Even when on vacation, I can’t help tripping over interesting stuff. In this case, quite literally. Ouch. My toe’s still bleeding. (Read More…)

Remember how small the early Preludes were? It had been quite some time since I last saw one of these cars, so I was a bit startled by the diminutive dimensions of this example in a California self-serve yard. (Read More…)

Land Rover has not given the Range Rover any significant update in ten years. This will change when the next generation is launched later this year. The current generation Range Rover (codenamed L322) is in its third generation. The current Range Rover was developed during the BMW regime (BMW owned Land Rover between 1995 to 2001.) The next generation Range Rover has been codenamed L405 and is based on an all new D4u platform, developed during Tata’s ownership. This exclusive preview is based on information received from JLR executives. (Read More…)

A huge explosion in an industrial park in Marl, Germany, killed two. It also could bring the world’s auto industry to its knees “in the next few weeks,” writes Bloomberg. (Read More…)

That Lexus will come out with a new ES Hybrid, dubbed the ES300h, is no secret.  Being an entry level Lexus, it has to watch its price point. It also has to contend with the high yen, most of the Lexi are exported. The Nikkei [sub] thinks it know how Toyota will solve this dilemma, at least partially. Toyota will make the ES300h on the Japanese island of  Kyushu, “taking advantage of the site’s proximity to Asian suppliers of low-cost parts,” The Nikkei says. (Read More…)

With a meeting for Volkswagen’s supervisory board looming on Wednesday, a decision regarding Audi’s newest North American factory will likely be made. Two choices are available, but the key word seems to be North America.

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Your humble author wasn’t charmed by the 2009 Aveo I rented a few years ago, but apparently my opinion was not universal. The Aveo was known as the Daewoo Kalos in its home country of South Korea. “Kalos” sounds too close to “Kodos” for my liking, but apparently the Koreans just animate “The Simpsons”. They don’t watch it. The Kalos/Aveo, known internally at Daewoo as the T200 has been globally replaced by the T300, a vehicle which the tame US media has more or less agreed to describe as a “world car built right here in America” and refer to as the “Chevrolet Sonic”.

Most of us thought we’d never see the Aveo on the news again, save perhaps for random appearances on “16 & Pregnant” and/or “America’s Most Wanted”. We were wrong.

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The collapse of the house of cards built with subprime mortgages was a central reason for the 2008 crash. GM’s GMAC was brought down by subprime loans. The economy has not quite recovered, and the deck of cards is again being used as building material. Back in the high-risk game: General Motors.

Writes the New York Times: (Read More…)

Debuting at the Beijing Auto Show on April 23rd is the Fiat Viaggio. If it looks familiar in these teaser shots, that’s because it’s a Dodge Dart with a different badge.

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Maserati will be lending a hand to baby bro Alfa Romeo when the brand launches its 4C sports car in 2013. Having previously been tasked with production of the ultra-low volume 8C, Maserati will handle the annual assembly of the 2,500 4C coupes, that will supposedly serve as a halo for Alfa’s U.S. re-launch (stop me if you’ve heard this one before).

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The Nikkei [sub] must have been having intimate chats with sources high up in Nissan’s tower at the Yokohama waterfront again.

Prematurely perturbing press people at Nissan, the Tokyo wire reports that a new factory will be constructed in China, and that Infiniti cars will be built at yet another factory in China. In the meantime, Reuters cultivated sources at Renault and says that Renault will finally finalize a deal to produce cars in China. (Read More…)

Save for some French cabinet ministers, you aren’t likely to find any of the global elite tooling around in French luxury sedans. Citroen is hoping to reverse this trend with a made-for-China luxury limo, seen above. Dubbed the “DS Numero 9”. We suppose that’s French for “Panamera lookalike”.

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Chevrolet announced that production of the Avalanche pickup will come to an end in 2013 – and there’s no replacement in sight. Ironically, the Avalanche was a victim of its own success.

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How do you produce record gains while your home market goes to hell in a hand basket? Volkswagen has the answer: You try to keep the lid on the hand basket and sell like hell elsewhere. The Volkswagen Group delivered 2.16 million vehicles globally in the first quarter of 2012, up 9.6 percent from the same period in 2011.This was the first time that the two million mark was crossed in the first quarter of a year. Record deliveries were also recorded for the month of March: 862,700 units, up 12.5 percent from 767,100 in March 2011. (Read More…)

Welcome to New Or Used Without Borders, where the international team of TTAC answers your intercontinental car shopping questions.

Robstar asks:

My wife & I are about to have our first child in December.  We visit Brazil (SJC, SP) typically twice per year to see my wife’s relatives. Usually each trip lasts about a month (I’m only there the last week or two).  My wife has talked to me about possibly buying a car in Brazil because of our frequent travel there and our need to get around with an infant/toddler.  During past visits, I drove or we took the bus together.  Now that she’ll be taking an infant with her, she wants to be able to drive herself when I’m not there.  We are also worried about safety using public transportation — A single mother & a baby/infant who may speak English at an inopportune time may appear to be an easy target for criminals.  In any case, our current transportation options won’t work because they are not automatic & not as safe in an accident as we’d like.

Our current options are:

1974 (IIRC) VW Beetle with a 4 speed, 1.5L, 40’ish hp.  — Not in any way safe enough for the baby.

2004? 2005? VW Polo, 5-speed, 1.8L.  Not sure on HP but I’d guess it’s 90’ish ? 100?  — 5 speed.

We are trying to decide if we want to buy new, or have my father-in-law help us look for something used.  I’ve asked my wife about renting, but it’s not safe to leave an unsecured car outside overnight (and my in laws don’t have a gate secured spot in their house for a third car).  I don’t think my brother-in-law would be opposed to an upgrade of his Beetle, so that is what we’ll most likely do.

 Here are our requirements in order of need … (Listed in the response.)

Marcelo answers from Brazil: (Read More…)