General Motors has announced it will close down Saab after discussions to sell the brand fell through. “Despite the best efforts of all involved, it has become very clear that the due diligence required to complete this complex transaction could not be executed in a reasonable time,” said Nick Reilly, president of GM Europe. “In...
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***See AutoGuide’s LIVE 2010 Detroit Auto Show Coverage Here*** Volvo will present a battery-powered electric C30 at the Detroit Auto Show in January, with plans to build a test fleet of 50 vehicles for real-world testing in 2011. The model being shown in Detroit will be further along the development process than the prototype previously...
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***See AutoGuide’s LIVE 2010 Detroit Auto Show Coverage Here*** BMW is bringing the twin-turbocharged six-cyinder 7 Series to North America. The 2011 BMW 740i and BMW 740Li will be available for sale in the United States in Spring 2010. Both are powered by twin-turbo 3.0L inline six engines with a claimed power output of 315...
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***See AutoGuide’s LIVE 2010 Detroit Auto Show Coverage Here*** BMW will introduce a new electric concept model based on the 1 Series Coupe at the Detroit Auto Show. The BMW Concept ActiveE will follow the MINI E as the second stage of BMW’s electric vehicle development program. BMW has begun development of a trial fleet...
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Frederick “Fritz” Henderson has resigned as General Motors chief executive officer. Henderson (left, in the photo above) was appointed CEO on March 29, replacing Rick Waggoner who shown the door by the Obama administration. Over the last eight months, Henderson worked at reorganizing the company. GM announced that Chairman Ed Whitacre Jr. (right, in the...
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All future Hyundai products are likely to get direct injection technology, boosting both fuel economy and performance and allowing for smaller and lighter displacement engines to take the place of larger units. The news comes from Hyundai Motor America’s top engineer John Juriga, who made the comments during a technical presentation at Hyundai’s North American...
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Hyundai Motor America has confirmed the introduction of the company’s first direct-injection gasoline engine will debut in the 2011 Sonata. Called the 2.4 GDI Theta II, the engine will make 200-hp at 6300 rpm and 186 ft-lbs of torque at 4250 rpm in the SE model. Hyundai has also confirmed that despite the engine’s 11.3...
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Chrysler will stop production of the Dodge Viper in 2010 and replace it with its successor in 2012. The announcement came on a day of extensive announcements about Chrysler’s plans for the next five years. The new Viper will be one of 11 all-new or redesigned Dodge vehicles that will debut by 2014. Production on...
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Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, is pulling out of Formula One racing to focus on its core business. The decision comes a day before the Japanese manufacturer is expected to announce its worst ever financial results. “Based on the current economic environment, we realize we have no choice but to withdraw from Formula One,” said...
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Ford named Chinese automaker Geely Holding Co. as its preferred bidder for Volvo. “Ford believes Geely has the potential to be a responsible future owner of Volvo and to take the business forward while preserving its core values and the independence of the Swedish brand,” said Ford Chief Financial Officer Lewis Booth in a statement....
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Hyundai is introducing the R-Spec version of its Genesis Coupe 2.0T at the SEMA Show, Nov. 3-6 in Las Vegas. The tuner-friendly version of the Genesis Coupe 2.0T will be the first production R-Spec model to arrive in the U.S. Priced at $23,750, the R-Spec features the same core performance equipment as the 2.0T Track...
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Honda announced a production version of its CR-Z hybrid concept will be introduced to North America in the second half of 2010. As the second version of the CR-Z concept was unveiled at the Tokyo Auto Show, Honda announced the production version will be a sporty 2-seat hybrid, the first hybrid car set up with...
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Saleen Performance Vehicles has released pictures of the 2010 S281 Mustang ahead of the car’s official unveiling at the SEMA show in Las Vegas. The three pictures, posted on Saleen’s Flickr and Facebook pages, provide a peek of the S281’s front and the rear, which a couple of Facebook commenters called an improvement on the...
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Volkswagen may enter Formula One racing if the International Automobile Federation (FIA) is successful in cutting costs in the world’s premiere auto racing series. “Today, it costs well over a hundred million Euros to take part in F1,” Reinhold Carl, managing director of Audi Singapore, told Singapore paper The Straits Times. “If the cost is...
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Car Magazine is reporting BMW will use the third-generation MINI platform to build a new compact car. The so-called “0 Series” (internally referred to as the “Untere Kompactklasse”, German for “Lower Compact Class”) will be slotted between the MINI and 1 Series to go up against Audi’s A1 and Mercedes’ A-Class. Because it is based...
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Japanese auto manufacturers consider Korea’s Hyundai to be their biggest threat, according to a report by The Associated Press. As automakers around the world struggle to survive the weakened economy and up-and-coming Chinese companies seek to make a name for themselves, Hyundai has emerged as a major player. “Hyundai is awesome,” Honda Motor Co. chief...
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MINI confirmed it will produce the Coupé model unveiled at the Frankfurt Auto Show alongside the MINI Roadster. Powered by the same John Cooper Works turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder as the current line of top-level MINIs, the Coupé makes 211hp and 192 ft-lbs of torque, with a bump to 206 ft-lbs possible thanks to an overboost...
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When it comes to hybrid and eco-friendly technology, it looks like blue is the new green. Both Hyundai and Mercedes-Benz have chosen the color blue to represent their environmentally friendly vehicles with their respective Blue Drive and Blue Efficiency brands. Hyundai’s latest hybrid concept, the Blue-Will, is a look into the future of eco-friendly vehicles....
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Mercedes-Benz introduced its BlueZero E-Cell Plus concept car at the Frankfurt Auto show. The plug-in electric Hybrid can travel up to 100km (62 miles) on electric power before the gasoline engine kicks in to recharge the lithium-ion batteries, enabling an extended range of 600km (373 miles). The engine is a turbocharged 1.0-liter 3-cylinder powerplant producing...
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Lotus displayed its Exige Cup 260 race car at the Frankfurt Auto Show. The race-ready version of the Exige is powered by the same 257-hp supercharged 1.8-liter 4-cylinder as the street car, while weighing just 1,958 lbs. Carbon fiber components include the roof, seats, dash-top, tailgate, center tunnel, front access panels, front splitter, side intake...
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Mercedes-Benz is expanding its E-Class family of vehicles with a new wagon. Called the Estate in European markets, the wagon will be available with ten different engine options. The new wagon will launch in November with two gas options and three diesel options: Gas E 350 CGI BlueEFFICIENCY: V6, 3498 cm³, 215 kW/292 hp, 8.6–8.9...
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Lotus displayed its Evora Type 124 endurance racer at the Frankfurt Auto Show. The Type 124 (the 124 was the next number in line in Lotus’ naming sequence, but coincidentally, the 24 also represents 24 hour endurance racing) will make its racing debut at the 2010 Nürburgring 24 Hours in May. Lotus engineers tuned the...
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Hyundai introduced its new Tucson SUV at the Frankfurt Auto Show. The new Tucson, named the ix35 in Europe, is an example of what Hyundai calls its new “fluidic” design language with its sweeping, curved lines. Hyundai lowered the overall height of the new Tucson while still promising extra legroom and headroom. A new dual-panel...
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MINI is celebrating its 50th birthday with the release of two special edition models. The MINI 50 Mayfair and MINI 50 Camden were announced at the MINI United Festival but they made their public debuts at the Frankfurt Auto Show. The Mayfair comes in the “Hot Chocolate Metallic” paintwork available on the Clubman and Convertible....
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