I.DE.A Institute (which stands for Institute of Development in Automotive Engineering) is an automobile design and engineering company in Turin, Italy. Founded in 1978, I.DE.A last year celebrated its 30th anniversary by putting together a roadster concept in 30 days. This year at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show, the I.DE.A group is back with an updated, much [...]
General Motors announced today that it had a $9.6 billion net loss in the fourth quarter. The Detroit automaker, which is seeking an additional $16.6 billion after already receiving $13.4 billion in government loans, said that it burned through $5.2 billion in cash during the last three months of 2008. It said that it ended [...]
After problems with the main plant location delayed the launch which was originally scheduled for Oct., Tata said today that its much anticipated Tata Nano mini car will be launched on March 23 with sales to begin in the second week of April. Pricing for the Tata Nano is expected to come in around 100,000 [...]
The first generation Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra hybrids are just arriving at dealerships; however, GM is already thinking about the next-generation two-mode hybrid pickups and is promising outstanding improvements. According to Gary White, GM North America vice president and vehicle line executive for GM full-size pickups, the next generation hybrid trucks from the General [...]
The economic downturn is hurting everyone from the automakers to the Valet Girls. Yes, you read that right – Valet Girls, an all-female parking company based in Malibu, is laying off staff and slashing its rates. The company, which charges Hollywood party goers a premium fee to hand the keys to their luxury vehicles to [...]
John Heinricy, who retired after working with GM for 38-years, recently got behind the wheel of the 2009 Corvette ZR1 with a Hennessey ZR700 package. The former head of GM Performance Division and chief engineer of the new 2009 Cadillac CTS-V and ZR1, tested his skills on the 705-hp ZR1 to see what Hennessey came up with. The [...]
Smart will be bringing a special-edition ForTwo at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show next week. Known as the Smart ForTwo edition limited three, the special-edition Smart gets elegant paintwork and an updated interior design with mhd technology as standard. The outside will be finished in melon green metallic, 15-inch alloy wheels and aluminum “limited three” logos. [...]
According to a report by Swedish business daily Dagens Industri, FoMoCo has three parties interested in buying its Volvo Cars unit by April. Without disclosing its sources, the paper said that the three interested parties included Chinese automakers Dongfeng Motor Group and Chongqing Changan Automobile Co. The paper said that the third party is ”a European constellation.” [...]
Remember the first unit of the 2010 Audi R8 V10 and the Ferrari California that were being auctioned at the Boca Raton Concours d” Elegance in Florida? Wonder how much each unit went for? Host, Howie Mandell helped auction of the first unit of the 2010 Audi R8 5.2 V10 FSI for a total of $500,000. [...]
In J.D. Power and Associates’ 2009 Customer Service Index Study Lexus finally overtook Jaguar regaining its title as the automaker that provides the best service to its customers. Lexus had a 25 point lead over Jaguar with a total of 835 points beating the industry average of 761. Jaguar was followed by BMW, Cadillac and [...]
