Land Rover is gearing up for the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Range Rover this coming June 17.
The first Range Rover was launched by Land Rover in 1970. The vehicle was upgraded in terms of bringing in new variants, new engines, or new transmissions but the design of the Range Rover basically remained the same for the past 26 years. To date, the company has built 317, 615 units of the Range Rover.
The second gen Range Rover, also known as the P38a was introduced in 1994. This somehow redefined the brand and gave way for the market to distinguish what a luxury SUV is like. After 7 years, the L322 or the current generation of Range Rover hit the market.
According to the Managing Director of Land Rover, Phil Popham, the line of Land Rover, has a unique history of innovating its products but credits the Range Rover for being the most significant vehicle of that they ever launched. It can be considered as among the most important piece of automobile in history.
Click on the video below so you will have an idea of how Range Rover looked through the decades.
Do you have any idea what “eclosion” means? A lot of readers were probably rushing to consult a dictionary when Geely published its press release about the company’s new line of alternative, bug-like vehicles. According to the dictionary, eclosion is the emergence of an insect to its more graceful and efficient adult form from pupal-hood, larvae-hood or egg-hood. With such lovely imagery, consumers are bound to expect a lot from this line.
The Geely IG started out as a concept car in 2009, gracing the Shanghai Auto Show. It fetched positive feedback from reviewers at that time who were fully convinced that the IG would make a great electric car. At the recent Beijing Auto Show, Geely released a semi-electric version. While it’s less spectacular than the fully electric model everyone was anticipating, Geely did add seagull wing-doors to the package.
The seagull wing-doors transformed the 3+1 seating arrangement to a 2+2. The design alteration also provided more space for a hybrid power train. During the Auto Show, Geely also introduced two electronic models named EK-1 and EK-2. The EK-1 model runs on acid batteries to generate enough power for an 80 km drive per hour.
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The IS350C F-Sport was unveiled by Japanese carmaker Lexus last February giving the convertible some sporty attitude. Recently, Lexus announced that they will be releasing a Special Edition which packs more style and performance.
The IS350C F-Sport Limited Edition will have a very limited run producing only 100 units. The sticker price will start at $58,375 or about $13,000 top up from the standard 2010 Lexus IS350C F-Sport.
The special edition car will get the usual F-Sport treatment and bumps it up with enhanced brake system to give the driver a firmer feel of the brake pedal, lower springs, Bilstein shocks, stiffer set of anti-roll bars, and 19 inch alloy rims. The car will also feature a new grille, especially designed floor mats, leather finish of the shift knob, and unique badge for the exterior.
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After its debut last year, the 2010 Infiniti G37 Convertible has been under the spotlight. Even with a slight jump in price, the car still has a very competitive tag price of $44,350 side by side its German rivals.
Let’s see how the Infiniti G37 compares to the other cars in its segment.
The A5 Cabriolet from Audi has a slightly lower price of $42,000 but comes with 211 horsepower 2.0L 4 cylinder engine. The S5 Cabrio comes close to a match with the G37 in terms of specs with V6 that outputs 333 horsepower but the tag is a hefty $58,000. The G37 boasts of a V6 3.7L engine that roars at 325 horsepower.
The Lexus IS C kicks off in the market at $39,440 for the 2.5L variant that rolls at 240 horsepower. The IS350C comes closer at $44,890 but its output falls short at 306hp.
The 3-Series of the BMW offers 335i and the BMW 335is which gives you 300 and 335hp, respectively, but if you will get a convertible the 335i will cost you $6,000 more and the 335is convertible a whopping $15,000 at $59,075. The BMW 328i seems to match the price at $45,000 but the 230 horsepower will be a weakling compared to the G37 engine.
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Infiniti is again considering production of an entry level car or a full range of models which will be based on front wheel drive system. The performance cars of the brand like the Infiniti M and Infiniti G will not be part of the plan and remain as rear wheel drive.
The core of the Infiniti brand is their performance cars. The carmaker has been offering FWD and rear wheel drive cars since 1991. The I35 was the last front wheel drive unit to roll out their factories in 1991 but this was discontinued in 2004. Back in the days, Infiniti decision makers only 
gave a go for RWD units believing it is the best way to compete with other luxury brands like Mercedes Benz and BMW.
At the recent 2010 Detroit Auto Show, a Nissan executive revealed that their studies show that car owners really do not care if they are driving an all wheel drive or a fwd vehicle. The company cited competitors like the TSX which is a FWD and the AWD or FWD TL from Acura.
At present, the production vehicles of Infiniti are all using their RWD platform. Moving forward, the carmaker wants to deliver on a different platform without compromising the riding experience of Infiniti buyers. Mercedes-Benz is doing well with the A and B Class units overseas while the Lexus is gearing up for the production version of their concept car LF-Ch so Infiniti will be fine launching products to compete with these.
The details of the plan were not disclosed but we will be keeping you posted.
The gala opening night of the Barrett-Jackson Collector auction in Arizona served as the stage for the unveiling of the 2011 Shelby GT350 derived from the 2011 Ford Mustang GT.
The 2011 Shelby was specifically designed in commemoration of the 1965 Shelby GT350 and the Shelby Cobra. The 2011 GT350 comes roaring with a supercharged V-8 5.0L engine derived from the stable of Mustang.
The 2011 Shelby GT350 is a product of collaboration of the Shelby American team with experts from Goodyear, Borla, Ford Racing, Cragar, and Baer. Everything revolves around the idea of making a car that is very fast but has very good handling. The idea came into life with the design of the small but powerful engine derived from the Mustang.
The Shelby GT350 will be rolling out in the traditional white donning the Guardsman blue stripes as it was known in Le Mans. The V-8 power plant is coupled with a six speed transmission on manual control. The supercharged engine has a Blue Shelby valve covers. Baer brakes are set up as 6 piston kit for the front and 14-inch rotors for the back, and matched with cooling ducts for all the corners.
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Hyundai went out to impress everyone at the SEMA motor show last year by unveiling seven versions of their Genesis Sedan and Coupe. The Korean car maker Hyundai has cut their cost a bit and will only show one version of their Genesis Coupe at this years auto show.
Hyundai is collaborating with GReddy Performance Parts to produce components for the Genesis Coupe going on exhibition. The high-performance car parts will be showcased during the SEMA as the X-Gen Street Genesis Coupe. The parts will go on sale right after the SEMA.
The GReddy vehicle will be a tuned 2.0L turbocharged Hyundai Genesis Coupe that will have modifications fit for everyday driving or something that can be driven during the weekend to zoom on the racing track.
The car will be pimped out with some turbo upgrade, cat-back exhaust configuration, coil over suspension, large intercooler, racing downpipe, and GReddy brake calipers.
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Don't forget: you can buy a car, but before you can drive it, you'll need to get insurance. Make sure you know what you'll be paying
before you buy your car, and keep in mind if you're under 25, that's not always a nice sum to add to your car payments!
Mazda plans to raise about $1 Billion to help push for the development of their new hybrid vehicles and future technologies. The Japanese car manufacturer hopes to beef up their funds by selling treasury stocks and new shares.
A reliable source from Mazda was quoted in some reports that it will issue around 363 million shares of the company. This figure translates to about 25% of the existing stock of the carmaker. There are also some information that it will be selling 96.8 million shares it acquired from majority stakeholder Ford.
Mazda did not show early interest on developing hybrid or electric vehicles like the other Japanese car manufacturers. The North American division of the company categorically declared that they will not go into production of such vehicles if they are not sure if it will click with the market. As the demand for greener vehicles becomes the trend, Mazda changed its view and is hoping to produce hybrid units soon.
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Lexus is just celebrating its 20th year in business but the Luxury line of Japanese carmaker Toyota has taken the U.S. market by storm and is now considered the best selling brand. Due to the recent economic downturn, competition is catching up and BMW is just behind by a couple of thousand units.
BMW may be set to out maneuver Lexus for the sales crown in the United States. The August sales report reveals that Lexus has so far sold 131,469 vehicles which is a far cry from their usual 300,000 cars they are selling per year before the recession struck.
The luxury car segment has seen its market cutting down its spending as the economy went into recession. BMW makes good use of the opportunity and tries to catch up and grab the title held by Lexus for almost a decade now. BMW was slightly ahead of Lexus looking at the June sales figures but the latter was able to rebound by July.
BMW is hoping though that their rule as sales leader will not be short lived. There are now signs that the economy is recovering as well as the car market so there is a good chance that the demand for luxury vehicles will also spring back to life.
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The recent auto show in Frankfurt was graced by two Audi R8 facing two different directions. On one platform is the R8 Spyder and the other is the e-Tron Concept. The Audi 2011 Spyder zooms on a V10 with a Lamborghini DNA while the 2009 concept car e-Tron is undeniably all-electric green.
The Audi R8 Spyder sports a V-10 5.2L power plant in its engine bay that is capable of giving out 525 horsepower with a torque of 391 pound-feet. The R8 Spyder speeds up from 0 to 60 mph in just 4.1 seconds. Top speed is pegged at 195 mph despite an additional 200 pounds compared to the coupe with a hard top.
It comes with a soft top as originally preferred by the engineers in Germany. Other sleek features are seat capable of bouncing off heat and seatbelts with built in microphones to make hands free mobile phone calls easier to handle.
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