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Fewer than 100 cars in South Africa form part of the latest global recall issued by General Motors.
General Motors on Tuesday announced a recall of about 1.5 million vehicles for windshield washer fluid heaters that could catch fire.
From the extensive list of cars from model years 2007 to 2009, only the Cadillac CTS has been affected in South Africa.
“We confirm that the GM's global recall of various 2007-2009 model vehicles will impact upon 95 Cadillac CTS vehicles which were sold in South Africa over this period,” GMSA communications manager Denise van Huyssteen said.
“GM South Africa is in the process of contacting our customers to advise them to bring their vehicles in to disable a heated washer fluid system module that could pose a fire risk. There have been no reported incidents of this in South Africa.”
Jeff Boyer, GM director for safety told Reuters that the unit will be removed because the supplier who made the module has stopped manufacturing it, leaving no chance to design an improved unit.
The removal of the module will reportedly take a mechanic about 20 minutes.
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2011 Mercedes ML 63 AMG gets minor exterior lift
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Mercedes-Benz reveals the newly updated ML 63 AMG.
New on the model is an updated bonnet with power domes and darker bi-xenon headlamps for the front. At the back the taillamps have a clear-lens design, LED lights and are also darkened for greater contrast - especially with the ML 63 dressed in white, such as in the photos published here.
Unfortunately, the new ML 63 AMG will not be featuring the performance division's latest 5.5 liter twin-turbo V8. That new engine features two power output iterations of 400 kW / 800 Nm of torque and 420 kW / 900 Nm, respectively. The ML 63 still comes with the massive 6.3 liter V8 delivering "only" 375 kW and 630 Nm.
The updated ML 63 AMG is available as of July with prices in Germany.
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German government set to reject aid for Opel
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After more than a year of dithering, the German government is set to refuse a more than €1 billion state aid package for Opel.
According to Bloomberg sources, the government of chancellor Angela Merkel opposes granting Opel the loan guarantees it has requested. A steering committee that decides on aid packages, led by deputy economy minister Bernhard Heitzer, is set to meet in Berlin today and officially reject Opel's bid for state assistance. But, according to the report, the German government will look for alternative sources of funding for Opel, such as from the European Investment Bank.
The money was to come from a German fund set up during the credit crisis of 2008-2009 to help companies affected by the credit crunch. The German government is arguing that GM does not qualify for aid because its problems were due to product failures and not the financial crisis. It also believes that GM now has the cash it needs to restructure Opel.
But the rejection of aid may also be due to the current debt crisis that has hit European governments. The German government is looking to tighten the country's fiscal belt and last week announced an austerity package of €10 billion ($12.2 million) in spending cuts.
GM had been asking for €1.1 billion ($1.3 billion) in loans from both federal and regional governments.
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Ferrari 599 Roadster to launch in Pebble Beach
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Ferrari will be unveiling an open-top 599 model this summer.
In an interview with AutoCar magazine, Ferrari CEO Luca di Montezemolo described the model as a roadster and said that it will be sold as a limited series. According to di Montezemolo, the open-top 599 will come with its own name - something "emotional, romantic" like "Italia or Fiorano". He also said the model would not be put on display at a traditional motor show but will instead be made available for prospective buyers in private viewings at the automaker's headquarters in Maranello, Italy.
Ferrari likely is looking to keep a V12-powered open-top model in its range, to follow the previous 575 Superamerica. The current 599 GTB Fiorano comes with a 6.0 liter V12 with 456 kW and 607 Nm of torque. The 0 to 100km/h sprint clocks in at 3.7 seconds.
An open-top version will likely be substantially heavier and Ferrari may feel the need to bump up the horsepower as well as reduce weight to compensate for the gain. A convenient donor could come from the recently revealed 599 GTO with its 493 kW and 619 Nm of torque. The 0 to 100km/h sprint clocks in at 3.35 seconds and the model weighs 1495 kg compared to the GTB's 1690 kg.
The new open-top 599 will debut at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in August.
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Ferrari V6 engine still under consideration
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Ferrari chief Luca di Montezemolo is certainly talkative these days. Now, he's admitted to Autocar that Ferrari may develop a V6 powerplant to improve the automaker's emissions ratings.
"An engine smaller than a V8? Why not?" di Montezemolo told Autocar. Ferrari has built six-cylinder engines in the past but the Italian automaker's CEO vowed that a V6 would not compromise the brand's performance values. "Our cars are there to enjoy and we have to maintain this," he said. He didn't offer more details than that on any V6 development plans.
The Ferrari boss also said that the company may use turbocharging on its V8s to help improve emissions and fuel economy.
Ferrari engineers are also working on developing a V12 hybrid, as first previewed in the green Ferrari HY-KERS concept earlier this year, which is scheduled to be ready for market by 2014. The company's F1 team will likely also be contributing substantially to that V12 hybrid, through improvements to the F1-developed KERS (Kinetic Engery Recovery System) which generates electrical power from the brakes.
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BMW working on 3-Series long wheelbase
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Are long wheelbase variants turning into a big trend in China?
Well, at least for the segment in which the 3-Series competes there, BMW feels the need to offer a long-wheelbase variant to go up against the successful Audi A4L - the extended wheelbase version of the A4 model.
BMW will be building the stretched variant of the 3-Series at a new plant in the Shengyang economic zone with its Chinese partner Brilliance Auto. The plant, scheduled to be built in 2012, will have a capacity of 100,000 units and will also be used to manufacture the X1, according to Brilliance chairman Qi Yu Min.
The new plant will give BMW/Brilliance a capacity of 300,000 units per year with most of the parts sourced locally (60 percent). BMW/Brilliance hope to increase sales in China to 120,000 units annually by 2012, meaning that the additional capacity may well be used to export vehicles to markets outside of the country.
Brilliance is also said to want a production plant to build MINI models in China too.
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Mercedes SL65 AMG gets Black Series conversion
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If you've always wanted a Mercedes SL65 AMG Black Series with a folding roof, TC-Concepts has your car.
The company took a standard SL65 and added a Black Series body kit with a new grille, modified bumpers, and massive fender flares. For good measure, they also threw in 20-inch ADV1 'Deep Concave Series' wheels and a heavily revised interior.
Under the hood, TC-Concepts modified the twin-turbo 6.0-liter V12 engine to produce 515 kW which is 22 kW more than the Black Series. While no performance specifications were released, the Black Series accelerates from 0-100 km/h in 3.8 seconds and has a top speed of 320 km/h.
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BMW M3 widebody by GTHaus
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GTHaus may be looking to steal a little of G-Power's thunder.
This isn't a G-Power M3 GT2 S but GTHaus's own M3 creation. The German tuner hasn't released any specs on the model so details are scarce.
Presented at BimmerFest 2010, the model features 20-inch rims (11x20/13x20), a Brembo big brake kit, a KW coilover suspension, a massive rear wing and a widebody kit. The widebody panels include a front bumper with splitter, flared fenders, side skirts with triple winglets and, of course, those rear wheel arches that require their own postal code. Given GTHaus's sport exhaust credentials, one can safely assume a custom exhaust system is also part of the package.
A supercharger kit will be the thing responsible for the upgrade in wattage. How much? We will have to wait to find out.
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