August 2014

Goodguys West Coast Nationals celebrates vintage American cars

(August 13, 2014) PLEASANTON, Calif. — For the 28th consecutive year, souped up hot rods, colorful custom cars and restored classics will flock to Pleasanton, Calif., the third week in August for the annual pilgrimage known as the Goodguys West Coast Nationals.

The three day celebration of vintage American cars will be held Aug. 22-24 at the Alameda County Fairgrounds attracting close to 4,000 1972 and older cars and tens of thousands of fans. It's the largest event of its kind in the Western United States and one of the biggest in the entire country.

Mercury in the weeds



This 1969 Mercury Monterey is nearly swallowed up by weeds in eastern North Carolina. The large Monterey was introduced in 1952 and built through the mid '70s, the last generation running from 1969 to 1974. Four V8 engines were available for the last generation ranging in size from a 6.5-liter to a 7.5-liter. A three-speed automatic was the transmission of choice.
(Photo by Jim Meachen)

GM invests $174 million in new Lansing stamping facility

(August 13, 2014) LANSING, Mich. — General Motors will start construction of a $174-million stamping facility that will create or retain about 145 jobs, the company said today. The new facility, part of the company’s Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant, will produce stamping components for the Cadillac ATS and Cadillac CTS family of vehicles and a future product.

Kia releases pictures of all-new 2016 Sorento

(August 13, 2014) Ahead of its unveiling in South Korea this month and its official debut at the Paris Motor Show in October, Kia Motors reports that the next-generation Sorento crossover will be longer, lower and have more interior space than the outgoing version. Kia released the first images of the 2016 Sorento this week.

Even music sounds better in the 2015 Ford Mustang

(August 13, 2014) The throaty rumble of a V8 or the refined though aggressive note of an EcoBoost engine is generally the preferred soundtrack when driving a Ford Mustang. Yet for those times when a favorite road trip tune is called for, the all-new 2015 Mustang has that situation covered as well.

Caterham Cars introduces two new models for U.S.

(August 13, 2014) British sportscar maker Caterham Cars has revealed two exciting new variants of its iconic Seven for the US market at Monterey Car Week — the Seven 480 and 360. Increased American interest in the legendary British sportscar has sparked the launch of the two new models, which have been developed especially for the U.S. market and will go on sale immediately.

GM's Barra: India auto market creates opportunity for Chevrolet

(September 12, 2014) NEW DELHI — General Motors CEO Mary Barra concluded a three-day fact-finding visit to India on Thursday, where she met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and key stakeholders throughout the country.

“India represents a great opportunity for Chevrolet,” Barra said. “With a relatively small vehicle population and rapidly growing, young middle class, India is expected to become one of the world’s three largest markets by 2020.

New XC90 will be the first Volvo built on company’s new architecture

(August 12, 2014) GOTHENBURG, Sweden — Volvo’s all-new XC90 — which will be launched in two weeks in Stockholm — will be the first car in its range to be built on the Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) modular chassis technology developed in-house.

SPA has been under in-house development at Volvo for the past four years and is the cornerstone of the company’s ongoing $11 billion transformation plan. It will be introduced with the all-new XC90 and then rolled out across the product range in future. The benefits of SPA are twofold.

New Platinum Collection, added features elevate Escalade craftsmanship

(August 12, 2014) DETROIT — Cadillac today announced numerous enhancements to the just-launched 2015 Escalade, including the new range-topping Platinum Collection model launching in the fourth quarter this year.

Escalade Platinum features elegant, hand-crafted luxury additions to both the exterior and interior while the entire Escalade range gets new technical features, highlighted by the addition of 4G LTE connectivity, a new 8-speed automatic transmission and a Surround View camera system to help increase visibility.

Jaguar Heritage to hand build final six Lightweight E-Types

(August 12, 2014) MAHWAH, N.J. — Jaguar has revealed the prototype of its continuation Lightweight E-Type — six of which will be built and sold. Jaguar announced in May 2014 that it would create six continuation Lightweight E-Type vehicles, each built by Jaguar Heritage, part of Jaguar Land Rover's new Special Operations division.