Monthly Archives: April 2011

Chevrolet Corvette Centennial Edition Markets Racing Heritage

Chevrolet today announced that a 2012 Centennial Edition package will be available on all Corvette models – including Grand Sport, Z06 and ZR1 – starting this summer. The special package is designed to capitalize on the racing background of Louis Chevrolet who founded the brand 100 years ago. Continue reading

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Mercedes-Benz Concept A-Class Debuts at New York Show

The release of these A-class photos and confirmation that it will be shown in New York is the result of increasingly stringent U.S. fuel economy laws and a possible shift in buying preferences, which will make the car available in the United States for the first time. Continue reading

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Chevrolet Miray Voted Best Concept at Seoul Motor Show

The Chevrolet Miray was named Best Concept Car at the 2011 Seoul Motor Show. Journalists attending the show voted their favorite cars in three categories: Best Concept Car, Best Green Car and Best Passenger Car. The Miray, which made its world premiere in Seoul, received the most votes among concept cars on display.

The Miray roadster is significant because it was developed at the General Motors Advanced Design Studio in Seoul, increasingly the source of small car work for the U.S. based and taxpayer owned GM. Continue reading

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Subaru to Debut 2012 Impreza at New York Auto Show

Subaru of America will debut of the all-new Subaru Impreza 4-door and 5-door models at the 2011 New York International Auto Show later this month. The new Impreza design will provide a larger interior for five passengers and what’s said to be improved levels of comfort and refinement. Current Impreza models sell in the $19,000 to $23,000 range. Continue reading

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General Motors India Strike Continues at Cruze and Aveo Plant

More than 1,000 workers at the General Motors Halol plant in Gujurat State, India have been on strike for the last three weeks in an increasingly bitter struggle that has seen the workers forcibly ejected from the plant after the government declared the strike illegal. It was reminiscent of UAW sit down strikes during 1936-37 in Michigan. Continue reading

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Microsoft and Toyota Partner on Next-Generation Telematics

Microsoft Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. (TMC) today announced they have formed partnership and plan to build on Microsoft’s Windows Azure platform for TMC’s next-generation telematics services using the Windows Azure or cloud platform. Continue reading

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Toyota Sells One-Millionth Prius Hybrid in the U.S.

Toyota Motor Sales (TMS) U.S.A. today announced the one-millionth sale of the Toyota Prius in the United States. Prius was the world’s first mass-produced hybrid gas-electric vehicle, and in its third generation is unquestionably the most successful hybrid, which continues to give Toyota a reputation as an environmentally friendly hybrid. Continue reading

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Chesapeake Energy Converts 800th Vehicle to Natural Gas

Unlike the volatility in gasoline and diesel prices most recently caused by turmoil in the Middle East, the price of CNG remains steady at $1.39 per gallon of gasoline equivalent in Oklahoma. Continue reading

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Ford Starts €11.6 Million Cologne Design Center Expansion

The Ford Fiesta and the Ford Focus are not only manufactured in Germany, but are mainly designed and engineered in Cologne, one of several of Ford’s engineering locations that include the United Kingdom, United States, Australia and China. Continue reading

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Chrysler Brand Launches “No Pressure” Test Drives at Malls

Chrysler Group said today that it is bringing Chrysler brand vehicles to shopping malls so potential customers can drive them in what is claimed to be a no pressure environment.

Shoppers will be able to drive the 2011 lineup, which includes the new, redesigned and 2011 200 sedan and 200 Convertible, the revised Chrysler 300 sedan and the innovative Chrysler Town & Country minivan. Continue reading

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Mopar Charger Sketch Released. New York Auto Show Debut?

All Chrysler Group is saying is here’s a sketch of its new 2011 Mopar Charger. Dodge will release details of the latest Mopar muscle car “later this month,” which points to a New York Auto Show Debut. Continue reading

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Lexus LF-Gh Hybrid Concept Debuts at 2011 New York Show

The Lexus luxury brand of Toyota Motor Sales today said that the LF-Gh hybrid concept will make its world debut at the 2011 New York International Auto Show.

The LF-Gh, which stands for Lexus Future Grand Touring Hybrid, “sets out to redefine the premium grand touring sedan,” Lexus said in a statement. LF-Gh is likely the replacement for the current and unsuccessful Lexus GS sedan, whose 1100 unit sales year-to-date are off 35%. Continue reading

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Volkswagen to Debut New Beetle in China, Berlin, New York City

he latest Beetle rollout is a sign of the global automarket times, as well as an ironic nod to the fact that the new Beetle, soon to be in its second generation, is considered too frivolous by Germans to count among best selling cars in Germany. Continue reading

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AutoNation’s March 2011 New Vehicle Unit Sales Increase 19%. Japanese Model Availability to be Problem in Q2 and Q3

AutoNation, Inc. announced that its retail new vehicle unit sales in March 2011 totaled 22,246, an increase of 19%. AutoNation expects production disruptions will significantly impact product availability from Japanese auto manufacturers in the second and third quarters of 2011. Continue reading

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Audi Prices 2012 A7 Sportback in U.S. Starting at $60,000

Audi today announced that pricing for the full size Audi A7 will begin at $59,250 when the models reach U.S. showrooms later this month. At first glance appears to be a hefty price for a V-6 powered, all-wheel-drive 5-door hatchback, … Continue reading

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