ma section - featured
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Last month Porsche confirmed that it would challenge the London's £25 ($50) congestion charge in the High Court of Justice and this week the sports carmaker gained a new ally in the form of London borough Kensington and Chelsea. Porsche has continually asserted the increase of the congestion charge from £8 ($16) a day, or £0.80 ($1.6) for residents, to £25 is both unfair and disproportionate. Andy Goss, managing director of Porsche GB, said; “I am pleased that Kensington and Chelsea has joined us in our fight against this unfair, counter-productive tax against motorists.”...
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Official: Nissan GT-R laps Nurburgring in 7m 29sIf you thought the GT-R’s previous recorded lap time of 7m 38s at the Nurburgring was shockingly fast get ready to be stunned again as Nissan has confirmed today that its latest supercar has achieved a blistering lap time of just 7m 29 seconds - making it one of the fastest ever production...
Ralph Hanson -
Land Rover turns 60When the original Land Rover Series 1 made its public debut at a motor show in Amsterdam back in 1948, few would have suspect the brand would go on to become a major player in the international luxury SUV market. Today, Land Rover features a five-model lineup and is selling vehicles at a record...
Alex Kaufmann -
Next-gen NSX to compete directly with Ferrari on performanceHonda's NSX replacement has had several false starts, with the company scrapping the car's design after the public's largely negative response to its Acura Advanced Sports Car Concept, shown at 2007's Detroit Auto Show. Beyond the styling difficulties, ensuring the car will compete successfully...
Nelson Ireson -
Study: 2008 Chevrolet Malibu stealing sales from foreign makesIf GM has any hope of regaining its title of world’s biggest carmaker from Toyota its vehicles must not only sell well but they should also regain market share lost to rivals. Until recently, consumers rarely cross-shopped between GM and Toyota but as the quality and reliability of GM...
James Martinez -
Chrysler's 2007 loss could top $6.8 billionSince Chrysler is under private control it has no obligation to release financial results but according to its former parent company, Daimler AG, its result for the 2007 financial year could be a loss of more than $6.8 billion. Daimler indicated that Chrysler lost roughly that amount in the last...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Testing done recently in the UK shows that the cheap seats used in many small cars are compromising occupant safety by increasing the likelihood of whiplash. Unfortunately, the most likely vehicles to suffer accidents likely to cause whiplash - low-speed traffic collisions - are the vehicles intended to be used most in major cities. Thatcham is a group established by British insurers to test ways to reduce the cost of insurance repairs without compromising safety. The results of their study show that only two city cars achieved ratings of 'Acceptable' or better - Renault's TwinGo and Smart's...
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Obsidian SG-One: one-off extreme Mustang hot-rodWhat may be the ultimate prepackaged Mustang hot-rod has been released by Obsidian in the form of its SG-One. Tube-frame construction with a stealth roll cage, twin superchargers on a hand-built engine and all the custom work a person could dream of inside and out mark the Obsidian SG-One as...
Nelson Ireson -
ZF modifies 8-speed auto for stop-start capabilityZF's latest entry into the ever-escalating automatic transmission wars, an eight-speed unit, has just been updated to include compatibility with stop-start technology. This will allow the close-geared system to shut the engine down when the vehicle comes to a stop, yet fire the engine back up and...
Nelson Ireson -
Hybrids pose possible new health hazardHybrid, fuel-cell and all-electric vehicles are viewed by many as the future of the motoring world but there is a growing fear that the flow of electrical current from the motors that power such vehicles produces harmful magnetic fields, which some scientists associate with a number of health risks...
Ralph Hanson -
Motive Industries BEHEV 100MPG X Prize challengerWith the official start last month of the Automotive X Prize – a competition with a $10 million cash prize for the first team to build and successfully market a genuine 100mpg vehicle – more and more teams are starting to release details about their new ultra-efficient vehicles. Already...
Alex Kaufmann -
CAFE regulations expected to cripple niche carmakersAs the fallout from last week’s CAFE announcement continues, worrying details about the new standards and how they appear harsher for some carmakers than others are starting to appear. The 2015 interim target of 31.6MPG fleet average for new cars and trucks is based on a complicated formula...
Kenneth Hall -
Saleen is offering for the first time its high performance 302 cubic inch (5.0L) premium V8 engine for sale as a standalone crate engine through its SpeedLab Aftermarket Division. The engine will be available in either short block or long block varieties and in either naturally-aspirated or supercharged forms. Based on the 4.6L 3V Ford aluminum block, the entire internal package is upgraded with Saleen engineered forged pistons, rods, crankshaft and valve train components, and camshaft profiles. Power will range from 390hp in the naturally-aspirated version and up to 580hp for the force-fed...
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Porsche working to build ties with AudiPorsche's power plays within Volkswagen have been getting a lot of press lately, with everything from failed board votes to spy scandals sprouting out of the deal. Now attention turns to Porsche's interest in Audi, where it is working to secure three spots on the supervisory board. The three...
Nelson Ireson -
Faulty pumps overcharge consumers as fuel prices soarAs fuel prices continue to skyrocket to record highs, more and more consumers are increasingly becoming wary of just how much they are paying at the pump. But new reports in the U.S. claim faulty fuel pumps can be partly blamed for the rising cost of fuel and consumers are being overcharged without...
Ralph Hanson -
More details about Chrysler's future midsize platformChrysler is developing a new range of vehicles for one of the most competitive automotive segments in the world, the midsize D-segment, currently dominated by the likes of the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. Its current offerings, the Dodge Avenger and Chrysler Sebring, are outsold by its Japanese...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Shanghai Auto to re-open Longbridge on August 1Shanghai Auto, the Chinese company that bought the rights to MG Rover last December, has revealed plans to resume production of MG and Rover models at the traditional home of MG Rover in Longbridge. Traditionalists will be pleased to know that the cars will be manufactured as they previously were...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
VW accused of spying on Porsche with babyphonePolice in Germany are investigating a possible industrial espionage case involving Volkswagen spying on Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking. According to German media, VW personal used a baby-phone hidden behind a sofa located in a hotel room Wiedeking was staying in during a trip for a VW supervisory...
Alex Kaufmann -
Late yesterday GM revealed official power ratings for its Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 supercar – 638hp (476kW) and 819Nm (604lb-ft) - and now we have a video showcasing the potential of the car. GM hasn’t released any top speed figures for the ZR1 but here we see it go all the way to 205mph (330km/h). 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1Corvette unleashes the mighty ZR1
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Carbon fiber and crystal Formula 1 watch conceptExotic timepieces frequently attempt to secure some association with elite sports and activities - and the people that perform them. Though made of titanium, tungsten and carbon fiber, such watches are rarely much out of the ordinary when it comes to appearance or function. The latest creation from...
Nelson Ireson -
New U.S. CAFE rules mean more expensive cars, fewer salesThe U.S. Secretary of Transportation couched the new CAFE plan as saving billions of gallons of fuel, but the industry sees it as one that will costs billions in research, development and manufacturing costs over the next five years. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters noted in the announcement...
Nelson Ireson -
Update: EU clears Tata purchase of Jaguar, Land RoverUpdated: The European Union has followed the lead of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and approved the $2.3 billion sale of Jaguar and Land Rover to India’s Tata. There were no content of the sale from competitors and customers and the decision was made under a ‘simplified...
Nelson Ireson -
Ford builds 9 millionth MustangFord announced today it had built its 9 millionth Mustang, a GT convertible that will be delivered to a dealership in Iowa. The announcement comes less than a week after the Pony Car celebrated its 45th anniversary and at a time when the Mustang is one of the top selling sports cars in the world...
James Martinez -
2010 Buick LaCrosse spy shotsBuick’s next-generation LaCrosse has been spotted testing at GM proving grounds both in the U.S. and Germany and as these latest images reveal the new car sports a similar shape to the Invicta concept unveiled over the weekend. Like the concept, the production version’s styling is being...
James Martinez