Fiat Announces UK Pricing for New Punto EVO

The facelifted Grande Punto, which has been renamed to Punto EVO, will begin arriving in Fiat’s 170-strong UK dealer network in January 2010 with prices ranging from £10,995 for the base 1.4 8v Active to £15,295 the highly specified Eleganza 1.3 Multijet, the automaker announced today.The Punto EVO will be available with a choice of four Euro 5 engines, all fitted with Start&Stop as standard, and five different trim levels – Active, Dynamic, GP, Eleganza and Sporting.The engine range includes two petrols, a 1.4-liter with 105HP and a 1.4-liter Multiair unit with 135HP, plus two 1.3 MultiJet diesels with 75HP and 95HP.The entry-level Active...

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Ford Displays Customized 2011 Fiestas at Los Angeles Auto Show

Together with the standard variants of the new 2011 Fiesta, Ford also reveled four ticked-out versions of its North American-spec subcompact car aimed at customization enthusiasts at the Los Angeles International Auto Show today. The modded Fiestas featured an array of styling goodies such as body-side tattoo graphics, body kits and alloy wheels.“We expect the Fiesta will be wildly popular among people who like to personalize their vehicles because of its affordability, great driving dynamics and award-winning design,” said Ford Designer Melvin Betancourt. “We’ll offer these customers a variety of appearance and performance accessories to choose...

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Chinese Tuner Builds Ferrari Enzo Wannabe Replica Based on Geely Coupe

You’d expect that a Ferrari replica from China, a country where the automotive industry has turned European and Japanese car cloning into a science, would at least be presentable. Because what you are seeing pictured above is just a computer-generated image of what the tuner hoped his modified Geely coupe would resemble. If your taste buds (and stomach) can handle it, click through to see the end result…Via: Gaibar ...

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Hamann Presents Insane Fiat 500 Largo with 265HP at 2009 Frankfurt Show

The Fiat 500 Abarth has certainly caught the attention of the tuning world in Europe. Making its world premiere at the ’09 IAA in Frankfurt, the Hamann Largo is one of the most impressive tuning proposals for the Fiat 500 Abarth yet, putting to shame the official 180HP+ Ferrari-badged Abarth 695 special with its heavily modified 1.4-liter turbocharged engine that makes a jaw-dropping 265 horsepower at 5,630 rpm and 348Nm pr 257 lb-ft of torque at 4,200 rpm. Pretty impressive if you consider that the base model makes a mere 135HP and 206Nm.Hamann has yet to disclose performance figures, but we reckon that 265 ponies in a car the size and weight...

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Hartge Unleashes New Aero Kit for BMW X5 SUV

Another day, another bodykit from German tuning firm and BMW specialist, Hartge that has released a new styling package for the X5 SUV. The tasty kit comes with a front spoiler and rear skirt, as well as left and right two-piece side skirts. Owners can opt for the available stainless steel rear silencer while Hartge also offers a sport suspension kit and the company’s multispoke alloy wheels. Hartge did not disclose prices for the aero kit. Check out more photos of the neatly beefed-up X5 after the jump ...

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Conflict of Interest? Heico Sportiv Tunes the eco-friendly 2010 Volvo C30 1.6D DRIVe

How much sense does it make to offer a performance package for an eco-friendly diesel car model that has been specifically designed to deliver maximum fuel efficiency and low CO2 emissions? Not much if you ask us but anyways… This here is Heico Sportiv’s tuning package for the recently unveiled 2010 Volvo C30 1.6D DRIVe.In factory form, the new Volvo C30 1.6D DRIVe is powered by a 1.6-liter diesel with 109HP and 240Nm of torque. Combined with a wide range of fuel saving technologies such as start/stop system with brake-energy recovery and aerodynamically optimized components, this C30 returns an average fuel economy of 3.9 liters/100 km or...

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2011 Chevrolet Caprice Police Car Revealed: Based on Australian Holden Caprice, LWB Version of Pontiac G8

Looks like Bob Lutz was right after all when back in July he said that the Pontiac G8 would live on as the Chevrolet Caprice – even though shortly after he hastily took his words back. Apparently, what Lutz meant to say was that the G8 would live on as a law enforcement car as GM revealed the all-new Chevrolet Caprice Police Patrol Vehicle (PPV) at the annual International Association of Chiefs of Police convention, in Denver, Colorado.Set to join the ranks of law enforcement departments across North America in 2011, the new Caprice is essentially a remasked version of the Australian Holden Caprice and Statesman models which in turn are more...

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GM Seals Deal to Sell Hummer to China’s Sichuan Tengzhong

General Motors officially announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Hummer unit to China’s Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co., Ltd. The sale comes only four months after GM announced that it entered talks with the Chinese heavy equipment maker. Sichuan Tengzhong will purchase Hummer through an investment entity, in which it will hold an 80 per cent stake, while Hong Kong investor Suolang Duoji, a private entrepreneur, will get the remaining 20 per cent stake. “HUMMER is a strong global niche brand and this agreement signifies another important milestone in writing the next chapter for both GM...

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2011 Hyundai Sonata Makes N.A. Debut at LA Show, Gets 2.4L, 2.0L Turbo and Hybrid Powertrains

The much anticipated and talked about 2011 Hyundai Sonata made its North American premiere at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The all-new mid-size sedan (although EPA classifies it as a large sedan) represents a dramatic departure from the previous generation Sonata models both in terms of design and technology.Despite the fact that the sixth-generation Sonata is aimed price-wise at the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and Chevy Malibu, its so-called ‘four-door coupe’ styling with the sleek roofline and sculptured body surfaces brings it closer to the likes of the VW Passat CC.And even if the design is not to everyone’s taste, few will disagree that it...

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2011 Infiniti M56 with 420HP V8 and M37 with 330 V6 Rival BMW 5-Series and Mercedes E-Class

Infiniti has lifted the covers (once again…) off its new 2011 M sedans (sold as the Nissan Fuga in Japan) at a private event held in Beverly Hills on Monday. Designed to challenge the new BMW 5-Series, Lexus GS and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class -just to mention a few, the 2011 M sedan will be offered in the States initially with two gasoline-only powerplants with a hybrid version to follow shortly after.The entry-level M37 features a 3.7-liter aluminum-alloy V6 which delivers 330 hp at 7,000 rpm and 270 lb-ft of torque at 5,200 rpm, representing an increases of 27 horsepower and 8 lb-ft of torque versus the previous 3.5-liter V6.The range-topping...

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Fiat Terminates Chrysler’s All-Electric Car Plans – What’s Going to Happen to the $73 Million Gov. Grants for the EV Test Fleet?

Just over a year ago, the Chrysler Group’s newly formed Envi division unveiled a series of production-based electric cars that it planned to put on sale. Fast forward a few months, Chrysler went in and out of bankruptcy, sealed a deal with the Fiat Group and then, in August 2009 under the leadership of its new CEO, Sergio Marchionne, secured a $73 million grant from the Obama administration for the manufacturing of 220 plug-in hybrid and electric pickup trucks and minivans in St. Louis and in Michigan. Well, guess what;According to a news report from Reuters, as part of the Marchione’s recently announced five-year business plan to revitalize...

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