The most valuable car marque in the world today is BMW. Automotive News reports that BMW has replaced Toyota to take the number one spot in the list of automakers. The study was part of an overall study called the BrandZ Top 100 conducted by Millward Brown research group. The car manufacturers are number 25 and 26 on the list respectively. I suppose Toyota's drop in position was caused by all the controversy caused by its recalls and faults throughout the United States and Europe. Of course some
When we think of the term "hybrid," at least in its vehicular sense, we tend to conjure up images of cars like the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight. These machines are so named due to their dual power trains, mostly consisting of an internal combustion engine coupled to an electric motor.
Lexus' newest hybrid concept proudly carries its moniker despite the complete lack of an engine. It does, however, have a 240-Watt electric motor powered by a 25.9-volt lithium battery pack coupled with leg
Following its introduction on the facelifted S-MAX and Galaxy people carriers, Ford's European division is expanding the availability of the new 2.0 litre EcoBoost petrol engine that combines turbocharging and direct fuel injection to the Mondeo.
The 2.0 litre SCTi unit, which comes as standard with a six-speed PowerShift wet double-clutch gearbox, produces 203 horsepower at 5,500 rpm and 300 Nm of torque from 1,750 to 4,500 rpm. It propels the Mondeo saloon from 0 to 100km/h in 7.9 seconds
Only days after the unveiling of the new Verna in Beijing, Hyundai rolled out the next generation Avante saloon at the 2010 Busan International Motor Show.
Boasting a much sportier look than its rather dull predecessor, the new Avante continues Hyundai's 'fluidic sculpture' design philosophy that most automakers would describe today as a "four-door coupe". There are no photos of the new Avante's cabin, but we can assume that the interior styling will be heavily influenced by the larger Sona
Due to stronger sales and equity gains from affiliated companies, Kia Motors was able to quadruple its net profit in the first quarter. In a regulatory filing, Kia disclosed that it earned 398.6 billion won in the three months ended March 31.
For the same period last year, Kia reported a net profit of 97.4 billion won. Kia reported that sales for the quarter increased by 39% to 4.86 trillion won from 3.5 trillion won a year earlier. Kia and Hyundai Motor Co. form the world
Almost a year after the announcement on the development of a police package for the new Jaguar XF, the first ever pursuit versions of the British saloon are about to go on patrol across the Midlands.
The Central Motorway Police Group, which patrols motorways across Staffordshire, Mercia and the West Midlands, has bought seven high performance Police-spec XFs. All are based on the Diesel S model that features a 3.0-liter unit, churning out 275-horsepower and 443lb-ft of peak torque while sti
- Polo R
The happy people at R GmbH have decided to show us a picture of the new Polo R. It seems the official tuning arm of the People's Car, a.k.a Volkswagen, have come up with the R version of the Polo GTI. This Polo R is the fourth R version following the Passat, Golf and Scirocco versions already shown to the general public.
According to the still secretive R GmbH, the Polo R makes 210bhp from a new direct injection 1.6liter turbocharged TSI engine. The base Polo GTI has a supercharg
Now all you 2010 Porsche Panamera owners that happen to be reading please pay attention. There is now a worldwide recall for the 2010 Panamera (all models) for a potential safety belt defect that may not protect the driver and passenger in the event of a crash. The American National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Porsche have issued such a recall in America as the defect can occur when either front seat is set at a very forward position close to the dashboard. Porsche has now
In addition to the introduction of the all new Verna, Hyundai also unveiled new Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) engine options and gearbox technology at the Beijing Motor show.
First of all is a direct injection version of the Korean manufacturer
Finally a puzzle of Mercedes-Benz 300 SL is out. As we can see, its exterior has changed radically. It is the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL HWA Special Edition and it's painted. Hans-Werner Aufrecht is an engineer who worked for Mercedes and created the sports division, AMG. He then left and created his own company, HWA, which controls Mercedes DTM, a division in charge of the German tourisms championship.
One day a wealthy client ordered 300 SL with the following conditions: bodywork of mythical de
The world has just witnessed the premiere of the Concept Gran Coupe by BMW Group. The Bavarian automaker calls it a four-door coupe, which is fancy marketing talk for a saloon with sportier body proportions.
The car looks extremely production ready and it could very well enter the market within a year or two offering, offering competition to the Porsche Panamera, the next Mercedes-Benz CLS and the upcoming Audi A7. It could possibly carry the 8-Series badge on the boot.
The five-meter l
Now that we have probably seen and discussed every and any relevant new model, it's time to take a look at some of the more feminine aspects of the Beijing Auto Show.
Have a gander at some of the ladies that decided to stand for hours on and around a bunch of relatively boring (at least most of them) reveals. Gentlemen, here's some eye candies for you
The Ford Start Concept is the first concept car created by Ford in more than three years and will make its debut at the Beijing International Auto Show. It also marks the first time Ford has unveiled an all new concept vehicle at a China show. The Start Concept is more than simply a design study. It previews a fuel efficient 1L three-cylinder EcoBoost engine with the power of a larger Inline 4 engine.
The Ford Start Concept was inspired in part by a growing global trend toward mass urbaniza
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Lamborghini has decided that the market in China warrants a highly limited edition of one of their supercars. So at the 2010 Beijing Auto Show they launched the Murci
Volkswagen is giving it's slow-selling Phaeton flagship another chance at life with a mid-life facelift. Set to be revealed at the 2010 Beijing Motor Show, the updated Phaeton features new technologies.
The cosmetic changes up front include a more chiseled design with bi-xenon headlights complete with LED running lights and a new grille. At the rear end, changes are limited to the new light units and a restyled bumper. The redesigned alloy wheel round off the exterior updates.
Moving on
At a recent classic car show in Japan a tuning company called Tec Art's, not to be confused with the Porsche tuning company Techart as it has that funny Japanese punctuation, had exhibited another one of those classic Japanese cars that have been tweaked by adding current automotive tech. This makes the a 20 or 30 year old classic run reliably on current technology for the ease of its owners. Tec Art's Eco Hatchi-Roku (86) is one of those type of modded cars but it has a twist. This old AE86 is
Bentley has released photos and details of two special edition Continental models that have been designed exclusively for the China market and will have their world premiere at the Beijing motorshow on the 23rd of April.
First up is the 'Continental GT Design Series China', highlighted by its unique color and trim options. The pride and joy of each design series is the three-tone interior that blends a main leather hide color with insert colors at locations such as the coupe's seat belts, f
Now if you're an avid motorist and love different sorts of motoring experiences then taking your car on a ferry ride is something you should do. On a recent trip to Penang I did just that. This is a motoring experience that allows you to drive on a large boat, step out of the car, take in that salty sea breeze with a slight tinge of diesel from the ferry's engine. You can do this as soon as the ferry is on the move and you get to admire the scenery around you from a slightly different perspectiv
I made a short trip with the family up north to Penang quite recently as we had a wedding to attend in Butterworth. The fun thing about Penang is that it is a nice mix of old and new. There are old buildings located almost everywhere in the island city of Georgetown and it has that slightly colonial feeling if you spend some time driving through its streets. The hotel where we stayed was a typical highrise building but right in front it was a Kentucky Fried Chicken fast food restaurant that was
These are the first pictures of BAW's (Beijing Auto Work) C60 sedan that was caught under wraps just a few hours before its world premiere at the 2010 Beijing Motor Show which runs from April 23 to 27. It's not hard to see the similarities between the C60 and the Saab 9-3 sedan.
However, before you utter the words "another shameless Chinese clone", BAW's parent company, BAIC, paid Saab's previous owner, General Motors, $200 million dollars late last year to acquire the intellectual rights f
Mercedes has decided to show to the world their CLS station wagon concept ahead of its debut at the Beijing Auto Show. The car looks very production ready and it if remove that station wagon rear and imagine a boot in its place; it would be what the next generation Mercedes CLS (codenamed X218) looks like.
The design seems better than expected with Mercedes basically keeping the successful CLS silhouette and adding their latest design cues like the E-class style of rear wheel arch. This,
The newest generation of the Ford Fiesta has become Europe's best-selling car, pushing the Volkswagen Golf into second place for both March 2010 and year-to-date sales according to the latest figures from JATO Dynamics, an automotive business intelligence company.
Ford sold 68,630 Fiestas in March 2010, 11,784 more than the Golf. It represents a 25.8% increase in sales over March 2009. In the first quarter of the year (January-March), Europeans bought 140,496 Ford Fiestas (+21.7%) as compar
I am sorry to disappoint you if you think that the FMX is some sexy coupe or concept. Volvo (well, Volvo Trucks, to be more precise) has just pulled one very big sheet off of a new heavy-duty construction truck called the FMX. The leviathan bears a host of features designed to help it excel on the manufacturing and construction sites of Europe, including impressive ground clearance, substantial skid plates and one badpush-bar. Of course, there's also impressive engine options.
Volvo will le
