James Martinez, Author
Articles
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The hotly-anticipated TT RS will hit showrooms in Europe by the middle of the year but ask Audi when it will arrive in the United States and the only answer you will likely receive is that it’s...
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Saleen, Inc. voids all warranties on cars and parts sold before February 2, 2009
Saleen Automotive announced last November that it was seeking a potential buyer, with management acknowledging the firm has suffered financially from the economic downturn and rising fuel prices. In February Saleen announced the sale of its supercharger, aftermarket and high-performance street...
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Opel models headed to U.S. as Buicks
Opel and Saturn have always had a close affinity, with a number of popular models like the Vectra and Astra sold under both labels with barely any changes except for the badge located on the grille. However, with the future of Saturn looking grim, Buick is set to become the gateway for...
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Chevrolet Volt driving day planned for Obama’s auto industry task force
They did it in the nation’s capital at the first round of viability meetings and tomorrow in Detroit government officials will once again be able to drive a prototype for the upcoming Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid. This time around the officials will include the Obama administration’s...
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GM shoots down Carnegie study claiming plug-in hybrids are inefficient
General Motors has responded to a recent Carnegie Mellon University study claiming that upcoming plug-in hybrids such as the Volt are not actually as efficient as they seem. While cars such as the Volt use large batteries to achieve electric-only ranges of around 40 miles, the study claims that the...
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400hp for $35,000: Pontiac G8 GXP and Dodge Charger SRT8 after incentives
Whoever said the muscle car era was dead and gone? Right now you can drive away with more than 400hp (298kW) under the hood for around $35,000. The poor state of the economy is taking its toll on vehicle sales (GM just posted its worst sales figures since 1967 in February) but this is also having a...
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Niche German sports carmaker Wiesmann recently celebrated its 20th birthday and to mark the anniversary the Dülmen-based manufacturer will be releasing a string of special '20th Anniversary Editions...
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Fed loans could see low-cost Fisker hybrid in roughly two years
Fisker Automotive is less than a year away from launching its new Karma plug-in hybrid luxury saloon, arguably one of the most stylish looking cars on the auto show circuit, not to mention one of the cleanest too. While big name carmakers like General Motors and Toyota struggle to launch...
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Protoscar Lampo is Swiss for electric sports car
It seems these days that a new electric sports car concept is announced almost every month but it's not often that we get to see the actual concept in the metal, so to speak, or in the case of the new Lampo, in the carbon-fiber composite. The Lampo electric roadster is the latest creation of Swiss...
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Ferrari confirms 599 hybrid prototype in testing
Governments around the world are bowing to public pressure to reduce greenhouse gases, and more often than not the first sector they look at is the auto industry. The European Council has proposed a ruling that could see carmaker’s forced to limit their fleet average CO2 levels to 130g/km by...
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2009 Prima Concept: a Tata that actually looks good
Tata has gone from strength to strength since the unveiling of its groundbreaking Nano minicar early last year. Many doubted Tata’s ability to turn out a 1-lakh ($2,500) car, but the company proved the skeptics wrong and even followed it up with a special edition model planned for a European...
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Power and prestige underscore Mansory’s latest working of the Bentley Continental GT Speed
German tuner Mansory chose the Geneva Motor Show to unveil its latest customization effort, a reworked Bentley Continental GT Speed. The modifications consist of both engine and aerodynamic changes, and give the car a sportier than the originally understated Bentley and plenty of extra power to...
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Audi has unveiled its new A4 Allroad quattro at the Geneva Motor Show today, and latest reports indicate the toughened up Avant on stilts could be heading to the U.S. Audi is keen to sell a new...
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RUF previews electric future with new Greenster convertible
One of the most talked about electric cars in recent times is the Lotus Elise-based Tesla Roadster, a car that is becoming increasingly popular in performance circles because of its supercar performance and cutting edge technology. Well-established Porsche tuner RUF, a company that has been...
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New Volkswagen Polo debuts at 2009 Geneva auto show
In January, Volkswagen development chief Ulrich Hackenburg explained to reporters at the Detroit Auto Show that the small car segment in the United States is likely to surge in the coming years, and that his company was intent on taking advantage of that growth. Already confirmed is the Mark VI...
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Ford reopens Cleveland Engine Plant No. 1 for EcoBoost production
After shutting down its storied Cleveland Engine Plant No. 1 back in 2007, Ford has kicked the site back into life with production of its brand new EcoBoost engines starting today. The plant is the first manufacturing site in the world to build the EcoBoost engine and the first examples are...
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HSV releases cut-priced Senator sports saloon
In the battle for supremacy in the Aussie performance saloon market, the respective performance divisions for both Holden and Ford have unveiled two new special edition cars at this week’s Melbourne Motor Show. Representing the Ford camp is the F6 E concept car, which the Blue Oval is using...
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Vizualtech envisages future of hot-rodding
Vizualtech, a Swedish design and engineering firm that specializes in constructing virtual 3D models of cars and boats, has just released a new set of images of a futuristic hot-rod. Depicted is a computer generated rendering of the company’s Delithium, a speedster designed to run on...
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With the 2009 Audi A6 facelift now on sale and the 2010 Mercedes Benz E-Class just a month away from hitting showrooms, attention now turns to the next-generation BMW 5-Series. A class leader since...
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2010 Nissan GT-R with gearbox update posts unofficial 3.3s 0-60mph
Nissan confirmed last month that it was installing a new software update for the gearbox in the GT-R that is designed to minimize stress levels placed on the dual-clutch unit during hard launches. But it turns out that it's still a quick sprinter, even with VDC engaged, as the latest tests have...
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Nissan to showcase production NV200 at Geneva Motor Show
Designed at Nissan’s European design studio in London, the NV200 was a striking van concept that made its debut at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show. Nissan now plans to show off the production version of the NV200 at next month’s Geneva Motor Show. The new Nissan van is described as a light...
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SLP Firehawk reborn in the form of the Pontiac G8 GT
During the early 1990s American tuner and muscle car specialist Street Legal Performance (SLP) released custom packs for the Pontiac Firebird known as the ‘Firehawk’. The kits came in various performance stages and could be ordered directly from Pontiac showroom floors, with brand new...
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Evolution Performance aiming for first 7-second quarter mile S197 Ford Mustang
A seven-second quarter mile is damn fast by anyone’s standard, but a seven-second quarter mile in a vehicle based on a production Ford Mustang is something all the more special. Such a car does not exist but the guys at Pennsylvanian tuner Evolution Performance are hoping to build just that...
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Brabus bringing 700hp Mercedes Benz G-Class to Geneva Motor Show
It wouldn’t be the Geneva Motor Show without some outrageous creation from Brabus and for this year’s event the German tuner hasn’t disappointed. Next month Brabus will unveil what it claims to be the world’s most powerful off-roader: the new G V12 S Biturbo based on the...
James Martinez