Rabu, 12 November 2014

Legendary racer Warren Agor passes away at 72.

We were saddened to learn of the passing of driver Warren Agor. Warren Agor was one of a kind. He was one of the few very successful privateer drivers in the glory days of TransAm, Can-Am and IMSA racing. So if you have followed any of those series, you know his name. Born in 1942 in Rochester, New York. Agor earned a degree from Cornell University before joining the U.S. Army, ultimately reaching the rank of Captain.

Racing came naturally to Agor, growing up in Rochester placed him not far from Watkins Glen, NY. Watching races there led him towards road racing rather than circle track. Agor eventually became a mechanic for Penske Racing and was a crew member for Mark Donahue.

When Agor branched out on his own as a driver, he gravitated towards Chevrolet powered machines. Driving a series of 1st and 2nd generation Camaros in the TransAm series. Agor was the subject of the book Sunday Driver by Brock Yates documenting their exploits in the early Trans Am days. Agor then moved to the Can-Am series driving an ex Bruce McLaren  1969 M8B, and later a Dekon Monza in the IMSA series.




Agor was also successful off the track. In 1971 he founded Agor Enterprises, which to this day specialized in the conversion of vans for the disabled. Warren Agor remained active in vintage racing, even after his retirement, racing recently at Watkins Glen in September. The Agor family has asked that donations in Warren Agor's honor be made to the International Motor Racing Research Center in Watkins Glen, NY.


Rest in Peace and God Speed Warren W. Agor.

Selasa, 23 September 2014

Cadillac making it on Broadway. Iconic brand breaking off from GM and moving headquarters moving from Detroit to NYC!

In a major upturn in the revitalization of Cadillac. Today General Motors announced that the iconic Cadillac brand which has stood for luxury for the better part of 112 years will be spun off from parent GM to be a stand alone business unit. With this new re-alignment will also come a move of Cadillac world headquarters from Detroit to New York City.

Johan de Nysschen, who became the new President of Cadillac in August, will be responsible for the brand�s overall operational performance. He is certainly up to the job. He was formerly North American CEO for Audi and CEO of Infiniti.

While Cadillac's current line up has a few flat spots in terms of sales, the all new Escalade, and a new flagship sedan that was teased to the world as the El Miraj concept give a clear view of where Cadillac plans to go to differentiate itself. The move to become a separate entity from parent GM rather than remaining a division as it has for the majority of its life at GM, will allow Cadillac more freedom to pursue growing areas of the luxury car market with more clarity and focus moving forward.

A move like this can only make one wonder what Ford's direction with Lincoln will be moving forward.


Source: General Motors

Press Release:

NEW YORK � As part of the continued expansion of Cadillac, General Motors today announced a strategic realignment that will establish the flagship brand as a separate business unit. In addition, the new Cadillac organization will expand to New York with a new global headquarters opening in 2015.
The realignment affirms Cadillac�s importance to GM�s strategy. Creating a new Cadillac business unit enables it to pursue growing opportunities in the luxury automotive market with more focus and clarity.

�With the relentless upward repositioning of successive new-generation Cadillac products, the next logical step is to provide Cadillac more freedom to cultivate the brand in pursuit of further global growth,� said GM President Dan Ammann.

�Cadillac�s mission is to reinstate the brand to a pre-eminent position among global luxury brands, a bold challenge requiring a distinct and focused new organization,� Ammann said. �More than a division or brand, Cadillac is becoming a center of excellence for our company.�
Johan de Nysschen, who joined Cadillac as its new president in August, will be responsible for the brand�s overall operational performance.

Cadillac�s leadership council is headed by de Nysschen, and consists of Jim Bunnell, vice president of sales and service; Uwe Ellinghaus, chief marketing officer; David Colasinski, chief financial officer; David Leone, executive chief engineer, and Andrew Smith, executive director of design. Further expansion of the Cadillac leadership team will be announced later.

Expansion Includes New York Headquarters
The plan includes expansion to New York City in the form of a multipurpose brand and event space in conjunction with modern loft offices located in the heart of a city renowned for establishing trends and setting standards for the global luxury market.

While the majority of functions with oversight and responsibility for both global and U.S. operations will be located at the new global headquarters, there will be no change to technical product development teams located in Michigan, nor does the plan impact manufacturing or assembly operations. Cadillac management is reviewing options for which specific staffs will be based in New York and which will remain in current locations in the Detroit-area or elsewhere.

Cadillac has operations in more than 40 countries. The brand�s ongoing growth has been driven by an expanded product portfolio, leading to 28 percent global growth in 2013 and an increase of about 10 percent so far this year. Cadillac sales in China have grown 75 percent year to date.

�We are very proud of our Detroit roots and heritage, and the majority of the Cadillac workforce will remain in Michigan," de Nysschen said. "But there is no city in the world where the inhabitants are more immersed in a premium lifestyle than in New York. Establishing our new global headquarters in Soho places Cadillac at the epicenter of sophisticated living. It allows our team to share experiences with premium-brand consumers and develop attitudes in common with our audience."
Company officials thanked New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for his active support of and involvement in establishing the creation of Cadillac NYC.

"As the media and advertising capital of the world, New York is the ideal location for Cadillac to move its marketing operations to enhance their brand and spur future growth," Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said.

"From Day One, our administration has been creating a more business-friendly environment that encourages new investments and job creation, and today is another example of how that approach is delivering results for New Yorkers. I welcome Cadillac's marketing team to New York and commend them on their decision to invest personnel and resources alongside our world-class workforce."
Said U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer:  �To have an iconic American brand like Cadillac choose Manhattan for its global headquarters is another example that this city is a growing hub of innovation. New York continues to be a magnet for the best and the brightest companies and workers alike, and as Cadillac continues on its impressive growth trajectory as a global brand, I�m thrilled it will do so based in New York City."

Rabu, 12 Februari 2014

Breaking News! Sinkhole opens inside of the National Corvette Museum

Some very sad breaking news out of Bowling Green, Kentucky. A sinkhole has opened up underneath the Skydome of the National Corvette Museum?. Currently, 8 cars in the museum have been affected. And it's heart breaking because it affects several of the most significant Corvettes built. It sounds like a very bad April Fools joke started by some Corvette haters, but it's very real and very scary. We have even included a picture broadcasted out to Twitter. This is a very sad day for the automotive world. Below is the media release from the museum.

We received a call at 5:44am from our security company alerting us of our motion detectors going off in our Skydome area of the Museum.  Upon arrival it was discovered that a sinkhole had collapsed within the Museum.  No one was in or around the Museum at the time.  The Bowling Green Fire Department arrived on the scene and secured the area.  The Fire Department has estimated the size of the hole is 40 feet across and 25-30 feet deep.

It is with heavy hearts that we report that eight Corvettes were affected by this incident.  Those cars include:

    1993 ZR-1 Spyder on loan from General Motors
    2009 ZR1 �Blue Devil� on loan from General Motors

The other six vehicles were owned by the National Corvette Museum including:

    1962 Black Corvette
    1984 PPG Pace Car
    1992 White 1 Millionth Corvette
    1993 Ruby Red 40th Anniversary Corvette
    2001 Mallett Hammer Z06 Corvette
    2009 White 1.5 Millionth Corvette

None of the cars affected were on loan from individuals.  The Skydome exhibit area of the Museum is a separate structure connected to the main Museum.  A structural engineer is now on-site to assess the existing damage and stability of the surrounding areas.  The Museum is closed to the public for the day to allow us to carefully assess the situation.  We will keep everyone informed as we know more.


Source: National Corvette Museum.