Posted on February 9th, 2010
Ford’s Special Vehicle Team (SVT) revealed today the new 2011 Ford Shelby GT500, the newest version of the legendary muscle car featuring an all-new aluminum-block engine, even better driving dynamics and handling as well as improved fuel economy and more horsepower than ever.
As we said the new car carries an all aluminum-block 5.4-liter supercharged V8 engine delivering 550 horsepower and 510 ft.-lb. of torque (a 10 hp incrase comparing it to the 2010 model). And this is not all, as the engine is 102 pounds lighter than its predecessor, delivers a better power-to-weight ratio, handling and steering precision, acceleration and an impressive fuel economy. Continued after the jump!
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Posted on February 9th, 2010
In the next five to seven years, Toyota Kirloskar Motors, the Indian unit of Toyota Motor Corp., expects to double its sales. This target will be propelled by the Etios cars that will be launched at the end of the year, a top company official told Reuters last Saturday.
Toyota developed the subcompact Etios specifically for the Indian market. The car was showcased at the Delhi auto show last month. Toyota expects that in 2010, its sales will grow more than 15% from 2009, when it had sold 55,497 cars. Managing Director Hiroshi Nakagawa said in an interview that for Toyota to become a significant player in the volume market segment, it has to get at least 10% market share, which it expects to attain within the next 5 to 7 years. Toyota currently has a 3% share of the local automobile market. The compact car segment in India accounts for about three-fourth of the total cars sold in the country. The market is dominated by Maruti Suzuki. The Etios will rival Maruti’s Swift hatchback, Hyundai’s i20 and Tata Motor’s Manza. Nakagawa said that the company is challenging Maruti Suzuki, saying that there are plans to strengthen the product lineup. Toyota Kirloskar, in which Toyota has a 89% equity stake, is growing its dealership network to about 150 dealers by the end of this year.
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Posted on February 9th, 2010
Starting April 1, Christian Meunier will head Nissan’s Brazilian operations. Meunier, formerly Nissan Europe sales boss, is now the marketing head for Nissan brand in the US. It was in 2002 that Meunier joined Nissan Europe, after gaining extensive experience with Ford France, Rover France and Mercedes-Benz USA.
In 2006, he was appointed Nissan Europe’s vice president for sales operations in 2006. A year later, he moved to the US. Meunier’s promotion means that Nissan’s US marketing post is empty during this critical time in North America. Nissan is currently preparing for a late-2010 launch of the Leaf, the industry’s first mass-production zero-emission family sedan. So far, Nissan has not named a successor to Munier as vice president of Nissan-brand marketing at Nissan North America Inc.
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Posted on February 9th, 2010
After Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that the recalled cars should not be driven, a flood of customers called AutoNation Inc.’s corporate offices and 21 Toyota dealerships. In an interview with Automotive News, AutoNation COO Michael Maroone said that a manageable situation became out of control temporarily.
In a 15-minute period, at least 50 calls came through the office of Marc Cannon, AutoNation’s top communications official. Customers demanded for loaner vehicles to get home from work. This situation had employees shifting to the role of counselors. AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson told Automotive News that what LaHood stated has the potential to take the situation from concern to panic, which couldn’t be in anyone’s interest. LaHood’s office clarified later on that these recalled cars could be driven if necessary. This resulted to the slowing down of the volume of calls but this led to a lot of confusion.
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Posted on February 9th, 2010
Dodge chose to celebrate the 40th birthday of the Challenger with the release of two special editions of the iconic muscle car — the 2010 Dodge Challenger Furious Fuchsia and Challenger SRT8 Furious Fuchsia.
In a release, CEO Ralph Gilles said that the new R/T Classic and SRT8 Furious Fuchsia editions commemorate 40 years of Challenger performance, further saying that they “modernize one of the most memorable hues from 1970 to create a modern muscle-car that exudes more performance, passion and even more nostalgia.” Continued after the jump!
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Posted on February 9th, 2010
Saab received a state guarantee of a 400 million euros ($546 million) European Investment Bank loan, which is said to be the key to its sale to Spyker Cars. The EU regulatory approval came last Monday.
Last month, Spyker became successful at getting a $400 million deal to purchase Saab from General Motors Co. It estimated that it would require about $1 billion for Saab to develop three or four new models. It is believed that a portion of these costs will come from the EIB loan. According to the European Commission, about four-fifths of the guarantee was subject to rules allowing European Union countries to facilitate access to financing by crisis-hit companies. In a statement, Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said that the state guarantee will “contribute to the implementation of Saab’s business plan without giving rise to any undue distortions of competition.” In addition, the Commission said the remaining 17.2% should not be considered to be state aid, and should not be subject to EU scrutiny, since it would be provided on market conditions.
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Posted on February 9th, 2010
At next month’s Geneva Motor Show, we’ll witness the integration of two brands — Chrysler and Lancia – as they will share a stand and host a joint press conference. The two brands actually don’t have new cars to debut in Geneva.
Lancia is thinking whether to display a Chrysler-badged Lancia Delta that was showcased at the Detroit auto show in January. Details of the shared product portfolio of the two brands in Europe will be decided by the end of 2010. Continued after the jump!
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Posted on February 9th, 2010
Due to the boost in demand of its A6 and A4 long-wheelbase sedan models in China, Audi got a 39% sales increase year-on-year in January and it is expected to have a strong first quarter. Another factor that is seen to increase growth is the launch of the Q5 SUV and the A5 sportback.
In a statement, Audi sales and marketing head Peter Schwarzenbauer said that with this impressive start, the company is on target to achieve the record it set in 2008 of 1 million cars sold. It hopes that in 2010, it can again reach that number. Audi was able to deliver 77,800 cars globally with sales up 39% in the U.S. market and 23% higher in Europe outside of Germany. Audi also proudly stated that sales in China more than doubled while in Germany, sales went up 9.3%. Also forecasting a strong first quarter is Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz Cars division.
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Posted on February 9th, 2010
After Toyota Motor Corp.’s recalls in the US, Europe and other markets, the carmaker is now moving to recall the latest generation Prius hybrid car in Japan, according a source familiar with the matter.
This report is seconded by many other news agencies which cited multiple sources. Toyota has revealed that it is in talks with safety regulators worldwide on how to fix a software defect, which results to a braking delay in certain road conditions. Last Friday, Toyota President Akio Toyoda apologized for the recall of 8 million vehicles. Toyoda had added that the carmaker was hurrying to reach a decision about the Prius. Continued after the jump!
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Posted on February 8th, 2010
Vauxhall’s new ‘swappage’ scheme, which offers an extra £1,000 discount over the government’s own scrappage scheme, will run until the end of March. Under this scheme, owners of cars older than seven years old can get a £3,000 discount off a new three-door or five-door Astra and most new Corsa models.
To qualify, the trade-in car must have tax, insurance and a valid MOT. Consumers would appreciate that there is no upper age limit for cars. Very recently, the government announced that the scrappage scheme is extended until the end of March to ensure as much as possible of the £400 million set aside for the scheme is spent.
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