Ralph Hanson, Author
Articles
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Next month’s Geneva Motor Show will see the world premier of the Carver One three-wheeled tilt car. The strange looking vehicle combines the thrill and speed of a motorcycle with the...
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Teaser of the Pininfarina designed Maserati coupeRenderings of the next-generation Maserati coupe have turned up, ahead of the car’s reveal next week and its official debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March. Italian website Quattroruote reports that the car picks up the simple tag “Coupe,” and these images suggest that Maserati...
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More details on Honda’s next generation A-VTECHonda released official details on its Advanced VTEC (A-VTEC) system in September last year, but up until now there hasn't been much news of any production applications of the technology. A new patent has been registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office that appears to be the application for a...
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GM in talks to buy Chrysler?DaimlerChrysler is rumored to be talking with General Motors about a possible sale of the Chrysler group, according to the Detroit News. Citing company sources, the article alleged that talks were currently in full swing but are still at an early stage. The report came the same day that Chrysler...
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New Mazda 2 Revealed Ahead Of Geneva DebutMazda will use next month’s Geneva Motor Show to officially debut its new compact car. The 'Zoom-Zoom' company is moving from strength to strength with the reinvention of its image that started with the introduction of the Mazda6 back in 2002 and continues with its latest addition, the...
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Zagato Reveals The Diatto OttovùZagato has finally revealed its coachworks project for the long-dormant Diatto marque. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Diatto brand, two keen collectors turned to Zagato with the aspiration of resurrecting past collaboration. Way back in 1921, Ugo Zagato designed a lightweight and...
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Nissan will use next month’s Geneva Motor Show to launch a new model aimed at European markets. The new car will help "reinforce the company's profit and growth aspirations in Europe" and will... -
Aston Martin plans 10,000 sales, Vanquish replacementHot on the heels of achieving 7,000 sales last year, Aston Martin’s stunning revival is set to continue with sales figure of 10,000 units being expected for 2010. Though there’s still uncertainty about the identity of the new owner, new models are already in the pipeline that would add...
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Preview: 2008 Subaru Impreza STiNew images of the upcoming Subaru STi have surfaced online, revealing the car’s new styling ahead of its debut at the New York Auto Show in April. Key changes for the new model are the introduction of the hatch body-style, and the new front-end styling that forgoes the unpopular airplane...
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Scion’s new xB and xDToyota’s small car brand is introducing two new models at this week’s Chicago Auto Show. The first of these is the Scion xB, which is based on a new compact-car platform developed by Toyota to help distinguish it from the xD, whose former shared a common platform with the original xB...
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US to get Aussie built Ute?Holden will be launching its new VE Commodore based Ute in September, the current model as pictured is based on the previous generation VZ. The launch date has actually been brought forward due to the lure of "substantial" export orders for both right- and left-hand drive markets. Australia’s...
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Record sales for Bentley may dilute the brandBentley has surpassed all sales expectations for 2006, selling a staggering 3,856 vehicles in the US alone, easily beating its main rivals Maybach and Rolls-Royce. Its lineup includes the GT coupe and GTC convertible, the Flying Spur sedan, as well as the older Arnage and Azure models. However...
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Volkswagen group’s new CEO Martin Winterkorn is instilling a new strategy that will see the VW brand shift away from being a volume seller towards becoming a more up-market niche manufacturer.... -
New Mitsubishi AWD turbo has WRX in its sightsMitsubishi will be adding a new AWD turbo model based on the new Lancer sedan pictured above early next year. The new car will be positioned below the potent EVO model and aimed directly at arch rival Subaru's WRX Impreza. The latest tidbit of info comes from an interview with Mitsubishi Australia...
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Official launch of the Fiat BravoFiat’s remarkable turnaround has stunned industry insiders, who had all but written off the ailing Italian automaker. The Punto has been a big hit, but the real sign of Fiat’s return is the new Bravo, which was unveiled by CEO Sergio Marchionne today. Fiat has spent €350m on...
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ZAP and Lotus building 644HP electric crossoverUS based ZAP Automotive has announced today its plans to use Lotus Engineering's advanced APX concept car as the platform for its new high performance electric ZAP-X crossover vehicle. The car will be displayed in concept form later this week at the North American Dealers Association’s annual...
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VW Golf RaVe 270 debuts at Essen showThis year’s Essen motor show has proven to be quite the tuner festival. Now Volkswagen itself has gotten in on the action with the prototype Golf RaVe 270. A concept car that showcases VW’s technology and interior customization abilities, the RaVe 270 isn’t scheduled for...
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Spy Shots: 2009 Maybach 62 faceliftThe Maybach brand may not have been a major sales success for Mercedes-Benz but that doesn’t mean officials have totally abandoned the ultra-luxury marque. Engineers are currently updating the 62 flagship with a facelift for the 2009 model year. These latest spy shots reveal some of the...
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Roadsters are arguably the ultimate sports car experience, giving a taste of an open-top race car, pouring sound, sun and wind into the cockpit, the song of tires against pavement the only soundtrack... -
New Dodge roadster to debut at Geneva Auto ShowDodge is rumoured to be working on a small rear-wheel-drive roadster along the lines of the popular Mazda MX-5 and more recent Pontiac Solstice. UK’s Autocar is reporting that auto industry insiders in the US have now confirmed the car is in development and that it has already been displayed...
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German cars beaten by Kia in reliabilityA recent study run by independent automotive warranty specialist, Warranty Direct, looked at more than 450,000 vehicles, across 33 manufacturers, from the UK and the USA for reported mechanical failures. It found Mazda to be the most reliable car brand with almost 92% of its cars aged between 3 and...
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Toyota aiming for 40% jump in hybrid salesToyota has announced today that it’s aiming to increase sales of electric-hybrid vehicles by 40% this year, roughly equivalent to 430,000 cars. Last year, Toyota's hybrid sales rose 33% and with rising fuel prices set to continue this year, the company famous for building the Prius may just...
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Audi nixes plans to build TT Shooting BrakeAudi’s highest product chief has confirmed that the Shooting Brake concept shown at the 2005 Tokyo Auto Show will not enter production. In an interview with Netherland’s AutoVisie magazine, Ulrich Hackenberg said that the shooting brake model would only serve to eat market share from...
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Fiat wants new Bravo to go globalItaly’s Fiat wants its new Bravo model to sell in more diverse markets than its Stilo predecessor, which failed to make a significant impact on the company’s bottom line. Reuters is reporting that Fiat exec Luca De Meo stated last week that the Bravo five-door hatchback would be sold in...
Ralph Hanson