August 2011

Chevrolet brand making inroads in Korea

(August 31, 2011) SEOUL — Chevrolet is on the move in Korea with sales up 27 percent in the first six months since the brand was introduced and 55 percent of Koreans saying they would consider buying a Chevy.

“We expect domestic demand to maintain its rapid pace of growth,” said Mike Arcamone, president and CEO of GM Korea.

First 2012 Ram Cargo Van rolls off assembly line

(August 31, 2011) AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — The first 2012 Ram Cargo Van rolled out of Chrysler Group's Windsor (Canada) Assembly Plant.

New for 2012, the Ram Cargo Van, or Ram C/V, benefits from more than 25 years of minivan engineering and the Ram Truck brand understands the versatility needs for both small and large businesses.

Unusual Ford concept to set direction for the future

(August 31, 2011) BERLIN, Germany — Making its global debut at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show in September, the Ford Evos Concept represents the ultimate expression of Ford’s new global design language, and explores key future powertrain and vehicle technologies.

The Evos is a plug-in hybrid with four gullwing doors. The doors won't make it into production, but many design cues of the Evos will be on new cars and crossovers starting next year.

Land Rover Defender concept to appear in Frankfurt

(August 31, 2011) MAHWAH, N.J.  — The Land Rover DC100, a modern interpretation of the iconic Land Rover Defender will make its debut at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show.

Land Rover also confirmed today, that production of a new Defender is globally intended for 2015, with no current decision on whether or not the next generation Defender will come to the North American markets.

A closer look — Cadillac Ciel no pie in the 'sky'

By Al Vinikour
MotorwayAmerica

(August 30, 2011) For over a decade GM’s Cadillac Motor Division has been reinventing itself from a vehicle that those who aspired to owning one, but never did, still wind up taking their final ride in one — to a cutting-edge manufacturer of luxury performance cars. After all, they do produce the much-coveted CTS-V, a 556-horsepower rocket ship that’s America’s highest-horsepower factory offering.

Fiat to introduce new Panda city car in Frankfurt

(August 30, 2011) Fiat will be unveiling its new Panda city car at the Frankfurt Motor Show in mid-September.

The new arrival, which will go on sale in UK next spring, is a consistent evolution of a highly successful city car that has always been a by-word for functional design, maneuverability, space, reliability and comfort.

Unique Bentley-created items to be auctioned

(August 30, 2011) An array of one-off items created by artisans from the tooling, woodshop and styling teams at Bentley Motors are heading to the auction block to raise money for The Prince’s Trust, which is a youth charity that provides practical and financial support to 14 to 30-year-olds.

AT&T introduces free 'anti-texting' app

(August 30, 2011) DALLAS — New drivers are getting behind the wheel to head back to school, and because the average teen sends and receives five times more text messages a day than a typical adult, AT&T today announced a simple — and free — way to lessen the temptation to text while driving.

The company launched its AT&T DriveMode mobile application, which, when downloaded and activated, automatically sends a customizable reply to incoming texts — notifying the sender that the user is driving and unable to respond.

Subprime auto loans increasing in 2011

(August 30, 2011) SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — Experian Automotive today announced that lenders continued to increase their appetite for risk in the second quarter, with new vehicle loans for customers with credit outside of prime increasing by 22.4 percent, when compared to the previous year.

In the second quarter, 22.29 percent of all new vehicle loans went to customers in the non-prime, subprime and deep subprime categories, increasing from 18.21 percent in Q2 2010.

Styling tweaks made for special edition Acura TSX

(August 29, 2011) TORRANCE, Calif. — Continuing the celebration of its 25th anniversary, Acura today announced the availability of a new version of the popular TSX sports sedan for the 2012 model year.

Designed to evoke the fun-to-drive 4-cylinder Acuras of the past, the TSX Special Edition will add even more sportiness to the TSX lineup thanks to numerous exterior and interior upgrades for Acura's entry-level sedan. No performance enhancements were announced.