Nelson Ireson, Senior Editor
Articles
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Sporty, luxurious crossovers, like the crossover niche in general, haven't had the success the industry might have hoped for. Nevertheless, there is a definite market for the vehicles, and Cadillac... -
Mercedes unveils CLS Grand Edition fashion carThe four-door coupe segment is rapidly growing, but the modern progenitor of the niche, Mercedes-Benz's CLS, is still powering along. Today the company released an all-new special edition of the CLS dubbed the Grand Edition. Mercedes' obsession with tying cars to fashion finds another outlet in the...
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Ford unveils 2010 Shelby GT500 Coupe and ConvertibleCarroll Shelby's name is legendary among Ford fans, and for good reason. Since the 1960s, cars bearing the Shelby logo have been feared by foes and cherished by owners. The latest in the Shelby line, the 2010 GT500, is primed to carry on the tradition, taking the title of Ford's most powerful...
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GM gets first $4 billion in aid money, Chrysler waitsThe $17.4 billion bridge loan package signed into action by President Bush late in December has begun disbursement, with General Motors receiving $4 billion on Wednesday. Chrysler is still waiting on the finalization of details with the U.S. Treasury before it will be able to tap into the loans...
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Report: Nissan 370Z S-Tune headed Stateside by June 2009Nissan's performance and tuning arm, Nissan Motorsport - or Nismo - is prepping an S-Tune package for Japanese buyers of the all-new 2009 370Z, but so far there's been no official word that the kit would be headed to the U.S. Now a report has emerged that the kit will be coming to America, and it...
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GMAC drums up $21.6 billion in debt-for-equity swapsGMAC has leveraged the recent promise of U.S. Treasury funds to boost its lending capacity, and now it has generated another $21.2 billion in cash via debt-for-equity swaps with its bondholders. The fund raising is part of the company's' effort to raise enough cash to meet the regulatory...
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Earlier this week reports emerged that Mexican billionaire and second-richest man in the world Carlos Slim had all but purchased Honda's F1 team as the Japanese carmaker exits the sport, but Slim has... -
GM, GMAC rev up incentives thanks to Treasury fundsYesterday the U.S. Treasury announced it would be backing GMAC with $6 billion in total funding, and today both the car finance company and General Motors, which gets 85% of its customer loans from GMAC, announced a wave of new incentives and programs to drive up sales. GMAC announced it would be...
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GM logs 10,000 advance orders for new CamaroThe new Camaro looks poised to take a favored position in the new muscle car wars with its strong entry-level V6 offering and over-the-top SS power, and buyers are already agreeing - to the tune of 10,000 pre-orders, according to General Motors. The first cars ordered were primarily SS models with...
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Nissan 370Z goes on sale today, priced at $29,930A simplified trim lineup and just a handful of available configurations for 2009 make the new Nissan 370Z a simpler car than its predecessor, but paradoxically, new features and options have made the car considerably more complex. Starting sales today at $29,930 for the six-speed manual-equipped...
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Kirk Kerkorian Finishes Sell-Off Of Entire Ford StakeSignifying a final retreat from his expensive and unprofitable gambit made for a significant holding in Ford, billionaire Kirk Kerkorian has finished selling his Ford shares. At the peak of Kerkorian's holdings in Ford, he owned nearly 7% of the company's stock, spending more than $1 billion to...
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BMW retires the Z4 M's straight-six engineFantastic engines are to car people like a fine vintage is to a wine enthusiast - not just to be used, but enjoyed, savored as some of the highest expressions of the art of their creation. But like all such things, they are fleeting. BMW's S54B32 engine, the straight-six 3.2L cast-iron motivator...
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Free maintenance programs were once de rigeur for the upper ranks of the automobile industry, but the service has been dying a slow death with brands like Mercedes-Benz and Audi abandoning their... -
Video: Cadillac previews new SRX cavorting in the snowThe Cadillac SRX has been officially revealed. Click here to view the story. Cadillac's new SRX crossover isn't due to hit the streets until mid-2009, but the company released a preview of the car as it will look in production guise at this year's Pebble Beach Auto Show, and now a video of the car...
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Tata Motors cash infusion for Jaguar-Land Rover could reach $1BWhen the automotive subsidiary of Indian mega-conglomerate Tata Motors took over Jaguar-Land Rover earlier this year, many feared for the brand's future. Since then, Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata has taken great pains to reassure fans of the two carmakers that all would be well. Yesterday it was...
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Saab 9-5 Griffin Edition planned for DetroitA new Saab 9-5 is in the design and development process, but while the existing model lives out the tail end of its product cycle, General Motors is updating it with a new special edition. Taking styling cues from the 9-3 range, the 9-5 Griffin Edition promises a "new altitude in terms of premium...
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Ford Fusion Hybrid certified as most efficient mid-size car in AmericaThough it was slow to join the hybrid ranks, Ford has hit what appears to be a home run with its new Fusion Hybrid, rocketing to the top of the mid-size sedan fuel efficiency charts. Official certification by the EPA has put the car's fuel efficiency at 41mpg (5.7L/100km) city and 36mpg on the...
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NHTSA postpones new crash testing regimenIncreasing the burden on the car industry through government regulation is the last thing anyone wants right now, as it would undo the work being done in Detroit and Washington to realign current operations with future market conditions. That's why the NHTSA has decided to delay its introduction of...
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Though 2008 started out fairly strong, riding the wave of 2007, it soon became clear that things weren't going to hold up. Few anticipated how sharply the market would drop, however, and that...
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Toyota announces battery-powered FT-EV concept for Detroit Auto ShowA cryptic press release from Toyota today revealed that a new battery-powered concept car would make its global debut at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show. Speculation as to what the concept might be has already taken hold of the motoring press, but a few hints gathered from Toyota's recent remarks could...
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edo Competition creates fashion car with designer Christian AudigierFine fashion and fine cars are a popular combination, the element of design being the uniting force between them. To draw on that synergy, edo Competition has teamed with noted French fashion designer Christian Audigier to build a five-car limited edition Murcielago called the edo LP 710 Audigier...
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Innotech Corvette C6 Taps Italian Design ThemesThe pressures of modern aerodynamic design and vehicle layout have led to something of a convergence of appearance among many high-end performance cars. Chevrolet's Corvette and Ferrari's front-engine GTs like the 550 Maranello and 599 GTB Fiorano, or even the new California, have been compared as...
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GM reveals 2010 Chevrolet EquinoxGeneral Motors has taken the wraps off the first of its all-new models planned for next month’s Detroit Auto Show. The vehicle is the 2010 Chevrolet Equinox compact crossover, which also debuts GM’s new compact direct-injection petrol engine range. Chevrolet expects nearly two-thirds of...
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London mayor considering end to congestion chargeBoris Johnson ran for London's mayoral office partly on a platform of stanching the spread of his predecessor's rampant congestion charging. Now Johnson has said he'll 'brood' on the subject of ending the congestion charge altogether. Earlier this year Johnson followed through on his campaign...
Nelson Ireson