Author: autoevolution

A while ago Toyota was a role model for all the automakers worldwide. The largest car producer in the world seemed to have everything figured out and money kept pouring from every direction, until its fatal recall series damaged its reputation.

It’s safe to say that a year ago Toyota would have made the top 20 World’s Most Admired Companies list, but what about today? It seems that the Japanese car manufacturer came in at number 7 on Fortune’s annual list of the World’s Most Admired Companies… (read more)

A court from Madison, Wisconsin, has just decided that Mercedes-Benz USA LLC has to pay $482,000 in damages and legal fees to a Wisconsin customer who bought a defective car and did not get a refund on time, says msnbc.msn.com.

Back in 2005, 37 year-old Marco Marquez, who owns a Mexican restaurant, bought an E 320 model for $56,000 from a Milwaukee dealership. The car started to have problems almost immediately. As the car did not start on several occasions, the man addressed the dealership. … (read more)

In the first two weeks of sale alone, Honda sold over fifty VFR1200F machines in the UK, which made the British division launch a new fixed price servicing plan to further attract customers. Speaking of, the VFR1200F’s youngest customers so far are in their twenties, with the oldest just a few months off his seventieth birthday.

Moreover, all three body colors, namely Seal Silver Metallic, Candy Prominence Red and Pearl Sunbeam White, seem to be enjoying a great deal of success.

As said, … (read more)

A while ago Citroen decided to sell its C5 model only with diesel engines on the Australian market, but that’s a thing of the past. The French manufacturer has just announced it has reintroduced a petrol engine in the range, which means the car has a new lower entry level price of AU$45,990.

The C5 sedan can now be bought in Australia with a 2.0 liter petrol engine that produces 103 kW (140 hp) and 143 Nm. Unfortunately, the engine is not available on the tourer version.

When we launched t… (read more)

Following recent reports from the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) Dealer Attitude Survey, Nissan has shown significant improvements in several areas to become the 8th most valued franchise in the UK.

When asked How do you rate your manufacturer’s performance in terms of the following: Frequency of introduction of new models? dealers gave high ranks, thanks to the recent arrival of the Cube and 370Z Roadster, and with the Juke and new Micra coming soon.

When asked to rate th… (read more)

As expected, a lot of the new production models and concept cars unveiled these days use some kind of green technology meant to reduce fuel consumption and save the planet. As the future seems to be electric, car manufacturers need to get their technology on the market. Predictions say electric vehicle sales will be quite important in the next few years.

Electric cars will not only serve as commuters, but will also be used as racecars. One of the best examples is Westfield Sportscars’ iRACER,… (read more)

One of the most interesting awards ceremony in the auto industry has to be the Goodyear North America Highway Hero Award. The program was founded back in 1983 and aims to recognize truck drivers and the often unnoticed, life-saving rescues and roadside assistance they provide as they drive their trucks across North America.

At the 27th edition of the Goodyear North America Highway Hero Award the finalists are:

a Pennsylvania truck driver used his rig as a "roadblock" to st… (read more)

The design contest launched by smart in January finally designated a winner, after attracting more than 50,000 designs for the exterior of the smart fortwo. For six week and after more than 600,000 online ratings, only one winner was selected.

"Also after the contest the website still lives on. The community can continue to rate designs and add new ones. The results clearly show that the passion for personalisation and creativity is boundless on Web 2.0," stated Dieter Feder, Projec… (read more)

Yvan Muller started off great during last weekend’s season opening Curitiba event, as the Frenchman led Chevrolet’s trio into an impressive 1-2-3 finish at the end of Race 1. With the race being influenced by heavy rain, Muller’s pole position counted a lot in establishing an early lead on Sunday.

After two laps driving behind the safety car, Muller set the early pace, as he was briefly challenged by Jordi Gene for the lead in the first few laps. However, the SEAT driver ran wide in both the … (read more)

As far as we’re concerned, Dacia’s first-ever SUV, the Duster, is going to register at least the same success as the Logan, one of the models that managed to turn the anonymous Romanian brand into a serious contender for more popular carmakers around the globe. And in order to benefit from this, Dacia started production of the Duster in December, just to be ready to deliver the first units after the public unveiling at Geneva.

Well, as we can see in the adjacent photos, deliveries have alread… (read more)

Last year, the Russian automotive market saw a massive 56 percent decrease, only managing to total 1.4 million units, in spite of the fact that the country’s government had introduced a scrappage scheme, supporting loan to customers of any new car built in Russia and priced under 13,500 euro.

It seems that the sales reports for the current year might not show a hefty rebound, as the 2010 cash for clunkers program is heavily affected by bureaucracy and corruption, as Bloomberg reports.

If … (read more)

Zhejiang Geely Holdings, the initiator of the Geely-Volvo acquisition, said that the long awaited agreement has not been signed yet but the takeover will proceed according to the company’s plan, as Reuters reports.

The Chinese company was supposed to sign the contract last month but, according to the company’s chairman, Li Shufu, an official agreement has not been signed yet.

"We haven’t reached a final agreement so far," Li was quoted as saying by Reuters. "Everything is mo… (read more)

It’s been a while since we last heard of edo competition, but the waiting is paying off the company’s fans. The tuners released details on their Aston Martin DBS upgrade, but without giving any details on the pricing. However, what we do know, is the Bond car brings improvements in both styling and performance.

First thing’s first, the German specialists improved the power output of the 12-cylinder flagship from Aston Martin. Thanks to a software recalibration, a new high performance exhaust … (read more)

General Motors is making efforts to support its image after delivering severe blows to some of its brands, like the defunct Saturn, the recently rescued Saab and the distressed Hummer.

The company’s service and spare parts arm is being rebranded and will have a new, customer-orientated image. The division, formerly named ACDelco, Goodwrench and GM Performance Parts will be named Customer Care and Aftersales.

"Our new name better reflects GM’s critical role in customer retention and se… (read more)

Reigning world rally champion Sebastien Loeb took a demanding win in Rally Mexico this weekend, taking a well-deserved revenge over his loss to title rival Mikko Hirvonen in the season opening Rally Sweden.

After dominating the action during Day 2 of the event – when he won 8 of the 9 special stages at play – Loeb built a remarkable 55-second lead on top of the classification, which was more than enough for him to cruise through the Sunday stages with ease. The Frenchman eventually finished m… (read more)

 The specialists at AC Schnitzer once again showed they have what it takes to distinguish themselves as one of the best tuning companies in Europe when they showcased one of their latest projects at this year’s Geneva Auto Show. The program has been specially developed for the BMW 5-Series GT and manages to make the car both more appealing and more powerful at the same time.

Yet the 5-series GT by AC Schnitzer doesn’t just bring a gleam to the eyes of BMW fans, but acoustically it delivers wha… (read more)

Aware of the importance that aftersale services have on consumers, Honda’s British division has launched the Honda Accident Repair Programme (HARP), which will also be offering guaranteed replacement car, aside from managing the repair of customer cars after an accident.

This service will reportedly be provided regardless of accident type, Honda says. The carmaker hopes HARP will increase customer retention, provide more repair jobs to the network and improve overall customer service.

Having … (read more)

Sebastien Loeb left no room for interpretation during the Saturday action in Rally Mexico, as the reigning world champion won no less than 8 stages out of 9 scheduled for the day to grab a huge 55-second advantage on top of the classification.

The road-opening position did not suit Petter Solberg too much on Saturday, as the Norwegian driver was unable to keep the pace with Loeb throughout the entire 9 stages on schedule. After only 2 of them, the Frenchman had already taken the lead – making… (read more)

It seems Brazil really desires to go green, as the country’s National Association of Vehicle Manufacturers (Anfavea) recently announced that the country’s tenth million Flex-Fuel vehicle was built yesterday. A key factor in reaching this important milestone was the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) which provided the sugarcane ethanol.

Flex-Fuel technology enables cars to run on ethanol, which is a more effective, less costly biofuel, and has been recognized for its ability to… (read more)

After the recent acquisition of Saab Automobile AB by Spyker Cars NV, the company’s North American division has taken the first step into reviving the Swedish brand by announcing the 2010 pricing for the 9-3 model range.

With the most exciting new entry being the 9-3X premium cross-over model, this will be the first 2010 model year Saab vehicle produced for the US market. Saab Cars North America said in a press release the new vehicles will be arriving in showrooms mid-March and with a 4 to … (read more)