April 2015

BMW reports best-ever March sales

(April 14, 2015) MUNICH, Germany — Deliveries of BMW Group vehicles in March reached a new high contributing to the company's best ever first quarter sales figures. Around the world, a total of 232,556 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles were sold in March, up 9.2% on the previous year.

In the first three months of 2015, the BMW Group achieved a sales increase of 8.1% with 526,669 vehicles delivered to customers.

GM ignition-switch death toll rises to 84

(April 14, 2015) DETROIT — The death toll from General Motors’ defective ignition switch has risen by four from a week earlier to 84, the office administrating GM’s compensation fund reported, according to a story in Automotive News.

The office of attorney Kenneth Feinberg, who is overseeing victim compensation on GM’s behalf, approved 84 death claims and 157 injury claims as of April 10. The 157 injury claims, 11 more than the prior week, are a combination of claims for serious injuries and claims for less severe injuries.

Fiat introduces new Fiat 500 1957 Edition Cabrio

(April 14, 2015) AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Just in time for the spring and summer top-down driving season, the Fiat brand has introduced the new Fiat 500 1957 Edition Cabrio.

The Fiat brand continues to celebrate the storied past of the historic Nuova 500 with the addition of a cabrio version of the popular Fiat 500 1957 Edition, which was introduced in 2014.

Ford GT inspires designers to create non-automotive objects

(April 14, 2015) DEARBORN, Mich. — Ford is showcasing the innovation and creativity of its global design studios at the world’s leading furniture and design expo. Taking their inspiration from the all-new Ford GT supercar, Ford designers created a racing sailboat, guitar, foosball table and several other objects for display at Salone del Mobile in Milan, Italy, this week.

Audi records best sales month in history

(April 13, 2015) INGOLSTADT, Germany —  With 438,250 units sold, the Audi's global sales increased by 6.1 percent in the first quarter compared with the same period 2014 with growth in all regions. The successful start to the year was helped by the March results, which were the best in company history. With an increase of 4.4 percent to177,950 cars, Audi delivered more automobiles in a single month than ever before. Audi has registered an increase in sales for 63 months in a row.

e-smart is market leader in Germany for third straight year

(April 13, 3015) STUTTGART, Germany — Statistics are boring? Not for smart, because when it comes to new registrations of electric cars in Germany the same name takes first place every year: smart fortwo electric drive. This is a hat trick for the battery-electric two-seater — for the third time in a row it has beaten all competitors with all-electric drive.

Hyundai connects family members with 'a message to space'

(April 13, 2015) Hyundai has used the brand’s "New Thinking" approach to connect the most distant of families, setting a novel world record in the process. When the daughter of an astronaut on the International Space Station had a special hand-written letter to send to her father, Hyundai Motor found an ‘out of this world’ way to share her message.

Mini Augmented Vision: A new see-through technology

(April 12, 2015) SHANGHAI — Mini is revealing the shape of things to come at the Shanghai auto show with a pioneering innovation. “Mini Augmented Vision gives an insight into how intelligent connectivity between a Mini car and eyewear into which relevant content is projected might work in the future,” said Dr. Jörg Preibinger, project-manager Mini Augmented Vision, BMW Group research and technology.

Cadillac dares to go bold conservatively

By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(April 11, 2015) With the CT6, Cadillac kicks off a $12 billion decade-long drive to gain acceptance and relevance in the upper luxury segment. According to Johan de Nysschen, president of Cadillac: “The CT6 is nothing less than an entirely new approach to premium luxury — and an approach only Cadillac can offer. It is a bold endeavor with unmatched dynamism that reignites a passion for driving in large luxury vehicles. In short, it is prestige luxury reimagined.”

New Lexus ES to make global debut in Shanghai

(April 10, 2015) Lexus has released a teaser photo of its "new" ES luxury sedan which will make its global debut at the Shanghai Auto Show on April 20. In actuality it's more than likely a highly refreshened version of the current generation ES, which was introduced for the 2013 model year.

The teaser photo shows a more pronounced version of the new Lexus spindle grille and newly designed headlights, which may portend some serious exterior styling tweaks not normally found in a mid-cycle update, much like it did with the 2015 Camry.