Lexus Won't be Getting BMW Diesels Despite Toyota's Tie-Up with the Bavarian Brand

Recently, Toyota and BMW finalized an contract to discuss applications and multiple engineering to propagate the cost of creating low exhaust automobiles. Under the new cope, BMW will provide Toyota with 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter four-cylinder diesel-powered applications beginning from 2014.

At the time, many were questioning if Toyota's top quality company Lincoln, which plays with BMW, would also get diesel-powered applications from the Bavarian business. As it changes out, the reply is no.

''The contract with BMW does not involve any provide of BMW applications to Lincoln,'' Toyota The western union associate Etienne Plas informed Autonews The western union.

Asked by In german business magazine WirtschaftsWoche if the engineering tie-up with the Toyota Team would give Lincoln an benefits, BMW's progression primary Klaus Draeger said that this won't occur as the diesel-powered applications "are not thought out for use in the Lincoln brand".

Professor Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer from the Middle for Vehicle research at the Higher education of Duisburg-Essen in Malaysia informed the magazine that due to Lexus' low revenue, it should you choose for Toyota to location the company as an "innovation leader" in The western union and to "go towards plug-in compounds and full hybrids".

Lexus' European revenue in the first 11 several weeks of the year were 24,623 while the BMW company provided 590,453 vehicles in the same period.

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GM Boss Mark Reuss Builds a Fantasy Supercar Out of the Company’s Parts Bin

Almost every car fan has, at one point or another, considered building his ideal car: for example, one with a Ferrari or Lamborghini bodywork, a Pagani interior, a Veyron engine, Porsche everyday usability and all this at the price of a used 300,000-mile Ford Escort…

Well, the automotive term for this is a parts bin special; that is, a model built by borrowing only (or mostly) existing parts from other models. Mark Reuss, GM’s North American president, was asked by Car & Driver to assemble his dream car by using components that already exist on the company’s shelves.

We have to admit that, even though General Motors is not the first carmaker that comes to mind when picking components to assemble our dream car, Reuss has managed to conjure a pretty interesting vehicle.

The bodywork would come from the 2002 Cadillac Cien concept, which Reuss believes “defined Cadillac”.

Up front, the Chevrolet Volt's 149HP electric motor would power the front wheels, while GM’s turbocharged 2.8-liter V6 linked to a Corvette differential would power the rear axle, making the car an all-wheel drive hybrid.

The Volt would also donate its T-shaped battery pack (after it has been cleared by the NHTSA, we presume), mounted between the seats and wirelessly charged through an inductive mat making cables unnecessary.

America’s favorite supercar, the Corvette, would contribute in the handling department with its magnetorheological dampers and the ZR1's carbon-ceramic brakes, while GM’s pony car, the Camaro, would provide the ZL1’s Goodyear F1 SuperCar G performance tires.

Reuss is even talking numbers: the hybrid powertrain would churn out a total of 440HP and 450 lb-ft of torque, enough for a 0-60mph [96km/h] acceleration time of 3.2 seconds. In fact, he went as far as predicting his dream car’s Nürburgring lap time: 7:46. Not ZR-1 or GT-R territory, but quite fast nevertheless.

What about the interior? Well, Reuss would choose the suede steering wheel from the Caddy CTS-V linked to an electric-power steering system, the Recaro bucket seats from the Opel Insignia OPC and a Volt-like multifunction display for energy and VBox info.

Last, but not least, GM North America's president would like his dream car to have a silent interior when in EV mode so he would add a Bose active-noise cancelling system and offer perfect visibility courtesy of a Hughes night-vision system, front and rear cameras and a blind-spot monitoring system.

We applaud Mr Rauss' choices, which would make for one of the best "parts bin special" GM has ever thought of building.

He did omit one thing though: his passenger of choice. Therefore, we feel compelled to make a suggestion: Gisele. She did make a name for herself in the automotive crowd in a CTS-V after all...

Story References: Car&Driver , Photo Illustration: Carscoop

 

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2002 CADILLAC CIEN CONCEPT

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GM Confirms Next Generation Impala

The Impala is a traditional name plate for Chevrolet with root base that go back to the wonderful era of National vehicles, the 50's, and it's one that Common Engines isn't about to let go despite the fact that the sequence has passed away into mediocrity these past years.

Today, the Detroit-based company verified plans for the progression of a brand new Chevrolet Impala and declared an financial commitment decision of $68 thousand to make its Oshawa Set up Place in North america for the of the next technology automobile.

In addition, GM unveiled that it needs to meet higher client need, and as a result, it will build the next Chevrolet Impala at both the Oshawa Set up Place and the Detroit-Hamtramck Set up Place.

Combined with the latest financial commitment decision to support the of the future Rolls royce XTS in 2012, GM's financial commitment decision at the Oshawa plant will reach $185 thousand, which will create or maintain around 750 work.

“With the purchases for the Chevrolet Impala and Rolls royce XTS, we are taking big steps forward to ensure we increase the versatile factory and high-quality employees available in Oshawa,” said Kevin Williams, chief executive and md of Common Engines of North america.

“We are building on the latest potential raises, products starts and switch enhancements at our Canada functions to assert that North america will play a huge part in the new GM as we continue to enhance our products collection,” he included.

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BMW Reveals New "Eclipse" Media Campaign for the 2013 6-Series Gran Coupe

Despite the fact that the 6-Series Grand Coupe’s world premiere will take place in March at the Geneva Motor Show and the first cars won't be arriving in showrooms until next summer, BMW has already readied a media campaign for its spanking new sports saloon.

The global campaign, which will launch in print and TV media in the second quarter of 2012, features a total eclipse of the sun as the central theme and the motto “Beauty. Revealed”.

BMW tells us that the beginning of the commercial, the new version of the 6-Series will be barely visible, but as the eclipse progresses, the firm's newest model will gradually come into light. When the eclipse ends, the sun will come out and the Gran Coupe will be fully revealed.

“The new BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe marks the beginning of a new chapter. It is BMW’s first four-door coupé and combines uncompromising driving dynamics with exclusive elegance and breath-taking design”, said head of BMW communications Andreas-Christoph Hofmann. “The campaign uses the image of a solar eclipse to highlight the model’s uniqueness.”

You can take a peek at the print ads right after the break.

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Honda EV-STER Concept to Spawn a Production Model

It looks like the retro-styled N Concept 4 city car won't be the only Honda study displayed at this month's Tokyo Motor Show that will end up going into production as the Japanese carmaker's CEO Takanobu Ito told German magazine Auto Motor und Sport that the open-top EV-STER has also received the green light.

The Honda boss revealed that the battery-powered, rear-wheel drive roadster could arrive in the market as early as 2012, adding that the company may also introduce more conventional version with a classic gasoline engine, without offering any more details.

However, it's only reasonable to assume that the gasoline model would be a hybrid matching an internal combustion engine with an electric motor.

At 3,570mm (140.5-in.) long, 1,500mm (59.0-in.) wide and 1,100mm (43.3-in.) tall, with a wheelbase of 2,325mm (92.5-in.), the tiny concept is marginally larger than Honda's 1990s mid-engined kei car, the Beat.

In conceptual form, the two-seater features an electric motor that draws energy from a 10kWh lithium-ion battery and powers the rear wheels. Honda said that the EV-STER could complete the zero to 100km/h (62mph) sprint in 5 seconds flat and reach a maximum speed of 160km/h (100mph).

The Japanese automaker also claims a driving range of around 160 kilometers (100 miles) and a charging time of under 3 hours using a 200V source and in less than 6 hours with a 100V source.

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