Tag Archives: auto informed

Milestones: the BMW 328 Turns 75 Years Old

Henne set a lap record for all sports cars during the race, and won the non-supercharged class in the rain. It was the debut of what became one of the most successful sports cars on the track. The win was to be followed by more than 200 others with factory sponsored and privateers running 328s into the 1950s. Continue reading

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Ford to Appeal $2 Billion Ruling for Overcharging Dealers

Ford Motor Company says that it will appeal a $2 billion ruling against it by an Ohio judge in a class action lawsuit by Ford dealers. The judge found that Ford overcharged its truck dealers for 11 years on sales of almost 500,000 trucks. Ford apparently did not inform all dealers equally of discounts available. The judge called them hidden discounts. Continue reading

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General Motors Invests in a Small Maker of Electric Buses

Fledgling Proterra makes prototype battery electric buses that are averaging up to 24 mpg (diesel equivalent) in service, in what’s claimed to be a more than 600% improvement over a typical diesel engine bus. Continue reading

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Cadillac Recalls 2011 SRX SUVs for Defective Airbags

The SRX computer turns off the right roof-rail airbag if the passenger sensing system determines that the right front passenger seat is unoccupied. Therefore a right rear occupant may not be protected and suffer injuries in frontal and side crashes. Continue reading

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Chevrolet Volt Price Cut? Fully Loaded 2012 Now $46,265

Chevrolet has announced that the base price for the 2012 Volt will be $1,000 lower when it goes on sale later this year. Suggested retail asking price is $39,995. The price includes an $850 freight charge but excludes tax, title and license fees. A loaded Volt, with leather appointments, backup camera, navigation system and premium paint and wheels is now priced at $46,265 including delivery. Continue reading

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Renault-Nissan to Open Silicon Valley Office

Renault-Nissan will open a research office later this month in the heart of Silicon Valley, directly across from Google. Small teams will initially work on vehicle IT development, advanced engineering research and technology recruitment. Continue reading

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Audi, Nissan, and Chevrolet Corvette Win Le Mans

Audi completed 355 laps around the 13.629 km (8.469 mile) circuit for a total of 4838 km (3006 miles). It was the tenth Audi victory at Le Mans, one more than Ferrari. Porsche still holds the factory record with 16. Continue reading

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Audi R18 TDI on Pole at Le Mans, Peugeot Third in Qualifying

The fastest six cars were running within just five tenths of a second – meaningless in the world’s oldest endurance race, but exciting nonetheless. It looks like there will be 24 hours of intense racing for an estimated 250,000 fans, which because if the web millions of people can track real time at home. Continue reading

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Thousands Visit Oshawa for Chevrolet Camaro Homecoming

Camaro owners and fans are descending on GM Canada’s Oshawa Assembly Plant this weekend to celebrate the sales-leading pony car. GM estimated a crowd of more than 2,000 Camaro enthusiasts and people from the local community toured the plant today. Continue reading

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Volvo Winces at Dour Depiction of British Pol in Project Volvo

The Daily Telegraph broke a story about the 2006 plot – dubbed Project Volvo – designed to ultimately replace Prime Minister Tony Blair with Gordon Brown. In it Brown was said to be viewed by voters as “”humourless, dour, moody, aggressive, unapproachable.” Brown was characterized as a “Volvo, British Rover.” Continue reading

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Toyota Predicts 31% Profit Dip in Fiscal Year from Earthquake

The longer term issues facing Toyota are recovering lost market share and the unprecedented strength of the Japanese Yen caused by massive inflows of cash as export oriented Japanese companies attempt to recover from earthquake losses. Continue reading

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Ford Kills U.S. Gas C-Max Van. Smaller Hybrids Now Due in 2012

The C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid and C-MAX Hybrid will be followed by another next-generation hybrid in 2012, presumably an updated hybrid version of the Ford Fusion, which in its gasoline form remains the best selling car at the Number Two U.S. automaker. Continue reading

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SUVs Now Among the Safest as Electronics Stop Rollovers

The safety improvements are so large that SUVs drivers are now statistically less likely to die in a crash than drivers of equivalent size cars. This conclusion on driver death rates was published today by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which for decades pointed out that SUVs were among the most dangerous vehicles on the road. Continue reading

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BMW Group to Invest $811 Million in UK to Make Next Mini

The UK is the BMW Group’s fourth-largest single market in the world for sales, behind Germany, the U.S. and China, with sales in 2010 of 154,750. BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce vehicles. Continue reading

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Corvette ZR1 Cuts 6 Seconds from Nürburgring Lap Time

A Porsche 997 GT2 RS posted a 7:18 lap time last year, but the Porsche at $350,000 in Germany is roughly three times more expensive than the ZR1, which begins with an asking price of more than $110,000 in the U.S. Continue reading

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