Volkswagen hopes transparency means sales for luxury Phaeton (video)

The Phaeton is hand-assembled in an eco-friendly factory with a glass exterior, the Transparent Factory in Dresden, Germany called Gläserne Manufaktur. The same factory assembled Bentley Continental Flying Spur vehicles destined for the European market until October 2006, when all assembly of the Bentley products was transferred to Crewe, England. The Phaeton body is fabricated and painted at the large Volkswagen works at Zwickau, Germany, and the completed bodies are then transported about 60 miles by special road transport vehicles to the Transparent Factory. Most Phaeton engines, the W12 being the notable exception, are built at the VW/Porsche/Audi engine plant

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Great 1980s cars time's forgotten, Audi to Toyota, BMW to Ferrari

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Neither age makes the respective car ancient. Nevertheless, article offers unique insight and states that the 1980s was a far superior decade for cars than the 1970s. AUTOMOTIVE RESOURCES Auto Shipping Quote, Car Financing, Car Insurance Quotes, Car Loans, Online Car Insurance, Rental Cars, Used Cars The article’s premise is that the 1980s was great decade for prominent, groundbreaking cars—the BMW 5 Series, Honda Civic CRX and Ferrari F40. Writer John Pearley Huffman also offers: “A few machines have somehow faded from our collective consciousness. They’re essentially unappreciated, but their innovations or performance mean they deserve more prominence.” In his

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General Motors CEO resigns as carmaker posts best results in six years

Daniel Akerson, a former CEO of Nextel and a GM board member for just over a year, will succeed Whitacre. AUTOMOTIVE RESOURCES Auto Shipping Quote, Car Financing, Car Insurance Quotes, Car Loans, Online Car Insurance, Rental Cars, Used Cars GM’s promising quarter financial numbers was the best result in six years for the automaker and and a stark turnaround from the $12.9 billion it lost in the year-earlier period when the company went into bankruptcy. According to statistics reported on CNNMoney.com, the second quarter was also an improvement from the $865 million in the first quarter. Revenue reached $33.2 billion,

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Hyundai predicts its new U.S. cars will average 50 mpg in 2025

The improved average would be about a 60 percent increase from Hyundai‘s current average, 30.9 mpg — the nation’s highest. Honda (30.1 mpg) has the second-highest mpg, followed by Toyota (29 mpg). AUTOMOTIVE RESOURCES Auto Shipping Quote, Car Financing, Car Insurance Quotes, Car Loans, Online Car Insurance, Rental Cars, Used Cars Hyundai Motor America’s chief executive, John Krafcik said the goal was a stretch, but said he was “very confident” the company could reach it. “We don’t know precisely how to get there right now,” he said. “We do have a road map.” According to Krafcik, Hyundai expects to mostly

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Tata Motors has new luxury plans for Jaguar, Land Rover

Tata Motors is planning to introduce new fuel efficient cars and hybrid vehicles in emerging markets and is seeking to raise sales of luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover in China and India. The company plans to launch in India, a new cross-over vehicle, two new passenger vehicles and a new range of heavy trucks, according to Tata Motors Chairman Ratan Tata. AUTOMOTIVE RESOURCES Auto Shipping Quote, Car Financing, Car Insurance Quotes, Car Loans, Online Car Insurance, Rental Cars, Used Cars Tata said the company is also considering widening the range of Jaguar cars by introducing a station wagon, a

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Monterey Auto Week: rare car auctions to vintage racing

There’s no official “umbrella organization.” It’s just known as Monterey Auto Week. Events come and go, themes and locations change, and it’s all traditionally wrapped up with the Concours d’Elegance at Pebble Beach. But for car enthusiasts, it’s an entire week of all things automotive – vintage racing to memorabilia to rare car auctions. It’s car nirvana. Although some of the events have already occurred, here’s the full calendar of event the Monterey Auto Week, 2010. Monday, August 9th * The Quail Rally – 8 a.m.—10 p.m., Quail Lodge Resort/8205 Valley Greens Drive, Carmel CA 93923 Tuesday, August 10th *

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Rare Bugatti could fetch record price at Monterey Auto Week auction

The Bugatti, boasting its original bodywork, engine and gearbox, is predicted to sell for $4.5 million, which would be the highest price ever paid for a grand prix racing Bugatti. The car is being sold by the British private collector who paid the current world record sum for a Type 35 Bugatti two years ago. Bugatti historian David Sewell said the latest sale, 1931-built chassis 51132, is “a remarkably complete and original car and there is no doubt to its authenticity. It ranks among the finest survivors of the highly desirable Bugatti Type 51 Grand Prix.” The last time a

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Nissan Cube (KROM), 2010: The Weekly Driver car review

Few cars have received such polarizing reviews. The Los Angeles Times called The Cube an “air-hating box ugly.” The New York Times critic wrote: “The Cube is undiluted Tokyo chic, from its asymmetrical rear window to its shag-carpet dashboard pad to the bungee cords on the doors.” Regardless of opinion, the current edition Cube is arguably the most uniquely designed new vehicle on the road. It won the 2010 Automobile Design of the Year Award. Nissan engineers say the circular-dominated interior is inspired by the enveloping curves of a Jacuzzi. There’s a ripple motif in the ceiling, seat covers and

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Honda recall: Nearly 400,000 older Accord, Civic, Element models in U.S. can 'roll away'

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The recall includes 197,000 Accord and 117,000 Civic sedans from the 2003 model year and about 69,000 Element vehicles from the 2003 and 2004 model years. The manufacturer announced in a statement that if the ignition interlock mechanism becomes worn out or damaged, the ignition key could be removed while the vehicle is not in park, allowing the car to roll away and possibly crash. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and reported on CNNMoney.com, Honda reported received 16 complaints alleging failure of the ignition interlock mechanism on the recently recalled vehicles. The agency said 11 of

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Subaru Outback, 2010: The Weekly Driver car review

It’s hard to imagine any other vehicle as versatile as the Subaru Outback. It’s the all-purpose car. It’s ideal as a family wagon. It’s a workhorse for a small businessperson. It’s as safe as any car on the road in inclement weather. Introduced in 1995, the Outback has gone through several editions, including a redesign and a new lineup of models with more than 40 trim configurations for 2010. The Outback has a new 6-cylinder engine and it’s about 3 inches wider and longer in wheelbase than the 2009 Outback. Two engines and six models are offered, all with horizontally

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Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Silverado most stolen, vandalized cars in the United States

The institute looked only at cars from the most recent three model years as reported on AOL Autos, and all vehicles with state-of-the-art anti-theft technologies. The HLDI, based in Dallas, Texas, is a nonprofit research organization that publishes insurance loss statistics on most automobile, SUV, pickup truck, and motorcycle models on United States highways. Sponsored by the automobile insurance industry, HLDI database includes more than 150 million individual passenger vehicles, about 80 percent of all privately insured vehicles on the road. Here are the current top-10 most popular cars among thieves in the United States. 1. Cadillac Escalade, 10.8 per

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Geely, Ford announce final numbers in Volvo deal — $1.5 billion

The original price of $1.8 billion was agreed upon in March. The Chinese carmaker confirmed Stefan Jacoby, former head of Volkswagen AG’s U.S. operations, will be Volvo Cars’ chief executive, replacing Stephen Odell, who becomes chairman and CEO of Ford of Europe. Li Shufu, founder of Geely and new chairman of the board of Volvo Cars, and Ford Chief Financial Officer Lewis Booth signed the agreement in London. Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally expressed confidence in Volvo’s prospects, noting the carmaker had returned to profit after a restructuring. “The sale of Volvo will allow us to sharpen our focus on

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Concours on the Avenue in Carmel canceled for 2010

Concours on the Avenue, the free, hip and arguably most enjoyable component of Monterey Auto Week, has been canceled this year due to what owners call an “insurmountable financial gap.” “It’s suspended for 2010, but we have every hope that the momentum that we lose can somehow be regained,” said Doug Friedman who ran the show with his wife. “We’re eternally optimistic, even at this tough moment. We have to look to the future. I’ve never given up on anything, so we won’t give up on Concours on the Avenue and Carmel deserving its own signature moment.” Held for the

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Acura ZDX, 2010: Roman Mica Reports (Text and Video)

Roman Mica, contributing editor to TheWeeklyDriver.com, compares the new offering to a BMW. But he also questions the vehicle’s practicality while simultaneously appreciating its performance. Here’s Mica’s text and video review: Perhaps the closest competitor to the ZDX is BMW‘s X6. BMW took the DNA of a SUV/Crossover and spliced it together with a 4-door coupe to create the X6 and a new kind of car. Acura has done basically the same thing, but the approach is much subtle. While the BMW engineers took a sledge hammer approach to performance, Acura takes a scalpel with its super handling all-wheel-drive. And

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Chevrolet announces Volt production increase for 2012 as President Barack Obama tours Detroit plant

The Volt has attracted vast attention since its introduction at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show. Touting a total range of 340 miles, the Volt can travel 40 miles on the power of its 16 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery. When the battery’s power runs low, a gasoline-powered engine generates power that extends the range another 300 miles. The Nissan Leaf, which will make its debut late in tis year, has a larger battery with more than double the Volt’s pure-electric range. But it does not have a generator to extend its range. The expanded U.S. production capacity is the latest of several

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Nissan Leaf will offer same battery warranty as Chevy Volt

The pending battle between the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt has intensified with the announcement Nissan will match GM and offer an 8-year/100k miles warranty on the battery pack of its LEAF electric car. The MSRP for the LEAF starts at $32,780; the full Federal tax credit of $7,500 brings that down to $25,280. In California, the LEAF is eligible for an up to $5,000 CVRP rebate, bringing the price down to close to $20,000. The LEAF will debut in December in California, Arizona, Oregon, Washington and Tennessee. In January 2011 , LEAF will debut in Texas and Hawaii. The

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