December 2014

Lincoln to add premium sound of Revel Audio Systems to its vehicles

(December 5, 2014) DEARBORN, Mich. — The Lincoln Motor Company has announced an exclusive 10-year collaboration with Revel that will add the premium loudspeaker brand to Lincoln vehicles. The pairing will make Lincoln the only automotive brand to offer Revel audio systems.

Since 1996, Revel has served its audiophile customer base with premium home audio equipment. Emphasizing science-based speaker architecture and acoustic precision, Revel systems are designed to recreate a musical performance as precisely and purely as it was recorded.

All-new Ford F-150 named official vehicle of 2015 International CES

(December 5, 2014) The all-new Ford F-150 pickup will be the Official Vehicle of the 2015 International CES. CES, which will take place Jan. 6-9 in Las Vegas, is owned and produced by the Consumer Electronics Association and is the world’s largest hands-on showcase of emerging innovation.

The 2015 F-150 demonstrates Ford’s product excellence and innovation. The truck is completely redesigned, with a high-strength, military-grade, aluminum-alloy body coupled with a high-strength steel frame, making it nearly 700 pounds lighter and more efficient.

Aston Martin debuts unique car for new James Bond film

(December 5, 2014) GAYDON, England — Aston Martin together with EON Productions, the producers of the James Bond film franchise, unveiled Bond’s stunning new car, the Aston Martin DB10, on the 007 stage at Pinewood Studios.

 The luxury British sports car brand confirmed that James Bond will once again drive an Aston Martin in Spectre. On this occasion, it will be a model developed specifically for the film and built in-house by the brand’s design and engineering teams.

Land Rover collection begins fund raiser for museum building in UK

(December 4, 2014) DUNSFOLD, England — The world-renowned Dunsfold Collection of historic Land Rovers has achieved Charitable Trust status and is launching a fundraising campaign to secure a suitable museum building that will allow regular public access to its collection of Land Rover vehicles.

Volvo Trucks' New River Valley plant reaches sustainability milestone

(December 4, 2014) The electric power used by Volvo’s New River Valley (NRV) assembly plant in Dublin, Virginia, is now carbon neutral. As of November, 100 percent of the plant’s electricity is generated by methane gas produced at 13 landfills in the region.

The fossil fuels previously used to generate the NRV plant’s electricity in 2013 produced 40,408 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Volvo’s electricity provider now uses landfill gas to produce power for the plant that otherwise would have required fossil fuels to produce.

Subaru breaks all-time annual sales record in U.S. with month to go

(December 4, 2014) CHERRY HILL, N.J. — Subaru of America continued its record-breaking run with the best November in the company’s history with sales of 45,273 vehicles, a 24 percent increase over November 2013. November also saw individual records broken for Outback, Forester and WRX/STI, while the Legacy saw a 97 percent jump in sales.

Subaru’s year-to-date sales are also noteworthy. The company’s previous full-year record of 424,683 vehicles, set in 2013, was eclipsed on Nov. 7. The brand is now up 21 percent year-to-date with 463,770 vehicles sold, with December sales still to come.

Mercedes closes in on another U.S. luxury sales crown

(December 4, 2014) Record sales in the U.S. in November may have assured another luxury sales crown for Mercedes-Benz. BMW is likely to finish second in 2014 and Lexus to come in third again — providing there are no December sales upsets. Mercedes, which sold 35,478 vehicles in the U.S. last month, has a big 20,000 unit lead over BMW.

2015 Mustang sales off to hot start

(November 3, 2014) DEARBORN — As the holiday season kicks off, sales figures for Ford Mustang show the best November for the nameplate since 2006 with 8,728 new Mustangs sold last month, a leap in total sales of 62 percent compared to 2013. Sales are up all over the United States, including the Northeast and Great Lakes regions.

Mustang’s largest markets, Texas and California, saw retail sales increases of 46 percent and 76 percent, respectively.

Chevy Colorado named Motor Trend '2015 Truck of the Year'

(December 3, 2014) EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — After its most comprehensive truck evaluation program in history, Motor Trend has selected the Chevy Colorado as its 2015 Truck of the Year. Motor Trend’s Truck of the Year program is only open to all-new or significantly updated trucks and vans for the upcoming model year.

GM posts its best November U.S. sales since 2007

(December 3, 2014) DETROIT — Despite a spate of recalls, General Motors dealers in the United States delivered 225,818 vehicles last month for the company’s best November sales in seven years. Total sales were up 6 percent compared to a year ago, retail sales were up 5 percent and fleet deliveries were up 11 percent.