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British automakers take costly precautions as Brexit 'no deal' fears grow

LONDON — Carmakers in Britain have triggered some Brexit contingency plans, such as certifying models in the EU, and are working on redrawing production schedules and stockpiling more parts to defend against any loss of unfettered trade after Brexit. The moves are aimed at ensuring plants, which rely on the just-in-time delivery of tens of thousands of components, can keep operating after Brexit on March 29, but will add costs and bureaucracy which could risk their long-term viability. London and Brussels hope to agree a deal by the end of the year to avoid tariffs and trade barriers, but Prime Minister Theresa May's proposals have been criticized by both Brexiteers, who want a cleaner break from the bloc, and the European Union. McLaren Automotive is looking at having its cars certified by both a British and an EU agency to smooth sales. It is also planning to stockpile critical components and change shipments into the EU around Brexit if there is disruption. "I will sell a little more in January and February and plan to pick the volume up in May and give us a leaner period through the change point," Chief Executive Mike Flewitt told Reuters. BMW, which said last week it would move the annual summer-time shutdown of its British Mini plant next year to April, is looking for lorry parking areas and warehousing on both sides of the channel and is seeking to sign contracts to lease certain locations, a spokesman said. It is also investing in IT systems to handle any new red tape as carmakers estimate tens of thousands of new documents could be needed if tariffs and customs are imposed. The German carmaker's Brexit plans are costing millions of pounds, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. But Honda, which builds 10 percent of Britain's 1.67 million cars at its Swindon plant in southern England, is not in the market to buy "huge amounts of warehousing space," its Europe boss Ian Howells told Reuters. "It's been a very precise calculation or estimation of what components need to be brought in," he said, adding the firm could also alter its output to sell more into the EU at the start of next year. Waste of money? Many British carmakers have also asked suppliers to look into how they would handle delays at ports, executives told Reuters, as thousands of parts, engines and finished models move between Britain and the continent every day.

2013 Dinan S3 BMW 550i

Steve Dinan has been enhancing BMW models since 1979. But don't throw his company into the ring with the dozen or so other tuners who tweak, tinker and piggyback upgrades on the famed German marque. Dinan is a tuner, but it's also an engineering firm that writes its own software, builds its own parts and then backs everything it does with a factory-grade warranty. That sort of fastidiousness comes at a price, but most of its customers - including the powerhouse of BMW Motorsport - rely on Dinan to help them come out on top.
In stock form, BMW's 550i is a formidable four-door with a twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 rated at 400 horsepower and 450 pound-feet of torque. While those figures allow it to run with quick company (0-60 in 5.0 seconds, according to the automaker), Dinan puts the sedan's kettle on full boil with its S3 package. Starting with the engine, the performance engineering firm bolts on larger turbochargers, air-to-water intercoolers, a trick strut tower brace cold air intake, a quad-pipe free flow exhaust and its own engine management software. Pump in some premium fuel, and the result is 542 horsepower and 587 pound-feet of torque. Power is sent through the stock eight-speed automatic to a limited slip rear differential (Dinan will upgrade xDrive all-wheel drive models, too).
The Dinan S3 also features and extensive suspension upgrade that includes new front camber arms and low compliance rear control arms (engineered to reduce understeer and improve turn-in). The stock dampers are retained, but new bump stops are installed along with new springs. Overall, the car rides about a half-inch lower than stock to improve roll rate. To reduce unsprung weight, forged 20-inch HRE Performance wheels are fitted at all four corners (wearing Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires - 275/35ZR20 up front and 295/35ZR20 in the rear). Lastly, the company remaps the factory Electronic Damper Control (EDC) software with its own Dinan Shockware to work in conjunction with the new enhancements.

BMW matriarch Johanna Quandt dies at 89

Johanna Quandt, matriarch of the family that owns the largest stake in BMW, has died at age 89. One of the world's richest women, Quandt ranked in her own right as the eighth wealthiest individual in Germany, and one of the 100 wealthiest billionaires in the world. Johanna Maria Bruhn was born in June 1926, the daughter of art historians in Berlin. She trained in medical technology before the outbreak of World War II, and after the war worked as a banker's secretary in Cologne. She started working for Herbert Quandt in Bad Homburg, near Frankfurt, in the mid-1950s, and eventually became his personal assistant. They married in 1960, shortly after increasing the family's stake in BMW to 50 percent in order to stave off a takeover attempt by Daimler-Benz. The Quandt family's fortune was controversially amassed during the war. Herbert's father, Gunther Quandt, was a top Nazi-era industrialist named by Adolf Hitler as a Wehrwirtschaftsfuhrer – Leader of the Armament Economy. After Herbert's mother Antonie died, Gunther remarried to Magda, a much younger woman. Following their subsequent divorce, Magda married Nazi master propagandist Joseph Goebbels (with Hitler as best man), and together raised Herbert's half-brother Harald. A recent documentary found that the AFA, the company that the Quandts controlled during WWII, used slave labor provided by the Nazi regime to manufacture battery and munitions for the German war effort. Due to the subhuman living and working conditions, AFA lost approximately 80 forced laborers each month. Despite earlier denial of any wartime wrongdoing, the documentary and ensuing public attention prompted the Quandts to open their books to another investigation that confirmed their wartime activities. The Quandts would later use the capital they amassed to buy BMW, of which they still hold 46.7 percent – the remaining 53.3 percent traded publicly. Following Herbert's death in 1982, Johanna took over 16.7 percent ownership in the company, with their son Stefan Quandt acquiring 17.4 percent and their daughter Susanne Klatten assuming 12.6 percent ownership. Stefan and Susanne, both members of BMW's supervisory board since 1997, are expected to inherit their mother's shares following her passing. Johanna's personal fortune was estimated at nearly $14 billion. Though reclusive from media and public attention, she gave generously to charitable foundations that supported such causes as medical research and business journalism.