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Autoblog Minute: Ferrari F12 TdF, Tesla Autopilot, Fiat brand leadership change

Ferrari unleashes the F12 TdF, Model S owners get an exciting announcement from Tesla, and Fiat North America undergoes a leadership change. Senior editor Greg Migliore reports on this edition of Autoblog Minute Weekly Recap. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] Ferrari unleashes the F12 TdF, Model S owners get an exciting announcement from Tesla, and Fiat North America undergoes a leadership change. I'm Senior editor Greg Migliore, this is your Autoblog Minute Weekly Recap. Ferrari's new F12 TdF gets its name from the legendary Tour de France race that Ferrari dominated back in the 50s and 60s. [00:00:30] This new Ferrari is derived from the naturally aspirated F12 Berlinetta's engine. There are styling and performance upgrades, and the company highlights changes in aerodynamics, weight reduction, and faster shifts. The result, Ferrari says, is a blistering zero to sixty-two time of, 2.9 seconds. It's pretty fast. Tesla released software version 7.0 for Model S owners. The big takeaway from this update is the much anticipated Autopilot mode. Tesla says Autopilot [00:01:00] allows Model S to steer within a lane, change lanes, and manage speed. Software version 7.0 will also allow for digital control of the motors, brakes, and steering for collision prevention. Now do you hate parallel parking? Tesla's got you covered. The Model S can park on command, right after it scans for a spot and alerts you when one becomes available. Jason Stoicevich resigns shortly after losing control of the Fiat brand. Automotive News reported that Stoicevich's leadership role at Fiat was handed over to the company's [00:01:30] head of the Dodge brand. That's Tim Kuniskis. The report cites diminished sales figures as a key reason for the personnel change at Fiat. This change resulted in Stoicevich leaving FCA altogether. Those are the highlights from the week that was. Be sure to check out my full recap this Saturday. Plus I'll have some added insight into BMW's M2. For Autoblog, I'm Greg Migliore. Autoblog Minute is a short-form video news series reporting on all things automotive. Each segment offers a quick and clear picture of what's happening in the automotive industry from the perspective of Autoblog's expert editorial staff, auto executives, and industry professionals.

The troubled Alfa Romeo Giulia needs serious help [UPDATE]

UPDATE: An Alfa Romeo US spokesman responded to this article with the following statement: The safety concerns expressed in the story are false. The all-new 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia is designed and engineered to meet or exceed all federal safety regulations. The Alfa Romeo Giulia will begin production for the North American market in the late second-quarter of this year. Alfa Romeo will have a full product portfolio of premium vehicles that includes plans for (8) all-new Alfa Romeo vehicles by 2020. The product launches are prioritized by segment volumes starting this year with the Alfa Romeo Giulia production for North America starting in late Q2, followed by the Midsize-UV – the 2nd largest premium segment in North America. Even on the day you dragged them kicking and screaming and gesticulating wildly to a table full of concrete evidence, Alfa Romeo executives will never admit the Giulia program is going through a tough patch. But it is. Reports say the Giulia, on the eve of production, didn't just fail one internal crash test, but failed the front, side and rear impact tests. Alfa denies it. Automotive News published a report last week saying two suppliers had insisted the Giulia, on the eve of production, didn't just fail one internal crash test, but failed the front-, side-, and rear-impact tests. A third supplier source told us the same thing. Alfa is denying it. It was due on sale in Europe late last year and was supposed to be here in the next month or two. But it wasn't, and it won't. It was to be headlined by a twin-turbo V6 that reportedly howled its way around the Nurburgring 14 seconds faster than the BMW M3 could manage. That second part is only true if you believe it's fair to compare a full lap in a standard BMW M3 with a favorable accumulation of sector times to a development prototype Giulia with 220 pounds stripped out of it and rolling on hand-cut racing slicks. No, me neither. A Promising Start The Giulia's all-new architecture was developed in just two years by a skunkworks of young engineers headed by Fiat's engineering prince, Philippe Krief, and (bafflingly) sited inside Maserati's headquarters complex in Modena, about three hours from Alfa Romeo's own Turin HQ.

Ferrari renews partnership with Marlboro [UPDATE]

Formula One and Big Tobacco may have parted ways years ago, but the alliance between Ferrari and Marlboro continues on, apparently as strong as ever. Though neither party has made any official announcement or revealed any details of the arrangement, reports from the motorsport press indicate that the Scuderia and Philip Morris – the tobacco company which owns the Marlboro brand – have signed an extension of their longstanding partnership. Marlboro first arrived in Maranello way back in 1973, ramping up over the years to become its main sponsor by '93. The Italian outfit changed its name to Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro after the tobacco brand parted company with McLaren in '97. After tobacco advertising was ultimately banned in 2006 (at least in Europe), Ferrari was forced to remove the Marlboro branding from its cars, but the name stuck – and so did the logo, in various forms of obscurity and subliminality through 2010. The Marlboro name was dropped from the team's handle in 2011, but that didn't stop the two from renewing their partnership. And now they've reportedly extended again through 2018. Though the deal hardly comes as a surprise (even given the complete lack of discernible public association between the two), we don't doubt that Maurizio Arrivabene – the former Marlboro exec who recently took over the struggling team – had something to do with it. UPDATE: A spokesman for Scuderia Ferrari downplayed the significance of the story, telling Autoblog by correspondence that "the contract is extended through 2018 and details are confidential." UPDATE 2: Philip Morris International responded to our inquiry with the following statement: "Our agreement with Ferrari has been extended beyond 2015, but we are not in a position to provide financial or other details. This partnership provides us with opportunities such as enabling our adult consumers and business partners to experience motor racing through Ferrari factory visits and attending F1 races."