Archive for July 28th, 2008

Filed under: Manufacturing/Plants, MPG, Mercedes Benz, USA
Click above for more shots of the A 160 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY
The move to smaller cars in the United States will cover nearly all vehicle classes, even touching such luxury car stalwarts as Mercedes-Benz. Fortunately for MB, the automaker already has a few small vehicles which it can consider selling… »

Filed under: Green Culture, Toyota, Lightweight, European Union
click above for a high res gallery of the Toyota iQ
In a move which sheds some light on just how important the Italian market is for small cars, Toyota has begun a new guerrilla marketing campaign for its upcoming iQ minicar. Using magnets stuck to the sides… »

Sweet heavenly car gods, make the pain stop. You already handily smote us today with that overwhelming Nova thing, and now this? A car made only of parts from other cars…it’s practically a moving identity crisis. We’re pretty sure it originally started out as a Toyota Hilux, but that was many rolls of fiberglass ago…. »

Schnitzel Ben’s story of a Carrera GT crushed on prom night by a careless teen got us thinking about the immense amount of pressure prom is designed to inflict. You’re in high school and therefore awkward and confused. You’ve got to find a date. You’ve got to find a tux. You have to pick out… »

galleryPost(’terrorcar’, 3, ‘A Shame Which Dare Not Speak Its Name’); We had thought there to be no limit to our fascination with the perverse side of automobilia. But today we have found it. A car which jumps every shark, crosses every line, and shocks and confounds in ways we’ve never considered. It’s the automotive… »

Filed under: Ethanol, EV/Plug-in, Legislation and Policy, Pacific Region
NRMA Motoring & Services has just released its Jamison Group report known as A Road Map for Alternative Fuels in Australia: Ending our Dependence on Oil. In this report, the group suggests that Australia must act quickly to reduce its own dependence on foreign oil, which has… »

General Motors has announced that it is cutting Saab out of the 5-year/100,000-mile GM powertrain warranty, instead saddling the Swedish brand with a 4-year/50,000-mile warranty. In other words, Saab reliability is so poor that GM has to cut warranty coverage lest the resulting repairs push the automaker further toward bankruptcy? Not so, claims spokesperson Joanne… »

General Motors has announced that it is cutting Saab out of the 5-year/100,000-mile GM powertrain warranty, instead saddling the Swedish brand with a 4-year/50,000-mile warranty. In other words, Saab reliability is so poor that GM has to cut warranty coverage lest the resulting repairs push the automaker further toward bankruptcy? Not so, claims spokesperson Joanne… »

A report at Fourtitude says highly placed sources are stating the pending B8 Audi RS4 and the first edition of the Audi RS5 will be sporting a massaged version of the 4.2-liter V8 currently in the RS4 and R8. The mill would be getting a boost from 420 HP to 450-470 ponies, most resulting from… »

A report at Fourtitude says highly placed sources are stating the pending B8 Audi RS4 and the first edition of the Audi RS5 will be sporting a massaged version of the 4.2-liter V8 currently in the RS4 and R8. The mill would be getting a boost from 420 HP to 450-470 ponies, most resulting from… »