Simona Alina
Filed in: General Motors (GM) | industry news
All Cars Review
Everything about favorite cars
4
Dec
Ford to trim production in Q1 of 2008
Published in Ford
Ford has announced that it will trim its first quarter 2008 production by 7.4%. The automaker plans to produce 685,000 vehicles during the first quarter of 2008, down 55,000 units from the same period in 2007. The move is to control inventory amid concerns that the North American car market will be down in 2008.
“Clearly with the economy and the subprime credit and housing being down, we continue to watch that very carefully as we move into 2008,†Ford CEO, Alan Mulally, told Automotive News. “Of course, the most important thing we can do is adjust our production to the real demand, which we’ve done very carefully and very decisively during this last year.â€
Tags: Ford4
Dec
New racing game announced from creators of DiRT
Published in OtherJonathon Ramsey
Etc., Toys
If current driving games have left your pulse cruising in the slow lane, then Codemasters, the company behind the well-received DiRT rally game, believes it has the racing game for you: Grid. Using an evolution of the engine from DiRT, Grid is all about racing. And if you think “racing game” means spending hours adjusting damper settings and orange-peel-metallic-fade-to-lilac paint jobs, then prepare to be shocked. Says Chief Game Designer Ralph Fulton, “This is not a game about collecting cars or spending all of your time in the front-end tuning suspension settings or designing liveries. We want to make racing exciting again.” Well, for some, adjusting dampers is exciting, but we digress.
No tags for this post.4
Dec
Ford Explorer, Escape: Tale of Two SUVs
Published in Ford
Ford doesn’t have to look very far to see the dramatic shift in the 
marketplace — away from gas-hungry, larger SUVs to more fuel-efficient, car-based ones.
The automaker just has to long in its record books at the Explorer and the Escape to see the tale of two SUVs.
Throughout 2002 and 2004, Ford sold roughly 20,000 to 30,000 Explorers every month. During the same 2002-2004 period, Ford sold roughly between 11,000 and 17,000 Escapes a month. In 2002, 10,000 to 15,000 units (except for one month) separated the two. In 2003, the difference narrowed some, and, by 2004, the difference ranged from a mere 1,245 units to more than 12,000.
Tags: Ford4
Dec
Ford delivers first Escape plug-in hybrid SUV
Published in Ford
Ford’s first Escape plug-in hybrid vehicle is ready to start real-world testing along with electric utility South California Edison. Ford today delivered the first of the 20 research vehicles, which use high voltage lithium-ion batteries and have a fuel-economy figure of 120mpg.
Full charge of the battery takes six to eight hours. The vehicle is not range limited by the amount of charge available in the high-voltage lithium-ion battery because once the charge is depleted the vehicle continues to operate as a standard Ford Escape Hybrid.
Tags: Ford4
Dec
BMW M3 Convertible scooped
Published in Bmw
Didn’t try and disguise it much, did they?
Yes, we’ve caught BMW’s upcoming M3 Cabriolet barely undisguised and months ahead of its official debut. Caught by eagle-eyed CAR reader Paul Newton in the streets of Munich, this test car shows BMW’s third M3 derivative – after the coupe and recently announced saloon.
It’s due to bow in at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2008 before being rushed through production so the UK – one of Europe’s keenest Motorsport markets – receives right-hand drive models in time for summer. Expect prices to start around the £54,000 mark.
Tags: Audi, Bmw4
Dec
So Tesla has a new CEO: Z'ev Drori. Drori made his money back in the '70's founding and running Monolithic Memories, a producer of bipolar PROMS (nothing to do with Steven King's Carrie). Drori sold out and acquired Clifford Electronics, maker of car alarms. That worked out pretty well, with Drori eventually flogging the built-up biz to Allstate Insurance. We hear he's a pretty good race car driver. ANYWAY… Drori's appointment completes the ouster of Tesla founder Martin Eberhard, who's none too happy that his as-yet-unborn baby has been taken away by the suits. Although Martin's banned from saying squat about his predicament thanks to a "non-disparagement agreement," ships are sinking upon his loose lips. "I am not at all happy with the way I was treated," Eberhard whines on the unaffiliated Tesla Motor Club forum. "And I do not think this was the very best way to handle a transition – not the best for Tesla Motors, not the best for Tesla's customers (to whom I still feel a strong sense of responsibility), and not for Tesla's investors." And not for Martin's bank balance, apparently. "Ze'ev is a bright and experienced guy. Unlike me, he's made a zillion dollars from his past ventures…" In an ironic echo of his work for Tesla, Eberhard promises to post his true feelings on his new blog teslafounders.com– which doesn't even have a placeholder page. Meanwhile, no word from Drori when the first Tesla customer gets theirs (so to speak).
4
Dec
Opel Astra OPC Nurburgring-Edition
Published in Opel
Simona Alina
Filed in: Opel | hatchback | Opel Astra | special editions
Opel unveiled at the Essen Motor Show, the Astra OPC Nurburgring-Edition, a limited edition that express the respect that Opel has for the ’most charming’ race track in the world. It will be limited to only 835 units and will go on sale early next year.
The Astra OPC Nurburgring-Edition is offered with the second generation IDPlus2 chassis, that offers the OPC its maximum driving dynamics. Next to it Opel offers: ESP-Plus, TC-Plus traction control, various brake-assisting functions and electronic dampers CDC.
Tags: Opel