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eBay Find of the Day: 1968 Chevrolet Corvette SCCA racer recreation originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 30 Aug 2009 10:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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By Jamie LaReau, Automotive News - Buick is planning two new crossovers, including a plug-in hybrid.
The company last week revealed its plans for the plug-in. The second crossover will be a small model built on a platform shared with the next-generation Chevrolet Aveo, say sources familiar with General Motors Co.’s product plans.
The crossovers are part of the plan to build Buick - now one of only four GM brands - and to meet upcoming federal fuel economy standards.
The plug-in will feature some of GM’s newest technology: a direct-injected, 3.6 liter V-6; a lithium ion battery pack; and two-mode hybrid technology. Two-mode hybrids can be powered by electricity, the gasoline engine or both. Read the rest of this entry »
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Volkswagen will build at least four mainstream models in North America, increase vehicle size, and lower prices.
This week, Volkswagen’s top U.S. brass revealed to us the company’s strategy to nearly triple sales here—to 800,000 vehicles per year—by 2018. In short, the company will produce bigger, cheaper cars in North America while retaining VW’s self-identified core brand values of sleek styling, best-in-class interiors, and crisp handling.
VW will be competing in more high-volume segments within the next few years. Imagine a Volkswagen competitor to every mainstream Honda, and you’ll be spot-on with the German company’s product road map.
Keep Reading: Volkswagen’s Future Products Revealed for 2011, 2012, and Beyond – Car News
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+ We take a quick spin in the Fiat 500C 1.4 Lounge, currently on sale in Europe and expected to end up in the U.S. in a couple of years. [Car and Driver]
+ Official photos and information on the all-new 2011 Saab 9-5 have been released. To be unveiled at the Frankfurt auto show next month, the new 9-5 will go on sale sometime early next year. [Car and Driver]
+ Subaru’s entire lineup has earned the Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety. The award goes to models that score “Good” (the best result) in front, side, and rear crash tests and have standard stability control. [Car and Driver]
+ Taking a drive in the 2009 Vauxhall Insignia wagon allowed us to get a taste of what the Insignia-based 2011 Buick Regal will be like. [Car and Driver]
+ We have spy photos of the all-new 2011 Volkswagen Jetta. While it had been speculated that the Jetta may receive a new name, Volkswagen has no desire to change the name of its best-selling car when it launches it as a larger and more affordable mid-sizer. [Car and Driver]
+ Our friends over at Inside Line have released some information on Mini’s future models. While it is all speculation, they mention a Toyota iQ-based mini Mini. [Car and Driver]
+ Chrysler has announced that it will now accept liability claims on vehicles produced before its bankruptcy despite previously stating that it would not. [Car and Driver]
+ Lotus will debut its 2010 Exige Cup 260 in a few weeks at the Frankfurt auto show. Taking the better aero of the 2010 Exige and matching it with the incredible mechanical bits of the 2009 Exige Cup 260, it will be the hardest-core offering Lotus has put on the street. [Car and Driver]
+ Volkswagen has launched a program for the approximately 53,300 VW and Audi owners affected by a faulty DSG transmission. The company will fix the problem while offering a loaner car or reimburse those who already paid for the recently recalled components and service charges. [Car and Driver]
+ Leaked photos from Mini’s 50th birthday celebration in Nice, France, show the Mini Roadster concept, which will be unveiled in Frankfurt. If you’ve already seen our coverage of the Coupe concept, you can pretty much imagine what to expect. [Edmunds Inside Line]
+ GM’s new program “Tell Fritz” encourages people interested in the brand to send their thoughts and ideas to company executives via their GMReinvention website. Watch the video of a recent event at the GM Proving Grounds where consumers were invited to meet company executives and drive the latest products. [MediaSeed]
+ India’s Mahindra is looking at various options for building its compact diesel pickup in the U.S. in order to bypass high import costs. The trucklet is scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2010. [Automotive News]
+ Back in June, Ford invited heads of the country’s largest police fleets to a conference in order to discuss the future of police cars and announced it will end production of the Crown Victoria in 2011. Officers speak about what the decision means to their department and analysts speculate what it could mean for Ford. [The Detroit News]
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Volkswagen has announced a program to help owners of VW and Audi vehicles equipped with the company’s dual-clutch DSG transmissions. After a flurry of complaints to the NHTSA, VW will replace components inside the transmission.
Issues apparently stemmed from faulty temperature sensors that would force the DSG boxes into neutral, often while owners were driving. VW will replace the components and offer loaner cars during the repairs. Owners who have already paid out-of-pocket for the fix will be reimbursed. The company will also apply a 10-year, 100,000-mile transferrable warranty to the DSG transmissions.
The recall affects about 53,300 vehicles including the Audi A3 and TT, and VW Eos, Jetta, GTI, and R32. Incidentally, we had no issues with the DSG system during our 40,000-mile test of a VW GTI.
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Given how stupidly awesome and amazing the Lotus Elise is right out of the box, that it is now offering a “Performance Package” could almost be interpreted as a joke, sort of like Burger King selling a “Heart Attack Edition” Double Whopper with cheese.
But the 2010 Elise Performance Package is no joke. Rather, it’s a high-value package that combines some seven grand worth of goodies—including last year’s touring package, sport seats, Alcantara upholstery, traction control, dual oil coolers, removable hard top, 16-spoke cast alloys in silver or black with matching rear diffuser, sport dampers, sport springs, Yokohama A048 LTS performance tires, and a harness bar—for $3665. Said options remain available a la carte, but we can’t imagine passing that box on the order form without checking it, because it means that the 2010 Elise, which is starts at the same $47,250 as last year, can be thoroughly loaded for only $50,915.
Otherwise, the Elise remains unchanged for 2010, though we expect a facelift like that on the 2010 Exige S 260 to make its way to the Elise sometime soon.
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Mercedes brings a hydrogen-powered compact to market—and you can get it, sort of.
The hydrogen age is dawning on us—a few of us, anyway. Mercedes is bringing 200 units of its compact B-class to market with hydrogen fuel cells in Europe and the U.S. “The B-class F-Cell is taking on a pioneering role as the world’s first fuel-cell-powered automobile to be produced under series production conditions,” says Thomas Weber, Daimler board member for research and development and a man who has apparently never heard of the Honda FCX Clarity. Mercedes-Benz has already produced more than 100 hydrogen-powered prototypes and is among the pioneers either way.
Keep Reading: 2010 Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-Cell – Car News
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Lotus shows us its hardest hard-core street car yet.
For the 2009 model year, Lotus built a super-hard-core, 257-hp Exige Cup 260, which initially was not offered in the U.S. but which was later offered here to 50 lucky buyers as the Exige S 260 Sport. Meanwhile, Lotus unveiled the look of the 2010 Exige line with the 2010 Exige S, which features a new rear spoiler and a face-lifted nose offering improved airflow to the radiator and oil-cooling system.
Debuting here ahead of the 2009 Frankfurt auto show is the new Lotus Exige Cup 260, featuring the best of both: the better aero of the 2010 Exige and the incredible mechanical bits of 2009’s Exige Cup 260. Lotus has made a few more improvements for 2010, including stiffening the rear subframe by 30 percent, swapping the battery and flywheel out for even lighter versions of same, using carbon fiber for the roof panel and scoop, and installing even lighter wheels, now weighing just 12 pounds each up front and 17 pounds apiece in back.
Keep Reading: 2010 Lotus Exige Cup 260 – Auto Shows
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When it emerged from bankruptcy earlier of this year, Chrysler absolved itself of any responsibility for product-liability claims filed for vehicles it had produced up to that point. That meant that buyers that might be injured by the millions of Chrysler vehicles already on the road had no legal recourse against the company. Your Sebring spontaneously combusted and burned your house down? Sorry, if it was built before Chrysler went bankrupt, you were S.O.L.
Although technically still the same people designing, engineering, and building the same vehicles in the same facilities, Chrysler After Bankruptcy (Chrysler A.B., officially named Chrysler Group LLC) is a completely different company than it was Before Bankruptcy (Chrysler B.B., which is now actually called OldCarco LLC), and therefore under no legal obligation to honor product-liability claims.
Chrysler A.B., however, realizing that the way to cultivate consumer confidence is not to deny responsibility for your products—and likely reacting to the fact that General Motors is taking responsibility for its past products—is now changing its decision on vehicles produced by Chrysler B.B. In a letter sent to Congress today, Chrysler said that it will honor product-liability claims for vehicles it produced prior to its emergence from bankruptcy on June 10, 2009, provided the incident occurs after that date. What? Your Sebring actually did spontaneously combust and burn your house down? It happened on June 9, 2009? You’ll have to take it up with Chrysler B.B.
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