Ralph Hanson, Author
Articles
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German-based Porsche tuner Gemballa has revealed its latest aero and engine kit for the Porsche GT2 and 997 Turbo. Dubbed the Avalanche 600 GT2 Evo, the new kit pushes horsepower to an impressive... -
North American Ford Fiesta to cost less than $15KNorth America has missed out on a host of exciting and award-winning Ford products sold in Europe for decades - vehicles like the S-Max, Mondeo and Fiesta compact - but that will soon change as the Blue Oval has introduced a new global strategy where only one model, albeit in slightly different...
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Mercedes-Benz to buy former Chrysler design studioChrysler announced in March that it would close its Pacifica Advance Product Design Center located just outside of San Diego, California, but the studio won’t be idled permanently as Mercedes-Benz is planning to buy the site. Both carmakers have signed a purchase agreement for the sale of the...
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Toyota to export U.S.-built cars to emerging marketsSales of Toyota’s heavy SUV and pickups have been on the decline in the U.S. for the past several months with rising fuel prices and growing environmental concerns shifting consumer demand towards smaller and more economical vehicles. The carmaker, which usually prides itself on productivity...
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Prodrive tuned Alfa Romeo Brera SBritish motorsport company Prodrive has finally released details about its new tuning kit for the Alfa Romeo Brera coupe, which is set to go on sale through Alfa dealerships in the UK in the following months. The kit has been in development for more than a year, with engineers focusing mainly on...
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GM study attempts to predict future of SUV and pickupsAs sales of heavy SUVs and pickups continue to dwindle and at the same time pull down the market share of the Detroit 3, product planners are now contemplating the final demise of truck-based designs and doing as much as they can to pick up the pieces. We saw earlier today that Ford is planning to...
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Running alongside all the high-performance race cars from major carmakers like Toyota, Volkswagen and GM at next weekend’s 36th ADAC Zürich 24-hour race at the Nurburgring will be an... -
Jay Leno on living with the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLarenIn the latest episode of Jay Leno’s Garage, the talk show host and avid car nut gives us a comprehensive assessment of one his favorite models from his personal fleet–the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. Leno explains that Mercedes and McLaren have created an “unbreakable” exotic...
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GM downsizing engines, reveals 2 new compact turbosGeneral Motors has taken heed of public desire for smaller, more economical engines and developed two brand-new engines for its global markets. The new engines consist of a new 1.4-liter petrol unit and a 1.6-liter Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) unit, and will be rolled out in GM’s production...
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AC Schnitzer Mini Cooper S ClubmanWe’re used to seeing the German tuners upgrade cars for the likes of BMW, Audi and Porsche, but it’s not often that you come across a Mini Cooper modified by one of Germany’s top customizers. This time it’s AC Schnitzer, whose engineers have created a beefed up version of...
Ralph Hanson -
Preview: Seat Ibiza three-door and cabrioSeat’s new Ibiza hatch is set for launch later this year yet the only model we’ve seen so far is the regular five-door. As was the case with previous generations of the Ibiza, Seat will likely offer a number of different variants including a performance model based on the Bocanegra...
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Volkswagen may build motorbikes with KTMVolkswagen chairman Ferdinand Piech revealed last month his desire to expand the carmaker’s operations into the motorbike industry, telling German media that he regretted not acquiring the Ducati label during the 1980s when it was near bankruptcy. Piech’s dream could soon come true as...
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The tiny Mediterranean province of Monaco is home to many of the world’s hottest and most-exclusive supercars and soon it may have a homegrown piece of exotic machinery running up and down its... -
Kia confirms 2009 U.S. launch for Soul hatchbackFew would have thought Kia was planning to launch a production version of its Soul concept when the trio of hatchback models was revealed at the recent Geneva Motor Show. The Soul concept was shown as far back as the 2006 Detroit show but it was restyled this year by Kia’s new head of design...
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Nader protests against proposed NHTSA roof standardsPresidential candidate and longtime activist Ralph Nader has once again voiced his objection to proposed vehicle roof-safety standards from the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), telling reporters the standards should be much tougher. Current regulations require vehicles...
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BMW to offer ultra-clean 3-seriesWith plans for similar emissions-based taxation schemes like London’s congestion charge as well as tough new low CO2 emissions regulations planned for Europe from 2012 onwards, carmakers are focused on cleaning up tailpipe emissions as well as offering more models with lower CO2 levels than...
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Spy Shots: Fisker Karma luxury plug-in hybridThe Fisker plug-in hybrid saloon has officially been revealed at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show. Click here for all the details and images. Fisker Automotive is keen to launch its Karma plug-in hybrid by the end of the next year and is hard at work testing prototypes of the upcoming eco-saloon in...
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Toyota developing Prius family of hybridsThe 2010 Toyota Prius hybrid has officially been revealed at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show. Click here for all the details and images. Toyota is looking to take advantage of the green image its Prius petrol-electric hybrid vehicle enjoys by building upon the ‘Prius’ name and launching a...
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Sharp increases in demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles has seen customers ditch cumbersome fullsize SUVs in droves. For years, American carmakers had a stranglehold on the market for gas-guzzling... -
Ferrari's 7,000 mile Indian trek comes to an endUpdate: The 7,000-plus mile Ferrari Magic India Discovery Drive tour has officially come to an end with the two specially prepped 612 Scagliettis returning to Mumbai yesterday after setting off from the city more than two months ago. More than 50 journalists took turns behind the wheels of the two...
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Lexus and Prius top J.D. Power UK satisfaction surveyThe Toyota Prius hybrid was the highest-ranking model in the latest J.D. Power and Associates vehicle customer satisfaction survey conducted in the UK. The Prius earned a total of 901 points on a 1,000-point scale, with owners reporting particularly high satisfaction with the model’s quality...
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Preview: 2011 Ford FocusIn Europe the Ford Focus is an affordable, well-engineered and stylish small car available in hatch, sedan, wagon and convertible bodystyles. It also features latest technologies such as a Powershift dual-clutch transmission, flex-fuel engines, a folding hard top roof (cabrio models only), and a...
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Ford confirms roll-out of more efficient six-speed autoNo bolt is being left untouched as carmakers in both the U.S. and Europe strive to develop cleaner and more fuel-efficient vehicles. Everything from weight-saving measures to aerodynamic tweaks and even downsized engines are being investigated in the hope that engineers can come up with fuel...
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Next Seat Cupra to be based on Bocanegra ConceptThe Seat Bocanegra Concept, which was unveiled at March’s Geneva Motor Show, was originally intended to create excitement for the upcoming Ibiza hatch that was revealed less than a month after. However, the striking concept proved so successful that the Spanish carmaker is now keen to build a...
Ralph Hanson