For the first time in recorded history, Audi sold more than a million cars per year. In 2010, Audi sold 1.092 million cars worldwide. In the year before, it was 949.700, and that’s a plus of 15 percent, Audi CEO Rupert Stadler told reporters on the sidelines of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Stadler was a keynote speaker there, and delivered the stump speech of cars which will be part of the Internet and will be communicating with other cars and central databanks, whether you like it or not. But back to cars: Read More >

Want to belong to a really exclusive club? Own a car in Beijing. Don’t have one yet? Sorry, try your luck in the license plate lottery. Out-of–towner? Don’t even think of entering downtown during rush-hour. “Vehicles that are not registered in Beijing are prohibited from entering the urban area inside the Fifth Ring Road during the two daily rush hours,” reports China Daily. Even during off-peak hours, Beijing’s capital is full of surprises for outsiders. Read More >

The majority of car makers the world over think that for the next five years, electric cars will remain too expensive to stand a chance in the mass market. Their saving grace must be government subsidies. Without government money, EVs are priced out of the market. Read More >

Why would Ferrari’s test drivers waste their time trundling around the streets of Maranello in the non-road-legal 458 Challenge, the racer-boy version of the 458 Italia? Because it hadn’t yet passed the the crucial test of hypercar performance found at 3:17 in this video. Next up, the “asshole test.”

Last year, Saab sold 31,696 vehicles in markets around the world. For some contrast, that’s less volume than the Mazda6, Ford Flex or Acura TSX sold in the US alone last year. But don’t worry folks, according to Saab-Spyker boss Victor Muller [via Automotive News [sub]], everything is going to be just fine. As it turns out, Saab has a very specific problem with an easy cure.

One of the largest challenges in 2010 was to restock our dealers around the world to normal levels again, especially in a market like the United States, where you need dealer stock in order to be able to sell cars. For instance, when we acquired the company, there were a mere 500 cars left on the ground in the United States. Normal inventory levels in this market should be at 6,000-7,000 units. In 2009, Saab Automobile sold 39,800 cars, but built only 21,000. As a result, inventory levels were depleted by almost 19,000 units. In 2010, we only filled the pipeline with less than 4,000 units. All in all, with all the accomplishments made so far, I am very confident that the foundations for delivering on our business plan are in place.

New car sales around the world are mostly rebounding – except in the markets where they had been artificially stimulated last year. This list will be continuously updated as new data becomes available. Read More >

Buick’s Verano aims to bring a touch of class to the compact segment, and what’s classier than a Latin motto? Especially Ad Astra Per Aspera (Through Hardship, To The Stars), the motto used by such refined institutions as Dr Challoner’s Grammar School in Buckinghamshire, England and (of course) Starfleet. Unfortunately, the Buick Verano isn’t aiming for the stars… it’s got more humble foes like the Audi A3, Volvo S40 and Lexus IS250 in its sights. In fact, it’s actually “from” the stars… well, it’s closely based on the Opel Astra, anyway.  So, make that “Ex Astra Per Aspera.” Although, come to think of it,  it didn’t really come through “hardship” so much as “China.” So I suppose the official classy Buick Verano motto should probably  be “Ex Astra Per Sina.”

The hardship part comes when GM tries to slot this bad boy between the $22,695-$26,780 Cruze LTZ and the $26,995-$36,105 Buick Regal. Or when they realize that neither the Audi A3 nor the Volvo S40 cracked 7k units last year (Lexus doesn’t break out IS250 numbers, but if were half of the IS-line mix, it would have sold 17k units last year). Keeping it classy in the compact segment just isn’t that easy.

A Delaware superior court judge took a stand last month against the warrantless police use of GPS devices to record the movements of drivers. Judge Jan R. Jurden issued her ruling in the case of Michael D. Holden who was arrested on drug charges in February 2010 as a result of information obtained from a tracking device.

Read More >

GM has invested $5 million in the Powermat wireless charging start-up, and they want to use the technology “to charge its soon-to-be-launched Chevy Volt hybrid electric car,” Businessgreen reports. They report from the UK, so they shall be forgiven the “soon-to-be-launched” this one time only. But to charge a Chevy Volt? Read More >

PSA Peugeot-Citroen is feeling its oats again. PSA “remains open to equity alliances with other partner companies in its sector,” PSA CEO Philippe Varin told the Dow Jones newswire. Well, after recent mass weddings that had produced mixed nuptials between Volkswagen and Suzuki, Fiat and Chrysler, and even Renault-Nissan- Daimler threesomes, PSA is looking for a tie-up again. The trouble is: There aren’t many attractive partners left match.com of the international auto business. Read More >

Letter to the editor of the New Times by Robert Pankhurst:

“On my drive home yesterday, an advertisement over my car radio told me how much the Cancer Society needed old cars donated to help them fight cancer. Then I remembered watching the Youtube video where cars were turned in for the government program called “Cash for Clunkers.” Read More >

Scotia Bank in Toronto has an insightful and resourceful car analyst, Carlos Gomes. Whatever he writes is worth reading. He expects car sales to rise and the “United States and the euro zone to climb out of their deep hole.” He also expects that the developed nations are ripe to be plucked and eaten by an upstart, roughhewn  crowd:

“In 2011, new car sales in China and the other BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) will surpass the combined volumes of Western Europe and Japan, and account for roughly 30 per cent of global car sales.”

Here is his case: Read More >

In response to our confusion over engine specs for the new 2011 Nissan Quest, Nissan’s product communication team wrote in to let us know that

At our media preview we received the new torque and hp figures during the middle of the event of 240 and 260 respectively but for some reason the rpm figures [in promotional materials] weren’t updated.

Thanks to Nissan’s prompt response, we can now officially report that the confusion is over. Engine power specs for the 2011 Nissan Quest are as follows

Horsepower : 260 hp @ 6000rpm

Torque (lb-ft) :  240 lb-ft @ 4400rpm