Porsche started the "Exclusive" individual tailoring program 25 years ago as an option offered to all clients who wanted to make their cars unique. Virtually any customer desire could be fulfilled, the sole prerequisite being that those special choices had to meet technical and qualitative feasibility.
Is there room in the U.S. market for an another retro-style muscle car? According to Ralph Gilles, Chrysler's chief designer and boss of the Dodge brand, the answer to that question is yes. At last week's SEMA aftermarket show in Las Vegas, Gilles told show-goers at the Mopar stand that he is "seriously thinking of how to revive the Plymouth Barracuda."
"There's a lot of pressure on us to bring the 'Cuda back," said Ralph Gilles. Speaking with reporters he added that "the customers have (been) stomping their feet for it."
Being that the Plymouth brand was phased out from the Chrysler Group's portfolio back in 2001, if the 'Cuda were to be revived, it would probably be marketed under the Chrysler brand. And like the original 1970s model, it would be based off the current Dodge Challenger.
Mercedes-Benz has officially confirmed recent speculations that its CLS Shooting Brake concept, first shown at the Auto China in April 2010, is heading into production. The sporty-looking shooting brake model with the sloping tail end will be based on the second generation of the CLS sedan and will be launched to the market in 2012.
The CLS Shooting Brake will be built at the Mercedes-Benz Plant Sindelfingen on the same production line as the CLS and the E-Class Sedan.
While the Stuttgart-based automaker is keeping its cards close to its chest, it's safe to assume that the Shooting Brake model will more or less carry the same lineup of gasoline and diesel engines as the new CLS, which made its world premiere in Paris in October. The range will most likely also include a flagship AMG model powered by Merc's new 5.5-liter twin-turbocharged V8 with at least 536-horsepower.
A loss is a loss, but at least there's an improvement in the Chrysler Group's financial results for the third quarter of the year that ended on September 30, 2010. The American automaker, which is operated by Fiat SpA, reported an $84 million net loss in Q3, the smallest in the year and less than half the $172 million loss in the second quarter of 2010.
Recently there was a situation in California involving an ex-Orange County Sheriff's deputy, some illegally imported Japanese cars, and what seems to be a plot from one of the rejected Fast & Furious scripts. One Daryl Alison, a 45-year old former law enforcement officer and entrepreneur of sorts, was charged with removing the markings from an imported Japanese domestic market (JDM) vehicle.
The automotive industry was taken by surprise a few months ago when it was revealed that German businessman, Michael Stoschek, commissioned Pininfarina to build an one-off successor to the legendary Lancia Stratos HF, based on the Ferrari F430 Scuderia. Now, new technical data emerged about this very special model.
While snooping around on BMW's UK website we discovered that one of the cars featured in the 'Quick model selector' was the new 6-Series Convertible. While there are no photos of the drop-top model, BMW offers select clients the opportunity to sign up for an exclusive BMW Dealer pre-launch preview event.
Here's what the invitation says:
"The new BMW 6 Series Convertible will be launched on 26 March 2011. So to make sure we keep you up to date with the latest news and send you an invitation to an exclusive BMW Dealer pre-launch preview, just register below."
It's hard to believe, but the Murci�lago has been around since 2001. Few, if any, will disagree with us when we say that Lamborghini's supercar still looks as fresh and is alluring as the first day it was introduced. But unfortunately, as good as it may be, all things come to an end. For the Raging Bull brand's most prominent member, the end came in May 2010 with the production of the last example, an LP 670-4 Superveloce in "Arancio Atlas" paintwork with the production number 4,099, which was sold to a Swiss customer.
Being that time goes by in a different way for a "boutique" automaker like Lamborghini, it doesn't surprise us that the Italian firm celebrated the end of production several months later. The festivities took place in the company's factory in Sant'Agata Bolognese on November 5, 2010, with a special exhibition of the most iconic V12 cars of Lamborghini's history, followed by a parade on the road.
A little over a year after the presentation of the Vision EfficientDynamics [ED] concept study at the 2009 Frankfurt motor show, and following a month-long tease of what turned out to be an early prototype mule with the body of a 6-Series of the plug-in hybrid on the 'Dontblogaboutthis' website (see pictures below), BMW today officially confirmed plans to build a production version of the eco-friendly sports car.
"There was a widespread desire to put the car on the road, and the realisation of this desire is moving considerably closer," the Bavarian firm said in a statement. And by this, BMW means it will have the Vision ED on the road and ready for sale in 2013.
"By developing a sports car based on the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept study for serial production, the Munich-based premium automobile manufacturer underscores its position as a global leader in the production of sporty vehicles with exemplary efficiency," said BMW.
A new and advanced speed camera capable of recording up to five different offenses at a time from the same motorist, may soon find its way on European roads. Besides speeding, the ASSET (Advanced Safety and Driver Support for Essential Road Transport) camera can also detect drivers who don't wear their seatbelts and tailgate, as well as identify owners who haven't paid car related taxes and don't have insurance by scanning their vehicle's license plate.
A couple of days ago, while we were focusing on the SEMA Show tuning extravaganza, Audi released some new photos of its A7 Sportback. Among those pictures were two group shots showing a sedan model covered in a white blanket.
We didn't even need to search or speculate on the model as Audi provided the answer in the photos' description: it's the new 2012 A6 sedan, and according to the Ingolstad-based automaker, it will go into production this year at the Neckarsulm site.
Even though the white wrapping succeeds in hiding the A6's styling, our spy shots suggest that Audi's BMW 5-Series rival will more or less remind an A7 with a normal boot and a less swoopy roof line. You can refresh your memory on the spy shots by checking out our previous article here.
We're still tuned into the SEMA Show, but the news from the fast approaching Los Angeles Auto Show keep dropping in. Now we've learned that General Motors will stage the global reveal of a never-seen-before Cadillac concept study. not surprisingly, details remain slim. It could be a concept for Cadillac's recently confirmed small sedan (often called ATS), which will go up against the BMW 3-Series and Audi A4, or something different altogether. We just don't know. But feel free to speculate in the comments section below.
In 2007, the Detroit automaker and its partners sold 1,031,974 vehicles in China, rising to 1,826,424 vehicles last year.
General Motors has set another sales record in China by selling its 2 millionth vehicle, thus making it the first global automaker to do so in a single year. However, it should be noted that this sales number was achieved by GM and its joint ventures in the country.
High ranking Volkswagen officials have confirmed that the company is planning to launch a third generation Golf Cabrio in spring of 2011. The announcement came during David McAllister's, Lower Saxony's Minister President and Volkswagen Supervisory Board member, visit at the Volkswagen site in Osnabr�ck on Friday.
Set up earlier this year on the former site of the Karmann holding company and integrating its know-how, the Osnabr�ck factory will initially employ a workforce of over 1,000, with plans to create a total of 1,800 jobs by the end of 2011.
In plain terms, GM gets to put the value of the money the Old GM "lost" (or threw away) prior to and during its bankruptcy on a piece of paper and say it wants to reduce taxable income by that much. This, apparently, can be applied over the next twenty years.
According to the ever-enjoyable Wall Street Journal, General Motors may come away from its near-death experience with over $45 Billion in tax breaks on future profits over. Yes, that is Billion with a "B". How exactly did that happen?
Somewhere in the hubbub of GM's catastrophic nosedive into failure, paperwork was put in place to utilize a "tax-loss carry-forward" plan that uses deferred tax assets.
The organizers of the SEMA show have announced the winners of the very first SEMA Award contest for the hottest and most popular car, truck and 4x4 -SUV models at this year's edition of aftermarket event in Las Vegas. According to SEMA, the inaugural award recognizes the most tuner-friendly new models, based on the number of vehicles exhibited at the show.
The winners for each category were the Chevrolet Camaro (Cars), Ford F-Series (Trucks) and the Jeep Wranger (4x4 -SUV) - and thereby making all three Detroit automakers happy...
Jaguar UK has released a new styling kit for the XF saloon, called the Black Pack. Available on the XF Diesel S, 5.0-liter naturally aspirated V8 petrol and XFR models, the �950 factory package improves the premium saloon's visual appeal without going overboard.
Those that opt for the Black Pack will get 20-inch Draco alloys, painted in dark grey, gloss black grille and window surrounds, and a choice of several exterior colors, selected to maximize the car's visual impact.
Toyota has decided to build some anticipation about its upcoming Prius MPV [the name has not yet been announced] hybrid, before the big reveal at the Detroit motor show in January 2010, by launching a series of teasers in the form of puzzle pieces. The puzzle theme appears to be central to the Prius MPV campaign as it was also used in the billboard that showed the hybrid minivan hiding behind the normal Prius liftback.
We just got our hands on the pricing for the 2011 model year Nissan 370Z range. The base 370Z Coupe starts at US$30,610, while US$37,520 will get you in the Roadster model. The more potent Nismo 370Z is priced at US$49,990. All MSRPs exclude destination and handling fees.
There were 41 candidates eligible for the European 2011 Car of the Year (COTY) award, with quite a few big names being mentioned, such as the Audi A7 Sportback and A8, BMW 5-Series and X3, Jaguar XJ and Mercedes Benz CLS. This week, the list was narrowed down to just seven finalists and, as in previous years, some of them weren't really expected to make it this far.
Our summary presents the remaining candidates in alphabetical order, with the winner set to be announced on November 29. We'd really like to know which of the seven cars would get your vote, though, so comment away below.
