuki, which have both announced that they will not compete in the World Rally Championship.
With the exit of Subaru and Suzuki, the WRC leaves only Citroen and Ford as the only manufactures competition in next year’s championship says Subaru Service Seaside. Considering Ford’s struggles, they may be next to leave the sport.
With the rapid deterioration of the global economy, Buffalo Suzuki dealers say that automakers are finding it difficult to remain in costly racing competitions. In order to strengthen their brand, Suzuki and Subaru have both chosen to tighten their budgets and focus only on what’s truly necessary to their overall success. According to the Salinas Collision Center, reduced profitability from dwindling car demand worldwide has made it necessary to reduce spending wherever possible, including in motorsports.
Honda has already bowed out of Formula One racing for similar reasons as the automaker needed to apply the cash towards more crucial business initiatives according to East Hartford CT Honda. F1 teams such as Honda can spend as much as $500 million per year, but rally racing is significantly less costly.
Subaru and Suzuki were both competitive in rally racing. Subaru in particularly has been one of the sport’s icons, and is a part of their brand image.Volvo Dives into Plug-in Hybrid Technology
Volvo has been struggling amid slumping global sales, but that hasn’t stopped the automaker from diving into research and development. One such as product of its R&D efforts is a new plug-in hybrid that will be due by 2012. Volvo has committed itself to producing a high mileage diesel-electric plug-in hybrid, but it has yet to confirm its plans to sell the vehicle in the U.S.Lexus ES Still Critical to Luxury Brand Lineup
As one Lexus’ most popular models, there will be plenty of drivers that will be happy to see a revamped Lexus ES 350 coming to showrooms later this month. While it may not be a full redesign, the updating certainly brings needed enhancements.Could GM Utilize Toyota Hybrid Technology?
Toyota and General Motors have had a strong partnership via NUMMI. This seemingly odd relationship was responsible for the Pontiac Vibe, which was build alongside the similar Toyota Matrix in a joint manufacturing venture based in California. With the Pontiac Vibe now discontinued, the question now is what will come of the NUMMI partnership.