CAMPBELL, CA (October 10, 2006) - PRIMEDIA’s IntelliChoice.com, the leading source for automotive ownership cost and value analysis, today announced its “Best Deals of the Month” for October 2006, with Toyota notching an impressive ten vehicle turnout on the list.
Originally Syndicated from The Car Blog
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Filed under: Convertibles, Sports/GTs, Euro
As the reigning world champions - poised to secure one if not both titles for a second straight year - Renault hasn’t done much to bank on its Formula One success with its model range. It seems the best it could muster is a special edition of the Megane hatchback. But the createur d’automobiles is looking to change that with a roadster to compete with the Mazda MX-5.
Renaultsport chief Alain Dassas confirmed the roadster will hit the market by 2010 with a £19,570 sticker price in the UK. That should be fairly competitive with the Mazda, which (for comparison’s sake) ranges from £15,650 to £20,710 in the British market and was enjoying more elbow room after the cancellation of the Toyota MR2. No more info is available on the upcoming French spider at this point, but it promises to be a more serious contender than the Renault Sport Spider (pictured) from the late 90’s with its optional windscreen (!) and complete lack of a roof of any kind.
If the old “win on Sunday, sell on Monday” adage has any truth to it, the new roadster should give the Mazda a good run for its money, and give Renault a sporty model as a practical halo for the entire range.
[Source: Auto Express]
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time
Originally Syndicated from Autoblog
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Filed under: Motorsports, Trends, China, Euro, Hirings/Firings
Some observers criticize F1 (and motorsports in general) for its racial homogeny. Aside from the notable exception of some Japanese drivers, the field of grand prix pilots is almost entirely white, with the majority of drivers coming from Europe.
McLaren protégé Lewis Hamilton, a Black British driver of West Indie origin, might add some color to the F1 grid if he makes the jump from GP2 to Formula One next season as many predict. Now Ho-Pin Tung, champion of the German F3 series, is looking to advance to GP2 (or alternatively Champ Cars) for next season with an eye towards F1 in 2008. Ethnically Chinese, Tung, who was born in Holland and tested for Williams in 2003, would be China’s first F1 driver.
Should race be a consideration in racing, or should talent and capability be the sole factors? Does the fact that both Hamilton and Tung were born in European countries minimize the diversity they could bring to motorsport? Toss in your two cents in our comments section (and please, keep it tasteful).
[Source: F1i.com]
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time
Originally Syndicated from Autoblog
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Filed under: Safety, Tech, Saab
We reported a long while back about Saab’s plan to sharply reduce the number of drunk driving cases involving its own vehicles in Sweden and abroad. Called the AlcoKey, this small cell-phone size device is basically a breathalyzer with a radio transmitter that tells your Saab whether or not you’re fit to be behind the wheel. If you fail the breath test, the car won’t start - simple as that. Not only does it analyze the alcohol content in your breath, it also measures the temperature of your breath to thwart those trying to game the device by using a balloon or an air pump to pass air through it.
Saab will be field-testing the AlcoKey in Sweden with the help of various car fleet and taxi operators over the next six months in 100 vehicles. This is the last step before Saab might offer the AlcoKey as an option with the 9-5 or 9-3 sedans for 3,000 SEK ($408USD, we think).
The last two years of development have been spent shrinking the device to an acceptable size and increasing its battery life, which Saab says now stands at 12 months if the device were to be used five times a day. If you need to use the AlcoKey five times a day, then perhaps you have bigger problems than not being able to start your car.
[Source: World Car Fans]
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time
Originally Syndicated from Autoblog
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Since both Plan A and B have failed, Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corp. has decided to move on to Plan C, which means taking the intellectual property rights to the Rover 25 and 75 models it acquired last year and selling the vehicles under a new brand name. Today that name was announced, and when the new 750E “Rong Wei” (Chinese for “glorious power”) is unveiled at the Beijing Auto Show in November it will be called the Roewe 750E. Hmm… kind of sounds like Roewe-ver, no?
[Source: Forbes]
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time
Originally Syndicated from Autoblog
Click Here to Advertise on my Blog and Thousands of Other Blogs
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