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VW to invest $3.5 billion in Brazil

November 29, 2009 /

The greatest story never told is gaining more steam going into the next decade. VW will invest $3.5 billion in Brazil. Steadily, VW is turning into the next measuring stick in the auto business.

From the Detroit News:

Germany’s Volkswagen AG today announced plans to invest $3.5 billion in Brazil and said it hopes to be building a million vehicles a year in the country by 2014.

Volkswagen said the planned investment through 2014 is aimed at increasing production capacity and developing new models. It expects to produce some 800,000 vehicles in the South American country this year.

VW, based in Wolfsburg and Europe’s biggest auto maker, said it will expand production capacity at its Anchieta and Taubate vehicle production plants and at an engine plant in Sao Carlos.

Read the full article here.


Photo from fOTOGLIF

News

VW bringing 170 mpg concept to LA Auto Show

November 29, 2009 /

One-hundred seventy mpg? Now were talking. This concept from VW may look a little strange but it is rumored to be going into production sometime in 2013. What the final production version will look like is still years away but if it keeps the mpg’s around 170 bring it on!

From AutoGuide.com:

As amazing as the 71-mpg Polo BlueMotion model is that Volkswagen plans to show at the LA Auto Show next week, the German automaker will also show another fuel-efficient vehicle that gets more than double that car’s mpg rating.

Called the L1 Concept, this tiny two seater uses just 1.38 liters of diesel per 100 km – that’s 170 mpg! All that efficiency comes from an 800cc diesel motor mated to a hybrid drivetrain and a seven-speed DSG transmission. It makes 27hp in ECO mode and 39hp in a more powerful mode. Torque is rated at 74 ft-lbs.

The engine is then wrapped in a light-weight carbon fiber body, in a two seater arrangement with the passenger sitting behind the driver. The L1 weighs only 838 lbs and has a drag coefficient of just 0.195 cd.

Read the entire article here.

New Cars, News

End of the line for Pontiac

November 29, 2009 /

For anyone who grew up driving with their family in a Catalina or lusting after a TransAm, the end of the road for Pontiac is a sad affair. Let’s hope the New GM is making the right call here!

From the Detroit News:

The ride is over for the brand that put rolling excitement on the road for generations of Americans.

General Motors Co. built the last Pontiac for the U.S. market Wednesday: a white, G6 sedan that rolled off the assembly line in Orion Township around 12:45 p.m. You can bet the major used auto parts providers will be shoring up their Pontiac inventory over the next several weeks.

There was no cake or commemorative banner or senior GM official on hand, and no media were allowed: just a group of “final process” workers to oversee the last 100 G6 models assembled.

“We’re focused on a quality build-out for the customer,” said GM spokesman Kevin Nadrowski.

Many workers stopped to pose for photos with the last cars as they moved down the assembly line.

To read the entire article, click here.

News

Something different with Chrysler

November 25, 2009 /

Even though the new product is still 12 months away you can feel something different already with Chrysler.

The new ads you see on T.V. for the Ram trucks, the optimism from Marchionne and the hope for survival! Can they pull this thing off? Don’t know the answer to that question but Marchionne appears geared up to give it one heck of a try.

From the Detroit News:

Chrysler Group LLC survived bankruptcy but the success of its strategy now hinges on convincing consumers to buy its cars and trucks in the critical next 12 months.

That’s a significant hurdle given that most upgrades to Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep models are a year away.

Still, the Auburn Hills automaker is lucky to be in business a year after seeking a government bailout and being pushed into Chapter 11 bankruptcy by the Obama administration. It has a new name, a new partnership with Italy’s Fiat SpA, new management and a new way of developing, manufacturing and selling vehicles that top executives say will help restore profits by 2011.

Read the rest of the article here.

News

Car and Driver releases their 2010 – 10 Best Cars

November 25, 2009 /

Give Car and Driver credit for driving and testing a slew of cars to come up with the winners. It would suck not to have a car on the list if you’re Toyota! At this point in time they seem to be falling back in the pack when others like Ford, Mazda and VW keep climbing.

nullThis year, for the 28th running of our annual 10Best competition, the rules were simple. First, we raised the price cap from $71,000 to $80,000 (roughly three times the average transaction price of a new car) in the belief that 80 grand is the current point of automotive excellence’s diminishing returns. Cars get more expensive than that, but they don’t get much better. More important, raising the cap makes eligible nominees in two other vital categories: luxo-sport GTs and luxury sedans. Never mind that only two new cars qualified (and one was about to be replaced in a few months, so we left it out).

Read the entire article here.

Luxury Cars, New Cars, Sports Cars

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