Gallery: Geneva 2009: Tata Nano Europa

REPORT: Tata confirms Nano U.S.-bound in around two years originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 06 Jun 2009 16:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's a long way to travel between Italy and America. Not only is it how far Lamborghini road cars have to travel to meet their new owners here in the US, but it's also the divide American dealerships have had to bridge in order to provide the level of service that customers expect when dropping six figures on a new car. And that's a gap Sant'Agata intends to narrow with the establishment of Automobili Lamborghini America LLC.

Establishing a field office in the US - to be placed somewhere on the East Coast or in California - will give its US dealership network a local address with which to coordinate instead of dealing directly with the factory. The American subsidiary will also provide product planning input back to the factory. The United States represents the largest market for Lamborghini where its sales rose from 100 units in 2001 to 900 in 2007.

Although Lamborghini has had operations in the United States under previous ownership - remember how it bounced around owners through the 80s and 90s? - this will be the first American division since Volkswagen/Audi took over in 1998. The field office will operate with a staff of ten, headed up by Pietro Frigerio, formerly Lamborghini's western United States regional sales manager.

Lamborghini has also announced that it will extend its warranties for 2008 from the previous 2 years/24,000 miles to 3 years with unlimited mileage. The company is also considering a certified pre-owned vehicle program and a financing framework.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Coming to America: Lamborghini to establish field office in US originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 15 Jan 2008 13:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gallery: Detroit 2008: Explorer America Concept - Live Reveal

Gallery: Detroit 2008: Ford Explorer America concept

Continue reading Detroit 2008: Evolving the Explorer - Ford Explorer America concept LIVE

Detroit 2008: Evolving the Explorer - Ford Explorer America concept LIVE originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 13 Jan 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Click on the images to view our high-resolution gallery

Some will say for better, others will say for worse, but one way or another, the Mercedes SLR McLaren is the supercar that refuses to go quietly into the night. It was previewed by the Vision SLR concept way back in 1999, and since entering limited production in 2003, the Anglo-Saxon supercar has performed disappointingly both on the road and in the market. But rather than allowing it to slip away, Mercedes has repeatedly given it new transfusions with the Roadster, 722 and most recently the 722 GT derivatives. The SLR, in all its incarnations, is about due for retirement, so where has it gone? To Florida, of course!

RENNtech, the Sunshine State-based Mercedes tuner par excellence, has been given the exclusive contract to import and distribute the long-named and long-nosed Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 GT in North America. RENNtech, which, as we reported earlier, tuned the SLR road car to actually produce 722 hp, will offer an allotment of 21 examples of the factory SLR 722 GT track-day special, each available at about $1.2 million.

To sweeten the deal, RENNtech is setting up a full track-day program for the SLR 722 GT owners, including set-up and maintenance by specialized technicians, opportunity to learn the track behind the wheel of its special SLR karts (pictured, right) and instruction from professional drivers (David Coulthard, although no longer affiliated with McLaren, is claimed to be on board).

To celebrate the arrival of the sharpest (and potentially last) version of the SLR to American shores, we've got a whole mess of new photos for you... just click on the gallery below. (Full press release after the jump.)

[Source: RENNtech]

Gallery: SLR 722 GT in America

Continue reading Coming to America: Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 GT

Coming to America: Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 GT originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 Dec 2007 10:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Alfa Romeo isn't kidding around about its return to the US market: Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne revealed that Alfa is planning to open a factory in the United States.

Citing the drop in the US dollar against the Euro as a principal motivating factor, Marchionne said that manufacturing cars in America was vital to the profitability of Alfa's stateside venture. The Canadian-Italian industrialist anticipated that Alfa would only begin making a profit after three or four years in the US.

This won't be the first time a Fiat division has manufactured in the United States. In 1909 the Italian automaker inaugurated a plant in Poughkeepsie in upstate New York which it closed a decade later.

Meanwhile, industry sources indicate that Alfa's main factory at Pomigliano d'Arco in southern Italy will close for two months beginning in January as a last-ditch effort to get Alfa Romeo build quality up to spec or else face complete closure.

[Source: Automotive News (sub. req.) via Italiaspeed]

Alfa Romeo to open new plant in US originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 12 Dec 2007 09:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gallery: LA 2007: Mercedes C63 AMG

Continue reading LA 2007: Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG stateside debut

LA 2007: Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG stateside debut originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 15 Nov 2007 18:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

With plans on the drawing board to potentially move the defunct USGP from Indianapolis to Las Vegas, BMW is ostensibly testing the waters by staging one of its popular Pit Lane Park demonstrations in Sin City this coming January.

BMW stages the public demonstrations at various grands prix and events around the world. The park features demonstrations of the team's F1 cars, a live pit lane display and a variety of hands-on experiences for racing fans. At the recent event staged at the British Grand Prix, the team brought in Nigel Mansell and Johnny Herbert who returned to the wheel of an F1 car for the fans' enjoyment.

The Vegas event, which will be located on the Gold Lot by the corner of Paradise Road and Convention Center Drive, will be held during the Consumer Electronics Show, held from January 7 to 10, 2008. At the same time as CES, Vegas is also usually host to a pornographers' convention, which, notwithstanding the wealth of electronic technology packed into a modern F1 car, may actually come closer to the obscenely ecstatic sight of the formula race cars pulling donuts and smokey burn-outs at close range.

[Source: Autosport.com]

BMW F1 Pit Lane Park coming to Vegas originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 17 Oct 2007 08:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Fiat group seems to be on a ceaseless campaign to bring its products to the U.S. market. A range of products from Alfa Romeo are in the pipeline for importation, the upcoming high-performance Abarth version of the new Fiat 500 has been tipped to make the trans-Atlantic voyage, and now Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has announced plans to bring the group's heavy truck subsidiary Iveco to the American market. But while the 500 and Alfas may take a while to make the trip, Marchionne has a much tighter time-frame in mind for Iveco, declaring that they company "will have something done within six to nine months." That's mighty soon.

Iveco, short for Industrial Vehicle Corporation, builds close to half a million diesel engines and some 200,000 commercial vehicles every year, including heavy trucks, military vehicles, fire engines, buses, vans and even a formula racing truck that makes NASCAR Craftsman Series trucks look like toys.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Fiat bringing Iveco trucks stateside early 2008 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 25 Jul 2007 19:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The BBC was reportedly evaluating producing an American version of its hit show Top Gear with the existing British cast. The show's star lead host Jeremy Clarkson, however, apparently having seen enough of the U.S. after filming the show's road trip through the South, has nixed the idea.

The proposal would have involved Clarkson, together with his co-stars Richard Hammond, James May and The Stig, flying stateside for four months to embark upon a hectic filming schedule, a prospect which didn't tantalize Clarkson, to say the least. On top of other concerns, Jezza reportedly wouldn't want to leave his family behind for such a long period of time.

For their part, the BBC hasn't given up, and will undoubtedly look at other possibilities, with or without Clarkson. Stay tuned.

Thanks for the tip, Derek!

[Source: The Sun via PistonHeads]

Clarkson nixes U.S. Top Gear originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 24 Jul 2007 15:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MG may yet find a home in Oklahoma originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 Mar 2007 08:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Honda Civic Type R may come to America in 2010 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The American market is thirsty for diesels and for more fuel-efficient cars altogether. That's why PSA's recently-installed CEO Christian Streiff sees now as the perfect time to bring Peugeot back to the United States. And though he's new on the job, he's planning on pitching just that idea in a three-year plan for the company as early as May.

The last time Peugeot competed in the US market was over fifteen years ago, when the only model it sold was the 405 sedan. Since then, Peugeot's model range has broadened considerably to include even a crossover sport-ute (pictured) through partnership with Mitsubishi. If Peugeot decided to run the 908 LM racing car in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), it could position itself in the US market as the leader in efficient diesel technology like Audi did with the R10.

Peugeot is also a market leader in hard-top convertibles, a segment which is growing in popularity on American shores. If PSA decides to go ahead with the venture, it could be the best thing France has given America since the Statue of Liberty.

[Source: Motor Authority]

Franco-American: Peugeot considers re-entering US market originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 09 Feb 2007 13:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.