Author: autoevolution

American manufacturer Ford finally revealed its new, purpose-built Police Interceptor sedan, while also confirming production of a Police Interceptor utility vehicle. More details on the latter, however, will be released in the third quarter of this year. For the development of the new Police Interceptor, Ford engineers worked with Ford’s Police Advisory Board of law enforcement professionals.

The new safety vehicle from Ford has been engineered to pass the 75-mph rear-end crash testing. Acco… (read more)

Following the quite boring season opening round of Bahrain Grand Prix last weekend, when all the real action happened in the rear of the pack due to the similar level of performance from the rear-running teams’ challengers, the world of Formula One is set on making yet another adjustment to its rules in 2010.

After the 107 qualifying rule seems to be preferred by the majority of the deciding factors within the series, it has now emerged that a second mandatory pit stop is being re-examined by… (read more)

The South African division of German carmaker Volkswagen revealed today the new Polo Vivo for the local market, bringing with it somewhat of a disappointment for those who were expecting a more new Polo-like version.

The successor of the 25-year-old CitiGolf is however a breath of fresh air for the South African automotive market. VW’s new entry-level car in the A0 segment, with prices starting at R101,500 ($13 688), will be available in two body versions, hatchback (3-door and 5-door) and s… (read more)

China is a very important car market, so more and more automakers tend to open factories there. Nissan took things even further, as Nissan (China) Investment Co., Ltd. (NCIC), a Nissan subsidiary in China, has just announced the establishment of a new design studio in Beijing. This means that the Japanese car manufacturer has expanded its global design resources.

"With the addition of 20 designers, Nissan’s new studio will enhance our design capabilities, as well as our product competiti… (read more)

German manufacturer BMW finally released official details of the new generation 5 Series Touring, based on a newly developed vehicle architecture also used for the BMW 7 Series luxury sedans. Long bonnet, short overhangs, the longest wheelbase in its segment, are just a few highlights of the new upper midrange touring car, the carmaker says.

The luggage compartment has a capacity of 560 litres, but if desired, it can be further increased to a maximum of 1,670 litres thanks to the 40:20:40 spl… (read more)

Red Bull Racing confirmed that the problem that hit Sebastian Vettel in the second part of the race was caused by the engine, and not the exhaust system, as initially reported by the Milton Keynes based team.

While leading the race some 2 to 3 seconds from Fernando Alonso, the German driver reported to his team via radio that he is lacking power from his engine. While analyzing the data, his race engineer told him that he’s dealing with an exhaust problem that’s impossible to resolve during r… (read more)

Will Power scored a huge win in the 2010 IndyCar season opening round at Sao Paolo, after what may be described as one of the most thrilling races in recent years in the series. It had it all: epic battles for the lead, rain, red flag, accidents and eventually one worthy winner in the person of Team Penske’s Power.

The race started off pretty nasty for Ganassi’s Scott Dixon and Penske’s Helio Castroneves, as the two were involved in an accident in the very first corner of the race due to a la… (read more)

Ferrari started off their 2010 campaign in Formula One great, taking an incredible 1-2 win in the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday. Fernando Alonso won at his very debut with Ferrari, powering to victory ahead of his new teammate Felipe Massa. 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton finished the race in 3rd place.

Nevertheless, it was Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel who controlled the race for the entire first half, before an engine problem forced him to drop position after position until f… (read more)

Last month, Opel/Vauxhall’s CEO presented the carmakers’ viability plan, a scheme aimed at ensuring their financial crisis survival and their return to profit in the future.

The measures include multiple investments in the development of new products and also massive job cuts, that are aimed at maintaining cost at a low level.

Recently, Opel/Vauxhall announced that the viability scheme has seen significant progress, especially in Spain and in the UK. In the former, Opel plans to eliminate … (read more)

Safety automotive recalls have become a sensitive issue these days, but his doesn’t stop some automakers from ignoring these problems. One example would be Fiat Brazil, which has been fined $1.2 million by the country’s Ministry of Justice for not initiating a Stilo recall campaign, as Businessweek reports.

The problem that affects the Fiat Stilo in Brazil has been linked to eight deaths that occurred since 2004: the car’s back wheels might fall off due to malfunctioning components. A total o… (read more)

Citroen is keeping the DS3’s marketing engine running – the company’s last exercise is a Yves Saint Laurent special edition of the DS3, created in collaboration with the world famous fashion designer.

The car has been dressed in Yves Saint-Laurent colors, combining red (used for the DS3’s body) with Black (featured on the roof of the vehicle). It also comes with and Yves Saint Laurent Logo on its roof and rides on bespoke rims.

The trendy version of the DS3 is not for sale – it was built t… (read more)

Renault might have sold their Formula One operations to Luxembourg investment company Genii Capital, but the French manufacturer could in fact regain ownership of their Enstone organization in the near future. And that’s because it seems Renault F1’s new team owner Gerard Lopez has borrowed some EUR20 million from the French carmaker to sustain his F1 operations.

The report was issued by British publication The Independent, who hinted that Renault’s Enstone facility cost an overall EUR38 mill… (read more)

The off-road motorsport world is buzzing these days, as the 20th anniversary Rallye Aicha des Gazelles is taking place in Morocco. The competition is dedicated to female drivers and all the money resulted from it will go to a charity that takes care of multiple issues in Morocco.

Last week, Dacia announced that it will enter a racing version of the upcoming Duster into the competition. Mercedes also entered an off-road racing incarnation of the Viano 4matic and a rough terrain racing-ready … (read more)

The fact that most teams were looking to secure a deal with German manufacturer Mercedes for the 2010 season of Formula One might have been caused by the fact that the Stuttgart-based carmaker worked heavily on their V8 powerplant amid the engine freeze that was implemented by the FIA in recent years.

At least this is how Red Bull’s design guru Adrian Newey looks at it, as the Brit insisted that the Germans haven’t been too fair in staying out of engine development through the past year.

M… (read more)

Motorsports television personality Ralph Sheheen has been selected by Zero Motorcycles as spokesperson for the brand, while the company starts its first ever multi-city road tour. The tour kicks-off in New York City on March 15 and will end in Los Angeles on March 31.

"Ralph Sheheen understands motorsports and sees Zero as a company that is changing the face of the motorcycle industry," said Gene Banman, CEO, Zero Motorcycles. "As a well respected member of the motorsports com… (read more)

After introducing the new Juke, Micra & Leaf, the top Nissan performers were handed awards celebrating excellence in 10 categories. The top winner for Overall Retailer of the Year was J. S. Holmes, selected by the criteria of outstanding customer quality, customer satisfaction and retail sales performance.

The quality and diversity of our model range is giving our retailers a real boost. The performance of many of our network partners has been outstanding throughout what has been a difficult … (read more)

American manufacturer Ford presented the Los Angeles County Fire Department with a $75,000 donation earlier this month that will go to the firefighters’ Widows and Orphans Fund. A few months ago, Ford also introduced the 2011 F-550 Super Duty First-Responder Fire Truck at the LA Auto Show.

We commend Ford Motor Company for their continued support of the Los Angeles Country Fire Department and for their determination to keep the public engaged in fire safety, said Chief Deputy of Fire Operations… (read more)

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa will enter the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix with a different engine than he used in the qualifying session on Saturday. According to a press release from Ferrari’s website, it seems that some worrying problems on the Ferrari F10’s powerplant have led to the Italian mechanics not taking any risks for the Sunday race.

Although worrying that this kind of problems are starting to show from the very first race of the season for Massa, the good news is that it won’t affect his gri… (read more)

The Kuwaiti Investment Dar company which owns half of British car maker Aston Martin announced it has applied for government support under the Islamic country’s government facility for troubled companies.

Investment Dar announces today that it has started a process of legal protection under the terms of Kuwait’s Financial Stability Law (FSL), said the firm in a press release posted on its website.

Following a series of meetings with its Coordinating Committee, banks and investors in Kuwait… (read more)

It seems that all the controversy this season has gathered inside the McLaren Mercedes garage, as another part of the McLaren MP4-25 used by world champions Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button doesn’t seem compliant with the current technical book of the International Automobile Federation (FIA).

According to a report from Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, the Woking based team’s rear diffuser design has been closely investigated by the FIA and the verdict is not very favorable for McLaren: they n… (read more)