XV750 street tracker

XV750 street tracker by Motors Work - Poland

from inazuma cafe

Cologne – Germany’s automotive and media city / Cologne : l’automobile et les medias

This year’s Rallye Deutschland has deserted Trier’s Porta Negra Roman monument as its start venue. Instead, competitors on the ninth round of the 2013 World Rally Championship will be flagged away from Cologne, Germany’s fourth biggest city. It also one of the country’s major automotive and media capitals.

Le départ de l’ADAC Rallye Deutschland 2013 ne sera pas donné devant la Porta Nigra de Trèves, mais à Cologne, la quatrième plus grande ville allemande, une des capitales de l’automobile et des médias germaniques.

Holding the start of the Rallye Deutschland in Cologne is symbolically appropriate for several reasons. First of all, it is situated reasonably close to the rally’s traditional base, Trier, and its geographical location made it easy to incorporate two stages on Thursday evening’s drive back to the service park.

Also, Cologne is indisputably Germany’s number one media city, with the vast majority of the national TV and radio broadcasters based there.

More significantly, however, it is the country’s second or third most important regions for the country’s automobile industry.

Ford Europe is located there and has extensive manufacturing facilities, for example, while a long list of importers have established their German or European headquarters in or near Cologne. The list includes Citroën, Peugeot (which recently moved from the Saarland region), Toyota, Lexus, Mazda, Volvo, Renault and Nissan.

Meanwhile, Toyota Motorsport runs its Le Mans 24 Hours and FIA World Endurance Championship operations out of Marsdorf, a suburb.

The spot chosen for the start of the 2013 Rallye Deutschland is the -Roncalliplatz, a spacious plaza just in front of Cologne’s main railway station and at the foot of the huge cathedral. The ‘Kölner Dom’ is an outstanding gothic monument which dates back to the 13^th Century and is said to be the most popular tourist site in Germany (20,000 visitors a day).

There is a story at Ford in Cologne that one day, not so long ago, a senior executive visiting from Ford America was asked if he was impressed by the cathedral. “Sure, it’s a nice church,” he answered, “but I don’t understand why they decided to build it so close to the railway station…”

Perhaps someone thought it would make life easier for the tourists!

Organiser le départ de l’ADAC Rallye Deutschland à Cologne est pertinent à plusieurs titres. D’abord, Cologne est située à distance raisonnable de Trèves (200 km) et sur le chemin du retour, les organisateurs ont judicieusement positionné deux épreuves spéciales jeudi soir.

Cologne est aussi la ville numéro 1 des médias allemands avec la grande majorité des TV et radio nationales qui y sont basées. C’est également la deuxième ou troisième plus grande région de l’industrie automobile allemande, avec Stuttgart, Wolfsburg, Munich.

Ford Europe est basé à Cologne et y compte plusieurs usines de fabrication et quelque 4000 employés. De nombreux autres importateurs, Citroën, Peugeot (qui a récemment déménagé du Saarland), Toyota, Lexus, Mazda, Volvo, Renault et Nissan sont installés à Cologne.

Toyota Motorsport est situé à Marsdorf, dans la banlieue de Cologne. Les pilotes d’Endurance y préparent en ce moment les 6 Heures de Sao Paulo (4^e manche du Championnat du monde d’Endurance FIA) sur simulateur.

Une anecdote circule chez Ford à Cologne. Un jour, il n’y a pas si longtemps, un des cadres de Ford America, qui visitait la ville pour la première fois, a déclaré : « Oui, c’est une belle église, mais je ne comprends pas pourquoi ils l’ont construite si près de la gare… » Pour mémoire, la cathédrale date du XIIIe siècle…

Porsche 356 Coupé: A car made for an Alpine tour

Anyone considering suitable classic transport - with plenty of storage space for two - perfect for touring in the Alps should look at this 1965 Porsche 356 SC.

It was delivered in January 1965 to a customer in Italy. As an ‘SC’, it featured not only all-round disc brakes but the most powerful regular production engine fitted to a 356. From the company born in Gmund, in the Central Eastern Alps, it’s no surprise that one of the requirements of its very first model was good performance in the mountains.

So anyone tackling one of the famous passes such as the Grossglockner, with perhaps a hotel stop at the end, will like this little Porsche with its tough four-cylinder engine, and useful storage space with rear seats folded.

This car, available from Classic Driver dealer Franco Lembo, has been carefully restored and is in excellent condition, with a rebuilt engine. And yet the restoration was sympathetic, retaining the nearly 50-year-old car’s patina. Truly, a car made for an Alpine tour.

You can see all cars available from Automobilia Franco Lembo Classic Driver Market

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