We’ve all seen them. The “Imported from Detroit” ads that Chrysler is flooding the market with. Some people think it is a clever way to gain favor with Chrysler’s home audience, others simply do not like the ads themselves. Nomatter how you feel about them, one thing is clear – they are kind of misleading.

A recent study by “The Made in the US Foundation” found that the vehicles in the ads are not even made in Detroit.  Made in the USA chairman Joel Joesph said in a statement, “The Chrysler 300 is assembled in Brampton, Ontario, Canada and often includes a Mexican-made engine. Last time I checked, Detroit is not in Canada. Chrysler is flat wrong to imply the Chrysler 300 is made in the United States and we have asked the FTC to order corrective advertising.”

Chrysler responded by saying that Imported from Detroit is merely a saying and is not to be taken literally.

Last year, Volkswagen stirred up some excitement by introducing the 2010 Polo GTI at the 2010 Geneva Auto Show, and this year they’re following it up with an announcement of two R-Line packages for the Polo in addition to an Exclusive Edition for the Passat.

The pair of R-Line packages will be available as an option for the Polo Comfortline and the Polo Highline model, with one of the packages concentrating on the exterior while the other outfits the interior with upgrades.

The exterior R-Line package comes with 16- or 17-inch wheels with wider 215-tires, black gloss finish for the front grille, model-specific front and rear bumpers (based on Comfortline or Highline), a rear diffuser, chrome exhaust tips, a roof spoiler, pair of side skirts, fog lamps and LED license plate illumination. For the Comfortline the exterior R-Line package runs around $2,000 based on today’s conversion rates while the Highline will cost a little less than $1,400.

The interior R-Line package costs a tad over $1,175 for the Polo Comfortline and $620 for the Highline and with it comes a pair of sport seats up front – with Alcantara or leather option – black roof lining, sport leather steering wheel, glossy black dashboard trim and aluminum pedals and door sills.

For the Passat, Volkswagen will be offering an Exclusive Edition based on the Highline trim for the sedan at $44,700 and as a station wagon Variant for $46,300. The Exclusive Edition will outfit the Passat with a set of 18-inch wheels while it sits 0.6-inch lower thanks to sportier suspension. On the inside, where most of the changes are, VW accents the Passat with Nappa leather seats in a chocolate brown shade with contrast-colored stitching in Pepper White. The door panels and steering wheel also benefits from leather while special floor mats and a combination of wood and aluminum trim round off the accents.

At any rate, hopefully the R-Line package is just a teaser for the upcoming Polo R model that VW should be adding to its lineup next year.

[Source: Carscoop]

GALLERY: Polo R-Line and Passat Exclusive Edition

Not so long ago, Volvo had announced that it was working on a plug-in hybrid version of their V60 wagon. Now according to Volvo, the V60 may be out by as early as next year.

Volvo said it is working on two variants, a gas-electric plug-in hybrid for North America, and a diesel-electric plug-in hybrid for the rest of the world. Volvo’s system, which uses lithium-ion batteries to power the electric motors, has a range of 31-miles on battery power alone, after which the combustion engine will kick in to take you home.

No figures are known what the gas-electric versions will achieve, but the European diesel-electric version is said to be good for 124-mpg.

With the combustion engine powering the front wheels, and the 70-hp electric motors powering the rear, this is effectively an all-wheel drive vehicle also. Volvo said it will be more expensive than a regular V60, but will cost two-thirds less to run.

The V60 Plug-In Hybrid will go on sale in 2012, first in Europe, followed by the rest of the world in the same year.

[Source: Motor Authority]

According to a report from Ward’s Auto, an inherent shortage of small and medium sized cars (mostly due to supply issues relating to Japanese automakers), have resulted in an overall drop in fuel economy ratings when it comes to passenger cars and light trucks.

Those vehicles sold between July and September this year, averaged 22.2 miles per gallon, down from 25.2 mpg the previous quarter. The findings marked the second consecutive drop in the Ward’s Auto Fuel Economy Index rating.

Although small car inventory was down significantly, especially at Toyota (64 percent) and Honda (67 percent), Japanese automakers weren’t the only ones suffering from reduced stocks during the third quarter. In fact both Hyundai and even Ford had to deal with shortages of 74 and 41 percent respectively.

In total, passenger car sales stood at 229,250 units in total for the third quarter,down by 38.5 percent versus a year ago. This also meant that market share of passenger cars stood at some 46.3 percent of total light vehicle sales, the smallest percentage since 2005.

In terms of manufacturer market share in the passenger car segment, the leader during the third quarter was Volkswagen, which boasted a slice of some 25.6 percent according to Wards, while Toyota finished runner up with 25.1 percent. Nissan and Kia rounded out the top four.

General Motors led the domestic pack, with a 20.7 percent share, followed closely by Ford (20.1). Yet despite the second straight fall in overall fuel economy ratings, on balance, the 2011  model year was an improvement on 2010, the average fuel economy rating of 22.4 miles per gallon up by 1 percent versus the year prior.

[Source: Ward's Auto]

In the latest trend of cars influencing home decor, Racing & Emotion has launched its Art Ball and Art Egg series of chairs, inspired by classic racing vehicles such as McLaren and Porsche.

Delightfully retro looking, both the Art Ball and Art Egg collections will add a definite statement to any room. These chairs are adorned with a number that corresponds with famous racing vehicles from Mercedes, McLaren, and Porsche, with 30 different options to choose from. If you’ve got some cash to play with, you can go with the AC Art and M1 Andy chairs, both of which are limited editions and cost $5,480 each (they also happen to be the most expensive pieces from this collection).

There’s only one chair in the Art Egg series. This beauty is called the 917 LM20E Gulf chair and it’s inspired by the famous Porsche 917 featured in the movie Le Mans. Boasting an egg-like shape, this chair’s body is made from high grade fibreglass, features fine grade leather upholstery and can turn 360 degrees. The 917 LM20E Gulf chair will set you back $4,800.

[Source: Born Rich]

It might be a scary thought to some, but according to Alan Taub, vice president of Global Research and Development at General Motors, the self-driving car is less than a decade away.

Advances in technologies such as sensors, portable communications devices, radars, GPS systems and cameras, collectively make the idea more feasible now than ever before.

During a speech at the Transport Systems World Congress in Orlando, Florida yesterday, Taub declared that, “the technologies [GM is] developing will provide an added convenience by partially or even completely taking over the driving duties. The primary goal, though, is safety. Future generation safety systems will eliminate the crash altogether by interceding on behalf of drivers before they’re even aware of a hazardous situation.”

In fact, some of the technologies Taub talked about can already be found on current GM production vehicles, such as a lane departure warning and crash avoidance system via a front mounted camera which is standard on the 2012 GMC Terrain crossover. A blindspot alert system is also fitted to a number of the General’s SUVs, including the Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon, Cadillac Escalade, as well as the Buick LaCrosse sedan.

In addition, GM is working on more advanced systems, such as vehicle to vehicle and vehicle to infrastructure communication setups, where sensors gather information from other vehicles, pedestrians, buildings, obstructions, roadways, even traffic signals to warn drivers of potential hazards ahead, such as slippery road conditions, stalled or crashed vehicles or busy or dangerous intersections. Such systems can be added as apps to portable devices such as smart phones which wirelessly connect to the car, or are embedded in the vehicle itself.

In addition, GM is working on its next generation EN-V urban concept vehicle which combines GPS with vehicle to vehicle communications and distance sensing technology. This latest EN-V is designed to enable fully autonomous driving, incorporating such features as collision avoidance, platooning even automated parking and retrieval.

The idea is that one day, city dwellers will have a personal transportation device that will be able drop off its driver, park itself and then be summoned when needed, simply via a command on the driver’s smart phone.

Here are some sobering study results that may shock parents – teen drivers are most likely to cause a car accident within their first month of unsupervised driving.

The study, conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, found that teenage drivers are 50 percent more likely to get into a car crash in their first month of driving than after a year of driving by themselves. It also goes on to show that these drivers are twice as likely to get into an accident during the first month than after two years of driving experience.

To compile this information, AAA mounted cameras in the cars of 38 teenage drivers in North Carolina. Footage followed teen drivers as they learned to drive with their parents as well as their first six months of driving solo.

From the data collected, 57 percent of the accidents that were caused in the first month of driving happened because teens were driving too fast, weren’t paying attention, or failed to yield to other cars. Researchers also found that in the first few months of driving, teens got into quite a few left-hand turn crashes while trying to navigate across traffic, which suggests that young drivers could use more practice with it comes to certain driving maneuvers.

After driving with their parents, the footage showed that the teen drivers’ driving behavior changed drastically. While they had their learner’s permits, teens stuck to the same routes, but once they got their full licences, these drivers started taking new routes and displaying bad driving habits such as texting, running red lights, or socializing with passengers.

[Source: Motor Trend]

It’s happening again. Last year, Mercedes-Benz had to issue a recall on its diesel models over a leaking fuel-filter, and now they have to address this issue all over again.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), certain 2011 and 2012 Mercedes BlueTec diesel may have a possible fuel leak, which can actually lead to fires.

2011 E-class, 2012 S-class, plus 2011 GL-class, ML-class and R-class models are affected by the recall.  In total, 6872 vehicles are affected.

If you believe you might have a faulty Benz, you can either contact the NHTSA at 1-888-327-4236 (reference recall campaign number 11V496000) or Mercedes-Benz at 1-800-367-6372.

What is Subaru planning for the next STI? We’re sorry to say we don’t have the answer, yet, but if you’re a Subie fanboy the car’s product boss has some good news for you. According to Akihide Takeuchi, Impreza product manager, we should have high expectations.

Not expected to debut until about a year from now the car will reportedly be offered first as a hatchback and then as a sedan, with hatchback models homologated for rally driving and sedans for touring car. Power is expected to be a few ticks higher, with the Japanese-Spec model getting an updated turbocharged 2.0-liter 4-cylinder making 330-hp and 324 lb-ft of torque – and increase of 8-hp and 12 lb-ft.

Previous reports have suggested Subaru may actually spin-off the WRX and STI models from the Impreza lineup, instead building them on a unique platform. On suggestion included a smaller sub-compact-sized model with as much as 270-hp from a turbocharged 1.6-liter.

Stay tuned to see which rumors bear fruit.

[Source: Road&Track]

No stranger to the Nurburgring, Aston Martin CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez has competed at the legendary racetrack since 2006, but this weekend’s event was different. That’s because Bez wasn’t behind the wheel of an Aston Martin, but a race-prepped Lexus LFA.

Bez and Toyota President Akio Toyoda swapped rides for the ninth round of the 2011 VLN series race, with Toyoda piloting Aston’s new V12 Zagato.

“Other company bosses meet on the golf course, we race together,” says Aston Martin CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez.

Rather than a PR stunt, both Bez and Toyota describe the ride swap as result of their friendship, which has developed over the years at the Nurburgring. With up to 200 cars competing on track and a limited number of pit stalls, teams at the Nurburgring are forced to share space with their competitors. Both Aston Martin and Toyota’s Gazoo Racing have done so several times in the past.

“As I learnt that our teams would share a garage once again I renewed my invitation to Akio Toyoda to drive an Aston Martin race car and I was delighted to accept his offer in return”, said Dr. Bez. “We have raced side by side regularly since the 2008 24 hour race here at the Nurburgring. Since then a personal friendship has developed into this decision to experience each other’s race cars.”

Competing in the SP8 class both executives started in their own cars and almost didn’t get the chance to make the switch when the #114 Aston Matin was struck by another car and forced to pit for significant repairs. Back on track before the end of the race, the LFA and V12 Zagato crossed the finish line side-by-side, with Bez in the Lexus and Toyoda in the Aston Martin.