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Mazda Celebrates Building 2,000,000 Mazda6 Cars
Mazda‘s excellent sedan, the Mazda6, is not really on the radar of most North American consumers, even though it’s a worthy competitor in the segment. That’s not to say that the car is a flop, but it’s not as strong a seller as, say the Hyundai Sonata or Ford Fusion, let alone the Toyota Camry…
Audi’s E-Tron Moniker Is A S***y Name For French Speaking Markets
A couple decades ago, Toyota decided to launch their upcoming MR2 sports car in Europe. The MR2 was a good car on its own, but Toyota had a bit of a marketing blunder on its hands when they discovered that MR2 was pronounced “mere-deux” in French, which is similar to merde a not so nice…
Pagani Zonda Tricolore Pays Tribute To Italian Air Force’s Finest (Video Inside)
Pagani seems to make quite a few special edition Zonda’s, and we’d be proud to own any of them. The Tricolore is particularly awesome because it pays tribute to the Italian Air Force’s elite aerobatics team, the Frecce Tricolori. As the squad is celebrating their 50th anniversary this year, Pagani decided to honor them with…
Aston Martin LMP1 Car Sketch Revealed
The Automobile Club de l’Ouest, the sanctioning body behind the 24 Hours of LeMans race, announced a series of rule changes designed to make the gasoline powered LMP1 race cars more competitive with their diesel powered brethern. Currently, oil-burning offerings from Audi and Peugeot dominate the field, but in 2011, the auto makers will see…
Ken Block Takes On AJ Allmendinger In “43 Fiestas” Sweepstakes (Videos Inside)
As part of Ford’s latest Fiesta promotion, Ford is enlisting the help of NASCAR stars Richard Petty and A.J. Allmendinger as well as newly minted rally legend Ken Block. The contest, called “43 Fiestas“, has Ford giving away 43 flat screen TVs, 43 ticket-and-hotel packages to the Ford NASCAR 400 Sprint Cup race and one…
Official: Jonathan Browning To Head Volkswagen’s American Arm As CEO
Jonathan Browning will replace Stefan Jacoby as Volkswagen Group of America’s CEO starting next month. A veteran of Ford and General Motors, Browning joined VW in June of this year, and is expected to oversee major developments in Volkswagen’s North American operations, including their new Tennessee factory and their aim of selling 800,000 VW brand…
Nissan-Suzuki City Car Venture Unaffected By Volkswagen
Nissan is denying reports that Suzuki‘s tie-up with Volkswagen will affect their small car ventures in countries like India. Nissan sells a rebadged version of the Suzuki Alto (one of India’s most popular cars) in that market, but a senior Nissan exec was quoted as saying that ““Suzuki and Nissan have done a lot of…
Honda CR-Z Moving Well At Dealers, Defying Expectations
A large majority of the automotive community decried the Honda CR-Z as neither fish nor fowl, a sporty hybrid that didn’t do anything well. Some even predicted this car to be Honda’s downfall, after having finally lost their way, two decades after producing the sporty and efficient Honda CRX. In any case, it turns out…
Ford To Press Lincoln Dealers For Upgraded Showrooms, Customer Service Levels
Ford is calling 1,187 Lincoln dealers to their Dearborn headquarters in a bid to get Lincoln dealers to upgrade their showrooms and the level of customer service as the brand seeks to gain greater market share in the luxury vehicle segment. The meeting, to be held October 4th, is the first of its kind in…
Volkswagen Extends Contract Of CEO Martin Winterkorn
Volkswagen is hoping to ensure their long-term success by renewing the contract of CEO Martin Winterkorn for an undisclosed length of time. In a speech to VW employees in Germany, Bernd Osterloh, the advisory board’s chief deputy said that Winterkorn has “advanced the company in every respect.” Under Winterkorn’s leadership, Volkswagen has acquired truck maker…
Saab 9-3 To Get Facelift At Paris Auto Show
With the Saab 9-5 getting all of the attention over the Saab, the Swedish car maker is looking to freshen up its entry-level 9-3 with some new styling. Fuel economy is said to be 12 percent better in the diesel version (which we won’t get, of course). The car remains mechanically uncharged otherwise, with a…
Ford To Restrict Boss 302 Mustang Allocation Via Lottery, Sales Figures
Ford hasn’t even announced production numbers for the Boss 302 Mustang, but word is that the Blue Oval will tightly control the supply of the baddest Mustang by basing allocation on sales numbers and a special lottery held for dealers. Dealers that sell large volumes (though the term itself wasn’t defined) will get 75 percent…
Smart Scooter To Debut At Paris Auto Show
As part of parent company Mercedes-Benz’s quest to offer “mobility solutions”, Smart is also set to debut an electric scooter concept at the Paris Auto Show, along with rival brand MINI. The Smart scooter will actually share similar characteristics with a MINI scooter, using an electric powertrain and an already established “premium” brand as selling…
Mercedes-Benz To Launch New Handling Technology Under “Magic” Brand
Mercedes-Benz will replace its current Active Body Control with a new system to improve ride and handling, under the name “Magic Body Control”. The system is based on a 20 year old technology that originated in high-level auto racing, until it was banned for being too potent. “It had its first try back at the…
Vauxhall GTC Concept To Bow At Paris Auto Show (Press Release Inside)
The Vauxhall Astra is one of Britain’s most popular cars, and is also known as the spectacular flop that was the Saturn Astra in North America. While North Americans didn’t take too kindly to the compact, Belgian-built hatch, Europeans adore the Astra, but the next generation will face some stiff competition from the upcoming Ford…
Audi S1 To Debut At Paris Auto Show With 1.4L Twincharged Engine
Audi‘s S1 hot hatch will make its debut at the Paris Auto Show, but forget about being able to buy it stateside. As we previously reported, the A1 range will not be coming here until 2014, when the car is due for a re-design. The S1 is expected to borrow heavily from its platform-mates the…
MINI To Show Scooter Concept At Paris Auto Show
MINI is set to debut a new electric scooter concept at the Paris Auto Show, under the auspices of the MINI E brand. With an integrated electric motor and MINI design cues (like the rear-view mirrors and oval headlamp), the MINI Scooter should provide consumers with a hip alternative to the trendy gasoline scooters populating urban centers,…
Report: Fiat 500 To Get All-Wheel Drive Variant
All-wheel drive variants of small cars are quite popular in Europe, and the Fiat 500 looks to be the latest recipient of an extra drive shaft and differential. An eagle-eyed car enthusiast spotted this lifted Fiat 500 in Italy, and went to investigate. Looking under the car, he found all the hardware needed for a…
Dodge Charger Pursuit Spied At Police Trade Show
The Dodge Charger Pursuit got one of its first public viewings at a police trade show. Lund Industries, which makes police car accessories like gun racks and light bars, had a 2011 Charger on display to show off their wares, and were kind enough to take video of the Charger for those who aren’t in…
Scion Launches In Canada, Pricing Announced
While Scion vehicles have been available in the United States for a number of years, they have never been officially brought to Canada, despite numerous grey market imports from south of the border. Now, Scion’s are finally available and Toyota Canada has announced pricing for the distinctively styled compacts. The 5 door xD hatchback starts…
Nissan Launches New Brand For Chinese Market
Nissan has announced a new brand for the Chinese market, known as Venucia, or Qi Chen in Chinese. The cars will be developed, launched and sold in partnership of Dongfeng Nissan, the local arm of the Japanese automaker. “In the future, we aim to sell more than one million vehicles annually and the new brand…
Mazda Released Video Of New Kodo Design Language, We Stop Dead In Our Tracks (Video Inside)
The ugly duckling/swan theme is an often used cliche in romantic comedies and other low-grade forms of entertainment, but we were caught of guard when Mazda ditched their Nagare design language and blossomed into a beautiful creature with the Shinari concept. Nagare, if you remember, is the current design theme for Mazda that looks a…
Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spotted In Michigan
Alfa Romeo’s Giulietta hatchback isn’t slated to come to North America until it’s redesigned in 2014, but a whole truck-load of them was spotted in Michigan, heading north on I-75. We can only presume that the cars were heading to Chrysler HQ for some kind of evaluation, but this isn’t the first time we’ve seen…
Mercedes-Benz Owned By Elvis Up For Auction
Elvis Presley might be associated with Cadillacs in the public’s mind, but the superstar singer had a little-known affinity for German cars. Among his purchases were an ultra-rare BMW 507 roadster and this Mercedes-Benz 600 sedan, regarded as the zenith of Mercedes cars. The car is expected to go for between $230,000-$310,000 but it wouldn’t…






