A dream team

[MRE]

Reading all those post that we discuss, make me wonder. We are the avid fan to Formula One.
We have so many "engineers", "designer", "Technician" and "Team principle" in this forum. We have a capabilities, talent and spirit to Formula One. I have a dream to work in F1 so do y'll isn't it? Everyday I think about it. I have a dream to bring OPEL or AUDI to compete in Formula One.Is there any suggestions or comment about this topic?

[sion_williams]

Opel an Audi already invest an awful lot of money in other sports, first ones that come to mind are DTM and also BTCC, I dont think either one will be entering the F1 scene anytime soon. You also have Audi who have just developed the R10 for Le Mans. It would be good to get a few more manufacturers in the races but i think its more likely to be private teams entering now i.e. Red Bull, Im sure Virgin have the money!

[Bender]

I'd love to see more teams, but i dont think that many more manufacturers will compete when there is almost no technological gain to be made from the R&D required.

The R10 is a perfect example of this, it is a race car that will most likely be very successful and get audi a lot of press and prizes, but the other gain is that they can now use all the R&D to improve their diesel road cars.

I'm positive that if Bernie and Max let direct injection into the regulations VW/Audi would be all over F1 with FSI, because it allows them to develop technology for their road cars and gives them a very strong marketing tool.

[manchild]

Opel is part of GM’s “confection” – world cars sold under different brands/names. Besides that, Ferrari is already under GM so bringing in another brand without authenticity and with huge financial problems for both GM and Opel would be inappropriate.

Audi has more chance although VAG is in same financial problems as GM so I think we won’t be seeing them in F1 soon. Perhaps VAG could enter as engine manufacturer but that is the practice major manufactures seam to avoid lately because they want to promote themselves as full team.

[Guest]

Since when is Ferrari under GM ?

/ Fx

[manchild]

Ferrari is under Fiat, Fiat is under GM.

[Scuderia_Russ]

I don't think so. I thought that GM bought shares in FIAT or they had a joint venture going on at one time but them GM backed out of it pretty sharpishly, leaving FIAT quite a few quid up on the deal.

[manchild]

I'm talking about infleunce and shares.

GM and Fiat have reached a settlement to terminate their 5-year partnership and realign their industrial relationship. Under the deal, GM will pay Fiat €1.55 billion and will return its 10% stake in Fiat. In exchange, Fiat gave up a put option to force General Motors to buy the unprofitable Fiat Auto. GM will also acquire an interest in key strategic diesel engine assets and other rights with respect to diesel engine technology and know-how.

The most significant elements of the settlement agreement are as follows:

The Fiat-GM Powertrain (FGP) joint-venture company will be dissolved and GM will regain complete ownership of all GM assets originally contributed. During a transition period, FGP will continue to supply both companies;

GM will co-own with Fiat key powertrain intellectual property, including the SDE and JTD diesel engines and the M20-32 six-speed manual transmission;

GM will acquire a 50% interest in a new joint venture limited to operating the powertrain manufacturing plant in Bielsko-Biala, Poland, that currently produces the 1.3 liter SDE diesel engine;

The GM-Fiat Worldwide Purchasing joint venture will be dissolved.

The companies will continue cooperation through long-term agreements to supply each other with powertrains, continued cooperative development of certain vehicle programs and through Fiat’s participation in GM’s purchasing alliance program, said GM.

So, they are divorced but not completely.

[Scuderia_Russ]

Sorry. Wading in before reading posts again!

[Reca]

[...] Ferrari is already under GM [...]

Ferrari is under Fiat, Fiat is under GM.

FIAT Spa is a group and it’s obviously composed by several companies working in different areas, automotive being the most important and known one.

The automotive sector of FIAT Spa is composed by :
- FIAT Auto Holdings B.V. (Fiat Auto) that includes FIAT, Alfa Romeo, Lancia.
- Ferrari
- Maserati
and few others.

The whole GM-FIAT affair wasn’t about FIAT Spa, but it was, and always has been, about FIAT Auto only.
Since Ferrari and FIAT Auto are two separated entities in the FIAT Spa group, It follows that not only Ferrari isn’t certainly under GM now, but it never has been and never was intended to be.
In fact, even with 100% of FIAT Auto, something GM never had, GM would have had nothing to do with Ferrari.

Furthermore not even FIAT Auto is under GM now, actually it’s debatable also that it was previously because GM had, at most, 20% of it, at the start of the Master Agreement in 2000, later the investment became 10% only. Now both the MA and the put option (the GM obligation to get hold of 100% of FIAT Auto had FIAT Spa decided to sell it between 2004 and 2009) are cancelled, GM agreed to pay 1.55 billions € for that. GM has nothing of FIAT Auto.

I'm talking about infleunce and shares.
[...]
So, they are divorced but not completely.

What remains now is simply an industrial partnership that would have been incredibly stupid and costly to not continue, to trash at least two new cars almost ready for production isn’t smart.
But that partnership doesn’t involve shares and certainly GM has no influence on FIAT, just like FIAT has no influence on GM.
GM simply can use FIAT technology for diesel engines, and FIAT and Opel use the same platform for the new Punto and the new Corsa.
This kind of industrial partnership is a very usual thing in the automotive world and in fact FIAT recently announced another one, with Ford Europe this time, the new small cars, lets call them 500 and Ka for now, will use the same platform. But again, that doesn’t mean that FIAT will be under Ford or viceversa.