Japan has been known as one of the world’s strongest manufacturers, thanks to brands like Toyota, Honda, and Nissan calling the Land of the Rising Sun as home. And while a lot of us the world over have been treated to a wide variety of high-quality vehicles from these brands, as far as manufacturers are concerned, Japan is more than just these three brands, for better or for worse.
One other Japanese-based car company that we’ve all had the privilege to come across is Mitsuoka. For those who don’t know, Mitsuoka produces some of the most aesthetically gawky cars you can ever find. Why they do so, we have no clue, but we assume it has something to do with the Japanese way of being aggressive and bombastic with their ideas.
In any case, Mitsuoka’s forte is to create retro-looking cars that are, in some way shape or form, stylistically copied from cars coming from the Western world. And while small in stature compared to the Toyotas and Hondas of the world, Mitsuoka is now primed to expand their operations out of Japan with their first stop being China.
The car brand is crossing over to China with the company’s new Orochi luxury brand heading the plight. From what we’ve gathered, Mitsuoka is planning to use the 2010 Beijing Motor Show – where it will formally introduce the Orochi to the Chinese market - as its stepping stone towards its planned Chinese invasion. > More
It seems that everything Rolls Royce does these days, Bentley has an answer. Rolls Royce introduces the new Ghost and Bentley comes out with the Mulsanne. Now, the rivalry between the two super duper luxury brands figures to get even hotter after Bentley confirmed that the Mulsanne will spawn its own coupe and cabrio models.
According to Bentley, the new coupe and cabrio versions of the Mulsanne will replace the outdated Brookland coupe and Azure convertible – two cars that have long exceeded their respective life spans.
It’s a solid move for Bentley, not just because of its rivalry with Rolls but the worldwide acclaim the Mulsanne generated gives Bentley a chance to milk it to their advantage. And, naturally, what better way to do it than to release a lower-end coupe and a dashing and sexy cabrio. The two cars are expected to carry with them the same technologically-advanced chassis of the Mulsanne and more importantly, bring Bentley closer and closer to super duper luxury car supremacy.
Wouldn’t it be great if Audi came out with an RS2 inspired avant for 2012. It would not only make for a great concept but it would be an even better road car; and if there is any automaker that can pull off a factory tuned 400+ HP wagon, it’s the four ringed German automaker. After a recent chat with a few Audi of America representatives it looks like a mid sized RS sports car is definitely in the works. As far as the extra spacious interior is concerned, Audi could go the way of their Bavarian brethren at BMW with a few GT inspired fastbacks. However we hope that 100 year old German automaker continues doing what they do best, insanely powerful five door wagons that wear RennSport badges. This is a trend that was started in 1994 with the Passat sized turbocharged five cylinder estate and continued with the original Euro only RS4 that was only available with soccer mom styling.
In no attempt to toot my own horn, the first time I found myself behind the wheel of a press car I was going to my at the time girlfriend’s house in an Imola Yellow Audi RS4 cabriolet and encountered an equally brilliant Lamborghini Gallardo along the way. So excuse the following if it sounds a little biased, but I can attest to the magic that Audi’s RS engineers can do; but if you have ever driven an RS model then you know about that special button that tightens the steering, increases the horse power and sharpens the RS4’s handling; turning and extraordinary carbon fiber clad touring car into a racecar detuned to be street legal, the RS models are so good that they can make a 350 HP A4 seem a bit tame.
Continued after the jump.
> More
There are things in life that, no matter how hard we try, just don’t mix. Hamburgers and wine. Conan O’Brien and slasher movies. Super cars and Third World countries. The last one is worth noting because one of the world’s fastest vehicles – the Ultimate Aero – is somehow making its way to India. Yes, that India.
The Aero’s manufacturer, Shelby Super Car (SSC) will be releasing the car in Mumbai sometime in the coming months, making it the third market after the US and Russia where the Aero will be exclusively sold. The car is expected to go on sale for over Rs 6 crore, which in US dollars would amount to around $1.2 million, thereby making it the most expensive car ever to be sold in the country.
Now forgive us for being sceptical about this but can you imagine the Ultimate Aero, with its maximum speed of 413 kmh, blasting through the tight and bustling streets of India?
Neither can we.
Continued after the jump.
> More
Americans have long dreamed of the day when Aston Martin would begin to send over their beautiful super cars over to local shores. But for so long, the closest most Americans have come to seeing an Aston Martin is on those flimsy James Bond movies.
Well, according to our friends at Car and Driver, that may not hold true for very long.
Dr. Ulrich Bez, Aston Martin’s CEO, announced that Aston Martin will be coming to the US with no less than the Aston Martin V12 Vantage spearheading the excursion across the Atlantic.
If you recall, Aston Martin initially scoffed at plans of bringing the DB9, mainly because it feared that the ultra-fast – and ultra-expensive – super car would not be able to make enough sales to make it worth the trouble. But now that the auto industry has began to pick up again, Aston Martin decided to do an about-face, which is fantastic news for us super-car-loving Americans.
While there’s still no timetable as to when the Vantage would make its way to America, hearing it from the horse’s mouth that it’s is coming should be enough reason for us to thank the high heavens for answering our prayers.
Have you ever seen a basketball game on High-Definition? If you have, then you must have noticed the sweat dripping from the foreheads of all those basketball players, not to mention those over-sized zits and acnes some players still have.
For better or for worse, that’s the novelty that is HD. If you’re looking for unheard of levels of realism from your TV, then HD is for you.
Now, imagine watching a rally car race on High Definition. Imagine all the dust and dirt being thrown around by those rally cars jumping over dirt mounds and spiralling out of control in the process. We’ll tell you now: its must-see TV.
If you haven’t seen a rally car race on HD yet, here’s your chance.
Beginning on the 4th of October the Discovery Channel’s HD Theater will become the new home of the World Rally Championship for the next two and a half months.
What this means is that you can now have a ‘front-couch’ seat at the
pulse-pounding, gravel-throwing, car-flying action that is the WRC. To give you an appetizer of one you’re in for, HD theater will be showing six non-stop hours of rally racing from 3 pm to 9 pm ET this Saturday. The schedule continues with a race every Sunday from 8 pm to 9 pm ET until December 20.
If you’re a fan of rally car racing – or any form of racing, for that matter – we don’t have to tell you twice to subscribe to the HD Theater. If you’re thinking of doing so, but you don’t have an HDTV, then we suggest you buy one first.
Click after the jump for the official press release, including the TV schedule.
> More
The California based Fisker Automotive corporation has just been granted a sizable loan from the U.S. Government that will rapidly facilitate the automaker’s full scale production of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The U.S. Department of Energy has signed off on and agreed to the terms of a conditional totaling over half a billion dollars so that Henrik Fisker’s car company can create affordable, fuel efficient hybrid electric vehicles that are made right here in the U.S.A. The $528,000,000 loan will also allow Fisker Automotive CEO, Henrik Fisker to create at least 5,000 jobs for autoworkers right here in the U.S.
If only General Motors and Chrysler had lineups as desirable as Henrik Fisker’s then perhaps the U.S. Government would have been a bit more eager to step in and help out with their financial needs. It is no doubt that fuel efficient gas electric hybrids are going to be the next generation of personal transportation and it is confidence inspiring that there is an automaker who not only believes in the future, but also believes that we don’t have to sacrifice fun in order to save fuel.
Most car manufacturers who go to the Frankfurt Motor Show probably have one thing on their minds: make an impression with your new cars. While that is, of course, what the purpose of auto shows are, sometimes, a car brand is fortunate enough to leave Frankfurt with something more than they expected. Take the case of Tesla, for example.
The California-based electric sports car brand came to Frankfurt without the faintest idea that they would find a company willing to spend $82.5 million to become an equity investor in Tesla. But that’s exactly what happened after a group led by Fjord Capital Partners approached Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk with regards to purchasing equities in the brand.
Not one to turn a good deal down, Musk accepted the offer, saying that “It was an opportunistic investment. We were not looking for money.”
Now armed with a sweet sum of $82.5 million, Musk plans to use the ‘added finances’ to expand the brand’s global retail stores.
We don’t know about you, but we believe that things happen for a reason – whether it’s pre-determined or just by sheer luck – and Tesla’s appearance at the Frankfurt Motor Show ended up with the company becoming $82.5 million dollars richer.
After the recent unveilings of the XJ and XF saloons, Jaguar is now looking at releasing a car that would cater to a more affordable-friendly market.
This comes as great news for Jaguar enthusiasts who may not be able to afford the more expensive new releases. According to Jaguar engineering boss Mick Mohan, the company is tinkering with the possibility of producing a coupe version that could go wheel-to-wheel with the Audi A5 and the BMW 3-series.
In a conversation with Autocar, Mohan let it be known that the company plans on entering a market that would compete with the BMW’s and Audi’s of the world and that it is confident that whatever car they create would be competitive against its more established competitors.
"Personally, I’d love to make a compact coupe - an Audi a5 or BMW 3-series coupe rival,” he said. > More
If you have a Maybach parked in your garage, you may want to take extra care of it, especially now that Mercedes bigwig Deiter Zetsche recently admitted that the luxury brand of Mercedes may not be seeing too many sunrises in the foreseeable future.
Speaking to a group of reporters at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Zetsche pointed out that the Maybach may soon end up in the chopping blocks because of a shift in consumer preference in luxury cars resulting from the global financial crisis.
While he stopped short of officially saying that the Maybach was indeed going to be axed, he did say that as a consumer, a Maybach would be far off the list in terms of preferred luxury cars, given that the market has slowly shifted into preferring more modest and discreet luxury vehicles, which is a category we all know the Maybach doesn’t fall in.
In any event, this is still pretty much a rumor, but we do have to admit that it doesn’t bode well for Maybach, especially after all of this was started by one of the company’s bosses.
Pages: 
Post a comment
Picture Gallery
RSS -
Webmaster free news |