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As reported earlier, Swedish automotive brand Saab was facing problems financially and it was Chinese automotive company Hawtai who came in with the promise and it was all rosy for Spyker the owners of Saab when they took the brand from GM. Read the rest of this entry →

Mercedes-Benz is coming out with the last edition of its G-Wagen. Now if you haven’t already know the G-Wagen is typically a Mercedes-Benz produced 4WD/SUV model which is made to be strong, rugged and durable. It is one of the few vehicles in the world to have 3 fully locking differentials but as the market demand for such cars are going into more stylish looks and features, Mercedes is set to roll out its ‘BA3 Final Edition’ which will come in the G350 BlueTEC and the G500 variants respectively.
To do this, Mercedes will be raking in the stylists at AMG where they will provide the wheel arches, the twin-spoke alloy rims which will wrapped with 265/60 R18 tyres, radiator grille, and other fittings. The 3D stainless steel Mercedes-Benz star emblem is also provided. There will also be rear mud-flaps, ultrasonic reversing aid, an electric slide or tilting sunroof as well as a tyre pressure monitoring system.
Under the hood, one will like the BlueTEC 6 cylinder diesel engine in the G350 which comes with the BlueTEC emission control which gets you up to 211 horses. For those who are in for the power, the G500 gets you a 388 horsepower 5.5 liter V8 petrol engine both of which are paired with the 7G-Tronic 7 speed automatic transmission gearbox. Coming in standard in the last edition is the ESP or Electronic Stability Program.

Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York City recently announced that the Nissan NV200 has won the Taxi of Tomorrow competition which means that the Japanese automotive giant will be given the exclusivity to replace the iconic yellow taxis for NYC. The NV200 is not sold in the United States but Nissan submitted it for the competition anyhow beating the likes of the Ford Transit Connect and another model from Turkish automaker Karsan.
Currently most of the yellow cabs in New York City is using the Ford Crown Victoria which although has become very much synonymous with taxis there is time for it to be phased out and where the NV200 will start taking over. This is of course very much contributed by the fact that the demand for more space and comfort is on the rise which means that the sedan taxi cabs could well be a passé very soon.
It will start rolling out the service by the end of 2013 and will over the span of 5 years take over the current Crown Victoria fleet which makes up about 90% of the whole New York City taxi population. The 2.0 liter car is very well known for its fuel efficiency and with the recent Nissan Leaf doing so well in the American market, it is not surprising why they preferred the Nissan cars over their own brand. It will roll out through Nissan’s manufacturing facility in Mexico and will provide lots of space to sit 4 passengers comfortably with their luggage.
Apart from that, it also comes with a transparent roof panel which makes it a fine vehicle for tourists who will enjoy the sight-seeing experience. The sliding doors makes the car easy to access while it also comes with a mobile charging station with a 12V electrical outlet and 2 USB connection. Where this is concerned, the safety of its passengers are top priority where it comes with seat mounted airbags on the front while the rear passengers get curtain airbags. When the taxi door opens, there are also lights to alert other road users. With all that in view, it is no wonder why this new and revolutionary model will take over the 13,000 Crown Victorias circling around New York City.

Peugeot broke the record at the Nurburgring Nordschleife track in Germany recently for EVs (electric vehicles) when their EX1 Concept Car became the fastest EV to round the international race track. Behind the wheels is Stephane Caillet who is also the tuner-technician of Peugeot’s Research and Development Center. He clocked the lap time of 9 minutes 01.338 seconds on the 20.832 km track with an average speed of 138.324 km/h on the EX1.
And he did so in spectacular fashion as there was some rough weather during the stint. The Mini E set the record last year at this track when it did the lap in 9:51.45. now Peugeot holds the record through its 2 seater roadster which is powered up by 2 electric motors fitted on each axle that boosts out a total of 340 horses. 30kWh lithium ion batteries are used to power up the motors and using carbon fiber for the construction of this concept, it is very light weighing only 750kg.

Honda recently showed off their latest lithium-ion battery packed 2012 Honda Civic Hybrid at the New York Auto Show. It is supposedly the most fuel-efficient sedan available in the United States where they have now incorporated their latest Honda IMA (Integrated Motor Assist) hybrid drivetrain into the everyone’s favourite sedan, the Honda Civic.

Being a hybrid, the issue would be the cost-efficiency of the car and features and technology aside, the new Civic hybrid now comes with the best EPA-estimated fuel economy of any sedan in America where it rates at 44mpg in the city, 44mpg in the highway and 44mpg combined. For comparison’s sake, the 2011 Civic hybrid only gets you up to 40, 43 and 41 mpg for the city, highway and combined respectively.

Design wise, they have caught up with the times so out goes the old front grills, headlights and taillights and in come new ones. They have also given you a choice of either textile cloth seating wraps or leather ones. The Lithium-ion batteries is also included to replace to former nickel-metal hydride batteries which were used in the last 2 versions. Where the main power of the car comes from the petrol engine, the electric motor is used for additional power as well as to generate electricity.

It now comes with the 1.5 liter i-VTEC, 4 cylinder engine (the previous version came with a 1.3 engine) and works together with the electric motor which adds in the 23 horses in the total combined horsepower of 110 horses.
The new hybrid will be part of the rest of the Civic 2012 product line which is built with the new ‘one-motion’ mono-form design language. Most of the fittings look similar among all other models while the Hybrid get some special treatments in its special five-spoke alloy wheels, LED brake lghts, and the  decklid spoiler. Inside, you get the i-MID (intelligent Multi-Information Display) which is used to display and control the audio and entertainment information where you can also personalize it with your own wallpaper. Safety features in this one include Honda’s own ACE (Advanced Compatibility Engineering) body structure, a new Motion Adaptive EPS system, airbags, Occupant Position Detection System enabled front side airbags, side curtain ones, ABS and EBD and will be rolled out from its Suzuka Honda Motor Ltd plant.

With a name called the Volvo Concept Universe, it would surely invoke quite a lot of attention and that is exactly what the Swedish automotive giant is looking to achieve where they are using this to show off how their new luxury sedan would look like. Such a preview is to showcase to the world what their next top range sedan would be looking like so get a grip, gentlemen! Read the rest of this entry →

Put on show at the currently going on Shanghai Motor Show, Subaru showed off their ‘funkiness’ in their new XV concept crossover. The new crossover epitomizes the auto manuafacturer’s new design concept ‘Protren’ which is derived from the phrases ‘professional tool’ and ‘trendy design’. Coming with a enw bright yellow-green body work, it won’t get any louder than this for the Japanese car giant. Read the rest of this entry →