Automotive Update

Bavarian tuning firm Vath got their hands on the Mercedes CLS63 AMG and upgrades its chassis, exterior, and engine. Packages start at $1,000.

The highlight of the effort is on the V63RS kit which tunes the ECU of the 5.5L V8 engine and its Vmax chips resulting to an output of 649 horsepower and a monstrous torque of 708 pound feet. The team from Vath shared that the improved engine can get the CLS63 AMG running from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.9 seconds. The top speed was improved to 202 mph.

The Vath V63RS kit has a tag price of $17,700 which also includes an exhaust system fabricated from stainless steel and a cooling system using charge-air.

Owners can also get the upgrades separately. The most basic of these upgrades is the suspension kit which lowers the ride by as much as 1.6 inches. Another option is to get a set of forged ally wheels hugged by 265/30ZR20 wheels in front and 305/25ZR20 for the rear.

To improve the aerodynamics of the car, you can get a deck-lid spoiler, front airdam, rear diffuser, and under-floor extension.

The interior upgrades involve a sport steering wheel in leather, wood, or carbon, accents made of carbon-fiber, and tachometer which has extended range.

Japanese car maker Subaru has recently released a teaser image of a brand new model that will debut at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. This new crossover model is called the Subaru XV which took after the XV Concept design that was shown earlier this year at the 2011 Shanghai Motor Show.

According to the official statement that was issued by the Japanese car maker, the new model, Subaru XV will be the image of the new generation of the brand’s crossover product line. The statement also traced the model’s origin back to the concept car that was shown last April at the Shanghai Motor Show, where the concept was warmly received globally because of its trendy and distinct look. The concept car that was shown was recognized because of its urban-friendly but commanding and elegant look.

The brand new Subaru XV model is a five-seater crossover unit that comes with a 2.0-liter V4 Horizontally-Opposed DOHC engine. The power plant is attached to a Lineartronic CVT gearbox. No official word on the power train’s specifications, power output figures and performance yet. The same thing can be said with interiors and exterior details so we have to wait for the official technical details of its production.

The Subaru XV will make its debut appearance at the Frankfurt Motor Show this year so keep your eyes and your ears tuned for more details about this Subaru newbie that will redefine the crossover product line of the Japanese car brand.

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Ford gives its go signal for the production of the RS high performance version of the Ford Focus. This was according to a recent interview of Herman Gunnar, top executive for C segment models for German vehicle line.

The previous Ford Focus RS has an output of 305 horsepower on a front wheel drive. The car pretty much fits into the World Rally Championship thanks to its excellent handling attributed to the RevoKnuckle suspension setup.

The team developing the Ford RS will most likely stick with the front wheel drive configuration for the new version according to Hermann. He also denied earlier speculations that the Ford RS will be made into a hybrid vehicle that will use electric motors for the rear wheels.

Ford will also stick with the two wheel drive setup for the new Ford RS which worked well for its older sibling.

The Ford executive also added that the the new RS will be more powerful than the previous release and that power will be sustainable. He pointed to the RS500 limited edition for the UK that has 350 horsepower and the more potent ones even reaching 380 horsepower.

The vehicle is expected to roll out the Ford factories by 2014. It will retain the current RevoKnuckle suspension system and will make use of the 2.0L 4-cylinder Ford EcoBoost powerplant.

The recently revealed prototype of Ferrari’s first ever hybrid supercar is sure proof that the model will soon roll out in showrooms. Maranello, the home of Ferrari S.p.A. in Italy first talked about the hybrid supercar in the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. This was when the Italian carmaker first unveiled its Hybrid Concept which stemmed off from the base 599 model. Ferrari is aiming to fine tune its hybrid technology so it could bring down their CO2 emission from 310g/km in 2011 to about 240g/km by 2018.

The Ferrari’s two-seater hybrid supercar was spotted on a driving test site in Germany. The car has a red-and-white pre-reg Germnan plates, which sort of revealed its secret identity to the spy photographers who were on the scout for the Prova ID plates that other Ferrari prototypes carry. While Ferrari is adamant about confirming any rumors, the alleged prototype also carries an “S” on its plate, which suggests a Stuttgart registration where Bosch is located. Bosch is the high-end automotive technology works with Ferarri in the software and engineering aspects of the hybrid supercar.

The 599 Hybrid Concept car that was presented last year had an additional 100kg to its curb weight due to the electric equipment. However, the Italian brand has no doubt that the 599’s performance remains at 0-100mph in 10.4 seconds. A wickedly fast Traction Control System” is also in the works. With this on board, it helps reverse the torque of the electric motor. An “Electric Torque Shaping” system is also in production.

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Brabus is known to be luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz’s tuning company and has enjoyed a great deal of renowned works. Today, it has added another badge to its belt with the ECO PowerXtra D6S, a performance kit that is made specifically for the Mercedes-Benz S350 BlueTec model. With this, the tuning company has claimed that it has tuned the very first diesel automobile that successfully meets the emission requirements of the new Euro 6 regulations. These regulations are expected to go in effect by year 2014.

The ECO PowerXtra D6S is compatible with the 4MATIC all-wheels drive and rear-end drive models. The performance kit adds 55 horsepower and 52 lb-ft. of torque to your machinery. It powers the Mercedes-Benz S350 BlueTec with up to 313 horsepower and an amazing 509 lb-ft of torque.

The ECO PowerXtra D6Shas been designed to work with no fuss. The installation of the performance kit is expected to work easily like a plug-and-play hardware system while it adds power to the 3.0-liter V6 diesel engine through the 7G-Tronic Plus automatic gearbox. When you’re in “Eco Mode”, the torque is raised but the engine still has 258 horsepower. But when you’re in “Sport Mode” or “Manual Mode”, the engine’s maximum power level is raised. Therefore, the S350 model covers 62mph in 6.5 seconds and has a maximum speed of 155 mph.

The ECO PowerXtra D6S can also be attached to both Mercedes-Benz’s lines of E350 CDI BlueEfficiency and the CLS 350 CDI BlueEfficiency with the same results.

Sports car manufacturer Porseh may take of the covers of a diesel and a hybrid version of the Panamera during the Geneva auto show. Porsche is also thinking of selling Panamera sedan and Cayenne SUV running on diesel in the United States which is their largest single market. The carmaker is also planning to unveil gas-electric hybrid and diesel variants of the Porshe Panamera during the upcoming motor show in Geneva.

The planned release of the new variants is a step to help Porsche answer the demand for fuel-efficient vehicles that is growing even in the luxury vehicle segment.

According to insiders, the executives of Porsche are still discussing the possibilities of bringing in the diesel version of the Cayenne and Panamera to the U.S. Maket this 2011.

Diesel Porsche Panameras have been rolling on the streets of Europe since 2009. The US and European markets have been seeing the hybrid Cayenne that depends on gasoline and electric motors.

Sources say that the hybrid Panamera may be introduced to the European consumers by summer.

The deliveries of Porsche jumped by 27% to about 97,000 unites while the order intakes grew by 49%. Porsche is enjoying a good start for 2011 and foresees rolling out more than one hundred thousand units this year. Asia is the biggest growth region among the 113 markets of Porsche across the globe.

On a wider scale, experts predict that the market for passnger cars will be improving by as much as 8% to around 65 million vehicles this year with China possibly leading the way holding 20% of the market pie.

The new Saab 9-4Xs is a wonderful crossover car that will be just the wonderful addition to your garage this festive season. It has all the wonderful components in it with the best of engines and the best and unique in styling and suspension.

The recent news states that there are going to be about 75% of these Saab 9-4Xs that are going to be produced and head towards the US. This is the new car that has been developed by General Motors and works out to be the perfect crossover.

According to Jan Jonsson, the CEO of Saab Automobiles the Saab 9-4X will be produced at a conservative figure of about 12,500 units per year. That is when the manufacturing unit reaches its optimum level. At the moment the car manufacturer expects to manufacture about 9,400 vehicles of this range and most of them will be headed to the US.

The Saab 9-4Xs is quite similar to the Cadillac SRX as it has several features that are similar to it. These are the use of the engines, front wheel drive, all of the components and the kind of all wheel drive that is available.

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This was long overdue but now the US has decided to review the records of these car rental agencies after ages. All these years, there was hardly a chance when these car rental agencies had to showcase the kind of maintenance that they provided for their fleet of cars. But, now the US regulators have decided to put them through a really hard and stringent test. This will be done for almost three million vehicles and this will certify them to be in ship shape.

The first to go under the spanner according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are General Motors, Chrysler and Ford. This movement although long overdue has come about because of the fatal accidents that have occurred in the last few months and most of them had one thing in common and that was the rental car. There have been several cars that have been asked to be recalled as they have been termed as dangerous.

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The closing of Chrysler’s engine plant in Kenosha this October will leave at least 575 autoworkers jobless.  Chrysler Group LLC is the third US-based automobile manufacturer.  Despite having other engine plans in Mexico and Michigan, the announcement of the closure of its Kenosha plant shocked its employees.  The announcement was made just a week after Chrysler announced that it will keep the Detroit assembly plant permanently active.

The workers are worried of losing their jobs.  At present, the International Association of Machinists and the United Auto Workers are handling the representation of the Kenosha workers.  According to sources, several of the workers who belong in the UAW have a legitimate right to be promised of a job in other Chrysler plants that are represented by the union.

The Kenosha plant’s union leaders are optimistic that the UAW will do everything to turn around Chrysler’s decision.  Some of the workers are outraged knowing the car company plans to close the Kenosha plant while a new plant in Mexico will be opened soon and will be producing the Chrysler engines that were supposed to be manufactured in Kenosha.

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The 2010 Ford Mondeo range is offered with the addition of new engines. There will be the turbocharged 2.0L Ecoboost gasoline engine and the reworked 2.0K TDCi diesel powerplant. The carmaker is also introducing with the Mondeo a Powershift transmission with 6-speed dual-clutch.

The 2.0L Ecoboost gives out 203 horsepower and a good 300 Nm torque which permits the Mondeo to rush from 0 to 62 miles per hour in 7.9 seconds with top speed hitting 144 mph or about 231 km/h. The estate achieves 0 to 62 mph in 8.2 seconds and its top speed pegged at 141 mph for the 4- and 5-door versions.

The 2.0L engine is released with the Powershift gearbox as standard. The Ecoboost model has a starting sticker price of £22,095.

Improvements were also done for the diesel 2.0L TDCi engine. The diesel option comes in three offerings: 115 HP, 140 HP, and 163 HP. The TDCi models come standard with 6-speed manual transmission while the 140HP and the 163 HP variants has an option to get the dual clutch gearbox.

The diesel variants of the Ford Mondeo kick off at £18,995 if you want to get the 115 HP. The 140HP goes for £19,245 while the top of the line 163 HP Mondeo sells for £19,895.