Showing posts with label Auto News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Auto News. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

It's Over: Mahindra, Global Vehicles head to Splitsville

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It has been an arduous journey for Mahindra, Global Vehicles U.S.A., and the dealers that have signed franchise agreements to sell the small diesel trucks. A press release on Mahindra's U.S. Web site, which appears to come straight from corporate in India, says verbatim: "Mahindra's relationship with Global Vehicles Inc (GV) has ended, the agreement dated 26th September 2006 between Mahindra and GV having terminated."


After almost four years, it seems the long-time supplier of farming equipment is ready to conclude its professional relationship as it and Global continue to battle in court over the delayed TR-series trucks.

When queried about the aforementioned press release, however, GV says "such attempted termination is invalid under applicable laws of the United States and the State of Georgia, something which Mahindra continues to disregard." In another statement to Automotive News, GV spokesperson Max Butler states they are "in the process of taking orders and updating all floor plan agreements in anticipation for Mahindra to provide Global Vehicles with the initial production date." Sounds like it's business as usual at Global headquarters.

Global Vehicles has signed over 300 dealers to sell Mahindra trucks and spent $35 million in preparation for distribution. Although the original agreement between Mahindra and GV is dated 2006, the trucks only just received EPA certification earlier this month after the trucks underwent emissions and crash-safety changes. The ultimate sale date is supposed to be December but, in all likelihood, we haven't heard the last from the two jousting parties.


Source: Automotive News (Subscription required) courtesy of Motor Trend Staff

2011 Paris Motor Show: Lotus to debut Evora S, IPS

2010 Lotus Evora

Price Range
$73,500.00
Fuel Economy
N/A city / N/A highway
Base Engine
276-horsepower V6
Value Rating
N/A
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Last week, leaked email messages from Lotus executives showed that the Evora S and Evora IPS automatic-equipped car would debut in Paris.


Lotus says that aside from supercharging the 3.5-liter V-6 from Toyota, the 345-horsepower Evora S has a retuned suspension and overall more responsive driving experience.

"You don’t realise what you were missing from your driving experience until you get behind the wheel of the Evora S," said Dany Bahar, Lotus’ Chief Executive Officer.

Other motorists won't miss your Evora S, though, especially if you activate the exhaust baffles that apparently make the car sound more muscular.

The Evora S has a sport button that lets the driver customize throttle response and activate the exhaust bypass valve. That button is also the key to raising the instantaneous rev limit and lowering the interference from the dynamic stability control.

“The Evora S...retains core Lotus values such as performance through lightweight but it also gives more than that," said Lotus Chief Commercial Officer Andreas Prillmann. "It’s the perfect combination of top performance, style and comfort. Form doesn’t sacrifice function in the case of the Evora S.”

Clearly, the S model is the pure enthusiast's choice in the Evora lineup. Still, it's likely the other new debut -- the Evora IPS (Intelligent Precision Shift) -- will help pay for the S model.

The Evora IPS is powered by the regular 276-horsepower V-6, now mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. Aside from manual paddle shift and automatic drive modes, the IPS has a sport mode that enhances the feeling of control.

"It’s been a long time since Lotus created an automatic and we’ve spent a great deal of time refining this one to make sure that it perfectly complements the Evora drive experience," Bahar said.

Both new Evoras will debut at the Paris Motor Show, starting at the end of September.

Below are technical specifications direct from Lotus.

Evora S Technical Specification
Model Evora S
Engine - Mid mounted, transverse 3.5 litre DOHC V6 VVT-I
Emissions see below due to wheel options
Transmission - 6 speed manual
Chassis - Modular lightweight bonded aluminium structure
Steering - Lotus tuned hydraulically-assisted power steering
Suspension - Forged aluminium double wishbone suspension
Bilstein high performance gas dampers
Eibach coaxial coil springs

Performance data
Standard wheel option
Fuel consumption - urban 14.5 l/100km
Fuel consumption – extra urban 7.4 l/100km
Fuel consumption - combined 10.0l/100km
CO2 Emissions 235 g/km

19/20” wheel option
Fuel consumption - urban 14.6 I/100km
Fuel consumption – extra urban 7.6 I/100km
Fuel consumption - combined 10.2 I/100km
CO2 Emissions 239 g/km

Max power - 350 PS / 257.5 kW @ 7000 rpm
Max torque - 400 Nm / 295 lb ft @ 4500 rpm
0-60 mph - 4.6s
0-100 km/h 4.8s
Maximum speed - 172mph
Vehicle mass (unladen) - 1437kg

Evora IPS Option Technical Specification
Engine - Mid mounted, transverse 3.5 litre DOHC V6 VVT-I
Emissions - 208 g/km
Transmission Electronically controlled 6 speed automatic
Chassis Modular lightweight bonded aluminium structure
Steering Lotus tuned hydraulically-assisted power steering
Suspension Forged aluminium double wishbone suspension
Bilstein high performance gas dampers
Eibach coaxial coil springs

Performance data
Fuel consumption - urban 12.6 l/100km
Fuel consumption – extra urban 6.6 l/100km
Fuel consumption - combined 8.8 l/100km
CO2 Emissions 208 g/km

Max power - 280 PS / 206 KW @ 6400rpm
Max torque - 350 Nm / 258 lb ft @ 4700rpm
0-60 mph - 5.3s
0-100 km/h - 5.5s
Maximum speed - 155mph
Vehicle mass (unladen) - 1436 kg


Source: Lotus courtesy of Automobile Magazine

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

BBC and the History Channel team up to create a U.S. Version of Top Gear

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When NBC decided not to pursue the idea of an American spinoff of TopGear, rumors emerged that other networks were interested in picking up the idea...


Read more at Automotive.com: BBC Top Gear and the History Channel

2010 Beijing Auto Show envisions BMW's Megacity Zero Emission Urban Commuter Car

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So BMW is dead serious about their electric urban commuter and in fact they are going to launch it in two years...


Press Release:

With the launch of its Megacity Vehicle in 2013, the BMW Group will be bringing its first series-production electric-drive model to market. “With this innovative vehicle, designed from the ground up, we will be creating new benchmarks for electric mobility from 2013 on. Our Megacity Vehicle will be significantly lighter than conventional cars and, in terms of sustainability, will set a new standard across the entire value-added chain,” said Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, on Thursday ahead of the Auto China 2010 show in Beijing.

The Megacity Vehicle will be a zero-emission urban car for the world’s metropolitan regions. It is currently being developed as part of project i and will be available from 2013 under a sub-brand of BMW. When it comes to the choice of materials, the company is broaching entirely new territory. This is because weight plays a pivotal role in the range achievable by electrically driven vehicles. The ultra-light yet high-strength composite CFRP (carbon fibre-reinforced plastic), for example, plays a significant part in the materials mix.

“This vehicle will radically alter the motor industry as we know it. The BMW Group is currently the only company that will be launching a volume-production vehicle on the market that features carbon fibre-reinforced material,” explained Reithofer. “We were among the first manufacturers to pick up on the trend towards electric mobility and to act accordingly. More and more people around the globe are very keen on electric driving. Research shows, moreover, that more than half of the population around the world already live in conurbations,” Reithofer added.

The BMW Group has been gleaning insights into the day-to-day use of electric vehicles since mid-2009, when it launched a global field test involving more than 600 MINI E models. During the test phase some 50 MINI E cars are also being delivered to customers in China in 2010.

“I am convinced that our Chinese clients will show the same enthusiasm for the vehicle as MINI E drivers in Germany, the USA and Britain,” emphasised Reithofer. 2011 will see the handover to Chinese customers of a further fleet based on the BMW Concept ActiveE. The renowned China Automotive Technology and Research Center (CATARC) and the state-owned energy supply company State Grid are involved as partners in the preparation, implementation and assessment of the practical use of these vehicles. The project has the backing of both the Chinese and the German governments.

The results will filter into the development of electrically powered vehicles for the Chinese market. “In the future we will also be offering a New Energy Vehicle in China. This will be developed and produced locally together with our joint venture partner Brilliance,” stated Reithofer.

BMW gathered its first experiences with electric-drive vehicles some 40 years ago courtesy of a modified BMW 1602 that led the long-distance walking and marathon running events in the 1972 Summer Olympics. In subsequent decades this alternative drive technology was further pursued using many mobile test beds, including the revolutionary BMW E1.


SOURCE: BMW

Watch the video on YouTube

Read more at MotorWard.com

2010 Beijing Auto Show - Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SV China Edition

2010 Lamborghini Murcielago

Price Range
$354,000.00 - $450,000.00
Fuel Economy
8 city / 13 highway
Base Engine
640-horsepower V12
Value Rating
N/A
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For 2010 Beijing Motor Show Lamborghini is unveiling a special editoin of the Murcielago LP670 SV exclusively for the Chinese market and limited to only ten units.


The LP670-4 China Edition is no different than normal models in term of technicalities, but it comes with a bespoke black and orange stripe and can be had with a special grey color...

Read more at MotorWard.com

2010 Campagna T-Rex 3-Wheeled Electric Vehicle aka E-Rex

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The E. Rex is the three-wheeled, electric equivalent of … well, we’re not quite sure. Something absurdly fast, ridiculously fun and more than a little impractical.


But then that describes just about any vehicle capable of zero to 60 in less than 5 seconds...

Read more at Wired.com

2010 Subaru Legacy GT Sedan - Quick Review Posted Yesterday 05:01 PM by RimZ Filed under: Auto News, Subaru, Sedans, Japanese Cars, Subaru, Sedans,

2010 Subaru Legacy

Price Range
$20,995.00 - $29,995.00
Fuel Economy
23 city / 31 highway
Base Engine
170-horsepower H4
Value Rating

Below Average
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As much as the WRX and WRX STI prove that Subaru can build a great sports sedan, you’d think Subaru could just scale up that DNA to make the Legacy GT something special. Alas, that’s not the case.


When you go up a notch in size, you get a far less satisfying machine. One suspects that the Legacy GT is compromised because it shares the same platform as the Outback. The Outback has a very different mission, and being the nameplate on which the modern Subaru franchise has been built, you have to figure that the Outback was (correctly) given precedence over the Legacy GT, a niche sporty variant of the Legacy sedan. This latest Legacy GT sedan—and it is sedan only, as Legacy station wagons of any type are no longer sold in the USA—is easily the best-looking to date...


Read more at Automobile: 2010 Subaru Legacy GT

2010 Beijing Auto Show debuts the all-new 2011 Hyundai Accent (Verna)

2010 Hyundai Accent

Price Range
$9,970.00 - $16,995.00
Fuel Economy
27 city / 36 highway
Base Engine
110-horsepower L4
Value Rating

Average
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Hyundai staged the world-premiere of its all-new Verna small sedan, otherwise known as the Accent, at the 2010 Beijing Auto Show today.


Not surprisingly, the new Accent looks like a 2011 Sonata that was left too long in the dryer, boasting the same "Fluidic Sculpture" design language in a much smaller package...

2010 Beijing Auto Show rolls out the all-new 2011 Buick Excelle

1980 Buick Estate

Price Range
N/A
Fuel Economy
N/A city / N/A highway
Base Engine
N/A-horsepower
Value Rating
N/A
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The new Buick Excelle compact looks set to continue the once-moribund GM brand's astonishing success story in China.


GM China Group president and managing director Kevin Wale says more than 8400 Excelles have been sold since the car's launch in February. Buick sales in China topped 447,000 units in 2009, and first quarter sales for 2010 are up 50 percent year on year. More than 80 percent of all Buicks made are now sold in China. "Without China we probably wouldn't have Buick," concedes Buick product marketing manager Craig Bierley...