Hyundai & Kia responsible for big positive impact on European economy

A report by economics consultants London Economics reveals the big positive impact Hyundai and Kia are having on the European economy. We already know that both Hyundai and Kia are looking at 2013 more as an exercise in building their ’Brand’, rather than simply selling more and more credible cars. ‘Brand’ is often as much about perceptions as anything else, so if you can address any possible negatives for your brand, as well as producing cracking products, you’re on to a winner.

New 2011 / 2012 Ferrari 612 is 4×4 Shooting Brake

The 2011 / 2012 Ferrari 612 will be a 4x4 Shooting Brake (render by Vandenbrink design) Last month we had an email in from Argentina pointing us towards spy shots published by Autoblog Argentina which seemed to be of an all wheel drive Ferrari 612. Which tied in very well with the story we ran over a year ago when we reported that a 4×4 platform for the next Ferrari 612 was a certainty, just six months after we reported Ferrari were working on four wheel drive hybrid propulsion system. But the Ferrari 4×4 setup is very different to the permanent all wheel drive system used by Lamborghini.

Vauxhall Astra VXR Extreme (2014) first official pictures

By Ollie Kew First Official Pictures 30 January 2014 12:50 Meet the Vauxhall Astra VXR Extreme – the most hard-core hot hatch ever to wear the Astra badge. Inspired by the Astra Cup racing car, it’s essentially an Astra with ‘Speciale’ or ‘GT3’ treatment applied to it, in the vein of Ferrari and Porsche’s fire-breathing specials. Expect less weight, less refinement – and a lot more on-track performance.