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Report: Daimler planning to open new plant in North America

admin — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:46:10 +0000

Filed under: China , Plants/Manufacturing , Mercedes-Benz , Nissan Size still matters, but the quest to be number one is also getting more headlines. Mercedes-Benz is the latest to stake its future on taking the top slot, with CEO Dieter Zetsche aiming to be the world’s largest premium maker by 2020. The specific number is 2.7 million vehicles sold that year, which represents an astronomical jump from 2011 sales of 1.26 million vehicles. To home in on that target, Mercedes intends to build factories in China and in North America – either Mexico or the U.S.

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Report: Daimler planning to open new plant in North America

Report: GM’s business in Iraq is booming

admin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:26:12 +0000

Filed under: Car Buying , Sedan , SUV , Truck , Cadillac , Chevrolet , Middle East Long before the first U.S. soldier laid a boot on Iraq soil in the first Gulf War, General Motors planned to build a manufacturing facility in the country. According to The Detroit News , the years since haven’t been entirely kind to the automaker’s sales efforts in Iraq. That’s no shock given America’s reputation in the Middle East nation, but its prospects are beginning to look up.

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Report: GM’s business in Iraq is booming

Official: Porsche celebrates building 100,000th second-generation Cayenne

admin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:17:23 +0000

Filed under: Performance , SUV , Plants/Manufacturing , Crossover , Porsche Say what you will about the Porsche Cayenne – whether you think it’s the best-handling SUV on the market or a storied automaker turning its back on its heritage – you can’t argue that it hasn’t been a huge success for the German automaker. In fact, Porsche has produced 100,000 examples of the Cayenne – and that’s only counting the current model. The milestone unit is set to be delivered to a customer in Brazil, one of the 124 markets in which the Cayenne is currently sold in five different versions. The milestone comes at an auspicious time for Porsche, which this year celebrates 10 years of production at Leipzig , where the Cayenne and Panamera are built

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Official: Porsche celebrates building 100,000th second-generation Cayenne

Official: World’s smallest car headed back into production

admin — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 23:00:58 +0000

Filed under: Coupe , Budget , Plants/Manufacturing , Toys/Games , UK , Electric We have a hard time imagining anyone would find the Smart ForTwo uncomfortably large or the Scion iQ too big for their needs, but a group of businessmen in the UK believe there’s a market for even smaller transportation. The group has resurrected the Peel brand, and the manufacturer is now accepting orders for both the P50 and the Trident. Both models will launch with a 49 cc two-stroke gasoline engine making just 3.35 horsepower, but buyers will also be able to choose one of two electric motors as well. A brushless electric motor producing 1.6 horsepower and 2.5 pound-feet of torque can propel either vehicle to a golf-cart rivaling 15 mph.

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Official: World’s smallest car headed back into production

Report: Turkish private equity firm jumps into Saab buying fray

admin — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:02:14 +0000

Filed under: China , Saab , Middle East The next chapter in the Saab opera has a new protagonist called Brightwell Holdings, a Turkish private equity firm. Brightwell is is perhaps the unknown Turkish entity mentioned last year as having an interest in bankrupt Saab, along with India's Mahindra & Mahindra . A board member at Brightwell said the company will spend two weeks evaluating Saab's assets and then will make a bid, "there's no question." Turkey doesn't have a national car company, but it does have plenty of automotive manufacturing expertise since Ford , Fiat and Renault have factories there. Brightwell has said it would keep Saab production in Trollh Continue reading →