Volkswagen wanted to put its Passat BlueMotion

What's the most you've ever gotten out of a single tank of gas? 400 miles? Maybe 600 miles if you're under diesel power? Volkswagen wanted to put its Passat BlueMotion to the test and see just how many miles it can cover on one tank. A team from the UK's Sunday Times set off from Kent, England with a full tank of diesel – then drove to the south of France and back.
Averaging just over 45 miles per hour, the team watched as 1,527 miles came and went. The 1.6-liter TDI-equipped VW Passat BlueMotion used was a standard production model which features a lower standard ride height, Stop/Start tech, longer gearing and low rolling resistance tires. As two witnesses drove behind them to verify the attempt for the Guinness Book of World Records, the Passat rolled along to the tune of nearly 90 miles per gallon – much higher than the 64.2 mpg rating the vehicle carries.

Bosal Center Muffler Dual offset inlet and single center outlet configuration; 63 in. L x 31 in. W x 7 in

Bosal Center Muffler - Aluminized steel, Direct OE Replacement, Standard OE Replacement
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BOSAL CENTRAL MUFFLER, ALUMINIZED STEEL, NATURAL FINISH, SOLD INDIVIDUALLY -- Dual offset inlet and single center outlet configuration; 63 in. L x 31 in. W x 7 in. H; Oval casing; Standard direct fit OE replacement; Made to fit vehicle-specific requirements for backpressure, emissions, sound levels, and sensors; Precision-manufactured to high tolerances for long life; Easy installation.

Fiat taking Chrysler production back to China

As recently as two years ago Chrysler and Chery were more than cozy and working on Chinese-market products that would eventually make their way this way. Nothing ultimately came of it, but Chrysler hasn't given up on the Chinese dream. Or more accurately, Fiat hasn't given up on the Chinese dream on behalf of Chrysler.

Fiat, which has had its own setbacks in trying to find the right joint venture required to do business in China, is now working with Guangzhou Auto. It isn't clear how or even if Chrysler would immediately try again, since The Pentastar's "models were as popular as Chen Shui Bian towards the end of their tenure."

Another route would be for the Chrysler Group to let Jeep lead the charge, since the Jeep brand and small SUVs are a more welcome option for Chinese buyers. It is inevitable that Chrysler will keep trying to crack the world's largest auto market, and if we were presumptuous enough to suggest a way to do it, we'd only need two words: Dodge Hornet.

Daimler Caught in International Multimillion-Dollar Bribery Scandal

Daimler Caught in millions of dollars in international corruption scandal


Toyota is not the only company that as a power car in a shady business practices involved. The Detroit News reported that Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler AG has paid a lot of money - tens of millions "in the form of bribes - the public and / or two (yes, 22!) Countries. That's a lot.

The Justice Department has formally accused the producers of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations, the U.S. company has prevented (or the provision of "gifts") for the repayment of foreign public officials (for an explanation of how it relates to Germany, switch to an extract FCPA enforcement).

Between 1998 and 2008, Daimler said that its "investment" in China, Croatia, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Iraq and Ivory Coast, Latvia, Nigeria, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Thailand, Turkey , Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam (and more!) with the objective of "the security of contracts with government customers for the purchase of Daimler vehicles worth hundreds of millions of dollars."

He believes that Daimler upwards of 50 million dollars earned from the distribution of bribes by companies Shell and in one case, created Daimler to pay a special U.S. company Shell, bribes.

And now, the chance for fans of "Amurri and the freedom to get angry: Daimler achieves contracts that American car is gone! The nefarious villains, it's like a double whammy.

Other examples are Russia (between 2000-2005), where 5 million dollars paid to government officials, and Turkmenistan (2000), where a $ 300,000 armored + S-Class was given as a birthday present from a senior executive of [the government] official. "

"Announce researchers traveled to 25 countries and interviewed dozens of people, including former chief executive of DaimlerChrysler's Juergen Schrempp and other executives. Researchers also found evidence of secret accounts."

This does not mean that Daimler did not attempt to solve some problems, they cut a net profit of 84.5 million dollars and an operating profit of 21 million U.S. dollars for 2005 - and executives released - when it became clear that some "improper payments" in Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe. "

Reuters reported, are "The charges on two counts: conspiracy and falsifying books and records under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

There was speculation that Daimler will be beaten (biggest crime-ler), with a fine of up to 185 $ 200 miljoen. Ouch.

By forces FCPA:

In 1988, Congress has directed the government to actively seek a level playing field by promoting similar to our trading partners with a view to legislation in the FCPA. These efforts ultimately lead to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions resulted (the "OECD Convention").

On 21 November 1997, the 29 Member States of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and five thirds of the "Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions." The OECD Convention on 17 December was signed in 1997, and ratified by the U. S. Senate on 1 July 1998, with a statement of the essential elements of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act provides that each signatory province to create the law.

maintains the Supra's six-cylinder powerhouse

There have been countless efforts to replicate the 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Eleanor from the 2000 blockbuster movie "Gone in 60 Seconds" with Nicolas Cage. We've seen Eleanor replicas based on everything ranging from a Toyota MR2 to even -the most ridiculous of all- a Smart Fortwo.

At this year's edition of the Tokyo Auto Salon, the students from Saitama University's automotive course presented their take on the Eleanor Shelby GT500 using a fourth generation (1993-2002) Toyota Supra sports coupe as a base.

The replica, which is called "Moto Supra", maintains the Supra's six-cylinder powerhouse, though it's not clear if the students performed any upgrades on the sport coupe's hardware. More photos after the jump.

Photos by Phil Alex with the help of friends Mike and Aaron

design cue taken straight from the E90 LCI, F01 7 Series and F10 5 Series

With every new model launched or redesigned, comes another photos comparison. the week revolves around the 2011 BMW 3 Series Coupe and Convertible LCI that was unveiled yesterday and which will go on sales this Spring.

Judging by the photos and information released, the general consensus is that BMW is looking to align some of its models to the current design language, and features like “angel eyes” are starting to become standard across the line-up. LED taillights are also becoming the norm at BMW and the new 3 Series LCI comes to emphasize that.

Exterior:

Regarding the exterior of the car – BMW, like they did with the pre-LCI E92, have managed to make the E92 continue to look much more expensive than it actually is. The facelifted E92 continues to give a strong balance between prestige and performance purely in appearance alone.

Additionally, at front and rear, while the revisions appear minimal, the proof is in the details. At the business end of the 3 Series Coupe, the head lamps have grown slightly with added contours to the bottom line of the head lamp assembly. A thin “eyebrow” can now be found running along the top of each assembly which is lit by LEDs – a design cue taken straight from the E90 LCI, F01 7 Series and F10 5 Series.

Dropping just below the head lamps, the lower bumper is the most heavily modified part of the E92 LCI, losing the struts that flowed with the cut lines of the nose of the car. In its place, BMW have added a slim cut straight across the center of the lower grill, only being broken up by the area just below the larger, wider double kidney grill. Overall, the appearance of the E92 LCI now looks more succinct with the rest of the now more modern BMW line-up.

Moving to the rear of the car, the lower portion of the bumper receives a larger, purposeful crease along the valence just above the exhaust. The L-shaped tail lamps also receive a mild facelift with a more opaque cover to the LEDs when compared to the pre-LCI E92.

Additionally, the pattern of the rear lamp LEDs has two stacked sets of LEDs to provide better visibility at night while also providing a distinctly BMW look. By comparison, the LCI E92 now looks much brighter and contoured over its predecessor.

The side design goes through some changes as well, the E92 LCI features longer overhangs and subtle changes to the side skirts, giving the facelift an overall more aggressive, masculine look.



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the 2010 E350 Coupe

2010 Mercedes-Benz E350 Coupe – Click above for high-res image gallery

Marketing does funny things. Recently the word "coupe" has been rendered null and void of meaning by crafty marketing types behind cars like the Mercedes-Benz CLS, BMW X6 and Volkswagen CC, while the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo has sucked every last ounce of truth, honesty and passion from the term "Gran Turismo." It's now just advertising flim-flam. The BMW 8 Series was a grand tourer. The 535i Gran Turismo? We hear it's very practical...

We mention co-opting of the terms "coupe" and "Gran Turismo" because marketers pulled a similar stunt back in the early '70s with the phrase "Personal Luxury Car." Some cars did fit the definition well (roughly, a luxury coupe exists where practicality and efficiency are traded in favor of style, plush and image), others did not. For example, in the U.S. where we like our luxury by the yard, a 1971 Buick Riviera is a perfect example of a personal luxury car. An AMC Matador Brougham complete with Oleg Cassini interior isn't. Regardless of reality, by 1973 every car with two doors and faux-vinyl seats got tagged with the PLC label. As such, the phrase "personal luxury car" became meaningless.

Apropos of all that, Mercedes-Benz was kind enough to let us test its two-door version of its new W212 E-Class, the 2010 E350 Coupe. The new model marks the first time in three generations that Mercedes has offered a coupe version of what's generally considered to be its sauerbraten und spätzle. You'd have to go back to Bill Clinton's first term (that's pre-Lewinsky) to find the two-door W124 E-Class. Obviously, the B-pillarless two-door qualifies as a coupe, but a personal luxury car? Or, dare we say it, a GT?

2010 Mercedes-Benz E350 Coupe

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the all-new Mustang five-point-oh is revealed in its full glory

So the all-new Mustang five-point-oh is revealed in its full glory! Using a new and sophisticated V8 engine, this car brings back the “5.0″ badge which means a lot to ‘Stang fans. And of course it won’t disappoint them when it comes to action, as it’s got 412 hp and 390 pound-feet of torque. And it’s efficient as well, sort of!

This new 5.o liter aluminum block V8 has four-valves per cylinder and comes with Twin Independent Variable Camshaft Timing (Ti-VCT) technology. This system results in increased volumetric and thermal efficiency, and that results in faster response across a broad range of engine speeds. It also has specially designed tubular exhaust headers. Ford has announced any performance figures yet.

The 2011 Mustang 5.0 can be had with either a six-speed automatic transmission which returns 25 mpg highway and 17 in the city, or a six-speedmanual transmission with 24 mpg highway and 16 city. These are great numbers considering the class of the car.

Apparently Ford was determined to make the new Mustang a proper handling car, because they went to enormous length tuning the chassis and suspension. The car comes as standard with Electric Power Assist Steering (EPAS), 11.5-inch front and 11.8-inch rear vented disc brakes, and an enhanced suspension featuring an improved rear lower control arm and stiffened rear stabilizer bushings. Stabilizer bar diameters, spring rates and dampers all have been tuned for improved dynamics.

As an optional package, you may order the Brembo braking system with 14-inch vented front discs from the GT500, unique 19-inch alloy wheels and summer performance tires. Ford says these features are for serious enthusiasts!

2011 Ford Mustang also comes with a few styling tweaks, new 160 mph speedometer and the tachometer redline which now begins from 7,000 rpm instead of 6500! But the main feature is the “5.0″ badge on the fenders. There’s also three new colors available including Yellow Blaze Tri-Coat, Race Red and Ingot Silver. Other new convenience technologies include:

• Standard message center
• Integrated blind spot mirrors
• MyKey programmable vehicle key
• Illuminated visors
• Universal garage door opener
• Sun visor storage

which will get the firm’s V10 engine used in the LF-A supercar

In these very last days of 2009, some Japanese magazines are spreading the rumor that Lexus is working on a very hot version of the GS luxury saloon, allegedly called GS-F, which will get the firm’s V10 engine used in the LF-A supercar, to rival BMW M5. Now apparently Lexus has responded to this by tweeting! They say that the V10 is bespoke to the LF-A and won’t be used in any other car. They didn’t comment on the existence of GS-F though.

So as it’s usually the case, there must be a GS-F in the works but it certainly won’t be getting the V10. This makes more sense actually, because as we’ve reported earlier, BMW will replace theV10 engine of the M5 with a twin-turbo V8 in the upcoming model. Mercedes too has plans to drop the big and thirsty V8s in favor of more efficient turbo engines, so even if Lexus is to rival the M5 or E63, they would come up with something in the same league.

And as a side note, the GS’s face is too dull for a weapons-grade V10 such as LF-A’s 4.8 liter! It looks good as a hybrid, but as a performance saloon?! The M5 will eat it for breakfast!