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August 2012

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Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Total Car Score Selects Their Top 10 All-New Cars for 2013

Total Car Score Selects Their Top 10 All-New Cars for 2013

Total Car Score Selects the Top 10 All-New Cars for 2013 These are the most important all-new 2013 models entering showrooms this fall Los Angeles, CA – August 22, 2012 – The 2013 model year is shaping up to be a pivotal moment for the automotive industry. With over 30 all-new vehicles arriving in showrooms T ... Continue reading

2013 Nissan Pathfinder A Next -Gen SUV By Larry Nutson

2013 Nissan Pathfinder A Next -Gen SUV By Larry Nutson

2013 Nissan Pathfinder The Next-Gen SUV by Larry Nutson Senior Editor, Chicago Bureau The Auto Channel Nissan rolled into Chicago, “The Second City”, last week with the all-new 2013 Pathfinder SUV. In a presentation to auto journalist members of the Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA) Nissan’s Di ... Continue reading

Chrysler 300 Continues Comeback: V6 Version Near Top Of Class In Consumer Reports' Large Sedan Ratings

Chrysler 300 Continues Comeback: V6 Version Near Top Of Class In Consumer Reports' Large Sedan Ratings

Buick LaCrosse with eAssist hybrid system achieves best-in-class 26 mpg -- The Chrysler 300 V6 earned an 83 test score in Consumer Reports ratings, which puts it near the top of its class, below the Hyundai Genesis. When Consumer Reports tested the V8-powered 300C last year, engineers found it to be a huge improvement ... Continue reading

Chicago-Based Hilco Reaches Agreement to Develop Former GM Facility in Ohio

Chicago-Based Hilco Reaches Agreement to Develop Former GM Facility in Ohio

The Brownfield Communities Development Company (BCDC), a joint venture company between Northbrook-based Hilco Trading LLC and Miami-based developer, The Adler Group, has announced that it has entered into an agreement with The RACER (Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response) Trust to purchase and develop th ... Continue reading

Republican National Convention To Bring Traffic Gridlock In Tampa

Republican National Convention To Bring Traffic Gridlock In Tampa

This month's Republican National Convention is expected to bring approximately 50,000 visitors to Tampa and drive delay times on the city's major roads by 18 percent. The insight, released today by INRIX, the largest global traffic intelligence platform in the world, unveils a number of likely problem areas for drivers ... Continue reading

Global Driver Assistance Systems Revenues to Reach $460 Billion by 2020, Says ABI Research

Global Driver Assistance Systems Revenues to Reach $460 Billion by 2020, Says ABI Research

Global driver assistance systems revenues are expected to grow from $22.7 Billion in 2012 to $460.8 Billion in 2017. Asia-Pacific will remain the leading ADAS market throughout the forecast period. Vice President and practice director Dominique Bonte comments: “Both commercial and regulatory drivers are expected to bo ... Continue reading

Project Ignition Offers Teen Driver Safety Grants To High School Students

Project Ignition Offers Teen Driver Safety Grants To High School Students

Project Ignition is pleased to announce the availability of $2,000 grants for public high schools to support their students in addressing teen driver safety using service-learning. ... Continue reading

Preference for Auto Body Style Shifts for US Female Shoppers

Preference for Auto Body Style Shifts for US Female Shoppers

According to Market Insight Corporation, although still popular with US female auto shoppers, preference for the “Crossover" body styles have been decreasing as “Sedan" body styles are becoming increasingly popular. This insight is based on thousands of female auto shoppers visiting MyProductAdvisor.com from January ... Continue reading

More than 75,000 Electric Drive Buses Will Be on Roads Worldwide by 2018, Forecasts Pike Research

More than 75,000 Electric Drive Buses Will Be on Roads Worldwide by 2018, Forecasts Pike Research

No other category of heavy duty vehicles has seen more adoption of electric drivetrains than buses. In North America, hybrid models have captured as much as 40 percent of new transit bus purchases in recent years. Electric drivetrains -- whether for hybrid systems, battery electric, or fuel cell -- hold appeal for the ... Continue reading

SAE International Board Member to Lead CAN Seminar in China

SAE International Board Member to Lead CAN Seminar in China

Mark Zachos, president of Dearborn Group, Inc., and a member of the SAE International Board of Directors, will lead a professional development seminar on Controller Area Network (CAN) standard, procedure and applications on Sept. 17-18, 2012, at the Renaissance Tianjin TEDA Convention Centre Hotel in Tianjin, China. Th ... Continue reading

Undercover Greenie - 2013 Kia Optima Hybrid Review By Rex Roy

Undercover Greenie - 2013 Kia Optima Hybrid Review By Rex Roy

Undercover Greenie 2013 Kia Optima Hybrid By Rex Roy Contributing Editor The Auto Channel Michigan Bureau American drivers have been conditioned to think that fuel-efficient hybrids look dull and nerdy, if not kind of weird. For example, the first Toyota Prius sold in the US scored and absolute zero on the looks scale. ... Continue reading

SiriusXM Radios Factory Installed In More Than 50 Million Vehicles

SiriusXM Radios Factory Installed In More Than 50 Million Vehicles

Sirius XM Radio today announced that it recently passed 50 million factory vehicle installations of the company's satellite radios. Since SiriusXM launched ten years ago, the satellite service's penetration rate as a percentage of new U.S. auto sales has climbed every year. SiriusXM this year will be factory installed ... Continue reading

The Future of the Virtual Showroom Is At Hand -- Nissan Revs Up the Dealership Experience with Microsoft's Kinect for Windows

The Future of the Virtual Showroom Is At Hand -- Nissan Revs Up the Dealership Experience with Microsoft's Kinect for Windows

Nissan is pioneering an entirely new way to sell cars at its dealerships using Microsoft's Kinect for Windows technology. Using Kinect's Natural User Interface (NUI), Nissan is enabling shoppers to hop into a virtual 2013 Pathfinder and explore the SUV -- that isn't in showrooms yet -- using motion and natural human ge ... Continue reading

School Zone Violators Face Significant California Penalties

School Zone Violators Face Significant California Penalties

Drivers unwilling to obey simple driving procedures during back-to-school time should prepare to pay a hefty price. The average cost for disobeying a California school crossing guard's direction is $282 according to an Allstate Insurance Company back-to-school survey of traffic courts across the state. Also this fall, ... Continue reading

FIAT Brand Arrives in Downtown Chicago

FIAT Brand Arrives in Downtown Chicago

The FIAT brand is celebrating the grand opening of FIAT of Chicago, the first FIAT studio to open in downtown Chicago. Located at 645 West Randolph St., just east of the Kennedy Expressway, this stunning new studio is the commercial anchor for a contemporary 17-story condominium high rise and is family owned and operat ... Continue reading

Nationally Recognized Consumer Advocate David Champion To Join Nissan

Nationally Recognized Consumer Advocate David Champion To Join Nissan

-- Nissan, which currently is launching five new vehicles in 15 months, today announced the hiring of former Consumer Reports Auto Test Center Senior Director, David Champion, for the newly created position of executive adviser, competitive assessment and quality. Champion will report to Steve Monk, director, vehicle e ... Continue reading

Ford Launches Drive 4 UR Community Program to Raise Funding for Local Nonprofit Organizations

Ford Launches Drive 4 UR Community Program to Raise Funding for Local Nonprofit Organizations

Ford Motor Company is collaborating with its dealers to launch a Drive 4 UR Community program to raise funding for local nonprofit organizations Drive 4 UR Community is similar to Ford's successful Drive 4 UR School program, which has raised more than $12 million for local schools since its inception in 2007 Drive 4 UR ... Continue reading

Nissan Altima Battles Toyota Camry for Best-Selling Sedan Spot; Jumpstart Automotive Group Reveals Top Contender with Online Shoppers

Nissan Altima Battles Toyota Camry for Best-Selling Sedan Spot; Jumpstart Automotive Group Reveals Top Contender with Online Shoppers

-Nissan is battling for the best-selling midsize sedan spot this year --a move the automaker's CEO Carlos Ghosn touted at the New York Auto Show in April -- hoping the Altima has what it takes to overcome longtime segment frontrunner Toyota Camry. ... Continue reading

Central Indiana Pilot Project with Toyota, Duke Energy, Energy Systems Network Envisions Common Standard between Plug-in Cars, Charging Stations and Utilities

Central Indiana Pilot Project with Toyota, Duke Energy, Energy Systems Network Envisions Common Standard between Plug-in Cars, Charging Stations and Utilities

-As plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) continue to gain consumer acceptance and market share, automotive companies, utilities and charging equipment providers are collaborating on common standards to seamlessly align vehicles, charging stations and the power grid. Toyota Motor Corporation's new pilot project in c ... Continue reading

Global Automotive Industry M&A Activity Declined in First Half of 2012, According to PwC

Global Automotive Industry M&A Activity Declined in First Half of 2012, According to PwC

Global automotive industry merger and acquisition (M&A) activity slowed during the first half (H1) of 2012, according to PwC. In H1 2012, 264 deals closed with a disclosed value of $10.6 billion, reflecting a sizeable decline compared to H1 2011, which totaled 303 completed deals with a disclosed valued at $18.8 billio ... Continue reading

IndyCar - Wide Open Championship Makes For Good Racing

IndyCar - Wide Open Championship Makes For Good Racing

INDIANAPOLIS, Aug. 21, 2012: Graham Rahal doesn't have to think hard to answer why the IZOD IndyCar Series has been so competitive in 2012. All he has to do is look back to the series' last race - the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio and he has the answer. "I don't know if I've seen a field that is that competitive or that c ... Continue reading

ALMS P2 - Dempsey Racing Race Report

ALMS P2 - Dempsey Racing Race Report

ELKHART LAKE, Aug. 21, 2012: Posting the highest race finish yet for Dempsey Racing’s new American Le Mans Series (ALMS) presented by Tequila Patrón P2 program in only the team’s fourth race, Patrick Dempsey and Joe Foster finished second Saturday in the Road American Road Race Showcase co-driving the No. ... Continue reading

WEC - Dalziel Ready For Silverstone

WEC - Dalziel Ready For Silverstone

Silverstone, Aug. 21, 2012: British sports car star Ryan Dalziel aims to make the most of a rare trip home by boosting his world championship credentials. Dalziel, who moved from Lanarkshire in Scotland to forge a hugely successful career in the US – is back in Britain for the latest round of the FIA World Enduran ... Continue reading

POWRi Midgets - Kuhn Wins Last Lap Lunge At Sun Prairie

POWRi Midgets - Kuhn Wins Last Lap Lunge At Sun Prairie

SUN PRAIRIE, Wis. (Aug. 19, 2012)—Brad Kuhn passed Bryan Clauson on the final lap to win the Miller Lite Cornfest Midget Classic by inches Sunday at Angell Park Speedway in an event tri-sanctioned by the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series, USAC Mopar National Midget and Stark Automotive Group Mid-State Equipme ... Continue reading

Going Japanese at Shannons Spring Sale

Going Japanese at Shannons Spring Sale

With values of their early vehicles soaring, savvy buyers will be 'going Japanese' at Shannons Melbourne Spring Classic Auction this Monday, August 27, where three iconic models will be offered - two with no reserve. ... Continue reading

TNT Takes Delivery Of Ten Volkswagen Crafter Conversions

TNT Takes Delivery Of Ten Volkswagen Crafter Conversions

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has agreed a trial with the UK's leading business-to-business express operator, TNT Express, for ten of its Crafter single chassis cabs with a box van conversion. ... Continue reading

Toyota Sponsors IAAF World Championships

Toyota Sponsors IAAF World Championships

Toyota is famous for its involvement in global motorsport, but did you know it's a major supporter of athletics, too? This week Toyota has renewed its sponsorship of the IAAF World Championships, extending a relationship that's been in place since 2003. ... Continue reading

Sporty New Fiat 500 Streets Ahead On Style And Equipment

Sporty New Fiat 500 Streets Ahead On Style And Equipment

The highly successful Fiat 500 range is enhanced even further today with the launch of a sporty and lavishly equipped new version, the 500 Street ... Continue reading

Jaguar Land Rover: 50 Global Projects Offset 5.2 Million Tonnes Of Carbon Dioxide In Five Years

Jaguar Land Rover: 50 Global Projects Offset 5.2 Million Tonnes Of Carbon Dioxide In Five Years

Today, Jaguar Land Rover has confirmed support of its 50th Global carbon dioxide offset project in 5 years, the innovative LifeStraw project which is providing safe drinking water in Kenya. ... Continue reading

Bracknell Honda Open For Business

Bracknell Honda Open For Business

After an extensive six-month construction programme, the Bracknell Honda car dealership has opened its doors to welcome customers to their brand new residence. ... Continue reading

Epic Vauxhalls Join Chris Evans' Car-Fest This Weekend

Epic Vauxhalls Join Chris Evans' Car-Fest This Weekend

Vauxhall's latest and greatest sports cars will be heading South this weekend to star in the first ever Car-Fest, brainchild of car-nut DJ Chris Evans, who will be raising money from the event for Children in Need. ... Continue reading

Rolls-Royce Launches Smart Way To Find Provenance Pre-Owned Models

Rolls-Royce Launches Smart Way To Find Provenance Pre-Owned Models

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has launched a new resource called Provenance Pre-owned Stock Locator. The move takes effortlessness online, allowing would-be Rolls-Royce clients to search for exclusive Provenance cars quickly and easily using an iPad, computer or smart phone. ... Continue reading

Customers Guaranteed A 'Golden' Return In Renault's New 'Vive Le Summer' Promotion For New 62-Registration

Customers Guaranteed A 'Golden' Return In Renault's New 'Vive Le Summer' Promotion For New 62-Registration

The summer lives on long after London 2012 with savings of up to £800 available on the Renault range in the lead-up to the new 62-plate. ... Continue reading

Lucky Motorist Wins Alfa Mito Quadrifoglio Verde After Racing Goodwood's Hillclimb Via Auto Trader App

Lucky Motorist Wins Alfa Mito Quadrifoglio Verde After Racing Goodwood's Hillclimb Via Auto Trader App

Last week (Friday 17th August) Howard Derham 20, from Kent received the keys to a brand new Alfa MiTo Quadrifoglio Verde, which he won by racing the 1.16-mile hill climb at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed on a new Augmented Reality motor racing app, created by Goodwood's Moving Motor Show partner, Auto Trader. ... Continue reading

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