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General Motors has already announced plans to slash hundreds of dealerships across its brand portfolio, and now it appears even high-end Cadillac dealers won’t be spared from the latest cull. Most of the cuts are expected to occur in metro areas and affected dealers will be informed by October 31, 2010 - the same day most franchise agreements between GM and its dealers expire. The reasoning behind GM's decision to cut back on Cadillac dealerships comes from examining the brand’s place in the luxury segment and comparing how its rivals sell their retail vehicles. Companies such as...
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Incident packed start to Turkish GPSunday’s Turkish GP started off with an incident packed first lap that saw Renault’s Fernando Alonso strike Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari and Felipe Massa passed by a hard charging Nico Rosberg. Starting with a heavily fuelled car, last year’s world champion Lewis Hamilton...
Alex Kaufmann -
Official: Penske Automotive agrees to buy SaturnGeneral Motors and Penske Automotive Group today confirmed details of a proposed transaction under which Penske would acquire the Saturn brand. If completed, the deal would save more than 350 dealerships and 13,000 jobs at Saturn and its retailers in the U.S., as well as preserving the brand...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Codemasters' FUEL will feature over 5,500 square miles of virtual terrainDriving simulators such as Gran Turismo 5 (GT5) and Need for Speed: SHIFT (NFS) are set to be released soon, and while much of the focus will remain on these two realism-focused games, a dark horse in the form of Codemasters' new FUEL title may upset the two heavyweights. This is because of some...
Ralph Hanson -
Hennessey offers tuner school for up and coming rev headsFor many high school leavers getting a leg up into the world of performance tuning means years of hard work and often the ‘right connections’ – either a friend or relative in the industry that give a recommendation. Unfortunately, many with a passion for high performance cars...
Ralph Hanson -
Tesla expands across the globe with seven new dealershipsFollowing news that the company has delivered its 500th all-electric Roadster model, Tesla has announced that it’s ready to expand its dealer network with seven new sales and service centers around the globe this summer. Prospective customers will now be able to test drive the company’s...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Last month Ferrari set a new world record for a car sold at auction with a 1957 Ferrari 250 Testarossa fetching 9 million euros (approximately $12,737,000) at an auction of Italian supercars organized by RM Auctions in Maranello, Italy. An ultra-rare 1936 Bugatti Type 57C Coupe that’s set to go on auction at the this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, however, may just eclipse that record. You see, this particular Bugatti was built for Bugatti founder Ettore Bugatti as a birthday present. The car was protected at the Bugatti factory in France during World War II and was...
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Subaru Stella electric vehicle goes on sale in JapanMajor automakers are still years away from launching electric cars but Subaru has beaten them to the punch with the announcement today that its own eco-friendly Stella electric vehicle (EV) is ready for sale. Packed with an array of advanced lithium-ion batteries, the Stella EV will be sold in...
Kenneth Hall -
Report: Penske most likely to acquire Saturn, announcement expected soonGM has picked Penske Automotive Group as the buyer for Saturn. Click here for all the details. GM's preparations for bankruptcy means the company is looking to sell as many of its 'bad' assets as possible in order to raise capital and streamline operations. One of these is the Saturn brand, which...
James Martinez -
Toyota to lease 500 Prius plug-in hybrids this year, 150 coming to U.S.It's important to have a broad perspective in the auto business - tunnel-vision has been one of the biggest criticism of the American automakers. But seeing beyond the trees of economic meltdown to view the forest of the future industry is easier said than done. Toyota, however, is demonstrating...
Alex Kaufmann -
GM has 16 suitors for Saturn, no final decision in sightGeneral Motors is proceeding to the next step with respect to the sale of Saturn, confirming this week that it’s in talks with up to 16 potential buyers and that it will look to secure an agreement with a specific group by the end of the year. Speaking at a press conference yesterday, GM...
Ralph Hanson -
GM appoints Detroit turnaround expert Al Koch to oversee bad assetsIn times of trouble, companies need a solid leader to help turn their fortunes around. You only need to look at what Fiat has achieved in the past few years with Sergio Marchionne at the helm to understand the benefit of appointing a turnaround expert. To help facilitate GM's turnaround, the...
James Martinez -
Seek out any modern supercar and chances are you'll see some carbon ceramic brake discs behind its wheels, often with the Brembo logo emblazoned on them. Now, Brembo is announcing a new partnership with SGL Group, a company specializing in carbon-fiber production, and together the two will jointly operate a new company to help develop carbon ceramic brakes for mass production. Headquartered in Milan, the new company will work on carbon ceramic brakes exclusively for passenger and commercial vehicles, and will also be seeking a way to bring costs down so that carbon ceramic brakes might be...
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BMW M3 passes 200mph with G-Power superchargerWhen it comes to BMW tuning, there is one company that stands head and shoulders above the rest in cranking out the ultimate driving machines. The company we are referring to German outfit G-Power, which has been in the business of creating the world's fastest BMWs for a quarter of a century...
Alex Kaufmann -
Judge allows sale of Chrysler assets to FiatA U.S. bankruptcy judge on Sunday approved the sale of substantially all of Chrysler's assets to Fiat, helping to finalize the two automaker’s alliance as well as the American company’s bankruptcy proceedings. Approval was given for the $2 billion sale of the assets to a new company...
Jeremy Weber -
Official: GM files for Chapter 11 bankruptcyGeneral Motors today announced that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy following an agreement reached with the U.S. Treasury and the governments of Canada and Ontario to accelerate its reinvention and create a leaner and stronger "New GM". The filing is the third-largest in U.S. history and the...
Ralph Hanson -
U.S. government pledges $30 billion in GM bankruptcy financingIt's been expected for a long time but it finally appears as though General Motors’ bankruptcy is upon us, and with it the federal government is set to bring the struggling automaker out of its eventual Chapter 11 filing with over $30 billion in financing. The news comes from White House...
Nelson Ireson -
Another round of dealer cuts imminent at GMJust a couple of weeks ago General Motors revealed that it would be cutting ties with over 1,100 dealerships, and the bad news keeps coming for dealers as the struggling automaker is expected to cut a further 450 dealerships in the coming months. Many dealerships are under franchise agreements with...
Ralph Hanson -
For the driving simulator fan, the Need for Speed series holds a certain nostalgia as one of the first really fun and engaging car games. For the past 15 years the franchise has expanded on that theme, evolving to a level of realistic graphics and fun-focused gameplay that everyone can get on board with. The latest chapter in the series, Need for Speed: Shift, promises to deliver on the fun while upping the reality factor. Now with the release of the latest instalment in the series, 'Need for Speed: SHIFT', the franchise is set to become more driver focused, in the same vein as Forza and the...
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Ford launches new SYNC TDI with enhanced navigation featuresFord is enhancing the capabilities of its vehicles by introducing exclusive new SYNC features that add traffic, directions and information (TDI) in a simple download found on the company’s www.syncmyride.com website. The latest application ties together the advantages of navigation and...
James Martinez -
Spy shots: Next-gen VW Passat test-mule hits the ‘RingVolkswagen's next-generation Passat is expected to up the stakes against Germany’s luxury carmakers, with the car’s designers hoping it will be mentioned in the same breath as the BMW 3-Series, Mercedes Benz C-Class and Audi A4. These are the first spy shots of a test-mule for the new...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BMW unveils four new M3 Edition ModelsBMW's M3 has undergone a huge evolution since its birth with the E30 3-series. Growing in size, power and cylinder count, the latest M3 hardly bears any resemblance to its forbears. And now BMW is set to push the envelope even further with four new appearance and suspension packages dubbed the M3...
Nelson Ireson -
New UAW deal cuts GM's competitive gap on labor costsLabor has taken a lot of the blame for the current state of the U.S. auto industry, and to a degree, rightfully so. But without the labor, no cars can be built, so General Motors has been hard at work on a new contract with the UAW, which has finally been approved by 74% of union locals. Today GM...
Ralph Hanson -
GM engineer drops Corvette ZR1 supercharged LS9 into '69 Chevrolet CamaroFor many auto enthusiasts, the golden age of automotive styling was during 1960s, when designers had virtual free reign on their designs and didn't have to worry about aerodynamics, pedestrian crumple zones and other such ‘nuisances’. At the same time, the ‘60s could hardly be...
Ralph Hanson