Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport "Bumblebee" Special to Debut at the Qatar Motor Show

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MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012 |

General Motors isn't the only company pushing out a black and yellow themed edition of one of its cars as Bugatti is doing the same - fortunately without the toy-ish / kitsch Transformers decals...
Whether you like the color combo or not, Bugattihas presented another one-off edition of its Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport, which is the open-top variant of the series, ahead of its world premiere at this week's 2012 Qatar Motor Show that runs from January 25 to 28.
The one-off Grand Sport has a horizontal color split with a bright yellow body encased in visible black carbon, including black-tinted wheels.
The same theme continues inside with the seats and the upper and lower sections of the door panels and dashboard finished in yellow-colored leather with black stitching. The center console comes in black carbon, while the middle sections of the dashboard, door panels, steering wheel and gearshift are made of black leather with yellow stitching.
This particular Grand Sport model carries a price of €1.58 million (about US$2.05 million) compared to the standard version that costs €1.4 million (~US$1.8 million), with both prices excluding taxes and delivery.
Bugatti says that production of the Grand Sport is limited to 150 units of which 45 have already been spoken for.

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PG Elektrus is a $312k Pure Electric Lotus Elise with a Carbon-Fiber Body

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2012 |

Production of the Tesla Roadster may have ended but the pure-electric roadster model from Silicon Valley showed the way to other companies – and we mean that in the literal sense, as the PG Elektrus is an all too similar proposal.
Created by German manufacturer PG and Düsseldorf-based automobile designer Michael Fröhlich, the roadster model is once again based on the Lotus Elise and features an electric motor powered by a lithium-ion battery.
However, the Germans went one-step further and dressed the body in a carbon fiber suite to reduce the car's weight. Another highlight is the solar panel mounted behind the driver that collects the sun's energy and converts it into electricity to power up the batteries – or so the company claims.
The roadster model's electric motor produces the equivalent of 272-horsepower and 350Nm (258.2 lb-ft) of constant torque, which is said to be enough to propel the PG Elektrus to 100km/h (62mph) in less than three seconds and on to a top speed of up to 300km/h (186mph) – which if true, would probably drain out the batteries and significantly reduce the car's autonomy.
A special audio-based system allows the drive to select from a range of sounds that emulate real engines including a full-bodied V8 and a Formula-One racecar.
PG says that the Elektrus has a driving range of up to 350 kilometers or about 217 miles under normal conditions.
The German company has plans to produce a total of 667 examples of the Elektrus, each with a starting price of €240,000 (US$312,400).

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This is the New 2013 Ford Fusion NASCAR Racecar

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2012 |

The presentation of the 2013 Fusion at the Detroit Motor Show earlier this month has brought a new look for Ford Motor Company's representative at the NASCAR Sprint Cup series.And by that we mean only looks as the actual 2013 Fusion sedan you'll find in your local Ford dealerships has nothing else in common with the NASCAR racer seen here. Nevertheless, Ford sees the NASCAR racer's familiar looks as a good promotional tool to sell more Fusions to the masses.
"We wanted Fusion to be the car that helped return ‘stock car’ to NASCAR," commented Jamie Allison, director, Ford Racing.“I think fans, when they see the car, are just going to smile and cheer. It is going to reengage them with the sport and make the sport better because there is just something natural about seeing race cars that look like cars in their driveways.”
Ford says that its design team, led by Nicoghosian, addressed three main issues to make the NASCAR racer look as much like the production Fusion as possible, including the vehicle's proportions, the brand and design cues on the car's profile and the front grille.
The 2013 Fusion NASCAR racer will make its debut at next year's Daytona 500 in February.

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Jeep Debuts Stealthy Grand Cherokee Special at Houston Auto Show, Asks Consumers to Name it

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2012 |

All automakers have dedicated divisions that come up with names for their vehicles as well as the individual trim levels, but the Chrysler Group is taking a different course with its new production-intent Jeep Grand Cherokee Concept that was revealed today at the 2012 Houston Auto Show.The Detroit firm is asking consumers to find a name for the new edition of the Grand Cherokee and participate in an online contest atJeep.com/namemyride. The company will narrow down the selection to three choices and allow the public to vote online for the winning name that will be announced in May.
Jeep said that the person who chooses the winning name will have an opportunity to win a new2012 Grand Cherokee.
“We plan to garner feedback from consumers at the Houston Auto Show, and via our online Jeep ‘Name My Ride’ contest,” said Jeep CEO, Mike Manley. “If the level of excitement is what we anticipate, this new Grand Cherokee will be in Jeep showrooms this spring.”
The stealthy looking Grand Cherokee model gets a blacked out look that includes the vehicle’s grille, lower fascia applique, headlamp bezels, liftgate light-bar and even the 20-inch alloy wheels.
It is based on the Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo X package, with standard features including leather-trimmed seats, steering wheel and shifter, heated front seats, a 9-speaker 506 watt amp sound system with subwoofer, iPod/MP3 connectivity, Parkview rear back-up camera, ParkSense rear-park assist system, Keyless Enter-N-Go, and Chrysler Group’s Uconnect hands-free communications system.
So, if you have any ideas about the name, head over to the comments section and share your thoughts.

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Ram Trucks Introduces New Top-of-the-Line Laramie Limited Edition, will Debut in Chicago

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2012 |

The Chrysler Group's Ram division is going to present a new range-topping edition of its pickup truck called the Laramie Limited with added features at the upcoming 2012 Chicago Auto Show, which opens to the general public on February 10.
"The launch of the Ram Laramie Longhorn edition gave us a boost in the ultra-premium pickup segment and exceeded our expectations,” said Ram boss Fred Diaz. “Ram Laramie Limited offers customers an even wider selection of luxury models. We expect a lot of interest in the Laramie Limited."
On the outside, the Ram Laramie Limited features a body-color front fascia with fog lamps and a matching, painted rear bumper – with the exception of the 2500 and 3500 models in white and silver exterior colors that get chrome front and rear bumpers.
A chrome grille surround with billet inserts along with the chrome accents on the side molding, mirrors, door handles and tubular side steps, and 20-inch forged alloys on the 1500 and 17-inch fully polished aluminum wheels on the Heavy Duty models, round out the upgrades on the exterior.
In the cabin, the Laramie Limited edition boasts a full-leather cockpit in a black shade with contrasting graystone piping which includes the seats, parts of the dashboard, lower center console and door panels, the steering wheel and the automatic transmission shifter.
Other goods include in the Laramie Limited package are the LED lighting at the inside door handles, a high-gloss piano-black trim on the center stack and chrome trim on the dashboard and door panels.
The Laramie Limited models are fitted with a navigational radio, remote start, back-up camera, power adjustable pedals with memory, heated steering wheel, front ventilated and heated seats and rear heated seats as standard.
According to Ram, the Laramie Limited will be available in the second quarter of the year in 1500 (1/2-ton), 2500 HD (3/4-ton) and 3500 HD single- and dual-rear-wheel (1-ton); Crew Cab and Mega Cab; four-wheel drive and two-wheel drive; and short- and long-wheelbase models.

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