Ferrari 458 Italia

Ferrari has officially unveiled their latest car - the Ferrari 458 Italia. With styling byPininfarina, this mid-engined V8 car replaces the Ferrari F430.

According to their press release, the two-seater458 has lower fuel consumption than the F430 but with a higher overall displacement and power. The car has a seven-speed dual clutch gearbox and accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 3.4 seconds. It has a top speed of 202 mph. For now all I have got are some pics and the press release. The car will be unveiled to the public at the next Frankfurt Motor Show.


For more information go to the Ferrari site.

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Jaguar to cut jobs and more auto news

Jaguar has just announced that it may cut up to 300 jobs at its Halewood plant on Merseyside. This follows news that they will end production of the Jaguar X-Type.

More info here

Earlier Aston Martin had also announced that about 95 workers in Gaydon in Warwickshire would lose their jobs .

More news here

In another news, Toyota may build a hybrid version of the Auris hatchback here in the UK.

Read more here

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Can Tesla survive?

Tesla motors, the US based makers of electric cars, recently received $465 million as part of the Department of Energy's $25 billion advanced technology loan fund. This fund seeks to create green jobs and reduce the US dependency on foreign fuel.

However, I am not quite sure whether Tesla can survive the current crisis that has hit the US automakers quite hard. One reason is that they only have two models in the stable, viz., the Model S and the Roadster. Unlike the Toyota Prius or the Honda Hybrid cars, Tesla's models are pure electric cars.

They are also targeted at a niche market - people who like sporty cars. So they are going up against some big names like Porsche, Ferrari, Lotus, etc.

Having said that, maybe being small and nimble may actually serve the company well. Plus, a number of people who can afford the fast, flashy cars are turning their backs on the gas guzzlers as being seen as "Green" becomes fashionable. They have already "delivered slightly more than 500 Roadsters". The Model S sedan is also due to come out in 2011.

Model S

This interesting BusinessWeek article asks "Can Tesla Become a Real Automaker?"

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The Riversimple Urban car launced in London

The Riversimple Urban car was launched in London yesterday.

The two-seater car is powered by hydrogen fuel cells and was developed with Oxford University and Cranfield University. It features gull wing doors as well.

The car is expected to go into production by 2013.

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Avoiding motorway congestion

If you are someone who lives in the UK and regularly travel on the motorway, I can understand how frustrating it can be when you discover that there are mile long jams caused by some repair work or an accident. Even if you don't travel up and down the motorway regularly and venture on to the motor ways occasionally, you might want to check out the following sites below:

1. Frixo, a road / motorway traffic reporting site which is updated every 3 minutes via feeds from various sources.

2, My Way, a joint initiative between RAC and Expedia, which provides alternative routes to some of the UK's worst congestion hotspots.

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Citroen C1 Ev'ie - UK's first 4-seater electric car

UK's first 4 seater family car was launched last weekend. The Citroen C1 Ev'ie was developed and built by the Electric Car Corporation.

It is available in 3 or 5 doors versions. According to their site, the car has a top speed of 60 mph with a range of 60- 75 miles on a full charge. Charging from domestic 13 amp socket overnight takes 6 hours.

The cars cost £16,850.

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LDV files for administration

Birmingham based van maker LDV applied for administration. 800 jobs at its Birmingham factory and another 1,200 in various dealerships are at stake.

However, the interesting news is that Malaysian investor Westar is said to be in advanced talks to take control of the company. If that happens, it will become the second British automobile company to be taken over by the Malaysians. The first was Lotus which was taken over by Proton in 1996.

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