Jaguar is speculated to be working on a compact five-door coupe, which is said to be along the lines of Audi’s new A5 Sportback, according to IL. The car is said to have evolved from the RD6 concept unveiled in 2003. Code-named RD7, the five-door coupe features suicide rear doors, a side-hinged tailgate arrangement inspired by the XK-E coupe, and a 2.7-liter V6 diesel engine.

he preceding RD6 was meant to be a low-volume niche model replacement for the failed Jaguar X-Type. Since this model has been withdrawn from the US and will soon exit Europe in the next few months, the Jaguar is left with no entrant in the huge compact premium sedan segment, and a model range that starts part-way up the segment above. Continued after the jump!

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Tags:car news, jaguar five-door coupe, jaguar news, jaguar sportback, jaguarfive-doorcoupe
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In Turkey, the automakers are all hot and bothered after Turkey’s Competition Board said that it had opened an investigation over price-fixing claims into 19 of the country’s largest auto companies, including foreign firms.

The board believes that since 2006, the companies, which belong to one of Turkey’s strategic sectors, had been sharing targets, stock information and sales and pricing strategies, says Autonews. The watchdog indicated that the following companies were under investigation: Daihatsu Turkey, Dogus Otomotiv, General Motors Turkey, Honda Turkey, Hyundai Assan, Karson Otomotiv and Tofas, a joint venture between Italy’s Fiat S.p.A. and Koc Holding AS. Also included in the probe are the Turkish units of Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Peugeot, and Toyota, which makes cars with Turkey’s Sabanci Holding. Because of low labor costs and its proximity to Europe, Turkey has attracted foreign carmakers. As a result, the automotive sector has been transformed into the country’s biggest exporter. An unnamed source at Tofas informed Reuters that company officials had discussed the issue and CEO Ali Pandir would soon make a statement.

Tags:car news, price-fixing investigation turkey, price-fixinginvestigationturkey
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Watch out for Audi’s production car that is said to be very similar to the lightweight A5 coupe prototype. Sources say that Audi used an advanced aluminum and carbonfiber construction, making the 2.0-litre turbocharged coupe 100kg lighter than the standard steel-bodied production version.

However, compared to a standard A5 3.2 V6 quattro, it weighs 240kg less but can match it in terms of performance but not power. Powering the lightweight concept is the 2.0-litre, 208bhp FSI engine, achieving a power-to-weight ratio of 159bhp per ton. More details after the jump!

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Tags:a5 coupe lightweight, a5-based coupe lightweight, a5-based coupe lightweight concept, a5-basedcoupelightweight, Audi, audi a5 coupe lightweight, audi a5-based coupe lightweight, audi news, car news
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General Motors anticipates that there are 50,000 waiting customers for the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, judging by the number of people who registered at the website, indicating a “strong intention” to purchase one.

While Vice Chairman of Marketing Bob Lutz is holding these registrants to their intention, it remains highly likely that quite a few will be turned off by the estimated $40,000 price tag. When that happens, demand will far outstrip the initial supply. Lutz says that GM will be producing 10,000 Volts next year but by 2011, will increase production up to 50,000 units or so. This summer, GM had launched its “230″ campaign. “230” comes from the Volt’s preliminary EPA rating (230 mpg). If you’re one of those who can’t wait to drive a Volt, Lutz said that it’s possible GM would leverage early production cars in a system similar to the Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell’s “Project Driveway.” The system loans cars to consumers before the Volt reaches dealers.

Tags:car news, Chevrolet, chevrolet volt pre-orders, chevrolet volt preorders, chevroletvoltpre-orders, chevy volt pre-orders, volt pre-orders
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Diesel-powered versions of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra Run may run out due to a gap in production. GM is set to halt producing the current version of the Duramax in mid-December and it will be about four months before a re-engineered 2010 Duramax will begin to be built in late April, says Autonews.

GM’s pickup inventory lean is already lean but since analysts predict that sales will soon pick up, it becomes more likely that supplies will be depleted. During the 4-month gap, GM will retool the Moraine, Ohio, plant where the engine is built, and GM engineers will tune the 6.6-liter turbocharged diesel V-8 to meet tough new emissions rules that take effect Jan. 1. Continued after the jump!

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Tags:car news, duramax diesel, duramax diesel production, duramax diesel production news, duramax diesel production stop, gm duramax diesel production, gm duramax diesel production news, gm duramax diesel production stop, gm news
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Due to the risk of accident posed by unintended acceleration, Toyota will be recalling 3.8 million U.S. Toyota and Lexus models to fix floor mats that may snag gas pedals.

The recall, Toyota’s largest ever, was sparked by an accident on August 28 in San Diego during which four people were killed in a Lexus. In the meantime, U.S. regulators are asking car owners to remove their driver-side floor mats. The Toyota vehicles involved are 2007 to 2010 Camrys; 2005 to 2010 Avalons; 2004 to 2009 Priuses; 2005 to 2010 Tacomas and 2007 to 2010 Tundras. Lexus models are 2007 to 2010 ES 350s and 2006 to 2010 IS 250s and IS 350s. Continued after the jump!

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Tags:car news, Toyota, toyota news, toyota recalling
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General Motors Co. announced today that it will not extend its online sales experiment with eBay. For those who don’t know. The partnership between GM and eBay began on Aug. 11 for consumers in California and the manufacturer planned to finish it on September 8, but this was extended by the end of the month. According to Autonews, GM is now busy with the “May the Best Car Win” ad campaign and its 60-day money-back guarantee and it does not need the California eBay pilot anymore.

Tags:car news, gm ebay, gm ebay parternship, gm ebay parternship end, gm news
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As you may know already we announced the new car last week in this post, but today this was confirmed by Autonews and it became official: Toyota will build its first dedicated hybrid sedan, a sister model to the 2010 Lexus HS 250h.

The new car, dubbed Toyota Sai, will carry a more powerful engine than the Prius hatchback and is set to go on sale in Japan on Oct. 20 according to the manufacturer and it will be the second model marketed as a hybrid-only offering under the Toyota badge. According to other sources, we found out that the new car will share the same platform and hybrid drivetrain as the Lexus HS 250h. under the hood we will find a 2.4-liter petrol engine, which is bigger than the 1.8-liter powerplant found in the Prius. At this moment nobody confirmed is this new model will go on sale in the United States, but we will find out this after its official unveiling. More details to be revealed!

Tags:car news, Toyota, toyota news, toyota sai, toyota sai hybrid, toyota sai hybrid lexus hs, toyota sai lexus hs 250h, toyotasaihybrid
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Besides the Hybrid Tourer Concept, Subaru will also reveal at this year’s Tokyo Motor Show the Impreza STI WRX Carbon. As the name suggests it, the new car features the use of carbon material in the roof to achieve both a significant weight reduction and a lower center of gravity.

The new car is based on the Subaru Impreza WRX STI A-Line model with 5 speed automatic transmission that offers distinctive driving performance to a wider range of customers. Inside we find the seats and dash covered in suede in order to enhance driving excitement and pride of ownership. More details to be revealed when the car will be officially unveiled! Photo gallery after the jump!

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Tags:2009 tokyo motor show, 2009tokyomotorshow, car news, impreza wrx sti carbon, imprezawrxsticarbon, Subaru, subaru impreza wrx sti carbon, subaru tokyo motor show, subaru wrx sti carbon, subaru wrx sti carbon edition, subaru wrx sti carbon tokyo, subaruimprezawrxsticarbon, subaruwrxsticarbon, Tokyo Motor Show, tokyomotorshow
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Subaru unveiled today its Hybrid Tourer Concept, a new car which will be showcased at this year’s Tokyo Motor Show. As you can see from the photos, the new concept features new gullwing doors (we must say that we do like them, but those from the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG…) and promises to be as aerodynamic as possible.

Inside we find a luxurious atmosphere with four independent and comfortably positioned seats wrapped in a leather developed with superior breathability and a ventilation function. Under the hood we find a 2.0-liter horizontally opposed direct injection turbocharged petrol engine but also two electric motors, a 10 kW one mounted at the front and a 20kw one at the rear. Using lithium-ion batteries, the electric motors are used by the vehicles at low speeds but also under acceleration to provide better performances. These are the only details available for the moment but as soon as we will find out something we will let you know! Press release and photo gallery after the jump!

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Tags:2009 tokyo motor show, 2009tokyomotorshow, car news, hybrid tourer concept, hybrid tourer concept tokyo, hybridtourerconcept, Subaru, subaru hybrid concept, subaru hybrid tourer concept, subaru hybrid tourer concept tokyo, subaru tourer concept, subaruhybridtourerconcept, Tokyo Motor Show, tokyomotorshow
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