De Tomaso Mangusta Legacy Design Study Inspired by the 1965 Original

The revival of the De Tomaso brand at this year's Geneva Salon with the Deauville showcar inspired design graduate and digital artist Maxime de Keiser to craft a modern interpretation of the original Mangusta from the late 1960s (De Tomaso had revived the name with the production version of the Bigua concept in the early 2000s). Introduced in 1967, the first Mangusta was designed by the famed Giorgetto Giugiaro, who at the time worked for Turin-based coachbuilder Ghia, and was offered with a choice of Ford-sourced V8 engines. It was replaced by the cheaper to produce Pantera in 1971.
Keiser's design proposal blends several characteristic styling cues of the original Mangusta such as the low-placed headlamps with a more angular shaped body that features a pair of scissor doors.
“Like the original, it had to be spectacular and communicate an impression of wild ferocity and power while recalling the serenity of a feline at rest, and the elegance of the animal that doesn’t need to fear anything," says Keiser.
Story References: CarBodyDesign

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India's Mahindra & Mahindra Interested in Saa

The sad story of Saab is far from over as the court-appointed administrators who are overseeing the Swedish automaker's bankruptcy are now on the lookout for possible investors to either sell parts of the brand or the company as a whole. In today's news, Bloomberg reports that Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, a maker of SUVs and a flagship company of the Mahindra Group, which is a multinational conglomerate based in Mumbai, India, is in private talks with Saab's administrators.
The report says that according to two unnamed people who are familiar with the situation, Mahindra & Mahindra is interested in "buying at least parts" of the bankrupt Swedish automaker. The Indian automaker's spokesperson, Roma Balwani, declined to comment on the matter.
Aside from the Indian company, the same insiders said that there's also "at least one Turkish company" interested in investing in Saab. The move is believed to be part of the Turkish government's initiative to create a car brand of its own, and for that reason it is helping a local manufacturer to obtain at least some parts of Saab.

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Ford Brand's U.S. Sales Surpass 2 Million Mark for the First Time Since 2007

With less than two days left before 2011 comes to an end and gives its place to a another new year, Ford announced that sales of the Blue Oval brand in the United States this week topped the 2 million mark for the first time in four years making it the best-selling vehicle brand in America. The last time any automotive brand managed to hit the 2 million sales milestone in the States in a single year was in 2007 -and again, it was done by Ford.
“Ford’s lineup of high-quality, fuel-efficient cars, utilities and trucks continues to attract more and more new customers,” said Erich Merkle, Ford’s sales analysis manager.
“With gasoline prices tracking higher than last year, customers continue to move toward smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles, whether they are passenger cars or utilities," he added.
Up until the end of November, the Ford brand had sold 1,861,178 vehicles in America, representing a 17.7 percent increase over the same period last year.

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The Machines Are Coming: 2013 Ford Fusion to Debut New Lane Keeping System

While Ford is not yet ready to let the cat out of the bag on the brand-new 2013 Fusion (which will form the base for the Mondeo's replacement in Europe as well), the Detroit carmaker revealed today that the mid-size model would debut a new optional safety feature called Lane Keeping System or LKS. Like the lane departure warning systems used by other car manufactures, the LKS is designed to help drivers stay between the lines.
Ford's system makes use of a digital camera mounted on the windshield ahead of the rearview mirror. Once it detects that the vehicle is approaching the edge of the lane without a turn signal activated, a warning icon on the dash lights up and steering wheel vibrates to simulate driving over rumble strips.
The Blue Oval says that if the driver doesn’t respond and continues to wander out of the lane, the icon turns red and EPAS will nudge the steering and the vehicle back toward the center of the lane.
If that doesn't do the trick, then vibration is added again along with the nudge. Ford says that the driver can overcome assistance and vibration at any time simply by turning the steering wheel, accelerating or braking.
“Fusion’s Lane Keeping System combines a digital imaging sensor with our own state-of-the-art control software to process images and determine what level of warning or assistance to provide to the driver,” said Michael Kane, Ford development engineer. “We’ve put a lot of effort into ensuring the accuracy of the lane detection and the smoothness of the assist.”
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, about 100,000 police-reported crashes occur every year as a result of drowsy drivers, leading to 1,500 deaths, 71,000 injuries and $12.5 billion in monetary losses.
Aside from the new Fusion, Ford will gradually roll out the Lane Keeping System to a wide range of its vehicles over the next several years, including the new Explorer that will get the optional feature sometime next year.

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New Hybrid Variant of Accord Sedan Next Year

[JDM Honda Accord pictured above]

There's plenty of news coming out from the sidelines of the Tokyo Motor Show and a lot of them concern Honda's future plans. Along with the Acura-badged NSX hybrid concept that's heading to Detroit, we also learned that Honda is preparing a raft of hybrid powertrains for its mainstream models.
Speaking to Bloomberg News, Honda Motor President Takanobu Ito said that the company's plans include the introduction of a hybrid version of its Accord sedan next year. Ito didn’t elaborate on which markets would get the Accord hybrid nor did he reveal any information on the engine set up.
Aside from Ito's remarks, the company released initial details on its powertrain plans that include the presentation of a 2.0-liter hybrid powerplant and a brand new two-motor hybrid system.
"Mid-sized vehicles equipped with this system [the twin motor hybrid] are scheduled to begin production, starting with the plug-in hybrid model in 2012 and the hybrid model in 2013," Honda stated in a press release. The company added that the plug-in models would employ the use of a "special lithium-ion battery and charger".


 
Honda said that after the recent introduction of the new Freed series, its hybrid lineup in Japan now consists of six models, adding that percentage of hybrid vehicles among new vehicle registrations in Japan in the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2012 is expected to be approximately 50 percent.

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Christmas Art Cars

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

A Truck with Christmas Lights.

2 Santa's Cruising

3 Volvo's Glowing

4 NASCARS Racing

5 Snowy Hills

6 Jeeps a Glowing

7 Bugs-a-Crawling

8 Trucks-a-Hauling

9 Bikers Bicking

10 Cycles-a-Rolling

11 Leaping Reindeer's

12 Mercedes Wreaths

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