Nelson Ireson, Senior Editor
Articles
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As would-be rivals Nissan and Volkswagen begin their first tentative steps into the hybrid and electric arenas, veteran Toyota has announced it is taking the first steps toward building a third... -
Cadillac tops latest brand satisfaction surveyGeneral Motors' premium Cadillac brand has made no bones about its aspirations to become one of the top brands in the luxury sector, and a new brand satisfaction survey is the latest in a list of awards confirming it's headed in the right direction. Capturing the ranking of top brand in the U.S...
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Update: Subaru reveals Impreza WRC 2008 specsUpdated with full specifications Subaru has unveiled its new generation AWD Impreza World Rally Car a week ahead of its motorsport debut at the Acropolis Rally in Greece on the 29th. For the first time, the Subaru World Rally Team (SWRT) will use a hatchback design as well as its new blue and...
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Small car and crossover sales up 50% on 2007 levelsAlthough fuel prices in the U.S. are low by global standards, recent price rises have brought the cost per gallon up by nearly 25%, precipitating strong change in the vehicle preferences of many Americans. In a pattern that intensified sharply in the past two months, buyers have been moving away...
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Tesla reveals details of 'powertrain 1.5' updateTesla's problems with the gearbox and drivetrain of its early models is well-known, and early buyers of the car were assured they would get updated internals installed free of charge as soon as they were ready. That update is known internally at Tesla as 'powertrain 1.5', and the company announced...
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Hybrid Technologies builds 220mpg supercar for Automotive X-PrizeThe Automotive X-Prize has already spawned some pretty interesting entries, from both aesthetic and technical perspectives. The car revealed today by Hybrid Technologies fits the bill no matter how you look at it. Expected to achieve over 220mpg with supercar performance, the best part of the...
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A new consumer-opinion based awards list has been created that picks the top vehicle from eight different categories, with the decision making based on the input received from new car buyers on an... -
Ugur Sahin Design GT-S Passionata Design StudyCoachbuilding has become a precarious business of late, with industry stalwarts like Pininfarina and Bertone having weathered some difficult situations. Perhaps that's what makes Ugur Sahin Design's work so impressive, although the cars the firm envisions - and in some cases, produces - are...
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Scuderia Ferrari Soap Box trophy races kick off in style at ImolaWhen one thinks of Ferrari, images of bright red, low-slung racers come to mind, borne forward on the wail of a high-revving V8 or V12. For the crews and drivers of the Scuderia Soap Box trophy races, the louder half of the equation is left off. Gravity-powered racing at its finest, the competition...
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Ford’s future strategy is lower volumes and smaller carsHigh fuel prices are not going away in the United States - or anywhere else for that matter - and Ford is finally realizing it can't continue to sell as many pickup trucks and large SUVs as it has in the past. The first quarter's unexpected $100 million profit notwithstanding, all the markers are...
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Edo Competition Maserati MC12No stranger to tuning the MC12, Edo has already previously built custom versions of the Maserati supercar, including the MC12 Corse. Packing 700hp-plus in every edition, the Edo MC12s are all at least 70hp ahead of the stock MC12 thanks to some tweaks borrowed from the Ferrari FXX. This latest MC12...
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Toyota will miss sales target in EuropeA convergence of factors is pointing Toyota toward a year of reduced growth in Europe. Weak sales in Germany, few new models and the lack of an incentive program for fleet sales mean the company's growth for 2008 will likely miss its 5% target. Refusal to fight a price war for fleet sales is one of...
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Audi's TT was a styling sensation when it hit the market a decade ago, and though Audi has kept it up-to-date, tuners are still finding new ways to give it a fresh look. PPI's take on the TT isn't... -
Lamborghini: big engines yes; lower emissions, neverDespite the battle raging against fuel consumption and emissions, Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann says his company will never reach the goals set by governments like the EU, and it appears that he doesn't think it's a problem. While cross-town competition Ferrari is considering a replacement of...
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Infiniti to step up luxury, performance, for European debutThe luxury car market is a tough field to break into, especially in Europe, where most of the world's premier luxury brands make their home, and have for decades. Nissan's Infiniti brand has done well in the U.S., but it knows it will have to make significant upgrades across its model line to do as...
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Update: Renault Laguna Coupe officially revealedUpdate: A leak early this morning let the proverbial cat out of the bag, but the official release brings with it high-resolution photos and precise details on the upcoming coupe's technical details. The car will be shown in more detail this October in Paris, but the initial information gives us a...
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CAFE to cost Japan half what it will cost DetroitThe cost of the United States' new CAFE regulations has been widely speculated - and the figures are generally expected to be high - but the first real calculations of what impact the legislation will have on the industry are beginning to be developed. One analyst firm things the American Big Three...
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EU, Germany continue fight over 'VW law'The role of the German state of Lower Saxony in Porsche's ongoing attempt to takeover Volkswagen has been well publicized. The fight between the EU and Germany over the exact nature of the law that enables Lower Saxony to block strategic decisions with a minority share has been on the back burner...
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Earlier this week we saw what the wild tuners in Lithuania can do to a BMW 6-series coupe, and love it or hate it, it was an extreme interpretation. The Germans at G-Power have also turned their... -
VW GTI Performance and R36 Passat Variant at WörtherseeEarlier today we brought you the all-new VW Scirocco GT24 and now we have two more specials shown at the Austrian tuner-fest. The VW GTI Performance is a factory-custom design study, while the Passat R36 Variant is the work of Volkswagen Individual, showing what the car might look like if it were...
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Aston Martin unveils updated 4.7L V8 VantageWhile the DBS is being repeatedly abused on Bond film sets around the world and the V12 Vantage was recently confirmed for production, Aston Martin has set about updating its successful V8 Vantage with a host of technical and technological improvements, the first since the car was introduced for...
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Evo X MR with dual-clutch hits U.S. streets in JuneThe Mitsubishi Evolution X GSR has already been on sale for some time, but the twin-clutch, or SST, MR variant hasn't seen much in the way of sales outside of Japan yet thanks to a few hang-ups in producing the transmission in volume quantities. But the problems are past, and the car is now on its...
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Clean diesels dominate at Challenge X awardsA competition co-sponsored by General Motors and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) called Challenge X is a multi-year effort that has brought together 17 teams fighting to find the best way to re-engineer a Chevrolet Equinox crossover with fuel consumption, emissions and performance in mind...
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UK startup to convert luxury cars to EVsRevealed today at the Eden Project Green Car Show in the UK, the newly-formed company Liberty Electric Cars Ltd. plans to invest £30 million ($58.4 million) in the re-engineering of luxury cars and SUVs to turn them into emissions free yet still high-performance electric vehicles (EVs). The...
Nelson Ireson