Hilights of the *Automotive Industry* magazine

[Igor Kessel <e6941tb@ix.netcom.com>]

Fellows,
here's what I read recently. Some of it may be yesterdays news: 

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VW plans V-12 Flagship to challenge Mercedes

<...> Outlining the plan, top VW executives say the Volkswagen brand head to 
head with Mercedes. The rest of the four-brand group strategy calls for Audi to 
target BMW,  Skoda to aim at Saab and Volvo, and Seat to take on Alfa Romeo and 
Lancia.

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BTDT, won't do it again

Toyota is on the roll. Sales, market share, quality and productivity are 
leaving the competition in the dust - except for one thing: Toyota has some of 
the worst customer loyalty in the American market. And it just slipped to 30th 
(out of 38) in J.D. Power's Sales Satisfaction Index.<...>

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ZF

German transmission maker ZF AG, is getting back into the family business -- 
Zeppelin-making. Almost exactly century after Count Ferdinand Von Zeppelin 
built his first airship in Friedrichshafen, Germany, ZF, the Zeppelin 
Foundation and the Count's descendants have launched a new company to build 
passenger-carrying Zeppelins.<...>ZF began as the Zeppelin Company's 
gear-making unit.<...>

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<...> A4 models are being ordered at a rate of 1400 per day while current 
capacity is 1200.<...>

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<...> Saab continues to push turbocharging technology with the 9-5. The car is 
powered by a 3.0L, 24 valve V-6 with asymmetrical turbo. The single Garret GT17 
unit is mounted on the front cylinder bank -- its housing is integraten into 
the exhaust manifold -- and is fed by the exhaust gases from only these three 
sylinders. The turbo then distributes compressed air to all six cylinders in 
both banks. Maximum boost pressure is 3.63 psi (0.25 bar).
<...> increases peak torque by 15% (from 199 to 228 lb-ft) <...>.
Maximum claimed power is 200hp at 5000 rpm. The turbo pushes the 9-5 pricetag 
over $40,000.
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-- 
Igor Kessel
'89 200TQ - 18psi (TAP)
'98 A4TQ - on order...again. For the third time and counting.
Philadelphia, PA
USA