Friday, December 16, 2011

GM Confirms Next Generation Impala, will Invest $68 Million to Prep Oshawa Plant


The Impala is a historic nameplate for Chevrolet with roots that go back to the golden era of American automobiles, the 1950s, and it's one that General Motors isn't about to let go despite the fact that the series has faded away into mediocrity these past years.

Today, the Detroit-based company confirmed plans for the development of a brand new Chevy Impala and announced an investment of $68 million to prepare its Oshawa Assembly Plant in Canada for the production of the next generation sedan.

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BMW Reveals New "Eclipse" Media Campaign for the 2013 6-Series Gran Coupe


Despite the fact that the 6-Series Grand Coupe’s world premiere will take place in March at the Geneva Motor Show and the first cars won't be arriving in showrooms until next summer, BMW has already readied a media campaign for its spanking new sports saloon.

The global campaign, which will launch in print and TV media in the second quarter of 2012, features a total eclipse of the sun as the central theme and the motto “Beauty. Revealed”.

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Honda EV-STER Concept to Spawn a Production Model


It looks like the retro-styled N Concept 4 city car won't be the only Honda study displayed at this month's Tokyo Motor Show that will end up going into production as the Japanese carmaker's CEO Takanobu Ito told German magazine Auto Motor und Sport that the open-top EV-STER has also received the green light.

The Honda boss revealed that the battery-powered, rear-wheel drive roadster could arrive in the market as early as 2012, adding that the company may also introduce more conventional version with a classic gasoline engine, without offering any more details.

However, it's only reasonable to assume that the gasoline model would be a hybrid matching an internal combustion engine with an electric motor.

At 3,570mm (140.5-in.) long, 1,500mm (59.0-in.) wide and 1,100mm (43.3-in.) tall, with a wheelbase of 2,325mm (92.5-in.), the tiny concept is marginally larger than Honda's 1990s mid-engined kei car, the Beat.

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Bah, Humbug! Are Holiday Car Ads as Effective as Automakers Think?


Tis the holiday season and all consumer goods manufacturers are looking for ways to draw clients to their products. Carmakers are not an exception, of course, and a common theme is the usual holiday gift-wrapped-present.

Advertising evaluation firm Ace Metrix, though, reveals in its latest report that the hype automakers wish to create with these kinds of ads doesn’t really materialize. In fact, they may have the exact opposite effect.

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Dancing with the Bikes: Pakistani Rollerblader Controls Motorcycle with Ropes from Behind


He's called the 'Skating King of Pakistan', well, at least that's the name given to him by the person that uploaded the video on YouTube, but watching him graciously endanger his own life as well as the lives of everybody else on the road, who are we to disagree?

And just to make it clear, the young man is not simply tagging behind a motorcycle being driven by someone else, but he is actually controlling the bike with a rope of some sort. You can watch him in the video after the break.

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Aston Martin Said to Reveal New V12 Vantage Roadster Next Year


While Aston Martin may not have a lot of cash going around for the development of new platforms or engines, the British automaker is trying to make the best of what it already has.

What this means is that it is churning all sorts of models and body styles based on the same hardware (and design…) for almost a decade now...

We're not sure how long Aston Martin can keep doing it - some say it has already reached its limits - but for the time being, we learn that the company will unveil yet another version of one of its existing models, the V12 Vantage Roadster.

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Jeep Announces UK Pricing for Grand Cherokee SRT8 and New 3.0 CRD Overland Summit


Five months after the UK launch of the regular versions of the brand-new Grand Cherokee, Jeep has announced that it is bringing the flagship SRT8.

Billed as the best-performing Jeep ever, the £58,995 Grand Cherokee SRT8 is powered by the new 6.4-liter Hemi V8 that produces 465HP and 630 Nm (465 lb-ft) of torque. It accelerates from standstill to 0 to 60mph [96km/h] in 4.8 seconds, has a top speed of 160 mph [257 km/h], and brakes from 60-0 mph in 116 feet.

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