Performance News - 31 July 2001

Audi Museum and Origins

Proving recently that history really does come alive at the Audi museum in Ingolstadt, Horst Fikentscher, 73, was recently one of up to 1,000 museum visitors a day. His first port of call was the delivery centre where he picked up his new Audi before visiting the museum to find out more about the history, the brands and models that make up Audi's heritage. Yet the name Fikentscher is itself part of this history.

Horst Fikentscher's grandfather Franz was the company's co-founder and his father Franz responsible for giving the company its name. August Horch was one of the pioneering engineers of automotive engineering and founded his first car company, August Horch & Cie., in Cologne in 1899. In 1904 Horch moved his company to Zwickau and converted it into a joint-stock company. Following a dispute at Horch in 1909, August Horch left his own company. His will to succeed, however, remained as strong as ever. With the help of his friend Franz Fikentscher, a respected businessman from Zwickau, he set up a new car company in Zwickau within just a few weeks. This second company was also given the name Horch.

However, legal action was consequently brought against August Horch over the rights to the name Horch, which August Horch ultimately lost. The newly founded company thus had to find another name. But what could the company be called?

"This question prompted endless discussion in my grandparents' living room," remembers Horst Fikentscher. "Numerous possible and impossible names were suggested. My grandfather's three sons, all grammar school boys, got wind of the discussion in the next room and came up with their own ideas. My father Heinrich, who was 10 at the time, suggested a simple solution to the serious name problem, much to the amazement of the adults: "horchen" (the German word for "to listen") translates into Latin as "audire" - and the imperative form "horch!" ("listen!") as "audi!" From this day on my father was known only by the name Audi".

The second company founded by August Horch therefore traded from April 1910 under the name Audi Automobilwerke GmbH, Zwickau.

The new Audi vehicles soon caused a sensation. The Audi works team won the International Austrian Alpine Run, the toughest performance test for cars at the time, three years in succession from 1912. For AUDI AG, this unusual story of how it got its name is an integral part of its diverse history.

The four rings of the Audi badge symbolise the brands Audi, Horch, DKW and Wanderer, which were later combined under the umbrella of Auto Union. Auto Union and NSU, which merged in 1969, made many significant contributions towards the development of the car. AUDI AG was formed from Audi NSU Auto Union AG in 1985. Together with the two traditional companies Auto Union GmbH and NSU GmbH, Audi Tradition nurtures and presents the deep and diverse history of Audi.

The museum mobile at the Ingolstadt plant is open Monday to Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m

Quickies

• Auto Asia On-Line reports that the Toyota Motor Corp is understood to be considering Australia as the home of its R&D operations for Asia, based on the country's low wage rates compared with Japan and generous government support. The company currently has design centres in the US and Europe, but cars for Asian markets have largely been developed in Japan. Now, however, Australia is a serious contender. Officials point to a five-year Australian Government scheme subsidizing up to 45% of costs associated with developing cars to be built overseas. They also cite the cheapness of land, building materials and personnel compared with Japan. Altogether it is thought that overall R&D costs are about half as much in Australia as Japan!

• Ford fans can shop till they drop without even leaving the comfort of their own homes with the launch of the company's new on-line shop. The Ford On-Line Shop provides a range of Ford brand and Ford racing merchandise from clothing, hats and caps, baby's bibs, cloth patches, supporter flags, bottle openers and holders, key rings, computer mouse mats, leather satchels, watches, pens, golf balls, CD cases, model cars and much more. Customers can pay by credit card and arrange delivery via the on-line service. To visit the shop go to www.ford.com.au and click on the Ford On-Line Shop.

• Honda has released in Japan the second-generation Honda HR-V, which is sportier in style and substance than the outgoing car. A 2WD version with a V-TEC 93kW 1.6-litre is one of the offerings. Incidentally, the company is the only Japanese manufacturer to boost its worldwide production for the first half of the year.

• The Toyota Motor Corp is in final talks with BMW to supply the German automaker with diesel engines for use in a small car, a major Japanese financial newspaper has said.

• The Honda Motor Co is developing a night vision system that will make it easier for drivers to see pedestrians and avoid accidents. It could be ready for commercial launch within three years. The system uses an infrared camera located in the front grille that detects a pedestrian's position and direction of movement. It projects an image on the car's windshield and also gives the driver an audible warning of a possible collision.

• A recent story from the Irish Times has significance to Australia's grey import market. The paper reports that a customer sued a dealer for allegedly selling him a Toyota Soarer coupé in the guise of a Lexus. The company had denied the claim. But one of its mechanics told the Circuit Civil Court that he routinely changed badges because Toyota Soarer owners preferred people to think they were driving Lexus models. The customer bought the car as a Lexus in 1998 for £30,000, but a year later sold it as a Soarer for only £13,500. The mechanic told the court that in the past two years he had transformed eight Toyota Soarers to Lexus Soarers by changing the badges. The dispute was settled on the basis that the dealer pays the customer an "all-in" figure of £13,500, including damages and legal costs...

• Toyota Motor Corp will start selling its Prius hybrid cars in Australia, Hong Kong, and Singapore, Toyota President Fujio Cho said last week.

• The new Saab 9-5 revealed in Europe this month will be shown at the Sydney International Motor Show in October. The new car has 1200 engineering and design improvements. New technologies include a highly developed electronic stability (ESP) programme, 'intelligent' airbags as part of a more integrated vehicle safety system, and bi-xenon headlamps for improved night driving. The new Saab 9-5 Sedan and Estate range will go on sale in Australia towards the end of 2001, priced slightly above the models they supersede.

• DaimlerChrysler has reported a $US600 million return to profit for the second quarter of 2001, citing a "substantial reduction of losses at Chrysler Group, which fulfilled all of the milestones set for the first half of 2001".

• Last sold by Ford in Australia in 1992, the F250 and F350 are back - bigger, tougher and stronger than ever before. The range is factory built right-hand-drive in Brazil available in both 4x4 and 4x2 with chassis cab and pick-up body styles as well as a choice of cab styles, engine options and manual or automatic transmission.

• Two special value packs for Hyundai's Accent, both comprising different features worth up to $2000 retail, are being released by Hyundai Automotive Distributors Australia. The Accent 'Sprint' sports pack offers alloy wheels, a rear-mounted wing and a 'Sprint' badge on the hatch or boot lid while inside a CD player replaces the cassette deck. Sprint is available on all Accent models except the GS, which already has a rear wing and its own 14-inch alloy wheels. The Accent 'Lifestyle' offers air-conditioning as well as the CD player and an identifying decal on the rear. It can be specified on all Accent models, although on the GS and GLS which already have air-conditioning standard, the pack adds CD and decal only. Accent recommended retail pricing starts at $14,990.

• Audi has produced over 100,000 TT Coupes since assembly began at the Györ plant in Hungary in April 1998.

• Engineers have developed intelligent tyres that telephone the driver when tyre pressure drops, reducing the risk of accidents as a result of high-speed blow-outs. The prototype comprises an electronic sensor located in the valve that uses a microchip to transmit an SMS message to the driver's mobile phone. It tells which tyres need pumping and how much air is required for proper inflation. The device can also detect temperature changes and warn if the rubber is getting too hot. In the US Federal safety regulators have announced that vehicles made after November 2003 must be equipped with tyre pressure warning systems visible to the driver to protect consumers from under-inflated tyres that could lead to an accident. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rule is the first new standard under a law passed last year in reaction to the Firestone tyre recall that directly affects consumers and the design of their vehicles.

• Inchcape Automotive Australia and Sime Darby Automobiles have agreed on a date for the transfer of the Peugeot Australian distribution business. The new importer, Sime Darby, will assume responsibility for the brand from Monday, 01 October 2001. The announcement means that Sime Darby will handle the introduction into the Australian market of three new Peugeot models - the 607, 206 CC and 307.

• In the US, Sport Utility Vehicle sales continued to grow during the first half of this year. SUV sales nationwide are projected to hit 3.42 million units this year, compared with 3.35 million in 2000, according to industry researcher J. D. Power & Associates.

• The Subaru Impreza WRX, this year launched in the United States for the first time, is already grabbing attention, making the cover of industry publication AutoWeek's latest issue under the heading "True Grit." The magazine's review says turbo, limited-slip and All-Wheel Drive "make this Subaru a super hero."

• Porsche will develop new engines for Harley-Davidson to help the US motorcycle manufacturer raise its profile in Europe, where it will compete with Ducati, BMW and Triumph for the sports-cruiser market.

• The Australian Trade Commission's Senior Trade Commissioner and automotive trade expert from Saudi Arabia, Damien Fisher, predicts exports of Australian made passenger vehicles to the Middle East will reach $1 billion by December 2001. Visiting Australia this week for an export seminar series, Fisher said the increasing demand for cars in the Middle East is due to the lack of railway infrastructure and poorly patronised public transport coupled with a large youth demographic - more than 73 per cent of the Middle East's population is under the age of 29. While Fisher said Australian-made cars dominate the Saudi Arabian automotive market, the automotive parts and accessories market has been identified as an attractive growth area. "With innovative products, competitive pricing, aggressive marketing, and adequate production capabilities, Australia's automotive industry is ideally positioned to take advantage of the burgeoning opportunities in the Middle East," Fisher said.

• The head office operations of three of Ford's Premier Automotive Group (PAG) companies are to move to a shared Sydney headquarters early next year. Volvo Car Australia will move from its current Chatswood head office to the former Microsoft building in North Ryde, which it will share with the Australian operations of Land Rover and Jaguar.

• Alfa Romeo has decided to add the three door version of the Alfa Romeo 147 to its Australian range when it goes on sale in September. Australian advance orders for the Alfa 147 - the first shipment is entirely sold out and most of the second delivery have already found owners - has shown Alfa Romeo that there is a clear demand for the coupe styling of the three door, as distinct from the more elegant straight window lines of the five door Alfa 147.