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  • Spy Shots: 2010 Alfa Romeo Milano

    Spy Shots: 2010 Alfa Romeo Milano September 30th, 2009 By Viknesh Vijayenthiran's avatar Viknesh Vijayenthiran, Author, September 30th, 2009 Viknesh Vijayenthiran 10 Comments

    Spy Shots: 2010 Alfa Romeo Milano

     

    Fans of Italian styling are anxiously awaiting Fiat and Alfa Romeo's return to the U.S. now that the alliance deal between the Italian auto giant and Chrysler has been signed. One of Alfa Romeo’s upcoming models is particularly important as it will form the basis of a new Chrysler sedan planned for U.S. production. The car is the 2010 Alfa Romeo Milano, a replacement for the aging 147 hatchback, and it's likely to make its debut at the 2009 Bologna Motor Show in Italy this December.

    Late last year at the 2008 Bologna event, Alfa Romeo CEO Luca de Meo confirmed that the car was in the works and that it would arrive in the fourth...

      Fans of Italian styling are anxiously awaiting Fiat and Alfa Romeo's return to the U.S. now that the alliance deal between the Italian auto giant and Chrysler has been signed. One of Alfa Romeo’s upcoming models is particularly important as it will form the basis of a new Chrysler sedan planned for U.S. production. The car is the 2010 Alfa Romeo Milano, a replacement for the aging 147 hatchback, and it's likely to make its debut at the 2009 Bologna Motor Show in Italy this December. Late last year at the 2008 Bologna event, Alfa Romeo CEO Luca de Meo confirmed that the car was in the works and that it would arrive in the fourth quarter of 2009. Latest spy photos show that it is progressing well toward that deadline, though camouflage does hide the details of its form. The five-door layout and sharing of the new 8C-inspired design theme are evident, however. The Milano is expected to share Fiat’s C-Evo platform with the Lancia Delta and Alfa Romeo Bravo, contrary to earlier reports of the car getting an all-new platform. The same core engine range is expected, including a smallish 120-horsepower four-cylinder and ranging up to a 3.2-liter V-6 good for 265-horsepower. It will also share much of the same running gear. Sometime after the car's debut, a GTA model, like the MiTo's recently unveiled version, is also expected. The new Alfa Romeo will come despite a planned halt in production to bring stock in line with demand. By splitting the existing 147 line into the MiTo and Milano, it allows the company to retain existing customers of the range while targeting new ones at both ends of the spectrum. The smaller and more efficient MiTo can play toward the younger and more urban crowds, while the Milano should scale well with the more affluent and suburban lifestyles. Adding to the Milano's more upscale direction is the inclusion of the four-wheel drive Q4 system, though the Q2 front-wheel drive will remain standard. Read More

  • 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost Preview

    2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost Preview September 15th, 2009 By Viknesh Vijayenthiran's avatar Viknesh Vijayenthiran, Author, September 15th, 2009 Viknesh Vijayenthiran 9 Comments

    2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost Preview

    Rolls-Royce has developed a brand new model positioned below the Phantom for launch in the second quarter of next year. The new model is the 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost sedan, which is expected to double the number of vehicles built by the ultra-luxury automaker each year. The Ghost was revealed for the first time in full production trim and with official details ahead the currently running Frankfurt auto show. New live shots from the show today reveal the car in even more fantastic detail.

    Rolls-Royce first announced that work had begun on a new model series as far back as 2006. However, little was seen of the new car, codenamed RR4, until the...

    Rolls-Royce has developed a brand new model positioned below the Phantom for launch in the second quarter of next year. The new model is the 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost sedan, which is expected to double the number of vehicles built by the ultra-luxury automaker each year. The Ghost was revealed for the first time in full production trim and with official details ahead the currently running Frankfurt auto show. New live shots from the show today reveal the car in even more fantastic detail. Rolls-Royce first announced that work had begun on a new model series as far back as 2006. However, little was seen of the new car, codenamed RR4, until the spring of 2008, when the company released the first official sketches. The styling was instantly recognizable as a Rolls-Royce, although less traditional than previous models. What the design team was seeking to create was a modern Rolls-Royce that achieved a new dynamism but remained true to its luxurious heritage. Earlier this year, a concept version, dubbed the 200EX, was unveiled. Following the overwhelmingly positive reaction to 200EX, very few changes were made in the transition to the production model. Power for the new Ghost comes from a 6.6-liter turbocharged V-12 engine matched to a ZF 8-speed automatic gearbox. Output at the crankshaft is rated at 563 horsepower and 575 pound-feet of torque, which makes the Ghost more powerful than the Phantom despite being positioned below it. This is enough to accelerate the Ghost from 0-60 mph in 4.8 seconds and see it easily reach its electronically governed top speed of 155 mph. Fuel economy is estimated at 17.3 mpg for a mix of highway and city driving. In keeping with its ‘entry-level’ positioning, the Ghost is smaller all around when compared to the Phantom. While the Phantom's dimensions stretch to around 5,834 mm, the Ghost measures in at 5,399 mm in length, 1,948 mm across, and stand 1,550 mm in height. Its wheelbase stretches 3,295 mm and inside there is generous seating for five adults. Rolls-Royce has also revealed that the car makes use of the very latest developments in chassis engineering, including a new four corner air suspension system matched to multi-link aluminum front and rear axle geometry. A new chassis management system is fitted and is designed to control the car’s anti-roll stabilization and the suspension stiffness to ensure the best possible comfort for occupants. The new air suspension system is so sensitive that it can detect even the smallest of changes. For example, the movement of a single rear passenger from one side of the seat to the other can be detected and system modified to compensate. The on-board computer system reads multiple inputs from sensors around the car - the dampers alone making individual load calculations every 2.5 milliseconds. The air suspension system also incorporates a lift and kneel function, raising or lowering the car by 25mm for those steep driveways. Inside the Ghost, the interior design team has come up with a contemporary ambience while staying true to Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ traditions of fine materials and peerless comfort. There are elegant, frosted lamps and chrome door handles, traditional violin key switches and eyeball air vents, frosted white dials and refined instrumentation. Deep-pile carpets can be complemented by optional lambswool floor mats for a truly luxurious feel. Enhancing the interior’s ambience is an audio system delivering an exquisite experience. 600 Watts of sound are delivered through a 10-channel amplifier and 16 speakers, including two floor-mounted subwoofers. USB and auxiliary inputs allow for the integration of external audio devices and a 12.5 GB hard drive enables storage of music files from USB or CD player sources. Available as an option with both seating arrangements is ‘Theatre Configuration’, which allows all settings that do not directly affect the driver to be controlled from the rear seat. The functions are displayed on two 9.2 inch LCD screens in the back of the front seats; these can be angled to suit the viewers by a central, armrest-mounted, rotary controller. The screens can be regulated independently of each other and the entertainment can also be listened to individually with most headphones. A six-disc multi-media changer, mounted in the glove compartment, is fitted as part of this option. Customer deliveries of the Ghost in Europe will begin late in 2009 with pricing from £165,000 (approximately $271,106) excluding taxes and delivery charges. Customer deliveries in other markets including the U.S. and Asia Pacific region will begin from the second quarter 2010. Read More

  • GM Approves Opel Majority Sale to Magna International And Sberbank

    GM Approves Opel Majority Sale to Magna International And Sberbank September 10th, 2009 By Viknesh Vijayenthiran's avatar Viknesh Vijayenthiran, Author, September 10th, 2009 Alex Kaufmann 1 Comment

    GM Approves Opel Majority Sale to Magna International And Sberbank

    General Motors today announced that its Board of Directors supports a bid from the consortium of automotive parts supplier Magna International and Russian bank Sberbank to buy a majority stake in its European Opel (Vauxhall) operations.

    Several key issues will be finalized over the next few weeks to secure the binding agreements, including the written support of the labor unions to support the deal, as well as the finalization of a definitive financing package from the German government.

    The final agreements should be ready to sign within a few weeks, with closing to follow within the next few months. Under the deal, Magna and Sberbank will...

    General Motors today announced that its Board of Directors supports a bid from the consortium of automotive parts supplier Magna International and Russian bank Sberbank to buy a majority stake in its European Opel (Vauxhall) operations. Several key issues will be finalized over the next few weeks to secure the binding agreements, including the written support of the labor unions to support the deal, as well as the finalization of a definitive financing package from the German government. The final agreements should be ready to sign within a few weeks, with closing to follow within the next few months. Under the deal, Magna and Sberbank will purchase a 55% stake in New Opel (the restructured company), while GM will retain a 35% stake and the last 10% stake reserved for Opel’s employees. The agreement will keep Opel a fully integrated part of GM’s global product development organization, allowing all parties to benefit from the exchange of technology and engineering resources. Read More

  • Report: Dealer Confirms Audi RS3 Coming To Frankfurt Auto Show

    Report: Dealer Confirms Audi RS3 Coming To Frankfurt Auto Show September 8th, 2009 By Nelson Ireson's avatar Nelson Ireson, Author, September 8th, 2009 Alex Kaufmann 10 Comments

    Report: Dealer Confirms Audi RS3 Coming To Frankfurt Auto Show

    Earlier this year, Audi unveiled its stunning new TT-RS,  and now it looks like the new RS3 spied back in March could be coming to the Frankfurt Motor Show. This is good news for the legions of Audi fans who have long been waiting for the company to stick its 'RS' performance badge to the back of an A3 uber-hatch. Now word from a South African dealer has confirmed the RS3 will make its appearance at the Frankfurt Auto Show, though it's far from official.

    Revealed via the Twitter feed of South African Audi dealer, AudiCapeTown, the RS3 has long been an expected - but unconfirmed - star of the upcoming show. Today's news, which comes by way...

    Earlier this year, Audi unveiled its stunning new TT-RS,  and now it looks like the new RS3 spied back in March could be coming to the Frankfurt Motor Show. This is good news for the legions of Audi fans who have long been waiting for the company to stick its 'RS' performance badge to the back of an A3 uber-hatch. Now word from a South African dealer has confirmed the RS3 will make its appearance at the Frankfurt Auto Show, though it's far from official. Revealed via the Twitter feed of South African Audi dealer, AudiCapeTown, the RS3 has long been an expected - but unconfirmed - star of the upcoming show. Today's news, which comes by way of the German Car Blog, just adds another layer to the story. The new RS3 shouldn't be an especially complex engineering project for Audi - all that's to be done is tune up the handling and aerodynamics of the hatch and shoehorn the same engine found in the TT-RS under its hood. As the spy shots show, the car itself bears no serious exterior modifications yet, indicating all of the mechanical upgrades will fit within the current car's shell. The area where the current S3 has its foglights is blacked-out on the RS3 test mule, however, indicating there may be something behind the front fascia taking advantage of the modified airflow. At any rate, a redesigned, slightly more aggressive front-end for an RS3 version is almost a certainty if the car does come to market. Output from the turbo five-banger would likely be the same 340 horsepower and 332 pound-feet found in the TT-RS, which should be enough to propel a RS3 hatch from 0-60 mph in about five seconds. However, there’s a chance that Audi may water down the potency of the engine in the RS3 so it doesn’t step on the toes of the TT-RS, despite the very different body types and target markets. Even with 'just' 300 horsepower and Audi's quattro all-wheel drive, the RS3 would be a daunting rival for the likes of the Subaru WRX STI, Mitsubishi Evolution X and Mazdaspeed3, especially considering Audi's premium positioning. With the premium hot hatch segment remaining fairly sparse these days, an RS3 model from Audi would also give the company bragging rights against rivals like the BMW 135i. Production of the RS3 still isn't completely certain, however, with company officials keeping mum on the subject.   Read More

  • BMW Releases Second Teaser Of Vision EfficientDynamics Concept

    BMW Releases Second Teaser Of Vision EfficientDynamics Concept August 28th, 2009 By Nelson Ireson's avatar Nelson Ireson, Author, August 28th, 2009 Alex Kaufmann 15 Comments

    BMW Releases Second Teaser Of Vision EfficientDynamics Concept

    As soon as spy images of a mysterious BMW concept emerged earlier this month, BMW said the car pictured was nothing but an old aerodynamics test mule, certainly not a new concept due for debut at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. But whatever that car was, BMW is definitely working on something all-new for Frankfurt, and today the company has released a second teaser image of the upcoming car.

    Dubbed the Vision EfficientDynamics concept, it's expected to be a three-cylinder, hybrid-powertrain four-door coupe. Yesterday, the company released a teaser video further developing the car's green image and giving a hint at what looks like a rear...

    As soon as spy images of a mysterious BMW concept emerged earlier this month, BMW said the car pictured was nothing but an old aerodynamics test mule, certainly not a new concept due for debut at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. But whatever that car was, BMW is definitely working on something all-new for Frankfurt, and today the company has released a second teaser image of the upcoming car. Dubbed the Vision EfficientDynamics concept, it's expected to be a three-cylinder, hybrid-powertrain four-door coupe. Yesterday, the company released a teaser video further developing the car's green image and giving a hint at what looks like a rear quarter panel. The image revealed today, via the IAABlog, shows the opposite view of the other rear quarter panel, which does little to give us an idea of the car's overall shape, but does continue to build curiosity. Though new video also doesn't show much of the car - beyond the second image above - in any of its green-themed scenes, it does show car-perspective footage, implies high-speed and performance driving and also teases with terms like 'Vision EfficientDynamics', perhaps offering a reminder of the GINA Light Visionary Concept from last June. The car captured earlier this month offers a similar appearance, though does away with the cloth body work for what appears to be real metal, shaped into a long-coupe profile and apparently small form factor. That shape threw many commentators for a loop in trying to identify the car when it was spotted by spies, but when taken as a possible new model, or at least a concept previewing next-generation BMW powertrain technology, it begins to make more sense. According to Auto Express, the new car will also show off features of BMW's upcoming design direction, much like the CS Concept did in 2007. That concept drew as much fire as it did praise, and though elements of its design have seen production application - heavily toned down, of course - expect to see another controversial set of features in this new concept. We'll all have to wait until the Frankfurt show next month to find out exactly what is and isn't rumor, but stay tuned to Motor Authority for the latest developments, whatever they may be. Late last year a high ranking insider revealed that BMW was working on a “green” super-sports car based along the lines of the M1 Homage concept. BMW development board member Dr Klaus Draeger also recently revealed that the company was planning to unveil a sustainable sports car concept at the upcoming Frankfurt event. The concept is expected pack the latest in BMW EfficientDynamics technology, but in addition to showcasing powertrain advancements it will also feature sustainable design and material elements. According to previous reports, BMW is studying the viability of the project, with an eye to eventually building a two-seater sports car that showcases all of firm’s most sophisticated environmental technology. A limited production run would be timed for release at the end of 2012, giving cars like the top-selling Audi R8 and upcoming Mercedes Benz SLS AMG Gullwing some healthy competition. [Auto Express, BMW WebTV] BMW M1 Homage 2009 BMW sustainable sports car concept spy shots Read More

  • Tesla Releases New On-Road Shots of 2012 Model S

    Tesla Releases New On-Road Shots of 2012 Model S August 20th, 2009 By Nelson Ireson's avatar Nelson Ireson, Author, August 20th, 2009 Nelson Ireson 7 Comments

    Tesla Releases New On-Road Shots of 2012 Model S

    Earlier this summer Tesla unveiled its drivable prototype Model S sedan at Elon Musk's SpaceX headquarters, and opened the reservation books for the car - even though they hadn't broken ground on the factory that will build it. Plans on the factory have since developed, and over 1,000 people have made the $5,000 deposit for the car, raising another $5 million for the car's development. Today, Tesla has released new photos of the car showing it in action on real-life roads.

    Earlier photos of the car, whether from the official studio session or the live shots of the rolling prototype, revealed it to be a definite design success, but these...

    Earlier this summer Tesla unveiled its drivable prototype Model S sedan at Elon Musk's SpaceX headquarters, and opened the reservation books for the car - even though they hadn't broken ground on the factory that will build it. Plans on the factory have since developed, and over 1,000 people have made the $5,000 deposit for the car, raising another $5 million for the car's development. Today, Tesla has released new photos of the car showing it in action on real-life roads. Earlier photos of the car, whether from the official studio session or the live shots of the rolling prototype, revealed it to be a definite design success, but these latest images - which look to be official - released by egmCarTech show that its attractive lines have some serious legs as well. From the body roll and pitch in a few of these shots, it's being flogged pretty well on the track. The man behind the wheel is none other than the one responsible for the car's design, Tesla's Franz von Holzhausen. The attractive design and the car's strong specs - even if only vaporware at this point - have led to strong pre-salse. Even Tesla was surprised by the number of people willing to pony up the cash early on, when 520 people had made their reservations in the first week. "Frankly the number of cars reserved in the first week has exceeded our optimistic internal projections," said Tesla CEO, Chairman and Product Architect Elon Musk. "Enthusiasm surrounding the Model S is proof that there's pent-up demand for more affordable, fuel-efficient vehicles - including those made in America." As interest in the Model S continues to show strength, Tesla has shifted to extolling the virtues of the electric sedan. “The Model S is a better value than much cheaper conventional cars,” said Musk. “Despite the enormous environmental benefits, lower total cost of ownership will soon become the primary motivation for consumers to evolve from gas guzzlers to EVs.” The Model S's lower total cost of ownership relies on higher priced - above $5 per gallon - gasoline. At current rates, the calculation isn't so favorable. But it at least seems reasonable to assume fuel prices will rise again once the economy rights itself. Tesla has added to the buzz behind the Model S by announcing a Signature Edition, which will be built in a run of 2,000 cars that will be split evenly between U.S. and European customers. The Tesla Model S Signature Edition will be the first cars built and will come with unique interior and exterior features. To reserve one Tesla will need a $40,000 deposit for this special model. The Model S's statistics are as much inspiration for the early interest as the 'green' cachet or the car's good looks - at 5.5 seconds to 60 mph, a 300-mile range and an incredible price of $57,500 before $7,500 in tax credits, the car offers inexplicable value, especially considering it will be built in San Jose, California. And that's before you get to the car's technological feature list. For more on the Model S and its production plans, check out our story on the car's unveiling here. Read More

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