Toyota Maintains World’s Number One Spot

Toyota may have lost the first place in global sales to GM, one of the reasons being the lack of supply after the March earthquake, and it has seen the VW Group relegating to third place, but it still has a number one position to brag about.
Branding consultancy Interbrand has placed the Japanese carmaker in the top spot among carmakers, and sixth overall, in its latest global value report that was released today.
The report praised Toyota’s handling of the 2010 quality issues as well as the aftermath of the devastating March earthquake and Tsunami. It said: “Even though Toyota faced both an internal and an external crisis, the company forged ahead by focusing on safety and quality, modifying its leadership structure and capitalizing on its world-renown green efforts"
Interbrand’s overall brand value rankings are based on three aspects: the financial performance of products and services, the role of the brand in purchasing decisions, and the strength of the brand in securing earnings for its company.



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BMW UK Sells Two Millionth Vehicle in Britain for 31 Years

Some 31 years after it officially opened shop in the British market, BMW UK Ltd has sold its two millionth vehicle, a 530d Gran Turismo. Coincidentally, the company's first car sold in the UK on January 1, 1980, was also a 5-Series, albeit an E12 M535i saloon.

After receiving the keys to his new car and learning about the milestone, Ken Haynes from Wolverhampton, said: “I’m delighted to find out I’m the two million man for BMW. The BMW 530d Gran Turismo is the perfect car for me as I like the space, versatility and high standard specification. I run an engineering business under my own name and being able to have a luxury car that allows for large items in the boot is the perfect combination.”

It won't be long before the 5-Series marks another milestone for BMW as the Bavarian firm has already sold 5,839,866 units worldwide since the mid-size model's launch in 1972.

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GM Insists it Will Sell 10,000 Volts this Year!!

Earlier this week, General Motors released its US sales results for September. And the numbers are looking good as deliveries are up 20% compared to September 2010 while the Cruze remains the best-selling compact car in the country.

Yet, despite all the euphoria, GM is actually facing a small problem: even though it had initially set a target of delivering 10,000 units of its Volt hybrid by the end of the year, it is very unlikely that it will achieve this goal.

Up until the end of August, a little more than 3,000 Volts were sold. If we add the 723 September deliveries then we have a total of 3,895 units. Considering that, time is running out,Chevrolet must sell an additional 6,105 cars by the end of the year – or an average of 2,035 units per month from now until the end of December.

In August alone, the Nissan Leaf outsold the Volt by more than four to one (300 vs 1,300 units). GM spokesman Rob Peterson, however, remains optimistic: “I don’t see any problem with reaching our goal”, he said.

Peterson says that GM is only now starting to gear up production and availability of its extended-range hybrid. The Volt was initially available in seven markets, but from now on it will be sold by 2,600 Chevy dealerships across all 50 states.

In order to achieve this, GM had to close down its Detroit factory for a period of four weeks to perform upgrades so it can churn out more vehicles. This was essential, as all variants of the Volt including the European Opel Ampera, will be manufactured at the Detroit plant.

Peterson, therefore, points out that it isn’t lack of interest from buyers but inventory shortage that has limited Volt sales so far – and that is about to change rapidly: “Despite being sold only in seven states, Volts have found homes in all 50 states including Alaska and Hawaii. They want the car so badly they’re buying them and shipping them across oceans and continents.”

There is another role the Volt plays in the grander scheme of things and which works to GM’s advantage: that of a “halo” car drawing people to Chevrolet showrooms.

“Of the initial batch of Volt owners, about half hadn’t stepped into a Chevy dealership in eight years. And a third of them never had," Peterson pointed out.

What’s more, customers initially drawn by the Volt may eventually end up buying other models, like the Cruze compact sedan that has been a hit so far.

Still, shifting 6,000 cars in three months is going to take a lot of effort, and perhaps heavy incentives, if Chevrolet wants to get anywhere near that number.

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168,000 VW Jetta, VW Golf and Audi A3 Diesel Recalled in the U.S. Amidst Fire Concerns

The Volkswagen Group of America issued a voluntary safety recall on 159,884 diesel-powered VW Jetta and Jetta SportWagens manufactured from May 2008 through September 2011, and Golf models built from May 2009 through September 2011, and nearly 9,000 Audi A3 diesel models made from September 2009 through September 2011.
All the aforementioned vehicles are equipped with the German group's 2.0-liter TDi diesel engine. The company said that certain vibrations could potentially result in a fuel line cracking. The defect could cause a fuel leak, which in the presence of an ignition source may lead to a fire.
Volkswagen issued a statement saying that up until now, it is not aware of any "fire, crash or injury" caused by this issue.
To fix the problem VW and Audi will install an improved fuel injector line for the number 2 cylinder as well as dampers on all of the injector lines. The company said it expects to begin the safety recall in the beginning of November.

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1980 Ferrari Pinin Four-Door Sedan Concept

One of the most unique concept studies to come out of the Pininfarina studio in the 1980s, the Ferrari Pinin, is heading to the auction block. Designed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Pininfarina and named after the founder of the company, Battista ‘Pinin’ Farina, the first-ever Ferrari sedan made its world premiere at the 1980 Turin Motor Show in Italy.

The styling of the low-slung, sharp looking sedan was the work of Diego Ottina under the direction of Leonardo Fioravanti, the man responsible for the designs of the Dino, Daytona, the P5 and other Ferrari models.

The futuristic design continues inside with a rather minimalistic look for the dashboard and instrument panel. Saddle tan Connolly leather wraps most surfaces, while Pininfarina fitted the car with an array of electronic to controls all the passenger comfort features.

Although the concept was well received by the public, Ferrari never put the Pinin into production. Nevertheless, certain styling cues such as the high belt-line can be found on later models designed by Pininfarina such as the Peugeot 405.

After the Turin presentation, the four-door Ferrari continued its motorshow appearances until 1981 when it was put in storage. The concept later on changed hands when Pininfarina sold it to Jacques Swaters, the head of the Ecurie Francorchamps Belgian racing team and a personal friend of Enzo Ferrari. In 2008, Mr. Swaters sold the Pinin to its current owner at RM’s Ferrari –Leggenda e Passione Auction.

While the Pinin was originally a static concept, the current owner of the car enlisted the services of Oral Engineering to transform it to a fully functional prototype.

With the help of Mauro Forghieri, a former Ferrari Technical Director, the Pinin was fitted with a 4.9-liter horizontally-opposed 12-cylinder engine with Weber carburetors and a double overhead camshaft with four valves per cylinder, rated at 360-horses and sourced from the Ferrari 512 BB.

A specially adapted five-speed gearbox from the Ferrari 400GT transfers power to the rear wheels. Other changes included the strengthening of the chassis, the addition of a fuel tank plus new suspension and brakes.

The 1980 Ferrari Pinin will go under the hammer at the forthcoming RM Auction in London, England on October 26, where it is expected to fetch somewhere between £480,000-£550,000 or about US$742,000 to US$850,000.

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Saab has Yet to Receive Chinese Funds

It ain’t over until the fat lady sings green starts flowing in: cash-strapped Saab may have won a stay of execution last month by receiving court protection from its creditors, but the company is still waiting for the €70 million ($93 million USD) from its Chinese partners Pang Da and Youngman as part of their July deal.
“The money has not come in yet”, Saab spokesperson Eric Geers told Reuters. “We originally thought it would take about two weeks. The process is ongoing, and we will give information as soon as we have the money.”
Geers couldn’t elaborate on the issue, stating that “it is hard to say when it will be finished, but it will be soon”, nor would he comment on how long Saab is able to survive without the funds promised by the Chinese.
Just last week, Saab’s owner, Victor Muller, signed a preliminary deal to sell the Spyker sports car firm to US-based North Street Capital for €32 million ($43.6 million USD) in order to secure short-term finance for Saab.
But the much needed cash won’t be coming Saab's way until the deal is finalized and Tenaci Capital’s debt is paid in full, since the latter holds the rights to the Spyker brand as collateral.
Tough times indeed.

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2012 Nissan 370Z gains Standard Oil Cooler

Having entered the final quarter of 2011, automakers are ushering in their new model year lineups, though most of the times, there's nothing really "new" about the cars other than the different designations.That's more or less the case with the 2012 Nissan 370Z series. The only changes for the new model year concern the addition of an oil-cooler as standard on both body styles, while Nissan eliminated the base 370Z Roadster with the 6-speed manual, leaving the more expensive Touring model for those that want to manually change gears while enjoying the sun.
The 350-horsepower NISMO 370Z continues without any changes for 2012.
Pricing for the entire range including the 370Z Coupe and Roadster remain unaffected from 2011, but feel free to refresh your memory by checking out the list below, keeping in mind that MSRPs exclude tax, license fees and destination charges.

MSRP for the 2012 Nissan 370Z Coupe include:
370Z Coupe 6MT $31,450 USD
370Z Coupe 7AT $32,750 USD
370Z Coupe Touring 6MT $36,150 USD
370Z Coupe Touring 7AT $37,450 USD
MSRP for the 2012 Nissan 370Z Roadster include:
370Z Roadster 7AT $39,500 USD
370Z Roadster Touring 6MT $42,200 USD
370Z Roadster Touring 7AT $43,500 USD
MSRP for the 2012 Nissan NISMO 370Z is:
370Z Coupe NISMO 6MT $40,830 USD

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