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Lucky Britishers will be the first to get the convertible version of the Fiat 500. (Photo courtesy of Fiat)

LONDON — The Fiat 500C will range in price from $16,200-$20,200 when it goes on sale this summer in the U.K. While the convertible is not bound for the U.S., the Fiat 500 is one of the products being discussed for a future Chrysler/Fiat partnership in the U.S.

The top-of-the-line version of the Fiat 500 C is called the Lounge version and features such standard amenities as automatic climate control, rear parking sensors and alloy wheels.

All cars get remote central locking, air-conditioning, seven airbags and a radio/CD/MP3 player. Roof color choices are red, ivory or black.

Engine choices include a 69-horsepower 1.2-liter, a 100-hp 1.4-liter and a 75-hp 1.3-liter turbodiesel.… Read the rest of this entry

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Ride height has been dropped 1.4 inches thanks to a set of lowering springs. (Photo courtesy of Sportec)

B?LACH, Switzerland — Volkswagen Scirocco owners have plenty of options when choosing a tuning kit, but Swiss tuner Sportec thinks it can stand out with a package that pushes the engine output to 350 horsepower.

Sportec's high-horsepower kit for the boosted 2.0-liter Scirocco uses a new turbocharger, intercooler, fuel delivery system and exhaust setup tuned with a modified engine computer to achieve the 150-hp increase. The company also offers more mild packages, with the most basic kit creating a 40-hp increase for the 2.0-liter.

A locking differential increases the Scirocco's grip, while lowering springs tighten up the handling. Those springs drop the ride height 1.4 inches but still work with Volkswagen's DCC electric adjustable dampers. The Scirocco rides on Sportec's 20-inch Mono/10 wheels wrapped in 245/30 rubber. Sportec… Read the rest of this entry

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President Obama spoke to the nation at an online town hall meeting on Thursday and said he would be announcing plans to help the U.S. auto industry in the coming several days. (Photo courtesy of Whitehouse.gov)

WASHINGTON — President Obama told an online town hall meeting on Thursday that the government anticipates giving more aid to the U.S. auto industry. The president said he would give details “over the next several days,” and the White House confirmed that Obama plans to announce the industry aid before leaving on a trip to Europe on March 31. That's also the date by which the White House task force on aid to the auto industry is set to decide whether General Motors and Chrysler should be given more bailout… Read the rest of this entry

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Students envisioned the Opel of the year 2049, which has more in common with a Hovercraft than it does with today's Astra. (Photo courtesy of Opel)

LONDON/RUSSELSHEIM, Germany — If Opel is still around in 40 years, it might create sleek vehicles that hover above the ground. That's the prediction of students from the U.K.'s Royal College of Art vehicle design course who were part of a recent competition to come up with futuristic Opels.

It's the second futuristic student-designed vehicle to be unveiled this week — and a far more sophisticated-looking one. Earlier, Mercedes-Benz took the wraps off of its Mercedes-Benz F-Cell Roadster, a strange conglomeration that blended large spoked wheels from the late 1800s and fuel-cell drive. The F-Cell Roadster was the brainchild of students and trainees, the German automaker said.

Opel released just a single image in advance of the student exhibition,… Read the rest of this entry

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(Photo by Scott Jacobs)

HAWTHORNE, California — Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk has finally revealed his second model, the four-door Model S sedan, which he said will go into production in California in the third quarter of 2011. The Model S will seat up to seven people, will accelerate from zero to 60 in 5.5 seconds with a top speed of 135 mph, and will have a driving range of up to 300 miles, he said.

“This is a historic car,” Musk said at the official unveiling, at his Space-X aerospace venture here. “We're trying to accelerate the EV revolution and help get us off oil.”

Tesla announced earlier that the Model S will have a retail price of $57,400. The company said a $7,500 federal tax credit for plug-in hybrids and EVs will bring the effective price down to $49,900.

The company's two-passenger Roadster… Read the rest of this entry

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(Photo courtesy of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.)

TOKYO — Toyota has rolled out a fully redesigned, fifth-generation Majesta. The car is one of the Japan market's premier domestic sedans, originally introduced in 1991, and the new model is positioned as a high-tech flagship of the venerable Crown lineup.

The redesign brings fresh sheet metal, a 3-inch-longer wheelbase and a bigger 4.6-liter V8 engine — the same silky-smooth engine as in the Lexus LS 460, albeit with power and torque wound back to 342 horsepower and 339 pound-feet. It's mated to an eight-speed transmission.

The new model comes fitted with a wealth of cutting-edge technology that enters Lexus territory. Among the items on the new Majesta are three safety-oriented items announced as world firsts: a front pre-crash safety system, pre-crash seatbacks and an SRS rear center-seat airbag. The Majesta also gets noise-reducing glass and a… Read the rest of this entry

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Vin Diesel plays undercover agent Milo Burik, shown in the trailer behind the wheel of a Pontiac G8. (Photo courtesy of Ubisoft)

SAN FRANCISCO — Ubisoft and Midway Games have released the action-packed video game called Wheelman that features Vin Diesel of the Fast & Furious movie franchise as an undercover agent and expert driver for hire.

Diesel plays the undercover agent Milo Burik, who gets caught up in corruption and gang violence in the city of Barcelona, Spain. There's even a hint of Stuntman with the physics-defying crazy jumps Burik hits while getting away from the enemy in his tricked-out Pontiac G8 (the car shown in the trailer).

Although it may have a similar look to the Grand Theft Auto series, this game is not centered around AK-47s or rocket launchers: The gamer's car is the weapon. Burik can take out anything in his… Read the rest of this entry

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Own a Dodge Challenger (2009 SRT8 pictured) or another Chrysler product? Now you'll increasingly be talking to a rep in the United States when you phone the automaker's call center. (Photo courtesy of Chrysler LLC)

AUBURN HILLS, Michigan — Chrysler has confirmed that it is in the process of moving its customer assistance center from India back to the United States. Customers with questions or complaints about their Dodge Challenger or other Chrysler vehicle will now talk to someone in Rochester Hills, Michigan, or Salt Lake City.

Word of the transition came in the posting of a memo by Paul Alcala, Chrysler customer satisfaction director, on the corporate Red Letter Dodge blog. He wrote, “In these difficult times, we all must view each customer as a keeper.”

No mention was made of the growing backlash against offshore call centers. But it has been well-documented in the… Read the rest of this entry

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(Photo courtesy of JE Design)

HEILBRONN, Germany — JE Design has widened the Porsche Cayenne and given it a bold look by wrapping the SUV in its new Progressor body kit.

The front of the JE Design Cayenne features a front-end spoiler with two pairs of integrated auxiliary lights. Body-color masks are used to reshape and slim the headlights for a more aggressive look. The Cayenne's width grows thanks to a set of fender arches and five-spoke 22-inch wheels that are spaced to fill out the wheelwells. In back, the rear apron integrates a rear diffuser and the exhaust cutouts can accommodate either the stock exhaust pipes or JE Design's new dual-tip pieces.

JE Design has left the engine untouched, but Cayennes with air suspension can make use of an electronic module that allows for the ride height to be lowered between 1.4 and 2.8 inches.… Read the rest of this entry

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Meanwhile, General Motors says there are several buyers interested in Saab. Pictured: 9-3X. (Photo courtesy of General Motors Corporation)

DETROIT — Negotiations seem to have begun in earnest at Ford and General Motors to shed their troubled Swedish subsidiaries, Volvo and Saab, with each of the Detroit parents confirming talks with multiple interested parties.

A Ford of Europe spokesman released a statement saying the company “has held preliminary discussions with several parties interested in buying Volvo Cars” and that Ford “has been pleased with the number and quality of these parties.” He added that Ford “is now talking in more detail to these interested parties about the future for Volvo.”

Ford declined to say what companies have expressed an interest in Volvo, but various media reports in Europe and Asia have identified several prospective Chinese bidders, including Chang'an, Geely, Chery and Dongfeng.

Several press reports… Read the rest of this entry