German luxury titans Audi and BMW are migrating to a new battlefield in hopes of growing their brands despite domestic debt worries.

According to Jenny Gu, a Shanghai- based analyst at research firm LMC Automotive, the number of luxury cars sold in China for 2011 may  increase by 39 percent to 939,000, overtaking Germany by 25,000.

That 2.7 percent margin might not seem like a lot, but Europe as a whole is on a downswing for premium products. China, on the other hand, is growing rapidly. Gu expects Chinese sales to increase 16 percent next year, eclipsing the forecast 4.4 percent for Germany.

“Luxury car demand is still on the rise in China with low penetration rates,” Gu said to Bloomberg. “Sales of such cars in developed markets like Germany fluctuate together with the economic cycle.”

Despite BMW’s lead as the largest luxury manufacturer worldwide, Audi actually beats them in China— something they hope will boost them toward their goal to beat Bimmer for the top spot by 2015.

While it sure isn’t over until the lederhosen-laden fat lady sings, this year might serve as an indicator of things to come. Audi enjoyed a meteoric 69 percent sales spike in China this year, as compared to Mercedes-Benz‘ 24 percent and BMW with a measly 9.8 percent growth.

Those numbers seem to have BMW and Mercedes scrambling, both automakers will keep their plants open an additional week this year by limiting holiday closures. Audi, on the other hand, will enjoy the full two weeks that the other two have forgone for a second year running.

Though some analysts are predicting a softening in the Chinese market thanks to stricter mortgage regulation, Olaf Kastner, CEO of BMW’s Chinese venture, Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd. doesn’t seem concerned.

“The premium car industry has enjoyed over the past two to three years an amazing growth,” Kastner said to Bloomberg. “We still, in the premium segment, will see a higher growth rate than the mass segment” for next year.

[Source: Automotive News]

What some people aren’t aware of with contests and sweepstakes is that when you win a car, often you end up having to pay taxes and other fees. While this sure beats having to pay for the car itself, sometimes the taxes and fees are more than someone can handle. This was possibly the case with David Dopp, winner of this lime-green Lamborghini Murcielago.

David Dopp, a truck driver for Frito-Lay in Santaquin, Utah won a $350,000 Lamborghini Murcielago in Maverik’s “Joe Schmo to Lamborghini” contest. Shortly after receiving the vehicle, he posted on his Facebook page that he was already stopped by the cops. Ok, no surprise – the man just won a Lamborghini and drives a chips truck for a living.

But then six hours later, Dopp wrecks his Murcielago, spinning out on an icy road after going 40-50 mph in a 35-mph road. He went right back on Facebook to let all his friends know him and his passenger were safe, no one was hurt (except for the car) and that he has insurance. So that’s where it gets interesting. If the vehicle is totaled, Dopp will get a nice payday from insurance. If it isn’t totaled, well, he just screwed himself and will be stuck with a wrecked and repaired Murcielago with the same amount of taxes to pay.

Now we have to give Dopp the benefit of the doubt and believe he wouldn’t wreck a Lamborghini on purpose – and honestly if he was going to, he should have done a lot more damage. But hey maybe he wanted to play it safe and make sure no one was injured in the process, but we honestly believe he had every intention of keeping it nice and clean so that he could sell it. The accident is probably a result of getting his hands on the steering wheel of a real car.

Check out the quick clip after the break showing off the winner of the Lambo, pre-cash.

[Source: Jalopnik]

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Despite the recent supply shortage that plagued its Cruze production, Chevrolet‘s performance for 2011 set an all-time high sales record for the one hundred year old American automaker. Having sold 4.8 million vehicles worldwide this year through the month of November, December is projected to perform just as well. Overall, Chevrolet gained an additional half a percent of global market share this year. With a diversified market, Chevrolet has been well received in markets like China, Vietnam, Europe, South Korea, and South America.

What’s more, it’s new B-segment subcompact Chevrolet Sonic hatchback is selling extremely well and dealers of North America only average a 17-day supply. In the United States, Chevrolet is right behind Ford in total consumer market share.

[Source: Autoblog]

Men in the U.S. went big, brawny and sporty in 2011 – that is, when it came to the kind of vehicles they bought this past year.

According to J.D. Power’s Power Information Network (PIN) real-time transaction data, men leaned towards sports cars and pickup trucks in the first 11 months of 2011. In fact, out of the top 10 new-model vehicles that men bought or leased, six of them were large pickup trucks or vans. Topping the list of model pickups and vans were the Ford F-Series and Chevrolet Silverado. The data shows that these vehicles were purchased for commercial uses, not necessarily for dropping kids off at soccer practice.

Also in the top 10 models were three cool sports cars – BMW M3 , the Porsche 911 and Chevrolet Corvette. The M3 had highest number of male car buyers in the sports category, with most of these buyers falling into the 16- to 35-year-old demographic. The Porsche 911 was the second top pick, followed closely by the Corvette.

Also making the 2011 list is the GMC Sierra, the Audi A8/S8, the Ford Econoline and the Chevrolet Express. One of the new entries on the list this year is the Chevrolet Volt, although it didn’t crack the top 10.

[Source: J.D. Power and Associates]

Lexus dropped a surprise today announcing pricing for the new 2013 GS350 will remain unchanged from the 2012 model. Despite all the changes that greatly improved the GS – read our extensive review here – the base price for the model will remain at $46,900.

Unfortunately Lexus didn’t announce a price for the GS 450h hybrid model, but they promised us that it’d be coming soon. The AWD GS 350 however will have a base price of $49,450 and both models can come as F Sport models or can be equipped with Premium or Luxury packages.

As a quick refresh, the new 2013 Lexus GS 350 comes with a 3.5L V6 with 306-hp while achieving 19/28/23-mpg for city/highway/combined. The powerplant is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission with four driving modes: ECO, Normal, Sport S and Sport S+ (only available on F Sport model).

The Premium Package is priced at $1,400 and comes with rain-sensing wipers, heated and ventilated front seats, and power rear sunshade. The much more expensive Luxury Package comes in at $5,750 but includes Adaptable Variable Suspension, Adaptive Front Lighting, unique high gloss linear espresso wood accents, semi-aniline leather, 18-way power front driver and passenger seats with articulated back, side bolster and thigh support controls, four-way lumbar, butterfly headrests, driver and passenger seat memory, rear HVAC and audio controls, rear manual side sunshades, 18-inch wheels and wood and leather steering wheel.

Those seeking a sportier and more thrilling drive in their new luxury sedan can opt for the F Sport model, outfitting the GS with a sportier front bumper, rear lower valence, rear lip spoiler, unique mesh grille inserts and F Sport badging. The F Sport model is also the only GS model with 19-inch wheels and F Sport-tuned Adaptive Variable Suspension. Lastly, rear-wheel-drive F Sport models will have staggered wheels in the rear, Variable Gear Ratio Steering and new larger front brakes with high friction pads. The F Sport package is priced pretty competitively at $5,690.

An optional navigation system can be hand on all GS models for $1,735 featuring an industry-first 12.3-inch split-screen, high resolution display.

GALLERY: 2013 Lexus GS

The Honda Crosstour struggled to take hold in North America since its 2010 release. It could be partially due to the original marketing as a version of the Accord, or maybe that people just don’t like it. One way or another, Honda refuses to give up with its CUV attempt.

The company announced today that the 2012 model year will include two four-cylinder versions of the crossover aimed at a less expensive market segment. We can only assume this was what American Honda president and CEO Tetsuo Iwamura was talking about at this year’s Tokyo Auto Show when he said the company was committed to making the Crosstour a successful vehicle.

The new cars will come with a 2.4-liter inline four cylinder, making 192 horsepower. That’s a significant drop from the 271-horsepower V6, but Honda hopes consumers will be wooed by better gas milage. The four-cylinder gets 21/29 mpg city/highway, which is only 3 mpg better in the city and 2 on the highway. Only sales will tell, but a 79 horsepower cut is pretty steep to squeeze a couple more miles out.

The Crosstour still comes with a 5-speed automatic seen on previous models, though the new models come with smaller 17-inch aluminum alloy wheels. Honda is also upping their list of standard features to include an auto-dimming rearview mirror, a backup camera, automatic on/off headlights, Bluetooth and USB audio.

GALLERY: 2012 Honda Crosstour

It’s been a long while since we’ve come across a new ASMA Design creation, but it looks like it was worth the wait. ASMA has always been common bait for us to make fun of and they didn’t fail to impress with their Porsche Cayenne Turbo project.

As expected, ASMA Design released the photos of the project with very little details, but we don’t even need words to describe what’s going on here. Over the top, super aggressive styling results in an atrocious and terrible project and just does a terrific job ruining Porsche’s classy SUV. The wider fenders and side skirts are just completely out of place, while the front and rear bumpers are downright absurd.

About the only thing respectable about the project are the 22-inch wheels on each corner, and the fact that genuine carbon fiber was used for the body kit – as terrible as it is. But hey, we’re glad ASMA has something to show off, we were getting a little bored around here with nothing to ridicule.

GALLERY: ASMA Design Porsche Cayenne Turbo

[Source: GT Spirit]

Owners of a 2011 Toyota Tundra should look out for a recall notice, as Toyota will be recalling 502 of them for a wrong label on the pickup truck. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Toyota lists the wrong load-carrying capacity on the faulty labels.

The recall will begin in February with Toyota replacing the label free of charge, of course. Owners can also have the dealership apply it for free. Even though it seems trivial, vehicle overloading could result in tire failure on the Tundra, resulting in a crash.

Read AutoGuide’s 2011 Toyota Tundra Review here

Like many luxury automakers these days, Cadillac is looking to capitalize on the perceived growing affluence of consumers in China.

To that end, GM’s luxury division plans to introduce several new models in an effort to better compete with the German triumvirate of Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, which have so far, witnessed strong sales increases in recent years.

Like many automakers peddling vehicles in China, Cadillac’s goals are rather ambitious. Kevin Wale, who head’s up the brand’s operations in that country, said at a recent press conference in Shanghai, that the brand plans to boost Chinese production by some 40 percent in the next two years.

“Luxury-car sales will continue to grow faster than the overall passenger-car market, driven by increasing wealth,” said Wale. And perhaps he’s right.

According to data released from research firm LMC automotive, China is currently poised to overtake Germany as the world’s second largest market for luxury vehicles by next year.

That said, overall vehicle demand in China has been slowing in recent months November deliveries saw the smallest monthly gains in the second half of 2011, rising by just 0.3 percent over October.

[Source: Automotive News]

The Tokyo Motor Show is behind us, but the Tokyo Auto Salon is coming up in the next few weeks. One of the manufacturers that is using this venue to showcase its new performance products is Mazda.

The highlight on Mazda’s stand will be the MX-5 NR-A ‘Jimba-Ittai’ (translates to: rider and horse as one) track special. Apart from the funky paint schemes, the MX-5 NR-A will feature 16-inch Enkei alloy rims with Bridgestone tires, 20-mm lower height, Endless brake pads and Takata four-point racing harness, among some other changes.

Sharing the stage with the MX-5 NR-A (not to be confused with the National Rifle Association) will be a special edition CX-5 crossover, the RX-8 Spirit R, which is the final version of this sports coupe, and the MX-5 Black-Tuned, which is a regular MX-5 with some black color features, such as its special BBS rims. Oh, and it also features some rather green seats.

The Tokyo Auto Salon will be held in the city of Chiba from January 13 to 15.

GALLERY: Mazda Auto Salon Preview

See our Auto Show coverage here.