Featured (was)
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For the first time in the US auto industry’s 102 year history American carmakers in July commanded less than 50% of the market. Import brands accounted for 51.9% of sales in July, with GM, Chrysler and Ford making up the remaining 48.1%. Only a year ago, the statistics were reversed. Actual vehicle sales stood at 679,523 for the imports and 629,569 for the Detroit 3, according to Automotive News, down overall by 12.4% compared with July last year. GM bore the worst of the results, its sales plummeted 22.3%, followed closely by Ford with a drop of 19.2%. Most of the blame was centered on...
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AC Schnitzer Z4 M Coupé ProfileBMW’s Z4 M Coupé has been out of the spotlight as of late but that hasn’t stopped Germany’s AC Schnitzer from developing a new tuning kit for the car. Labelled the Profile, the new kit comes with a 350hp version of the venerable 3.2L straight six, which has gone in for some...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
VW rear-engined minicar and Tiguan to star at FrankfurtAt next month’s Frankfurt Motor Show Volkswagen will be presenting more than fifty different models, eight of which will be making their world debuts. The newcomers on VW’s stands will be the new Tiguan SUV, six new economical BlueMotion models and a rear-engined minicar concept. CEO...
James Martinez -
Blast From The Past: Aston Martin BulldogIn 1975 Aston Martin was sold to a pair of North American businessmen named Peter Sprague and George Minden. One year later the iconic Lagonda was introduced to the world, a futuristic car designed by stylist William Towns. However, that same year, Towns sketched up an even more radical version of...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
A1GP organizers announce 3rd season calendarOnly in its third season, the calendar of the fledgling A1GP has expanded to eleven events and sees several location changes for the 2007/08 season. Launched back in March of 2004, the A1GP is described as the World Cup of Motorsport as competing teams represent individual countries instead of...
Ralph Hanson -
Land Rover Developing 7-Seater Freelander/LR2Land Rover is likely to add a new version of the Freelander/LR2 mid-sized SUV, which is expected to join the current five-seater version in roughly 18 months time. The new model will feature seating for up to seven passengers and is being designed to thwart sales of new arrivals such as the Peugeot...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
It’s finally official. Alfa Romeo will return to U.S. shores next year with the debut of the 8C Competizione supercar. Maserati North America boss Jim Selwa made the announcement at the unveiling of the final production version of the U.S.-spec 8C at the Meadow Brook Concours d'Elegance over the weekend. According to Selwa, the 8C will be priced upwards of $200,000 and only about 100 cars are earmarked for the local market. Production of the new 8C will top 500 units for the coupe and another 500 for the convertible Spider, making it one of the most exclusive Alfas in history. Alfa...
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Hennessey Viper beats Veyron in 0-200MPH shoot-outThe Hennessey-tuned Venom 1000 Dodge Viper has eclipsed the world’s fastest car, the Bugatti Veyron, in a 0-200mph winner takes all shoot-out conducted by Road & Track, The twin-turbocharged Viper managed a best time of 20.3 seconds, almost four full seconds clear of the quad-turbo Veyron in...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Spy Shots: 2008 MG3MG under the guidance of China’s Nanjing has developed a new hatchback model based on the original Rover 25 that was sold up until 2005. When MG and Rover were split, Nanjing Auto managed to scoop up the tooling for the car and as evidenced by these latest spy shots a new MG3 has already...
Alex Kaufmann -
GM posts $891 million profit for 2QGeneral Motors has beat market expectations by posting a $891 million profit for the second quarter, stark contrast to the $3.4 billion loss it made in the same period only one year ago. This was the third straight quarter of profits for GM, which cited improve sales in new markets as the main...
Siddarth Raja -
Fiat planning new low-cost minicarFollowing the success of the new 500, Fiat is considering adding another model to the minicar segment to compete with similar cars expected from Toyota and Renault. If given the green light, the new minicar could arrive on the market by the end of the decade with a price tag close to €5,000...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Lamborghini posts record sales and profitsLamborghini continues to do something it was incapable of doing in the past – remain profitable. Under the ownership of Audi, the brand has gone from strength to strength and last year sold just over 2000 cars. Figures for the first half of this year have just been announced and it’s...
Kenneth Hall -
Updated: The owner of the GAZ car group, Russian Machines, has released a statement denying claims that it’s interested in acquiring Land Rover and Jaguar. Original: The latest bidder reported to be interested in the Land Rover and Jaguar brands is Russia’s GAZ Group, a carmaker under the guidance of billionaire tycoon Oleg Deripaska. According to sources close to the deal, Deripaska is also interested in bidding for Volvo as part of his conglomerate’s plans to grow through mergers and acquisitions, reports Germany’s WirtschaftsWoche newspaper. Another firm owned by...
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Cadillac developing small RWD sedan for 2011Cadillac is hoping to shed its image as a developer of luxury barges by rejuvenating its lineup with the addition of a new entry-level small sporty sedan. The new model, which will be sold in both North America and Europe, will be based on GM’s mid-sized RWD Alpha platform and should arrive...
Ralph Hanson -
BMW 7-series turns 30Thirty years ago, BMW introduced a new flagship in the form of the E23 sedan, which quickly became the standard in luxury for large saloons and remained on sale for the next decade. The original model debuted with BMW’s M30 straight-six engine in 728 guise and was soon followed by the 730 and...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Teaser released for the Audi A7Audi has released a teaser sketch of its upcoming four-door coupe that’s due to hit showrooms by September of 2009. Before that, we should see a near-production ready concept version, most likely at the 2008 New York Auto Show. According to the Audi source that leaked the sketch, the A7 will...
Alex Kaufmann -
GM claims hybrid SUVs will get 40% better mileageGM has made the bold claim that hybrid versions of the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon SUVs will achieve 40% better fuel economy than regular petrol versions, equating to a mileage figure of roughly 19-20mpg in urban driving. Earlier forecasts predicted improvements of only 25%, but, according to USA...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Nanjing Fiat partnership exporting cars from ChinaFiat’s joint venture with China’s Nanjing Auto will soon start exporting cars outside of China with the first batch expected to be sold in Brazil and Egypt. The partnership has already received 8,300 firm orders for the Chinese built cars with the first shipments due to arrive later...
Ralph Hanson -
Porsche is adding a hybrid option to its next-gen Cayenne and new Panamera, but fuel saving technologies may also filter across to its iconic 911 range according to latest reports. Porsche is said to be trying to reduce fuel consumption and carbon-dioxide emission levels of its 911 range, just as it did with the Cayenne. For years Porsche has focused on increasing the performance of its engines, but, in light of government pressures to curb CO2 emissions, the priority now is on reducing fuel consumption and the associated emissions. Porsche’s director of hybrid development Michael...
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Volvo's entire range gets flex-fuel optionVolvo’s V70 and S80 models will be available with two new flex-fuel engines from the end of the year, making its entire lineup now flex-fuel ready. The V70 and S80 get either a new 2.0L four cylinder or a turbocharged 2.5L five cylinder. The existing petrol engines have been modified for E85...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
New images of the Maserati GranTurismoMaserati has finally released new images of its stunning GranTurismo, a gorgeous coupe penned by Italian design studio Pininfarina with inspiration clearly taken from Maserati’s larger Quattroporte sedan and its previous Birdcage concept car. With rumor there’s a new small Maserati...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BMW X3 SUV gets new 2.0L dieselBMW has extended the range of the X3 SUV by adding a new 2.0L four-cylinder diesel engine to its European lineup. The new engine develops an additional 27hp (20kW) and 20Nm of torque over the previous diesel offering in the X3 and uses 10% less fuel. Peak output stands at 177hp (130kW) and a...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Hybrid Porsche Cayenne to average 26.8MPGTo reduce its carbon footprint and improve the fuel-economy of its some of its vehicles, Porsche is developing new hybrid technology with sister brand Volkswagen that’ll be available as an option on its next-gen Cayenne SUV and Panamera four-door coupe. The new Cayenne is scheduled for...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
New Kuga will be Ford's first hybrid in EuropeFord is set to unveil a concept version of its new Kuga mid-sized crossover at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show, which will be powered by the Blue Oval’s latest petrol-electric hybrid technology. The new hybrid drivetrain will eventually flow on to production versions, making it the first...
Ralph Hanson