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News 2 Jan, 2014

Updated: First official pictures of F1-inspired Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge Detroit Motor Show concept

The sale of Cooper Tire to India's Apollo Tyres has been called off after difficulties associated with completing the deal.

News 2 Jan, 2014

The best new cars for 2014 are rounded up in this article

Japanese media reports that Japanese OEMs are planning to increase vehicle production in the first quarter of 2014 ahead of a domestic tax change planned for April.

News 2 Jan, 2014

Volkswagen Passat Executive and Executive Style trim levels on sale from 2 January

China's Tianjin municipality has introduced measures to slow the growth of its vehicle population/parc, as it tries to tackle traffic congestion and rising levels of air pollution.

News 2 Jan, 2014

Lexus RC F leaked online ahead of official reveal at the Detroit Motor Show

BMW and Toyota have agreed to co-develop a common platform for a sports car, according to reported remarks made by BMW head of R&D Herbert Diess.

EDITOR WES RAYNAL: When I was in my 20s, we were sitting around the office one day chatting and I said, and#8220;Ya know, there are really only four cars that deserve to live, four that will do everything every customer could possibly want.

Every day this week we'll be looking back at a number of memorable classic cars as the calendar rolls over to 2014, and each day will be devoted to cars from a particular country of origin.

The Volvo V60 has been a moderate hit in Europe, and this month it's finally set to go on sale in the U.S.

News 2 Jan, 2014

Qoros to unveil new production car at Geneva Motor Show; on sale in China later in 2014

Fiat has reached an agreement with the VEBA trust which holds 41% of Chrysler Group LLC to purchase these shares for US$3.65bn. The transaction, which allows Chrysler to avoid an IPO, is set to close on or before 20 January.

News 2 Jan, 2014

Nissan teases a new Sports Sedan concept, with a full reveal at the Detroit Motor Show

The 2014 Consumer Electronics Show takes place in Las Vegas from 6-10 January. Various manufacturers continue to announce vehicle concept world premieres ahead of the event.

The intriguing new concept Kia plans to reveal on January 13th at the 2014 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit will be called GT4 Stinger. It's a 2+2 coupe with a 2.0L turbo engine rated at 315 horsepower.

The Kia GT4 Stinger will also feature 20'' wheels and vertically stacked LED headlights, as shown by these latest images.

Source : motorauthority.com

Photo: Kia

Photo: Kia

No change in former Formula 1 champion, Michael Schumacher's condition after fourth night in CHU Grenoble hospital in France after his terrible ski accident.

Schumacher underwent a second neurochirurgical surgery to release some of the pressure on his brain with a dangerous haematoma also removed.

The seven-time F1 champion remains in a critical but stable condition in a medically-induced coma and will be treated in Grenoble for the foreseeable future.

"He still remains in a coma and for the moment there is absolutely no question of evaluating him from a neurological point of view and seeing how he will be when he wakes up," warned the medical team.

Meanwhile, German magazine Bild reveals that Schumacher had his accident after he helped the daughter of a friend who fell on the side of the slope.

Schumacher stopped to see if the young girl was all right, and then cut across the off-piste where he hit a rock.

French newspapers also revealed that a journalist, disguised as a priest, tried to break in Schumacher's room at the hospital last Thursday.

Sabine Kehm, Schumacher's spokeperson, said that the journalist was arrested by the police.

Additionally, in internal note of the CHU Grenoble was sent to all employees, preventing them to have access to Michael Schumacher's medical records. This decision was taken to avoid any information to leak to the press and to preserve the medical secret.

Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia expect to sell a combined 7.86 million vehicles in 2014 vs. 7.56 million vehicles last year. The 3.9% gain would be the smallest in eight years.

Part of the blame goes to increased competition, as well as a stronger Korean won than the Japanese yen and U.S. dollar. The global economy, which is still on idle, obviously doesn't help.

Source : autonews.com

Photo: Hyundai

Next week at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Ford will introduce the new C-MAX Solar Energi Concept, which offers the important benefits of a plug-in hybrid without depending on the electric grid for fuel.

A special concentrator acts like a magnifying glass, directing intense rays to solar panels on the car's roof. Internal Ford data suggest the sun could power up to 75% of all trips made by an average driver. Moreover, the Ford C-MAX Solar Energi Concept is estimated to reduce the annual greenhouse gas emissions a typical owner would produce by four metric tons.

Ford teamed up with SunPower Corp. and the Georgia Institute of Technology to create this solar-powered plug-in hybrid.

All of Chrysler Group's assets now belong to Fiat after the Italian auto giant, which owned a 58.5% share in the American manufacturer, bought the remaining 41.5% for $3.65 billion USD from the UAW's Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary Association (VEBA) Trust.

It's a good news for Fiat when you consider how hard the economic crisis has hit Europe in the past few years.

“I have been looking forward to this day from the very moment that we were chosen to assist in the rebuilding of a vibrant Chrysler back in 2009,” said John Elkann, Chairman of Fiat, in a statement released yesterday.

The transaction will be finalized and made official by January 20th, 2014.

Photo: Fiat