Last month Ford announced the closure of an engine plant in South Wales as part of a drive to close unprofitable operations. 2,000 workers will be affected and they built an EcoBoost motor for the company. It is one of the largest employers in the small town of Bridgend and its closure will affect the town quite badly. Ford had invested over £300m in the plant over the last … [Read more...]
Ford Production in Russia
At Motoring Weekly, we have been reporting on the growing reduction in production capacity across the globe over the past year. Despite some good news in a handful of countries, it seems that most established manufacturing centres are at risk in some form. Recently we reported that Ford was adding 500 jobs in the heartland, upgrading factories and adding new production lines … [Read more...]
Kalashnikov CV-1
In August, at an arms fair in Moscow, Kalashnikov, one of the world’s most famous gun makers, showed off a new car - the CV-1. It was a retro car with full electric power. The media marvelled at the story, however not many of the reports had done any research on the history - which would show that the car is not a new product for the company. Kalashnikov as a company is a … [Read more...]
The Datsun name is coming back
I read a fascinating article recently about Datsun. Many readers over a certain age will remember the name. It was the marque that Nissan used in many countries until someone decided that the parent name was better. The iconic Z series started out as a Datsun and the marque had a great name in racing and rallying until the mid 80s when a corporate boffin dropped the … [Read more...]
