Author: autoevolution

Malaysian-based Bufori Motor Car Company will introduce a completely new luxury sedan at the upcoming Geneva Auto Show. The car, which bears the internal Mk VI code, will also receive its commercial name during the unveiling event.

The project has been in development for the last two years and it is expected to combine high-tech features with an elegant, imposing design, as the car is aimed at the ultra-premium sedan segment. The car will be powered by a 6.1 liter engine and will feature inte… (read more)

In a move we are not yet sure is very smart for Toyota, given the current circumstances, the company’s CEO, Akio Toyoda, will not come before Congress to ask questions regarding the huge recalls it had to make over the past months. Instead, the CEO will send the North American president, Yoshimi Inaba (recalled from retirement last year) to ask any question regarding the matter on February 24.

It’s a questionable decision for Toyoda to avoid the hearings, Tatsuya Mizuno, director of Mizuno C… (read more)

There has been a lot of talking about bio-ethanol in the United States lately. On the one hand, President Obama wants America to be energy independent, so he will focus on bio-fuel to make that happen. On the other hand, General Motors started selling vehicles which are capable of running on E85 and wants more fueling stations where the product is available.

At this moment, the US has an impressive ethanol production, but people are worried about the food versus fuel myth which states that i… (read more)

QNX Software Systems today announced that the QNX Multimedia Suite now offers enhanced support for Apple iPods, which comes to help automotive customers simplify the design of in-car infotainment systems. This will allow manufacturers of in-car infotainment units to complete their "Made for iPod" certifications with less time and effort.

Furthermore, the QNX Aviage Multimedia Suite also supports Apple’s Extended Accessory Framework (EAF) for communication with iPhone OS 3.0. This c… (read more)

The City of Amsterdam announced this week it will support the growth of the electric transportation in the region by providing 3 million euros worth of subsidies for grants to entrepreneurs and companies in the city, that wish to replace their existing ICE vehicles with pure electric vehicles.

According to the provisions of the project, the grants will cover up to 50% of the additional costs of buying EVs, currently a bit more expensive than internal combustion engined-cars.

The subsidies… (read more)

Things in the automotive world become stranger and strager as Cyclone Power announced it will build an engine which can work in the absence of oxygen.

Part of an order submitted by Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems (IDS), the engine will be a 10 hp unit capable of running on both traditional fuels and an environmentally friendly monopropellant called Moden Fuel, the fuel which can burn without oxygen. The goals of the project are to build an unit which can be used "in various power ap… (read more)

The tuners at Project recently revealed details on their latest contraption, a conversion program based on the Range Rover Sport. Dubbed 2010 Range Rover Sport Supercharged RS600, the package consists of a ten piece Kahn body kit complete with a sports exhaust system and a special color scheme.

The team behind the project says the kit has been severely tested to ensure safety and to guarantee customer satisfaction.

Inside, the RS600 package includes a complete interior styling package wit… (read more)

You might want to postpone any visits at Tiffany’s, as the famous jewelry store on the Fifth Avenue suffered a disastrous encounter with a Chrysler 300 the past weekend. According to NY Daily News, an off-duty cop was driving the car which hit a garbage truck, flipped over and crashed into the Tiffany & Co storefront.

Despite the amount of blood at the scene, all the three passengers from the Chrysler 300 escaped without serious injuries. The officer, Raphael Ospina, and his two passengers we… (read more)

The United Kingdom is still experiencing the hardest winter in over thirty years, so it is advised that all UK drivers check if their vehicles are still in good condition.

As temperatures reached -17 degrees and most of the country lies under snow, UK’s road salt reserves were exhausted. Most cars had a lot to deal with, so you should go to a service and check if yours is still in good condition.

If you’re looking for a place to check your car, Vauxhall MasterFit is continuing its Winter S… (read more)

A recent study perfected by insurance.com nominates the top 10 most dangerous drivers according to their profession. It appears that attorneys are the most hazardous drivers, as 44 percent of them claimed a prior accident, when they received a car insurance comparison quote from insurance.com.

The facts rely on accidents claims as a percentage of quotes. At the other end of the scale, we find the Athletes (with 17 percent) and the homemakers (with 24 percent).

Professions that demand mu… (read more)

Chinese automaker Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd announced that it plans to sell 412,000 vehicles in 2010, a goal which is to be achieved through a new product offensive, as SinoCast reports.

The carmaker will enrich its current vehicle line-up with 20 new models in 2010: six entirely new cars, 10 redesigned models, new energy vehicles and cars with revised engine ranges.

According to Liu Jinliang, the company’s vice president, three new brands will be created to introduce the novelties to … (read more)

Michelin did not have such a bad year in 2009, though the world’s second largest tiremaker announced that its profit decreased by 71 percent in 2009 as a result of falling sales and increasing reorganization costs. Still, the company did a good job managing its activities during the recession and it just launched its new tire called Michelin Pilot 3.

Today Michelin was awarded Tire Manufacturer of the Year in the Tire Technology International Awards for Innovation and Excellence 2010. The com… (read more)

The Goodwood Revival festival seems to attract more and more visitors each year. Last year it achieved an all-time record attendance with more than 132,000 participants gathering at the West Sussex motor circuit for a three day period. Surprisingly, despite this year’s event being seven months away, a new record figure is expected to be reached.

Goodwood officials say early sales of advanced tickets to the 2010 event are matching the highest level ever year-on-year in 13 years of the meeting…. (read more)

The 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix might have recorded the huge success everyone was expecting in terms of global audience – despite the title fight for both drivers and manufacturers crown being over by the last race of the season – but that didn’t stop the developers of the Yas Marina circuit from selling it earlier this year to the Abu Dhabi Government for Dh9.1 billion.

According to the local media, the Abu Dhabi-headquartered Aldar Properties PJSC decided to sell the state-of-the-art circuit … (read more)

According to the European carmaker’s association ACEA, European passenger car sales saw a 12.9 percent increase in January, a growth driven by scrappage schemes.1,058,868 passenger cars were sold in the European Union member states in January – this represents a 12.9 percent increase as compared to the figure registered in January 2008. However, the figure can also be translated into a 17.3 percent decrease as compared to the one posted in January 2008.

Numerous governments introduce scrappa… (read more)

Put on the hottest push-up bra and the matching bikini, ladies, because now is your chance to become a Bennetts babe. Celebrity Big Brother babe Nicola T today launched a nationwide search for the 2010 Bennetts Babes, by posing half-naked on a Ducati 1198 machine.

The annual competition set by the motorcycle insurance company gives British girls a chance to compete for a place in one of the hottest modeling squads in the biking world.

Nicola T, 27, joins a host of celebrity beauties inclu… (read more)

Valentino Rossi has signed a new deal with Packard Bell for a new line of products inspired by the nine-times MotoGP World Champion. The first netbook of the series, the limited edition VR46 will be available in Italy, France and England starting this month, at an estimated price of 499 euros.

The renowned "the sun & the moon" designed by Aldo Drudi, Rossi’s graphic designer, stands out on the NightSky Black cover like on the Italian’s famous helmets, and represents the two sides o… (read more)

Marcus Gronholm finished the rally that he used to win for a record 5 times – Rally Sweden that is – only in 21st place last weekend, but his overall performance in the Ford Focus RS WRC 09 on the snowy roads of Sweden was nothing short of positive.

The former WRC champion was running inside the Top 8 during the first few stages of the rally, when hitting some electrical problems with his car. A further puncture in the event slowed him down by approximately 20 minutes, eventually throwing him… (read more)

Selling cars proved to be quite a difficult job in the past years, so automakers started to think outside the box. On many occasions, good marketing can be more effective than a good product, though ideally you’d have both.

Tesla, the electric car manufacturer based in the US, decided to start a campaign in Switzerland. So the automaker will offer test drives this weekend in St. Moritz, the world’s oldest and most prestigious winter resort. Customers and media can test-drive the 2010 Tesla Ro… (read more)

Tata Motors LTD, India’s biggest truck producer, is planing to sell a stake in its financing arm, as Reuters reports, citing a company official.

We are looking at various options for offloading the stake, the company’s Vice Chairman, Ravi Kant said at a press conference in New Delhi. He failed to provide additional details about the business scheme.

Tata has performed similar actions in the past, in order to raise funds. In 2009, the company sold some stakes in its Tata Steel subsidiary … (read more)