automotive

Friday, May 27, 2011

Renault’s Dacia Duster “No Limit” Racer gets 850HP V6 Sourced from the Nissan GT-R!

Following an early reveal on racing driver Jean-Philippe Dayraut's website, Renault today released official photos of its PikesPeak contender, the 850HP Dacia Duster “No Limit”. The name comes from the “Unlimited” class of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, which imposes no restrictions on the size or power output of the engine, maximum power or torque. In addition, there are no restrictions concerning the transmission or the aerodynamic characteristics. Looking at the size of the Duster's rear wing, it is obvious the car competes in the “Unlimited” class.

The one-off prototype was built by Tork Engineering (which handled the design, production, assembly and development) and Sodemo (engine), in association with Renault Sport Technologies, which supplied certain components.

If you want to be successful in Europe, diesel options are a must for any carmaker, even more so in the mainstream segments. Following the launch the gasoline powered versions of the new generation of the Swift last summer, Suzuki has now added a diesel option to the supermini’s range. The Swift DDiS features a revised 1.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder diesel engine rated at 75-horsepower and 190Nm (80 lb-ft) at 1,750rpm. Read more »

GM’s Opel follows in the Footsteps of Ford, Asks Bloggers to Write About the Astra GTC to Attend the Presentation

Those of you readers that have been with us for a while might remember our revealing post about Ford Motor Company’s shady marketing tactics (via its media agency) to attract attention and web traffic to the brand by asking bloggers to participate in a Ford website-linking contest and win a place in the company’s 2010 Model Year Drive event.

That said, we are no strangers to the mommy-blogger-type approach from marketing companies representing major automotive brands, but we never cease to be amazed. This time we were approached by a social media agency called Knallgrau on behalf of GM’s European Opel unit. When we received the first email, we believed it was a media / press invitation but upon our request for additional information, we discovered that wasn’t the case.

In a similar fashion to the Ford incident, the agency asked if we wanted to write about the new Astra GTC and participate in a type of contest, the winners of which will be invited to the official unveiling of the three-door hatchback at Opel’s headquarters in Rüsselsheim, Germany.

This past January at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show, General Motor unveiled the new Chevrolet Sonic in final production form. Available in both five-door hatchback and four-door sedan body styles, the Sonic will reach U.S. showrooms this fall. In Europe, however, GM will continue to use the Aveo nameplate when its supermini goes on sale later this summer. Read more »

Last Cadillac DTS Heads to Bulgari Collection

It may not be anywhere close to being a historic model for Cadillac, but for some, the outgoing DTS has a special place in their wish list. In fact so special that Nicola Bulgari of the renowned Italian jewelry, perfume and more recently hotel chain family, decided to add the last DTS to roll off the production line to his personal car collection.

“Is it important?” Nicola Bulgari asked. “Is it the number or the quality that matters? It’s the quality. I like the DTS because it’s a great sedan,” said Bulgari. “It’s the last of an era. I thought it would be wonderful to own the last Northstar in a DTS. It’s one of the best engines ever designed – reliable and a performer.”

Mazda announced that its Mazda3 compact car (known as the Axela in Japan) has reached a new milestone with the production of 3 million units, seven years and ten months after the launch of the first-generation model. The fastest-selling model in the company's current lineup of passenger cars is produced in three locations (Japan's Hofu Plant in Yamaguchi, China's CFMA plant in Nanjing and Thailand's AutoAlliance plant).The compact model is sold in approximately 90 countries and regions across the world. Read more »

Thursday, May 26, 2011

It’s Coming from Down Under: Joss Development’s JP1 Supercar

It’s been a very long time in the making, but it looks like Melbourne-based JOSS Developments is nearing the production phase of its V8-powered supercar model, internally codenamed JP1. The company today announced that it will preview the future production version of the JP1 at the forthcoming Australian International Motor Show (AIMS), which takes place this year at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Center from July 1 to 10.

The Australian startup said it will showcase an evaluation prototype as well as a wind tunnel model of the production JP1 and select componentry from its technical partners. This will be the second time that JOSS Developments will be exhibiting the vehicle to the public after the appearance of an early prototype model in Melbourne in 2004.