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Japanese tuning house Wald International has a wide range of styling and performance kits for nearly every major luxury car brand on the market, but this time the company has focused its attention on a humble Toyota, albeit one of the biggest Toyota’s ever produced. The car is the latest 200-series Toyota Land Cruiser, a vehicle whose design was dictated by the constraints of off-roading and a mainstream target market. The new kit offers a significantly more aggressive look for the Land Cruiser owner not satisfied with the reserved look Toyota imbued the SUV with at the factory. Adding...
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Chrysler: We’re a safer bet than GMIf asked whether General Motors or Chrysler were in a better financial position, many of us would conclude that GM looks better. However, Chrysler's chief financial officer Ron Kolka has come out boasting that Chrysler, "on a pure-business basis," is more viable. The reasoning behind the claims is...
Ralph Hanson -
University develops cheap, simple way to convert all cars into air-hybridsA team from a west London university is claiming to have found the holy grail of the automotive world - a cheap, simple method to turn ordinary combustion engines into hybrid vehicles that run on air. The team from the Institute of Engineering and Design at Brunel University have developed a way to...
Kenneth Hall -
Mr. Norm 'Super' Challenger and Cuda enter productionOne of the highlights of last year’s SEMA Auto Show was the seriously upgraded Super Challenger modified by legendary Dodge dealer and tuner Mr. Norm. The outfit’s latest addition to its long-running ‘Super’ line of cars is based around the new Dodge Challenger, more...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Report: BMW won't build a 2010 Z4 MLate last year BMW retired the straight-six engine used in the previous-generation Z4M, prompting aficionados to start hoping for an even better unit for the 2010 car. Unfortunately however, the latest news appears to draw a line through that possibility, and the 2010 Z4 M model altogether. The...
Kenneth Hall -
Obama approves $2.4 billion in electric vehicle fundingCalling the U.S. federal government's expenditures under the end of President Bush's tenure and the beginning of President Obama's a 'spending spree' is to beggar the term understatement. But in many instances, there hasn't been a valid alternative aside from letting parts of the economy wither and...
Ralph Hanson -
In January Corvette put a price to its new Competition Sport appearance package designed to appeal to hardcore Corvette racing fans. Now another similar package called the GT-1 Championship Edition - paying homage to the racers of the ALMS GT-1 class - is on offer, and the full photos show just how much a difference an appearance package can make. The key elements of the GT-1 Edition Corvette package are a ZR1-style full-width rear spoiler, forged chrome wheels, a yellow and black color scheme (black with yellow racing stripe or vice-versa), unique race-inspired graphics including the...
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BMW to pit 135i against F1 car, V8 Supercar at Australian GPWhile the main event at any Formula 1 calendar stop is invariably the focus of most media attention, there are often some truly brilliant side shows and feature races put on alongside them to make for even more entertainment for the crowd. The first event of the 2009 season, the Australian GP, will...
Nelson Ireson -
Mercedes working on $290 million Alabama plant expansionAs further evidence that the sky isn't on as fierce a downward trajectory as some would have you believe, Mercedes-Benz is working on a planned $290 million Tuscaloosa, Alabama plant expansion. The new 200,000 sq ft addition will produce SUVs and other new models for American tastes. Mercedes...
Alex Kaufmann -
Red Dot design awards winners revealed for 2009Innovative and interesting designs are rewarded each year with a 'red dot', from world renowned design institution, the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen, one of Europe's oldest and most highly reputed design centers. This year a number of interesting entries in the automobile category came away...
Kenneth Hall -
Chery gets literal, launches two new sub-brands in China: Riich and RelyThe American car industry as a whole may be under fire for its current situation, but there's always a bright side. Like Arkansans are fond of saying, "thank God for Mississippi" when it comes to state-by-state rankings, Detroit no doubt finds similar relief in the misadventures of Chinese...
Nelson Ireson -
UAW president Ron Gettelfinger retiring in 2010The United Auto Workers (UAW) is one of America's most important unions, and the results of its dissatisfaction have been felt as recently as last year when a strike at American Axle left GM customers without cars for months in certain cases. Now, the UAW's ringleader, Ron Gettelfinger, has...
Ralph Hanson -
Earlier this week Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli mentioned how the proposed $10 billion deal with Fiat could be just what the company needs to bring it back from the brink of bankruptcy. While Chrysler would be gaining Fiat's vast global distribution network, as well as new technology to boost efficiency, Fiat would also be gaining things other than the 35% proposed stake in Chrysler. The Italian auto giant would be able to use Chrysler's Jeep and minivan lines to complete its lineup overseas, reports the Detroit Free Press. These models may be integral in whether or not a deal materializes...
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Idle Detroit 3 factories could switch to building solar-powered trainsAn ambitious project to bring high-speed rail to the U.S. is underway by private investors, with a route between Detroit and Lansing among the first rail lines on the drawing board. The Interstate Traveler company is currently wooing a state task force, with hopes of gaining permission to build an...
James Martinez -
Lewis Hamilton immortalized as Madame Tussauds wax work figureA lifelike statue of reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton was unveiled by London's Madame Tussauds wax museum today. Unfortunately, he wasn’t on show for the statue’s unveiling as the current F1 World Champion had to fly out to Canada to see a live performance of his Pussycat Dolls...
Kenneth Hall -
Report: BMW’s M division moving to four and six-cylinder turbosBMW CEO Norbert Reithofer recently revealed plans to phase out diesel V8 engines across the board, but as drastic as this sounds it could be just the tip of the iceberg for the carmaker’s future plans to shakeup its powertrain lineup. BMW’s hallowed M division could also be affected by...
James Martinez -
Tesla reveals pricing for Model S, announces sale of 250th RoadsterTesla's first all-original car, the upcoming Model S plug-in hybrid sedan, is due to be unveiled to the public in just a week’s time but the company has already released a couple of teaser shots - one showing the undercarriage and another showing the new glasshouse. In the lead up to the...
Ralph Hanson -
GM already working on second and third-gen plug-in hybrid technologyGM has already sunk $750 million into the development of the upcoming Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid and resigned itself to the fact that the car won't be profitable for several years, but that hasn't stopped the company from starting development on the second and third generations of the car's...
James Martinez -
Even as fuel prices hover around pre-crunch levels, the automotive industry knows it's only a temporary respite and continues its gear-up for a new layer of high-quality small cars. On the German front, BMW is thought to be working on a sub-1-series minicar, Daimler already has its Smart, and soon the Volkswagen Group will have its own family of minicars, all based around its recent up! concept vehicle. However, there's trouble brewing at VW in regards to its new range of minicars as there are fears that they may be too expensive for brands like Seat and Skoda, whose models have traditionally...
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2010 British Motor Show Gets CanceledThe British International Motor Show (BIMS) is one of the oldest events of its type in the world, with the first show taking place at London’s Crystal Palace all the way back in 1903. Unfortunately, even an event as established as the BIMS has fallen prey to the global economic, with...
Kenneth Hall -
Cadillac Wi-Fi brings the Internet to your carCadillac will join Chrysler and BMW as one of the few carmakers to offer in-car Internet access when it rolls out its service from April. The system is designed and built by a company called Autonet Mobile, and will deliver access speeds of up to 800Kbps with the lowest service plan available from...
Ralph Hanson -
GM open to idea of higher fuel taxesIn a surprise turnaround, General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner has suggested that an increase on federal fuel taxes in the U.S. was an idea "worthy of consideration". Wagoner said that guaranteeing a minimum price of $4 a gallon on petrol, an idea proposed by AutoNation car dealership boss Michael...
James Martinez -
Toyota’s MR2 may return as a hybrid sports carToyota's MR2 sports car may have only bowed out of the market less than two years ago but the popular nameplate may soon see a revival, and this time around it could even be sold exclusively as a hybrid. The news comes from Toyota's executive vice-president, Masatami Takimoto, who revealed during...
Kenneth Hall -
Prindiville Prestige leaves no panel untouched when modifying Lamborghini’s LP-640British tuner Prindiville Prestige specialize in building one-off, bespoke vehicles designed to meet individual client's every whim no matter how demanding they may be. Prindiville Prestige even brags that it can fit out a car’s entire cabin with ostrich hide if a client so desires, but...
Kenneth Hall