Audi to showcase A3 at the Auto Expo with R8 e-tron quattro

Audi will present an exhilarating line-up of luxury cars and interesting technology concept at the upcoming Auto Expo in February to be held in Greater Noida. The brand with the four rings is set to delight India with products exhibiting technology, design and sportiness. The company will unveil the highly-awaited Audi A3 Sedan, ‘Special Editions’ of Class-leading and Award-winning SUVs - Audi Q3, Audi Q5 and Audi Q7, sporty Audi RS 7 Sportback alongside the athletic Le Mans 2012 winner R18 e-tron quattro.

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Mercedes-Benz exec promises C-Class convertible

Mercedes-Benz is already at work on the next-generation C-Class sedan, but USA Today reports that the automaker promises to add a convertible model for to the mix as well and will offer it in the US. The new C-Class is expected out next year as a 2014 model, and it will be the first time the C-Class has ever directly offered a drop-top model, likely to be called the C-Class Cabriolet.

Previously, the CLK-Class acted as a convertible based on the smaller C-Class, but it was sized and generally thought of as an E-Class model. There are no concrete details about this new car, but it's almost certain to be the most affordable convertible in the Mercedes lineup, priced less than the $42,900 SLK-Class roadster and well below the $59,070 E-Class Cabriolet. Cars such as the C-Class Cabriolet and the all-new CLA-Class are an attempt to draw younger buyers into the Mercedes family, according to Steve Cannon, CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA.

In addition to the new C-Class convertible, USA Today also says that Mercedes plans a total of 19 new or refreshed models (including 11 in new-to-Mercedes segments) by 2020.

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Volkswagen outsells GM in China for first time in 8 years

In case you didn't know, Volkswagen is hell-bent on becoming the largest automaker in the world. The German carmaker has inched closer to that goal, having outsold General Motors in China last quarter for the first time in eight years.

Volkswagen's sales in China, its largest marker, increased by 21 percent last quarter to 704,991 units. Those numbers almost tripled GM's third-quarter growth, and were enough to beat out the American automaker's 664,765 sales. GM, however, still leads in year-to-date sales in China by a slim margin of around 77,000 units. The Asian nation also happens to be GM's largest market, and according to the report in Automotive News, China's car market may grow to be larger than the US, Japan and Germany combined in three years' time.

About the news his company was bested in China by VW last quarter, GM CEO Dan Akerson is quoted saying, "It's not whether you're the biggest car manufacturer. It's whether you want to be the most profitable." It should be noted of these figures that GM includes truck figures, yet excludes Hong Kong and Macau from its Chinese sales numbers, while VW does just the opposite. Through September of this year, Volkswagen had 5 of the 10 best selling vehicles in China. GM boasted three of the cars on that list.

One car not on China's Top 10 list is the Malibu. Though GM's second-best selling car in the US, it has been called a "disaster" by Lin Huaibin of IHS Global Insight. The roughly 29,000 units sold were apparently unable to hang with VW's Skoda competitor.

The Automotive News report cites anti-Japanese sentiments and older GM product as reasons for Volkswagen's third quarter rally. Other brands with increased sales included Hyundai, Kia and Ford, citing that the jump in sales for these brands helped their parent companies counter losses incurred in the beleaguered European car market.

Autoblog

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Honda : New Automatic Variant S-AT at Rs 9.09 lakhs

The Japanese car maker Honda Siel Cars India has introduced automatic transmission in the Honda City S grade. The car reportedly has the same specs as its analog transmission sibling. The car has 1.5-litre i-VTEC engine under the hood which pumps out the maximum of 116.3bhp at 6600rpm and torque of 146Nm at 4800rpm.The ex-showroom (Delhi) prices of the City 1.5 S AT is Rs. 9.09 lakh and City 1.5 V AT is Rs. 9.62 lakh and City 1.5 V AT Sunroof is Rs. 10.46 lakh. HSCI sold 24,462 units during the period April - July 2012 as against 12,526 units during the same period last year recording an increase of 95 percent.The company sold 4386 units during the month of July 2012 as against 4725 units sold during the corresponding month last year. The company reported sales of 1, 843 City units in July.

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The Virtual Retail Showroom of Audi Opens in London

Audi comes This time for their latest concept of the virtual digital store called “Audi City”. Here the entire line-up of the Audi models will be present but will be displayed on life-size screens. A few of the popular models might be available on the store floor as well.

these digital Audi Showrooms opened close to the Piccadilly Circus in London and soon a few more are to follow, in fact Audi is planning to bring in 20 stores by end of 2015. These stores will have product experts and customer relationship managers to answer questions of the prospective buyers and current customers.These stores will allow customers to virtually select possible configurations, colors and experience the cars on a 1:1 scale on screen.Commenting on this concept Peter Schwarzenbauer, Audi board member said that this would help Audi come in closer contact with the customers with help of tailor-made services. Audi is not the first to bring in such stores and BMW already has the BMW ‘i stores’ which is dedicated to its electric cars.hese retail stores and innovative concepts play a crucial role in helping the brand carve and maintain the niche that is their products are aimed towards.

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Audi’s Keogh Has No Desire to Mess With Success

AVON, CO – Stay the course.

That’s the message Audi sent last week when it named Scott Keogh its new top executive in the U.S., and Keogh says he has no intention of doing anything but.

“A ton of things have gone well (for the German luxury brand in the U.S.),” he tells WardsAuto in an interview here at a media backgrounder for the ’13 A4/A5 model line. “And that’s what we want to keep emphasizing.

“We’re not changing course. We’re not tweaking strategies. We’re not reinventing anything.”

Keogh, who has headed marketing in the U.S. for the past six years, was named president of Audi of America last week, filling the slot vacated by Johan de Nysschen, who resigned unexpectedly earlier this month to take a job overseeing Nissan’s Infiniti luxury brand worldwide.

“I was (shocked),” Keogh says of learning of de Nysschen’s decision to leave, which he announced in a conference call to key staffers. “I think the entire industry was. He kept it close to the vest and under his hat.

“(De Nysschen) was 19 years as an Audi executive, (and) very respected. So it was an emotional time for all of us.”

The auto maker’s board in Germany moved swiftly to plug the gap, a sign that, despite some recent upheavals in the executive ranks at the parent company, it is pleased with the pace of progress in the U.S.

“I went to Germany and met with some of the executives I know and have had a working relationship with, and they made the decision two weeks later,” Koegh says.

Although the Audi insider wasn’t the only candidate considered for the job, the success of the up-and-coming luxury brand and pressure from dealers to keep the boat from rocking appeared to give Keogh a leg up in the selection process.

“I think what the dealers always want, since they’re businessmen and invest a lot of capital over the long term, (is) consistency and stability,” he says. “You’ve seen the metrics we have right now. We have record sales, record market share, record pricing and the dealers are at record profitability levels.

“The dealers very much wanted a continuation. They definitely wanted an American executive who understands the brand, understands where it was, rightly or wrongly, and certainly where the brand is heading.”

Where Audi is heading is upmarket, Keogh notes, thanks to strong sales of its top-end C/D-segment cars, the A6, A7 and A8.

“If you look back in the day, about 11%-12% of (Audi’s) total volume would come from the C/D segments,” he says. “We have a stated target of being closer to the 30% zone. Year-to-date, we’re at 31%.

“We want to continue that, because we think it’s important for the center of gravity of a luxury brand to be much higher. The sign of a weaker luxury brand is (having) low pricing and low volumes. And that’s a sure sign you don’t have brand power.”

Audi transaction prices in the U.S. have risen some $6,000 per unit in the past two years, topping $50,000, the executive says.

The A7 mix is running 65% in favor of its highest-priced model, stickered in the mid-$70,000 range. Keogh expects a similar trend for the A6 line, when it introduces a quattro all-wheel-drive model this fall.

Building volume is the other big business objective, and Keogh says that will continue this year, as the brand “aggressively” shoots to break 2011’s record mark of 117,561-unit sales.

“The strategic target for us is 200,000. And we want to do it (while) holding pricing, holding residual values and delivering a healthy business case.”

Product availability remains tight and is likely to stay that way until Audi adds new capacity in Mexico for 2016.

The pipeline for Q5 and Q7 cross/utility vehicles is expected to loosen up later in the year, Keogh says, but customers are getting accustomed to waiting a bit for built-to-order cars. About 32% of Audi customers do not buy their vehicles off the lot.

“We are seeing a lot of people order cars,” he says. “We can build to thousands of configurations, and it’s more about when can I get my car, as opposed to how cheap can I get the dozen of cars that are sitting on the lot.

“This is healthy, healthy stuff. If we can keep that going, that’s the holy grail scenario.”

Keogh’s immediate task will be to find a replacement for his now-vacant marketing slot.

“I’m working on it,” he says. “This is only day three for me.”

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CAW making progress in drive to unionize Honda in Ontario

Honda of Canada Manufacturing in Alliston, Ontario, is unique in providing an employee recreation center with an NHL regulation-size hockey arena. But it could soon have another claim to notoriety: The first Japanese auto plant to go union.

According to Ward's Auto, Canadian Auto Workers President Ken Lewenza is bullish on efforts to organize the facility, which builds Honda Civic and CR-V, as well as the Acura MDX and ZDX. "We're getting some enthusiastic and strong support," he told Ward's, "but we're not there yet."

Both the CAW and the United Auto Workers have been trying for decades to organize at one of the Japanese transplant factories, but have met resistance, both from employees as well as the automakers. Lewenza says Honda has devoted "resources and time into keeping the union out," according to the report, including giving employees a handout that the CAW feels misrepresents Honda's wages when compared to unionized Chrysler, Ford and General Motors plants in Canada.

The report says labor talks between the CAW and the Big Three scheduled for September will be crucial for the union, given the resurgent strength of the Canadian dollar. Canada's labor costs are viewed as too high by the automakers, setting the stage for potential conflicts at the bargaining table. Of course, if the CAW could add to its 25,000 member base with Honda's roughly 4,500 Canadian workers, it could only help the union's negotiations.

Source: Ward's Auto

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BMW and Toyota Join Hands To Develop Sports Car

Ever wondered what would happen if you managed to get your hands on a car that has the engine raw power and refinement of BMW, and Toyota’s sensibility and conservativeness? Well you can set those brain cells at ease with your day dreams. Soon enough the automobile industry will see this, finer than one’s imagination, car in reality.  BMW and Toyota entered in a partnership for sharing the hybrid systems along with diesel engines.On 29th June two of the best carmakers signed a deal at the BMW headquarters at Munich closing down on the projects that they would be doing together.

 One of the major developments and the most exciting news that this decision has resulted to is, jointly the companies will bring in a sports car with fuel cell, powertrain electrification and lightweight technologies.Though right now no further details on the sports car have been disclosed, the thought of BMW’s class and tuning along with Toyota’s marvelous engineering is intriguing enough. The other areas where BMW and Toyota will work together are Fuel cell development, powertrain electrification and light weight technology. Commenting on this signing, Norbert Reithofer, BMW board member said that this joint venture will strengthen the position and bring out more sustainable future technologies.On the other hand, Akio Toyoda, the president of Toyota Motor Corporation seemed very excited about this joint venture and stated that, with this both the companies will be able to stand true to their goal of delivering better cars every time. Including both the companies, the automobile industry, media and aficionados, all are looking forward to what this partnership will result to.

Source : Cardekho

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Ford working on automatic "do not disturb" function to combat driver distraction

Ford has been ahead of the curve when it comes to driver distraction – in both inviting potential sources of distraction into the car and then offering technological solutions to help keep drivers focused on the road. Ford's Sync and MyFord Touch systems are happy to make phone calls, play music from your phone, run smartphone apps, read text messages aloud, and allows you to manage almost all of it via voice activation.

However, as industry-leading as Sync's functionality may be, it's come under scrutiny from some safety researchers who insist that all such technology, even when it's voice-activated, is distracting. Ford certainly doesn't want its competitive advantage undermined, and with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration kicking around recommendations to combat distracted driving, proposed rules that could render navigation systems useless, the topic is certainly a hot one.

So that brings us to today's press release, in which Ford touts its research into what it's calling a "driver workload estimator." That five-dollar phrase is a convoluted way of saying the automaker is trying to figure out how to make its cars automatically block some of the functionality of Sync and MyFord Touch, especially incoming phone calls or text messages. Of course, Ford does not want this automatic activation of the do-not-disturb feature that's already part of MyFord Touch to make customers any more frustrated with the system than they already are. Thus the desire to incorporate biometric feedback into the system.

Ford says it can gather temperature, heart rate, and respiration through a special experimental steering wheel and seat belt. The car's computer could then use this information to augment data already coming from the rest of the vehicle to determine if it's not a good time to notify the driver that, say, her sister just accidentally butt-called her from the bar. While you could make the case that it's really never a good time for such a call, Ford is more concerned with keeping the phone from ringing when you're trying to merge into heavy freeway traffic.

And when might you be able to purchase such electronic wizardry? No time soon. We talked to Jeff Greenberg, Senior Technical Leader at Ford Research, and he told us that the company has no current production plans for the technology, as it's concerned about how customers will react to it. "We do have a lot to learn about what customers will accept," he said. Scroll down to read the full press release.

Source : Autoblog

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New Ford Endeavour Coming This August

Ford had given the Endeavour a facelift in 2009. That is when it got the Kinetic Design, with a new front grille, side metallic scoop and body decals. That was Ford had introduced the 3.0-litre engine and automatic transmission on its SUV. Now, the Endeavour will soon get an all new face, which looks more muscular. The styling of the Endeavour has been beefed up in every way to make it more capable look sharper.

It is likely to be longer in dimensions and also offer more space on the inside. Interiors are also revamped as it gets an all new instrument panel that has been redone and it now gets a multiple function steering wheel. Engine options will remain the same, with the same 2.5-litre and 3-litre oil burners on the offering. These engines will be offered with automatic and manual transmission and both 4x2 and 4x4 options also.

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Mini releases official Clubvan details, on sale this August

"Trend-conscious commercial users" isn't a phrase we've heard recently ever, but perhaps we're just fraternizing in the wrong circles. Mini, on the other hand, knows so many of them that it has created the Clubvan, a two-seat, five-door, panel-style version of the Clubman that is "the world's first premium compact delivery van."

As the word "van" might indicate, instead of back seats the Clubvan has a cargo bay and a fixed grate to keep breakables and bulldogs from sliding into the cockpit. According to Mini, those aren't actual panels where the Clubman windows usually reside, it's just that the windows have been blacked out so as to be opaque and further bolstered with an inner layer of polycarbonate. The glass in the rear doors has also been blacked out.

The 860-liter loading area is lined with carpeting and an acrylic roof, has 12-volt sockets, attachment loops, and can handle up to 500 kilograms.

Trend-conscious grunt will come in three flavors: gas options in 98 horsepower and 122 hp, and a diesel with 112 hp. A six-speed manual will be standard, a six speed automatic an option on the diesel. This being classified as a commercial vehicle, your trendiness does get curbed slightly: only four colors will be available outside, and the interior will be black.

It goes on sale this August, and you can find out all about it in the press release below.

Press Release

Handle with care, deliver in style: the MINI Clubvan gets ready to roll up.

Munich, 23.06.2012 -- With two seats, five doors and wall-to-wall MINI style and personality, the MINI Clubvan – the world's first premium compact delivery van – has it all. With this groundbreaking model, based on the MINI Clubman platform, MINI is translating the brand's hallmark driving fun and inherent charisma to new applications aimed at the urban user. As the first premium vehicle of its kind, the MINI Clubvan sets new standards of style, quality and driving fun in the small car-based van segment. For the first time, trend-conscious commercial users can now make a stylish and sophisticated statement when carrying out deliveries to their equally discerning customers.

The enhanced functionality offered by the MINI Clubvan is based on a closed-off load area extending from the rear doors right up to the driver's and front passenger's seats. Cargo can be easily accessed either through the wide-opening split rear door or via the right-side Clubdoor. With its two-seater configuration, its fixed partition between the passenger compartment and load area, and its opaque, blocked-out rear side windows, the MINI Clubvan is classed as a commercial vehicle and therefore taxed at a lower rate. So as well as being the world's only premium model in its segment, the Clubvan is also the first MINI commercial vehicle.

The MINI Clubvan comes in three model versions: the 72 kW/98 hp MINI One Clubvan, the 90 kW/122 MINI Cooper Clubvan and the 82 kW/112 hp MINI Cooper D Clubvan. This charismatic cargo carrier will hit the showrooms in autumn 2012.

The MINI Clubvan: unique concept with historic roots.

The MINI Clubvan is built at the MINI plant in Oxford. Its roots, too, are firmly in the British Isles. They can be traced back to 1960, when the original Mini – just one year after its launch – was followed up by a further creative and space-efficient solution in the form of the Morris Mini Van. This van model, with a wheelbase extended by ten centimetres, a closed-off load compartment and split rear door, offered exactly the sort of extra functionality urban commercial users of the time were looking for.

Now the MINI Clubvan is poised to follow in the footsteps of its early forerunner and carry this tradition forward into the 21st century – in the same way and with the same panache as the MINI Clubman is already reprising the success of the fully glazed, four-seater Morris Mini Traveller, also from the 1960s.

First-class styling coupled with premium-class cargo transport.

The MINI Clubvan is a versatile choice both for upmarket commercial applications and for non-mainstream leisure and lifestyle use. It is in its element whenever special cargo-carrying jobs need to be handled in style. Its dimensions, with a length of 3,961 mm, a width of 1683 mm, a height of 1,426 mm and a wheelbase of 2,547 mm, are the same as those of the MINI Clubman. Its tailored and functionally minded design has been achieved by taking out the rear seats and adding a range of customised features. The blocked-out, opaque rear side windows are body-coloured, with an interior polycarbonate reinforcement. In combination with tinted glass in the rear doors, this keeps the load compartment well concealed from prying eyes.

In the interior, the flat loading floor and the side walls are trimmed in high-quality carpeting, while an anthracite roof liner runs the full length of the vehicle. 12-volt sockets in the cargo area can be used to power electrical equipment. Six attachment loops recessed into the floor at the edge of the load area can be used to secure cargo of all shapes and sizes, preventing items from sliding around when the vehicle is on the move.

The partition behind the driver's and front passenger's seats, comprising a lower solid aluminium section and an upper section of stainless steel mesh, is firmly attached to the vehicle body. The partition prevents objects in the load compartment from slamming forward into the passenger compartment under heavy braking. It also allows loading right up to the roof, so that full use can be made of the rear compartment's 860 litres of load space. The cargo area is 115 centimetres long and, even at its narrowest point just behind the rear doors, is 102 centimetres wide. Maximum payload capacity is 500 kilograms.

Typical MINI driving fun in three different power ratings.

The MINI Clubvan brings an unprecedented level of driving enjoyment to delivery assignments. The powertrain and chassis technology is familiar from the MINI Clubman: the Clubvan boasts powerful but efficient four-cylinder engines, the familiar MINI front-wheel-drive set-up, Electric Power Steering, MacPherson strut front suspension, multi-link rear suspension and powerful brakes. An extensive range of MINIMALISM features including Auto Start/Stop, Shift Point Display, Brake Energy Regeneration and on-demand operation of ancillary units keeps a tight rein on fuel consumption and offers unbeatably low running costs. For example, with average EU test cycle consumption of 3.9 litres/100 km (72.4 mpg imp), the MINI Cooper D Clubvan offers better fuel economy than any other model in the compact delivery van segment, despite delivering up to 20 hp more power.

For all three engines, however, it's not just from a cost point of view that the balance between driving fun and fuel consumption is so attractive. Even the entry-level MINI One Clubvan offers trademark lively MINI performance. Its 1.6-litre engine with fully variable valve timing produces maximum power of 72 kW/98 hp and provides 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) acceleration in 11.1 seconds, with a top speed of 185 km/h (115 mph). The MINI One Clubvan's average fuel consumption in the EU test cycle is 5.5 litres per 100 kilometres (51.4 mpg imp), with CO2 emissions of 129 grams per kilometre. The MINI Cooper Clubvan, which develops maximum power of 90 kW/122 hp, is livelier still. This model has a 0 – 100 km/h (62 mph) sprint time of 9.8 seconds and a top speed of 201 km/h (125 mph). Once again, average fuel consumption and CO2 emissions are 5.5 litres/100 km (51.4 mpg imp) and 129 g/km respectively.

The most fuel-efficient model in the line-up is the MINI Cooper D Clubvan, whose four-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine with common rail direct injection delivers 82 kW/112 hp, accelerating this model from standstill to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 10.2 seconds, on the way to a top speed of 197 km/h (122.4 mph). EU fuel consumption is 3.9 litres/100 km (7.4 mpg imp), corresponding to CO2 emissions of 103 grams per kilometre.

As an alternative to the six-speed manual transmission which is standard specification for all three models, the MINI Cooper D Clubvan can optionally be supplied with a six-speed automatic transmission.

Distinctive style and personality as standard, personalisation by request.

The MINI Clubvan is available with a choice of four exterior paintwork shades: Pepper White, Ice Blue, British Racing Green metallic and Midnight Black metallic. The roof, rear side window area, C-pillars and exterior mirror caps are body-coloured on all model versions. Optionally, the standard 15-inch wheels, with exclusive MINI Clubvan Delta Spoke styling, can be replaced by 15, 16 or 17-inch alloy wheels.

Inside, black seats with Cosmos fabric upholstery, a black interior colour scheme and Fine White Silver trim strips are standard. This combination stresses the functional, clean and uncluttered character of the vehicle. At the same time, the interior design can be customised to suit individual requirements, for example with black sports seats (available in the versions Ray Leather, Punch Leather and Lounge Leather), optional alternative interior trim strips, three different interior Colour Lines and a leather-trimmed instrument panel. Like the other model series, the MINI Clubvan too can be supplied with an extensive range of optional extras to enhance convenience, driving enjoyment, safety and practicality. These include xenon headlights, black headlight shells, Adaptive Headlights, Automatic Climate Control, Park Distance Control, automatically dimming interior and exterior mirrors and a trailer hitch. In place of the standard MINI CD radio, the MINI Boost CD radio and MINI Visual Boost radio are also available. The optional MINI navigation system, which keeps the MINI Clubvan heading in the right direction on its delivery runs, is a further useful option.

The MINI Clubvan lends business an individual and exclusive touch.

The MINI Clubvan's innovative blend of clean and uncluttered practicality and exclusive premium characteristics makes for a distinctive presence around town. This innovative vehicle concept is tailored in particular to the needs of commercial users such as fashion designers, event caterers, architects or photographers whose businesses supply exclusive products and services to discerning customers and who are also looking to express their appreciation of premium quality and individual style in their choice of vehicle. Whether as a mobile calling card for small businesses or as a stylish addition to a wider vehicle fleet, the MINI Clubvan makes a bold and innovative choice of delivery vehicle for commercial users, and one whose typical MINI driving fun and instantly identifiable charisma are guaranteed to make a winning and lasting impression.

Source : Autoblog

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New Honda City Will Increase Pride of Malaysian Roads

Honda Malaysia has yesterday unveiled the much awaited new Honda city, which has been said to better in design, expediency and performance than its older siblings. The all new Honda city brings style that it missed in the past, but upholds what it is known for, the quality. "The new city caters to both work and leisure activities" said Yoichiro Ueno, CEO & MD- Honda City on the occasion. Honda Malaysia had to halt its production in April 2012, and the Honda city back orders went above 3000 since then. What has been so special this time is, the new Honda city has been the first completely knocked-down (CKD) model from Honda after the recommencement of the production unit in April 2012. Secondly, the back order for Honda City which went over 3,000 units during the close down, too have been cleared.

The New Honda City derives its power from Honda's patented powertrain, i-VTEC 1.5-litre engine, the similar engine what we have in India. in fact other features too are almost similar, but the Malaysian version has been said to be delivering a better horse power and torque. Although, what it actually produces on road, will be interesting to watch. Honda Malasyia aims to sell 2,000 units of the new Honda City per month.

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Toyota Names Julie A. Hamp as New Chief Communications Officer for North America

Toyota today announced that Julie A. Hamp will join the company as chief communications officer for North America, effective June 25. In this role, Hamp will have primary responsibility for coordinating Toyota’s public relations efforts in the region while leading the company’s cross-affiliate communications team including members from Toyota Motor North America, Inc. (TMA), Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A, Inc. (TMS) and Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing, North America, Inc. (TEMA). 

She will report to Jim Lentz, president and CEO of TMS and senior vice president of TMA, and will be based at Toyota’s campus in Torrance, California. 

  

“Julie is a proven communications leader with a wealth of knowledge and experience both inside and outside the automotive industry,” said Lentz. “We are thrilled to have her leading our communications and public relations efforts to enhance and promote Toyota as we continue to gain momentum in the marketplace.” 

Hamp joins Toyota from PepsiCo, where she served in a global role as chief communications officer and senior vice president of consumer relations.  Prior to joining PepsiCo, Hamp held several leadership positions at General Motors with primary responsibility for marketing/brand communications and public relations for North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

“I am looking forward to joining the talented communications team at Toyota, a company known for high quality products, best in class manufacturing and innovation,” said Hamp. “Toyota has a significant presence in North America, employing more than 37,000 people and operating 14 manufacturing plants in the region; and I am excited to take on this role to help contribute to the success of this great company.” 

Hamp will succeed Jim Wiseman, who had previously announced his retirement effective at the end of June. Wiseman, who has had a 23-year career at the automaker, served as Toyota’s first CCO for North America, named to the position at the beginning of 2010. 

  

A native of Queens, NY, Hamp received a B.S. in Communications from Ferris State University. Her post-graduate studies include participation in the GM-Harvard Business School Executive Development program with an emphasis on Asian studies.

Source : http://pressroom.lexus.com

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Skoda launches Rapid sedan

Indian car industry is deluged with car launches and Skoda Rapid is yet another car launched today, following the high popularity gained by the sedan prior to its launch.

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Range Rover Evoque coming to India this November

Get ready to welcome the much awaited vehicle from Land Rover, Range Rover Evoque. Range Rover Evoque is all set and ready to hit the Indian roads on 4th of November. The launch will be done at the Jaguar Land Rover Corporate showroom, located at Ceejay House, Dr. Annie Besant road, Worlie, Mumbai. The new Range Rover Evoque is said to be the smallest, most efficient and the lightest Range Rover variant by Land Rover so far.

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Sebastien Vettel wins the first Indian GP F1 race

Sebastien Vettel who has won the first Indian Grand Prix F1 race that took place on October 30th for the first time in India. In the honour of the victory, Sachin Tendulkar waved the checkered flag which signifies the win for the contestant.

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Hyundai EON LPG launch in 2012

Hyundai India has recently launched its much anticipated small car, Hyundai Eon in India and since the time of its launch, Hyundai India has received an over whelming response from the consumers.

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Peugeot's new 4008 SUV unveiled

 The French brand Peugeot has unveiled the new SUV, Peugeot 4008 built on the same platform as Peugeot 4007.

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Chevrolet Cruze facelift to Launch by 2012

General Motors had launched Chevrolet Cruze in India in October 2009, the company is rumored to launch the facelift version of Chevrolet Cruze in the Indian car market by next year.

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