Author: autoevolution

Parts & components suppliers play an important role in a car’s market success, especially if we are talking about a premium vehicle like Porsche. You can think at this using the economic science approach, analyzing the complex supply & demand chain or looking at it in a romantic way, imagining the passion that goes into the design process of certain components that sometimes remain unnoticed – no matter how you see it, suppliers are very important.

Porsche knows this and it’s why the German a… (read more)

Although he normally races a Mazda RX-8 in the Rolex Grand-Am GT series, actor Patrick Dempsey will also get behind the wheel of a 2010 Mazda3 prepared by Tri-Point Motorsports in mid-April. Dempsey will compete in the World Challenge race during the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend to support no cost cancer treatment.

The World Challenge will take place on April 18, and is part of several events Mazda will participate at Long Beach that weekend, including a American Le Mans Series rac… (read more)

The fact that every Lotus T127 that has started a race in the 2010 Formula One championship managed to cross the finish line – something that no other new F1 team has done this year – seems to attract some decent business opportunities for the Malaysian backed team. According to several reports, it seems that Tony Fernandes’ outfit is ready to ink yet another sponsorship agreement in the series.

During a media event on Tuesday, a new brand was spotted on the nose of the Lotus T127, namely the… (read more)

Japanese carmaker Nissan announced today the pre-order availability of the first electric vehicle for the masses, the Leaf. The EV will be available for order in Japan starting this April, with prices to start at 2.99 million yen ($32,354), after government incentives.

The tricky part is, however, there’s no way of telling whether current government incentives in Japan (770,000-yen government incentive credit) will continue through fiscal year 2010. If not, the Leaf will be sold starting at … (read more)

Fernando Alonso’s surge from P22 during the Australian Grand Prix did not go unnoticed, as plenty of F1 pundits praised the Spaniard’s efforts on Sunday. Needless to say, to recover over 12 positions on a wet track in only 17 laps is no coincidence, and the 2-time world champion was even aiming for a podium finish late in the race.

However, when on a high pace, the Spaniard was kept behind by his own teammate Felipe Massa, who blocked his efforts to score a 3rd – or even 2nd place – in Austra… (read more)

The first customer to take delivery of the new Mercedes-Benz E-Klasse Cabriolet immediately after the market launch has been presented with the keys yesterday at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Bremen. The customer is top business owner Dieter Funke, while car in question was an E 250 CGI BlueEFFICIENCY Cabriolet in palladium silver.

Dieter Funke is not at his first Mercedes-Benz cars, having owned several so far. "I really enjoy it. I covered more than 210,000 kilometres with my CLK Cabriole… (read more)

Daimler Trucks is currently running an eco test program, called Shaping Future Transportation, an initiative that aims to bring the notion of a zero emission commercial vehicle to the real world through the use of efficient powertrains and alternative fuels.

One of the program’s projects is a research fleet trial that sees 10 light duty Fuso Canter trucks equipped with hybrid powertrains serving as everyday London area transport vehicles. The trucks belong to eight customer fleets and have c… (read more)

Still battling a torn anterior cruciate ligament injury he got during a basketball game this January and in the eve of a surgical intervention, Joe Gibbs Racing Denny Hamlin managed to score his second consecutive victory at Martinsville Speedway.

Hamlin took advantage of a pit stop under caution on Lap 493 and, boasting fresh tires, wrestled his way passed Ryan Newman, Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon, finshing the race on a cut tire with only a .670 lead ahead of teammate Joey Logano.

&quot… (read more)

Fernando Alonso insisted that he had no knowledge of Michael Schumacher being on a fast lap in the dying seconds of the Australian Grand Prix Q3. Following the qualifying session on Saturday, the German had told the media that both Lewis Hamilton and Alonso had blocked him in Q2 and Q3 respectively, preventing him from scoring a better time.

After the Q3 was over and the drivers parked their cars in the garage, the 7-time world champion came immediately to the Spaniard to ask him about the in… (read more)

The Australian Grand Prix has truly provided an interesting experience to the people at McLaren Mercedes, as each day was full of incidents in Melbourne. Aside from their first win of the season, probably the most discussed topic in the media this weekend was Lewis Hamilton’s encounter with the Victorian police, after doing some burnouts in his silver Mercedes C63 AMG.

While having some fun on the streets of Melbourne, the 2008 F1 champion was pulled over by the police and handed a fine for h… (read more)

Shortly after becoming available for under $7,495 in California thanks to the state incentive program, the Zero S and Zero DS motorcycles also became eligible for the Colorado Alternative Fuel Vehicle Tax Credit. Both electric motorcycles are therefore available to Colorado customers at a price of just $4,107.

The Colorado tax credit, which offers $4,888 off the purchase, will last as long as funding remains available. In addition, the motorcycles are also eligible for a ten percent federal … (read more)

For the "we-can’t-keep-track-anymore" time, American manufacturer GM announced new appointments within its upper management, this time in the financial department. Motivated by GM as necessary to "further advance the company’s financial progress and prepare for its return to public ownership in the future," the changes are meant to help GM’s financial officer, Chris Liddell, in the tasks ahead.

To the point, Walter Borst, former GM vice president and treasurer, has been na… (read more)

After Kia and Skoda announced they decided to extend the country’s scrappage scheme, Nissan UK also revealed it is planning to do so as well and to further support the British automotive industry. The carmaker has built a 36-feet extended vehicle made out of scrapped car parts to mark the announcement.

There’s no doubt the Government’s Scrappage Scheme along with our own Trade-in Scheme has given the UK automotive industry a boost. As Britain’s biggest car builder, we hope that by extending o… (read more)

After bursting at his team for more or less ruining his race in Australia, Lewis Hamilton now revealed he understands why McLaren made the call it did during the Sunday action at Albert Park. While racing in 3rd place, the Brit was called to the pits for a second tire change, therefore dropping to 5th place and setting off a recovery race in the final stages of the Aussie GP.

With some 5 laps to go, Hamilton told his team via radio that calling him to the pits for one additional time on Sunda… (read more)

The first electric Tesla Roadster to reach Spanish shores has been delivered in Granada this week. The lucky man to be called the first Roadster owner in the country is actually not a Spanish national, but Amsterdam native Otto.

Poldermans, the founder of Solar Hydro Solutions, a manufacturer and supplier of solar equipment to private and commercial customers in Andalusia, purchased a twilight blue Roadster, not necessarily to save some money, but to make some, by linking the electric Roadst… (read more)

Ford’s commercial van has seen a strong increase in popularity among US family business owners since it was introduced last August, with more than 13,000 units sold to date. The American manufacturer has therefore kicked-off a nationwide tour yesterday, when the US also celebrated National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day.

The 2010 Ford Transit Connect Tour will run through mid-May, offering individual test drives to business owners in 18 cities. Business owners can also request a front-door … (read more)

Porsche, Ferrari and Lamborghini (enumerated in the rising order of their average vehicle’s number of cylinders) are the three supercar makers that first come to mind when one thinks about fast, exotic vehicles. The next things that people think about when they mention these names are speed, three distinct symphonies and silhouettes that disappear from your eyesight as if they were pulled by a divine hand. And the list could go on… forever.

The last word that anyone would associate to the t… (read more)

Toyota’s North American division, Scion, announced today it has launched a new marketing campaign. Dubbed Reinvent the wheels, it comprises a six episode web-exclusive video series. As part of the campaign, artists will be able to build a car in partnership with a car tuner shop.

Finally, expert judges will select the winner by determining which car has truly reinvented the wheels.

"This unique campaign allows us to showcase the compelling stories of three emerging artists as they tr… (read more)

"Due to the overwhelming interest shown for the new Ford Focus RS500, Ford decided to release more information today, March 29, 2010." This is how American manufacturer Ford signs the birth certificate of perhaps the meanest, darkest Focus ever created.

Limited to only 500 "performance car enthusiasts", the RS500 comes packing a 2.5l 5-cylinder engine developing 345 horsepower and 460 Nm of torque. The boost over the production version has mainly been achieved by improvi… (read more)

Expecting strong sales in the Latin American markets in the near future, Mercedes-Benz do Brasil decided to further increase its commercial vehicle production capacity. The company will therefore start to use facilities of the Mercedes-Benz plant in Juiz de Fora in the state of Minas Gerais in 2011.

Mercedes-Benz do Brasil already announced it will increase its truck and bus production capacity in the São Bernardo do Campo plant to 75,000 units per year by 2012. Mercedes-Benz do Brasil believ… (read more)