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Those who would like to leave the smallest possible carbon footprint will be cheered by Nissan\’s carbon-offset program linked to the new Collet minicar (pictured). (Photo courtesy of Nissan Motors Corporation Inc.)

TOKYO — Japanese consumers who agonize about their CO2 footprint are now getting a little help from Nissan. The Japanese automaker on Tuesday introduced a carbon offset program linked to the sale of its March Collet minicar.

Nissan said it is the first automaker in Japan to kick off such a program. It \”allows customers to balance out their individual CO2 footprint and make a direct positive contribution to CO2 reduction globally,\” Nissan said in a statement.

For every March Collet sold, Nissan said it will pledge 1 ton of carbon credits under Carbon Offset Japan, an environmental nonprofit… Read the rest of this entry

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(Photo courtesy of Nissan Motors Corporation Inc.)

SMYRNA, Tennessee — Sporting a bold new look, the first production model of the 2009 Nissan Maxima rolled off the assembly line on Tuesday.

The importance of the moment was not lost on Greg Daniels, senior vice president of Nissan\’s U.S. manufacturing. \”The Maxima is an important car for Smyrna and for Nissan,\” he said. \”It\’s our… Read the rest of this entry

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The new Hyundai Genesis will start at $33,000 for the V6, and $38,000 for the V8-equipped sedan. (Photo courtesy of Hyundai Motor Company)

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, California — Hyundai said its new 2009 Genesis sedan will be priced from $33,000 for the V6 model and $38,000 for the V8 variant. Prices include a $750 shipping charge.

The Genesis sedan will reach U.S. dealerships in July, followed this winter by the Genesis coupe.

The rear-wheel-drive Genesis sedan is a large, lavishly equipped four-door that will compete primarily with similar premium entries from Europe and Japan. The base model is fitted with a 290-horsepower DOHC 3.8-liter V6 and Aisin six-speed automatic transmission, while the uplevel model gets a 375-hp DOHC 4.6-liter V8 with ZF six-speed automatic.

… Read the rest of this entry

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The silver trim piece appears to be fake, too. (Photo by KGP Photography)

INGOLSTADT, Germany — Audi\’s 2009 A6 is scheduled for a mild redesign, and the future sedan was spotted on public streets nearly free of typical prototype camouflage.

Visible is a new front fascia with low, flared intakes similar to the face of Audi\’s 2008 A5 coupe, and small round foglamps that are intended to disguise the actual rectangular lamps.

A close look at the visible taillights reveals an additional blacked-out lamp on the car\’s trunk, modeled after the Audi A4 and A5\’s treatment. A thin chrome strip runs the width of the A6\’s rear, but is likely placed to help camouflage the final design due to its odd placement.

What this means to you: The 2009 A6 looks more like the Audi A5 coupe, and that\’s not a bad thing. —
Kelly Toepke, News Editor

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Because of high prices, hybrid vehicles in China, notably the Toyota Prius (pictured), have been slow to catch on with consumers. (Photo courtesy of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.)

SHANGHAI, China — China’s carmakers and their partners are struggling to promote what are known here as “new energy” models. Perhaps the most notable flop, considering its popularity elsewhere, is the Toyota Prius. The hard-pressed auto companies are hoping that help — in the form of government incentives — is just around the corner.

Hybrid vehicles have been entering the China market for two years, but their high prices have held back customers. Carmakers have been pouring millions of dollars into the research and development of eco-friendly vehicles. Now they are banking on the government to do more to increase the price competitiveness of green cars rather than having to sacrifice their own profits.

The… Read the rest of this entry

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G-Power charges the equivalent of $290,000 for a fully converted version of the BMW M6. (Photo courtesy of G-Power)

BRUNSBUETTEL, Germany — BMW specialist G-Power has upped the ante again with the 635-horsepower M6 Hurricane convertible. The company currently holds the record for building the fastest street-legal BMW with its tuned M5 that sprints to 60 mph in 4.2 seconds.

A high-tech supercharging system uses one belt-driven compressor for each cylinder bank, upping the horsepower to 635… Read the rest of this entry

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The 2009 Maxima is the first Nissan product to make use of the automaker\’s new trim naming system. (Photo by Kurt Niebuhr)

NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Clear is the new clever, or so Nissan believes as it works to simplify the style designations that indicate its vehicle trim levels. First to make use of the new nomenclature is the 2009 Nissan Maxima, which will be available in S (base) and SV (popularly equipped) versions.

According to Mark Perry, Nissan North America\’s director of product planning, the goal is to clearly signal by the trim letters the car\’s minimal level of equipment.

\”It used to be that GLE was our top-of-the-line trim, and that it always indicated leather as standard equipment,\” said Perry. \”For whatever reason, we walked away from that convention and… Read the rest of this entry

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Intriguing concept: Toyota Tundra Crew Max Dually from the 2007 SEMA show featured a Hino 8.0-liter six-cylinder diesel. (Photo courtesy of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.)

TORRANCE, California — Toyota is developing a new family of clean diesel V8 engines for its full-size Tundra pickup and Sequoia utility vehicles, including a 4.5-liter unit that is expected to be in production by model-year 2010,
Inside Line has learned.

In addition, the automaker will offer a new version of its existing 4.7-liter V8 that will run on E85 ethanol.

Industry sources told
Inside Line that Toyota engineers have been working on at least two variations of the new clean-diesel engine, including the 4.5-liter unit and a larger 7.0-liter V8 that would dwarf the company\’s 5.7-liter gasoline… Read the rest of this entry

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If you\’re one of the lucky 6,400 customers to lay claim to the 425 hp Dodge Challenger SRT8, we have good news. The first 1,000 special edition Challengers have already been built, and they\’re en-route to a dealer near you. For those of you that won\’t be getting your Hemi-powered muscle car in the first wave, you won\’t have to wait long, either. Every SRT Challenger will be produced by the beginning of July, which means Woodward should be full of good-looking retro coupes come August. If you want a 6.1L Challenger, you\’re going to have to hit eBay or wait for 2009, because all 2008 models have been spoken for.

The Challenger has been one of the few pieces of good news surrounding the Pentastar of late, and a hot product couldn\’t be coming at a better time. We know… Read the rest of this entry

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Audi is intent on leaving no niche unfilled and the word from Inside Line is that the automaker is planning to unveil a cabrio variant of its A5 and S5 coupes. The convertible versions of the A5 and S5 won\’t be fitted with the folding hardtops that have become de rigueur among its luxury competitors, so expect a similar soft-top system to that found on the A4/S4/RS4 cabrio and TT roadster. Power will be provided by either the 265-hp, 3.2-liter V6 or the 354-hp 4.2-liter V8 found in the A5 and S5, respectively. Expect the new cabrios to debut later this year or early next, with sales beginning in the spring of 2009.

[Source: Inside Line]