Archive for October, 2009

Consumer Reports 2009 reliability survey results

Ford has secured its position as the only Detroit automaker with world-class reliability. About 90% of Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln products were found to have average or better reliability, according to Consumer Reports’ 2009 Annual Car Reliability Survey. The results were announced today at an Automotive Press Association luncheon in Detroit. Continue reading »

2010 Seat Leon Cupra R details released

Following a very successful debut at the recent Frankfurt Motor Show, the new León CUPRA R is about to go on sale. Equipped with a new 265 hp engine, it instantly becomes the brand’s most powerful production car to date, earning a special chapter in SEAT’s history in the process. Continue reading »

2010 Nissan Rogue Krom edition revealed

Nissan has announced the latest addition to its “Krom” specialty vehicles lineup, the 2010 Nissan Rogue Krom edition, which is scheduled to go on sale at U.S. Nissan dealers nationwide in December 2009. The new Rogue Krom edition comes with aggressive sport styling, exclusive 17-inch wheels and a center-exit sport-tuned exhaust. Nissan also offers a Krom edition of the
popular Nissan cube. Continue reading at ModernOffroader.com »

2009 Toyko Auto Show: Photo coverage

You can always depend on the Tokyo Auto Show to have the most intriguing and the most wacky concepts. The 2009 edition of the show is no different. This is one event where the concepts outnumber the production car launches. However, this year’s hi-jinks is a bit muted due to various automakers pulling out, blaming the recession rather than poor management. Many of the concepts are hybrids or zero-emission vehicles, affirming the green slant of the show. Continue reading »

2011 Lexus LF-A debuts in production trim

After spending half a decade in development hell, running the ‘Ring in camo, briefly getting canceled during the recession, and even racing at a few events, the production version of the Lexus LF-A supercar has finally debuted in Japan. Continue reading »

Veritas RS III Roadster starts production

The Veritas RS III Roadster has begun its limited production run and first customer deliveries will take place in January 2010. Built by Vermot AG, this cockroach of a car has already been sold to eight customers, but none from the Middle East yet. The eight are part of only 30 that will be produced. It takes 15 people about eight weeks to build one car and three cars at a time will be built. Continue reading »

Volkswagen U.S. factory work on track

During his one-week trip to the USA, Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Christian Wulff visited Volkswagen of America at the Chattanooga site accompanied by an industry delegation. The guests used the opportunity to find out more about the status of work on the new Volkswagen factory in the State of Tennessee. Continue reading »

Button wins F1 title as Webber wins Brazil GP

Jenson Button took the limelight at the 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix. After 60 of the 71 laps, as Mark Webber swept to a dominant victory for Red Bull ahead of BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica and a fighting Lewis Hamilton, he had done enough. And a late puncture for Brawn GP team mate Rubens Barrichello, which elevated him to fifth, was merely the icing on the cake. Continue reading »

2011 Kia Cadenza readied for debut

Kia has announced that their all-new luxury sedan will be called the Cadenza. The full-size sedan will apparently sport a rear-wheel-drive platform, and should replace the Kia Amanti. Continue reading »

Ford recalls 4.5 million vehicles for cruise control fault

Over the years, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been recalling a number of older American-made models over the issue of “leaking” cruise control switches in certain brands. By 2008, the agency had recalled around 9.6 million vehicles to repair a faulty Texas Instruments cruise-control deactivation switch, and now after an NHTSA investigation, Ford is the target of the latest recall, adding 4.5 million Ford and Mercury vehicles to the list. Continue reading »

Lamborghini offers 0% financing on Murcielago

Lamborghini America has announced a new Lamborghini Retail Finance Plan for its most exclusive vehicles on the market, the Murcielago LP640 Coupe and Roadster. The super sports car company is partnering with Woodside Credit and Volkswagen Credit, Inc. to provide alternative financing programs through authorized U.S. Lamborghini dealers. Continue reading »

2010 Nissan 370Z 40th Anniversary for U.S. market

The 25th anniversary is silver, the 50th is gold. And the 40th? Another precious metal, or more correctly metal, rubber and glass – the Nissan Z. Forty years ago, on October 22, 1969, the Datsun 240Z arrived in North America, heralding a new era in sports car design. Continue reading »

Ford Fusion Hybrid sales going strong

Ford Motor Company’s hybrid vehicle sales have risen 73% this year in sharp contrast to a 14% decline in hybrid sales across the industry. The fuel economy and durability of hybrid versions of Ford Fusion and Escape, Mercury Milan and Mariner also are winning over large numbers of conquest customers, many of whom are previous import owners. Through September, Ford has sold 26,016 hybrid vehicles, up 73% versus the same period in 2008, according to figures from Autodata Inc. Continue reading »

2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR Touring U.S. pricing

The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X is a somewhat uncompromising sports sedan, based off of an economy car platform. But the U.S. market is getting a new MR Touring “luxury” model that puts it up against German brands in terms of pricing. Continue reading »

Kia September sales increase 40%

Kia Motors Corporation announced today its global sales figures for passenger cars (export sales, domestic sales, and sales from overseas plants), recreational vehicles (RVs), and commercial vehicles for September 2009, recording a total of 155,223 units sold. This figure represents a year-on-year increase of 40.4%. Continue reading »

2010 Honda VFR 1200F motorcycle revealed

After what seemed like years of rumors and speculation, Honda has unleashed the details on its new 2010 VFR 1200F motorcycle. Buried beneath the dual-pane bodywork and vacuum-molded cast aluminum chassis lies a 1,237 cc V4 engine that reportedly puts out 172 hp at 10000 rpm and 95 lb-ft of torque at a high 8750 rpm. Continue reading »

2006-2010 Audi TT & A3 NHTSA recall for fire hazard

Volkswagen is recalling certain model year 2006 through 2010 Audi A3, TT, and TT Roadster passenger vehicles manufactured between September 29, 2005 and August 26, 2009. The closing force of an internal spring of the fuel tank ventilation valve is not adequate enough to hold the valve closed under extreme driving conditions possibly allowing fuel to leak. Continue reading »

2011 Chevrolet Caprice police car for America

An all-new Chevrolet Caprice Police Patrol Vehicle (PPV) will join the ranks of law enforcement departments across North America in 2011. It’s a modern, full-size, rear-drive sedan that will offer both V8 and V6 engines, as well as a host of specialized equipment and features. Continue reading »

Toyota bringing back AE86 as FT-86

The iconic Toyota Corolla GT-S, known as the Sprinter Trueno in Japan, was a 2-door hatchback that was first introduced in 1983. It had a 1.6L 4-cylinder U.S. engine with 112 hp and, more importantly, a balanced rear-wheel-drive chassis. It became more commonly known as the AE86, nicknamed after its chassis designation, and is popular on the Japanese drift scene till today, even though production ended in 1986. It achieved worldwide popularity only during this past decade, as the hero car in the Japanese animated series Initial D. And now, Toyota is readying a successor in the form of the FT-86 concept at the 2009 Tokyo Auto Show. Continue reading »

Vettel wins 2009 Japanese F1 Grand Prix

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel brought his world championship hopes alive again with a superb victory in Japan on Sunday afternoon, winning as he pleased and leading Jarno Trulli’s Toyota home by 4.8 seconds despite a late safety car intervention. Lewis Hamilton was third for McLaren, another 1.5 seconds adrift, after losing out to Trulli in the second pit stops. Continue reading »

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