Archive for June, 2006

Alonso focuses on another F1 title before leaving Renault

What if a driver provided a year’s notice of his departure and then won the title with the team he was fleeing?
NASCAR missed its chance to find out last season when Kurt Busch and Jamie McMurray negotiated early releases from their contracts rather than spend awkward final seasons with Nextel Cup teams that knew their […]

Friday, June 30th, 2006

General Motors Onboard the Ethanol to Hydrogen Transition

In April, I had talked about how making the move to ethanol fuel for the transportation industry will pave the way for the same industry to transition into hydrogen. Apparently, General Motors’ research and development chief Lawrence Burns has now spoken about the same thoughts.
According to Burns, “Even some of the initial steps in the […]

Friday, June 30th, 2006

07 BMW X3 Gets Modest Face-Lift

The BMW X3 isn’t scheduled for a full redesign until mid-2009, but the compact crossover will get a mid-cycle freshening this fall for model-year 2007.
A significant change is the installation of a new engine, a DOHC 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder that delivers 260 horsepower and 225 pound-feet of torque. In the 2007 X3 3.0si, it will […]

Friday, June 30th, 2006

07 BMW X3 Gets Modest Face-Lift

The BMW X3 isn’t scheduled for a full redesign until mid-2009, but the compact crossover will get a mid-cycle freshening this fall for model-year 2007.
A significant change is the installation of a new engine, a DOHC 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder that delivers 260 horsepower and 225 pound-feet of torque. In the 2007 X3 3.0si, it will […]

Friday, June 30th, 2006

136 Ferraris Stampede Into History

Ferrari Club España in Spain has claimed bragging rights for the Latin part of the world as this year’s annual Concentraccion of Ferrari (Gathering of Ferraris) managed to feature no fewer than 136 cars wearing the prancing-horse badge.
This tops even the Concorso Italiano, the annual summer gathering of North American lovers of Italian cars in […]

Friday, June 30th, 2006

Volvo Heads to India

Saying it believes “the timing is right,” Volvo Car Corporation said it will officially begin selling its cars in India in the fourth quarter of 2006 — making Ford’s Swedish subsidiary virtually the last of the world’s leading brands to push its products in this country of 1.1 billion.
Volvo Car India will kick off its […]

Friday, June 30th, 2006

Ford Plans Shift in Focus Away From Hybrids

Detroit auto companies, which have lagged far behind their Japanese rivals in developing and selling hybrid vehicles, are taking a new direction in a bid to emerge as leaders in their own right on environmental issues.
The latest sign of this shift occurred Thursday, when the Ford Motor Company confirmed that it would not meet its […]

Friday, June 30th, 2006

Rolls-Royce expands dealer network

In the face of robust sales that show no signs of slowing, Rolls-Royce continues to expand its global dealer network. Since 2003, that number has risen by 10 to 74. Recently, dealers have set up shop in locations as diverse as Denver and Pakistan.
The company moved almost 800 cars last year, all of them Phantoms […]

Friday, June 30th, 2006

Arash AF10 supercar to be at British Motor Show

The closest most of us have come to a Farboud sports car is driving a digital version of the company’s GTS in Project Gotham Racing 3. Regardless of his obscurity in the U.S., the maverick Brit Arash Farboud will be displaying his company’s AF10 supercar at the British Motor Show next month.
The AF10 will use […]

Friday, June 30th, 2006

Nissan UK shows off the 350Z GT-S concept

A group of frisky engineers at the Nissan Technical Centre Europe have been keeping busy with a special weekend project the last year or so. The results of their labors will be on full display at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the form of the Nissan 350Z GT-S Concept. Visitors to the festival will […]

Friday, June 30th, 2006