Auto News 5

Hyundai Motor has launched its redesigned mid-sized sedan Sonata, following four years of development and a KRW450bn won (US$373m) investment, and will build it in three key markets. Full story...

Developing niche performance versions of mainstream models might sound like a taboo subject in the current economic and environmental climate. Full story...

The Italian government will have a draft of its plans to extend its car buying incentives package by the end of this month, according to Il Giornale. Full story...

More aggressive looking Z4 M-Sport has the looks but not the power to match.

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BMW's future performance saloon spotted testing at the 'ring.

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The Malaysian government is expected to introduce further competition in the country's automotive sector when it announces its new national automotive policy (NAP) next month. Full story...

Vehicle sales in Malaysia grew by 2.8% year-on-year in August to 48,538 units, compared with 47,227 units a year earlier, according to data released by the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA). Full story...

Former Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya captured Friday, moments before rain started to fall, pole position for the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Full story...

Earlier this year former Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya raced for points to lock into the Chase, now he's thinking about wins. Full story...

FRANKFURT, - Valeo's Tri-Xenon lighting technology is being launched as a world first on the new Audi Q7. In addition to traditional high and low beams, the module has a "highway" function activated at 115 km/h which doubles the range of conventional Xenon low beams (from 80 m to 140 m), without dazzling other drivers. Full story...

Mont-Tremblant, Quebec - Introducing a new, refined luxury sedan that will quickly see the Buick Allure it's replacing fade into distant memory. Dubbed LaCrosse, it's the first "global" Buick. Full story...

Ageless Mark Martin will be the primary driver of #5 Hendrick Motor Sports Chevrolet through 2011. Full story...

The road-safety visions of society, politics, business and science haven now been clearly defined as "Vision Zero (Accident-Free Mobility)" and "Safety for All". The "Ko-FAS" (Cooperative Vehicle Safety) research initiative has set itself the goal of implementing these visions. It wants to make a contribution towards making accident-free mobility a reality. Full story...

Ganassi's Scott Dixon has taken pole position of the 2009 IndyCar race presented at the Twin Ring Motegi in Japan after his final effort was enough to displace Mario Moraes (KV Racing) for a surprise top spot. Full story...

Interestingly, the previously-powerful Briatore's departure from formula one has opened the floodgates to open criticism of the flamboyant former Renault boss. Full story...

Next year's World Rally Championship events have been agreed following a decision of the WRC commission today to approve the application of the candidate rally in Bulgaria. Full story...

2009 WSBK leader Ben Spies has decided not to wait until 2011 to move to MotoGP, and will instead partner fellow Texan Colin Edwards at Tech3 Yamaha next season. Full story...

Affalterbach - Pole position for the new E 63 AMG Estate: the high-performance estate develops 386 kW/525 hp, accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.6 seconds, offers a maximum luggage compartment capacity of 1950 litres - all with a relatively low fuel consumption of 12.8 litres per 100 km (combined, provisional figures). With these dream figures, the new E 63 AMG Estate adds up to an extraordinary combination of driving dynamics, high utility value and superb efficiency. Full story...

Diminutive but distinctive, Toyota's iQ is capturing the spotlight at the Frankfurt motor show with two bold new design studies that further prove responsible, sub-100g/km motoring doesn't have to be dull. Full story...

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., The award-winning Elantra enters 2010 an improved weapon against gas prices, with the all-new Blue model achieving an estimated highway fuel economy rating of 35 miles per gallon. Smart engineering enhancements to the rest of the 2010 Elantra lineup improve fuel efficiency by up to four percent. These new fuel economy numbers give Elantra an advantage in price-per-MPG ratio, making it an even stronger value for 2010. Full story...