Blog Posts by: Tom Ludwick  

Previously under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, taxpayers who buy a new car this year were entitled to deduct state or local sales or excise taxes paid on the purchase. Today the U.S. Treasury announced the offering will expand to include states that do not charge sales ...    Read more

Due to slow sales and a surplus of 2009 models, GM is notifying its dealers that 2010 Chevrolet Malibu hybrid production has been suspended. While no cars will be produced for retail sales, the company will continue to fill some fleet orders.The move should come as no surprise for dealers ...    Read more

Among the new many special edition Mini models unveiled at the 2009 Mini United Festival was this John Cooper Works World Championship 50 (WC50) Edition. The WC50 commemorates Mini's 50th birthday, as well as the 50th anniversary of sports car constructor John Cooper's first Formula One World Championship title. ...    Read more

Swedish news sources reported today that automaker Koenigsegg and a group of Norwegian investors will purchase the struggling Saab brand from General Motors. Naming anonymous sources, Sveriges Television (SVT) claimed "the buyers have signed a letter of intent to buy Saab." If true, final negotiations could commence immediately and run ...    Read more

Switzer Performance, an Ohio-based tuning company, has come up with a kit that cranks 800 hp out of a 2009 Porsche 911 GT2 (997) on 93 octane pump gas.There are various packages available for the latest GT2, but the 800 hp GT2 package is Switzer's flagship offering. It starts with ...    Read more

Rolls-Royce has released more details on the 2010 Ghost. The latest information reveals some of the car's advancements in chassis engineering.One of the trademark traits of a Rolls-Royce is its ability to move gracefully and make acceleration, braking, handling all look effortless. As Rolls-Royce Engineering Director Helmut Riedl puts it, ...    Read more

Last month, GM announced it was planning to reopen one of its idled stamping facilities for production of a future small car. Today, the company released a statement saying that it has narrowed down the list of potential sites to three.GM factories in Lake Orion, Mich., Spring Hill, ...    Read more

It's no secret that Mercedes-Benz is a pioneer in vehicle safety. To celebrate several anniversaries in the safety field and at the same time demonstrate some of its new and upcoming safety innovations, the S400 Hybrid-based ESF 2009 was created. The ...    Read more

With the Supreme Court stepping aside, the sale of Chrysler LLC's strongest assets to a new company called Chrysler Group LLC was completed. The other parts of the automaker will remain in bankruptcy to be sold or closed.Fiat obtained a 20% stake in the company that can grow ...    Read more

By now you've probably heard that Bentley is preparing a new modern flagship to replace the old-school Arnage. Today we bring you the first teaser shot of the "all-new Grand Bentley" (as the company is calling it), released this morning.As usual, the teaser shot gives us little insight ...    Read more

General Motors opened its new Global Battery Systems Lab on its Warren, Mich., Technical Center campus today. The 33,000-square-foot lab is the largest and most technologically advanced battery lab in the United States. The Global Battery Systems Lab complements GM's other battery labs in Mainz-Kastel, ...    Read more

Ford is working on a twin-fuel turbocharged engine that could deliver diesel-like performance without the diesel engine's hefty price premium. The engine, code-named "Bobcat," variably blends gasoline and ethanol (E85) for better fuel economy and extra power.The Bobcat is essentially a small turbocharged engine with separate gasoline and ethanol fuel ...    Read more

Of the 450 people lucky enough to lease the all-electric Mini E, as many as 300 of them may be in for some bad news. Due to a glitch in the distribution of the high-voltage charging cable, up to two-thirds of customers will initially have to charge their ...    Read more

The name Lamborghini usually conjures up thoughts of an exotic supercar with a big engine and a deep, throaty exhaust. However, the Italian supercarmaker has announced a new plan of environmental sustainability that includes research in hybrid drivetrain solutions. Hybrid drivetrains are only one possible emissions-reducing solution that the ...    Read more

AC Schnitzer just released its latest accessories for the latest Mini Cooper Convertible (R57). The tuning program offers plenty of parts to enhance everything from powertrain to aerodynamics. A Cooper S convertible makes only 175 hp, but AC Schnitzer offers a package to crank ...    Read more

According to PickupTrucks.com, Volkswagen has chosen a name for its new mid-size pickup. Although it was originally thought the truck would be called the Robust, according to a VW release, the official name will be the Amarok.VW got the name from the Inuit word for "wolf." The release ...    Read more

Just in time for summer Infiniti has announced pricing for the 2010 Infiniti G37 convertible. The price, including destination, will be $44,715 for the automatic, or if you prefer to row it yourself and can spare another $50, the 6-speed manual version (Sport 6MT) starts at $44,765.Spending the ...    Read more

Earlier this week, General Motors confirmed it had signed a memorandum of understanding with a Chinese machinery company. GM says it does not expect the sale of its Hummer brand to meet any U.S. regulatory opposition.The New York Times later claimed that the Chinese buyer was Sichuan Tengzhong, ...    Read more

The name Subaru usually conjures up thoughts of all-wheel-drive rally machines. However, its parent company, Fuji Heavy Industries, announced today that Subaru will be launching the tiny front-wheel-drive Stella Plug-In Electric Vehicle in Japan next month. The Stella EV is based on the Subaru ...    Read more

GM CEO Fritz Henderson and Chrysler President Jim Press met with the Senate Commerce Committee yesterday to discuss their plans to cut more than 3000 dealerships across the U.S.Senators scolded Henderson and Press about the harshness of automakers' plans. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., said the "soft landing" that ...    Read more

As more declining sales numbers roll in from the month of May, Toyota is surprisingly optimistic. Automotive News reports that the Japanese automaker will actually ramp up production over the next three months.Bob Carter, general manager of Toyota Division, said, "We see a turnaround coming." The company will therefore increase ...    Read more

The U.S. Air Force launched a new recruiting initiative last month featuring a couple of custom cars loaded with some seriously high-tech equipment. The first car is a white Ford Mustang called "X-1" and the other is a black Dodge Challenger called "Vapor." ...    Read more

Kia's Soulster concept, a design study based on the Soul compact, could soon get the green light for production. Some recent online speculation suggests that Kia is more intently looking into bringing the tiny truck to market.Back in February, we reported that the Soulster had received an "overwhelming" ...    Read more

Since GM and Chrysler have entered bankruptcy, the automakers have announced plans to close more than 2400 dealerships combined across the country. GM Chief Executive Fritz Henderson and Chrysler President Jim Press will meet with members of the Senate Commerce Committee today to address concerns about their plans.As expected, dealers ...    Read more

Just when it started to look like Chrysler was about to pull out of bankruptcy, another roadblock has popped up. A U.S. Court of Appeals agreed on Tuesday to hear a challenge to the sale of most of Chrysler's assets to a group led by Fiat.The challenge comes from a ...    Read more