Nissan North America, Inc. (NNA) today announced U.S. pricing for the 2011 Nissan GT-R supercar, which is on sale now at select Nissan dealers.

For 2011, its third year of availability in the North American market, the Nissan GT-R features a number of enhancements and a simplified model lineup.

The previous GT-R base model has been eliminated, leaving the GT-R Premium as the only available 2011 model. Other changes include slightly darker wheel center caps, double clear coat on the front and rear fascias and the addition of rear cooling ducts to improve cooling performance around the rear floor area.
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Audi expects to finish off the first three months of the year with robust sales following a good performance in February.

“We are on course for a strong first quarter and that is mainly thanks to our leading position in China and western Europe,” Audi sales chief Peter Schwarzenbauer said in a statement today.
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Toyota said it would expand a November recall to fix all U.S, Tundra pickups for the 2000 to 2003 model years to address a risk that part of the truck’s frame could corrode, causing spare tires or even the gas tank to drop to the road.

Initially, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. recalled 110,000 Tundras sold in 20 cold-weather states, saying exposure to heavy road salt could cause the corrosion. Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons was unable to say how many additional vehicles would be involved.

Toyota told its U.S. dealers in a notice on Tuesday that it would expand the recall for Tundras by launching a repair campaign to cover trucks sold in the other 30 U.S. states where there is less risk of corrosion from winter road salt.

The repair campaign comes at a time when the world’s top automaker is trying to recover from a damaging series of recalls that have tarnished its reputation and cut into its sales and financial results.

The Tundra rust problem is separate from reported problems with unintended acceleration that represent the core of Toyota’s safety crisis, but fixing affected vehicles could be far more costly per repair than in previous recalls.

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A California Highway Patrol officer helped slow a runaway Toyota Prius from 94 mph to a safe stop on Monday after the car’s accelerator became stuck on a San Diego County freeway, the CHP said.

Prius driver James Sikes called 911 about 1:30 p.m. after accelerating to pass another vehicle on Interstate 8 near La Posta and finding that he could not control his car, the CHP said.

“I pushed the gas pedal to pass a car and it did something kind of funny… it jumped and it just stuck there,” the 61-year-old driver said at a news conference. “As it was going, I was trying the brakes…it wasn’t stopping, it wasn’t doing anything and it just kept speeding up,” Sikes said, adding he could smell the brakes burning he was pressing the pedal so hard.

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After a week of massive recalls on many of its vehicles a Louisiana Toyota dealership takes a hit.

Officials say a disgruntled customer rammed his truck into the front a Toyota dealership this morning.

They say the man no longer wanted his Toyota truck because of the recall on its accelerator issue, but instead of accepting an offer to have the vehicle repaired..
he drove off.

Officials say that’s when the man smashed into the building, he claimed he lost control after his accelerator got stuck.

Authorities say no one was hurt and the man did not receive a citation.

One year after promising to become the leading manufacturer in fuel economy, Hyundai delivered by topping the latest U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fuel economy report. Hyundai passed all major manufacturers in Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) including traditional leaders like Honda and Toyota.

The report demonstrates the effectiveness of Hyundai’s value-driven fuel-efficiency strategy, which focuses on the intelligent application of cost-effective technologies. The report also substantiates Hyundai’s leadership in the race to achieve the government-mandated 2016 CAFE standard of 35.5 miles per gallon.
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Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) and Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) jointly delivered 4 units of the new-generation electric vehicle (EV) i-MiEV to the Principality of Monaco on November 25th.A number of related parties including His Serene Highness Prince Albert II were present at the delivery ceremony held at The Prince’s Palace.
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General Motors Co. announced Wednesday that it will begin North American production of the new 2011 Buick Regal at the Oshawa Car Assembly plant in Canada during the first quarter of 2011.

The Detroit automaker plans to begin selling the Regal in the United States during the second quarter of next year and has said that initial assembly will occur in Europe.

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SEMA named Doug Evans, senior vice president of performance automotive at Source Interlink Media, as the 2009 SEMA Person of the Year, recognizing his dedication and legislative activism in support of the specialty-equipment industry. Evans was presented the award during the 2009 SEMA Show Industry Awards Banquet in Las Vegas.

Evans is an active member of the SEMA Board of Directors and has served three consecutive terms on the Automotive Restoration Market Organization (ARMO) Select Committee. He has also served on the SEMA Political Action Committee and has been a member of the SEMA Executive Committee.
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Ford Motor Co. posted a surprise net profit of $997 million in the third quarter and its cash position turned positive, reversing a long stretch of cash burn.

Ford’s pre-tax operating profit of $1.1 billion for the quarter marked its first quarter in the black on that basis since early 2008. The automaker ended the quarter with $23.8 billion in cash, up $2.8 billion from the end of the second quarter.

Its North American unit posted a pre-tax operating profit of $357 million, for its first positive quarter since the first three months of 2005.
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Though this October month still not over, and the U.S automakers’ official October sales result won’t be reported until next Tuesday, GM officials said Wednesday that they expect first monthly sales increase after 21 months drop.

Susan Docherty, GM’s new vice president of U.S. sales, touted the uptick but noted that a lot more work lies ahead for the company, whose U.S. sales are still down 36.3% through September. “We’re here to talk about progress,” she said.

GM Chief Executive Officer Fritz Henderson, visiting Washington, D.C., said that recently enacted pay changes for executives were fair, and he didn’t argue with ex-auto task force chief Steve Rattner’s criticisms of pre-bankruptcy GM’s management as “stunningly poor.”

“There was a lot of truth in it,” he told the Associated Press. “We’ve got to change.”
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Already a recipient of numerous accolades including a “Top Safety Pick” by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, being named to the “Coolest New Cars Under $18,000″ list by Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com and “Interior of the Year” list by Ward’s AutoWorld, the all-new 2010 Kia Soul has yet again been honored and given a “2010 Automotive Excellence Award” by Popular Mechanics.

Recognized for its appealing style, fuel efficiency, handling and overall value, Soul is one of only 10 vehicles to be acknowledged on the esteemed list.
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Chrysler Group LLC today announced pricing for the all-new 2010 Ram 2500 and 3500 Heavy Duty pickups, offering more content at a lower price.

The all-new 2010 Ram Heavy Duty features three cab styles (regular cab, crew-size cab and Mega Cab) and two cargo-box sizes (6-foot, 4-inches and 8-foot), single- and dual-rear-wheel configurations, five trim levels, all-new exterior and interior styling and superior towing capability.

The all-new 2010 Ram is available with a starting U.S. Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $28,165 for regular cab models, $31,415 for crew cab models and $36,865 for Mega Cab models.

All prices include $950 for destination. The all-new 2010 Dodge Ram Heavy Duty arrives in dealerships in late 2009 calendar year.

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October new-vehicle retail sales are expected to decline only 6 percent compared with one year ago–the first single-digit decline since May 2008, according to J.D. Power and Associates, which gathers real-time transaction data from more than 8,900 franchisees across the United States.

This decline marks the most significant improvement in 17 months, excluding August 2009 when year-over-year sales were up 13 percent due to the CARS program.

October new-vehicle retail sales are expected to come in at 651,600 units, which represent a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) of 8.3 million units. With fleet volume down only 4 percent from one year ago, total sales for October are projected to come in at 816,600 units, down 6 percent from October 2008.
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The all-new 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor is much more than an off-road performance truck capable of taking on the toughest terrain a customer can throw its way. According to the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA), it’s also the one and only 2009 “Truck of Texas,” the seventh consecutive time a Ford truck has won the award.

“Winning the Truck of Texas is a distinct honor,” said Mark Fields, president, The Americas, Ford Motor Company. “Texans know their trucks, and this award is further proof of why the F-150 remains America’s number-one selling pickup. We built F-150 SVT Raptor for truck enthusiasts. And we’re gratified it’s gaining recognition for both its unequaled off-road performance and confidence-inspiring on-road demeanor.”
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