Chilton Automotive Repair Manual General Motors Apvs And Minivans 1990 Thru 1999 on 2040-parts.com

Karmann files for insolvency

Karmann, the century-old German coachbuilder synonymous with cabrios and the famous 1950s Karmann Ghia, has filed for insolvency. The company made the move Wednesday in Germany in response to a dramatic decline in revenue, an inability to pay for its massive layoff plan and the worldwide economic crisis. The North American operations, which make convertible tops for Detroit car companies and Volkswagen, are not affected, a spokesman said.

Lamborghini launches accessories Web site

Lamborghini has launched a Web site to sell official merchandise, the automaker said Monday. The Web site, www.lamborghinistore.com, will sell clothing, gifts, model vehicles and more. The site also includes personalization options and the ability to order without registering online.

Car makers to be forced to disclaim ‘Official’ economy figures

We’ve banged on for a long time about the futility of official economy figures, especially as car makers get better and better at ‘gaming’ the official economy tests to produce the results they want. Much of the impetus to create the best headline economy figure for a car is driven by taxation, with car makers well aware that the better the official economy results are, the lower their CO2 will be (CO2 isn’t tested for – it’s just extrapolated from the official mpg) and the more appealing the car will be to buyers, particularly fleet buyers. But a ruling by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) against Audi could at least see car makers having to admit in their adverts that the ‘official’ economy figure bears no relation to what owners can expect to achieve in the real world.