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Japan In May 2010: Still Crazy After All This Growth

May 31, 2010

Japanese car buyers are still auto otaku. In May, new car sales in Japan rose for the tenth straight month. Total sales of registered vehicles are up 28 percent to 228,514 units, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association told The Nikkei [sub].
Not only are the sales growing, the cars are getting bigger too. Of the 207,272 [...]

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AvtoVAZ’s Russia sales up 60% in May

May 31, 2010

May new-car sales at AvtoVAZ, Russia’s largest carmaker, increased 60 percent year-on-year. Sales rose to 46,000 units in the Russian market alone, according to Komarov.

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German advisers are against aid for Opel, reports say

May 31, 2010

Germany is likely to make a final decision on whether to grant state aid to General Motors Co.’s Opel/Vauxhall unit at the end of this week or the start of next week, German Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle said.

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German advisers are against aid for Opel, report says

May 31, 2010

Germany is likely to make a final decision on whether to grant state aid to General Motors Co.’s Opel/Vauxhall unit at the end of this week or the start of next week, German Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle said.

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A cry for help in consumer leasing

May 31, 2010

For an industry that hangs on being able to analyze numbers and trends, the auto business is overlooking one big area of competitive data: consumer vehicle leasing.

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Jaguars. Soon Made in China

May 31, 2010

Over the next few years, life in the UK is going to be pretty – austere. The Centre-Right government has been in power barely a month, and already they’ve slashed the budget by £6.2 billion. That was just the scalpel, wait till the axe comes. So, with a possible second recession in the offing, it’s [...]

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Angelelli and Taylor win combined Grand-Am race at Lime Rock:

May 31, 2010

Sports-car stalwart Max Angelelli helped Ricky Taylor score his first Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototype win on Monday in the Memorial Day Classic at Lime Rock Park.

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Spy Shots: New BMW 5 Series M-Sport package out and about

May 31, 2010

Filed under: Spy Photos, Sedan, Performance, Paris Motor Show, BMW

2011 BMW 5 Series M-Sport - Click above for high-res image gallery

For those BMW fans who appreciate the more aggressive looks of the automaker’s M division models but either don’t have the budget or don’t need their full performance capabilities, Bimmer also offers M-Sport packages that take you part way there. With the new 5 Series now making its way to dealers and customers in Europe and North America, the corresponding M-Sport pack can’t be far behind.
As with previous iterations, this prototype suggests that the new model will receive a deeper front air-dam with larger intakes, side sill extensions and a re-contoured back bumper to accommodate the larger the tailpipes. We don’t have any interior shots but M-Sport packages typically including some trim upgrades like aluminum or carbon-fiber, along with more aggressive sport seats and potentially a different steering wheel.
Mechanical [...]

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Indy 500 drivers and teams receive big checks at victory banquet :

May 31, 2010

Dario Franchitti and Simona De Silvestro were the big winners in Monday nightand#8217;s Indianapolis 500 victory banquet at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

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European NUMMI-Style Divorce?

May 31, 2010

A year ago I reported how Renault was using French Government money in exchange for keeping jobs in France. Then Renault landed themselves in trouble when Renault wanted to transfer production of the Clio to Turkey and the French Government made their feelings quite clear. Then they started slagging other low cost countries off. Now [...]

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