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Most luxury car manufactures want to get a chunk of the emerging market in China, and Rolls-Royce has just unveiled their Phantom Series II Extended Wheelbase during the motor show in Beijing.

During last year’s auto show in Shanghai, Rolls-Royce also unwrapped a variant of their Ghost Extended Wheelbase. The consecutive years of global introduction of the long wheelbase offering of luxury carmaker says a lot where their eyes locked on.

The new Phantom Extended Wheelbase was introduced to the Chinese market as the new standard of luxury of the brand as no product comes close to the Phantom’s effortless opulence, grand showing, and exquisite beauty.

Like the other members of its brood, the Phantom Extended Wheelbase features improved drive train, technology, and design. The new Series II Phantom gets an updated powerplant in the form of a V-12 which now gets a direct fuel injection and linked to an 8-speed automatic transmission. The new setup gives the vehicle a 10% improvement in fuel consumption.

The exterior of the new member of the Rolls-Royce fleet gets a restyled bumper and new LED headlamps. The shape and intensity of the headlights are adjusted automatically by the system depending on the driving conditions and the road.

Inside the car, the driver certainly will benefit from an improved infotainment system that now comes with an 8.8 inch screen. There are also several cameras around the car which give the driver a good view of the surroundings especially during parking in tight spaces. The navigation system has also been improved to provide 3D display to aid in understanding the landscape and planning of the route.

The other details inside the Series II Phantom is just the best of anything you can see from the wood veneers and leather.

More than 80% of buyers of the Phantom last year opted for custom options like the Starlight Headliner that embeds optic lights into the headliner to mimic a starry sky.

The relaunch of the Alfa Romeo brand in the United States will take place in 2014 during the Detroit auto show. The production version of the 4C will head to that event and practically spearhead the return of the brand to US.

The Alfa Romeo 4C will be in front of the pack that includes the Mito, new Giulia saloon, new 6C, a compact SUV, and new Spider as it tries to prepare in the next two years for the big comeback.

The first of these brood will not be rolling out unt the second half of 2013 according to sources so the brand will have to do with the current Giulietta and Mito for the next 18 months or so as its representatives in the showrooms.

Once the sales are starting to come in from the US market, Alfa Romeo will turn its attention to China, which is currently having a boom of the automotive industry. Last year, Alfa Romeo went to the motor show in Guangzhou and was very pleased with how consumers in China received them.

In recent reports, sources from Fiat reveal that the Alfa Romeo 4C will not have a manual gearbox option but will only come with automatic dual-clutch transmission with paddle shifters.

The mid engined Alfa Romeo 4C though will not have the same dual clutch setup as the Giulietta TCT since at the moment, the dry clutch system does not fit the configuration of the upcoming 4C. A version of this gearbox will be installed on the 4C.

The 4C will sport a 1750 turbo powerplant of Alfa Romeo which can give out 230 bhp with a torque of 258 lb.ft.

Lexus will unveil a GS 350 with an F Sport package during the SEMA show this week. The new kit will spotlight interior and chassis upgrades plus a distinct exterior trim.

The GS 350 F Sport edition will feature the V6 3.5L engine that gives out 307 horsepower that is also being used for the standard version of the GS 350. It will also have the sequential shift 6-speed automatic gearbox coupled with the powerful engine plus the shifters.

Included in the F Sport pack will be 19 inch rims, sport tuned adaptive suspension, stiffer bushings, bigger stabilizer bars, and bigger brakes in front. The models on rear wheel drive configuration will also get different widths for the rear (265/35R) and front (235/40R19) tires and variable gear ratio. The All Wheel Drive version will be rolling on 235/40R19 tires on all fours.

Buyers can opt for the new LDH or Lexus Dynamic Handling that goes with dynamic steering for the rear. According to Lexus, this can help customize the suspension tuning to adapt with the speed of the car, conditions of the road surface, and style of driving and at the same time manage the steering angles of the rear and front wheels to improve the turn in response, control, vehicle agility, rear grip, and cornering.

The interior of the F Sport will come with a sport seat with 16 possible settings. The sport seat will have better lateral support, thigh support, lumbar support, adjustable seatback, and side bolsters. The cabin will have aluminum trim, perforated leather, and aluminum pedals. Consumers can order for leather in Cabernet Red.

You can choose from five colors for the GS 350 F Sport edition. There will also be new hues of Liquid Platinum and Riviera Red. The F Sport will have a special mesh grille, special badge, and sport bumper for the front.

Mazda has rolled out motorsport -influenced versions of the Mazda2 and the MX-5 which will be marketed as limited edition run units.

The MX-5 will have the Sport Black version that took its inspiration from the GT racer MX-5 that goes head on with Lotus, Ferrari, and BMW in the Britcar Production GTN Championship

The street version takes its form based on the Sport Tech Roadster Coupe that has 2.0L powerplant and that can give out around 160 bhp. It will also have a hard top roof that is retractable. The limited version ride will come in several finishes like Velocity Red, Crystal White, and Spirited Green.

The MX-5 Sport Black will roll on 17 inch gunmetal alloy rims and will be boasting of an interior dominated by black leather, steering wheel in Black Piano, and limited version floor mats. It will also have the Sport Tech standards like the Bose sound system, cruise control, fog lights, air conditioning, and a hands free kit for Bluetooth.

Mazda will only make 500 samples of the MX-5 special edition for the UK market. The tag price for this ride is expected to hit £22,995 .

The Mazda 2 Black on the other hand will be taking its cue from the Tamura version 1.3L that produces 83 bhp. It will have sports trim rear bumper, vinyl oof, fog lights, privacy glass, and 16 inch alloy wheels. The aircon , fog lights, Bluetooth kit, and limited matting come as standard offerings.

The Black version Mazda2 will come in white shades, green and True Red similar to the shades used for the MX-5. There will be 618 units of this on the UK market and sticker price starts at £12,395.

Both vehicles will be on sale this month.

According to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the 2010 New Beetle and its corresponding convertible model failed to meet the new set of safety requirements that were made effective last September 2010. As a result, Volkswagen is replacing all of the 27 models that were released just recently.

Reports say that these Volkswagen Beetle units have failed the barrier tests that were issued by the U.S. government. In response to the crisis, the Volkswagen Group has issued a statement saying that the final assembly process of the said units happened during a specific “brief period” after the new regulations have taken effect. It’s easy to track which units are affected as the VIN numbers of the 27 units can be viewed at the agency’s website.

According to NHTSA, Volkswagen dealers are ready to offer a replacement for the said vehicles, ones that are made compliant with the new September 2010 regulations. The specific figures translates that there’s one unit of 2010 New Beetle Convertible and twenty-six units of the 2010 New Beetle models that are being recalled. As a defense, the carmaker has issued a statement that no actual harm, injury, or crash has been ever reported due to its failure to comply with the said regulations.

The owners of these said 2010 New Beetle units were contacted and notified started February 1. 2, 2011 or they can dial (800) 822-8987 and get in contact with Volkswagen themselves to talk about the procedures to be done.

On the internet there are many cars for sale at a good price with quality.

The car enthusiasts at Road&Track and Motor Trend decided to put the Cadillac CTS-V Coupe to a battle test between its top rival at home and two German competitors just before it rides into the showrooms sometime next month.   The three sports coupes—Ford Shelby GT500, Audi RS5, and the BMW M3—were tested side-by-side with the newcomer Cadillac CTS-V Coupe.

The new Cadillac CTS-V Coupe is supercharged by a 6.2L V8 engine that powers the CTS-V sedan.  It has a peak torque of 551 lb-ft and 556-hp.  The new sports coupe has two options for transmission:  a Hydra-Matic 6L90 6-speed automatic transmission that comes with a paddle-shift controller or a Tremec TR6060 6-speed manual transmission that comes with a dual-disc clutch.  This mean sports coupe can accelerate 0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds.  Along with the Brembo brakes, it also has 4-piston calipers at the rear as well as 6-piston calipers at the front.

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It is official. The king is gone. BMW recently announced that it will end the production of the BMW M5. The German car marque has officially ended the E60 version of the V10 after 5 years of production and 20,548 units. The numbers surpassed the E3 powered by a V8 even though this beamer had an extra year on its production calendar.

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For years, the production of alternative energy vehicles faced skepticism from consumers. Some thought that the production costs would be too much for the economy to handle, while others declared certain energy sources too difficult to maintain. Today, Americans are finally warming up to energy-efficient cars. According to surveys conducted by Capital One Auto Finance, more and more people are thinking about owning a hybrid.

While 96% of Americans still don’t own alternative energy vehicles, 76% have tried driving one, and 78% of the participants believe that these vehicles are here to stay. This is a pretty impressive number for a technology that can turn lifestyles around completely. Apparently, less than 30% of the American population is unwilling to let go of their fuel-run cars.

To boot, 23% of respondents believe that hybrid or alternative vehicles will contribute more than half of automotive sales in the next ten years. This is more optimism than expected from most Americans, and it gives us more confidence that it’s possible for Japan to make half of its vehicles alternative-fuel-dependent.

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Top carmakers battle it out no holds barred at FIA GT1 racing featuring their race cars based on their production vehicles. Recently Nissan uncovered the new GT1 racer in the form of the Nissan GT-R.

The car is a product of the collaboration between Nissan, NISMO, Sumo Power GT, and Swiss Racing. The GT-R GT1 is stripped down as focused as it could be. The details about the car are limited but it will join the battle for supremacy in 10 GT1 races kicking off in Abu Dhabi.

The previous Nissan race car used a V-8 VK56DE racing powerplant that has a displacement of 5.6L and is capable of giving out 600 horsepower and has a torque of 480 pound feet. The racing engine is coupled with a 6-speed Ricardo sequential transmission with a triple plate clutch.

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Many may have been wondering what happened to the redesigned Jeep Grand Cherokee unveiled by Chrysler during the 2009 New York Auto Show. The new vehicle is nowhere to be seen. If you are a fan of Cherokee, you do not have to wait too long since the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee will be out by the second quarter of 2010.

Michael Manley, Jeep CEO, explains that they have completed the development work and they are not studying how the new Cherokee should be priced and package.

The 2011 Grand Cherokee will be the first major launch of the brand under the helm of the Fiat Group and its top executive Sergio Marchionne. The different brands of Chrysler have been hungry for new releases in recent years because of the company’s poor performance and resulting financial struggle.

Looking at the design lines of the Jeep Grand Cherokee displayed at last year’s auto show in New York, it seems it will be able to boos the numbers for the brand and reverse its fortune of a 31% drop in sales back in 2009.

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