New Ram Brand gets Dodge's Horns Logo, Dodge Adopts SRT-Like Twin-Red Slash

Late last year, Chrysler LLC split Dodge's lineup into two different brands, one for the firm's passenger vehicles, and the other comprised of the Ram truck models. Now it's time for the Detroit automaker to separate the brand's identities with a different logo for each brand.

As you can see in these official pictures, the Ram brand gets to keep Dodge's well-known horn logo while Dodge, which will be positioned as a sporty and youth-orientated passenger car maker, adopts a new insignia featuring two red slashes that's inspired by the Chrysler Group's SRT performance brand.

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Rumors: Next Infiniti M and G May Share Platform with Mercedes E-Class

There has been a lot of talk lately about the recently inked strategic cooperation between Daimler AG and the Renault-Nissan Alliance. And we're not referring to the official agreements on the development of a new rear-wheel drive platform for small cars and the swapping of diesel and petrol engines between the two groups.

Leaving aside recent rumors of a small Infiniti CUV based on the next generation of Mercedes' A / B Class, Japan's Best Car magazine is now reporting in its latest issue that the Infiniti M and G replacements (Nissan Fuga and Skyline in Japan) will share a common architecture with the Mercedes E-Class.

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Saab's U.S. Boss Talks About the Future and How the Brand will Tackle the Perception that the Brand is Dead

Automotive News recently had a chance to sit down with the COO of Saab North America, Mike Colleran, and discuss the future of Saab. perception

One of the first questions posed was the extent of damage to Saab's brand image during the past year and a half and how the Swedish automaker plans to improve its image in the near future.

"It is difficult to understand the complete depth of that damage. Certainly the brand did suffer" said Colleran. "I think there are a number of consumers who have the perception that Saab is gone."

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Volkswagen Group Buys 90.1% of Italdesign Giugiaro

Ending days of rumors, the Volkswagen Group announced Tuesday it was buying a 90.1 per cent stake in Italian design firm and Italdesign Giugiaro S.p.A. as part of its global expansion plan, without, however, giving out any information on the financial aspects of the deal.

The German automaker said that the shares are being acquired by AUDI's Italian subsidiary Lamborghini Holding S.p.A., while the Giuigiaro family will keep a 9.9 per cent stake in the Italian company that generates sales of over €100 million (US$122 million) and has a workforce of some 800 employees.

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McLaren Reveals First Dealer Locations in 35 Cities Around the World

The brand-new MP4-12C supercar from McLaren Automotive will be sold next spring (2011) by a network of dealers in 35 cities in 19 countries across the world, with more to follow in 2012, the British company announced.

McLaren Automotive's initial network will include eight retailers in North America (USA, Canada), 12 in Europe (UK, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Switzerland), two in the Middle-East, and one in Africa (South Africa).

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Lamborghini Recalling Murcielago Coupe and Roadster Models Over Fuel Leakage Concerns

Lamborghini issued a recall on a total of 428 examples of the 2007-2008 model year Murcielago Coupe and Roadster models in the United States. The reason?

According to the company, the welds holding the fuel pump support inside the fuel tank could detach leading to a fuel leak. In the presence of an ignition source, this situation could result in a fire - and that's definitely something Murcielago owners would like to avoid...

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The Buick GS is Back, Regal Performance Model Green-Lit

A little while back GM was crashing and burning, littering the automotive market with debris from its badge-engineered brands. Who could have seen turbochargers, all-wheel-drive, Recaros, and a clutch showing up in the Buick lineup? The last time any one of those were even possible, I was in diapers.

More recently, Buick was the brand that was selling the Lucerne, LaCrosse, and Rendezvous, none of which could get anyone excited. Now, however, Buick intends to keep surprising people with its new direction and image. The latest decision from the golden oldie? They're going to build the Regal GS (can I get a collective high five?).

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Fiat Starts Combining Lancia and Chrysler Networks in Europe

In the continuing process of reorganizing Chrysler and Lancia, Fiat will be working to combine both brands' dealership and supply networks throughout Europe.

The combined-dealerships will be known as Lancia throughout mainland Europe and Chrysler in the UK. The reason for that is Chrysler is currently established in the UK, while Lancia is not.

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Tesla Partners Up with Toyota to Develop EVs, Acquires NUMMI Plant

Tesla recently finalized its purchase of the advanced (and apparently extremely clean) NUMMI production facility in order to build its upcoming Model S sedan. Tesla hopes to build as many as 20,000 units per year in the southern California facility that's capable of building one million units annually.

Other than some potential spin-offs using the Model S platform (like an electric GT), there's a lot of capacity. That's where Toyota steps in. Toyota and Tesla will be working together to develop electric vehicles. their parts, and the engineering behind them.

The new facility will hire up to 1,000 new employees initially from one of the brightest pools around: Silicon Valley.

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Volkswagen Group to Buy Italdesign Giugiaro?

Volkswagen's master plan is all about numbers. Being the biggest, baddest automaker out there. That's why it isn't any surprise to hear that Volkswagen might be bringing Italdesign Giugiaro under its wing (nothing is official yet).

An acquisition would be another major part of VW's world takeover scheme, assisting with the goal selling 10 million vehicles in 2018. Its ten brands intend to release sixty new or updated models this year, so more designers and engineers are needed.

Now is far from the first time that VW and Giugiaro have worked together. The Italian design house has helped create a variety of cars for those aforementioned ten brands.

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New Opel Calibra Coupe Rumored for 2013, Buick Version Could Follow

Ever since Opel lifted the covers off the stylish GTC Concept back in 2007, there have been rumors flying throughout the internet and the media about a production version of the study that would essentially replace the Vectra-based Calibra of the 1990s.

And while many (yours truly included) may support that an Astra-based sports coupe sounds like a more reasonable and lucrative proposal for Opel, Car Magazine has returned with an update on the Calibra II / GTC Concept story.

The report claims that the four-seater coupe is still under consideration but if it gets the final okay, it could go on sale as early as 2013, which sounds plausible given that the car would be more or less a two-door version of the Opel Insignia (sold in the U.S. as the 2011 Buick Regal).

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Toyota to Recall 11,500 Lexus LS Models Worldwide

In the latest episode of a series of massive recalls, Toyota Motor Corp. said today that it plans to recall four Lexus LS models due to problems related to the steering wheel system of the car.

The models in question are the LS460 and LS460L as well as the LS600h and LS600hL hybrids equipped with the Variable Gear Ratio Steering (VGRS), with the recall covering around 11,500 vehicles worldwide including 3,800 units sold in the U.S., 4,500 in Japan and about 40 cars in the UK.

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New Ford Fiesta Rated at 40mpg Highway and 29mpg City, See How it Compares with its Rivals

The official EPA (that's short for Environmental Protection Agency) numbers for Ford's highly anticipated new Fiesta are in.

According to the agency's calculations, the 2011 Fiesta with Ford's new six-speed PowerShift automatic transmission achieves an EPA certified 40mpg highway and 29mpg city (equal to 5.9lt and 8.1 lt/100km respectively).

The five-speed manual transmission model is EPA rated at 37 mpg highway and and 29 mpg city.

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Ford Windstar Axles Breaking, NHTSA Investigates

The NHTSA is going to take a break from scrutinizing Toyota to have a look at Ford's '99-'03 Windstar, which is having an issue with its rear axles (mainly in high-corrosion / high-road-salt areas).

According to the New York Times, of the 900,000 or so Windstars sold, there have been 234 reports, 2 accidents, and no injuries so far. The NHTSA claims that "fracture of a rear suspension axle could result in loss of vehicle control".

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2012 Ford Explorer SUV Officially Teased

Pictured here next to Jim Holland, chief engineer behind the new Ford Explorer, is (trumpets, please), well, the new Explorer - or at least, a smidgen of it.

The successor to Ford's 90's break-out hit is supposed to debut this year, but there's still no official word from Ford.

We know the new Explorer will be sharing its underpinnings with the Flex, something that usually wouldn't make sense. The Flex is a quirky crossover, and the Explorer is supposed to be an SUV.

That is, unless Ford has some crazy off-roading, efficiency-themed crossover technology coming out. Guess we'll just have to wait and see. Power would hopefully come from some Ecoboost 4- and 6-cylinder engines.

Sadly, there's really nothing to be said about the styling...yet. If it has a hint of Ford's 2008 Explorer America concept in it, that would be nice. And sliding doors need to make a comeback, too.

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Ford Receives Over 3,000 Orders for 411HP F-150 Raptor 6.2

SVT's Baja-bombing Raptor pickup with the optional 6.2 liter V8 is moving like hotcakes, with 3,000 orders already in for the $41,995 truck.

The big V8, derived from those used in Ford's Super Duties, has a special cam profile to help get that little extra oomph for the Raptor. The result is 411 horsepower and 434 lb-ft of torque.

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Hyundai Officially Denies Ram-Based Pickup Truck Rumors

There was a rumor floating around this week that Hyundai is in talks with Chrysler LLC to sell a version of the Dodge Ram pickup under its own brand in the States.

Today, the South Korean-based automaker vigorously denied the story through an official statement made from its U.S division.

"Hyundai Motor Co. denies that there are any current plans to bring a pickup truck of any type into the U.S. now or in the foreseeable future," the company said in its statement.

"Hyundai is not in discussion with Chrysler in regard to a selling a rebadged Chrysler Corp pickup truck, or any other vehicle, in the U.S," the automaker concluded.

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Toyota to Decrease Japanese Production Capacity 20% by 2015

Toyota is planning to cut Japanese production over the next five years by approximately 700,000 units (from 3.9 to 3.2 million) or close to 20% and move it into countries that would provide significantly cheaper labor, according to a report from Bloomberg.

The Japanese automaker will begin by closing down a production line at its Takaoka plant in Toyota City, Japan, where it is based, from the current fiscal quarter through the second half of calendar year 2011. The report says that this move will trim down the firm's domestic output by approximately 220,000 vehicles."

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Report: Hyundai May Build New Elantra in U.S., Move Santa Fe Production to Kia Plant

A Korean newspaper has reported that Hyundai plans to build the North American market version of its new Elantra saloon (otherwise known as the Avante) at its Alabama plant starting from April 2011 in order to reduce costs.

The report from The Chosun Ilbo, which cites a Korean Hyundai spokesman as its source, goes on to say that the Elantra will replace the current Santa Fe SUV at the Alabama factory adding that the Santa Fe's replacement, which is due in mid-2011, will be moved to sister company Kia's plant in Georgia.

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Staged Accident Claims Up 46% in the States

The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB; I can already see Bruckheimer behind this) reports that "staged accident questionable claims", or QCs, grew a whopping 46% over the years 2007-2009 (probably due to the recession).

As proof that something is awry, BI (Bodily Injury) and PIP (Personal Injury Protection) claims have decreased.

Here's what the report revealed:

"The top five states that generated the most staged accident QCs were: (1) Florida, 3,006; (2) New York, 1,680; (3) California, 1,619; (4) Texas, 792; and (5) Illinois, 433.

The five cities that generated the most staged accident QCs were: (1) New York City, 1,304; (2) Tampa, 562; (3) Miami, 511; (4) Orlando, 422; and (5) Houston, 376."

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