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Gordon Murray Sells T25 City Car Design To Unnamed Manufacturer
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Gordon Murray is eager to stress that his firm, Gordon Murray Design, is not in the business of producing cars, especially not his new T25 city car. “We’re not a car company; our business is selling intellectual property for the production process,” Murray told Auto Express. Murray’s proclamation comes on the heels of his announcement that he…
Volkswagen VR6 Powers Revived Horex Motorcycles
Volkswagen fanatics looking for two-wheeled transportation, your motorcycle has arrived. Long dormant motorcycle brand Horex is being revived by a group of German industrialists, and the new bikes will be powered by a VR6 engine, long a staple of VW’s Golf and Jetta lineup. Rather than the familiar 2.8L or 3.2L VR6 used by VW,…
Fourth-Gen Mazda MX5 To Go Rotary-Hybrid? Not So Fast
We’ve heard of people swapping Mazda rotary engines into older Miatas, but if reports out of Japan are to be believed, the next MX-5, due out in 2012, will come standard with an all new, super efficient rotary engine – as well as a hybrid system. 7Tune is reporting that an article in the Japanese…
Report: Bugatti Veyron’s Last Waltz Will Feature 1200 Horsepower
The send-off for the world’s most awesome car has to be fitting for something a car that costs in the millions of dollars, (never mind its awesome performance), and Bugatti knows that the final edition of their Veyron supercar has to measure up. Another special edition with different paint and a cool name won’t cut…
Tesla Releases IPO Details, Expects To Raise $185 Million
The end goal for most venture-capital financed start-ups is to issue an IPO and help get some money into the hands of those investors brave enough to give the company money at the early stages. Tesla Motors, perhaps the first Silicon Valley car company(and headed by Elon Musk, a former dot-com executive), is about to…
Hyundai Spoofs Top Gear In Latest Animal Themed Car Ad
Hot on the heels of Kia’s awesome advertisement for their Soul compact car, Hyundai‘s South African arm has just launched a new spot for the Tuscon crossover (known as the ix35 in South Africa) taking off the wildly popular TV series Top Gear. The spot, features a mock driving show called “Top Deer”, and features dead-on voice…
GM Bans The Use Of “Chevy” When Discussing Chevrolet Brand, Then Backtracks
In another boneheaded move by an overpaid marketing wonk, a Chevrolet executive wrote an internal memo, obtained by the New York Times, asking GM employees to refrain from referring to the Chevrolet brand as “Chevy”. According to the internal memo, Chevrolet sales and service VP Alan Batey and marketing head Jim Campbell said ; “We’d…
Porsche Shoots Down Proposed MINI Race At Road Atlanta
MINI’s challenge to race their Cooper S against a Porsche at Road Atlanta didn’t go over so well. The publicity stunt initiated by MINI USA’s Jim McDowell was met with a terse and dismissive response by Porsche Cars North America CEO Detlev Von Platen today, as he issued a statement where he declined McDowell’s challenge,…
Lexus Launches F-Sport Registry
Lexus has just launched a vehicle registry for the F-Sport product lineup, allowing owners to plot their locations on a map, and see where other F-Sport owners are hanging out. The registry is open to owners of the IS-F, LS460 Sports, vehicles with F-Sport accessories and the LFA supercar. As of now, there are allegedly…
Bentley Mulsanne Sold Out Until 2012
Bentley has announced that all build slots for their new Mulsanne sedan are sold out until 2012, not bad for a car that retails for $285,000 in the USA. The British luxury car maker said that they will be increasing production in the future to help with the pent-up demand, but that’s not saying much;…
Ford To Reveal New Explorer On Facebook
In an all-new approach to vehicle launching, Ford is choosing to reveal their hotly anticipated Explorer on Facebook, rather than at a traditional public launch. Ford has already shown a few teaser shots of the car on the popular social networking site, but nothing substantial has been leaked- expect a full reveal next month. Unveiling…
New Suzuki Swift Pictures Released
One day after spy photos of the new Suzuki Swift were captured, Suzuki has released official shots of their new MINI-rivaling subcompact, and the car looks great, despite it being more of an evolution than a clean-sheet design. The car is slightly long, lower and wider and weight has been reduced, though Suzuki didn’t specify…
11-Year-Old Canadian Karting Champion Signed To Ferrari Driver Development Program
Lance Stroll, an 11-year old Canadian karting champion, has been signed to the Ferrari Driving Academy, a factory-backed driver development program run by the Italian manufacturer. Stroll, who has been racing since he was 8, has racked up wins in the regional, provincial and national karting championships. Stroll’s father Lawrence is also a motorsports enthusiast,…
BMW To Build Stretch 3-Series For Chinese Market
The Chinese auto market has a strange fascination with stretched versions of compact and mid-size sedans, the the stretched BMW 5-Series (pictured), the Audi A4L and the stretched Mercedes-Benz E-Class to name a few. BMW wants a bigger piece of the action and is teaming of with Chinese automaker Brilliance (yes, that Brilliance) to build…
BMW Recalling 2011 X5 And X6
A report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association says that BMW is recalling an unknown number of X5 and X6 SUVs over incorrect tire pressure labels. According to Inside Line, NHTSA claims not only are the pressures wrong, but the wheel sizing is off as well. “The vehicles are equipped with 20-inch wheels, but…
Five Ford Vehicles Chosen As Top Safety Picks By IIHS
Ford announced today that five of their vehicles have been selected as Top Safety Picks By The IIHS, boosting their total to 11 vehicles. The 2010 Ford Flex and Fusion, Lincoln MKZ and MKT and the Mercury Milan all scored the highest possible ratings in the IIHS’s front, side and rear impact tests as well…
Alfa Romeo SUV Details Emerging, Alfa Fans Cringe
Alfa Romeo fans are bracing themselves amid credible reports of an SUV joining the ranks of the Italian marque’s lineup. Autoguide previously reported on an Alfa Romeo SUV as a key product for their North American return. Targeting vehicles like the BMW X3 and Audi Q5, the Alfa crossover will be built on an all-new…
Chrysler To Build 8-Speed Automatics In Indiana
Chrysler will build a licensed version of a ZF 8-speed automatic gearbox at their Indiana transmission plant. Production is expected to start in 2013, and retain roughly 1,200 jobs. The total cost for the project will be roughly $300 million, but Chrysler Senior VP of Powertrain Paolo Ferrero said that the new 8-speed transmission will…
Automotive Lease Guide Says Gas Will Be Over $4 A Gallon By 2013
The Automotive Leasing Guide is what the auto industry uses to determine residual values for leased vehicles. It’s a pretty important guideline, and when the ALG speaks, people listen. So the ALG’s prediction of gasoline at $4.13 a gallon by 2013 has some pretty big ramifications for consumers and their vehicle choices. Naturally, the ALG…
Mini VP: Coupe, Roadster, To Arrive Within Two Years
Two stripped down models will join the MINI range within two years of the debut of the MINI Countryman crossover, one a Coupe, the other a 2-seat Roadster. “The Coupe will arrive six months after the Countryman, and the Roadster 12 months after the Countryman,” said Jim McDowell, Vice-President of MINI USA. The Countryman will…
Lotus, Bugatti, Ferrari Battle It Out At Laguna Seca (Video Inside
Gentlemen, turn up your speakers. The title really needs no further explanation. A Lotus Exige S, Bugatti Veyron and a Ferrari F430 get together and go toe-to-toe on Laguna Seca. There aren’t too many in-car shots, but the ones that do exist show the Ferrari driver shuffle steering (a big no-no among race car drivers)…
2011 Suzuki Swift Spied
The 2011 Suzuki Swift has been spied on the Nurburgring in full camouflage, but now, uncovered examples have been spotted on a transport truck in Hungary, giving us a closer look at the car’s styling. Only the rear was visible, but it’s safe to say that the design is an evolution of the current Swift’s looks….
2012 Ford Explorer Teased In Outdoorsy Photo Shoot
Ford continues to let bits and pieces of the 2012 Explorer’s design trickle out, and the latest photo shoot (which made its debut on Ford’s Facebook page) takes place in the snowy woods, with a a few details visible. Notably, the A-Pillar of the car is blacked out, which gives less visual heft (and is…
BMW 335i And Mazdaspeed 3 Get Into It On Northern California Road, Bad Words Exchanged
We all love those impromptu drives on backroads where you can exceed the post limits just a little, without the action getting too dangerous. Once in a while, you’ll be following someone with a nice car that can actually drive well and set a good pace. The driver of a Mazdaspeed 3 thought it was…
