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The sporty compact car Subaru and Toyota were developing together has been put on hold because of the worldwide economic slowdown, both companies confirm.

The program had been developing a pair of sporty small cars for sale by both automakers in 2011. The companies’ other high-profile collaboration, the assembly of Toyota Camrys in Subaru’s Lafayette, Ind., plant, remains intact.

Toyota took a small stake in Subaru when GM ended its relationship with the all-wheel drive specialist in 2005.

The 2+2 compact sporty car had been slated to use a version of the Subaru Impreza’s platform, horizontally opposed boxer engine and transmission. It reportedly modified Subaru’s all-wheel drive drivetrain to a rear-drive setup and moved the engine slightly rearward in the chassis to improve weight distribution.

The car would have filled one of the… Read the rest of this entry

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Toyota’s revolutionary iQ, the world’s smallest four-seat passenger car, will adopt Toyota’s 99bhp (100 DIN hp) 1.33-litre Dual VVT-i engine from July.

Benefiting from Toyota Optimal Drive technology and equipped with the economy-boosting Stop & Start system, the new engine will give iQ combined cycle fuel consumption of 58.9mpg and CO2 emissions of 113g/km, using the standard six-speed manual transmission. Toyota’s seamless Multidrive transmission will also be available, giving 55.4mpg and 120g/km (mpg and CO2 figures provisional, subject to final homologation).

In spite of its compact dimensions, iQ has been designed to offer the highest levels of occupant protection and is fitted as standard with a comprehensive range of active and passive safety equipment and pedestrian impact protection. The performance of these and the effectiveness of the iQ’s multi-load path body structure have been proven in independent Euro NCAP crash testing, earning the car a top five-star safety… Read the rest of this entry

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Tata Motors on Thursday announced that the much-awaited Tata Nano will be launched at a function in Mumbai on March 23, 2009.

The cars will be on display at Tata Motors [Get Quote] dealerships from the first week of April 2009. Bookings will commence from the second week of April 2009.

Since it’s unveiling on January 10, 2008, the Tata Nano has evoked an unprecedented interest in the country, with its Web site having recorded over 30 million hits in the past one year and the creation of over 6,000 interest groups and communities.

Tata Motors is making arrangements for the widest possible network to book the car, so that prospective customers can conveniently avail of booking facilities at their locations, across the length and breadth of India. The booking process and other details will be announced on March 23, 2009.

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Shanghai General Motors production line in China. The government is looking to cut the numbers of major auto companies from 14 to 10, putting two or three major companies at the top, Big Three style. (Photo courtesy of SAIC)

SHANGHAI — China hopes to cut the number of its major automakers from 14 to 10 and increase the market share of domestic-brand vehicles. The strategy is part of a consolidation push designed to enhance the competitiveness of a stalling industry.

The government also wants to increase the market share of Chinese-brand passenger vehicles to 40 percent from the current 34 percent, according to officials from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

The plan is included in a larger auto-industry stimulus package announced earlier. It seeks to create two to three powerhouse automakers with annual sales and production capacity of 2 million units each, and another four… Read the rest of this entry

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The Suzuki brand was at the bottom of the pile in the J.D. Power and Associates Customer Service Index. Pictured: 2009 Grand Vitara. (Photo courtesy of American Suzuki Motor Corporation)

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, California — It’s not surprising that automakers with dealers that provide superior maintenance and service experiences also enjoy the best retention rates for repeat service. It was codified in the 2009 J.D. Power and Associates Customer Service Index (CSI) study released this week: 80 percent for the highest-performing brands, versus only 60 percent of repeat business for the lower-scored automakers.

The study measures dealer performance through experiences with going to a service department for maintenance and repairs in the first three years of vehicle ownership. J.D. Power surveys five categories: service quality, service initiation, service advisor, service facility and vehicle pickup. Top marks went to Lexus, with 835 points out of a possible… Read the rest of this entry

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Let this be a warning to those of you who tint your car windows (at least in Gainesville, FL): If you die in the back seat, it may be a while before you’re found. A man from Gainesville, FL went missing on February 11 and was found this past Monday deceased in the back passenger-side seat of his 2001 BMW 330i. The car had apparently been parked illegally and was ticketed seven times – SEVEN TIMES! – before anyone noticed its owner sitting dead in the back seat.

The first ticket was actually issued on February 12, the day after the man was first reported missing, but the windows on the car were tinted darker than the law allows, which prevented ticket officers from noticing the corpse riding shotgun in the back. We thought the smell of decay might have prompted the police to take a closer look,… Read the rest of this entry

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During his state of the economy speech on Capitol Hill, President Obama was passionate in stating his commitment to saving the domestic auto industry. While domestic automakers have the President’s support, the general public may be less receptive to more government loans. A recent USA Today poll taken in the days before President Obama’s speech shows that only 25% of the 1,013 Americans polled are now in favor of additional assistance. That’s down from 61% in December just before the government agreed to $17.4 billion in loans to General Motors and Chrysler.

While the majority of people surveyed are not in favor of additional government loans, 51% believe that all three automakers will survive this tumultuous time. Without additional loans, GM and Chrysler say that they will be forced to declare bankruptcy, which both caution is a very risky endeavor. While Chrysler and GM are getting the… Read the rest of this entry

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After a slew of problems and delays – not the least of which was a huge amount of opposition from local farmers in West Bengal where the first assembly plant was being built – Tata Motors has finally announced that production of their Nano city car will begin on March 23 at the alternate facility in Gurajat. Sales will officially begin the first week in April as dealerships receive their first allotments of what is sure to become an instantly popular vehicle.

Much of the hype surrounding the Nano is related to its targeted low price, which at 100,000 rupees (just under $2,000 in U.S. dollars at current exchange rates) would make Tata’s Nano the cheapest automobile in the world. Of course, that’s without standard air conditioning or painted bumpers and such, but it will come with a 33-horsepower, 623cc two-cylinder engine driving the rear wheels. Thanks for… Read the rest of this entry

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Like a schizophrenic love affair, the on-again, off-again Subaru/Toyota rear-wheel drive coupe is apparently off again. That morsel of sobering news comes via Detroit Free Press columnist Mark Phelan, who says that both automakers now admit that the project has been put on hold. The inexpensive 2+2 sports coupes had been the subject of much speculation and a seemingly infinite number of renderings, and in fact what looked to be an early prototype had been spotted last year.

Many enthusiasts were hoping that the car would signal Toyota’s intent to return to the performance heritage of the AE86 Corolla, while Subaru stood to benefit from having a sportier-bodied, less expensive coupe than the WRX (although the car’s RWD configuration was seemingly at odds with the company’s all-wheel drive ethos).

In any case, the goal of a pair of 2011 sports coupes has evidently fallen by the wayside… Read the rest of this entry

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Plenty of teams have dropped out racing series around the world this year as economic problems have caused sponsors to pull back. So far, it looks like the 24 Hours of Le Mans has managed to remain relatively immune as the Automobile Club de l’Ouest received 82 entries for the 55 openings for this years race. The top LMP1 class is set to be another battle royal with 12 factory supported entries from Audi, Peugeot and Aston Martin. Peugeot will be trying to finally win Le Mans and has increased its squad to four by entrusting one of the 908s to the Pescarolo Sport team. Audi will have three of its new R15 TDIs and two of the old R10s which will be run by the Kolles team.

In the P2 field, a trio of Porsche RS Spyders with will be leading the way along with an… Read the rest of this entry