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News

In the News section you can find almost anything you can think of that’s related to the car industry…details about new cars, what’s new in the industry, rumors about upcoming models or moves, it’s all here.

Hyundai Kia $350 Million Fine

Following the 2012 scandal, when Hyundai and Kia were accused of breaking the “Clean Air Act” and of making fake mileage claims for some of their models, the two carmakers reached an agreement with EPA and the Department of Justice and will pay the biggest civil penalty in the history of the United States. The “Clean Air Act” was first introduced in 1963 as a federal law that controls air pollution and which forces carmakers to comply with EPA standards and to release the correct fuel efficiency numbers.

The penalty given to Hyundai and Kia is worth $100 million, but the two carmakers will have to spend an additional $50 million to establish an independent fuel economy certification group that will prevent similar things from happening in the future. But the part that will cost them the most will be returning a total of 4.75 greenhouse gas emission credits they claimed in the past, which are estimated at a total of around $200 million. [Read the full article…]

Safety

Stability control becomes mandatory for new cars in Europe

Published by on Nov 6, 2014 in News Leave a comment

ESC European Union

Starting with November 1, the Electronic Stability Control system became mandatory for all new vehicles sold in the European Union that weight less than 3.5 tons. Starting with November 1, 2015, the new law will also apply to all other vehicles.

According to stats provided by Bosch, the company that invented the system and introduced it in 1995, 84% of all new vehicles sold in the EU were already available with ESC as standard. The system is widely regarded as one of the most important safety innovations in the history of the automobile and many reports showed that more than 80 percent of all crashes caused by the driver losing control could be avoided if all vehicles came with ESC. In 2011 alone, the system prevented more than 33,000 accidents and saved more than 1,000 human lives, according to another study by Bosch. These results were reported in the European Union only, in a time when the system was offered as standard on only 40 percent of new cars. [Read the full article…]

Volkswagen Tianjin

The German giant has just officially announced the opening of a new production facility in Tianjin, a large city in northern China. The factory will build DSG automatic transmissions for models sold in China and can produce up to 450,000 units per year, a capacity which is scheduled to be extended to 1.2 million units by 2016.

The Tianjin facility is Volkswagen’s 107 production site worldwide and it was finished after a $330 million (265 million Euros) investment. By opening this facility, Volkswagen created around 5,500 jobs in the area. According to the German carmaker, the DSG transmissions built in Tianjin will be used on the Chinese versions of the Volkswagen Tiguan, Golf and Audi Q3. The transmission will be used alongside the 2.0 TSI engine which is also being manufactured in China, at the Changchun and Shanghai facilities. Combined with the DSG transmission, the petrol engine gets better mileage and also has an important reduction in CO2 emissions. [Read the full article…]

BMW’s Quandt family becomes richest in Germany

Published by on Oct 16, 2014 in News Leave a comment

Quandt Family BMW

According to the most recent edition of Manager Magazine’s annual list of wealthiest people in Germany, the Quandt family are now in number 1 spot, with a combined worth of 31 billion Euros (almost $40 billion). Johanna Quandt, 88, is the widow of German industrialist Herbert Quandt, the man responsible for saving BMW during its crisis in the 1960s and together with her two children own 46.7 percent in the German carmaker. The family are also important shareholders in several other German companies such as chemical maker Altana and graphite and carbon company SGL Carbon. The Quandts also managed to overtake the owners of the Aldi supermarket chain for the first time in 10 years. [Read the full article…]

Accessories

Bentley and Vertu launch $16,000 Android phone

Published by on Oct 15, 2014 in News Leave a comment

In case the iPhone 6 wasn’t flashy enough for Bentley drivers out there, the British carmaker has just announced the Vertu for Bentley, the first smartphone offered by the company. The phone costs 12,500 Euros (almost $16,000) and will only be available in certain Vertu stores in a limited run of 2,000 units. According to the official specs, the phone runs on Android (4.4 KitKat if you really want to know) and is powered by a 2.3 Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad core processor, has an internal memory of 64 GB and a 4.7-inch sapphire crystal display that is resistant to scratches. Other features include a 13 megapixel Hasselblad camera with twin focus and dual LED flash, a frontal 2.1 mp camera and a 2,275 mAh lithium-ion battery that provides around 15 hours of talk time or 380 hours of standby. [Read the full article…]

Thumbnail image for Porsche Macan behaves “strangely” during moose test

Porsche Macan behaves “strangely” during moose test

October 15, 2014

Swedish magazine Teknikens Varld has been performing the so called moose test ever since the 1970s and each year they “abuse” most new models with results being awaited by anyone slightly interested in car safety. Last week, it was the Porsche Macan’s turn to avoid the moose, only that it didn’t perform quite as expected. […]

Thumbnail image for Toyota announces 7 million hybrids sold in the last 18 years

Toyota announces 7 million hybrids sold in the last 18 years

October 15, 2014

Yesterday, the Japanese carmaker announced an important milestone in their hybrid saga, by selling their 7 millionth hybrid in September. Toyota is the world’s undisputed leader in hybrid cars sales, their 28 hybrid models sold in 90 countries achieving impressing sales results. By far the most popular and successful hybrid is the Prius, responsible for […]

Thumbnail image for Volkswagen and Renault-Nissan win the modular platform game

Volkswagen and Renault-Nissan win the modular platform game

August 4, 2014

Detroit consulting company IHS Automotive has recently published the results of a study that analyzed how effective are modular platform for cutting development costs. IHS estimated how much money will be saved by carmakers that have already implemented this type of platforms based on forecasts made for 2020. In that year, industry analysts anticipate that […]

Thumbnail image for BMW expects 40% of all sales to be front-wheel drive by 2020

BMW expects 40% of all sales to be front-wheel drive by 2020

August 4, 2014

This year BMW introduced the first front-wheel drive model in their lineup, the BMW 2-Series Active Tourer, with the carmaker’s officials announcing big plans for the UKL platform that powers the small MPV. According to Kai Lichte, a spokesman for BMW, a total of 12 BMW models and 10 Minis will be built on this […]

Thumbnail image for Jaguar reveals first official image of the upcoming XE

Jaguar reveals first official image of the upcoming XE

August 4, 2014

Despite the British carmaker announcing September 8 as the official launch date for the new Jaguar XE, it looks like they’ve decided to reveal the new car earlier. Actually, it’s not a full reveal, just a photo with the car’s front part, but this definitely reveals more than we’ve seen in the teasers released so […]

Thumbnail image for Hyundai to launch Nissan Juke rival by 2017

Hyundai to launch Nissan Juke rival by 2017

August 2, 2014

Hyundai wants to join the small SUV party and is planning on taking some customers away from the segment’s leader, the Nissan Juke, with a small crossover that is scheduled to see daylight in 2017. The information was released by the South Korean carmaker’s North American leader, Dave Zuchowski, in a recent interview for Edmunds. […]

Thumbnail image for London could get increased congestion charges

London could get increased congestion charges

August 2, 2014

In the past years, the British capital has been known as one of the most strict cities regarding urban traffic. Being one of the world’s most crowded cities, London authorities were forced to impose strict rules for those driving in the city each day, especially in the city center. This is how the Low Emissions […]

Thumbnail image for Lexus IS-F production ends after 7 years and 11,000 units sold

Lexus IS-F production ends after 7 years and 11,000 units sold

August 2, 2014

Lately, we’ve been hearing a lot of rumors about the disappearance of the IS-F, but nothing was official until this week. Talking to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, a Lexus official confirmed the end of production for the high-performance sedan. Launched back in 2007, Toyota had high hopes for the Lexus IS-F, the high-performance version of […]

Thumbnail image for BMW preparing SUV offensive with eight now models, including X2, X7 and X8

BMW preparing SUV offensive with eight now models, including X2, X7 and X8

August 2, 2014

We already know the SUVs are one of the most important parts in BMW’s strategy to keep up their sales and the news that the Bavarian carmaker is preparing a fierce SUV offensive shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. According to recent reports, the German company will soon have eight SUVs in its lineup, […]

Thumbnail image for First sketches with next generation Kia Sorento

First sketches with next generation Kia Sorento

July 22, 2014

The South Korean carmaker is preparing a new generation for their current flagship SUV, the Kia Sorento, which is scheduled to get its market launch sometime next year. Until then, we just got hold of the first sketches previewing the Asian SUV’s design and we can see an even more sportier silhouette and a new […]

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