Mercedes SLS BRABUS WIDESTAR Wide Version

The famous German tuner Brabus has recently announced the BRABUS WIDESTAR, which is a wide-body version of the Mercedes SLS AMG. This tuning consists of a carbon-fiber body kit that has a new front spoiler, a redesigned rear spoiler, a reconfigured diffuser and the wide body paneling for the fenders of the SLS that have side outlets and air dams.

These modifications of the SLS AMG have widened the car by 20 mm at the back, which allowed the German tuner to install lightweight forged rims – Monoblock F PLATINUM EDITION that have the following dimensions: 11Jx21 for the wheels in the back and 9.5Jx20 for the front wheels of the Mercedes. These rims will be covered by 295/25 ZR 21 and 275/30 ZR 20 Yokohama or Pirelli tires. This set of wheels is available with a ceramic polished surface that can be had in any given color or with a brushed-design.

Mercedes SLS BRABUS WIDESTAR Wide Version

In addition to these modifications, BRABUS installed an electronically adjustable suspension kit made by Bilstein that has the Ride Control feature and stiffer sway bars for the rear and front axels of the SLS. With this kit, the car can be lowered with up to 30 mm.

Other modifications include the BRABUS performance exhaust system which is 40% (12 kg) less heavy than the standard exhaust system installed by Mercedes and at the same time it offers an additional power of 7.4 kW (10 PS). The exhaust system is offered with four slanted exhaust tips as well as a sound management for the powerful V8 6.2-liter.

As far as the interior is concerned, BRABUS can fit the SLS AMG with carbon-fiber inlays that are available in a wide variety of colors plus matte anodized aluminum pedals and foot rest. The car now has a combination of leather and Alcantara covering the new sport steering wheel. The car features a 250 mph (400 km/h) speedometer.

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Mercedes SLS BRABUS WIDESTAR Wide Version

2011 Porsche Cayenne

Porsche AG recently said that in the next three years the company is planning on opening new dealerships in China so that the sales will go up by 50%. For 2010, Porsche hopes to sell about 10,000 cars, 10% more than in 2009 and is expecting 15,000 car sales by 2013, according to Helmut Broeker who is the chief of Porsche China.

Back in June, Porsche opened in Sanghai its first company-owned sales unit and according to Broeker, this inauguration led to "a great deal of trust in the brand". At the beginning of this month, the company opened in Taiyuan a new dealership. The location is a massive coal district, located in the northern province of Shanxi. Porsche's image in China is well known thanks to the 911 models.

However, in comparison to customers from other countries, the regular Porsche buyer in China does not acquire a sports car like the 911 as he prefers to get the company's first sport utility vehicle, the Cayenne. Why? – Because the quality of the roads in China is not very good in comparison to European roads for example. According to Broeker, 60% of the cars sold in China are SUVs and at the moment the request for this model exceeds the capabilities of Porsche to deliver the cars.

2011 Porsche Cayenne

The most popular Cayenne in China is a model that is not even available in its native country Germany. We are talking about a 3.0-liter turbocharged TFSI power unit. The powertrain of this type of Cayenne is assembled in Hungary at the Gyor unit. This is a problem for Porsche because at this plant, the company also manufactures the 6-cylinder engines that power the Q7, A6, A7 and the A8 limousine. Because the factory has a limited production, the German manufacturer cannot supply the needed engines for the Chinese cars. For this reason customers in China have to wait about nine months until they can drive their Cayenne.

Usually 9 months is enough to make a customer from China change his mind and try looking for something else, but this is not the situation with the Cayenne customer, because this is the most affordable method to drive a Porsche SUV. The 3.6-liter Cayenne is significantly less expensive than the V8 engine because in China, the Government has a 44% consumption tax for cars that have engine with a 3.0 (max) capacity. Above this figure, clients have to pay a 110% tax – this is the situation for the V8 engine that powers the Cayenne, which is why people are waiting almost an entire year for the 3.6-liter power unit.

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Porsche Aiming 50% Sales Increase In China

2011 Opel Ampera

The American Chevrolet Volt has a starting price of $41,000. His European brother however, GM's Opel/Vauxhall Ampera will have a basic price of $58,600 (42,900 euros). Alain Visser who is Opel's sales and marketing chief, recently affirmed that this price difference between the European and the North American model is justified because the Ampera in Europe will be available with high-quality features.

In the statement, he said that "We have compromised on nothing. The Ampera is a beautiful car that is as fun to drive as it is packed with premium content." Some of the premium features of the European Ampera listed by Opel are touchscreen monitors and Bose speakers. Reservations for the car are already being made and it will go on sale in October next year. The Ampera will be built together with the Chevrolet Volt in Warren, Michigan, US. The car will get the same technology as the Volt, but it will have different styling modifications like the bold-looking grille that is traditional for Opel cars.

Unlike other manufacturers that are selling electric vehicles or will be selling them in the near future, European automaker Opel will not allow the possibility for the customer to buy the vehicle and rent the very expensive battery that powers the Ampera. This method is used by other automakers in order to lower the prices of the electric vehicles, reducing the price gap between an EV and a gasoline car. Opel said that by leasing the battery of the Ampera it will make the car affordable at a first sight, but taking into consideration that such a lease will last for several years, the total amount of money a customer will have to pay for the battery pack will be just about the same as purchasing the car with the battery from the beginning.

Similar with the situation of the Chevrolet Volt in the United States, the Opel/Vauxhall Ampera will benefit from government subsidies in various European countries. The officials at Opel declared that their car will be powered by the electric motor at all times during driving. During the first 25 to 50 miles (40 km to 80 km), the Ampera's power for the drivetrain will come from the electricity that will be stored in the 16 kW lithium-ion battery. Using exclusively the electric power, the car will have zero CO2 emissions. For distances bigger than 50 miles, the Ampera will be powered by the gasoline engine that will sustain the battery charge and increase the driving range to 300 miles (500 km).

2011 Opel Ampera

Intensive research regarding how many km do Europeans per day, say that about 80% of people that live in this continent travel less than 60 km each day. Taking this in consideration and the fact that the time necessary to recharge the battery of the Ampera is only about three hours or so, the officials at Opel said that the car will be most likely driven in the electric mode.

General Motors will officially launch the Chevrolet Volt in Europe in the last part of 2011, just about the same period as the Opel/Vauxhall Ampera will be available for sale.

Opel/Vauxhall CEO Nick Reilly affirmed at the 2010 Paris Auto Show that the Ampera will be most likely sold to local government agencies or as a business fleet car, a strong market for Opel. The Volt will be designated for the retail clients in Europe.

General Motors already started production on the Chevrolet Volt that will be sold in the United States. The company said that it would start making delivers by the end of this year.

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Opel Ampera EV Priced

2011 EV Ford Focus

The electric Ford Focus compact will be launched at the end of 2011 and will be available in 19 major metro markets in the United States. The first areas that will get the EV Focus will be: Atlanta; Houston &  Austin, Texas; Boston; Chicago; Denver; Detroit; Los Angeles; San Francisco; San Diego; New York; Orlando; Phoenix & Tucson, Arizona; Portland, Oregon; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; Richmond, Vancouver; Seattle; and Washington.

According to Ford's president in America, Mark Fields, "this is the first step in rolling out the Focus Electric. As the country continues to build up its electric-vehicle infrastructure and demand for the Focus Electric grows, Ford will continue to evaluate additional markets and consider making this vehicle available in more cities across the country."

2011 EV Ford Focus

The decision to choose these 19 metro markets was based upon the current trends regarding hybrid sales, the local government commitment to electrification, but also the company collaboration.

As we have mentioned before, the Focus Electric will be available for sale starting with the fourth quarter of 2011 and will be manufactured at the Michigan plant and it will be done on the same assembly line as the normal gasoline-powered Focus.

The United States Department of Energy gave to Ford a $5.9 billion loan so that the automaker could be able to retool two truck plants in order to make more fuel-efficient vehicles as well as update other Ford facilities next year.

The 2011 EV Focus will use a 23 kW lithium ion battery instead of the conventional gasoline power unit. In order to enhance the driving range and the lifespan of the battery, the car will feature a system that will use cooling systems and liquid heating. The officials at Ford said that the electric Focus will be able to have 100 miles autonomy and no CO2 emissions.

The Focus is not the only electric vehicle Ford will launch in the near feature. The company is planning on introducing the Transit Connect Electric, a plug-in hybrid and two next-generation lithium ion battery cars.

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2011 Electric Ford Focus Announced

2011 Audi A7

With the new A7 coupe-styled four-door car, Audi hopes that it will attract more customers. The Germans are planning to sell approximately 200,000 of the first A7 generation. The car went on sale this September in Europe and it will be available for the rest of the world next year, including the United States market in which it will be available next spring.

Peter Schwarzenbaeur, who is the sales chief over at Audi, recently stated that "We expect about two-thirds of buyers worldwide to be new customers." He also affirmed that the new A7 model is the "next step-up from the Audi A6 segment, where we are registering high growth sales worldwide."

A premiere for Audi is the installation of a head-up display on the A7 model that projects the automobile's most crucial data right onto the windshield. This new car can also be equipped with various features that were previously available on the A8 limousine, like the night vision assistant in a form of a heat-image that is capable of looking up ahead up to 984 feet (300 meters). All the safety systems and features of the A8 can be implemented into the A7, like the active lane assistance for example. What this system does is when the car leaves the lane; it will intervene in the A7's power steering and will return the car to the lane on its own.

2011 Audi A7

The A7 sports a WiFi hotspot which will allow the passengers of the car to connect up to 8 devices from an iPad to a notebook to the Internet simultaneously.

The standard price for the Audi A7 in Germany is about $71,000 (51,650 euros). This new model is a part of the program revealed by Audi to increase their lineup to 42 vehicles in the next five years, from a total of 34 cars as of 2009. A new-entry to the lineup is the Audi A1 subcompact which was launched this summer.

Audi is also planning on dethroning BMW as the world's largest luxury car automaker by 2015 and plans on selling 1.08 million automobiles in 2010.

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Audi Says A7 Will Bring New Clients

2011 Mitsubishi Galant

It seems that Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Honda Motor Co. are attempting to expand their sales in the China which is at this moment, the largest automotive market in the world and it seems that it will remain the same for the following years.

Mitsubishi has set up its first 50/50 joint venture in the Middle Kingdom and is expecting to double the capacity there. Honda is also planning on doubling the production at the Wuhan factory where in the near future it will start producing hybrid cars.

These attempts to conquer the Chinese market come as a direct response to General Motors and Volkswagen AG, as these companies have already a strong activity in China. The most important international automakers that hold the first places for most cars sold to the Chinese market are VW, GM, Hyundai, Toyota and Renault-Nissan.

From all of the Japanese car manufacturers, Mitsubishi is the last one that formed a 50-50 joint venture in China. The Fuji Heavy Industries, who is a manufacturer of Subaru cars, also has no production there, but its plans are to sign a partnership until the end of the year.

2011 Honda Civic Sedan

Honda is currently constructing a secondary assembly plant for the Dongfeng Honda Automobile Corporation, one of the brand's 50/50 joint ventures. Although the initial capacity of this new assembly plant was set at 60,000 units per year, Honda recently stated that they have increased the number to 100,000 cars.

By 2013, the capacity of Honda's factory in Wuhan will reach 120,000 units per year and in the upcoming years; it will be able to make 240,000 cars annually. The Dongfeng Honda plant has at the moment an annual capacity of 240,000 automobiles.

The Japanese newspaper Nikkei noted that the new plant will be making the Civic subcompact model and that by early 2012, Honda will start manufacturing hybrids in China. Seiji Kuraishi who is Honda's boss in China, confirmed that the Japanese automaker will start making hybrids in China in the near future, but did not shared other details regarding this topic. The Nikkei newspaper also noted that the Fit and Civic hybrids are two of Honda's options for the Chinese factories.

Honda's sales in China reached 475, 695 cars this year until September, which is a 16% increase in comparison to the similar period of last year. However, only 63 hybrids were sold in the first 9 months of 2010.

Honda is hoping that by 2013, their manufacturing capacity in China will reach 890,000 units per year, including the 480,000 cars at the Ghuangzhou Honda joint venture as well as at the 50,000 units manufactured at Honda Automobile China, which is a local venture that makes cars for export.

Mitsubishi will be buying a 50% stake at the GAC Changfeng Motor Corporation where at the moment it has only 14.6% shares. GAC Changfeng Motor can make 80,000 cars per year. The models being built there are the Mitsubishi Pajero SUV and the Changfeng-badged SUVs. Within the next five years, Mitsubishi wants to start making 250,000 cars at the factory. In July 2012, the Japanese automaker will start producing a new vehicle there. Mitsubishi also owns 25% of Fujian Motor Co., a venture that has a 150,000 annual capacity which produces the Mitsubishi Lancer and Galant sedans.

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Japanese Automakers Aiming At The Chinese Market

GT 5 In-Game Footage

Gran Turismo 5 is finally available for Sony's PlayStation 3 gaming console, after 6 years of anticipation and 2 last-minute delays. Although the Need for Speed franchise is a bigger hit in terms of overall sales, GT is still considered as the best racing game that was ever developed. Polyphony Digital and CEO Kazunori Yamauchi is also a professional driver and is known for his obsession to detail, an obsession very obvious in the car details of the game.

In 2008, Polyphony Digital launched Gran Turismo 5: Prologue which was considered by many a large demo of the final game that was launched this week. The game was a hit back then as it sold more than 5,000,000 copies. Moving on to the complete game, the Arcade Mode will offer you a two-player split-screen mode, drift modes, time trails and races. The drift mode is considered to be very difficult to conquer although the game is weighty and communicative even when using a standard controller, but to feel the real simulation, it is recommended to use a force feedback wheel.

The complexity of Gran Turismo 5 can be found in the GT Mode where you start your early career with 20,000 credits and at first you have to choose a vehicle from a long list of cars (but most of them exceed the 20,000 credits limit). A second-hand car is a good way if you want to save some money and use it instead to install differing tuning parts. If you want to play with the most expensive and fastest cars the game has to offer you either wait to get more money or you go into the Arcade Mode where you can use all the cars there.

Getting back to the complex GT Mode, you will find A-Spec races, B-Spec races, Open Series, and many other types of races that will require specific car types, similar to Gran Turismo 4 and the rest of the GT franchise. An interesting addition is the License Tests section that helps you learn more about slipstreaming, cornering methods and other driving techniques which will help you become a much better driver if you have patience as it can get a little bit tricky to master. If you want more fun, the Special Events section is what you need. Here you will get a car and jump in the action as soon as possible. Besides visual graphics, the attention to detail is emphasized in the sound of the 1000+ cars. Almost each car has a specific sound which is why it is an absolute delight to drive a Lamborghini Murcielago or a Ferrari Enzo or any other supercar. Speaking of which, the sound made by the Tesla is absolutely stunning and unique, a premiere to a racing video game.

The B-Spec is an eccentric mode in which you will be able to pick an AI driver to race for you, in your own car and after that watch and attempt to issue instructions. Although not popular among Gran Turismo fans, this mode can be surprisingly interesting and rewarding especially for those players that want to play the game on a "professional" level.

GT 5 In-Game Footage

The online gameplay of Gran Turismo 5 will allow you to try out different interesting racing modes like the one that randomly selects a set of cars, the one where you can import your single-player cars and many others. On the downside, the lobby system seems a little bit rudimentary at the moment and the available race modes are somewhat limited. Hopefully, in the future with the help of a comprehensive update, the online features of GT5 will become more complex.

Although in the presentation of the game we are told that it has to offer more than 1,000 cars, only 200+ are fully modeled vehicles with interior cockpits and a high level of detail. The other 800 cars are imported from the PS2 Gran Turismo 4 and brushed up here and there. There is a huge difference between a premium car and a standard one, the premium cars have an amazing level of details while the standard models look rather dull, not worthy of the level of detail that the Playstation 3 can offer.

A new addition to the franchise is the damage mechanics but it feels a little bit simple in comparison to Forza 3 for example. Hopefully, in the future the franchise will feature a more developed level of damaging mechanics system and the standard cars will be updated to premium through DLCs. Returning to the Gran Turismo franchise is the possibility to race during the night, but it is limited to some tracks only. Speaking of which, the transition between day and night at the Nürburgring track is simply amazing. The game allows you to race also on wet and snow tracks, but also on a few tracks, not all of them.

Although it has its weak points, the game is still the best in its genre with more than 1,000 cars (WRC, Super GT and Nascar license), which is double than its most important rival – Forza Motorsport 3 Ultimate Collection. However, all the cars in Forza have cockpit views which might be important for some players; we will leave it up to you to decide which one do you like more. GT 5 has 26 different locations and 71 different track configurations, including some of the most famous tracks like Laguna Seca, Nürburgring and Top Gear's Test Track.

Kazunori Yamauchi declared that Polyphony Digital has already started working on Gran Turismo 6 which will be most likely launched on the next generation PlayStation console. This does not mean that the support for GT5 is over, on the contrary, the game will most likely receive various updates, optimizations and DLCs to further enhance the level of the entertainment the franchise accustomed us to.

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Gran Turismo 5 Review

SAAB 9-3X

It seems that the Swedish car manufacturer SAAB Automobile AB is planning on starting to sell cars to the expanding Chinese market some time during next year. CEO Jan Ake Jonsson declared this week that a deal is expected to be signed by the end of this year. On the sidelines of the Los Angeles Auto Show, Jonson affirmed that "Until we launch the new 9-3 at the end of 2012, it will be just a couple of thousand units (annually), all based on imports. As we lead up to this, we have to make a decision if and when we are going to introduce local manufacturing in China."

The current issues with this upcoming decision are to decide which will be the dealer network that will sell the SAAB cars in China. Jonsson affirmed that the company must have dealerships in five or six cities with a total of 10 to 15 dealers.

Besides China, SAAB is also considering creating a distribution deal in Russia. Details were not revealed but it is expected to be announced at the end of this year.

If SAAB decides to start assembling cars in China, the first model would be the new generation 9-3 model while the upcoming 9-4X crossover and the 9-5 will be imported. SAAB's chairman, Victor Muller recently said that "you need to get a volume of 10,000 cars (in China) before you can start manufacturing locally".

SAAB 9-3X

The production for the United States version of the 9-4X will start next year in April, while the ones for the markets outside the North American continent will be manufactured starting with August 2011. Jonsson affirmed that the 9-4X will be offered most likely with gasoline engines as there are small chances of introducing a diesel power unit.

On local territory SAAB is planning on eliminating 200 jobs from the Swedish factory, which represents approximately 1/8 of the entire staff. Hakan Skott, who is a union representative at SAAB, told Reuters that the SAAB Company, which is now owned by Spyker Cars NV, had told the staff that it would reduce the number of employees by 200, out of 1600 jobs.

Jonsson recently affirmed that SAAB's sales target is to surpass 85,000 units per year. Spyker estimated in October that the company would sell about 30,000 to 35,000 units next year which is significantly lower to the estimation made back in February when they announced that they are expecting sales of more than 60,000 units.

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SAAB Will Be Entering The Russian & Chinese Market

2011 VW Jetta

Jonathan Browning who is the CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, recently stated that the company will need to expand its dealership network in the next 4 years. These new additions will help VW to reach its goal of selling more than 800,000 cars per year in the United States by 2018. For this year, VW is right on track to sell over 250,000 units and expects that in the next five years, it will reach 450,000 – 500,000 units / year with the help of new models like a yet unknown mid-sized sedan and the 2011 VW Beetle facelift. Browning also affirmed that the extra volume can be handled by the current dealership network that has almost 600 units.

The new mid-sized sedan will be manufactured at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The model will be officially unveiled in January at the Detroit Motor Show and will be available for sale in the third quarter of 2011.

2011 VW Jetta

The current VW sales are lead by the 2011 Jetta, that went on sale this September with a $15,999 price tag, which is $1,700 less (not including shipping) than the outgoing generation. Browning said that "We are extending the price band so we can reach out for new customers. The new price point signals that VW is in reach and, with free maintenance, that ownership is cost-efficient."

He also stated that approximately 60 % of the people that purchased the new Jetta are conquests which are exactly what Volkswagen wants for the future.

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VW Is Planning On Opening New Dealerships

Lamborghini Sesto Elemento Concept

In the recent years, carbon fiber has become a standard material for famous supercar makers like Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren. In the present, the carbon fiber has been taken to an entire new level, creating brand new methods of reducing the molding time and getting more of the material into structural parts of the vehicles.

One of the most important promoters of the carbon fiber is Lamborghini with its Sesto Elemento concept which was unveiled in September at the Paris Auto Show. The car has a passenger compartment made out of carbon fiber and so are the suspension components, exterior panels and front/rear structures.

Lamborghini is not the only one to bring new innovations as BMW AG recently developed a carbon fiber processing method which will be used on its future Megacity Vehicle electric car.

Lamborghini Sesto Elemento Concept

In order to further expand the technology, Lamborghini recently signed a development agreement with a golf club maker named Callawy Golf Co. Paolo Feraboli, who is the director of the structural carbon-fiber research group said that the process called "forged composite" is actually faster in comparison with the traditional hand processing and it could produce a maximum of four passenger cells per week.

The experiment conducted by Lamborghini using compression molding with a carbon fiber sheet molded compound resulted in a structural suspension part 30% lighter in comparison to a regular aluminum part and with a 3-minute cycle time, it is considerably faster than aluminum processing.

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Carbon Fiber Is Becoming More Popular