Suzuki Swift Sport previewed just before official debut at Frankfurt

The Suzuki Swift is one of the few models offered by the small Japanese make that the US of A doesn’t see. And we don’t quite understand why. To add insult to injury for us, Suzuki has just unveiled details for its latest hot Swift hatchback.
The Suzuki Swift lineup was given a solid update last year and along with the update, Suzuki unveiled the Swift S-Concept, which was designed to be a GTi-like version of the Swift. Now, the concept made it into production and picks up the Swift Sport name once again.
The engine at first doesn’t sound like much. Basically, Suzuki took the standard engine in the Swift, which is the M16A 1.4L four banger and increased the displacement to 1.6L and mated to a six-speed manual. The results are 134hp and 118 lb-ft of torques. Again, doesn’t sound like much but considering the Swift’s light weight and small proportions, the 1.6L should pack plenty of punch for the car.

The suspension too has been reworked to improve handling. Other differences include bespoke bodywork and wheels and much more.
Not many other details have been released, but we could expect more to pop up as we get closer to the official debut at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

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NHTSA investigating 2002-2007 BMW 7-Series for parking issue

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration always finds a way to pop up in our weekly news at some point. So here’s some more! The NHTSA is currently investigating 120,000 2002-2007 E65 and E66 BMW 7-Series over a concern that the car’s parking pawl may not hold the car in park when it is shifted in P, allowing the car to roll away.

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Video: Renovating your living room with a Shelby Cobra

This could probably take the cake as the most odd bit of news for this week so far. The owner of a Shelby Cobra or replica of the latter recorded himself doing donuts in an empty living room.
We can only assume he’s trying to make his floor a bit more exciting just before he furnishes the place. In the video, you can see that he does a decent job painting the living room floor with rubber in a circular manner.

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Pagani denied air bag exemption in US delaying launch

For the first time ever, Pagani Automobili SpA will be officially selling a model here in the US of A. However, there happen to be some bumps in the road for the Huayra’s journey here to the United States. Just recently, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration denied Pagani an exemption from mandated advanced air bags.
Supposedly, all cars sold in the US have to have special advanced air bags that use sensors to adjust the air bag’s deployment force depending on the occupants’ height and weight. Tesla Motors and Lamborghini along with Pagani have repeatedly been exceptions in the past five years.

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Tesla getting high foot traffic in showrooms, hires 4 new execs

Electronic vehicle company Telsa is experiencing some unexpectedly high foot traffic at its showrooms. With a number of enticing elements at the various locations, the brand has put four additional executives in place to handle what is to come for the start up.
Currently, only one model is available with a $109,000 price tag, which Telsa is pulling the plug on to make way for next years’ Model S plug –in hybrid model. Nearly empty showrooms haven’t stopped people from pouring into the showrooms, though. The brand reports that its Santana Row, San Jose, CA location gets 5,000 to 6,000 walk-in customers weekly, while the Denver’s Park Meadows section gets double that.
Tulsa attributes the attraction to good location, a shopping-mall style store, and an EV education format, which allows the public to understand how EV’s are created and operate, and what they can expect as an owner.

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Anne Hathaway is Catwoman: Warner Bros. releases image of Catwoman riding Batman’s prized bike

Word has been bouncing around involving Christopher Nolan’s latest entry to the Batman franchise and we’ve seen some preproduction photos of the crew hard at work. A new photo has popped up, compliments of Warner Brothers Studios.
The photo is of Anne Hathaway as Catwoman riding Batman’s prized bike that came from the damaged Batman Tumbler assault vehicle in The Dark Knight. However, not much else came with the photo release in terms of info. So of course, we can expect some more information pop up about the latest Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises.
This does raise some questions though however for the movie itself. Nolan has been known in his last two Batman films to cram as many back story characters as possible. Could he be doing it again? Either way, I still leave my trust in the hands of Nolan.

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2012 Toyota Camry official teaser no. 2 released

Toyota today released teaser number 2 of the 2012 Camry, which we’ll see later this year. Teaser no. 2 gives us a little glimpse of the rear-end of the new Camry, specifically the tail lamp.
So far we like what we see, however, we feel overall Toyota will totally have to knock the next Camry out of the park as competition from the Hyundai Sonata.

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Toyota to attempt breaking electric-vehicle record at the Nurburgring

A high-performance electric powertrain has been crafted by Toyota Motorsport GmbH and is going to try to break an existing lap record. Toyota’s electric vehicle is set to run its laps at the Nurburgring Nordschleif at the end of this month.
The car is completely electric and the brand is setting out to show that motorsport can go green and not struggle for fans. With a 0-62 time of 3.9 seconds and two-seater chassis, it may be able to achieve that goal.
Unofficial testing has proven it should be successful at breaking the record, as well. The EV lap record is currently at 9 min and 1.338 seconds.

Elaborating on the car is TMG’s General Manager Electrics and Electronics, saying “TMG has developed a very robust and reliable electric powertrain, which has been proven in several products already. We have built up a tremendous amount of knowledge about such high-performance powertrains, particularly battery management systems and vehicle control units, during our development programmes. Our lap record attempt brings together this knowledge and it should clearly show the great potential of high-performance electric powertrains.”

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Audi urban concept unveiled, a 2-seater for congested urban areas

Audi unveiled a pretty interesting vehicle today that doesn’t really fit under any conventional categories. Known as the Audi urban concept, the 1+1 seater is an ultra-light vehicle being studied for congested urban areas.
“The Audi urban concept is not based on any previous model – its development is solely oriented on the strict principles of lightweight construction, efficiency and reduction,” Audi said in a statement. “The result is a concept car with no unnecessary weight, and one that concentrates on the pure essence of sporty motion.”
The urban concept seats two people low to the ground and displays them with a bunch of controls and materials constructed of ultra-lightweight construction. The driver can adjust the steering wheel and pedals to his own liking. Interestingly, entry to the Audi urban concept is through the tailgate and the roof is designed to be maneuverable and slides to the rear to open.
Power for the Audi urban concept comes from two e-tron electric motors, which get their fuel from a lithium-ion battery. No technical details were released.
The coolest thing about the Audi urban concept? It’s riding on 21-inch wheels.

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2012 Hyundai i30 rendering released before Frankfurt debut

Prior to its debut at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show next month, Hyundai has released the first rendering of the next-generation i30 C-segment hatchback.
“The ‘fluidic sculpture’ ethos utilises flowing lines inspired by nature and modern architecture to give a constant three-dimensional presence to Hyundai vehicles, and was introduced as the Hyundai ix-onic concept at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show,” Hyundai said in a statement. “Since this debut, ‘fluidic sculpture’ has become the design language behind all new Hyundai models launched in Europe.”

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Audi Q6: Ingolstadt’s BMW X6 competitor in the works

Audi has been hard at work to expand their Q-SUV lineup. And with growing success in terms of sales and the already preexisting Q-lineup, Audi is planning to introduce more Q-SUVs.
It first started off with the Q7, which in 2010 increased production by 37.1% due to a height in sales. The Q5 grew by 32.4% and with the Q3 on the way, Audi’s SUV sales are very much nearing 250,000 units. That’s about to significantly increase because Audi’s Q6 crossover SUV that will go against the likes of the BMW X6 and the Infiniti FX is very much on its way after receiving a green light for production earlier this year.
In other news with Audi’s SUV lineup, the current Q7 is expected to be replaced by an all-new model in 2014 and will be based on Audi’s new MLB Evo architecture. The new platform is said to be 300kg lighter, feature an aluminum body and be available in plug-in form.

The next generation Q5 is slated for a mid-2016 release and will also be based on the MLB Evo allowing it to be lighter as well. The Q6 is also pegged for a 2016 release and lastly, Audi has been rumored to be working on a two-door SUV called the Q4.
And lastly, another rumor is floating around that Audi may also be considering a full-size Q9. However, Audi’s boss Rupert Stadler said: “We looked at this segment long and hard. Right now, I am inclined to ignore it. Why? Because full-size SUVs sell only in certain markets, because we are putting a strong emphasis on reducing the weight and bulk of our vehicles, and because a Q9 would not create much incremental brand value. There is no doubt however that crossovers are still selling like hot cakes even though the trend seems to shift towards more compact models.”

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Survey Says: Nissan’s Murano CrossCabriolet is our generation’s Pontiac Aztek

A new report is out by Fortune magazine that surveyed a select number of automobile journalists. And that survey says reviewers found Nissan’s unusual Murano CrossCabriolet as one of the oddest cars on the road.
“Not since the Mercedes R-class, and, before that, the Pontiac Aztek has the overall verdict been so bruisingly negative. The CrossCabrio has been tarred for being lumpy, dumpy, shaky and sluggish,” Fortune said in a statement. It goes on to describe it as “an artichoke on wheels.”
If that’s not enough for you, just based on aesthetics alone, I myself would say that the Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet is our new generation’s Pontiac Aztec.

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GM to streamline global operations, wants to build 90% of vehicles on 14 platforms

General Motors has just announced that it will drastically streamline its global operations in order to allow for smoother operations. As a part of these new plans, General Motors wants to cut the total number of vehicle platforms by half over the next decade. At the same time, the General also wants to decrease the amount of different engines produced so that there can be more powertrain sharing across their lineup.
General Motors wants to build 90% of its cars on a total of 14 platforms, versus today’s 28 platforms, which will help General Motors increase their manufacturing capacity and efficiency.
Additionally, the General wants to make sure that they rid themselves from as much debt and liabilities as possible. Part of this process includes reworking the Detroit manufacturer’s pension plan, which is currently underfunded.

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Video: ERA Electric Raceabout takes a lap of the Nurburgring

The ERA Electric Raceabout, developed by Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences was spotted zipping around the track at the Nurburgring.
Power is provided by four electric motors, all running off of a 32 kWh lithium-titanate battery. What that equates to is a 0-62 time of 6 seconds, and 268-hp at 737 lb-ft. The Electric Raceabout tops out at 124-mph.
If the video proves correct, the car may have made it around the Nordschleif in just over nine and a half minutes.
Is this the future of production model electric cars? It would certainly help their popularity.

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Kelley Blue Book releases list for top five new and used cars for students

Kelley Blue Book has just released their recommendations for the best cars for students going back to school. The recommendations consist of two lists, the first being the top-five best new cars and the second, the best five used cars for students.
“Each year we have more great choices to consider for our top back-to-school rides list, because auto manufacturers continue to outdo themselves with the features and amenities they offer on vehicles that are optimal for students,” said Jack R. Nerad, KBB’s executive editorial director and market analyst. “With so many vehicle choices, the key to shopping smart is finding a set of wheels that pleases both parent and child, which is no small task. The good news is the recently redesigned kbb.com provides a host of tools to help find the best car and get the best deal possible.”
The vehicles chosen had to meet a certain criteria: safety, affordability, versatility, reliability, cost of ownership and fuel economy and of course, aesthetic and driving fun factor. All the cars had to be available for less than $18,000 using KBB’s own pricing guide.

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Ford’s F150 V6 models outselling other V6 pickups and V8 F-150s

Ford was hard at work advertising their latest EcoBoost V6 in the current Ford F150, especially with their little webisodes where Discovery Channel’s Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs worked with Ford to test the durability and capability of the F150 EcoBoost against the competition. And so far, it looks like everything is working out as Ford has just announced that the F150 V6s are outselling all of the other V6 full-sized pickup trucks and even the F150s own siblings with V8s.

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Desert Sunlight receives approval for 550MW solar project in US

Desert Sunlight Holdings has received an approval from the federal department of interior for building the 550MW Desert Sunlight solar farm in California, US.

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BMW Group reports rise in July sales

The BMW Group has reported a 7.6% rise in sales during July, with total number of vehicle sale reaching 129,094 worldwide including BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand automobiles.

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Magna second quarter profit slips by 4%

Automotive supplier Magna International has reported a 4% dip in net income to $282m during the second quarter 2011, from $294m it reported during corresponding quarter in 2010.

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Kia Motors July sales up 15%

Kia Motors global sales for passenger cars, recreational vehicles (RVs) and commercial vehicles increased 15% to 208,074 units in July 2011, compared to corresponding period last year.

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