As the social tension grows from day to day in Italy, because of the projected layoffs Italian manufacturer Fiat is said to be preparing, the carmaker announced yesterday the place of production for the next generation Fiat Panda, scheduled to enter production sometime in 2011.
The new Panda will roll off the assembly lines of the Giambattista Vico plant in Pomigliano d’Arco, but not before some extensive "restructuring" is being done (bad choice of words, Fiat!).
The carmaker wi… (read more)
Ford’s luxury brand, Lincoln, pulled the wraps off its first hybrid today, the 2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, praising it will be the most fuel-efficient luxury sedan in America. The luxury midsize sedan is expected to deliver at least 41 mpg in the city when it will go on sale this fall, with pricing set to be revealed closer to the market launch.
"Lincoln’s hallmarks are design, technology and comfort. Now, Lincoln also delivers the best fuel efficiency of any luxury sedan in America," … (read more)
Now this didn’t happen in a long while… After last year Opel had troubles convincing its workers not to take up arms and turn against the management, the German carmaker is now in the position where it can say "Told you so…!" In a short and to-the-point press release, Opel announced it is hiring.
Not workers, but engineers. Two hundred and fifty (250) of them, to be more precise, to lend a helping hand at the International Technical Development Center in Russelsheim, where Opel… (read more)
Many supercars are biting their nails right now, as Subaru and Cosworth are offering us a sneak peak of their upcoming special edition Cosworth Impreza STI CS400, a compact four wheel drive beast, which will literally hit the market in June.
Subaru tells us that the standard Impreza WRX STI’s output of 300 hp (delivered at 6,000 rpm), which catapulted it to 62 mph in 5.2 seconds, will be upgraded to 400 hp (offered at 5,750 rpm), a figure that will blast the car past the 62 mph mark in a supe… (read more)
Apart from McLaren’s maiden win this season, the Australian Grand Prix also brought in another controversy in the series, namely Red Bull’s apparent adjustable suspension. Prior to the Saturday qualifying in Melbourne, McLaren Mercedes’s CEO Martin Whitmarsh told the media that he suspects Red Bull have come up with a design that adjusts the height of the suspension between qualifying and race.
Although asking for the International Automobile Federation (FIA) to look into the matter asap, som… (read more)
Since all this biodiesel frenzy began, we here at autoevolution, completely ignorant in the field of botany, started learning new names, designing magical plants which can be converted into fuel.
We will not go into all the plant names we learned the last year or so, but we’ll focus on today’s lesson: jatropha. Originally coming from the Caribbean, jatropha was made a star by Portuguese traders, who found it to be a great hedge plant. Slowly, the succulent plant spread to India, Africa, and … (read more)
German carmaker BMW recently revealed a new system especially developed to assist drivers when they are driving along particularly narrow lanes. Dubbed BMW Narrow-passage assistant, the system will guide you, for example, when driving near building works and you have concentrate very carefully because of the reduced width.
The narrow-passage assistant enhances driver control, allowing to correctly assess a narrow passage in advance, keep to their line precisely when they are driving through t… (read more)
Please spot the irony in this information: Americans, who are known all over the world for their truck love, won’t get the new Volkswagen Amarok Pickup (at least not too soon) due to an insufficient predicted annual sales volume. Instead, the U.S. has engineered the rear axle for the vehicle, as this has been developed by the American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings.
The parts will assure traction for South American drivers, as this is the Amarok’s first market. So the Germans at VW seem to b… (read more)
Ireland will be one of the most electric vehicle friendly countries in Europe, as its government has announced that it plans to have 1,500 EV recharging stations installed throughout the country by the end of next year.
The charging infrastructure should support the authorities plan to see at least 10 percent of the cars in the country powered by electricity by 2020. The charging stations provided Elektromotive has been commissioned to initiate a pilot project that includes the installation o… (read more)
The American division of American manufacturer Honda announced it has been selected official eco-partner for the 2010 Sasquatch! Music Festival in George, Washington over Memorial Day weekend.
Taking advantage of its presence at the event, Honda will showcase near the Honda Big Foot Solar Stage its Honda Hybrid Zone, an area where those attending will witness the CR-Z sport hybrid coupe, Insight hybrid sedan, and the Civic hybrid sedan.
"We have found that Honda customers are as pass… (read more)
Establishing a new vehicle’s image on the market is a difficult task, especially if it belongs to a brand that doesn’t excel at history lessons, such as Chevrolet Europe.
This is why the company’s UK arm decided to use a special feature to bring the Cruze model to the public’s attention by commissioning Ex-England cricket captain Michael Vaughan to create the world’s biggest airballing painting, in the the form of a 16 by 5 foot image of a Chevrolet Cruze born by hitting and throwing paint-s… (read more)
Renault’s Dacia-related marketing engines are running at full throttle: after the French carmaker developed an ice-racing version of the upcoming Dacia Duster SUV that took the Silver medal in the Trophee Andros, the company created a Duster off-road racer, entering two examples of the vehicle in the 20th anniversary Rallye Aicha des Gazelles, a competition held in Morocco.
Now, Renault announces that one of the cars, driven by Isabelle Charles, the Duster’s color and materials design manage… (read more)
As part of Daimler’s overall strategy of actively shaping sustainable mobility, the Mercedes-Benz plant in Berlin will begin production of transmission-integrated electric engine for Mercedes-Benz hybrid vehicles in 2012.
The Berlin plant currently produces V6 and V8 diesel engines and V12 biturbo engines for the Mercedes-Benz and Maybach brands.
The electrification of the drive system will play an important part in mobility in the future. The Berlin plant already has a wealth of expertise… (read more)
After several months we tormented you with a series of spyshots showing (better said "hiding") the next generation B-Klasse, it’s time for some neatly designed CGIs to give us a hint on how the future B will look like.
Hoped to turn the tide and bring younger customers to the line, the future B-Klasse is also considered by Mercedes the main weapon in the fight for the "price-sensitive compact premium vehicle segment."
The line is also at the core of the overall Mercede… (read more)
The Ferrari 250GT Spyder California replica which featured in the 1986 Paramount hit film ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ is to be sold at Bonhams Collectors’ Motor Cars and Automobilia auction April 19.
Only around one hundred genuine 250GT Spyder California’s were created by Ferrari between 1958 and 1963. Existing examples are very rare and expensive so Paramount chose to commission and build a replica for filming purposes.
The film follows Ferris (Matthew Broderick) and two of his friends … (read more)
The countless applications Cyclone’s waste heat engine can have will be put to test by the University of Maryland who, together with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), has embedded it into the Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot (EATR).
Built as a long range military reconnaissance system, EATR will use the Cyclone biomass-to-power engine system to get huge mileage, thanks to the engine’s ability to use biomass as fuel.
"We are very pleased with the performanc… (read more)
The U.S. automotive powertrain components manufacturer BorgWarner recently opened a new production site in Chennai, India.
The site will serve BorgWarner Thermal Systems, an arm of the company that develops thermal management applications designed to improve engine cooling, increase fuel efficiency, and reduce emissions. The 65,000 square foot site is based in a high tech business park and will host manufacturing, engineering, sales and administrative departments. The project has also been e… (read more)
Warning: contains terms which may be considered inappropriate. To those of you who found the title of this piece offensive, we say: it wasn’t us! It was the Victorian government in Oz, (or Australia, by its stage name), who decided to pursue those who don’t follow rules and regulations behind the wheel with the ultimate deterrent weapon: insults.
Now, we are not yet sure why the Australian authorities chose to spend AU$100,000 for a series of videos promoting road safety through foul languag… (read more)
The non-street legal Viper SRT10 ACR-X, priced at $110,000, has officially entered production yesterday, when the first example rolled off the assembly line at the Conner Avenue Assembly Plant in Detroit. The Dodge Viper ACR-X will make its competition debut on July 9-10, 2010, in the Dodge Viper Cup.
"The 2010 model year is going to be unique for the Dodge Viper in many ways both on and off the track, so to kick it off with production of our ultimate special-edition Viper ACR-X is our w… (read more)
The tuners at Brabus unveiled today their 2010 Mercedes E Klasse Cabrio program, featuring a new styling package and some… insignificant power upgrades for various engines in the lineup. However, pricing for the new program depends on the engine and the various other options offered by the German tuner.
The Brabus 2010 Mercedes E Class Cabrio offers the ECO Power Extra D4 power kit that increases the output of the E250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY engine to 235 hp (232 bhp) / 173 kW and 560 Nm (413 … (read more)