Dunlop Tires released a new video that can only be described as automotive ballet, as a way to promote their new tire line. The video features three identical green Citroens doing all manner of handbrake turns and driving in reverse for the entirety of the clip.

The premise of the short is that the parking lot where the three cars are situated is set to close in exactly one minute, and the cars must get out within the allotted time – going backwards. While it definitely falls under the “Professional Driver, Closed Course: Do Not Attempt” category, it’s a worth a view, if only to see how good these guys are at driving.

[Source: Dunlop]

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British racing outfit Cosworth (calling them a tuner would be insulting) has a history of building some absolutely mental performance hatches, most famously the Ford Escort RS Cosworth, which had to be built on a seperate, rear-drive platform to accommodate the lofty goals set out for it.

Now Cosworth has turned their attention to the already potent Subaru Impreza STI, with a limited 75 car production run known as the Subaru Cosworth Impreza STI CS400. The name might be a mouthful, but you’ll be left speechless with a 3.7 second 0-60 time, courtesy of built-up engine block, a revised turbo system and a re-mapped ECU. Six piston AP Racing brakes, leather Recaro seats and bespoke badging help distinguish it from more plebian STI’s. Pricing was not announced, but expect to fork over some substantial paper, or a kidney, to get behind the wheel.

[Source: Carscoop]

Gallery: Subaru Cosworth Impreza STI CS400

As we reported earlier today, this weekend’s World Challenge action at Mosport International Raceway saw Corvette Racing legend Ron Fellows take the GT class win in the Cragar Wheels C6 Vette on Sunday, but that wasn’t the only glory claimed in the name of the General’s all-conquering sports car. Retired Director of GM’s Performance Division and SCCA Runoffs dominator John “The HeinRocket” Heinricy won both rounds of the Mosport double header in his GTS class Torvec/Phoenix/Hawk C5 Chevrolet Corvette.

According to Nissan/Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn the company has now sold all of the 13,000 Leaf models allocated for the U.S. market. “We think there is a big future for this car. I can already tell you that the production for 2010 is already sold out,” said Ghosn today during a meeting of the Detroit Economic Club.

In the first 72 hours that the leaf was on sale, Nissan collected 6,635 pre-orders for the reasonably priced Leaf electric vehicle. Pricing for the Leaf is set at $32,780, and the car is eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit.

But buying a Leaf isn’t just a matter of dollars and cents, however, as owners must live in an area where Nissan has worked with local authorities to build an electric-car infrastructure. The regions include: Phoenix-Tucson, Oregon, San Diego, Seattle and Tennessee.

Nissan insists the Leaf is not a test car, but a real production model and seems to be proving doubters wrong, moving ahead with its electric car while competitors like the Chevy have yet to even announce pricing for the Volt.

The Leaf can travel up to 100 miles on a single charge, and can be charged up to 80 percent in just 30 minutes using a special quick charger. Traditional charging takes about 8 hours. Power for the car comes from a lithium-ion battery pack with 80kW/280Nm, (107-hp and 207 ft-lbs of torque).

Deliveries of the first Nissan Leaf electric cars are scheduled for December of this year.

[Source: FreePress]

Legendary Italian design firm Italdesign Giugiaro will sell a 90 percent stake to the Volkswagen Group, as the German firm looks to consolidate even more power in the automotive world.

“The Volkswagen Group will be continuing its model initiative over the coming years and will benefit from the capacity and competence of Italdesign,” said Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn, in a statement released to the media. Italdesign’s patriarch, Giorgetto Giugiaro helped design the first generation Volkswagen Golf, Volkswagen’s most important product, along with the original Beetle.

For his part, Giugario felt that the move was necessary to ensure the survivability of his studio. “We have grown from a small studio to a substantial industrial organization which is able to deal with global automakers. There are times when individual egoism has to step back to ensure the future sustainability of jobs.” The price paid by VW for the firm was not disclosed to the media.

[Source: Automotive News]

We’ll file this under hard to believe rumors for now, but according to one report the next generation Infiniti G and M models will share their underpinnings with the Mercedes-Benz E-Class. According to Japan’s Best Car magazine, the move is part of broader cooperation between Mercedes parent company Daimler and Infiniti parent Renault – the two auto giants recently announcing a strategic partnership.

While this platform sharing does seem unlikely, Mercedes and Infiniti have already agreed to share engines, with Mercedes donating four and six-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines for future Infiniti products. The deal would cut development and production costs considerably. It also makes sense when you consider the fact that, as surprising as it may seem, Mercedes and Infiniti attract very different customers.

In addition to this news, there have also been reports that both Mercedes and Infiniti would work together on a new Infiniti crossover based on the upcoming B-Class platform.

[Source: Best Car via Carscoop]

Autoguide previously reported that the Buick Regal GS was a sure bet to return to Buick showrooms, and now Autoblog has confirmed that the Regal GS will be back, posting the contents of an email from GM employee Dayna Hart that states “At wave 1 of our drive program for Regal we just confirmed that the Regal GS will be added to the Buick portfolio. We are not providing any additional details at this point.”

Expect the Regal GS to make more than the show car’s 255 horsepower now that the Hyundai Sonata Turbo is putting out 276 horsepower. Those nice Recaro seats also on the show car? They might not make the cut. Even though the Regal GS is Buick’s “hot rod”, the average age of a Buick buyer is 65, and even if the Regal GS buyer is 15-20 years younger on average, they’re still likely to be at the point in their lives where getting in and out of high-bolstered bucket seats is an annoyance rather than a novelty.

Get more info on the new Buick Regal at RegalForums.com

[Source: Autoblog]

Mercedes-Benz is hoping that new variants of their small C-Class sedan will spearhead a 30% increase in sales over the next five years. The blitz will begin with a C-Class coupe that will go on sale next year, as well as a new C-Class in 2013, followed by a C-Class based convertible shortly after. Mercedes will also launch three vehicles based on the B-Class, a small front drive car sold in Canada and Europe. The B-Class cars will take the form of a coupe, crossover and sedan when they hit the United States in 2012.

Mercedes-Benz USA CEO Ernst Lieb told Automotive News that the small car segment is where Mercedes is lacking product. “Everybody wants to be Mercedes-Benz he said. “They are after us in the S- and E-class segment. With C class, we’re sitting with a four-door sedan and not doing anything else. Now we will go into segments where [competitors] are strong.” 

Lieb is hoping to repeat the mistake made by rival car maker BMW, who priced their 1-Series compact coupes to closely to their volume 3-Series model. BMW has only sold 3,648 1-Series through April, but Lieb said that Mercedes needs to sell 15,000 cars to make a viable business case for the product. ”We will always have a price premium,” he said, “but we can’t have a premium like in the S class.”

[Source: Automotive News]

The last Hummer H3 is destined for an Avis rental car fleet, after it left the factory on Monday, May 24th 2010. GM actually shut down production of the H3 in July, 2009, but kept the plant going to fill a special order of H3s made by the rental firm.

GM is shuttering the Hummer brand after an attempt to sell it to Chinese automaker Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines Co., Ltd fell apart. An effort to clear out remaining Hummer models has seen GM offer zero percent financing and generous cash incentives to clear out leftover inventory. An estimated 200 workers will lose their jobs in July as a result of the end of Hummer production.

[Source: Autoguide]

Hot on the heels of announcing impressive payload and towing figures for its Chevy Silverado/GMC Sierra Heavy-Duty trucks; General Motors has stated that it is seriously looking to re-enter the medium duty truck market. Last year, the General exited this segment, winding down production of its Chevrolet Kodiak and GMC Topkick class 5-7 trucks, after  deals to sell the medium-duty business to Isuzu and Navistar International fell through.

However, in an about turn, it looks like the General might return to the segment. According to Joyce Mattman, Director of GM’s Commercial Vehicle operations, there are several different strategies that could be taken. One is to go after the class 5/6 market, in which the Kodiak and TopKick competed, but another is to go for the class 4/5 segment, the realm of 1-ton chassis cabs, which are popular with small delivery firms and contractors. “We’ve competed in class 4 before,” says Mattman. “Our C3500 HD was popular and the thing our customers liked about it, was that it had a light-duty pickup cab and they could get between houses and down alleys for deliveries and utility work, places where many traditional medium-duty trucks can’t.”

Given that Ford and Ram already compete in the 4/5 category with their F-450 and 4500 chassis cab rigs, a GM entry would seem a no-brainer, aided by the fact that such a truck could use much of the existing Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra HD hardware. In the meantime with a sizable void in the market, GM commercial dealers are doing what they can to survive, selling left-over Kodiak and TopKick vehicles to those customers who still want a medium-duty GM truck.

[Source: pickuptrucks.com]