In Europe, EU commissioners received the green light to start negotiations for an EU-Japan free trade agreement (FTA), despite the complaints of the auto industry, notably the one in Italy, and PSA in France, Reuters reports. Japan is the EU’s third-largest trading partner after the United States and China, and the architects of the FTA hope for 400,000 new jobs to be created in Europe as a result of the agreement. (Read More…)
Part Fiat 500C and part GMC Envoy XUV, the Volster C3 rolltop concept has a rolling canvas roof (like the Fiat) designed to help make it easy to carry tall objects (like the XUV). The roof can roll two ways, away from the cargo area to carry tall objects, or away from the passengers to help get some sunshine on their heads. Underneath, it’s all Veloster Turbo mechanicals.
Where are Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin when we need them? The crusaders against China getting its hands on precious American intellectual properties must go bonkers when they hear this: In the olden days, the Chinese had to steal and rob know-how from America. No longer necessary: Americans outsource know-how creation to China. At the forefront: General Motors. (Read More…)
In February 1991, Volkswagen signed its second Chinese joint venture deal with First Automobile Works (FAW) in frigid Changchun in Northern China. This deal, and the older JV with SAIC turned into the cornerstone of Volkswagen’s world domination plans. In no country does Volkswagen sell more cars than in China – and it wants to double the current number in a few years. Written for a 25 year term, the joint venture with FAW would end in 2016. It won’t. It has been extended for another 25 years.
The old contract is still good for a few years, so why the rush? Well, there was that other matter. (Read More…)
A few weeks ago, Toyota’s CFO Satoshi Ozawa told an astounded press corps (and I paraphrase for brevity): “Sure, the riots in China have an effect, but we’ll make it up elsewhere in the world.” Today, we have the data that prove Ozawa-san right. What’s more, he could have spoken for all his Japanese peers. Yes, the boycott of Japanese cars in China caused drastic cutbacks at large Japanese automakers. However, all are doing so gulpingly well elsewhere that a buyer strike in the world’s largest car market turns into nothing more than a hiccup. (Read More…)
A China-made Cadillac XTS was announced and expected for “this fall, just months after the car’s North American launch.” It has not appeared yet. But they are working on it hard, as the picture by Carnewschina attests. (Read More…)
Despite embargoes keeping things under wraps, journalists found another way to break this bit of information early; by going to the display stand and looking at the information.
And that’s how we confirmed that the 2.2L Skyactiv diesel engine will power the 2014 Mazda6. With 173 horspower and 310 lb-ft, the oil burning Mazda should be an interesting alternative to the VW Passat TDI. And apparently, you can get it with a manual as well.
The Ford Fiesta ST looks even better in a bland color like silver. It’s the kind of car you could leave parked on the street without worrying about theft or vandalism. Try that with a hot Honda from the 90’s. The ST’s big change might be the ST-specific seats installed here. There’s only a small badge, and the alloys don’t exactly scream “performance car” either.
The Jaguar XKR-S must be self-destructive. The elegant lines of the XF and the awesome 550-horsepower supercharged V8 are marred by the retina-searing blue paint and the tuner-esque spoiler on the rear. Can that be deleted? If so, I’ll take one in black.
BMW will enter marketing history by bringing McDonalds to the automotive industry. Just like McD took one food platform as the basis of a panoply of products (Hamburger, Cheeseburger, Double Cheseburger, McDouble, Daily Double) BMW’s MINI perfects the art and science of mass customization. The latest iteration: The long awaited Mini Paceman, debuting for North America at the Los Angeles Auto Show. (Read More…)
Dan Sloan, since May 2011 Editor in Chief and General Manager of Nissan’s Global Media Center at the Nissan Global HQ in Yokohama, can celebrate his big breakthrough. The former Singapore Bureau Chief of Reuters landed a YouTube blockbuster. (Read More…)
Aside from the antiquated gearbox, Toyota’s next-gen RAV4 is also ditching its third row seat and V6 engine option. The 2.5L four-cylinder option making 176 horsepower. Oh, and the liftgate now opens upwards, rather than sideways. Excuse me, my heart feels like it’s beating too fast…
Fiat dropped a product onslaught at the LA show, revealing two variants of the 500L, and an Abarth version of the 500C, so I can better sunburn my enormous bald spot.
So I’ve still got an Integra GS-R engine sitting in my garage, waiting to be swapped into my hooptie ’92 Civic DX— because the fifth-gen Civic, with its ease of parts-swapping and galaxy of aftermarket stuff, is to the present day what the ’55 Chevy was to the 1970s— and when that happens I’ll need better brakes, right? Problem is, whenever a third-gen Acura Integra (which was a fifth-gen Civic with luxury and performance upgrades) shows up at a cheap self-service junkyard, it gets picked clean faster than just about anything this side of a Toyota Land Cruiser. It’s much like a ’55 Chevy owner in 1974, discovering an intact 396/4-speed Caprice 20 minutes after the car hit the yard at the U-Yank-It. When I found an intact ’94 Integra while on a Junkyard Find photo expedition at the Denver yard near my place, I knew I had to work fast. (Read More…)
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