McLaren has finally started to deliver their newest supercar - the MP4-12C - and two of the units have already crashed. According to Wrecked Exotics, the first model crashed near the McLaren Technical Center in Woking, UK and the second in Hamburg, Germany. It is believed that the incident happened after drivers lost control of their cars at high speeds.
Now it seems as though McLaren has decided to stop production of the supercar due to safety problems. We don’t know if McLaren’s decision stemmed from these crashes or not, but AutoEvolution reports that the problems could affect driving safety and comfort, ranging from the brake hoses and door opening system to the glass engine cover and Iris entertainment system. There are also problems with the water ingress and the electrical cables in the dashboard.
We don’t know about you, but this sounds like a serious cause for concern and McLaren should definitely take another look at the MP4-12C. We just can’t believe that after years of development and production pushbacks, there could be so many disastrous problems with the vehicle. This could raise some serious doubt about McLaren’s future. Can they survive without Daimler? Hit us up in the comments section below!
A leaked internal document has revealed full details on Alfa Romeo’s future model line-up. Things will start off rather quiet for the next year or so, but in 2013 the company will come out guns blazing with a long list of models.
At the start of 2013, Alfa Romeo will be unveiling an updated MiTo, followed by a five-door version of the same car. These two models will be followed with the highly anticipated production version of the 4C GTA concept unveiled earlier this year. Model year 2013 will end with the debut of the long-rumored SUV - a model that promises to combine "typical SUV versatility with true Alfa Romeo performance."
The following year, 2014, will also keep the Italian company busy starting with the unveiling of the new Giulia in both sedan and station wagon versions. The second act in 2014 will be a new Spider model, followed by a luxury flagship and an updated version of the Giulietta.
With these new models, Alfa Romeo hopes to increase sales to about 400,000 units a year.
With a definitive 22-year run and a recent termination of production, any news on the Mitsubishi Eclipse should be far and few between, or should it? At a recent media preview of the i electric car, Greg Adams, Mitsubishi Motors North America’s Vice President-Marketing and Product Planning was quoted saying that the Eclipse "always comes back around sooner or later."
Just when we were closing the book on the Japanese automaker’s mid-size sports car, all of a sudden there’s another chapter. According to Mitsubishi, the Eclipse was "the most-successful U.S.-market sports car from a Japanese auto maker in the past 20 years." It sold 982,024 units in the U.S. since the car’s 1989 launch and saw a 105.4% increase in sales through August 2011 compared to 2010. So why was it axed? As with any other automaker, Mitsubishi’s focus has switched to fuel efficiency, leading them to market their new i-MiEV extensively, so the extra work in trying to get the Eclipse to the next level was probably not worth it at the time. The Galant sedan will also be seeing its dreadful end by 2013, as will the Endeavor SUV. These deletions will leave Mitsubishi with three models in their lineup, and some room to grow when they’re ready.
Adams said that a future midsize sedan from Mitsubishi wasn’t off the table as long as the numbers worked out, so the Galant may still have its fair chance to come back. Our vote, though, is for the Eclipse.
Lamborghini has been on the fence about which model to add to their lineup for what seems like forever, but it looks like the decision will finally be made sometime before the end of the year. At first it was believed that we would get to see the production version of the Estoque, but it may be the successor for the legendary LM002 that will come out on top due to the trends in growing markets like China.
"We haven’t asked our customers so much in terms of a personal question but the feeling, especially for the new markets, is SUV seems to be the majority," said Christian Mastra Lamborghini Asia-Pacific boss. "If you think about India, China, Brazil, Mexico — all the new markets are more keen on this kind of car. Especially as we might have also the heritage with that, if you think about the LN002. We’ll see, the decision has not been taken yet."
If Lamborghini does go through with their SUV, they would be clearly following in the footsteps of their main competitor, Porsche, but that will be where the trail ends. Mastra says Lamborghini will not be going into the hybrid, or even diesel markets with their models. They say their supercars will always be powered by V10 or V12 engines and the SUV or sedan may be seeing a turbocharged engine, but that’s the only compromise they will make to their heritage.
We all get psyched when we are planning to buy a new car, but walking onto a car dealership doesn’t exactly send tingles up and down many people’s arms. After all, who wants to get harassed by salesmen who circle around you like predators stalk their prey and then try to make you pay full price when most people know the price on the window is just a starting point?
Turns out, most people don’t care for that scenario, but still, 42% of buyers aren’t yet willing to purchase a car online. And even though a whopping 59% of buyers hate to have to master the art of haggling, 27% of buyers love to massage the system to get that price down. It’s exhausting just thinking about it, so it’s not surprising that 67% of potential customers want to test drive their dream vehicle alone.
Buying a vehicle is a tough job, but commuting wouldn’t be the same without our four-wheeled friends so check out the infographic for 10 steps to buying a car. After all, we need all the help we can get.
Also, stay tuned for our next installment in the Car Infographics series.
