CARSCOOP |  |
- Jeep's Updated Production Plan Includes Four New Models Covering Most Segments by 2014
- Spyker to be Sold to US-based Equity Firm for €32 million
- I Kid You Not: Consumer Reports Says Chrysler 300C is “Excellent”
- BMW Introduces the New ActiveHybrid 5 with a Turbocharged Six, will it have the Same Fate as the X6 Hybrid?
- Steam Punk: World’s Oldest Working Car to be Auctioned Off in October
- Ford in Talks with UAW About Adding 10,000 Jobs, Move Fusion Production from Mexico to the U.S.
- Video: Here's Why a Three-some Wheelie is a Very Bad Idea
- Hasta la Victoria, Siempre! Cuba to Open Market to New Cars for the First Time Since 1959!
- SPIED: BMW Preparing Subtle Updates for X6 Crossover
- What a Bright Idea: Bicycle LED Lights are Not Only Cool but Also Promote Safety
- Toyota Shows New 2012 Tacoma TRD T|X Baja Series Limited Edition at Texas State Fair
- VW Boss Caught on Film Impressed by the Hyundai i30’s Quality, Displeased with his Staff
- BMW Treats China with New Z4 sDrive23i Limited Edition
- Ford Updates F-150 for the 2012 Model Year with New Equipment and Styling Package
- Report: Hyundai Will Offer 10-Speed Auto Gearbox from 2014
- Video: Daewoo Driver is Too Fast, Too Furious…Too Dumb
- Ford Mondeo ECOnetic Travels 2,161 km [1,344 miles] on One Tank of Fuel
- New BMW M3 Sedan Video Scooped: Are these the Sounds of a Turbocharged Six?
- GM Debuts Automotive Industry's First Front Center Air Bag
- Scion Reveals New 2012 xD RS 4.0 and xB RS 9.0
- Toyota’s Production Rises for the First Time in 12 Months
| Jeep's Updated Production Plan Includes Four New Models Covering Most Segments by 2014 Posted: 29 Sep 2011 06:17 PM PDT  While future production plans for the Fiat-Chrysler alliance's Italian brands (Fiat , Alfa Romeo and Lancia) can change from one moment to the other for a variety of reasons, up until now, the American branch of the group has proved to be more reliable and on time when it comes to new projects
Under the revitalization plan, which runs up until 2014, Jeep will expand its portfolio with a series of new models to cover all SUV/Crossover segments. The group's –admittedly ambitious- goal is to double Jeep's global sales from around 400,000 units in 2010 to about 800,000 vehicles in 2014. Read more »
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| Spyker to be Sold to US-based Equity Firm for €32 million Posted: 29 Sep 2011 05:19 PM PDT  Swedish Automobile N.V. [Swan] owner of cash-strapped Saab, announced today that it has reached an agreement with US-based private equity firm North Street Capital LP concerning the main terms for the sale of its Spyker luxury sports car business. Read more »
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| I Kid You Not: Consumer Reports Says Chrysler 300C is “Excellent” Posted: 29 Sep 2011 04:47 PM PDT  The redesigned 2011 Chrysler 300C has scored an impressive 80 -- an "Excellent" rating -- in the road test portion of Consumer Reports' latest assessment of upscale sedans.
Though only ranking near the middle of the pack, the 300's score is a huge leap from the pitiable 64 given to the previous model. The car impressed the editors and engineers at Consumer Reports so much that they hailed it as "the best Chrysler sedan we've seen in decades." Read more »
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| Posted: 29 Sep 2011 04:27 PM PDT  For the most part, BMW has made some smart decisions over the years, but occasionally, even the all-knowing Bavarians make mistakes. The ActiveHybrid X6, which will reportedly soon be retired from BMW's American line-up due to poor sales, is one such example: a 480HP turbocharged V8 hybrid with mildly better fuel efficiency (19mpg highway) but with a similar price tag to the almighty X6 M.
This brings us to the new ActiveHybrid 5 sedan that was introduced today, ahead of its sales launch in March 2012 BMW decided to base the first hybrid version of the latest 5-Series on the 535i – not the wisest choice if you're targeting fuel efficiency and low emissions. Read more »
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| Steam Punk: World’s Oldest Working Car to be Auctioned Off in October Posted: 29 Sep 2011 03:32 PM PDT  For Sale: '84 De Dion Bouton Et Trepardoux Dos-A-Dos "La Marquise". Low kilometre (mileage), twin engined four-seat convertible with leather / wood interior, only four owners since new and restored in the mid-'90s by a dedicated individual. Would suit classic car / steam enthusiast with large amounts of disposable income. Price is US$2 - $2.5 million (€1.5 - 1.9 million) ONO with all enquiries to RM Auctions, Pennsylvania. At 127 years, the 1884 De Dion Bouton Et Trepardoux Dos-A-Dos or "La Marquise" is the world's oldest running motor car. It's a steam-powered quadricycle built by toymakers Georges Bouton and Charles-Armand Trepardoux with the financial backing of the Comte Di Dion in 1884. It's 9 feet (2.7 metres) long, weighs 2,100 pounds (953 kilograms), has solid axles front and rear and dos-a-dos (back-to-back) seating for four. Read more »
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| Ford in Talks with UAW About Adding 10,000 Jobs, Move Fusion Production from Mexico to the U.S. Posted: 29 Sep 2011 02:45 PM PDT  The Ford group is currently negotiating a four-year contract with the UAW (United Auto Workers) union, which could add as many as 10,000 new jobs at its American factories. Citing sources familiar with the issue, Bloomberg News reported that the job-discussion is part of the negotiations between the two parties that also include wages, benefits and employment status in the new contract. Among the moves being considered, is shifting production of the Ford Fusion mid-size sedan from Mexico to the U.S.A., which could help in the creation of nearly 4,000 new jobs alone. Read more »
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| Video: Here's Why a Three-some Wheelie is a Very Bad Idea Posted: 29 Sep 2011 06:37 PM PDT  I think it's safe to say that at one point or another, we've all done something senseless on two or four wheels, especially at a younger age. But seriously now, who in their right mind would attempt a wheelie on a Enjoy the video right after the break. Read more »
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| Hasta la Victoria, Siempre! Cuba to Open Market to New Cars for the First Time Since 1959! Posted: 29 Sep 2011 01:37 PM PDT  In what can be considered a historical moment, the Cuban government legalized today the purchase and sale of new automobiles for all its citizens, ending the prohibition that had been enforced since the 1959 revolution.
The new ruling, which is effective from Saturday, stipulates that both the buyer and the sellers will each pay a 4% tax for new cars. Buyers will also have to go to state-owned dealerships and prove that the money they intend to spend were obtained through their work and not sent by relatives who live abroad. Read more »
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| SPIED: BMW Preparing Subtle Updates for X6 Crossover Posted: 29 Sep 2011 12:39 PM PDT  The BMW X6 has entered its fourth year of production, which means the Bavarian company will proceed to at least some changes to keep its successful crossover model fresh and ensure that it remains on the priority list of its desired target market. Our man with the long lens caught up with a very early and hardly disguised prototype of the X6 in Germany. The only parts of the car covered, were the headlamps and the tail lamps, both of which will likely be revised to match the rest of the BMW line-up like the new 1-Series. Read more »
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| What a Bright Idea: Bicycle LED Lights are Not Only Cool but Also Promote Safety Posted: 29 Sep 2011 12:14 PM PDT  Working in what appears to be a basement somewhere in San Francisco, two biotech employees and a former NASA engineer have developed a radically new lighting system…for bicycles.
Drawing power from a rechargeable lithium ion battery, the system consists of four "light rings," each sporting a dozen LEDs and a dash of electronics. While stationary, the lights simply flash in sequence and are as every bit as boring as one might expect flashing lights on a bicycle wheel to be. But just get those wheels spinning and watch the magic happen! Read more »
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| Toyota Shows New 2012 Tacoma TRD T|X Baja Series Limited Edition at Texas State Fair Posted: 29 Sep 2011 11:47 AM PDT  A new special edition version of Toyota's facelifted 2012 Tacoma pickup truck series was revealed in pre-production form at the State Fair of Texas today. Said to be inspired by the Japanese firm's Baja racing heritage, the Tacoma TRD T|X Baja edition will be available to the public starting from late spring 2012. The special edition is equipped with the standard 4.0-liter V6 engine matched to either a six-speed manual gearbox or a five-speed automatic transmission. Read more »
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| VW Boss Caught on Film Impressed by the Hyundai i30’s Quality, Displeased with his Staff Posted: 29 Sep 2011 11:19 AM PDT  Up until now, we were used to seeing Japanese and later on, Korean and Chinese executives measuring and taking pictures of every detail of their rivals' cars at major auto shows But now the tables have turned, and in a big way: at the recent Frankfurt Motor Show we saw none other than VW CEO, Martin Winterkorn himself, examine Hyundai's newest C-segment hatchback, the i30. And boy was he impressed with the i30's quality…But at the same time, he seemed to be frustrated by the work his own staff is doing in VW Group models. "I hear nothing!" Winterkorn said about the absence of any rattles while adjusting the steering wheel. "How did they do it?," he continued. Read more »
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| BMW Treats China with New Z4 sDrive23i Limited Edition Posted: 29 Sep 2011 10:33 AM PDT  The growing importance of China has led many carmakers to introduce a variety of dedicated special edition models created especially for the domestic market. In the recent past, the BMW Group has presented many such vehicles, including but not limited to, the M3 Matte and Tiger Editions. The Bavarian firm's latest attempt to capture the attention of Chinese buyers with a special version is the Z4 sDrive23i Flame Edition. Read more »
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| Ford Updates F-150 for the 2012 Model Year with New Equipment and Styling Package Posted: 29 Sep 2011 10:05 AM PDT  The most popular truck in Ford's range, the F-150, is entering the 2012 model year with a few mild upgrades concentrated on fine-tuning the driveline and improving the equipment packages.
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| Report: Hyundai Will Offer 10-Speed Auto Gearbox from 2014 Posted: 29 Sep 2011 09:42 AM PDT  Can you count to 10? Well done, so does Hyundai, and in particular the Korean company's engineering team responsible for car transmissions. According to a Bloomberg News report, Hyundai Motor Group president Park Seong Hyon said that 10-speed automatic transmissions will become available in the group's luxury models from 2014. Only a few years ago, six-speed automatic gearboxes were available only in top-of-the-line cars. Then the gear count started to increase gradually: first at seven, which seemed like a novelty, and quite recently at eight, which most luxury carmakers rushed to adopt. Read more »
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| Video: Daewoo Driver is Too Fast, Too Furious…Too Dumb Posted: 29 Sep 2011 09:05 AM PDT  You've met them before – drivers that think that they're better than the rest of us and can do as they wish on the road. But sometimes, they get what's coming to them. The driver of this silver Daewoo Matiz wanted to bypass everyone on the left turning lane by sprinting across the center and squeezing his/her way in front of the other cars. But in the driver's fury, he (or she) failed to notice the closed triangle in the middle of the road and as a result, got caught inside. Watch the short clip in the vide below. Read more »
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| Ford Mondeo ECOnetic Travels 2,161 km [1,344 miles] on One Tank of Fuel Posted: 29 Sep 2011 08:40 AM PDT  Ford is heavily promoting its ECOnetic technology, which promises extremely low fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. With the official help of Ford, two Norwegians, Knut Withil and Henrik Borchgervink set out to prove that the technology delivers what it promises. They took a bog-standard Ford Mondeo wagon 1.6-liter diesel ECOnetic, filled up the fuel tank with 70 liters of diesel and started their quest to find out how far it would take them. Read more »
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| New BMW M3 Sedan Video Scooped: Are these the Sounds of a Turbocharged Six? Posted: 29 Sep 2011 08:15 AM PDT  By now, you have probably heard that the upcoming 2014 BMW M3 in both four- and two-door formats will do away with the current model's atmospheric 4.0-liter V8 and gain a turbocharged six-cylinder engine.
However, there are some rumors circulating around the net that BMW is developing a new force-fed V6 engine for its next M3 models. The speculation is based on a recent design filling for a twin-turbocharged V6 made by the Bavarian company at the German patent office. BMW has not commented on the matter. Read more »
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| GM Debuts Automotive Industry's First Front Center Air Bag Posted: 29 Sep 2011 07:27 AM PDT  Someone once said that in the future, the inner works of our vehicles after a crash will look like a balloon party – sans the bright colors And true enough, after the front, side, roof, knee, rear curtain and seat-belt airbags, automakers have now discovered another area of the car that can be fitted with an inflatable bag for our protection: the center.
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| Scion Reveals New 2012 xD RS 4.0 and xB RS 9.0 Posted: 29 Sep 2011 07:23 AM PDT  At the 2011 State Fair of Texas, Scion revealed two new limited production models as part of its "RS" series based on the 2012MY xB and xD, both of which will begin arriving in showrooms in October. Starting with the xD Release Series 4.0, it is offered exclusively in a Blizzard Pearl exterior paint and comes equipped with 16-inch alloy wheels finished in a smoked platinum color. Read more »
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| Toyota’s Production Rises for the First Time in 12 Months Posted: 29 Sep 2011 06:03 AM PDT  One of the victims of the March earthquake and the Tsunami that followed was Japan's auto industry and especially Toyota, which saw many of its suppliers hit hard by the dual natural disaster. The result was that production slowed down considerably, and sales took a hit all around the globe relegating the former No 1 carmaker in the world to third place. Read more »
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