Suzuki Pulling Out of the American Car Market, will Focus on Motorcycles and Marine Divisions

We knew that Suzuki's automotive division was having problems in the United States, but we never imagined that the Japanese carmaker would go as far as to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and completely exit the automobile market in the country (this decision does not affect its global automotive operations).

American Suzuki Motor Corporation (ASMC), which is the exclusive distributor in the continental United States of Suzuki Motor Corporation automobiles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles and marine outboard engines, made the announcement on Monday night, citing several reasons:

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Fisker Wraps Investigation of Karma Fires at New Jersey Port, Blames One Car's Vehicle Control Unit

Last week, Sandy's furious tempest resulted in 16 brand-new Fisker Karma sedans and three Toyota Prius hybrids going up in flames at a shipping facility in New Jersey after being submerged in seawater for many hours.

While we have yet to hear from Toyota, Fisker's engineers finished investigating the incident and have just released their findings through a press statement.

According to the manufacturer, the culprit turned out to be a low voltage Vehicle Control Unit in one Karma, which after being under salt water for several hours, short-circuited and caused a fire that then spread to the other 15 extended-range plug-in hybrid models parked nearby due to the strong winds blowing at the time.

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BMW 116d EfficientDynamics Records 103MPG UK – 2.7lt/100km in RAC Challenge

A latest generation BMW 116d EfficientDynamics hatch driven by the team at Green-Car-Guide at the RAC Future Car Challenge 2012 achieved an average fuel economy of 103 mpg UK (equal to 85.8 mpg US and 2.7lt/100km) over the 64-mile Brighton to London route, recording a 39 per cent improvement over the manufacturer's official 74.3mpg UK combined economy figure. Read more »

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Market Researcher Says Bogus Hyundai and Kia MPG Claims will Harm Brands' Value, Shares Tumble

We already know that it's going to cost Hyundai and Kia a lot of money to compensate some 900,000 vehicle owners in the States (as much as $362 million, according to Nam Kyeong Moon, an analyst at KTB Investment & Securities Co.) after the Environmental Protection Agency discovered that the two carmakers posted inflated gas-mileage ratings.

However, the penalty in brand value may be even higher for the Korean car brands, according to market researcher Interbrand Corp.

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Toyota Begins Production of All-New 2013 Auris at Burnaston Plant

Toyota hosted a special ceremony today at its Burnaston factory, just south of the city of Derby in Britain, to mark the start of series production of the second generation of the Auris hatchback and welcome future production of the Auris Touring Sports model, which will join its European ranks from next year. Read more »

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Renault and Caterham Officially Join Forces to Resurrect Alpine Brand

It's no secret that Renault was looking for a partner to revive its Alpine sports car brand and now the French carmaker says it has found it in the Caterham Group.

The two companies made the wedding official today during a press conference in Paris where they announced the formation of a new 50-50 joint venture to develop both Alpine and Caterham-branded sports cars on common underpinnings and built at Renault's plant in Dieppe in northern France.

The Caterham Group will own a 50% stake in the Automobiles Alpine Renault company, which is currently owned 100 percent by Renault SAS. The Société des Automobiles Alpine Caterham (SAAC) venture will be created in January 2013 and will be headed by Bernard Ollivier, who became vice president of Renault in 2011.

Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO of Renault commented: "This innovative partnership with Caterham embodies a longstanding ambition: the creation of a sports car with the Alpine DNA. It carries both opportunities for the Dieppe plant and the development of its historic expertise."

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