Kenneth Hall, Author
Articles
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Nissan’s all-new GT-R supercar has posted a blistering lap time for the Nurburgring of just 7m 29s but engineers still think they need to improve on the car and will be adding several tweaks... -
U.S. presidential candidates call for gas tax 'holiday'Concerns about rising fuel prices have spilled into the U.S. presidential election campaign with both Republican nominee John McCain and Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton calling for a gas tax ‘holiday’ this summer. They want to see the current 18.4 cent per gallon tax on fuel lifted...
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Volvo wants to eliminate injuries and deaths in its vehicles by 2020Updated with new video. Volvo has a well-established reputation of building the safest passenger vehicles in the industry but the carmaker believes it can improve on its own standards by reaching the ultimate goal of avoiding car accidents all together and reducing the road death toll to zero...
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CAFE regulations expected to cripple niche carmakersAs the fallout from last week’s CAFE announcement continues, worrying details about the new standards and how they appear harsher for some carmakers than others are starting to appear. The 2015 interim target of 31.6MPG fleet average for new cars and trucks is based on a complicated formula...
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Toyota and Scion inventories reach record highsWe’re used to reading stories about the Detroit 3 suffering from inventory problems but when unstoppable Toyota suffers a blowout you start realize just how badly the state of the economy and the car industry in general is doing. Inventory levels for Toyota and its Scion brand have risen to...
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Cycling group wants cars to feature external airbagsCarmakers are already mandated by safety groups to design vehicle exteriors that minimize damage to pedestrians upon impact. We’ve seen rules that stipulate maximum bonnet heights and front overhang lengths as well as the development of a ‘pop-up’ bonnet (pictured), but now the...
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Ford is adding an extra 25,000 miles to its warranty coverage on both its new and refurbished petrol powertrains and transmissions as part of sweeping reforms to its service structure in North... -
Chrysler to remain unprofitable in 2008Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli announced Thursday night that Chrysler will not see a profit at the end of the year. The head of Chrysler was not disappointed though, stating the company was on track to meet the goals it had promised new owner Cerberus Capital Management. While Chrysler hasn't said...
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GM finally merges brand operationsRedundant operations and wasted time and resources spent duplicating work already done by another of its eight different brands have plagued GM for years. The carmaker has been long criticized for its organizational structure but it has finally confirmed the merger of its eight brands into four...
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Britain considering rollout of 'average-speed' camerasIn yet another blow for UK motorists the government is considering the rollout of ‘average-speed’ cameras on hundreds of miles of motorway under its plan to actively control speeding instead of just measuring it. The system uses a number of linked cameras mounted at intervals along a...
Kenneth Hall -
Ford raises U.S. Focus production 30%Strong demand for the Ford Focus in the U.S. has led management to boost production numbers of the car by 30% for the remainder of the year. The latest announcement reaffirms the growing shift in consumer demand towards smaller and more fuel-efficient vehicles and is a trend most carmakers in the...
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BMW guide to driving the Nordschleife lineGermany’s Nurburgring Nordschleife (Northern Loop) is one of the most demanding, exhilarating and treacherous racing tracks in the world, earning the reputation of being one of the best benchmark circuits for any serious performance driver. Each gruelling lap stretches more than 20km and...
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The summit that will determine the future of embattled FIA president Max Mosley will be held on June 3, the governing body confirmed on Wednesday. The FIA said last week that the meeting, to involve... -
Mercedes to file Bluetec patent claim against AudiMercedes-Benz is planning a suit against Audi for infringement of its Bluetec technology. Under a European patent Daimler owns rights to the particular nature of the system, which controls emissions of diesel engines. Daimler claims to have sent at least three letters through its legal department...
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Audi planning higher volumes for A1 minicarAudi could be producing more A1 minicars than previously predicted as the carmaker bolsters output ahead of its 2015 sales deadline. You may recall Audi has set itself an ambitious target of building more than 1.5 million vehicles by the middle of the next decade, and to help reach that goal...
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New bill could make hybrid cars noisy to protect blindOne of the benefits of hybrid vehicles is that they can often coast along on electric-power alone with the only sound emanating from the vehicle being a quiet whirr from its electric motor or a rustle from its tires, both of which are easily drowned out by ambient street sounds. Though this might...
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Scientists crack keyless entry security systemsScientists from Ruhr University Bochum (RUB) in Germany have revealed a major flaw in vehicle keyless entry systems by demonstrating a new device that can ‘learn and record’ radio codes used to lock and unlock car doors. In the same way that a universal remote control can mimic commands...
Kenneth Hall -
Video: Inside BMW's M3 V8This latest promotional video for the BMW M3 gives us an inside look at one of the engine’s cylinders as it’s fired up, all captured by high-speed camera magic. To film the process, photographers had to dissect manifolds, shave cylinders and drill-in special lighting holes. In total...
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Each year GM sponsors events and contests at various universities around the world to help nurture and encourage young designers with the hope that some of their talent will eventually benefit the... -
GM upgrades OnStar with XM NavTraffic and eNavGM has upgraded its OnStar monitoring and tracking system with two new navigational services for all 2009 models equipped with the subscription-based service. Working in conjunction with the existing Turn-by-Turn feature, OnStar now comes with a new ‘Destination Download’ service that...
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BMW launches second-generation Hydrogen 7Two years after the release of the original Hydrogen 7 ultra-clean limo, BMW has taken the wraps off a new ‘mono-fuel’ version that unlike the previous car, which had dual-fuel capability, is strictly limited to running on hydrogen. Also, the new car has almost zero-emissions, is more...
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Toyota establishes $100m U.S. research facilityToyota today announced the establishment of a new North American research facility located in Ann Arbour, Michigan, which will spearhead research on advanced areas including powertrain technologies, energy systems, and partnerships with government and academia. The carmaker plans to spend $100...
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Lamborghini Ferruccio: The supercar that never wasLamborghini shocked the automotive world last year when it unveiled the limited edition Reventon but the imposing supercar's debut could have easily been overshadowed by an even more outrageous Murcielago-based model being prepped by an Italian coachbuilder. Designers from Magvisio were planning to...
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Entire Hummer fleet to be E85 capable by 2010GM has been spending up big to promote the benefits of E85 and to convince customers the ethanol blend is the solution to ending the world’s dependence on fossil fuels. The carmaker has already announced plans for an E85 Corvette race car and hosted several events where it sold E85 fuel for...
Kenneth Hall