Volkswagen to Reach Goal of World’s Largest Automaker Ahead of Schedule

 
The Volkswagen Group, which consists of Volkswagen, Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini and Porsche brands in America, are looking to become the number one seller of vehicles in the world by 2018. That’s a bold proclamation as they’re currently sitting in the number three position behind Toyota and General Motors.

As of last year, the VW Group was at 7.14-million vehicles sold while Toyota was at 8.42-million and GM was at 8.39-million. They’re currently aiming to be moving 10-million vehicles a year by 2018 and CEO Martin Winterkorn anticipates it’ll even happen before then.

Their plan will be to target the global market obviously, having already secured the European market. Their new plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee currently has the capacity to produce 150,000 vehicles a year, but VW is working on expanding it to 500,000, the majority of which will remain within the US market.

Even though VW has taken over European automotive sales with 2.9 vehicles sold in 2010, they still look to increase their market share with their new Up! model. But key to VW becoming the global leader in sales will be how they perform in other markets including Brazil, Russia, India and most importantly, China.

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Chris-Craft Builds An Infiniti V8 Powered Mahogany Speedboat

 
Infiniti‘s brawny 5.6 liter V8 proves to not only motivate land yachts but actual maritime yachts as well. Students at the Tennessee Technical Center-Nashville and Nashville State Community College have removed the titanic power plant from a donor Infiniti QX56 to ready it for maritime duty in an iconic 1962 Chris-Craft “Holiday” mahogany speedboat.

The 400-hp engine has been sent to Westbrook, Maine, where the engine bell housing was modified to be compatible with a ZF/Hurth marine transmission. Next, a shop in Alabama puts the Infiniti engine through a program called “marination, ” involving custom water-cooled exhaust manifolds and the adaptation of a closed cooling system. Then, the big V8 will be taken back to the Infiniti engine facility in Decherd, Tennessee so it could get tested on a dynamometer to assure that its performance numbers are still up to factory specifications. Finally, the engine will await for its final installation into the Chris-Craft’s hull.

In the past, Chris-Craft boats adopted engines including a 431-cubic inch Lincoln marine engine and a pair of 440-cubic inch Chrysler Hemi marine V8s. However, George “Dodo” Brockman, owner of Freeport Boat Outlet, and the director of the Infiniti boat project says, “The use of the powerful Infiniti QX56 V8 is fitting with the history of the particular craft. The Infiniti V8 is actually lighter than all of the previous powerplants and won’t require any special bracing or hull modifications to fit into the original engine bay.”

In line with it’s handcrafted heritage, the 1962 Chris-Craft “Holiday” is currently lying upside down in Freeport Maine ready to undergo a painstaking restoration process involving more than 600 board feet of high grade sustainably harvest mahogany to cover the framework, hull, transom, and deck. 15 coats of special marine varnish will be applied to the craft over a period of a month.

Brockman continued, “Before the future Infiniti lake cruiser can return to the water, we’ve had to tear it down to virtually nothing and start building it back up with fresh wood… Ultimately, it looks like we’ll have to replace nearly 85 percent of the original wood, one piece at a time, due to age and rot.” Brockman adds, “When the 20-foot Chris-Craft Holiday model was introduced in 1962, it was said to be one of the best performing Chris-Craft hulls ever produced. It cornered well, was easy to come on plane and was often used in nationally sanctioned water skiing events for just those reasons. We can’t wait to see how this classic design performs with the new engine.”

When the mahogany speedboat is complete, a custom boat trailer to match a 2012 Infiniti QX56 will also be built.

GALLERY: Infiniti Chris Craft

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Rent A Lamborghini Aventador For $30,000 A Week

Whether you’re on the 18-month waiting list and you’re just too impatient to wait or you don’t have the cash to buy one outright, you have the option to drive the Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 for a day or a week. But be warned… it will still cost you big bucks.

If you live in Los Angeles, you’ll want to look up Black & White Car Rental. This car rental firm have just got in a white Aventador, accented with black wheels, and it’s available to be rented for a day, which will set you back $5,500, or for a week for $30,000. Sure, it’s a huge chunk of change, but when the price tag to own the Aventador is $373,000 (and upwards), it seems like a bargain.

If the Aventador is a little out of your price range to rent, Black & White has a few more affordable options available. You can rent a Porsche Boxster from $195 per day or the Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible from $254 per day.

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Mitsubishi to Launch Eight Electric Vehicles by 2016, Including a Light Truck

Mitsubishi has achieved decent amounts of success with the i-MiEV electric car in its home land, and also in Europe, where this model is also sold badged as a Peugeot iOn.

Next month, the i-MiEV will be going on sale in America (called simply the “i” in our market), which will no doubt increase sales numbers of this innovative commuter car.

Not ones to rest on their laurels, Mitsubishi has announced an ambitious plan to electrify themselves, by producing eight electric-vehicles by 2016.  These will include plug-in hybrids and full electric vehicles.

Part of this new plan is to produce small SUV’s and light trucks which will attract farmers, contractors, and others who use light trucks as part of their work.

Mitsubishi is well under way with this new project, and expects to put its electric truck on sale globally by April 2013. It’s not clear if the light truck will be part of Mitsubishi’s North American line-up, but its other electric vehicles will be available here.

Mitsubishi hopes to sell 42,000 electric vehicles in 2012, double the number it moved this fiscal year. The American market is a crucial part of Mitsubishi’s goals. The “i” car as mentioned before will go on sale soon with a starting price of $29,125, minus the Government rebates.

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New Honda NSX to Debut at North American International Auto Show in Detroit

Honda is bringing its famous NSX sports car back to life, only this time it will be packaged as a 400bhp hybrid model and will be sporting a unique powertrain system.

The NSX will be driven by a 3.5L V6 gasoline engine which will be strictly devoted to driving the front axle of the vehicle. The rear wheels will be powered by two in wheel electric motors that operate independently of each other. This independent electric motor setup makes the car capable of delivering different power levels to the inside and outside wheels while cornering and maneuvering to add responsiveness and tighter handling.

Honda debuted this electric SH-AWD setup in late November but never announced officially when the system would see production or in what vehicle it would make its debut. The original SH-AWD system was paired with a new dual clutch seven speed automatic transmission which may or may not find its way into the NSX.

Representatives at Honda say that the primary focus of the system is to reduce fuel economy while keeping power and handling intact.

In terms of looks, we have already seen spy photos from the set of the new Avengers movie(Pictured Above), so we can only assume the finished product will be heavily influenced by that early model. The NSX will bow at the Detroit auto show badged as an Acura, but will be re-branded as a Honda when it hits the streets in the UK.

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2012 Toyota Camry “Recommended” by Consumer Reports

Despite having faced criticism by hard hitting publications in recent years, Toyota appears to have redeemed itself somewhat with Consumer Reports, at least as far as the 2012 Camry is concerned.

The latest version of Toyota’s best selling mid-size car, which went on sale back in October, was evaluated byCR for it’s February 2012 issue where it drew favorable comments.

Among them was,”the [2012] Camry has a nicer interior, more responsive handling, and better fuel economy than before,” while in another paragraph the magazine remarked that in terms of fuel mileage, “the [Camry] four-cylinder model’s 27 mpg overall ties with the Hyundai Sonata for the best fuel economy among conventional gasoline-powered family sedans.”

The news is no doubt welcomed by Toyota, for since 2007, Consumer Reports has been keeping a scrutinous eye on the automaker’s products following issues it discovered on the Toyota Tundra full-size pickup, the previous generation V6 powered Camry and Lexus GS luxury sedan.

Given that other media reviews of the 2012 Camry so far have tended to be favorable, along with modern America’s attraction to boring cars, there’s every indication that the latest model will help the nameplate retain its position as the best-selling car in the US.

Given that Toyota’s highly publicized recalls and more recent supplier problems caused by natural disasters in Asia  seem to have been largely rectified, it looks like 2012 could shape up to be a much better year for the Japanese automaker than the last three have been.

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2013 Shelby GT500 Convertible to Bow in Detroit?

Given that a coupe version of the 650 horsepower supercharged, 200 mph capable monster was revealed at the 2011 LA Auto Show, plus the fact that archrival Chevrolet chose that venue to introduce a convertible version of it’s 580 hp Camaro ZL1, there’s every indication that a drop top version of the Shelby could make it’s debut at NAIAS 2012 in Detroit next month.

If that proves to be the case, then it will be interesting to see what specifications it will sport. One thing’s for certain, it’ll weigh slightly more than the coupe and likely have it’s top speed limited, possibly to around 180 mph, since going that fast in a four-seat production convertible, especially a Mustang convertible is a rather unnerving proposition to begin with. Stay tuned for more details.

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