Ralph Hanson, Author
Articles
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There’s no award for recognizing that the current quality and design of vehicle interiors for luxury brands like Mercedes Benz and BMW, traditional stalwarts of the industry, aren’t up to...
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AutoNation CEO says he has 600,000 hybrids sitting on lots across America
Pain at the pump is a thankfully remote sensation for most Americans these days. Just last summer we were all hurting everytime we had to go somewhere, to the point where we traveled 30 billion fewer miles than the year before. But the absence of pain at the pump means we don't have much in the way...
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Germany's interior minister suggests insolvency may be best bet for Opel
Saturn is expected to go its own way, Pontiac is being pared down, Hummer is up for sale and Saab has already announced it will be seeking independence. General Motors' brand hemorrhage continued last week with the announcement that Opel will be spun off from the brand as well, with a potential...
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Chrysler's SRT brand not going anywhere
Just because you can buy a Charger SRT8 for under $35,000 after incentives and rebates doesn't mean Chrysler is liquidating its SRT cars to get rid of the brand. In fact, Chrysler has said specifically that its high-performance division is safe from the current budgetary cutbacks. Unlike General...
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Ford boosts safety of Escape SUV for 2010 model year
Beating Toyota and Honda at their own game is no easy thing, but Ford's done it with the Escape, taking top rankings in safety and fuel efficiency against the RAV-4 and CR-V. For 2010, Ford's taking steps to help expand that lead by adding five new safety features to the Escape. Keeping teens from...
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GM auditors have 'substantial doubt' about the company's survival
Once again General Motors is issuing a warning that it may run out of cash. How, you might wonder, considering the billions in taxpayer dollars that have already been pumped into the company? It's unfortunately very simple: GM is still playing catchup with its debt, and all the money spent so far...
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Luxury sports car manufacturers are having a tough year in 2009, despite their successes last year. Earlier this month we heard from Porsche, who had experienced a massive drop in sales for the first...
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Mulally: electric vehicles are our future
The times, they are a changin'. Carmakers that had seemed bulletproof, or at least too big to fail, are teetering on the brink of insolvency. Government regulations and stipulations on loan money are cinching down emissions and efficiency requirements. And tax incentives are spurring development of...
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Bob Lutz: Saab and Volvo should merge
Swedish carmakers Saab and Volvo are in a similar predicament. One is owned by struggling Detroit carmaker General Motors and the other by Ford, and both are being spun-off from their respective parent companies in light of significant losses over the past couple of years. For Saab, GM simply cut...
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Asus' new Lamborghini laptop unveiled at CeBIT
Car-themed notebooks are no rare occurrence these days, and a multitude of notebooks with luxury car themes have hit the markets as of late from Ferrari, Bentley, and Lamborghini. Continuing on in this tradition Asus has just unveiled a new Lamborghini themed laptop at the CeBIT show in Germany...
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First look at Honda’s sporty Accord Euro ‘Type S’
Honda is set to add a more powerful and sportier looking version of its Accord Euro to its lineup overseas, revealing the car for the first time the Geneva Motor Show today. The car is the new Accord Euro ‘Type S’ and it is set to go on sale in Europe later this year in both Sedan and...
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Centurion special edition Quattroporte honors AmEx Black cardholders
Times are tough, and even some of the wealthy may be making more-than-normal use of their ultra-exclusive credit cards such as American Express' Centurion Card, commonly known as the Black Card. But that membership entitles cardholders to special benefits, one of which was admission to the...
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The Nissan GT-R may be known for blistering times around the Nurburgring that seem to defy the laws of physics given the car's weight and power levels, but now the Japanese supercar has conquered a...
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World's longest drift record set in nearly stock Mustang GT
Imagine burning rubber, sideways, for almost 1.2 miles, and you'll know what it's like to be Vaughn Gittin, Jr. He hopped into a 'nearly stock' 2010 Ford Mustang GT and slid the muscle car 6,285 feet to set an unofficial new world record. A bit of criticism of the previous record holder's 'big...
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Ford previews next-gen Focus with new Iosis Max concept
Going global with its products is the new theme at Ford, and the Focus is no exception, so American hatch fans can feel free to get excited: the new Iosis Max concept previews the next-gen car to be built right here in the U.S. The Wayne plant in suburban Detroit and the Louisville plant in...
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Complete details, photos of South African Zagato Perana Z-One sports car
South Africa is quickly becoming a hotbed for sports car development, with two new performance machines being announced in the country in just as many weeks. Earlier we saw the covers come off the oddly-named Barnard supercar, an ominous, all-black Le Mans style racer with the heart of a Porsche...
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Toyota upgrades Pre-crash Safety suite with ‘probable accident detection’ radar system
Toyota already offers one of the world’s most advanced pre-crash safety systems for several of its high-end models, such as the Japanese-market Crown sedan and Lexus LS flagship, but the company has set out to improve its system by adding several new features. Simply called Pre-crash Safety...
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Lexus returns to top spot for dealer service quality
Getting your car serviced at the dealership, whether it be for warranty repairs or regularly scheduled maintenance, is an often-overlooked part of the car ownership experience, but it is one of the most important aspects when it comes to retaining customer loyalty. A positive dealer experience can...
Ralph Hanson -
Hosted by celebrity game show host and Mr. Clean look-alike Howie Mandel, the 3rd Annual Boca Raton Concours d'Elegance was a smash hit. The event saw the first U.S.-spec Audi R8 V10 and Ferrari...
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Imports dominate <i>Consumer Reports'</i> choices for 2009
America's resurgence in quality, reliability and performance can't be denied - the cars built today are light-years better than the cars built even just 5 years ago - but foreign carmakers are rising to the challenge. The latest results from Consumer Reports bear that out, with many import...
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Caractere modified Audi A3 balances taste with tuning
Unlike many of their competitors, the Belgians at Caractere don't do the European version of tacky, flashy tuner cars. Instead, they focus on adding minor enhancements that give the owner a unique look without clamoring for attention. The design program for the Audi A3 offers a range of front and...
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GM posts $9.6 billion fourth quarter loss, $30.9 billion loss for the year
General Motors today announced its fourth quarter and calendar year 2008 financial results, confirming what everyone already knew – that the ailing carmaker is haemorrhaging cash by the billions and is unlikely to turn a profit anytime soon. Citing a dramatic deterioration in global economy...
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Lumma Design to show CLR X 650 GT at Geneva Motor Show
Sometimes more isn't a good thing, and that's often the case with aftermarket mods. Even BMW's own factory designs have come under fire for adding needless elements - the recently-released 5-series Gran Turismo being a prime example. But none of that has fazed the likes of Lumma, which has moved...
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Gold plated Aston Martin up for sale
The transmutation of base metals into gold has been the centuries-long quest of the alchemist and now tuning company Alchemist has achieved the goal - after a fashion. Painstaking work and attention to detail, not to mention a great deal of gold and platinum leaf, went into the final result, and...
Ralph Hanson