Rolls Royce Confirms SUV—Or, Its “Everywhere” Vehicle—Will Get Distinctive Platform

Surprising no 1, Rolls-Royce has confirmed that it is joining rival brands in providing an ultra-luxe, SUV-like product in coming years. We say “SUV-like” due to the fact Rolls is referring to it as an “everywhere” vehicle—cue collective eye-roll—and claims that it is absolutely not a tit-for-tat answer to the Bentley Bentayga SUV that will debut a couple of weeks from now at the Geneva motor show.

Substantially, the new, “high-bodied” Roller will be built on a fresh, all-aluminum platform that is distinctive to Rolls-Royce, dispelling rumors that it would be an offshoot of the upcoming BMW X7. And as with its stablemates, energy will come from a fat V-12. Our sources inside Rolls-Royce also told us that it would not appear like a Ghost station wagon—and that it “will be huge.” We expect it to be larger and most likely more strong than the Bentley, and we also wouldn’t be surprised to see other Rollers—including the Phantom replacement—to be constructed on the same bones.

The look of this 4th Rolls-Royce solution should enhance R-R production to record levels, but do not count on it to turn out to be as frequent as a Honda Civic, as our sources assure us that, as opposed to Ferrari, Rolls-Royce is hellbent on remaining “elusive” (which, apparently, is even far better than being “exclusive”).

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As for the “everywhere” car factor, mincing of words is not entirely baseless in this case, as to describe a vehicle like this as a “sport-utility vehicle” could constitute nothing short of mockery of the word “sport.” It’s also worth remembering that Rolls-Royce is not new to semantic diversions only recently did the organization commence stating horsepower and torque figures for its behemoth engines, previously declaring them only to produce “sufficient” or “adequate” output in each regards. No word on when or whether or not the new car may possibly be previewed in idea form at an auto show, but watch this space for the inevitable spy shots of improvement mules—that is, unless they prove just as well elusive.

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Rolls Royce Confirms SUV—Or, Its “Everywhere” Vehicle—Will Get Distinctive Platform

Two millionth Nissan Qashqai rolls off the line

• Fastest British-built car in history to reach 2 million production units


• Designed, engineered and made in Europe for export around the world


• A Qashqai rolls off the production line every minute


• Supporting more than 11,000 UK jobs

Sunderland, UK, November 3^rd, 2014. The Nissan Qashqai has once again made automotive history after production at Nissan’;s plant in Sunderland, UK passed 2 million units in record time.

Less than 8 years after Nissan pioneered the crossover segment, the Qashqai has reached its latest manufacturing milestone faster than any other model in the history of the UK car industry.

Designed and engineered in Europe, for Europe, the new Qashqai was conceived by Nissan experts at Nissan Design Europe (London, UK) and Nissan Technical Centre Europe (Cranfield, UK and Barcelona, Spain). Extensive input has also come from Nissan’;s designers and engineers in Atsugi, Japan.

The Qashqai is no stranger to awards, the original model having notched up numerous industry accolades over the last 6 years. This latest landmark caps a remarkable year for the new Qashqai, with the launch of the new generation model sparking a string of titles including What Car? magazine’;s coveted Car of the Year.

Paul Willcox, Chairman of Nissan in Europe, said: “The Nissan Qashqai goes from strength to strength as the original and best-selling Crossover in Europe. Sold around the world and now hitting 2 million production units, it truly is a global success story for European design, engineering and manufacturing.

“Congratulations to all my colleagues in Sunderland for reaching this latest milestone. I am now looking forward to seeing how quickly we can reach 3 million units with this remarkable model, which embodies Nissan’;s promise to bring innovation and excitement to our customers.”

Nissan has invested £534 million in the design, development and production of Qashqai in the UK, which created a brand new segment following its launch in December 2006. Supporting more than 11,000 jobs in the UK car industry, 85% (1,706,633) of the 2 million Qashqais made in Sunderland have been exported to 132 international markets, from the Congo to Qatar.

The 2 millionth Qashqai to roll off the production line was a Magnetic Red model in the new N-TEC grade and is destined for a UK customer. Introduced last month, the new grade includes unique new styling features as well as Nissan Safety Shield technologies like Forward Emergency Braking, Traffic Sign Recognition, Lane Departure Warning and High Beam Assist.

Qashqai is made alongside the all-electric LEAF on Line 1 at Nissan’;s Sunderland Plant, which has been on around-the-clock, 3-shift production since 2010 in order to meet customer demand, with a car currently rolling off the production line every minute.

Part of Nissan’;s onslaught of new products for the European market, Qashqai has been joined in the Nissan line-up by a host of exciting new models including the Pulsar, e-NV200 and the Sunderland-built Juke, Note and LEAF.

Mr Willcox added: “The Qashqai is one of 12 new models we have launched in the past 12 months in Europe. This has given Nissan the strongest and most cohesive line-up in our history and is behind our drive to become Europe’;s Number One Asian brand by 2016.”

Fundamental to the Qashqai’;s development were Nissan’;s European Design Centre in Paddington and European Technical Centre in Cranfield, Bedfordshire. The popularity of Qashqai has also helped Nissan to reach record market share in the UK, with sales and marketing operations based in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire. More than 11,500 people are employed in total at these sites and in UK dealerships, supporting a further 26,000 jobs in the UK supply chain.

Total global production of the new Qashqai now tops 2.5 million, with the first generation Qashqai also made by Nissan in China and Japan. From 2015 the new Qashqai will also be manufactured in Nissan’;s plant in St. Petersburg for domestic sales in Russia.

Nissan’;s plant in Sunderland, UK (NMUK) remains a global benchmark for productivity and quality, building more than 500,000 units a year. Sunderland builds Nissan Qashqai, Juke and Note as well as the Nissan LEAF, along with the advanced lithium-ion batteries that power it.

The Qashqai is now closing in on the Micra as the highest volume car in the history of Nissan’;s Sunderland Plant, with 2,368,704 Micras made in Sunderland over an 18-year period from 1992 to 2010.

Two millionth Nissan Qashqai rolls off the line

Real Steel: The Final Steel-Bodied F-150 Rolls off the Line in Dearborn Preparations for Aluminum Commence

The last F-150 has left the creating. According to the Detroit Free of charge Press, the final steel-bodied F-150 rolled off the line at Ford’s Dearborn Truck Plant around 1:30 a.m. final Saturday. Whilst Ford’s Kansas City facility will continue to manufacture steel-bodied F-150s till the finish of the year, the line in Dearborn is becoming dismantled to make space for the new tooling and equipment required to produce aluminum-bodied trucks for the 2015 model year.

The Dearborn plant will be closed till mid-September, placing about 3000 workers on temporary layoff. Employees will be referred to as back in tiers, with 2 crews returning on September 21 and a third on October 20. Beginning initially with preproduction models, the plant is scheduled to return to full speed prior to January.

As Ford’s F-150 is a veritable profit center on wheels, the company’s selection to switch its venerated pickup truck to aluminum is not with no danger. Ford sold 63,240 F-150s in the U.S. in July, the final complete month of production ahead of the $ 359-million switchover began. In order to preserve the money flowing, Ford demands to expedite the switch but with out sacrificing top quality.

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Despite the fact that Ford’s 3000 or so U.S. dealers are slated to commence receiving 2015 F-150s by the finish of the year, Automotive News is citing a letter to Ford dealers signed by distribution preparing manager Kevin Giacomini as well as allocation and commodity manager John Bradley that indicates fleet customers and special orders may possibly have to wait until February of 2015 to take delivery: “We recognize the desire to get the customer units as rapidly as achievable, but do not want to compromise our commitment to quality for the sake of a handful of extra weeks of delivery.” Clearly, Ford is hedging its bets and erring on the side of caution as far as the delivery timetable is concerned. Tempting the hand of fate, Bruce Hettle, Ford’s head of North American manufacturing, has gone on the record stating, “There is nothing we see on the horizon to preclude us from launching on time.” Words to bear in mind.

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Real Steel: The Final Steel-Bodied F-150 Rolls off the Line in Dearborn Preparations for Aluminum Commence