Ferrari set to unveil new F1 car, team live via team's webcast

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Alonso, the former two-time world titlist, is switching this season to Ferrari from Renault. The presentation is scheduled for 9:30 (GMT). Alonso will be joined by Felipe Massa, Luca Badoer and Giancarlo Fischella and other key personnel are part of the naming of the new vehicle. If weather is cooperative at the Ferrari Fiorano test track, the new team hopes to use the new car for a promotional video. Ferrari has launched its new car online every year since 1996. The webcast lauch will available in Italian, English and Japanese, according to web site information. To view the Ferrari launch,

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Toyota recall: CBS details Camry, Corolla and siblings production halt with dramatic video

The video features anchor desk and field correspondent reports and footage of two prominent accidents involving Toyota vehicles. James RaiaA sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004. In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., and monthly auto review and wellness columns for Gulfshore Business, a magazine in Southwest Florida. An author and contributor to many newspapers, magazines and online publications, co-hosted The Weekly Driver

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Toyota recall: Safety research firm reports 275 crashes, 18 deaths in 11 years from faulty acceleration in suspended models

USA Today reported in its January 28 edition, that Safety Research and Strategies, a Massachusetts-based safety research firm, said it has found 2,274 incidents of sudden unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles causing 275 crashes and at least 18 fatalities since 1999. Toyota‘s most recent problems became public last September. In a statement, Toyota disclosed it had investigated isolated reports of sticking accelerator pedal mechanisms in some models without the presence of floor mats. “There is a possibility that certain accelerator pedal mechanisms may, in rare instances, mechanically stick in a partly depressed position or return slowly to the idle position,”

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Toyota recall: Tips for owners of Camry, Corolla, Matrix, other suspended cars

When the sale and production of the Toyota Corolla, the biggest selling car in history, and the Toyota Camry, the top-selling passenger in the United Sates the past seven years, comes to a sudden halt, something is obviously wrong Toyota Motor Co., confronted the problem with a sudden and unprecedented announcement. Sales of several years of the Corolla and Camry models as well as six other Toyota models have ceased. Likewise, a temporary production halt of the same eight models from numerous North American production plants has been announced. The models which will no longer be sold and which will

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Toyota recall: Camry, Corolla, Matrix among eight models suspended

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Toyota Motor Corp., has announced it will suspend the sale and production of eight models, including the top-selling Camry, at production plants throughout the United States and Canada. The halt, which will begin in the first week of February, comes in the aftermath last week of the second recall of various Toyota models with potentially faulty accelerator pedals. The Camry has been Toyota‘s top-selling vehicle every year since 2007.  The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car in automotive history. The suspension and production halt also includes: RAV4, Corolla and Matrix (2009-2010); Sequoia (2008-2010); Tundra (2007-2010); Avalon (2005-2010); Highlander (2010). Production

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Spyker buys Saab in last-minute deal from GM for a reported $400 million

Saab owner General Motors announced the deal without financial details. Several Internet reports, without quoting sources, said the purchase price for Spyker was $400 million, with $74 million in cash. The remainder of the purchase is reportedly in deferred stock shares. Saab is seeking to borrow $564 million from the European Investment Bank, a loan that Sweden announced it will guarantee. Sweden said the EIB and European Commission were still reviewing the loan. Despite a loyal following appreciative of its distinctive style reminiscent of the Jets the manufacturer original made more than 50 years ago, the Swedish carmaker has failed

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2011 Ford Explorer: Revamped SUV plans helps manufacturer create 1,200 jobs in Chicago

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Providing another key example of the rebounding automotive industry, Ford Motor Company will create 1,200 jobs in its Chicago, Ill., plant to help facilitate the production later this year of the revamped 2011 Ford Explorer. “Tomorrow, in one day, we’re going to get 1,200 new jobs for Illinois,” Illinois Governor Pat Quinn told the Associated Press. According to several news reports, Ford wants the new Explorer to become “greener.” The fuel economy of the Explorer will increase and CO2 emissions should be reduced by as much as 25 percent. The Explorer is an integral part of Ford’s lineup. But it’s

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Maybach mistake: Sean P. Diddy Combs buys son $360,000 car, Haiti charity gets $10,000

It’s hard to understand what motivates a father to buy his son a $360,000 Maybach for his 16th birthday. But rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has few equals when it comes to extravagance and bad taste Combs gave his son Justin Dior a new Maybach during a lavish celebration last weekend. The occasion was filmed by MTV for the reality series My Super Sweet 16. The show is about teenagers’ over-the-top birthday celebrations. The birthday party also featured performances by the rapper’s friends Fabolous, Lil Kim and Juelz Santana. In addition to the Maybach, Combs gave his son a check for

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Mattel will debut a Hot Wheels first — pocket-sized Stealth Riders

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“Containing a fully functioning vehicle . . . kids can play anywhere, anytime,” said Geoff Walker, senior vice president with Mattel Brands, in an interview on www.CNNMoney.com  “The vehicles provide a unique and cool level of play experience that was not previously possible.” According to the report, the new Hot Wheels model is the size of a credit card and has about the thickness of a cell phone. But it’s also 3D operates, and the features works with the push of a button. When the button is engaged, the flat car expands into a remote-controlled vehicle. The Stealth Riders model

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Tesla Motors receives $465 million DOE government loan

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The Palo Alto facility will assemble electric vehicle battery packs, electric motors, and related electric vehicle control equipment, both for Tesla’s own electric vehicles and for sale to other automobile manufacturers. The agreement was negotiated and signed by the Department’s Loan Programs Office, which supports the development of innovative, advanced vehicle technologies to create thousands of clean energy jobs while helping reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil. Tesla’s planned Model S will consume no gasoline and will not produce any tailpipe emissions. It is being designed to offer a variety of range options depending on the battery pack used,

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Chevrolet showcasing Cruze, Aveo, Spark at Washington Auto Show

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Here are the cars’ details: Chevrolet Spark: The five-door Chevrolet Spark is the manufacturer’s smallest car. It combines style, roominess and versatility to a segment of extremely fuel-efficient small cars. Spark will provide great fuel economy, and its trim size makes it agile. The U.S. production version of the Spark will debut in early 2012. Chevrolet Aveo RS show car: The Aveo RS show car provides a glimpse of what designers have in mind for the production car. Its electric Boracay Blue finish, motorcycle-inspired exposed headlamps and taillamps, low roofline, fender flares, large wheels and tires, and dual-cockpit interior hint

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Chevrolet expands Volt initial debut distribution to Washington, D.C.

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On the eve of the Washington Auto Show, Chevrolet said it will deliver more than 100 Volts to several utilities across the U.S. – including Pepco and Dominion, which serve Washington D.C. and its suburbs – as part of an extended demonstration program. The overall program includes 500 charging stations that will be installed for residential, business and public use. They will be used to learn more about the installation process, vehicle charging and to gauge customer feedback. The program is made possible with a grant of more than $30 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds from the

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Lexus RX 350, 2010: Roman Mica's Rambling Review (Video)

But instead of mining for gold, town’s folks now make their money selling coffee and homespun desserts. So what kind of a car is best suited for visiting a striving, hidden gold mining town like Gold Hill, Colorado in the high valleys of the Rocky Mountains? Usually. the new Lexus RX 350 is mostly seen in the low parking lots of America’s malls. But how well does this king of crossovers do when it has to tackle the steep icy and snow-cover roads of Colorado high country? Roman Mica, a contributing editor to TheWeeklyDriver.com shows and tells us in his

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AMC Pacer gets dubious honor: ugliest car ever built

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What’s the ugliest car ever made? It’s all subjective, of course. But more than 2,000 specialty car collectors were recently asked to select the choices for the dubious honor. And the winner (loser?), at least according to one national poll, is the AMC Pacer. Hagerty Insurance, located in Traverse City, Mich., conducted the survey. It tallied nearly 2,500 votes and the Pacer, a small hatchback that was introduced in 1975, was one of three AMC vehicles on the list. The Pacer only lasted until 1980, but it’s not alone among AMC vehicles receiving ugly awards. The AMC Gremlin and Matador

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Honda, Lamborghini selected as cleanest, dirtiest cars by 'Green' environmental non-profit agency

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A Washington, D.C.-based, non-profit research group, Greenercars.org, is dedicated to advancing energy efficiency as a means of protecting the environment and strengthening the economy. The clean and dirtiest designation are part of ACEEE’s Green Book, a unique consumer resource website providing Green Scores rating the environmental friendliness of every vehicle on market. ACEEE, ranked the cars by their gas mileage  and assigned the cars a green car score. Here are the top-three in the best and worst categories: Cleanest — Honda Civic GX, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid; Dirtiest — Lamborghini Murcielago/Murcielago Roadster, Bugatti Roadster, Bentley Azure/Brooklands. To read the

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Lamborghini gets dubious honor: least efficient EPA gas mileage averages in 2010

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The Italian luxury car has two of the country’s three most inefficient 2010  cars. The Lamborghini Murcielago with manual and automatic transmission have the top and third worst gas mileage, according to the new cars guide released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Here’s the list: 1. Lamborghini Murcielago (manual) 8 mpg (city), 13 mpg (highway); 2. Bugatti Veyron 8/14; 3. Lamborghini Murcielago (automatic) 9/14; 4. Bentley Azure Bentley Brooklands 9/15; 5. Ferrari 612 Scaglietti (automatic) 10/17; 6. Ferrari 612 Scaglietti (manual) 10/16; 7. Maybach 57 10/15; 8. Bentley Continental Flying Spur Bentley Continental GTC 10/17; 9. Mercedes-Benz ML 63

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