The VN Channel

China is the biggest automotive market in terms of sales and car manufacturers like Cadillac, the luxury brand of General Motors, is a very active player in China. The total number of dealers for the American brand is now 150 or double of what it had just last year.

By 2014, Cadillac wants to see its number of dealers grow to around 250 and hopefully have a sales numbers of 100,000 units a year by 2015, up from 30,000 in 2012.

We all know that achieving these goals needs more than just adding dealers to Cadillac’s network. The carmaker is also planning to build more cars in China for the booming local market. The first to hit the production pipeline in China will be the XTS sedan that will have a turbocharged 2.0L that is still unavailable in the U.S.

Other features of the XTS sedan that will be made available for the Chinese market include the Magnetic Ride Control or MRC suspension, infotainment system, and a host of safety systems.

The production of the XTS in China will surely have an effect on the production in Ontario but the additional sales in China will be pulling up the demand in other markets. The boost in sales elsewhere will help the brand and that includes growing the business further in the United States.

A third M6 series variant is officially to join its convertible and coupe siblings. Called the Gran Coupe, it is BMW’s take to give the sedan a sportier look.

The BMW M6 Gran Coupe is set to head to European dealerships by May 2013. The starting tag price is set at around 128,000 euros in Germany. This places it in between the Coupe tagged at 124,000 euros and the Convertible with a price of 131,400 euros.

The new member of the M6 Series will hit showrooms in North America by summer of 2013 but we still need to know the pricing details. If we will base it on the German market pricing, the Gran Coupe should start at around $110,000.

The M6 Gran Coupe will feature the same aesthetic and mechanical upgrades as its coupe and its convertible counterparts. It will of course have to carry an additional weight for the two extra doors and an additional 4.45 inches of wheelbase.

Under the hood, consumers will find the 4.4L S63Tu twin-turbocharged V-8 engine that is also used for the M5 sedan, the M6 Cabriolet, and the M6 Coupe. This powerplant cranks out 553HP while revving at 6,000 through 7,000 rpm and has a peak torque of 501 lb-ft starting at 1,500 rpm thru 5,750 rpm.

The engine will be coupled with an M Double Clutch gearbox equipped with Drivelogic with Launch Control to help achieve maximum acceleration. It also comes with Low Speed Assitance and a start-stop function for better efficiency. All power is transferred to the rear wheels.

The M6 Gran Coupe can go from 0 to 100 kilometers an hour in just 4.2 seconds. This matches the capability of its convertible and coupe brothers. It is slightly faster than the M5 saloon that does it 4.3 seconds.

The top speed is limited electronically at 250km/h. This can be pumped up to 305 km/h using the M Driver’s optional package.

Based on EU standards, the Gran Coupe has a fuel mileage of 9.9 liters for every 100 kilometers.

Back in August, Lexus announced that it will have a new development of the LF-LC come the auto show in Sydney. It turns out that the car manufacturer meant that it will have a new hue for the concept car that was first unveiled at this year’s edition of the motor show in Detroit.

The LF-LC Blue gets its inspiration from the opal stone, a semi-precious gem found in Australia’s outback. Other than the exterior finish, the only visible difference from the vehicle shown in Detroit is are the new colors used for the interior. The inside of the car gets light beige treatment for the leathers of the door panels and seats to match the blue exterior.

The sports coupe from Lexus has a very light body mass and this is attributed to the aluminum alloy and carbon materials used to build the LF-LC.

The rear-wheel drive LF-LC also features the advanced hybrid system of Lexus that mates its efficient combustion engine to a high-energy, advanced battery pack. This combination results to an impressive 499 horsepower output.

A Lexus Australia executive also admitted that the Japanese brand has plans to make a production version of the LF-LC in the near future.

So for now, the LF-LC is part reality, part concept car. It is a good hint of what we can expect from Lexus in the near future.

Hamman Motorsport recently released a tuning package for the Turbo and the Turbo S versions of the Panamera S. The package is named after a famous French play called Cyrano de Bergerac.

The Cyrano upgrade includes a optimization of the ECU and a custom exhaust. The engine upgrades will be common for the 493-hp Turbo and the 543-hp Turbo S with the output jumping to 595 horses and a torque of 642 lb-ft.

The tuning firm claims that the pimped up Porsche can go from 0 to 100 kilometers an hour in just 3.9 seconds and from 0 to 200 km/h in 12.6 seconds. The numbers can still drop when the Sport Chrono is activated bring the acceleration to 3.6 seconds for the 0-100km/h blast and 12.4s before it gets to 200km/h The top speed goes up to 315 km/h.

The Porsche Panamera Cyrano also has a lower module that lowers its height by as much as 1.2 inches. The vehicle sports 22-inch wheels.

On the style department, Hamman Motorsport made a flashy kit for the body of the Panamera giving it a new bumper in front with LED lights, a hood made from carbon fiber, and fender extension that match side skits of the ride, a big rear wing, and a rear bumper that has enough space to accommodate the massive sporty dual tailpipe mounted on the center.

For the interior, Hammann shares that the Porsche Cyrano gives the seats some high quality leather, bespoke trim, and aluminum pedals.

The pricing for the Cyrano upgrade will be revealed before its official release later this year.

After announcing the plans to release an uber-luxurious SUV last summer, the newly formed Eterniti Motors in Britain unwrapped a new concept SUV called the Hemera during the auto show in Frankfurt last year.

It is too bad though that the concept SUV is so similar to the Cayenne Turbo of Porsche on which it was based on so the design needed to be updated to give it a more unique touch. The new creation is the Artemis SUV that made a debut during the recently opened motor show in Beijing.

Just like its concept sibling, the Eterniti SUV will be running using the 4.8L twin turbo V-8 engine that gives out a whopping 600 horsepower and a torque of 553 pound-feet. The car manufacturer promises an acceleration of 0 to 60 miles an hour in just a matter of 4.5 seconds and a top speed not going over 180 miles per hour.

The handling and performance of the vehicle was developed by a team under the guidance of Alastair Macqueen who is known for engineering the Jaguar XJ220 and oversaw the victories of Bentley and Jaguar during their victories at the 24 hour race in Le Mans. Johnny Herbert, who is a former driver in the F1 grand prix, is also helping with the development.

When you look inside the Eterniti Artemis, it will be a good competition for any Maserati and Bentley. The surfaces are lavishly designed and handcrafted using the best known leathers, trim, veneers, rugs, carbon fiber, and undercarpets. The audio system is also state of the art.

The production of the new SUV will kick off by summer and the first deliveries are expected by fall. The vehicles being showcased in Beijing are running Eterniti Artemis prototypes so it only closely reflects the production version which might still get some improvements.

Eternitiis trying to build a network of showrooms in major cities like London, Hong Kong, and Taipei. The company is based in London and has an atelier where the vehicles can be made according to specifications. Looking forward, the brand is planning to make their very own supercar.

Celebrating its 75th anniversary, Mopar is set to roll out a limited version of the already potent Chrysler 300. This special edition ride will be unveiled during the auto show in Chicage this year. It will actually kick off this Friday, February 10 and run thru February 19. The Mopar Special Edition Chrysler 300 starts at $49,700 inclusive of a destination charge of $825.

The Mopar Chrysler 300will only have a limited run and will only end up in 500 garages. All of the units will have a black finish for the exterior and will roll with Mopar appointments like the tinted lights, grille in black chrome, blue highlight stripes, and special badges for the Mopa 75th anniversary. The special edition Mopar 2012 300 will sport a 20 inch alloy forged rims.

The performance and tuning division of Chrysler used black leather with blue stitching for the steering wheel and the seats. Mopar also installed special badges, sill plates, and a Mopar branded shifter handle. There are also matte carbon accents for the center console and instrument panel.

The Mopar ’12 Chrysler 300 still makes use of the 5.7L V8 HEMI that gives out 363 horsepower coupled with a 5-speed automatic transmission. The differential though was improve to 3.91:1 from a 3.06:1 drive ratio which improves the acceleration from 0 to 60 miles per hour in just the 5-second mark.

Mopar made the front suspension about 42% stiffer and the rear suspension 23% stiffer than the stock setting . The tuning company also gave the car Eagle F1 tires from Goodyear paired with a performance brakes to give the car more braking potential and a a better grip on the road.

Mopa will also issue a packet to each customer that will buy the Mopar ’12 Chrysler 300 which will contain the VIN of the car, the date of production, an original sketch of the Mopar 300, and thr brochure.

Before buying any car, get car insurance quotes from as many insurers as you can possibly get to make sure you get the best possible rates!

The new coupe version of the Subaru BRZ will have the lowest center of gravity of all production cars today as it heads to showrooms next summer. The rear-wheel-drive setup of the BRZ gives more room for the 2.0L Boxer powerplant to be lower in the chassis of the coupe compared to the usual setup of the 4WD configuration.

The Subaru BRZ was a product of collaboration with Toyota but most of the engineering work were done by Subaru. The car manufacturer though reveals that the flat four BRZ will also make use of the fuel injection system of Toyota. The output of the engines though has some considerable difference, with the BRZ to give out a bit under 300 horsepower while the FT-86 produces around 200 horsepower.

Other details about the new BRZ have never been released though. Subaru might be considering a roadster version of the BRZ as a future model.

Subaru insiders said that they do not have a costing strategy at the moment but if the BRZ is aiming to compete with the Volkswagen Scirocco, then the price of the Subaru coupe might just be around the VW’s coupe range.

Despite the lack of pricing and image of the production version of the BRZ, fans have already expressed their excitement as inquiries keep the dealership network of Subaru busy answering questions about the upcoming ride.

In the UK, the 2+2 coupe will be filling up a good demand for a new niche market but they plan to focus on products like the XV crossover and sell around 7,500 units for 2012.

The Subaru BRZ will be unwrapped this November at the Tokyo auto show.

Pagani Automobili S.p.A. is an Italian car manufacturer based in San Cesario sul Panaro. It’s brand new baby, the Pagani Huayra that carries a massive V12 engine with 700 horsepower, might not go into sales in the United States unless it conforms to the official US airbag regulation policies.

According to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration , they have turned down the Italian automaker’s request to be exempted from the long-standing US safety rule for “smart” airbags.

For the past 11 years, all automobiles that are registered in the United States comply to these smart airbags whose deployment force adjust to the person’s height and weight. The Lamborghini and Tesla models were exempted the past 5 years based on financial grounds.

According to the statement made by the Italian carmaker, they might be able to sell only about five supercars, with tag price at $1.1 million, next year. However, the development of these smart airbags, which are a must under the US Federal Law, would cost them €4.0 million. Pagani thought that this should be basis for a waiver. However, the NHTSA didn’t see it that way.

The NHTSA Notice Summary states that they have determined that the luxury carmaker failed to demonstrate their compliance will cause economic hardship. And that exempting Pagani will mean inconsistency with the Safety Act.

Unfortunately for Pagani, the denied NHTSA waiver would mean loss of income estimated at $4.5 million until about 2015.

If you are planning to get an upgrade your snazzy Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG—perhaps a handsome new paint job or additional horsepower for more bragging rights—there’s only one name for the job: the AMG Performance Studio.

The AMG Performance Studio opened in Affalterbach, Germany way back in 2006 and since then, they have been upgrading the standing horsepower and torque figures by almost 32 ponies and 100 Nm of torque through the AMG Performance Package.

That’s not all, the package also includes a genuine AMG engine cover made of carbon fiber, lightweight alloy wheels for AMGs featuring a handsome 10-spoke concept design that comes a titanium grey tint, brake calipers in anodized silver or sheen red and tires that are designed to pimp up your Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG.

Other AMG Packages include the AMG Exterior Carbon Package, AMG Ride Control, Performance suspension, AMG Performance steering wheel, and AMG Exclusive Package for a beautiful upholstery made of nappa leather for that perfect AMG sports seats plus other interior upgrades like beltlines, armrests, center console, AMG floor mats and more. The topnotch AMG package is only offered in Germany and this includes the sliding glass sunroof, the Keyless-Go package, rear windows sunblind, and the Multicontour Seat package.

Now, there’s also the AMG Driver Package which restricts your E 63 AMG Estate to 280 km/h and your E 63 AMG Saloon to 300 km/h. Furthermore, this package also entitles you to a driver’s training course at their very own AMG Driving Academy.

Although a lot of luxury car lovers are still puzzled what Aston Martin is thinking when it hinted of the Cygnet, the carmaker recently announced the details of the upcoming launch of the city car in April. The lowest tier Cygnet will have a sticker price of at least $49,340.

We bet you paused there for a bit and stared at the tag price. You read it right, the Aston Martin Cygnet will be $21,000 more expensive than the cheapest of the city cars, the Toyota iQ. The pricing of the Cygnet puts it in the price category of the C Class of Mercedes-Benz, 3-Series of BMW, and the Audi A4.

Aston Martin explains that consumers will be getting a British manufactured iQ that has the styling touch of Aston Martin plus all the leather you can imagine for the interior. If that sounds short, there will also be heated seats, GPS navigation, and passive entry. Everyone might have the “but still…” in mind.

Aston Martin is really determined to push the Cygnet to the market. The car manufacturer is deteremined to release 2 special editions. The cars come with some unique styling, upgrades for the interiors, and a luggage set by Bill Amberg.

The performance numbers have not been released yet but if the power will come from the 1.33L Toyota sourced powerplant, it may have an output of 97 horsepwoer with a torque of 91 lb-ft. The engine will be coupled most likely with a CVT or a 5-speed manual transmission.

Initially, the Aston Martin Cygnet will be released only in Europe but the company is looking to expand the coverage by 2012.