News Service

Geely expands, signs exclusivity deal with Saudi Arabia

Haji Husein Alireza and Co. Ltd. (HHA) has launched China’s Geely & Geely Emgrand cars in Saudi Arabia as the manufacturer's exclusive dealer following the the initial agreementat completed the recent Shanghai International Auto Show in China. "We have put our capabilities and vast experience in our quest to get the dealership of Geely & Emgrand cars for Saudi Arabia after we conducted an in-depth study to show the demand for and future of this brand in our local market,” Ali Alireza MD, HHA, said at the recent launch event, which was attended by senior executives of the two companies in Jeddah. "We have succeeded in our quest and become the exclusive dealer for this important brand in Saudi Arabia,"

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Sly Stone now among the everyday homeless people

Plenty of rock musicians and movie stars are known for the passions for cars. But not too many celebrities get attention for living in their vehicles. Re-meet funk icon Sly Stone, the top-selling artist and former car buff who’s now living in a van in a rough Los Angeles neighborhood. Stone, with the ensemble he put together called The Family Stone, had numerous hits beginning in 1968 with “Dance to the Music,” followed by “Everyday People,” “Family Affair,” “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” and “Stand!” Like other celebrities, he loved cars. According to several media accounts, he once drove a Jaguar XKE he painted purple. And he had Hummers, a London taxi and a Studebaker he still owns.

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Rare Ferrari with seven miles on engine on sale on eBay

A 2004 Ferrari FXX Evolution, one of only 17 in the world and with only seven original miles has less than three days of auction time left on eBay According to the listing, the Ferrari had has been maintained in a collection since delivery. It was upgraded to Evolutionin the Fall of 2010 by Ferrari’s Corse Clienti department and returned to the collection where it sits. The FXX uses some technology developed from the Enzo, and combines it with some new developments from Ferrari and its suppliers. Ferrari has built 30, adding one special edition to the 29 that were originally planned. The original 29 have all been sold to pre-selected past Ferrari customers. The 30th was retained by Ferrari

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World Fastest Car: It's a show, It's mobile, It's on eBay

World's Fastest Car Show, an original video series for its website and mobile application, has been announced as the first originally produced media content for eBay Motors. Hosted by Justin Bell, the former 24 Hours of Le Mans winner and FIA GT2 World Champion, the series chronicles the fast-paced automotive lifestyle, designed to engage automotive enthusiasts through both the web and mobile platforms. There will be two versions of each weekly episode, one produced for the eBay Motors mobile application, and the other produced for the eBay Motors website. Episodes will feature segments such as automotive adventures, celebrity interviews and car collections, road trips, and a Mystery Car segment where viewers will be given clues to a car, the identity

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Volkswagen Beetle, 2012: High fives and hand claps

Volkswagen isn't the first manufacturer to make clever television commercials. But the new spot for the 2012 Beetle is among the best. It's simultaneously hip and ideally deals a recent prevailing trend that Beetle are only purchased by women. The video features a male driver driving in various situations around town. No matter where he drives, people want to "high five" or do "knuckles." The commercial is shot to the ""The Clapping Song." It was originally recorded by Shirley Ellis in 1965, shortly after she hit it big with a similar song, "The Name Game". The Clapping Song song made it to the top ten on the charts. Here a synopsis of the lyrics: "Three, six, nine The goose drank

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Subaru recalls 400,000 cars, rust issues

Subaru is recalling more than 400,000 vehicles, including Impreza, Forester, Legacy and Outback models sold or registered in 20 states to replace potentially rusty brackets on the underside of the vehicles. The recall covers the 2002-2007 Impreza and 2003-2008 Forester because of front lower control arms broken at hanger brackets due to corrosion caused by road salt. The second recall covers 195,000 2010-2011 Legacy and Outback to replace the windshield wiper bottom cover, which could catch fire or stop working. Subaru said it received a complaint of smoke from a wiper motor in January and began an investigation. Owners will be notified by November. Dealers will inspect the front lower control arms and will rust-proof them or replace them with

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Toyota Camry 2012 set for early dealer debut

Two weeks earlier than expected, the Toyota Camry 2012 is expected to arrive at dealerships in mid-September, according to the manufacturer. The Japanese manufacturer with a new plant in Georgetown, Kentucky, said the advance sales of the top-selling Camry is feasible because the "sell-down of the 2011 Camry is going extremely well." In its monthly sales meeting, Toyota reported selling 30,185 2011 Camry models in August compared with 30,764 in August 2010, a drop of 5.7 percent. Jeff Bracken, vice president of sales for Toyota's U.S. division, said North American production of Toyota models will return to normal levels in September, for the first time since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. With most of Toyota's North American

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Jeff Gordon edges Jimmie Johnson in Atlanta NASCAR

Delayed two days by inclement weather, Jeff Gordon claimed the AdvoCare 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway over teammate Jimmie Johnson on Tuesday (Aug. 6) by about a half-second. Despite continued poor weather conditions — the event was red flagged for weather with 115 laps to go and laps were ran under caution a couple of other times because of a light mist — Gordon talllied his 85th-career win to assume sole possession of third on the all-time win list. Tony Stewart was third, Kurt Busch fourth and Carl Edwards fifth. Gordon took the lead on lap 44 of the 325-lap race, and dominated much of the rest of the way. ResultsLap length: 1.54 miles(Start position

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Nissan signs on as cycling title sponsor for 2012

Automobile manufacturers involved in cycling are nothing new. But Nissan will be first and currenly only carmaker title sponsor among the top-level World Tour team in 2012 with the announcement Monday that the Japanese carmaker will be part of the newly named RadioShack-Nissan-Trek Professional Cycling Team. The squad represents the merger of the current Leopard-Trek squad and the Team RadioShack squad. The latter is partially owned by Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France winner who competed for the squad in 2010 and for one race this season before retiring in January at the Tour Down Under in Australia. The team will hold a license in Luxembourg, with marketing operated out of Austin, Texas, by CSE Pro Cycling LLC. All

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Honda recalls 962,000 Fit, CR-V models globally

Honda is recalling more than 950,000 vehicles worldwide including the Fit, Fit Aria, CR-V and CR-V hybrids because of faulty power windows and computer systems that could melt and and prompt fires. Honda will recall 936,000 units combined of the Fit subcompact, CR-V crossover and Fit Aria in North America, Asia, Europe and Africa totaling 936,000 units. The recall of the CR-Z totals 26,000 vehicles or an overall total of 962,000. The recall covers Fit vehicles produced in Japan from October 2005 to October 2009. The cars were shipped to China and other Asian countries. The CR-Vs affected are from the 2006 model year. In August, Honda recalled 2.3 million cars to fix malfunctioning transmissions. Honda says the current recall

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Acura TSX Sport Wagon, 2011 car review

The 2011 Acura TSX Sport Wagon is new to the luxury segment of Honda. The manufacturer has added versatility to its lineup, with a sleek new design, and more interior space — cargo areas to storage bins. The manufacturer hopes to offer an alternative to the more expensive wagon options from Audi and BMW. The Sport Wagon is equipped with the TSX 201-horsepower, 2.4-liter inline 4-cylinder engine and a five-speed automatic transmission. And it’s a limited supply offering for a debut vehicle; Acura will produce only 4,000 units in North America. The Weekly Driver Test Drive As a new design, the Acura TSX Sport Wagon drew immediate attention. The guys who checked me out of the car agency at the

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Cadillac: Once most prestigious, now most stolen

Four Cadillac Escalade models combined share the dubious honor with numerous pick-ups trucks as the vehicles in the United States with the most and most expensive theft claims during the past three years, according to the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI). The group’s latest study shows Escalades combine to have the most theft claims and the highest average amount ($114) per theft. That’s 10 times more than the average amount lost per car. According to HLDI, the theft data in compiled from insurance companies representing about 80 percent of all privately owned vehicles. Pickup trucks, including the Escalade EXT, had higher dollar amounts of theft loss ($24), compared with SUVs ($12) and cars ($9). The HLDI suggests it’s because fewer

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Audi, Kia most cost efficient brands says Kelley Blue Book

It’s not often Audi and Kia are mentioned in the same discussion. But the high-end Toyota division and the Korean economy manufacturer both offer the best value for owners during a five-year time frame At least that’s the determination of Kelley Blue Book, the vehicle assessment company. Based on such factors as depreciation, expected fuel costs, insurance, maintenance and repair costs and state fees, Audi is the most cost efficient luxury brand, while Kia is the most cost efficient economy manufacturer. Among the top-three luxury brands, Audi is the least expensive with a total five-year cost of ownership of $68,866. The Audi A3 2.0T and A4 2.0T sedan models, with low depreciation and great fuel economy, helped position the manufacturer

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Cadillac unveils Ciel concept luxury convertible

Cadillac has debuted its Ciel concept car, a convertible luxury and king-sized sedan reminiscent of the manufacturer’s previous iconic convertibles, the Eldorado and DeVille. General Motors said the Ciel will provide direct competitor to the BMW 7 Series, Mercedes Benz S Class and Audi A8 — the three German stalwarts. The new Cadillac will have a 3.6-liter turbo-charged V6 engine, but it’s also a hybrid that partially runs via rear-mounted  lithium ion-powered battery in the rear. 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

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President Obama campaigning on a 'magic' $1.1 million bus

The monolithic bus that transported President Barack Obama through Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois for three days as one of two purchased for the Secret Service, cost an estimated $1.1 million and was built by Prevost based in Quebec, Canada. The New York Post provided the details. The top-of-the-line bus is the VIP H3-45, the same model used by many rock bands and country music acts and owned by Kid Rock, David Lee Roth and Kenny Rogers. Like the presidential limousine, made by General Motors and nicknamed “The Beast,” the bus carrying the President has armored doors. Inside is a large, flat-screen TV, chairs, sofas and electronic equipment that allows the President to teleconference around the globe. The bus is also

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2012 Fiat 500 and 500 convertible Gucci editions to be available by December 2011

Fiat announced it will be launching 2012 Gucci editions of the Fiat 500 and the 500 convertible toward the end of this year. The Gucci editions have colorful interiors and the will come with Gucci collections featuring track suits, sunglasses, a watch and other travel accessories. The cars will be officially launched at the New York Fashion week on September 8th. The new Fiat cars will be made available in North America by December 2011. The 2012 Fiat 500 will feature a 101-horsepower, 1.4-liter FIAT MultiAir engine with a 5-speed manual or 6-speed automatic transmissions. The car will have 16-inch alloy wheels with sports tuned suspension. James RaiaA sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has

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