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Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) has made a $250m investment to accelerate Avison Young’s growth plans.

Shares in Big Yellow Group rose 0.36% on Thursday to 977.5p as the company saw off a shareholder rebellion at its annual general meeting over executive pay.

Retail warehouse vacancy rates rose from 5.1% at end of Q1 to 6.3% at end of Q2.

Retailer cuts team to improve efficiency and speed up decision-making as it continues store closure programme.

Go long on the 2019 BMW X3. The new luxury compact crossover gains a lower cost, rear-wheel-drive entry model this year and will also serve as the jumping off point for an electrified crossover due sometime soon. Here and now, the X3 still delivers on our high expectations. We give it a very good 7.0 overall score, which is buoyed by standard...

Having 707 hp on tap is plenty for a street car, but nowhere near enough to hang in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Funny Car class. As such, the 2019 Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat NHRA Funny Car packs more than 10,000 hp. The drag racer inspired by the Charger Hellcat makes its competition debut at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado, this weekend.

“Our job at Mopar is to put the best race car underneath our drivers and keep them winning. We know this new body, developed in collaboration with the Dodge//SRT brand and Don Schumacher Racing, will do just that,” said Pietro Gorlier, FCA parts and service head in a statement. “The changes made to this new Funny Car body will improve on-track performance and help us carry on the Mopar brand’s long tradition of success at the dragstrip.”

Driver Matt Hagan of Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) will have the pleasure of screaming down the track at the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Powered by Mopar.

“This new Funny Car body is something that Mopar and Dodge//SRT have put a lot of work and support behind, from R&D to wind tunnel testing,” said Hagan. “We improved on the body design. It was already a great design, a great body. But now, we’re going to have a little more downforce, a little more traction on these racetracks and it will be a huge performance advantage. We will be able to press harder with more downforce on the nose, which translates into huge amounts of downforce on the run.”

 

The car can hit 330-plus mph and cover 1,000 feet in less than 4 seconds, according to Dodge. Up front, a new carbon fiber and Kevlar splitter generates gobs of downforce to plant the rocket ride to the track.

“We made four good, solid runs in testing at Norwalk,” said Hagan. “We put the body through a lot of different things and were really, really pleased with it. I really think it’s going to translate over to performance on the race track, and hopefully more win lights in the future.”

Though it’s hard to see much of a resemblance looking at the picture above, a production Charger SRT Hellcat was used for inspiration to create the front end graphics and other design elements.

“We are really excited to run the new Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat body in competition, both in qualifying and the race itself at Denver,” said Don Schumacher, DSR owner in a release. “It’s been a great project, working together with Mopar, Dodge//SRT, DSR and DSM to get the whole project finished and done in this period of time. We are really looking forward to how it’s going to change our program.”

The hellish funny car will debut at Bandimere on July 20-22.

Source: FCA

The post Mopar’s New NHRA Funny Car Gets Dodge Charger Hellcat Branding appeared first on Motor Trend.

Steve Beahm took over as head of FCA passenger car brands (Dodge, SRT, Chrysler, and Fiat) for North America in February, responsible for selling and marketing once-majestic brands now struggling for relevance in an SUV-happy market. In 32 years with FCA, the Washington native has done fieldwork and supply chain management, and he led Maserati North America. He started racing at 16 and still follows the sport, so when FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne asked him to take this job, “it was a quick yes.”

Congratulations on the new job.

I started February 1, so we’re on four months, but I’ve been around the company for almost 32 years, not necessarily in this role, but in a lot of commercial roles throughout that time frame. Never in the brand. Most of my career has been in sales, in the operations side, running incentives, field operations. I had Maserati for a short period of time, as well as the supply chain.

So you have it in your blood?

I started racing with my dad when I was 16 and did it for about 20 years and only gave it up because I ran out of time. The career was taking more of my time, and I had some kids at the time so I had to give up the sport, but I still follow it today.

What were you racing?

My first car was a ’69 (Plymouth) Roadrunner and the second one was a ’70 (Dodge) Challenger. Then I went on the dark side and raced a couple GM models for a while, but I started on the Mopar side and whatever my dad had available, I was willing to drive at the time.

So you are the perfect man for this job.

When Mr. (Sergio) Marchionne (chairman and CEO of FCA) asked me, it was a quick ‘yes.’

FCA’s five-year plan centers on volume brands. What is the role of the brands you oversee?

Passenger car brands represent 20 percent of NAFTA revenue. Dodge is the biggest brand by volume and revenue. Dodge’s role is to be prominent as America’s sports car brand. That’s what we’ve labelled it in the past few years, and I truly believe that’s where the brand is at today and where it’s headed for the future.

Charger and Challenger stay on the same platform, and you just keep updating it?

There’s a lot to be said for keeping a similar platform from the standpoint of knowing the bones that you have and how to make it better. We’ve had a proven vehicle out for a period of time, and right now that would be the direction we would head and for the vehicle it’s the right thing. No full commitments, but that’s part of our direction right now.

With the Challenger, have Hellcat and Demon been a boost to visibility?

It has been. Challenger started as a 2008, then Hellcat in 2015; Demon came out as a 2018 model. And we’ve got some other stuff coming down the road. For 2019 we’re going to do a Redeye. It’s a Hellcat that’s been possessed by a Demon. It’s  got a Hellcat body—basically suspension and platform—with the Demon engine. It’s calibrated a little bit differently than in the Demon, but it’s pretty much the Demon engine, so 797 horsepower. It’s a wide body, as well, so you get the 3.5-inch-wider wheels, which means more rubber on the ground.

Are those Nexen tires?

Redeye has Pirelli P Zeros. In terms of performance, the Demon was intended for the track even though it was street legal. We wanted to provide a car that wouldn’t be just on a race track or in somebody’s garage, but a car that would actually be out on the road. So the Redeye has a lot of the same features that were in the Hellcat or the Demon, performance-wise. We’re excited about it. It’s going to be a mainstream vehicle. It’s expected to sell 7 to 8 percent of our mix within Hellcat.

Will it have the transbrake, too?

It will not have the transbrake. It has line lock. Transbrake was the dragstrip piece on the Demon side, along with the suspension that was created for the Demon, so a lot of those features are not available on the Redeye.

Will it be a special edition or limited run?

It is not a special edition. I view it as no different than the Hellcat itself, other than we got an additional version with higher horsepower. It’s not limited to certain volumes. We have no limitations of the volumes right now, and we’re estimating it will be somewhere between 6 and 9 percent of Hellcat sales.

What other variants are planned?

Scat Pack: the first performance vehicle on the Challenger side. We’re going to make wide body available on the Scat Pack for the first time. The second feature is that it gets the waterfall hood from the Hellcat, and the Hellcat is going to get a dual-snorkel hood. That provides an extra 10 horsepower on the Hellcat, so it goes from 707 to 717. It’s fully functional. The left snorkel on the hood goes straight into the induction system and allows the engine to give us 10 more horsepower.

The (Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack) 1320 is another model that we will announce at the Dodge Mile High NHRA event in Denver on July 19. It’s a special model, a buzz model. The 1320 is intended to be a vehicle that someone can drive to work, but if they’re working on a Saturday they can head over to the dragstrip and take it down the track. It has a lot of features that you may have seen on the Demon or on Hellcat, that’s available as a Scat Pack. So the Scat Pack is the base model of 1320. It has 485 hp. It’s got special wheels and tires in terms of traction and capability, so the vehicle will be able to hook up in all conditions whether it be on the road or on the track. And it’s got some cool down features for someone who might be hot-lapping at the track, for the staging lanes. It will have some other cool features that will allow the vehicle to be a little bit more race-friendly for someone who is driving it to the track.

Are there other models for 1320?

No, it’s just going to be the Scat Pack for now. And Scat Pack will be the wide body whether it’s on a 1320 or not. But the only way you can get a 1320 is in a wide body off the Scat Pack. Nexen street-legal drag radials will be available, and it’ll also come with a little “Angry Bee” on it (an homage to the Dodge Super Bee). We’ll also supply some additional screens (in the instrument cluster) for setting up your car, similar to what we did with the Demon. In this case, it may not be to the same extent, but you have the capability to go in and try to set up the right balance for track conditions on the 1320.

You can keep doing that until you are limited by regulations or unable to add the tech you want?

(What stays the same) is the bones of the platform: A frames, suspension. All the other stuff underneath it will actually be all brand new in terms of our wiring harness, electrical capability. The architecture might be off the same platform—in some cases, we might make some enhancements—but everything else pretty much will be relatively all new.

Is there room to further expand the Hellcat family?

We’re always challenging our engineers. We’re always challenging our people on the marketing side to come up with what the people want. Dodge has the largest social media following of any brand, and we think we’re closer to our customers because of that. We have the most Facebook followers, most followers on Instagram and Twitter; our job is to listen to [our customers], and when we can go down some paths they want us to, if it’s good for our brand, we’ll do it. That’s a lot of what’s happened with Hellcat, Demon, and then the Redeye. A lot of the Demons are in storage rooms, a few of them are on the track. I want to see some Redeyes out on the road.

The FCA plan has the Hellcat engine going into the Ram pickup.

Yeah, we’ve got great engineers that provided us with an outstanding engine that has a bunch of performance, and the Ram guys think that’s a good fit for them to take advantage of it as well, and we’re good with that.

There were reports that the Viper is coming back.

As Mr. Marchionne indicated, the Viper is not in the [next five-year] plan.

The Viper plant no longer exists.

It does not. It is being modified for meetings, as a conference center, and a way to display some of our cars.

Does SRT remain as a brand?

It’s a brand that’s very important to Dodge. As America’s performance brand, SRT has to be the organization that continues to push us on the edge of performance. It’s that fine line of putting it on the track and driving it on the street. The SRT engineering team continues to find ways to provide us that performance level that our competitors can’t match.

Durango has performance versions.

Absolutely. It has an SRT version, so don’t underestimate the Durango. The Journey may be a little different, but the Durango SRT is one impressive vehicle.

So Durango fits with what you are trying to do with Dodge.

Absolutely.

How do Journey, Caravan, and Durango still fit in Dodge? Or do they have a long-term role?

They have a role through the ’19 model year. We don’t talk much beyond that. But being America’s performance brand, long term, [some of the vehicles] may not fit.

When does the Grand Caravan go away?

We haven’t announced the end of production. It’s going to be through the 2019 model year, like the Journey, at this point.

Was the Magnum ahead of its time? It fits the Dodge persona now.

We had a couple trendsetters: the original Pacifica and then the Magnum. They’re both unique vehicles. We’ve actually looked at it, but at this stage we’re not headed down that path.

Is Chrysler the minivan brand?

I view it as people movers. The Pacifica is the anchor of the brand. It’s an outstanding vehicle, good for us to build upon. We’re looking for other opportunities. It’s my job to find ways for that brand to grow.

A Pacifica-based corssover was delayed. Is it still in the plan?

It’s not in the future plans Mr. Marchionne spoke about so I can’t give more details about that.

Do you stop making the Chrysler 300 but keep the Dodge large cars?

The 300 goes through the ’19 model year. If you step back and say, ‘Does it fit people movers?’ it does from the sedan standpoint, but not from a utility.

Can Chrysler survive with just a minivan?

It’s my job to look for opportunities—in a profitable way—to build on the Pacifica. Waymo agreed to buy 62,000 [Pacifica hybrids for their autonomous vehicle fleet]. I want to build on that and add Chrysler products.

Waymo is a great partnership.

I look forward to that relationship. I think it’s good for both of us.

Are there plans to take Dodge and Chrysler international? Are they NAFTA-only brands?

The passenger cars for Dodge and Chrysler are NAFTA influenced heavily, way north of 90 percent, and that will continue moving forward.

Is Fiat’s product line streamlined for North America?

The product plan is driven from EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa). Our job is to identify what models work for the U.S. and NAFTA. We’ll take products they build in Europe, homologate them, and they’ll be electric with a high percent of them hybrids.

The post Dodge, Chrysler, Fiat Will Still Play Key Role in FCA Lineup appeared first on Motor Trend.

Just when you thought the Hellcat franchise was tapped out, FCA uses the Dodge Mile-High National Hot Rod Association Nationals event in Denver to announce its latest buzz model: the 2019 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320. The drag-oriented, street-legal muscle car for the grassroots drag racer will go into production by the end of the year for sale in early 2019.

Efforts to define Dodge as America’s sports car brand continue with the Challenger 1320, which follows a line of performance muscle cars that started with the 2008 Challenger and was followed by the 2015 Hellcat, 2018 Demon, and 2019 Redeye.

In the 1320, a 6.4-liter Hemi V-8 generates 485 horsepower, 475 lb-ft of torque, and is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. Dodge claims it will cover the quarter mile in 11.7 seconds at 115 mph, fastest for a naturally aspirated, street-legal muscle car. The $45,980 MSRP includes the $3,995 1320 package as well as the $1,595 automatic transmission (and $1,395 destination) over the regular R/T Scat Pack trim.

“It’s a special model, a buzz model,” says Steve Beahm, head of passenger car brands – Dodge, SRT, Chrysler, and Fiat for FCA North America. “The 1320 is intended to be a vehicle that someone can drive to work, but if they’re working on a Saturday they can head over to the drag strip and take it down the track.”

The 1320 is essentially a 2019 Challenger with the new Widebody Scat Pack. It has the bulging aluminum hood from the outgoing Hellcat and enough drag strip technology from the Demon for the serious drag racer.

That includes an SRT-tuned Adaptive Damping Suspension with exclusive Drag mode, extreme-duty 41-spline halfshafts, line lock, and the TransBrake that was developed for the Demon to address wheel spin on launch. This allows the car to be staged with a foot only on the gas because the TransBrake mechanically locks the transmission’s output shaft as the throttle builds. When it unlocks, the transmission sends full power to the rear. For those who take the 1320 hot-lapping, there are cooldown features.

Like the Demon, the 1320 comes with just a driver’s seat, but buyers can add passenger and rear seats as an option (they were a $1 option on the Demon). Specially developed Nexen 275/40R20l street-legal drag radial tires are available for better grip.

To denote the new model, Dodge has created a modern version of the Dodge Super Bee logo. The new Angry Bee logo can be found on the front fenders, instrument panel, startup splash screen in the instrument gauge cluster, and it’s even illuminated in the headlights. There will also be additional screens in the instrument cluster to set up your car the way you want for the track.

Beahm said Scat Pack accounts for about 20 percent of Challenger volume. As for the growing Challenger line, he said lots of people want a muscle car and Dodge has the youngest buyer demographic in the lineup.

The post 2019 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320 First Look appeared first on Motor Trend.

Earlier this year, Ford announced that there would be an ST version of the 2019 Edge. The the ST essentially replaces the previous Edge Sport, and we knew it would offer more power and better handling, but we weren’t sure how much Ford’s first performance SUV would actually cost. Though there’s still no official confirmation from Ford, a leaked document may provide some clues.

According to a dealer pricing sheet reportedly seen by Automotive News, the 2019 Ford Edge ST will start at $43,350 including destination. If you want the fully loaded version, expect to pay just under $52,000.

If true, the Edge ST certainly won’t be cheap, but that price is also only $1,500 or so more than Ford currently charges for the Edge Sport. For your money, you’ll get a more powerful 335-hp engine, active roll control, a sport-tuned suspension, and larger brakes. Automotive News also reports that Ford will offer an optional high-performance brake package that costs $2,695 and includes 21-inch lightweight black wheels. A $5,585 package will reportedly include the larger wheels, bigger brakes, heated and cooled seats, a hands-free tailgate, and Ford’s Co-Pilot360 driver safety system.

When asked for a comment, a Ford spokesperson couldn’t confirm the Automotive News report. They did, however, point out that the Edge ST’s 380 lb-ft of torque is only slightly less than that of “a performance SUV from Mercedes-Benz” that costs about $17,000 more. Presumably, they were referring to the GLC 43, which makes 384 lb-ft of torque and starts at $56,250 not including destination. Working backward (and assuming a base GLC 43 with no options), that would put the starting price of the Edge ST closer to $40,000.

Either way, look for official pricing to be released later this summer.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription required)

The post The 2019 Ford Edge ST Will Reportedly Cost $43,350 appeared first on Motor Trend.

KQ Liverpool chief executive Colin Sinclair has been appointed to lead the newly formed Knowledge Quarter Development Company as it proceeds with plans to create a £2bn development.

President Donald Trump's threat to levy a 20-25 percent tariff on cars imported to the U.S. if a trade deal with the European Union isn't reached next week could result in a dramatic increase in new-car pricing and may lead to international retaliation. EU officials, including European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, and the president...

The 2019 GMC Canyon is a mid-size pickup with hints of upscale flair, enough for a 5.2 out of 10 on our scale. (Read more about how we rate cars.) Like its platform mate, the Chevrolet Colorado, the 2019 Canyon can’t quite stack up to its full-size companions, but at nearly 19 feet from end to end, it’s no small fry. The Canyon comes...

Blackstone chairman and chief executive Stephen Schwarzman has said the business is gearing up for “another fundraising supercycle”.

Nissan has unveiled the production version of the Leaf Nismo, destined to go on sale in Japan starting July 31. The model receives cosmetic upgrades as well as a sportier suspension and other performance bits.

Nissan added red accents all around the exterior, from the bumpers, side sills, and door mirror caps. Buyers can choose between nine body colors including two-tone paint jobs such as Brilliant Silver/Super Black and Dark Metal Grey/Super Black. Custom 18-inch aluminum wheels are designed to mitigate air resistance, and they’re wrapped with grippy Continental ContiSportContact 5 tires.

Inside, you’ll find a special carbon-like finish on the instrument panel as well as an Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel. Nissan added a red finish around the air conditioning vents and used red stitching on the custom seats. There is also a unique electronic shifter with a gun metal chrome finish.

Other than design, the Nismo model features a custom tuning computer that promises more responsive acceleration. Still, expect to get the same 147 hp and 236 lb-ft of torque from that electric motor. The car also features an upgraded suspension and custom-tuned electric power steering. The Intelligent Trace Control is specially tuned for increased stability while cornering.

Nissan introduced a Leaf Nismo concept late last year, although it was unclear at the time if the model would make it to production. But it’s not such a surprise that Nissan gave it the green light. Not only does Nissan have Nismo versions of the 370Z and GT-R, but it has also given the special treatment to the more pedestrian Juke, Note, March, and Serena minivan.

Source: Nissan

The post Nissan Leaf Nismo Heading to Japan appeared first on Motor Trend.

Big Yellow Group has comfortably seen off a shareholder rebellion over the self-storage giant’s executive pay.

Ford made a big splash back in April when it announced it would not replace the Fiesta, Fusion, and Taurus with new models in the U.S. Though the 2020 Ford Focus Active will carry on the Focus name as a crossover, it won’t be built here like the current Focus is, as Ford confirmed to us Wednesday. MORE: Ford Fusion could morph into crossover...

Ford recalling more than 500K Fusion sedans, Escape crossovers for rollaway risk Ford announced Wednesday that it would recall more than half a million Fusion sedans and Escape crossovers built between 2013 and 2015 because of a faulty shift cable that could fail to park the car. The recall includes 2013-16 Ford Fusions and 2013-14 Ford Escapes...

Tenant demand for retail space is falling dramatically, according to the latest RICS UK Commercial Market Survey.

The construction sector ”cannot efficiently meet the need for housing and may struggle to meet the need for infrastructure”, according to a new House of Lords report.

The K Club, which hosted the 2006 Ryder Cup, has been placed on the market with a guide price of €80m (£71m).