Author: autoevolution

With less than two weeks left before the start of the 80th edition of the Geneva Auto Show, the Germans from Mercedes Benz released a bunch of photos and a few pages of details on what they call the F800 Style concept, showing a glimpse of the future CLS-Klasse.

The F800 is acclaimed as one of the greenest vehicles in existence, placing together two of the basic technologies for the green segment: the hydrogen fuel cell and the plug-in hybrid. 

The combined use of the powertrain, based on… (read more)

Finally, the 15 years long wait for a new generation Sharan will soon end, as German carmaker Volkswagen decided to bring the new generation of the people mover to the 2010 Geneva Auto Show. And that’s not all; they even decided to give us a glimpse of the new MPV, in this somewhat exciting photo posted on the carmaker’s German website.

As you might imagine, there’s little official information about Der Sharan know at this point but, then again, since we’ve waited for 15 years, we can easily g… (read more)

A very pleased American manufacturer Ford announced in the beginning of the weekend the new F-150 SVT Raptor has managed to exceed all their expectations in terms of customer success, with no less than 5,300 orders placed so far.  

We couldn’t be more pleased with the popularity of the F-150 SVT Raptor, Mark Grueber, F-150 Marketing manager said in a release. Orders have exceeded our expectations.

The truck is so popular that we actually wound up building more 5.4-liter V-8 models than we ha… (read more)

Future owners of CTS Cadillacs will have the option to be accommodated by their cars in an euro-sourced hypersport way, as Cadillac announced that the Recaro Performance seats are now available as a limited optional feature throughout for the Premium and Performance trim levels of the 2010 model CTS Sport Sedans.

For $2,800, owners will get a set of Recaro 14-way adjustable seats which were previously only fitted on the 556 HP CTS-V top of the rage (no typo here folks). Apparently, this prove… (read more)

As you already know by now, American manufacturer Chrysler decided to auction a Chrysler 300 vehicle, owned by Olivier Francois, the brand’s CEO and signed by hundreds of celebrities during the Golden Globe awards on January 17, to help the Haiti relief effort.

The auction took place on February 20 during the Leake Car Auction in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and saw the car getting no less than $100,000. As already announced by Chrysler, all the proceeds from the auction will go to the American Re… (read more)

Freudenberg Chemical Specialties, a German company, has recently analyzed the Chinese electric car market and has concluded that this will play a key role for the global future of electric vehicles, as Gasgoo reports.

The company, specialized in lubricants, release agents for the metal industry and products for maintenance & recovery plans to develop battery saving technology applications destined for the electric vehicle market and implement these on the Chinese automotive market.

"… (read more)

We’ve been holding our breath for quite a while, waiting for the RS incarnation of the Audi A5 coupe to hit the market. Now, two weeks ahead of the car’s world premiere at the Geneva Auto Show, the wait is over, as a leaked brochure reveals the Audi RS5 in all its mightiness.

Unfortunately, the main things whispered into our eyes through the new media’s voice are the fact that the RS5 will come with at least 4 designs for its alloy rims, 3 types of cabin accommodations and will be handled thr… (read more)

As, we’ve previously reported, premium sports car producer Porsche plans to sell 10,000 cars on the Chinese market in 2010 after its 2009 Chinese sales saw a 13 percent increase, reaching 9,090 units.

One of the measures taken to achieve this is the expansion of the company’s Chinese dealer network: Porsche plans to inaugurate 13 new dealerships in China this year, as Gasgoo reports. The country is the carmaker’s third biggest market – in January, Porsche’s sales in China saw an increase whic… (read more)

Fernando Alonso did not top the timing reports of the Jerez testing this week, but the Spaniard is the last driver in the 2010 Formula One roster to worry about lap times at the moment. And that’s because he believes the Ferrari car he’s driving now is the best F1 car he has driven in his entire career.

Having won the world title two times with Renault (2005 and 2006), Alonso doesn’t have a doubt in his mind that Ferrari is going to be at the top this year. And a strong reason for that would … (read more)

The Japanese tire manufacturer has recently reported its financial results for 2009 which reveal a drastic drop in net profits when compared to 2008. However, the company said it already aims recovery in 2010, but believes it might take more time to revive profit levels.

The Japanese group reported a net profit of JPY 1.04bn (US$ 11.3m) for 2009, which accounts for a 90 percent drop when compared with fiscal year 2008. Global Bridgestone tire sales also fell 20 percent in 2009, from JPY 3.234… (read more)

After the first 3 tests of the off-season – the last of which will conclude today, at Jerez – reigning Formula One champion Jenson Button has no doubt in his mind about the team to beat in 2010. As far as the 30-year old driver is concerned, Ferrari currently benefit from the strongest package in testing, as the F10 is by far the most consistent car of the pack.

Fernando Alonso yesterday did 132 laps on the Jerez circuit and scored the second best time of the day – more than 8 tenths of a sec… (read more)

While the news coming from Spain regarding the difficult situation of Campos Grand Prix seems to get better by the day, the reports emerging from the US are just the opposite. Only this time, it’s the very co-owner of US Grand Prix Engineering Ken Anderson who admitted the hole his team is into at the moment, revealing that they are seeking permission from the FIA to miss the first 4 races of the season.

Financial trouble is how Anderson explained his team’s current situation, while admitting… (read more)

What has been rumored for quite some time now was finally confirmed on Friday afternoon, when former shareholder of Campos Grand Prix, Spanish businessman Jose Ramon Carabante, purchased the majority stake in the team and became the new owner of Campos.

After some prolonged talks with former team boss Adrian Campos, Carabante managed to convince him to sell the necessary shares in the team in order to make him majority owner and his first move afterwards was to appoint Colin Kolles as new tea… (read more)

The Japanese manufacturer seems to have finally come to its senses and hinted through the voice of its R&D Chief Operating Officer, Tomohiko Kawanabe, that it readies small displacement diesel engines for the European and Indian car markets.

"If you want to compete in markets like India, and also Europe, (a small diesel engine) is necessary," said Tomohiko Kawanabe on Friday.

Europe is a place where the Japanese manufacturer has lost greatly in recent years due to its lack of ava… (read more)

Japan’s second largest automaker has announced Friday through the voice of its Chief Operating Officer of automobile Research & Development that is plans to field new hybrid systems for large cars in the upcoming years, adding to the company’s green vehicle range.

"We’ve left the research stage and entered the field of development," said Tomohiko Kawanabe, Honda COO R&D in an interview for Reuters. The company already has a noticeable choice of hybrids, including the Insight, Civic … (read more)

If Infiniti had any intention to sell impressive numbers on the European market, the Japanese luxury car manufacturer needed at least one diesel engine. After realizing that, they got to work and just presented a newly developed 3.0-litre V6 diesel, the first in the brand’s 20-year history. The engine is now available on the EX and FX crossovers and will be available on the M sedan pretty soon.

The sales success enjoyed by Infiniti in Europe against a backdrop of financial uncertainty proves … (read more)

The young NASCAR Nationwide Series driver will make his debut in the JR Motorsports No. 88 car on Saturday during the Starter Bros. 300 at Auto Club Speedway. The 25-year-old driver missed his 2010 season debut at Daytona last weekend, where Danica Patrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. stole the media attention.

Before getting behind the wheel of his team’s new Chevy racer, Kelly Bires admitted he was surprised that people recognized him in Daytona and cheered for him even though he didn’t race.

… (read more)

Apparently the average Dodge Challenger owner starts buying stuff from the Mopar catalog pretty soon, so we’re not at all surprised that the company has such a wide variety of aftermarket accessories.

"Dodge Challenger is one of our most accessorized vehicles," said Pietro Gorlier, President and Chief Executive Officer – Mopar Service, Parts and Customer Care, Chrysler Group LLC. "Unlike any other automotive aftermarket company, Mopar parts and accessories are specifically desi… (read more)

It seems that more deaths cause by Toyota’s killer accelerator pedal are being discovered, as Safety Research & Strategies Inc. (SRS) released an addendum saying that NHTSA allegedly excluded eight early reports of deaths linked to Toyota SUA from its official complaints, crash, injury and death counts.

According to SRS, this omission occurred during the first two years of the NHTSA. The new information would bring the official number of deaths related to Toyota SUA to 42.

"It is impo… (read more)

Honda UK said it wants to help customers make the most of what’s left of the British scrappage scheme, so it re-launched its 0% APR finance offer for Jazz. This finance package for two years offers customers a great deal: 35% deposit and 24 monthly repayments starting from £299.

If you don’t have a car for the scrappage scheme, that’s no problem. Honda’s offer is also available to non-scrappage customers, and given the Jazz’s high repeat purchase rate of 63% this could be a good opportunity f… (read more)