Nelson Ireson, Senior Editor
Articles
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The small-car surge in the U.S. was cut short in 2008 when once-high fuel prices dropped as suddenly as they'd risen, but the future of the market seems clear: prices will rise again, and small cars... -
European trademark filing reveals Nissan 370Z Roadster sketchesEurope's Office for Harmonization of the Internal Market (OHIM) maintains a trademark database that helps to ensure a minimum of conflict and easy filing for claims. That same database also lets slip basic sketches of car designs before their official unveiling on a regular basis, and this time the...
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McLaren reveals MP4-24 2009 F1 race car, Dennis to step downAfter one of the closest finishes imaginable to the 2008 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, won by Vodafone McLaren Mercedes on the final lap, by a single point, the 2009 season's challenges have the potential to truly shake things up. Mercedes, on the other hand, is working to keep things the same...
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Parajet Skycar Sets Off On London-Timbuktu ExpeditionA U.K. company with a flying car prototype announced late last year that it would undertake an epic journey south from London across the Straits of Gibraltar and then the Sahara Desert to Timbuktu, in Mali. Today the journey got underway as the car drove off toward its final destination. The...
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Russia’s Sollers seeking rights to SsangYong vehiclesDespite the attractive new C200 crossover concept debuted at last year's Paris Motor Show, the successful Rexton production SUV and the new-for-2008 Chairman W luxury sedan, South Korea's SsangYong has revealed that it is entering court receivership to avoid being forced into bankruptcy. The global...
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Porsche announces U.S. pricing for facelifted Boxster and CaymanRevealed at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November of last year, Porsche today announced pricing for its updated 2010 Boxster and Cayman models. Starting at $47,550 for the Boxster and $51,250 for the Cayman, the entry-level variants are both accompanied by more potent - and more expensive - S...
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The automotive industry's story in 2008 has become a familiar one: high hopes dashed on the rocks of a stormy economy. But not all brands and carmakers fared poorly despite the general malaise -... -
Volkswagen sues California Lamborghini dealer for theft of $12 million in carsVolkswagen has filed a lawsuit against Lamborghini Orange County for what it terms 'outright theft' of $12 million worth of Lamborghini vehicles. The dealership, owned by Vik Keuylian and his sisters Asdghig, Nora and Sossi, hasn't yet responded publicly to the accusations. The suit stems from the...
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Fisker Karma Sunset Convertible Concept Revealed In DetroitFisker's Karma plug-in hybrid sedan may be one of the most attractive designs to take electricity to four wheels, and it now has a stablemate. Today Fisker revealed the new Karma Sunset convertible concept at the Detroit Auto Show. The car was teased by the company last week via an enigmatic photo...
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Lamborghini Takes Ad Personam To The Next Level In DetroitAt last year's Detroit Auto Show, Lamborghini debuted its factory customization program, which it calls Ad Personam. This year, the Italian supercar maker has decided to up the ante, bringing two Ad Personam program cars to the show to demonstrate just what is possible via the in-house...
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GM releases three sneak-peek videos of upcoming Detroit vehiclesAs the 2009 Detroit Auto Show draws near, General Motors continues to prepare for its new-model onslaught. The latest salvo of information on its coming range of 2010 model-year cars comes by way of a trio of 'sneak peek' videos detailing the Cadillac SRX, Chevrolet Equinox and Buick LaCrosse. Each...
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Reynard reveals Inverter street-legal trackday supercarThe popularity of street-legal trackday cars has waxed over the past decade, bringing such favorites as the Ariel Atom, KTM X-Bow and any number of Lotus Seven-inspired cars. Now the legendary Reynard Racing is applying its chassis-building talents to produce the Inverter, a street-legal track star...
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Earlier this week General Motors announced the death of the G8 ST program because it wouldn't make money for them and the 'sport truck' didn't fit the Pontiac brand image. Today news has emerged that... -
BMW's new 116d tops 53mpg, rivals hybridsThe 1-series has been a popular staple among premium small-car buyers in Europe for some time, but it has only hit the U.S. recently. The fun-to-drive and attractive compact has just gained a new sibling in the form of the 116d, powered by an efficient four-cylinder diesel. Unfortunately it's only...
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Nissan showcasing sport, utility at Tokyo Auto SalonThe Tokyo Auto Show gets underway this Friday, but already the exhibits of the major carmakers are hitting the web. Nissan released its set of show cars today, including a range of custom packages for the 370Z, GT-R and Cube. Nissan's GT-R super-coupe is shown off by NISMO in Club Sports form...
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2010 Buick LaCrosse sedan unveiledA long series of teasers and spy shots have given hints at what the 2010 Buick LaCrosse would look like, but today General Motors has revealed the whole package just ahead of the start of the Detroit Auto Show. While the design is completely fresh, the car is also "instantly recognizable as a...
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Austrian design students envision range of KTM conceptsStudents of the FH Joanneum University of Applied Sciences in Graz, Austria have designed a set of six KTM-inspired concepts. Using the edgy, futuristic design language made famous in KTM's motorcycles and X-Bow roadster, the students have styled a high-performance buggy, an...
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Mazda6 'Circuit Trial' images surface before 2009 Tokyo Auto ShowThe Tokyo Auto Salon will feature a number of firsts from Mazda and many other carmakers, including a new range of 'Circuit Trial' track-ready concepts. The Tokyo show will be running in opposition to the similarly-timed Detroit Auto Show, starting January 9, explaining Mazda's absence from the...
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While U.S. carmakers prepare for the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, Honda is readying a range of concepts to show off at the 2009 Tokyo Auto Salon, which celebrates Japan's modified vehicles. The headline... -
Toyota halting Japanese production for 11 daysThe global downturn in car sales is a familiar topic these days, and even the production juggernaut of Toyota is facing unseen declines in demand for its products. To help realign output with that demand, the company has planned to shut down all 12 of its Japanese plants for a total of 11 days in...
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Nissan dealers to skip Detroit show at company's requestIndustry cutbacks, especially in the areas of advertising and marketing, are taking more and more visible forms as carmakers such as Nissan decide to skip major shows such as the 2009 Detroit Auto Show. Previously, though the company itself had decided to pull out of the show, local Detroit-area...
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Daimler on verge of settling Smart ForTwo clone car suit in EuropeFor more than a year now, Mercedes' parent company Daimler has pursued a copyright infringement case against Chinese carmaker Shuanghuan for its Bubble, a blatant knock-off of the Smart ForTwo minicar. A recent holding in a Milanese court has put the German company on the back foot, however, and...
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New Renault-Nissan V6 diesel to power wide range of cars, SUVsDiesel engine sales have stagnated in the U.S. because of lingering perceptions of the clattering, foul-smelling contraptions of the 1970s and earlier. Many carmakers have been reluctant to even offer them in America because of the cost of emissions certification and small profit margins, but...
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Video: Behind the scenes of BMW's X6 M developmentLast week BMW gave us a behind-the-scenes look at the development and testing of the 2010 Z4 roadster, and this week we get a look at what's going on in the X6 M high-performance SUV's development. The latest video shows BMW's engineers and development team as they mold the coupe-like SUV into a...
Nelson Ireson