CONFIDENTIAL

GOSSIP | RUMOURS | TRENDS

MAZDA HAS MORE economies of scale than when it was part of Ford, according to Europe boss Jeff Guyton. He explained, for example, that the scale of the Ford Focus, a sibling of the Mazda 3, was so massive that it meant there was no commonality with the Ford Fiesta or Mazda 2. Now, the 3 and 2 have much more in common.

THE FIRST PROTOTYPE for the new BMW M5, created more than three years ago, was rear-wheel drive, Dirk Hacker, vice president of BMW’S M division, confirmed to Autocar. “It was the natural, historic way to go – until we realised we were beyond the limits of longitudinal acceleration. Four-wheel drive was the only option.”

TOYOTA IS HOPING to find a way to retro-fit carto-car telematics systems so that they can hasten the onset of cars being able to communicate with each other to avoid accidents. “If we can develop an add-on that can be fitted to all cars – not just our own – it will be a big step,” said Shigeki Tomoyama, senior managing officer at Toyota.

LAMBORGHINI R&D BOSS Maurizio Reggiani wants to ensure the firm’s V12 engine, currently used in the Aventador, will survive long into the future. It is already confirmed for the next-generation Aventador and Reggiani said: “V12 must remain a Lamborghini engine because it provides unique emotion of sound and responsiveness. How we can make this work in the future is a big question for us.”