Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Porsche Recalls Every Single Panamera...on the Planet


Porsche announced today that it will be recalling all of the Panameras it has sold to date due to a seatbelt issue. That's 11,324 cars.

The problem is that the front belts' mounts "could fail when the front seats are adjusted in an extreme forward position."

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Lexus Brings its AWD Hybrid Bike to the UK


Lexus has been drastically improving its designs for the past few years now, evolving from tricked-out Toyota and outdated Mercedes clone to having its own, relatively unique lines throughout its model range. Now, Lexus wants to do the same thing for bikes with its Hybrid Bicycle.

Having first shown up at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show, Lexus brought one of two examples to the UK for the Lexus-sponsored Great British Bike Ride.

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Peugeot and Citroen to Rebadge Mitsubishi's ASX / RVR, Sales Start in 2012


Japan's Mitsubishi Motors and France's PSA Peugeot- Citroën are deepening their industrial ties in Europe by announcing yet another collaborative project, this time regarding Mitsubishi's ASX compact SUV.

Under the agreement, Mitsubishi will supply its new ASX crossover (named RVR in Japan) to the PSA group that will make two visually different vehicles for its Citroën and Peugeot brands with sales set to begin in early 2012.

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First Jaguar XF Police Cars go on Duty in the UK


Almost a year after the announcement on the development of a police package for the new Jaguar XF, and the first ever pursuit versions of the British saloon are about to go on patrol across the Midlands.

The Central Motorway Police Group, which patrols motorways across Staffordshire, Mercia and the West Midlands, has bought seven high performance Police-spec XFs. All are based on the Diesel S model that features a 3.0-liter unit churning out 275-horsepower and 443lb-ft of peak torque, while still returning 42mpg UK and a CO2 rating of 179 g/km.

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Ford Mondeo Gains New 203HP 2.0-liter EcoBoost Turbo and Updated Diesel Line-up


Following on its introduction on the facelifted S-MAX and Galaxy people carriers, Ford's European division is now expanding the availability of the new 2.0-liter EcoBoost petrol engine with turbocharging and direct fuel injection tech on the Mondeo.

The 2.0-litre SCTi unit, which comes as standard with a six-speed PowerShift wet double-clutch gearbox, produces 203 horsepower at 5,500 rpm and 300 Nm (221 lb-ft) of torque from 1,750 to 4,500 rpm.

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Hamann Builds a BMW Z4 M Roadster [E89]


Hamann, creator of some of the world's more excessive BMWs, is going to be releasing a tuning kit for the E89 Z4.

The lowered Hamann Z4 features the usual tuner appointments: a new front bumper with integrated LEDs, side skirts, a spoiler, and rear apron. All standard fare, until you realize how mean they make the Z4 look.

Wearing a Hamann sports exhaust and electronically tuned to 360 horsepower (265 kW), the car will reach a de-limited 177 mph (285 km/h). Torque peaks at a hearty 398 lb ft (540 Nm).

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Monday, April 26, 2010

Heartbeat of America Dead? Chevrolet Kills Contract with Campbell-Ewald After 91 Years


Yet another shake-up in the world of General Motors: Chevrolet has decided to take a new advertising direction, dropping Campbell-Ewald after 91 years. Cambell-Ewald was behind such memorable tag lines as "The Heartbeat of America", "Like a Rock", and "An American Revolution"; the Chevrolet contract accounted for 25% of its business.

According to the Detroit News, the Bowtie will now be working with Publicis Worldwide, which represents big-timers like Coca-Cola, Whirlpool, and Hewlett-Packard, and has been handling some of its budding product lines.

Jim Campbell, US Chevrolet Marketing VP, was quick to thank Campbell-Ewald for the nine decades of service. After the politics, he said that "over the coming months, [Chevrolet] will transition the business to Publicis Worldwide, which has recently been handling [the] car and crossover brands."

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