Porsche Panamera

Yesterday in Berlin, the supervisory board of Porsche Automobil Holding signed off on creating a smaller and more affordable sport utility vehicle which will most likely target young drivers that are not able to afford the more expensive Cayenne model, which is at the moment the best-selling car manufactured by Porsche, especially in China.

Bernhard Maier, the head of sales & marketing for Porsche, said at the beginning of this month that the options are to create the Cajun in-house, use a partner or share a platform with another VW Group brand. He did not mentioned if the new smaller SUV will begin production in 2013 nor that it will have the same platform and some components with the Audi Q5. He said that by developing this new car it will be a solid way for Porsche to increase annual revenues and "follow the growth plan of the company."

The CEO of the VW Group, Martin Winterkom, hopes that the Porsche sales will double to about 150,000 units in the next three years and further increase the cooperation between Volkswagen and Porsche. He said on Monday that Porsche will start making future platforms for the VW Group luxury sedans and sports cars. Juergen Pieper, who is an analyst for Bankhaus Metzler stated that "Porsche has its ambitious agenda clearly cut out. Access to VW's vast technology may help them pursue their growth goals."

Last week, Porsche announced that it will be investing $197 million (150 million euros) in order to upgrade its research center located near Stuttgart so that the company will offer in the near future 38 models across four vehicle lines. Porsche sold last year 81,850 units, including the Panamera sedan (priced at 75,900 euros) and the Cayenne ($72,635), which is 8.8% more than 2008.

Porsche Panamera

On Monday, Porsche reported a net income of 155 million euros for the first-quarter, in comparison to the similar period of last year when they lost 431 million euros. Porsche is in the process of merging with Volkswagen, who is Europe's largest automaker. VW acquired 49.9% of Porsche AG; after the sports car manufacturer failed in an attempt of a hostile overtake of VW.

Today, Porsche will inquire shareholders to accept a capital increase of approximately 5 billion euros in the first half of 2011, with the automaker's controlling shareholders and the Porsche & Piech families, contributing about 2.5 billion euros.

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Porsche Considering A Smaller And Affordable SUV

Usually, when talking about skateboard, the last thing you think about is that they have absolutely no connection to cars. But not when we’re talking about a 630 hp V8 engine strapped to a huge skateboard! This was built by a crew from V8 Supercars and will be a gift to Tony Hawk, the famous skateboarded, which will be attending the Telstra 500 V8 Supercar race next weekend in Sydney, Australia. With Tony only having a throttle and a panic button, you’d think that Aussies are trying to kill him, but our guess is that this is crazy, but sounds like a lot of fun. Enjoy!

One more video after the jump. Check out that sound!

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Tony Hawk to ride 630 hp skateboard

Nissan Leaf

The Nissan Leaf is probably one of the most interesting cars of the year and opens a new era for electric automobiles thanks to its 99 mpg EPA ratings. Here are 10 interesting facts (courtesy of PopularMechanics.com) about the car, some of them you might know while others are new to you.

1. It is made from recycled water bottles – 60% of the plastic used for the interior is made out of recycled material. Most of it comes from water bottles and after the lifespan of the car ends, the vehicle's weight which is 3375 pounds is recyclable and can be used to make other Leafs or water bottles.
2. 100,000 miles warranty for the batteries – we all know that batteries are not what we would expect them to be after years of developing, but the Leaf has lithium-ion units that have a 100,000 mile / 8 year warranty. According to the estimates made by the engineers at Nissan, after using the Leaf for 10 years, the batteries will most likely maintain 70-80% of their capacity. Thanks to the fact that lithium will not chemically change while using the car, the batteries of the Leaf are also recyclable, just like the car.
3. Leaf's headlights make it quieter – first of all, the LED headlights are 50% more power efficient in comparison to halogens. What is more interesting is that their winged form will direct the air away from the side mirrors which will reduce the level of the interior noise. The car is known to be more quiet even then premium luxury cars.
4. Batteries Charge 80% in 30 minutes – the battery only needs 8 hours to be charged at a 220-volt outlet, and 16 hours at a 110 one. By using a 3-phase, quick-charging station, the Leaf's lithium-ion batteries can reach 80% charging level in half an hour.
5. Leaf can communicate with the driver – with the help of an E-mail-based system that is able to manage the charging system of the car, the Leaf can text info about the battery level to its owner. What it will do is to notify the owner when the batteries are charged, and at which point the driver can manage the AC system so that the interior of the car can reach the desired temperature level, before he gets inside of it. If the charging is interrupted, the driver will be notified via SMS.
6. The navigation system is able to show your reachable area in real time – the Nissan Leaf comes standard with a navigation system that is capable of displaying the range in a graphic form, with a intuitive halo around the car's current location, providing a real-time visual estimate of how much farther the driver of the car can go before he runs out of batteries. This can be done as the Leaf's navigation system constantly communicates with Nissan's databases by using satellite networks and is capable of displaying on the screen which nearby charging stations are available.
7. Top speed of 95 mph – although it is a small-sized electric car, the Leaf is able to reach a top speed of 95 mph.
8. The car offers driving tips – the energy menu of the Nissan Leaf can advise the driver to shut down the climate control under certain circumstances. This will allow more efficient energy consumption for the Leaf.
9. $0.03 operating cost per mile – a conventional car that has a combustion engine that does 25 mpg will need about $1,800 in gasoline (for a $3 / gallon price tag) over a year of driving (15,000 miles), which doing the math works out to about $0.12 / mile. A useful innovation of the Leaf is that it can be pre-programmed to start charging during the wee hours (when the off-peak electric rates are active). For a $0.11 / kwh, The Nissan Leaf costs about $0.026 / mile to drive, or about $396 for 15,000 miles, which is about $1.400 less in comparison to a combustion engine powered cars.
10. Its affordable too – the Nissan Leaf has a base price of $25.280, after the significant $7,500 federal rebate, which means that it is cheaper in comparison with the average new car sold in the United States. In addition, there are some states in USA that will offer extra incentives, like California – $5,000 or Colorado – $6,000. More than that, if the costumer of the Leaf wants to get a $2,200 charging station, the government will give him a $2,000 tax credit. In a year, Nissan is hoping that there will be 12,000 public charging stations in the United States.

Nissan Leaf

Source: PopularMechanics.com

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10 Facts About The Nissan Leaf

2012 BMW 1-Series M Coupe

The BMW Coupe is considered by many one of the most controversial cars ever designed by the German manufacturer. Many people saw it as a wagon-like version of the Z3 and Z4 convertibles from BMW that always attracted our attention. Production ended in 2008 and now it is about to return with a brand new iteration. The car will be officially unveiled at the Detroit Motor Show, but folks over at PopularMechanics.com had the pleasure of spending a couple of hours with the 2012 1-Series M Coupe.

The most correct way to simply describe this new model is by looking at it as a current generation M3 driveline car that does not have the powerful V8 engine. Instead, it comes with a twin-turbo 3.0-liter N54 inline six-cylinder that was borrowed from the BMW Z4 sDrive35is. The engine is capable of outputting 335 hp and a maximum torque of 332 lb. ft. The final version of the car might have an updated engine that could produce 350 hp or even more. It would be very good if a car of only 3300 lbs (190 lbs less than the M3) could come with such power. The engine will be most likely linked to a 6-speed manual transmission. Rumors regarding the choice of a DSG gearbox are at the moment false, at least for the first year of production.

As far as the exterior looks are concerned, the 2012 BMW 1-Series M Coupe will come with a new fascia that will direct the air towards the intercooler, the main radiator as well as the auxiliary coolers. In the back of the car, a small lip was added above the spoiler with the main purpose of improving aerodynamics.

2012 BMW 1-Series M Coupe

Although from the pictures you will notice that the car is wearing camouflage, the 2012 model is certainly wider than the standard model. The car is in fact 3.14 inches (80 mm) wider, giving it a more aggressive look. BMW did not use carbon fiber materials for this model because it would have made the car more expensive, plus the weight reduction would not have been very significant to the overall performances of the car.

The car will feature an M3 suspension (multilink rear, strut front), M3-spec drilled rotors, M3's M Variable Differential Lock rear differential, 19-inch rims inspired by the M3 Competition Package and covered by P265/35ZR19R for the rear wheels and P245/35ZR19R for the front ones.

The engine performances of the car should allow it to reach 60 mph from 0 in about 5 seconds or less. The top speed will most likely be electronically limited to 155 mph. The guys that were lucky enough to drive it said that the Servotronic steering is very good for a car that does not have everything controlled by the computer. The suspension of the 1-Series M Coupe has fixed dampers and steel springs. The car will come with quad tail pipes which will give it the traditional M look of a BMW.

Source: PopularMechanics.com

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Preview – 2012 BMW 1-Series M Coupe

2011 Volkswagen Passat

According to the officials at Volkswagen AG, the company sales grew twice as fast in comparison with the worldwide auto market in October 2010. This sales rise is mostly because of the increased orders for the VW and Audi cars in China and the United States. In the future, VW is hoping to surpass Toyota as the largest automobile manufacturer in the world.

In comparison to 2009, deliveries went up by 9.8% for the VW Group cars which include Seat, Lamborghini, Bentley and Skoda. VW Group sold 612,200 cars, light commercial vehicles and SUVs last month, surpassing the industry's 4.5%, according to a statement made on Friday by the officials over at Volkswagen.

Adding approximately 70 models plus updated configurations of the current lineup of automobiles, VW is hoping for a consecutive second year of record sales. VW's sales chief Christian Klinger stated on September 30^th that the company is able to achieve the 10 million cars per year, before the 2018 target date. From January – October, VW sales grew by 12% to 5.98 million cars sold worldwide. Klinger said that VW will most likely increase its global share in the upcoming months.

2011 Volkswagen Passat

VW's preferred shares grew by 1.2% (1.35 euros), to 111.95 euros and traded at 111.90 euros two weeks ago. The 71% stock increase allowed VW to reach a value of $66 billion (48.4 billion euros).

Volkswagen's targets for expansion are based in China, where the company will be opening two new factories in order to double its annual production in its largest car market to 3 million units in the next 4 years. VW Group will be investing in the near future $8.2 billion (6 billion euros) for developing new models and construction. In China, VW's sales went up by 38%, reaching 1.65 million units.

Regarding United States, the VW sales went up by 21% in the first ten months of the year, reaching 295,900 cars. The company will resume production in USA in the future by opening a unit in Chattanooga, Tennesse.

VW sold 12% more cars and SUVs this year, reaching 3.78 million units. Seat was able to sell 285,200 cars while Skoda reached a sales figure of 69,200, a 5.5% increase in comparison to the similar period of last year. Audi also increased its sales by 16%, reaching 916,900 units. VW's commercial-van sales increased 17%, up to 349,000 units, especially because of the growth in the South American market.

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VW Posts Positive October Sales Figures

Geely Gleagle GS

China is the fastest growing automobile industry and by 2020 it could double the current production capacity. Anything above this level will most likely cause swamping the market with excess supply, according to the CEO of global parts supplier BorgWarner. He estimates that the annual car production in China by 2020 will reach 30 million units. In 2009, for the very first time the Chinese auto market surpassed the North American one, selling 13.6 million cars.

Other forecasters are approximating that by 2020 China will be producing 40 million cars annually, but there is a possibility that this number will not be covered by requests, according to Timothy Manganello, CEO at BorgWarner. If this happens, most likely the Chinese manufacturers will try to sell this surplus to the European market or in Asia or North America. If this situation will occur, it would most likely cause pressure pricing and expose areas of costly excess capacity for the other car manufacturers.

Manganello said that this surplus of cars will create a perfect storm between Europe and North America as China will try to export these cars everywhere they can sell them. "It’s going to create a fairly unique tension within the global auto industry. Even the Chinese (automakers) say if they end up with 40 million units of capacity, they don’t know if they can sell 40 million units inside China."

Geely Gleagle GS

According to him, although there are serious risks of producing more than necessary in China, in the near-term future, China will ride on the wave of the growth and see what the future will hold for the manufacturers. There is a possibility that BorgWarner might purchase a company in China in order to expand its powertrain offerings or to make cars in China that will not be available in North America or Europe.

Manganello affirmed that all Chinese carmakers are looking to expand in the local market and at the same time, increase global share. The key factor for the cars manufactured in China is quality and it could dictate if they will or will not have success in other regions of the world. He added that a good way to start earning international reputation would be to introduce cars in Africa or other underdeveloped countries of the world. "That’s probably where you’re going to see them penetrate first. It’s a lot easier, the standards are lower, the government regulations are less strict if any at all."

The BorgWarner company works very close with the Chinese car manufacturers to help them improve their technology, similar to other United States-based suppliers. Approximately 7% of the revenue comes from China. The company is the leading supplier of turbochargers as well as other transmission and engine parts. The company's largest clients are Toyota Motor Corporation, Ford Motor Corporation and Volkswagen AG.

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China – Possible Future Excess Supply

Mercedes E Classe

It looks like the employees over at BMW and Mercedes will have less time away from work, because the demands for new models is increasing, which means that the company will have to maintain the manufacturing numbers in order to keep up with this growing demand.

The BMW factories in Leipzig and Dingolfing will be rolling out cars over the holidays, in comparison to the three week break that they took in 2009 when sales were very bad. The Dingolfing factory unit is the place where the new generation of the 5-series sedan is produced. At the Leipzig, BMW is making the X1 crossover, which is a hit in terms of sales, ever since it was introduced in 2009.

Also working on the holidays is the Mercedes factory in Hamburg, where the supply various parts for the E-Class and S-Class sedans.

The request for luxury cars is recuperating after the financial and economical crisis, especially in the United States and in China where the economy is booming. Both Mercedes and BMW are aiming towards a 10% increase in sales this year. Audi, who is the luxury unit of Volkswagen AG, is planning on adding extra shifts in December in order to keep up with the increasing number of orders.

According to Juergen Pieper, who is an analyst with Bankhaus Metzler, "this is the first strong signal that the boom over the last few months can continue into next year". Himanshu Patel, who is an analyst at JP Morgan Securities LLC, based in New York, recently told Monday in a report about Johnson Controls Inc. that this shortened holiday for the employees over at BMW and Mercedes means that the German luxury carmakers are gaining back the share they have lost in the last 2-3 years. Patel wrote in the report that JCI generates approximately 50% of its auto-parts revenue in Europe, where the automobile production in the last quarter of 2010 will be even higher than what analysts predicted.

This increasing demand for luxury vehicles allows the investment banks to reward workers with various promotions as they recover from the last 2-3 years of economical and financial halt. Goldman Sachs Group, which is the most profitable securities company in all Wall Street history, promoted many employees to managing director, increasing their salary and status. The world's largest luxury-car market is in the United States.

BMW 7-Series

BMW, besides its own cars, is manufacturing Rolls Royce and Mini models; and increased its sells throughout the entire world by 13%, reaching 1.19 million until October. Mercedes and Smart sales went up by 12%, reaching 1.04 million in the same period.

BMW is manufacturing the 5, 6 and 7-Series at the Dingolfing factory which is the company's largest unit. In Leipzig, BMW is producing the X1 model which was introduced last year, as well as the 1-Series compact.

According to Michael Rebstock, who is a spokesman at BMW, "production capacity is the limiting factor at the moment. We are producing as much as we can and are happy for every additional shift we can get."

Rebstock also said that some of the BMW production plants will stop production around Christmas and New Year's holidays in order to carry out the necessary maintenance and to restock the supplies. They are hoping to keep the breaks as short as possible, in comparison to last year when they prolonged the breaks.

According to Nicole Kicherer, who is a spokeswoman for Daimler in Stuttgart, Germany; the Hamburg plant will remain in operation through the holidays. The plant is manufacturing steering columns, axles and exhaust systems. Nicole said that most of the automobile factories will stop the production between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day, which in comparison to last year, would be one to two weeks shorter.

Porsche AG has no such plants of shortening the Christmas break. The Audi plants in Neckarsulm and Ingolstadt will be closed between December 23^rd and January 7^th for performing the end-of-year maintenance routines, according to Audi's spokesman for the works council, Ralf Matters. He also said that although the Christmas break will not be shortened, Audi will add shifts on Saturday and overnight from Sundays to Mondays in December in order "to cope with record orders". At the Brussels plant where Audi makes the A1 compact, production will be resumed on January 3^rd.

Porsche's spokesman Heiner von der Laden recently said that the plant in Zuffenhausen will be closed from December 24^th to 31^st. The Leipzig assembly plant where the Panamera sedan and the Cayenne sport utility vehicles are assembled will be closed from December 24^th to January 9^th. Porsche has no plans of adding shifts to increase production.

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BMW & Mercedes – Will Shorten Christmas Breaks Due To Increasing Demand

Jaguar XJ Sedan

It seems that Tata Motors will be opening up 10 new Jaguar Land Rover luxury car brand dealerships in India, in order to increase sales in Asia's second fastest growing major economy. Tata will be opening dealerships in the large Indian cities like New Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad, according to what Rohit Suri (India's head of the Tata Motors premier car division) said to the reporters of New Delhi Friday.

With this new decision to open 10 dealerships in India, Tata follows the trails of rivals BMW AG, VW AG's Audi division and Daimler AG, which also are looking into increasing their sales in India, a market that is expanding its needs for premium brands. The luxury goods and services market here is projected to triple by 2015, reaching $14.7 billion, according to a report published in October by the Confederation of Indian Industry and A.T. Kearney.

As far as the Daimler sales are concerned, they went up by 82%, reaching almost 3,000 vehicles between April and September, in comparison to the similar period of last year. BMW was able to sell 2,674 cars, which is 53% more than 2009. Audi also did good, managing to increase their sales by a healthy 62%. These figures were published by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.

Jaguar XJ Sedan

According to Suri, Jaguar Land Rover will start assembling the Land Rover units in Indian from mid 2011. The preparations of setting up the plant have already begun.

Forbes magazine states that the combined net worth of the 100 wealthiest people in India, reached $300 billion this year, a new record for India. This record is the equivalent of a quarter of the country's gross domestic product. Credit Suisse Group AG said that the Indian wealth assets will most likely double in the next five years, reaching $6.4 trillion, due to the reason that the economic growth will improve their ranks.

According to Wilfred Aulbur, who is the head of the Daimler India unit, affirmed in September that he hopes that Mercedes-Benz sales in India will be able to rival with the UK in the next 10 years due to the rising demand for expensive cars.

The Jaguar Land Rover sales allowed a 22.2 billion rupees income for Tata Motors. The sales went up by 43%, thanks to the increasing demand for the Jaguar XJ sedan request in China and the United States, a car that has a base price of $72,000.

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Tata Motors – Opening 10 Jaguar Land Rover Dealerships In India

Hyundai Genesis Sedan

A new manager of a Tustin Hyundai dealership in California managed to quadruple the dealerships' average monthly new car sales, reaching 85 cars sold / month. The reason why he acquired the Hyundai dealership is because he noticed that Hyundai's market share and sales increased in the laws two years. He also owns the Mazda dealerships nearby Huntington Beach and he stated that the Hyundai dealer that he acquired was underperforming in comparison to other dealerships were they sold cars in large quantities.

This success in terms of sales is replicated through the entire United States as 40 of the company's 803 stores in USA have new managers and this trend will rise in intensity in the next months. From September 1^st until now, 19 Hyundai dealerships have changed management.

Dave Zuchowski is America's sales chief for Hyundai Motor and he affirmed that the new owners are a very welcome trend to the once-bargain-basement brand, In the vast majority of the dealerships, the larger and more experienced dealers that have plenty of money, are taking out of their pockets high multiples in order to replace the owners that are managing underperforming dealerships. For example, the Penske Automotive Group recently acquired a low-volume Hyundai store located near Phoenix, in the first months of the year. According to Penske's spokesman Tony Pordon, "I think they are viewed as an attractive opportunity, whereas, four or five years ago you were unsure of the footprint the brand was going to garner."

The most important reason why the Hyundai franchises are more successful now than before is because the manufacturer has significantly increased his market share in the United States and added new models to their lineup, at the same time improving the current cars. Some of these new vehicles are now more expensive in comparison with what Hyundai had to offer in the past. Zuchowski also said that other major Hyundai dealership groups are doing the same thing; some examples would be AutoNation and Group 1 Automotive. Hendrick Automotive Group, who in 2009 was the 7^th largest auto retailer in the United States, bought its first Hyundai dealership in Charleston.

Mark Johnson is the president of MD Johnson Inc – a dealership buy/sell advisory company located in Seattle, and he said that the Hyundai dealerships are now more attractive for the major groups due to the reason that the updated product line permits the dealers to make good money on each new vehicle sale.

Hyundai has recently moved the top end of the product lineup upmarket with more expensive models like the Genesis Sedan ($30,000+) and the Equus luxury car that will be available for sale at a starting price of about $60,000. Hyundai also managed to improve its residual values and it was ranked as the 7^th mainstream manufacturer by ALG in its 2011 Residual Value Awards. This 7^th place is Hyundai's highest rank and well above the average of the industry.

Johnson affirmed that the dealership groups have had almost no interest in the Hyundai stores because the dealers relied on commercializing low-priced automobiles, well below invoice in order to boost volume enough so that they could get stair-step incentive cash as a primary means of profitability. He also said that "That model is something they [large dealers] wanted nothing to do with, And now basically what you’re seeing is, as Hyundai moves its product line up, you don’t have to run the store that way to be profitable."

Hyundai Genesis Sedan

Zuchowski affirmed that it is the company's overall strategy to buy-sell dealerships, in order to improve the dealership network across the United States so that the sales per store could increase significantly, reaching the highest levels in the industry.

Besides adding these high-powered dealers, the company is looking into improving its facilities at the existing stores in order to match these new cars that are considerably better than older generation models. Zuchowski stated that the existing 803 stores in the country are attracting more experienced managers and salespeople, many of them moving from more successful import brands like Toyota and Honda. Approximately 150 Hyundai dealerships will have facility improvements in the upcoming period.

The 21 stores that recently went under a new management sold about 25 cars per month in 2009 and thanks to this employment change, the figure went up to 48 automobiles per month, according to Zuchowski. Hyundai tells on a regular period to the worst-performing dealers to improve sales figures or let them find a buyer that might improve the situation. According to Zuchowski, Hyundai sometimes will pay money for advertising or financial incentives for upgrading the stores.

In 2009, Hyundai sold 435,064 cars in the United States, 8% more in comparison to 2008. This 8% increase is very important when taking into consideration the fact that the North American market fell by more than 20% in 2009. Until October this year, the sales went up again with 21% in comparison with 2009 and Hyundai was able to increase its market share to 4.7%, rising with 0.4 points.

Patterson had the possibility to purchase a Hyundai dealership back in 2003 but he said no as at that time, Mazda was very popular among customers. "Back in 2003, Mazda was overwhelmingly the first choice of those consumers. Hyundai’s name recognition in Orange County wasn’t as strong, but I think that the perception has certainly changed over the last two to three years."

Patterson opened his first Mazda dealership back in 2004, but paid close attention to what Hyundai was doing in Southern California. He later on purchased a local Hyundai store, renamed it Douglas Hyundai. It was an underachieving dealership, selling approximately 20 cars per year while others in the same area were able to sell more than 100 cars. The reason for this acquisition is that Hyundai is now more popular among consumers that are looking for a new product, and Hyundai is not the same old manufacturer that offered only cheap cars.

Source: AutoNews.com

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Hyundai Is Seeking Better Dealers

Mercedes SLS BRABUS WIDESTAR Wide Version

The famous German tuner Brabus has recently announced the BRABUS WIDESTAR, which is a wide-body version of the Mercedes SLS AMG. This tuning consists of a carbon-fiber body kit that has a new front spoiler, a redesigned rear spoiler, a reconfigured diffuser and the wide body paneling for the fenders of the SLS that have side outlets and air dams.

These modifications of the SLS AMG have widened the car by 20 mm at the back, which allowed the German tuner to install lightweight forged rims – Monoblock F PLATINUM EDITION that have the following dimensions: 11Jx21 for the wheels in the back and 9.5Jx20 for the front wheels of the Mercedes. These rims will be covered by 295/25 ZR 21 and 275/30 ZR 20 Yokohama or Pirelli tires. This set of wheels is available with a ceramic polished surface that can be had in any given color or with a brushed-design.

Mercedes SLS BRABUS WIDESTAR Wide Version

In addition to these modifications, BRABUS installed an electronically adjustable suspension kit made by Bilstein that has the Ride Control feature and stiffer sway bars for the rear and front axels of the SLS. With this kit, the car can be lowered with up to 30 mm.

Other modifications include the BRABUS performance exhaust system which is 40% (12 kg) less heavy than the standard exhaust system installed by Mercedes and at the same time it offers an additional power of 7.4 kW (10 PS). The exhaust system is offered with four slanted exhaust tips as well as a sound management for the powerful V8 6.2-liter.

As far as the interior is concerned, BRABUS can fit the SLS AMG with carbon-fiber inlays that are available in a wide variety of colors plus matte anodized aluminum pedals and foot rest. The car now has a combination of leather and Alcantara covering the new sport steering wheel. The car features a 250 mph (400 km/h) speedometer.

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Mercedes SLS BRABUS WIDESTAR Wide Version

2011 Porsche Cayenne

Porsche AG recently said that in the next three years the company is planning on opening new dealerships in China so that the sales will go up by 50%. For 2010, Porsche hopes to sell about 10,000 cars, 10% more than in 2009 and is expecting 15,000 car sales by 2013, according to Helmut Broeker who is the chief of Porsche China.

Back in June, Porsche opened in Sanghai its first company-owned sales unit and according to Broeker, this inauguration led to "a great deal of trust in the brand". At the beginning of this month, the company opened in Taiyuan a new dealership. The location is a massive coal district, located in the northern province of Shanxi. Porsche's image in China is well known thanks to the 911 models.

However, in comparison to customers from other countries, the regular Porsche buyer in China does not acquire a sports car like the 911 as he prefers to get the company's first sport utility vehicle, the Cayenne. Why? – Because the quality of the roads in China is not very good in comparison to European roads for example. According to Broeker, 60% of the cars sold in China are SUVs and at the moment the request for this model exceeds the capabilities of Porsche to deliver the cars.

2011 Porsche Cayenne

The most popular Cayenne in China is a model that is not even available in its native country Germany. We are talking about a 3.0-liter turbocharged TFSI power unit. The powertrain of this type of Cayenne is assembled in Hungary at the Gyor unit. This is a problem for Porsche because at this plant, the company also manufactures the 6-cylinder engines that power the Q7, A6, A7 and the A8 limousine. Because the factory has a limited production, the German manufacturer cannot supply the needed engines for the Chinese cars. For this reason customers in China have to wait about nine months until they can drive their Cayenne.

Usually 9 months is enough to make a customer from China change his mind and try looking for something else, but this is not the situation with the Cayenne customer, because this is the most affordable method to drive a Porsche SUV. The 3.6-liter Cayenne is significantly less expensive than the V8 engine because in China, the Government has a 44% consumption tax for cars that have engine with a 3.0 (max) capacity. Above this figure, clients have to pay a 110% tax – this is the situation for the V8 engine that powers the Cayenne, which is why people are waiting almost an entire year for the 3.6-liter power unit.

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Porsche Aiming 50% Sales Increase In China

2011 Opel Ampera

The American Chevrolet Volt has a starting price of $41,000. His European brother however, GM's Opel/Vauxhall Ampera will have a basic price of $58,600 (42,900 euros). Alain Visser who is Opel's sales and marketing chief, recently affirmed that this price difference between the European and the North American model is justified because the Ampera in Europe will be available with high-quality features.

In the statement, he said that "We have compromised on nothing. The Ampera is a beautiful car that is as fun to drive as it is packed with premium content." Some of the premium features of the European Ampera listed by Opel are touchscreen monitors and Bose speakers. Reservations for the car are already being made and it will go on sale in October next year. The Ampera will be built together with the Chevrolet Volt in Warren, Michigan, US. The car will get the same technology as the Volt, but it will have different styling modifications like the bold-looking grille that is traditional for Opel cars.

Unlike other manufacturers that are selling electric vehicles or will be selling them in the near future, European automaker Opel will not allow the possibility for the customer to buy the vehicle and rent the very expensive battery that powers the Ampera. This method is used by other automakers in order to lower the prices of the electric vehicles, reducing the price gap between an EV and a gasoline car. Opel said that by leasing the battery of the Ampera it will make the car affordable at a first sight, but taking into consideration that such a lease will last for several years, the total amount of money a customer will have to pay for the battery pack will be just about the same as purchasing the car with the battery from the beginning.

Similar with the situation of the Chevrolet Volt in the United States, the Opel/Vauxhall Ampera will benefit from government subsidies in various European countries. The officials at Opel declared that their car will be powered by the electric motor at all times during driving. During the first 25 to 50 miles (40 km to 80 km), the Ampera's power for the drivetrain will come from the electricity that will be stored in the 16 kW lithium-ion battery. Using exclusively the electric power, the car will have zero CO2 emissions. For distances bigger than 50 miles, the Ampera will be powered by the gasoline engine that will sustain the battery charge and increase the driving range to 300 miles (500 km).

2011 Opel Ampera

Intensive research regarding how many km do Europeans per day, say that about 80% of people that live in this continent travel less than 60 km each day. Taking this in consideration and the fact that the time necessary to recharge the battery of the Ampera is only about three hours or so, the officials at Opel said that the car will be most likely driven in the electric mode.

General Motors will officially launch the Chevrolet Volt in Europe in the last part of 2011, just about the same period as the Opel/Vauxhall Ampera will be available for sale.

Opel/Vauxhall CEO Nick Reilly affirmed at the 2010 Paris Auto Show that the Ampera will be most likely sold to local government agencies or as a business fleet car, a strong market for Opel. The Volt will be designated for the retail clients in Europe.

General Motors already started production on the Chevrolet Volt that will be sold in the United States. The company said that it would start making delivers by the end of this year.

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Opel Ampera EV Priced

2011 EV Ford Focus

The electric Ford Focus compact will be launched at the end of 2011 and will be available in 19 major metro markets in the United States. The first areas that will get the EV Focus will be: Atlanta; Houston &  Austin, Texas; Boston; Chicago; Denver; Detroit; Los Angeles; San Francisco; San Diego; New York; Orlando; Phoenix & Tucson, Arizona; Portland, Oregon; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; Richmond, Vancouver; Seattle; and Washington.

According to Ford's president in America, Mark Fields, "this is the first step in rolling out the Focus Electric. As the country continues to build up its electric-vehicle infrastructure and demand for the Focus Electric grows, Ford will continue to evaluate additional markets and consider making this vehicle available in more cities across the country."

2011 EV Ford Focus

The decision to choose these 19 metro markets was based upon the current trends regarding hybrid sales, the local government commitment to electrification, but also the company collaboration.

As we have mentioned before, the Focus Electric will be available for sale starting with the fourth quarter of 2011 and will be manufactured at the Michigan plant and it will be done on the same assembly line as the normal gasoline-powered Focus.

The United States Department of Energy gave to Ford a $5.9 billion loan so that the automaker could be able to retool two truck plants in order to make more fuel-efficient vehicles as well as update other Ford facilities next year.

The 2011 EV Focus will use a 23 kW lithium ion battery instead of the conventional gasoline power unit. In order to enhance the driving range and the lifespan of the battery, the car will feature a system that will use cooling systems and liquid heating. The officials at Ford said that the electric Focus will be able to have 100 miles autonomy and no CO2 emissions.

The Focus is not the only electric vehicle Ford will launch in the near feature. The company is planning on introducing the Transit Connect Electric, a plug-in hybrid and two next-generation lithium ion battery cars.

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2011 Electric Ford Focus Announced

2011 Audi A7

With the new A7 coupe-styled four-door car, Audi hopes that it will attract more customers. The Germans are planning to sell approximately 200,000 of the first A7 generation. The car went on sale this September in Europe and it will be available for the rest of the world next year, including the United States market in which it will be available next spring.

Peter Schwarzenbaeur, who is the sales chief over at Audi, recently stated that "We expect about two-thirds of buyers worldwide to be new customers." He also affirmed that the new A7 model is the "next step-up from the Audi A6 segment, where we are registering high growth sales worldwide."

A premiere for Audi is the installation of a head-up display on the A7 model that projects the automobile's most crucial data right onto the windshield. This new car can also be equipped with various features that were previously available on the A8 limousine, like the night vision assistant in a form of a heat-image that is capable of looking up ahead up to 984 feet (300 meters). All the safety systems and features of the A8 can be implemented into the A7, like the active lane assistance for example. What this system does is when the car leaves the lane; it will intervene in the A7's power steering and will return the car to the lane on its own.

2011 Audi A7

The A7 sports a WiFi hotspot which will allow the passengers of the car to connect up to 8 devices from an iPad to a notebook to the Internet simultaneously.

The standard price for the Audi A7 in Germany is about $71,000 (51,650 euros). This new model is a part of the program revealed by Audi to increase their lineup to 42 vehicles in the next five years, from a total of 34 cars as of 2009. A new-entry to the lineup is the Audi A1 subcompact which was launched this summer.

Audi is also planning on dethroning BMW as the world's largest luxury car automaker by 2015 and plans on selling 1.08 million automobiles in 2010.

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Audi Says A7 Will Bring New Clients

2011 Mitsubishi Galant

It seems that Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Honda Motor Co. are attempting to expand their sales in the China which is at this moment, the largest automotive market in the world and it seems that it will remain the same for the following years.

Mitsubishi has set up its first 50/50 joint venture in the Middle Kingdom and is expecting to double the capacity there. Honda is also planning on doubling the production at the Wuhan factory where in the near future it will start producing hybrid cars.

These attempts to conquer the Chinese market come as a direct response to General Motors and Volkswagen AG, as these companies have already a strong activity in China. The most important international automakers that hold the first places for most cars sold to the Chinese market are VW, GM, Hyundai, Toyota and Renault-Nissan.

From all of the Japanese car manufacturers, Mitsubishi is the last one that formed a 50-50 joint venture in China. The Fuji Heavy Industries, who is a manufacturer of Subaru cars, also has no production there, but its plans are to sign a partnership until the end of the year.

2011 Honda Civic Sedan

Honda is currently constructing a secondary assembly plant for the Dongfeng Honda Automobile Corporation, one of the brand's 50/50 joint ventures. Although the initial capacity of this new assembly plant was set at 60,000 units per year, Honda recently stated that they have increased the number to 100,000 cars.

By 2013, the capacity of Honda's factory in Wuhan will reach 120,000 units per year and in the upcoming years; it will be able to make 240,000 cars annually. The Dongfeng Honda plant has at the moment an annual capacity of 240,000 automobiles.

The Japanese newspaper Nikkei noted that the new plant will be making the Civic subcompact model and that by early 2012, Honda will start manufacturing hybrids in China. Seiji Kuraishi who is Honda's boss in China, confirmed that the Japanese automaker will start making hybrids in China in the near future, but did not shared other details regarding this topic. The Nikkei newspaper also noted that the Fit and Civic hybrids are two of Honda's options for the Chinese factories.

Honda's sales in China reached 475, 695 cars this year until September, which is a 16% increase in comparison to the similar period of last year. However, only 63 hybrids were sold in the first 9 months of 2010.

Honda is hoping that by 2013, their manufacturing capacity in China will reach 890,000 units per year, including the 480,000 cars at the Ghuangzhou Honda joint venture as well as at the 50,000 units manufactured at Honda Automobile China, which is a local venture that makes cars for export.

Mitsubishi will be buying a 50% stake at the GAC Changfeng Motor Corporation where at the moment it has only 14.6% shares. GAC Changfeng Motor can make 80,000 cars per year. The models being built there are the Mitsubishi Pajero SUV and the Changfeng-badged SUVs. Within the next five years, Mitsubishi wants to start making 250,000 cars at the factory. In July 2012, the Japanese automaker will start producing a new vehicle there. Mitsubishi also owns 25% of Fujian Motor Co., a venture that has a 150,000 annual capacity which produces the Mitsubishi Lancer and Galant sedans.

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Japanese Automakers Aiming At The Chinese Market

GT 5 In-Game Footage

Gran Turismo 5 is finally available for Sony's PlayStation 3 gaming console, after 6 years of anticipation and 2 last-minute delays. Although the Need for Speed franchise is a bigger hit in terms of overall sales, GT is still considered as the best racing game that was ever developed. Polyphony Digital and CEO Kazunori Yamauchi is also a professional driver and is known for his obsession to detail, an obsession very obvious in the car details of the game.

In 2008, Polyphony Digital launched Gran Turismo 5: Prologue which was considered by many a large demo of the final game that was launched this week. The game was a hit back then as it sold more than 5,000,000 copies. Moving on to the complete game, the Arcade Mode will offer you a two-player split-screen mode, drift modes, time trails and races. The drift mode is considered to be very difficult to conquer although the game is weighty and communicative even when using a standard controller, but to feel the real simulation, it is recommended to use a force feedback wheel.

The complexity of Gran Turismo 5 can be found in the GT Mode where you start your early career with 20,000 credits and at first you have to choose a vehicle from a long list of cars (but most of them exceed the 20,000 credits limit). A second-hand car is a good way if you want to save some money and use it instead to install differing tuning parts. If you want to play with the most expensive and fastest cars the game has to offer you either wait to get more money or you go into the Arcade Mode where you can use all the cars there.

Getting back to the complex GT Mode, you will find A-Spec races, B-Spec races, Open Series, and many other types of races that will require specific car types, similar to Gran Turismo 4 and the rest of the GT franchise. An interesting addition is the License Tests section that helps you learn more about slipstreaming, cornering methods and other driving techniques which will help you become a much better driver if you have patience as it can get a little bit tricky to master. If you want more fun, the Special Events section is what you need. Here you will get a car and jump in the action as soon as possible. Besides visual graphics, the attention to detail is emphasized in the sound of the 1000+ cars. Almost each car has a specific sound which is why it is an absolute delight to drive a Lamborghini Murcielago or a Ferrari Enzo or any other supercar. Speaking of which, the sound made by the Tesla is absolutely stunning and unique, a premiere to a racing video game.

The B-Spec is an eccentric mode in which you will be able to pick an AI driver to race for you, in your own car and after that watch and attempt to issue instructions. Although not popular among Gran Turismo fans, this mode can be surprisingly interesting and rewarding especially for those players that want to play the game on a "professional" level.

GT 5 In-Game Footage

The online gameplay of Gran Turismo 5 will allow you to try out different interesting racing modes like the one that randomly selects a set of cars, the one where you can import your single-player cars and many others. On the downside, the lobby system seems a little bit rudimentary at the moment and the available race modes are somewhat limited. Hopefully, in the future with the help of a comprehensive update, the online features of GT5 will become more complex.

Although in the presentation of the game we are told that it has to offer more than 1,000 cars, only 200+ are fully modeled vehicles with interior cockpits and a high level of detail. The other 800 cars are imported from the PS2 Gran Turismo 4 and brushed up here and there. There is a huge difference between a premium car and a standard one, the premium cars have an amazing level of details while the standard models look rather dull, not worthy of the level of detail that the Playstation 3 can offer.

A new addition to the franchise is the damage mechanics but it feels a little bit simple in comparison to Forza 3 for example. Hopefully, in the future the franchise will feature a more developed level of damaging mechanics system and the standard cars will be updated to premium through DLCs. Returning to the Gran Turismo franchise is the possibility to race during the night, but it is limited to some tracks only. Speaking of which, the transition between day and night at the Nürburgring track is simply amazing. The game allows you to race also on wet and snow tracks, but also on a few tracks, not all of them.

Although it has its weak points, the game is still the best in its genre with more than 1,000 cars (WRC, Super GT and Nascar license), which is double than its most important rival – Forza Motorsport 3 Ultimate Collection. However, all the cars in Forza have cockpit views which might be important for some players; we will leave it up to you to decide which one do you like more. GT 5 has 26 different locations and 71 different track configurations, including some of the most famous tracks like Laguna Seca, Nürburgring and Top Gear's Test Track.

Kazunori Yamauchi declared that Polyphony Digital has already started working on Gran Turismo 6 which will be most likely launched on the next generation PlayStation console. This does not mean that the support for GT5 is over, on the contrary, the game will most likely receive various updates, optimizations and DLCs to further enhance the level of the entertainment the franchise accustomed us to.

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Gran Turismo 5 Review

SAAB 9-3X

It seems that the Swedish car manufacturer SAAB Automobile AB is planning on starting to sell cars to the expanding Chinese market some time during next year. CEO Jan Ake Jonsson declared this week that a deal is expected to be signed by the end of this year. On the sidelines of the Los Angeles Auto Show, Jonson affirmed that "Until we launch the new 9-3 at the end of 2012, it will be just a couple of thousand units (annually), all based on imports. As we lead up to this, we have to make a decision if and when we are going to introduce local manufacturing in China."

The current issues with this upcoming decision are to decide which will be the dealer network that will sell the SAAB cars in China. Jonsson affirmed that the company must have dealerships in five or six cities with a total of 10 to 15 dealers.

Besides China, SAAB is also considering creating a distribution deal in Russia. Details were not revealed but it is expected to be announced at the end of this year.

If SAAB decides to start assembling cars in China, the first model would be the new generation 9-3 model while the upcoming 9-4X crossover and the 9-5 will be imported. SAAB's chairman, Victor Muller recently said that "you need to get a volume of 10,000 cars (in China) before you can start manufacturing locally".

SAAB 9-3X

The production for the United States version of the 9-4X will start next year in April, while the ones for the markets outside the North American continent will be manufactured starting with August 2011. Jonsson affirmed that the 9-4X will be offered most likely with gasoline engines as there are small chances of introducing a diesel power unit.

On local territory SAAB is planning on eliminating 200 jobs from the Swedish factory, which represents approximately 1/8 of the entire staff. Hakan Skott, who is a union representative at SAAB, told Reuters that the SAAB Company, which is now owned by Spyker Cars NV, had told the staff that it would reduce the number of employees by 200, out of 1600 jobs.

Jonsson recently affirmed that SAAB's sales target is to surpass 85,000 units per year. Spyker estimated in October that the company would sell about 30,000 to 35,000 units next year which is significantly lower to the estimation made back in February when they announced that they are expecting sales of more than 60,000 units.

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SAAB Will Be Entering The Russian & Chinese Market

2011 VW Jetta

Jonathan Browning who is the CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, recently stated that the company will need to expand its dealership network in the next 4 years. These new additions will help VW to reach its goal of selling more than 800,000 cars per year in the United States by 2018. For this year, VW is right on track to sell over 250,000 units and expects that in the next five years, it will reach 450,000 – 500,000 units / year with the help of new models like a yet unknown mid-sized sedan and the 2011 VW Beetle facelift. Browning also affirmed that the extra volume can be handled by the current dealership network that has almost 600 units.

The new mid-sized sedan will be manufactured at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The model will be officially unveiled in January at the Detroit Motor Show and will be available for sale in the third quarter of 2011.

2011 VW Jetta

The current VW sales are lead by the 2011 Jetta, that went on sale this September with a $15,999 price tag, which is $1,700 less (not including shipping) than the outgoing generation. Browning said that "We are extending the price band so we can reach out for new customers. The new price point signals that VW is in reach and, with free maintenance, that ownership is cost-efficient."

He also stated that approximately 60 % of the people that purchased the new Jetta are conquests which are exactly what Volkswagen wants for the future.

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VW Is Planning On Opening New Dealerships

Lamborghini Sesto Elemento Concept

In the recent years, carbon fiber has become a standard material for famous supercar makers like Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren. In the present, the carbon fiber has been taken to an entire new level, creating brand new methods of reducing the molding time and getting more of the material into structural parts of the vehicles.

One of the most important promoters of the carbon fiber is Lamborghini with its Sesto Elemento concept which was unveiled in September at the Paris Auto Show. The car has a passenger compartment made out of carbon fiber and so are the suspension components, exterior panels and front/rear structures.

Lamborghini is not the only one to bring new innovations as BMW AG recently developed a carbon fiber processing method which will be used on its future Megacity Vehicle electric car.

Lamborghini Sesto Elemento Concept

In order to further expand the technology, Lamborghini recently signed a development agreement with a golf club maker named Callawy Golf Co. Paolo Feraboli, who is the director of the structural carbon-fiber research group said that the process called "forged composite" is actually faster in comparison with the traditional hand processing and it could produce a maximum of four passenger cells per week.

The experiment conducted by Lamborghini using compression molding with a carbon fiber sheet molded compound resulted in a structural suspension part 30% lighter in comparison to a regular aluminum part and with a 3-minute cycle time, it is considerably faster than aluminum processing.

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Carbon Fiber Is Becoming More Popular