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Chinese automaker Dongfeng is planning to release a series of self-developed compact models by year’s end. Dongfeng’s first self-designed model was the JingYi (pictured). (Photo courtesy of Globalautoindex.com)

WUHAN, China — Dongfeng Motor, one of China’s largest automakers, plans to introduce a new family of self-developed compact vehicles by year’s end following a debut of the hatchback version at the Beijing auto show next month.

The new model is being developed under the program designation BF. The Xinhua news agency reports that the 1.6-liter hatchback model that will introduce the new model family will be priced from around $14,000.

The BF series will cover a wide range of models in several price classes. The vehicles will be produced in a new $1.1 billion assembly plant under construction here. In its first phase, the Wuhan factory will have an annual production capacity of 160,000 cars.… Read the rest of this entry

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Lexus is planning its entry into the India market, where it will sell the LS 460 (long-wheelbase model pictured) along with the LX 470 and RX 350 by decade’s end. (Photo courtesy of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.)

NEW DELHI — India will become the next target for Lexus, which plans to pit the LS 460 sedan, the LX 470 utility vehicle and the RX 350 crossover vehicle against similar luxury entries from Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo.

Parent Toyota already is laying the groundwork for a dedicated dealer network in that country, according to India’s Economic Times. The Japanese automaker has begun recruiting exclusive dealers in larger cities and metropolitan areas — but is expected to tap existing dealers that handle Toyota-brand products from… Read the rest of this entry

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The next Bond film, Quantum of Solace, reaches theaters in November. (Photo courtesy of YouTube.com)

PANAMA CITY, Panama — Online video has surfaced showing the various locales where Quantum of Solace, the latest James Bond film, is being shot. In the montage, we can catch a glimpse of what appears to be the very un-Bond-like Ford Ka doing duty as a chase car.

The Ford brand has had a healthy relationship with James Bond these past few years. He has been supplied with Aston Martins for three consecutive movies (a Vanquish in Die Another Day, a DBS in Casino Royale and a DB5 in bothCasino Royale and the film now in production). That’s in addition to a few lower-profile supporting vehicles, such as Halle Berry’s… Read the rest of this entry

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The Red Dot Design Award is judged by an international jury of designers and design experts in product, communication, and concept design categories. (Photo courtesy of Red Dot Online)

ESSEN, Germany — Honda’s 2009 Accord Tourer has been granted one of the highest honors in the world for design quality, the 51st International Red Dot Award.

The Red Dot Award is given out each year by the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen in Germany to products in 11 categories. There were some 3,000 entrants from more than 51 categories, and the sought-after Transportation prize went to the Accord Tourer.

“Faced with the greater number of high-quality products, our international jury of acknowledged experts this year found the task of selecting the winner to be particularly challenging. This distinction explicitly acknowledges your creativity and innovative drive, and pays tribute to the high quality standards of your product,”… Read the rest of this entry

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It’s farewell to Ford as Tata Motors of India acquires Jaguar and Land Rover in a deal expected to be announced Wednesday. (Photo courtesy of Tata Motors)

NEW DELHI — Capping off months of speculation and miles of news items on the subject, Ford is expected to announce the sale of its Jaguar and Land Rover brands on Wednesday to India’s Tata Motors.

Indian news channel NDTV Profit said Tata is paying $2.65 billion to acquire the British brands, after months of negotiations with Ford. Tata and Ford declined to comment.

Britain’s Financial Times put the sale price at “about $2 billion” and said Tata had agreed to continue buying engines from Ford for the two brands. Tata has received support from the British labor unions.

What this means to you: Look for Fiat, which is partnered in India with Tata, to sneak into this… Read the rest of this entry

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2009 Pontiac Solstice won’t get a V6 or an AWD version, according to designer Jose Gonzalez. (Photo courtesy of General Motors Corporation)

NEW YORK — There are no plans for a V6 engine in the lineup for the upcoming 2008 New York Auto Show.

The GMnext team pre-empted some questions by asking Gonzalez if “GM plans to offer more engine choices than what is currently available with the coupe. Is there a chance of a V6 in the lineup in the near future?” The base 2009 Pontiac Solstice coupe models get the same 173-horsepower 2.4-liter inline-4 as the roadsters, while the GXP coupes get a 260-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter engine. Gonzalez confirmed there is “no V6 in the lineup. No other engines in the lineup.”

He also was asked if there is “any hope of ever seeing an AWD version? Or for that matter any GM… Read the rest of this entry

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Alfa’s coming back to the U.S. with a bang. Among its first offerings in the U.S. will be the 8C Spider. (Photo courtesy of Italiaspeed)

LONDON — Fiat’s chief executive confirmed in an interview that Alfa Romeo will begin selling cars in the U.S. next year and building them in North America by 2012.

Fiat chief executive Sergio Marchionne told London’s Financial Times in an interview that Alfa Romeo would begin selling cars in the U.S. next year. Though he didn’t say so specifically, among the first cars is likely to be the newly introduced 8C Spider. Initially, Fiat will export Alfa Romeo cars from Italy to the U.S. and absorb the losses caused by the weak U.S. dollar versus the Euro.

However, Marchionne told the newspaper that Fiat was shopping for a partner to produce vehicles in North America by 2011 or… Read the rest of this entry

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(Photo courtesy of XM Satellite Radio)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — It was probably only a matter of time: The two competing satellite radio companies will merge. Sirius Satellite Radio has received U.S. government regulatory approval for a buyout of XM Satellite Radio. The Washington, D.C.-based XM and the New York City-headquartered Sirius will have a combined 16 million-plus subscribers.

The nearly $5 billion buyout arrangement still needs Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval, but passing antitrust muster was considered to be the big obstacle. Stock in both XM and Sirius jumped higher in afternoon trading on Monday after the news was announced.

The U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust chief, Thomas Barnett, was quoted as saying the government found little evidence that merging the two companies would harm consumers by reducing competition. Instead, the government found that competition from the iPod and other portable electronic media is plenty… Read the rest of this entry

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Now you can tattoo your ride by choosing a design on the new Scion Web site, and then get it painted on your xB or other Scion vehicle. (Photo courtesy of Scionspeak.com)

TORRANCE, California — Scion knows that its owners love to personalize their cars, and now it has given them a new tool to step up their game.

In a campaign called Scion Speak, Toyota lets Scion owners design their own personal “coat of arms” online. The coat of arms can then be painted on the customer’s xB or other Scion vehicle. The symbols include a court jester, a yin-yang circle and an eagle. Customers download the designs and then can have them made into window decals or have them taken to an auto customizer to have them professionally painted onto the vehicle.

The designs were created by graffiti artist Tristan Eaton. The Read the rest of this entry

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Fast track: Jim Farley, Ford group VP of marketing and communications, was photographed here at his first town hall meeting at Ford headquarters back in December. Already he is on the short list to succeed Alan Mulally as CEO. (Photo courtesy of Ford Motor Company)

DETROIT — Determining the line of succession in the Motor City is a favorite industry guessing game. And most of the time, those in the know keep that knowledge close to the vest.

So a story in Monday’s edition of the weekly Automotive News, naming newcomer Jim Farley among those on the short list of candidates to succeed Ford CEO Alan Mulally, raised more than a few eyebrows here.

The list also includes Mark Fields, Joe Hinrichs, Stephen Odell, Don Leclair and Lewis Booth, according to Ford personnel boss Joe Laymon, who revealed the names in an interview with the… Read the rest of this entry