Land Rover gets Government Grant to Build Range Rover LRX

The UK Government has offered a grant of up to £27 million ($37.4 million) to help the Jaguar-Land Rover Group develop the production version of the LRX small SUV first shown in Detroit last year. It should be noted that the grant is from a separate scheme to the £2.3bn support package that the UK government is currently negotiating with automakers. Land Rover, which is now owned by India's Tata Motors, said that the Government's grant is an important contribution towards the overall £400 million cost of the LRX project.

"We welcome the Government's support for this project, which would form a key part of our future product plans and which we very much want to put into production," said Phil Popham, Managing Director of Land Rover. The company is due to make a final decision on the go-ahead of the LRX project at its plant in Halewood, on Merseyside, later this year.

The British automaker also revealed that while the LRX concept was shown as a Land Rover, the production version will go on sale wearing a Range Rover badge. The new small SUV is expected to share many components with the Freelander including the SUV's four-wheel drive system.

GM Scraps new 4.5L V8 Diesel for Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra

Another one bites the dust; this time General Motors has decided to place on indefinite hold its previously announced plan to add the highly anticipated, all-new Duramax 4.5-liter V8 diesel engine in 2010 to its Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra light-duty trucks. "We remain optimistic that the Duramax 4.5L V-8 diesel may be a viable option in its future portfolio," said the company in a statement.

For the time being -and who knows for how long- Chevrolet and GMC will continue to offer a Duramax 6.6-liter V-8 diesel in their heavy duty pickup trucks. Recently, GM launched 2-Mode hybrid versions of the Silverado and Sierra that received an EPA estimate of 21mpg in the city and 22mpg on the highway (2WD versions). With the new 4.5-liter V8 diesel, it was estimated that the trucks would have achieved a fuel economy in the high 20s mpg.

Toyota UK Cuts Hours and Pay by 10%

The British arm of Toyota Motor Corp today announced that due to the sharp downfall in demand for new cars, it will temporarily reduce working hours and base pay by 10% at its UK factories. The cuts that will take effect from 1st April, 2009, will affect almost 4,500 employees at the firm's plants in Burnaston, Derby, and Deeside, Flintshire. "We believe the measures we have announced give us a greater opportunity to maintain employment through this difficult period," said Toyota in a statement.

Artists Impression of 2010 BMW 5-Series

Talented illustrator Jon Sibal has crafted yet another rendering, this time depicting the forthcoming 2010 BMW 5-Series sedan that is due to be revealed late next year. As well as using styling cues from the 5 Series-based Gran Turismo concept that was shown in Geneva, Jon Sibal also took into consideration a couple of supposedly leaked photos of the new 5er, including one of the car's front bumper.

Only time can tell if this artist's impression of the next-generation 5-Series sedan has hit the spot or not, but until then, click here to check out our spy photos and read more about the the Bavarian firm's new executive model that will compete head-on with the recently revealed Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

Source: Jon Sibal , Via: Worldcarfans

Ferrari Delivers 1000th Car in Hong Kong on Junk Ship

To mark the occasion of the delivery of its 1000th car in Hong Kong, Ferrari organized a special ceremony at the Victoria Harbor yesterday (March 10, 2009). In what is believed to be a 'first' for any automotive company in Hong Kong, Ferrari presented the new 612 Scaglietti 'One-To-One' to its Hong Kong owner, Mr Didier Li, on board 'Huan', a Chinese Junk ship - for the record, that's how these sailling vessels are called.

True to its elitist nature, Ferrari summoned more than 65 international media from Hong Kong, Macau and the adjacent markets to report the event. The Italian firm delivered its first model to a Hong Kong customer in the early 1960's. In 2008, Ferrari sold 115 cars in Hong Kong. That's compared to 433 cars delivered to clients in Japan the same period, an increase of 15%, while more than 200 cars were delivered in China for the first time, an increase of 20% on 2007 to 212 units.

Toyota Develops World's First Rear-Seat Centre Airbag

In their ongoing quest to make our cars look like the Michelin Man better our chances of survival during a car crash, automakers are constantly adding new types of airbags in their vehicles. The latest development comes from Toyota that introduced the world's first rear-seat centre airbag that promises to help reduce the severity of passenger injuries in side-on collisions. The new Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) airbag is fitted in a large, fixed, rear-seat centre console and will make its debut in a version of a Toyota model to be launched in Japan later this year.

Ford to Unveil Tri-Fuel Mondeo that runs on Gas, Ethanol and LPG at 2009 Leipzig Show

At the AMI Leipzig Motor Show in Germany that runs from March 28 to April 5, 2009, Ford will pull the covers off a new tri-fuel variant of the Mondeo capable of running on gasoline, bio-ethanol (E85) or any mix of these two, as well as on LPG (liquefied petroleum gas). Available in four-door sedan, five-door liftback and in station wagon forms, the tri-fuel Mondeo uses a 2.0-liter Duratec petrol engine and comes equipped with two gas tanks, one with a volume of 70-liters for petrol and E85 and one with 48.8 liters (40 for the Estate) for LPG.

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According to Ford, the 2.0-liter Duratec engine produces an output of 145HP when running on petrol and/or E85, and 141HP on LPG. With LPG, the Mondeo Sedan and Liftback models can cover an estimated total of 460 km (286 miles) while the Estate, 380 km (236 miles), before running dry. When running on conventional fuel and/or E85, the Mondeo has a range of 850 km (529 miles), meaning that the combined range is over 1,200 km (746 miles).

Ford said that its tri-fuel Mondeo cars will go on sale in selected European markets from April with prices starting in Germany from €27,500 ($35,150 with today's rates). This means that the tri-fuel Mondeo is €250 cheaper than the comparable diesel-powered, Mondeo 2.0-liter TDCi 140HP.

(Photos: Standard Mondeo)