Development costs give ambitious projects a bumpy ride

By John Griffiths
The ability of specialist car projects to swallow bigger-than-budgeted development costs explains why individual financiers and investment houses have learnt to treat funding approaches with hypercritical scepticism, writes John Griffiths.
One of the most ambitious such private ventures for years is Project Kimber. Led by David James, the company turnround specialist, its business plan is to produce a heavily restyled version of DaimlerChrysler's little Smart roadster and coupé two-seaters at a rate of 7,500 cars a year in Wales; and to revive the century-old AC name as the brand under which to market it.
Mr James and his cohorts have reached agreement in principle with DaimlerChrysler to acquire the intellectual property rights to the car and the plant and equipment to build it. The cars should be much cheaper to bring to market than almost any other such project because they were years under development at a cost far beyond the reach of specialist carmakers and tens of thousands have already been sold.
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'Miracle' no one hurt by runaway car

SMART car rolled away in Marks and Spencer’s car park and came to rest against a parked BMW
THE owner of a Smart car, along with passers-by, was baffled by how it had managed to roll down a hill and crash into a BMW - with the handbrake still on. Stephanie Aptaker left the red and black Forfour in the car park behind Marks and Spencer, in Muswell Hill, while she went in to do her shopping. When she came out she was horrified to see that it was no longer where she left it and it had rolled forward into an empty silver BMW parked in front. Both car owners - although annoyed and bewildered - were relieved the car had not run out of control down the steep hill and injured someone. Ms Aptaker, 59, a solicitor, of Hampstead Garden Suburb, had bought the car just two weeks before. She said: "It's not a brand new car." My ticket is from 10.17am. I went in and did my shopping in M&S and I came out of the door. I thought I was seeing things. How could I have parked at such a ridiculous angle? And then I got down and saw what had happened. It had hit the other car. God forbid - the car's rolling, there are plenty of little children around. It's a miracle no one was hurt. In the end it is just bits of metal."Ms Aptaker said the car's handbrake was on. The BMW it smashed into arrived half an hour after she had parked her car, pay and display tickets showed. The driver of the other car said: "All jokes apart, if that hadn't been there it could have been worse.

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AC Ace Returns Via Smart

New roadster using fortwo running gear.
by Richard Yarrow
Smart is coming to the U.S. in 2008, but only with the fortwo city car. But another of the DaimlerChrysler-owned firm's models could arrive the year after - wearing the badge of legendary British brand AC.
DC axed production of the smart roadster and roadster coupé at the end of last year as part of its cost-cutting. But bosses are on the verge of selling the entire venture including tooling to a group of enthusiasts based in the U.K. Called Project Kimber, it has some heavyweight support including Gordon Murray, the brains behind the outrageous McLaren F1 supercar. It's close to obtaining financial backing from sources in Europe and Hong Kong, and the memorandum of understanding it signed with DaimlerChrysler last February is about to become a contractual reality.
The first three official images of the two-seater - to be called the AC Ace - have also been revealed. Production is expected to begin in the middle of next year, with prices from around $23,000 to $37,000. Both right-hand-drive and left-hand-drive models will be available, and a U.S. launch is slated for 2009.
Read full article here.

Project Kimber AC Smart unveiled

We previously reported the news that UK engineering firm Project Kimber was planning to build a new version of the discontinued Smart roadster with the help of designer Gordon Murray. Project Kimber had released an earlier sketch of the car, but have now released a new sketch showing some of the changes they will make. The consortium will build the AC Smart at a site in the UK and is putting together a $65m investment to build it. It’s also made arrangements with Smart to buy the equipment made to build the original Smart roadster.
Though the AC Smart will share its underpinnings with the Smart Roadster, it will not simply be a copy with AC badges, according to What Car?. Working alongside Gordon Murray on the project is John Piper whose previous achievements include helping to build the JCB Dieselmax land speed record car, and together they’ll be honing the roadster to drive better than before.
Click here to take a look at our old story with the previous sketch.
Source: http://www.motorauthority.com/news/news/project-kimber-ac-smart-unveiled/

Spotted in England II

Morris Minor Traveller, Spalding, Lincolnshire

smart roadster, Spalding, Lincolnshire

Beat goes on for tiny Japanese imports

Cute little kei-cars are fun and frugal Legal in Canada under 15-year rule
Oct. 7, 2006. 01:00 AM
Michael Banovsky - Special to the Star
Hooray for loopholes. How else would I be driving a 660 cc, three-cylinder, 60-odd-horsepower Japanese micro-car through the truck-infested streets of Vaughan?
The ride in question was a bright yellow Honda Beat roadster, the type of vehicle originally designed to woo Japanese ladies into using a small car instead of a scooter for their shopping trips. In Japan, it's a kei-car: a maximum length of 3.2 m, maximum width of 1.4 m, and a maximum displacement of 660 cc.
Most enthusiasts know about the 15-year rule here in Canada: if it was not originally sold in Canada or faced import restrictions when new, in most cases that vehicle will be allowed into the country after 15 years.
Earlier this year, Wheels writer Laurance Yap extolled the virtues of the Nissan Skyline GT-R, a legend in Japan and on Gran Turismo discs the world over.
Now, thanks to Eric Mojilever, owner of Shrink My Ride — and a few other Toronto players — you, too, can downsize your transportation without driving an egg.

Read full article here.

Mercedes unveils 100% recyclable car

An "Eco-Roadster" from the Mercedes Advanced Design Studio in California will be one of the highlights at the LA Autoshow '07 competition.
The Mercedes-Roadster is named the "Recy" and looks like a wood carving. The car would be made out of wood, alloys, glass and rubber to make it 100 percent recyclable.
The form is to transfer the style of the legendary SL into the future. However the two-seater has only two peaks behind the passengers instead of a convertible top. A roof is not intended.
The goal with this competition according to the organizer was to make the vehicle and its driver experience a deep feeling with the environment and help protect it. Therefore the presented concepts consist of recyclable raw materials. The winner will be announced on November 30 at the LA Auto Show
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Roadster Re-launch

Project Kimber news 31st August 2006
STATEMENT ON PROGRESS FROM PROJECT KIMBER
Project Kimber is pleased to confirm that it has secured an exclusive option which will allow the re-branded and re-engineered smart roadster to be re-launched under the world-famous marque of AC.
This has been agreed with the owners of the AC sports car brand, Acedes Holdings, LLC, and provides a sub-licence for ongoing use together with the option of an acquisition at a later date.
If this option is triggered it will not affect the production of any product manufactured through Acedes Holdings, LLC, producers of classic AC models. The option is subject only to a successful closing of Project Kimber’s funding.
The Welsh Assembly Government announced at the London Motor Show in July that it had made a conditional offer "in principle" to Project Kimber of regional aid. A number of possible assembly locations in South Wales are now being studied. Wales's economic circumstances allow it to grant the maximum funding permitted under European Union rules for regional assistance.
Read full report here.

Project Kimber smart roadster to Begin Production Next Summer

250 jobs to go at Panasonic
Aug 29 2006 - Western Mail

FINAL confirmation came yesterday that the Panasonic factory in Port Talbot will close in December with the loss of about 250 jobs.
The Japanese multinational electronics manufacturer has decided to switch production of the car speakers made at the plant to Asia and Slovakia.
Jerry Lewis, general manager of the factory, said employees would be given benefits which went "way, way, beyond" the statutory redundancy package.
The 140,000 sq ft site is expected to get a new lease of life as the manufacturing base for venture company Project Kimber's relaunch of DaimlerChrysler's Smart roadster and coupe sports cars.
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If Project Kimber does start production in Port Talbot, many of the former Panasonic workers may find employment at the site.
The team behind the Smart car plan were said to have been attracted to South Wales by the skilled labour force in the area.
Production is intended to start by next summer, with 8,000 models hitting the road in the first year.
Read full article here

DCX to redo SMART car before U.S. debut

The SMART car lineup has been trimmed from three models to just one after the cancellation of the forfour and roadster models. So the future profitability of the brand rests on the tiny fenders of the fortwo, which will be coming to the U.S. in 2008. WhatCar? is reporting that the tiny two-seater will be rehashed before it makes its American debut. As you can see from this rendering, the overall look may be largely unchanged, with the biggest difference being the new headlights and front fascia. WhatCar?, however, calls the next fortwo "all-new", so perhaps DaimlerChrysler will be substantially revamping the car inside and out in an effort to make it more appealing to U.S. tastes.
source: Autoblog

SMART forfour production ends - Mitsubishi and DaimlerChrysler part ways

The end of June saw the end of production for the SMART forfour that was produced through a joint collaboration between Mitsubishi and DaimlerChrysler. The forfour was produced at Mitsusbishi's facility in the Netherlands where the Colt will continue to be made. An engine plant in Germany that was jointly operated by both companies will be handed over to DaimlerChrysler. While SMART has information on the fortwo, forfour and Roadster on its website, the brand will be down to just one car, the fortwo, with the exit of the forfour. The Roadster Finale currently being sold is a special edition model to mark the end of that car's production run.

DaimlerChrysler May Build Smart Car in the US

Citing DaimlerChrysler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche, Reuters reports that DaimlerChrysler corporation apparently considers building its Smart minicar in the United States. Talking to the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Zetsche said that "the tendency [to grow Smarts on American soil] is clearly positive".DaimlerChrysler's CEO expects board of directors to reach the final decision till the end of this month. Mr Zetsche reiterated once again that his company is committed to turn now loss-making Smart minicar production into a profitable business.A year earlier DaimlerChrysler put off the assembly line its Smart Roadster, which will presumably be revived by the British Project Kimber, and also abandoned plans for a Smart offroader.

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DaimlerChrysler's Zetsche Upbeat On Smart Car For U.S.

Chris Noon, 06.01.06, 11:41 AM ET - London
The Smart car fits in well in Europe. Well, if you're 250 centimeters long, you fit in well pretty much anywhere. The Lilliputian roadster that can seat two people and a crate of beer may look agreeable parked up on Rome's baroque piazze and Paris' boulevards--maybe with a wing-mirror or two missing--yet DaimlerChrysler is now interested in bringing the mini "metrosexual" car to a country where size has always mattered : the SUV-obsessed U.S. Though the 8-foot 2-inch Smart car will certainly look strange on the U.S.' beach-sized highways and fare poorly on the rugged terrain of Uncle Sam's more mountainous areas, it could definitely catch on in Boston, Chicago, New York and Miami Beach. DaimlerChrysler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche said Wednesday night that the chances of introducing the Smart in the U.S. were "good".

Read the full article here.

Why Smart was not so smart in North America

The little car should have been the brand of the new millennium

National Post
John LeBlanc, CanWest News Service
Published: Friday, March 31, 2006

At the peak of its success in Europe, chic and fashionable Smart cars cluttered crowded European city streets. This early success eventually led to Smart fielding a three-car lineup consisting of the iconic two-passenger fortwo that's been selling in Canada since the 2005 model year, the funky and fun fortwo-based roadster and the four- passenger forfour. And even more Smarts were on the horizon. A ruggedly styled SUV version of the forfour dubbed the formore was planned as a Trojan horse for Smart into the American market.
Despite becoming an icon of European city living, the Smart brand has run at a financial loss for its owners at DaimlerChrysler since its inception in 1998.
Knowing this, it comes as no surprise that after months of speculation as to the ultimate fate of the business and its products, DaimlerChrysler has made the decision that the money-losing brand will live to fight another day; it will just have fewer arrows in its quiver.

Read full article here.

Smart money says it's German

The Birmingham Post Business
Mar 16 2006
By John Revill, Manufacturing Editor

The prospect of a new sports car factory being set up in the Midlands looks to be receding after Project Kimber revealed offers from Wales and Germany are now in pole position.
Kimber, the team behind the unsuccessful bid to buy MG Rover last year, had considered restarting production of its new Smart Roadster and Coupes at a former Dunlop factory in Radford, Coventry.
The new factory would have employed around 200 engineers making 9,000 cars a year with production beginning early next year.
Kimber had been looking to license the MG name from Nanjing Automobile (NAC) - the successful bidder in the MG Rover auction - for use on its cars.

Read full article here.