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  • 2010 Porsche Boxster facelift

    Porsche, coming off record sales and profits last financial year, has announced that for the first six months of the current year of business the company has experienced a 27.7% decrease in sales but miraculously profits have risen to €7.34 billion – up from €1.66 for the same period one year ago. While many of its rivals are struggling to stay in the black during the hard economic conditions, Porsche is in the unique position that it earns more income from its dealings in financial markets than it does from manufacturing and selling cars. Profits are up because of positive...

  • Sigma GTE prototype
    America’s Sigma working on new all-electric sports car

    It seems like almost every other day another fledgling car company announces plans for a new all-electric sports car. This time around its American start-up Sigma Motorworks, which is currently developing a new prototype for its GTE sports car due early next year. There must be something inherently...

  • China's already busy streets are soon to be even more crowded
    China to be world's largest auto producer by the end of the year

    Despite the global economic downturn, the nation of China is still on track to become the world's largest automaker by this year. Currently, China remains in second place to Japan, but last year the Chinese managed to overtake the U.S. to claim their current second-place position, and this trend is...

  • geely ge throne limo 005
    Geely goes for the gusto with throne-equipped GE limo

    Building a successful hyper-luxury limousine is a tricky game. While brands like Maybach and Bentley are struggling to find success, Rolls Royce is posting year after banner year of sales improvements. Now a newcomer has entered the game, and the result is catastrophically interesting. Built by...

  • gold bugatti veyron main 002
    Gold Bugatti Veyron defines excess

    We've seen gold-plated Aston Martins and even Fiat 500s, but until now the cars receiving the treatment have largely been worth less than their paint jobs once all was said and done, save rare specimens like the gold-ensconced Rolls Royce Phantom - but not this time. A gold Bugatti Veyron out of...

  • Proton Savvy Grille
    Detroit Electric and Proton sign deal to build new electric vehicles

    Historic electric car brand Detroit Electric (DE) confirmed early last year plans to launch a range of all-electric vehicles for sale in Europe and North America by the end of the decade. The company has now taken a major step forward in realizing those goals with the announcement today that it has...

  • Ikea Leko teaser

    While it never turned to be the April fool’s day joke we had all thought it to be, IKEA’s mysterious ‘Leko’ has turned out to be a new car sharing program launching in France next month. The new program is an online car-sharing service that will allow motorists to book vehicles via the Internet then pick them up at one of 26 IKEA stores located around France. The program is being run together with Comuto, a more established car-sharing business already in France, and is similar to the one already operating in Austria. While other car-sharing programs, like...

  • Canadian parliament
    Canada follows U.S. lead and rejects GM and Chrysler viability plans

    Canada has followed the lead of the U.S. and rejected the respective viability plans of General Motors and Chrysler, claiming the plans do not go far enough in their current form. This means the carmakers may miss out on the initial $3.2 billion in loans pledged in December, though a small portion...

  • ford fiesta mountune 005
    Report: Ford canceling Fiesta RS

    The lamentations of American hatch fans - as few as they may be - over the unfairness of Europe's bounty are legendary. But soon it's European hatch fans that may be sobbing, mourning the stillbirth of Ford's tiniest hot hatch, the Fiesta RS. The initial report, sourced by an interview of Jost...

  • Obama addresses the U.S. auto industry
    Obama throws weight behind car scrapping, new car tax incentives

    The 'cash for clunkers' type programs have proven hugely successful in Europe - particularly in Germany - and today President Obama put his support behind at $7,500 trade-in incentive for old cars. Along with the car scrapping push, Obama has also lent his support to a set of new car tax incentives...

  • Mark VI VW Golf
    Volkswagen makes switch from Rabbit to Golf official

    Volkswagen’s Mark VI Golf hatchback will lose the Rabbit nameplate when it goes on sale in the U.S. later this year. VW of America decided to bring back the Rabbit nameplate three years ago after it was dropped following the demise of the first-generation Golf back in the early 1980s. The...

  • Rick Wagoner
    Wagoner nabs $20 million retirement package on forced exit from GM

    When you're Rick Wagoner, you get a golden parachute even when you're thrown out of the plane. The news today of Wagoner's $20 million retirement package might come as a surprise to some, following so closely on the heels of his Presidential ouster over the weekend. Wagoner won't get the cash all...

  • Maserati GranTurismo S

    California may have a reputation for being one of the more 'progressive' states in the union, however the latest idea to come from the ever wise California Air Resources Board (CARB) had even the most die-hard environmentalists scratching their heads. Today the board backed down from its proposal, however, releasing a statement that it is "by no means interested in banning or restricting car colors." Last week, reports emerged that CARB, the body that can strike fear into the hearts of auto manufacturers at the mention of their name, had proposed to remove the color black from automotive...

  • Peugeot CEO Christian Streiff
    CEO Christian Streiff fired by Peugeot board of directors

    Drastic changes at American carmakers have become not only normal, but expected - even encouraged - as the economy and industry worsens. Even GM's CEO Rick Wagoner has stepped down at the behest of President Obama's task force. But so far no U.S. CEOs have been forcibly removed from their position...

  • 2010 Opel Insignia OPC spy shots
    Spy shots: Barely disguised Opel Insignia OPC

    We’ve seen a number of prototypes for the upcoming OPC Opel Insignia sedan and Sports Tourer wagon in the past 12 months but this is the first time that we have seen the car in its almost production ready state. OPC, which stands for ‘Opel Performance Center,’ is the name given to...

  • 2009 Hyundai Blue-Will plug-in concept
    Hyundai’s U.S. chief hints at plug-in hybrid sports car

    Hyundai is moving into the hybrid business quickly, with its first petrol-electric model expected to debut in South Korea this July and the U.S. by next year. Now, the carmaker’s American chief, John Krafcik, has revealed that management is considering building a more advanced plug-in hybrid...

  • 2009 Dodge Challenger SE V6
    Base Dodge Challenger now fitted with five-speed auto

    The Dodge Challenger was one of the most widely anticipated cars of the recent past but while the HEMI-powered V8 models stole most of the thunder, it remains a fact that a large portion of sales is for the entry-level V6 model. Sadly, the base Dodge Challenger SE is a little anaemic when it comes...

  • Hyundai Genesis Coupe Rhys Millen Racing
    Hyundai releases new drift videos with Rhys Millen

    Hyundai is trying extra hard to make its new Genesis Coupe, and the latest effort to promote the vehicle - as well as several upcoming ones – is a new series of videos whose release will be staggered over the coming months. The first of these videos focuses on the Genesis Coupe – in...

  • Brawn GP F1 race car

    The 2009 championship opener today lived up to its pre-season hype, with Jenson Button leading an eventful Brawn one-two at Albert Park. The Briton, after two awful seasons for the Brackley-based team's previous guise Honda, crossed the line less than a second ahead of his teammate Rubens Barrichello, after a one-corner sprint to the finish following the safety car. The safety car was required after Sebastian Vettel and Robert Kubica, fighting hard for second place, tangled mere laps from the chequered flag. "I'm so sorry," German Vettel whimpered into his Red Bull's radio. "I think he could...

  • Heico Sportiv Volvo XC60
    Heico Sportiv upgrades full Volvo XC60 lineup

    Specialist Volvo tuner Heico Sportiv has just come out with what it’s claiming is the world's first complete upgrade program for the Volvo XC60. The program alters both the internal and external features of the car, with various engine upgrades for the different trim levels of the XC60. When...

  • Ecotricity Greenbird
    Wind-powered speed run sees world record broken

    Earlier on in the year we reported on British company Ecotricity's plan to build an electric sports-car that could be charged from wind-generated power. That company has now involved itself with wind-powered cars a little more directly, this time sponsoring a British man who has broken the world...

  • 2009 Brawn F1 race car
    Virgin announces sponsorship deal for Brawn GP, may rename team

    Mere weeks after rising from Honda's ashes as 'Brawn GP', the Brackley based team could be set for yet another name change. Following the eleventh-hour sponsorship deal with the Virgin brand, Sir Richard Branson in Melbourne admitted his company might take over the name of the new team. The British...

  • Cargraphic Aston Martin Vantage V8
    Cargraphic uses racing know-how to improve Aston Martin’s Vantage

    German tuning firm Cargraphic has launched a new performance upgrade for the V8 Vantage that sees improvements in power, handling, and design. The company’s engineers have modified the 4.5 litre V8 engine to raise peak power from 426hp (313kW) to 466hp (342kW), as well as increasing peak...

  • The Volvo S60 Concept
    Steve Mattin, designer of Volvo S60 Concept, leaves company

    Swedish media are reporting today that Steve Mattin, Volvo's design director, is leaving the company. The departure marks the end of a four-year tenure during which time Mattin was responsible for designs including the 2010 XC60 and the highly controversial S60 Concept shown a this year's Detroit...

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