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Italy's place in the automotive design business is legendary, inspiring passion for cars in generations of people all around the world via cars from Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lancia and Alfa Romeo and more. Both Pininfarina and Bertone have spent time at the leading edge of design, and Jason Castriota, a former Pininfarina designer, has taken a position as design director at Stile Bertone, weaving the history of the two companies closer, and opening new doors for Bertone. Castriota left Pininfarina just before the Paris Motor Show in September, and had originally planned to open his own design...
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Jaguar-Land Rover sheds 850 jobs, remains in aid talksSince Tata purchased Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford earlier this year, things have been looking decidedly up for both brands. Jaguar even posted its first sales increase in two years in May, largely as a result of the successful XF debut. Now, however, the realities of the global economy are...
Kenneth Hall -
Marangoni Alfa Romeo MiTo Inspired By The Ferrari F430One of the tuners at this year’s Essen Motor Show will be Italy’s TRC-Marangoni, which has modified the still-new Alfa Romeo Mi.To hatchback using the Ferrari F430 as its inspiration. Working with the Mi.To’s 1.4L T-Jet engine, Marangoni has boosted power up to 220hp (164kW)...
Kenneth Hall -
Sir Jack Brabham Considering Legal Action Over Use Of His NameAustralian racing legend Sir Jack Brabham has revealed that he is disappointed that a company in Germany, which he has no association with, is using his name to promote a range of aftermarket performance parts and accessories. The tuning firm is Germany’s Brabham Racing, which plans to...
Jeremy Weber -
Volkswagen reveals modified range at EssenGermany's Essen Motor Show, which runs this week through December 7, is a European tuner showcase, and Volkswagen is taking the opportunity to show off a handful of modified cars. Among them are the Golf VI, Scirocco, Passat CC, Jetta and Polo, but a pair of them are grabbing the spotlight - the...
Nelson Ireson -
Detroit 3 head back to Washington December 5 to offer plan for futureThe heads of the Detroit 3 headed to Washington earlier this month in the hope of securing a second emergency aid package to supplement the previously earmarked $25 billion for more efficient vehicles to meet looming CAFE regulations. Unfortunately for the carmakers, top Democratic legislators...
Ralph Hanson -
Most German tuners usually stick with modifying European cars but one company, GeigerCars, has a well-documented obsession with the American muscle car. Now the firm has taken the new Dodge Challenger and worked it over, adding more power and style. While the base model Dodge Challenger SE comes with a modest 250hp (186kW) V6 engine, GeigerCars declares on its website that this is “totally inadequate”. Even the 375hp (280kW) R/T version and the 425hp (317kW) SRT8 are both a little too lukewarm for the German tuner, which is just as well considering that Geiger had a few...
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Ford looking at asset sales in EuropeFord of Europe is currently in talks with an undisclosed European company regarding the sale of one of its factories in France. The French government is eager to ensure a positive solution for the factory's 1,600 workers, and Ford of Europe's CEO John Fleming has assured that the mysterious...
Kenneth Hall -
European Commission proposes €5 billion aid package for auto industryThe European Commission has reportedly given its stamp of approval to a large aid package to help the struggling European economy, with at least €5 billion earmarked for the automotive industry. In total, the proposed package will encompass €200 billion for a number of sectors of the...
Alex Kaufmann -
Nissan reverses decision to pull out of Chicago Auto ShowAuto shows are generally where carmakers like to 'wow' their future customers and show off their new models to both industry rivals and the press. But with the current economic crisis affecting the automotive industry so severely, many companies are choosing to forgo attending the current lineup of...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Cerberus accuses Daimler of fudging Chrysler’s numbersCerberus Capital Management has accused Daimler AG of misleading them about the true value of Chrysler before selling the American private equity group a majority holding in the Auburn Hills carmaker. At this point in time, Cerberus owns 80.1% of Chrysler and Daimler owns the remaining 19.9%, and...
Ralph Hanson -
Report: GM may drop Saab, Saturn and Pontiac to appease CongressDespite previous assurances made earlier this month by its CEO Rick Wagoner, General Motors is reportedly considering dropping the Saab, Saturn and Pontiac brands in order to improve its chances of garnering a federal government aid package. GM is currently readying a turnaround plan to present to...
James Martinez -
Acura has made it clear it wants to be a top tier luxury brand but to do this it will need to change its lineup to suit the tastes of wealthy buyers, who are more likely to demand RWD cars with powerful engines. The company’s CEO Takeo Fukui recently confirmed that a new V8 engine was in the works and that it could arrive within the next 18 months. However, an inside source at Acura has told Auto Observer that there is no V8 in the immediate product-development pipeline, and that the previous comments made by Fukui were very general and were more about the development of the engine...
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Volkswagen shows off new Mark VI Golf 'TwinDrive'A few months back Volkswagen revealed its intentions to enter the race to build and market ultra-efficient plug-in hybrid vehicles with the unveiling of the original Golf TwinDrive. The concept car, based on the Mark V Golf, featured a twin powerplant design with an electric motor designed for city...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Heffner Performance Camilo Pardo Ford GT tops 900hpCamilo Pardo, the chief designer of the Ford GT project for the Blue Oval, is a top name among those in the know on cutting-edge automotive design, and he's teamed up with Heffner Performance to create a monstrous custom Ford GT. The special edition car, sold moments after its reveal, cranks out...
Ralph Hanson -
BMW launching 50-car Mini-E test fleet in BerlinTest markets for electric cars are popping up all around the globe as various carmakers and start-up projects work to lay the groundwork for more widespread adoption of the next-generation propulsion systems. The latest new market to be announced by BMW is the Berlin fleet of Mini-E EVs that will...
Nelson Ireson -
MTM releases full specs for VW Scirocco tuner kitThe Volkswagen Scirocco is proving to be popular with tuners, with famed German performance shop MTM also releasing its own hotted-up version of the svelte sports coupe. MTM's work on German cars has been well documented, especially some of its more outrageous creations such as the 390km/h...
Alex Kaufmann -
Ferrari Scuderia Spider 16M cockpit virtual tourFerrari has released a detailed virtual-tour of the cockpit of the upcoming Scuderia Spider 16M, a lighter, more performance oriented version of the Ferrari F430 Spider. Users can look around the car’s interior as if they were sitting there themselves, and small information boxes scattered...
Jeremy Weber -
The late Paul Newman, the Academy Award-winning actor, successful race car driver, entrepreneur and philanthropist, has deemed in his will that his collection of cars and private airplane should be sold at auction, with the proceeds to go to his estate. Details about the auction itself are scarce, with no date provided as of yet, nor a catalog of items. While the exact number of cars and their makes and models remains uncertain, Newman was heavily involved with racing Datsun (Nissan) models during the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s, leading to speculation that some of his previous racing...
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Porsche planning more production cuts, VW also mulls reductionsEarlier we reported that Porsche would be slowing down production at its Zuffenhausen plant in Germany from December 22 through January 9 due to flagging sales, and now we can report that more production cuts are expected to take place. The sports carmaker now plans to stop production for a full...
Alex Kaufmann -
Report: Volkswagen to replace Golf R32 with new Scirocco R20TVolkswagen first hinted at a new high-performance version of the Scirocco coupe when it revealed the GT24 race concept back at the Austrian Wörthersee Tour tuning show in May, but in what form the car will finally come to production is still up in the air. The most likely scenario will see it come...
Alex Kaufmann -
Porsche buys a Tesla Roadster for competitive researchResearching the products of competitors, even to the point of purchasing and then carefully analyzing each piece, is a common practice in the auto industry, especially so at the bleeding edges of performance and technology. Porsche's purchase of a Tesla Roadster is therefore unsurprising, except...
Alex Kaufmann -
Volt moves onto next step in development, adopts global compact platformEven as General Motors is caught in a desperate bid to secure loans in Washington, the Detroit based manufacturer is keen to continue development of a range of plug-in hybrid vehicles, focusing primarily on the Volt. Bob Lutz recently spent some time in the latest development vehicle and felt like...
Kenneth Hall -
Bentley To Hold 'Power on Ice' Driving ExperienceFinland is known throughout the motorsports world for its production of some of the all-time greats to ever step behind a wheel, but also for its treacherous and enticing roads. Bentley will be capitalizing on both factors in February and March 2009, when it begins its 'Power on Ice' driving...
Nelson Ireson