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Germany Produces Twice As Many Cars As The US, At Double The Salary
In an interesting report that’s surfacing right now, Germany in 2010 produced 5.5-million vehicles compared to America’s 2.7-million while spending an average of $67.14/hour versus America’s average of $33.77/hour. That means Germany is not only producing twice as many cars as America, but also paying twice as much. The article, published by Remapping Debate, states…
BMW, Mercedes, Tied For 2011 Premium Car Sales Leader
After a decade of success, Lexus has been thoroughly dethroned by the Teutonic duo, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, whom are the new kings of the United States premium car market. However, after months of fierce sales competition, it still isn’t clear which German automaker will come out on top. The last tally at the end of…
US Saab Dealerships Looking To Liquidate Inventory
Lost in the news regarding Saab‘s bankruptcy is the impact on US dealerships as they were forced to sell all vehicles as is and with no warranty since December 19th, 2011. Many dealerships are looking for ways to liquidate their inventory as all 188 US dealerships were also notified that all factory incentive programs and…
Artist Miguel Paredes’ Porsche 911 Art Car Boasts Extreme Flower Power
The 2011 Porsche 911 Speedster always stands out, but the one outfitted by world renown artist Miguel Paredes will stop onlookers in their tracks. This art car, which made its debut at Art Basel, was created by the urban realist who dabbles in New York graffiti art. Taking inspiration form trippy retro Japanese style, Paredes’…
Mercedes-Benz Aims For 13% Output Increase
Daimler got caught with their pants down this year when Audi passed Mercedes-Benz for the first time in history to become the world’s number two luxury car maker. That won’t be the case if they have their way next year. According to internal documents obtained by Automotive News, Daimler is spurring Mercedes to increase output…
Audi Announces €13 Billion Investment Plans
Audi‘s expansion plans are materializing to the tune of €13 billion by 2016, heralding growth that enthusiasts are sure to cheer for and that will provide new jobs for German students. That €13 billion will mostly go towards new technology, but the company is also looking to add about 1,200 new specialists to their team in 2012….
Mercedes-Benz G55 and G65 AMG Spied
Kanye West once rapped that the Mercedes G550 was “his favorite toy”, but West, along with other rappers and oil shieks, will be sorely disappointed to learn that the new AMG versions expected to debut will make their lowly G550 look dated. The G55 will get an updated twin-turbo 525-horsepower 5.5L V8, similar to other…
Lotus Evora GTE Looks Race Ready On The Track
Knowing that the 444-hp Lotus Evora GTE will be making its way to America makes us giddy. So naturally, when we saw more photos of the most powerful Lotus ever made, we had to share them with the rest of the world. Up until now, we’ve basically been treated to seeing the Evora GTE under…
MINI Rocketman Concept Headed To Production?
MINI‘s Head of Design, Anders Warming, was recently reported to say that a production version of the Rocketman Concept is “on my Christmas list.” Perhaps a hint of things to come, Warming continued to praise the Rocketman Concept by saying that it’s “a clear leap forwards” and is a car to “claim the true heritage…
Former U.S. Benz Boss Takes Mercedes To Court
Ernst Lieb is heading to court, continuing to insist that he did not misuse Mercedes-Benz‘s funds improperly and that his dismissal back in October was unjustified. Lieb’s five-year run as Mercedes CEO was cut short when he was dismissed for allegedly misusing $100,000 in company funds to upgrade a Mercedes-owned home in New Jersey. Lieb’s…
Yelp Becomes First App For BMW ConnectedDrive
BMW has expanded its ConnectedDrive services by adding applications to those who subscribe to BMW Online services. The first of these applications is from Yelp, aiding drivers in finding restaurants and other points of interests easily. Yelp has become the place to go on the Web for user-generated reviews and feedback on all sorts of…
Lotus Fires Up First IndyCar Engine
Lotus Motorsport achieved a couple of major milestones recently, firing up their first ever IndyCar engine while also giving their Exige R-GT Rally car its first shakedown runs – both of which occurred within 24 hours. On December 22nd at Dallara’s headquarters in Varano Melegari, Palma, Lotus successfully started up the first official IndyCar engine…
MINI’s Ultimate Test Drive Ever is Everything You Expected [Video]
Yesterday we announced the winner of MINI‘s Ultimate Test Drive Ever contest was Mathew Foster with his entry of Stewardess, Salt Flats, Paratroopers, Sushi and Falconer. Our imagination went wild wondering how the video turned out and now we know – and it’s pretty much everything we expected, and more. A round of applause to…
Volkswagen To Turn Off Blackberry Email Servers For Off-Shift Employees
Volkswagen has agreed to halt its Blackberry email servers from sending emails to employees when they are off their shift after complaints that their staff’s work and home lives were becoming one (can’t we all relate). The new restriction will cover all employees in Germany that are currently working under trade union negotiated contracts. Under…
Rare BMW Z1 For Sale In Canada
Over the last two-decades, BMW has given us quite a few “Z” cars. There was the chic Z3 that James Bond helped unveil in the movie “Golden Eye,” followed by the sinfully pretty Z8 (also used in a Bond flick; The World Is Not Enough), which was penned by Henrik Fisker (yes, the same guy…
Maybach Announces Price Hike For 2012 Line-Up
In Maybach‘s last full year of sales before the hyper-luxury brand will be shuttered for 2013, Daimler has increased the MSRP of Maybach’s 2012 line-up. According to the latest pricing updates released by Mercedes-Benz USA, the 2012 Maybach 57 will begin at $379,050, an extra $3,080 over the 2011 model year. The 2012 Maybach 57…
MINI Ultimate Test Drive Winner Picks: Stewardess, Salt Flats, Sushi, Paratroopers, Falconer
Mathew Foster, a resident of Portland Oregon, found himself roaring across the salt flats in a MINI Coupe being fed sushi by a stewardess while paratroopers flew by overhead. Was this some kind of bizarre dream or hallucinogenic episode? In fact this was a reality for the Portland man after winning a contest held by…
Saab Phoenix Architecture Sold to China’s Youngman
Though Youngman’s attempts to save Saab proved futile, it appears that the Chinese automaker isn’t giving up on Saab-related assets. Youngman announced that they’ve acquired the rights to Saab’s Phoenix vehicle architecture and also announced that they have intentions of setting up a firm in Sweden to develop a new car based on the Phoenix…
Mercedes C63 AMG Black Series Coupe Takes On Laguna Seca [Video]
To best showcase the C63 AMG Black Series Coupe Mercedes-Benz has produced two videos with contrasting drivers and vehicles, both filmed on track at Laguna Seca Raceway in Northern California. Known for its infamous corkscrew, Laguna Seca Raceway can easily be recognized by automotive enthusiasts worldwide. What’s entertaining to watch in the two videos however…
MINI Misses Deadline for 2012 WRC Season
MINI‘s hopes for capturing the 2012 World Championship Rally title took a big blow before the effort even started. Mini has missed the deadline for signing up for next years championship, which expired at midnight, last night. The Mini rally car, which is based on the Countryman model is prepared by Prodrive in Banbury, U.K….
Toyota Europe To Lead Small Car Development Duties
To make room for expanding model research and development on the home front, Toyota Motor Corp has appointed its European division to lead global product planning for small cars. Vested with this major responsibility, extensive reorganization in Toyota Europe’s sales and marketing operations were put to effect in hopes to best approach the new mission….
Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo Aims to Become Italian Prime Minister
Vocal critic of former leader Silvio Berlusconi, Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo has announced his intention to run for the position of Prime Minister of Italy. Montezemolo has quite the background to make a legitimate run for office too, being a member of Italy’s hereditary aristocracy and a lawyer by profession. He currently presides over…
BMW and Audi Turn To China For Growth
German luxury titans Audi and BMW are migrating to a new battlefield in hopes of growing their brands despite domestic debt worries. According to Jenny Gu, a Shanghai- based analyst at research firm LMC Automotive, the number of luxury cars sold in China for 2011 may increase by 39 percent to 939,000, overtaking Germany by 25,000. That…
Man Wins Lamborghini Murcielago, Crashes It Hours Later… On Purpose? [Video]
What some people aren’t aware of with contests and sweepstakes is that when you win a car, often you end up having to pay taxes and other fees. While this sure beats having to pay for the car itself, sometimes the taxes and fees are more than someone can handle. This was possibly the case…
