Site News and Feedback
633 topics in this forum
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I performed a few server and software updates today: Apache updated from version 2.2 to 2.4 (already seeing a huge drop in resource usage, this means faster response times for you) PHP updated from 5.2 to 5.4 InvisionPower updated from 3.4.3 to 3.4.6 (bug fixes, security fixes) Report any issues in this thread.
Last reply by G. David Felt, -
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I thought this used to work, I've done it before...but there doesn't seem to be an obvious way to embed a YouTube video in a post...if I put the URL of the video in a link I end up with a link...
Last reply by NINETY EIGHT REGENCY, -
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Saw some of the olders ones and thought they were great! Love how you can find a classic and an obscure car or two and then just make our imaginations run wild. The scariest face contest can be updated with a few new releases.
Last reply by justusforus, -
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The server is being migrated today, August 1, 2013. This is the move I spoke of a few weeks ago.
Last reply by Drew Dowdell, -
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July 7th, 2013 - State of the Site This will be less a "State of the Site" and more a "State of Drew". As you know, I haven't been around as much lately. Work has kept me on the road all year up until recently. From mid-February till late May I was battling constant colds and exhaustion to the point where my doctor told me that I had to knock off my work schedule or face more serious illness. From mid-May till the end of this week, I have been missing two of my staff at my day job who have been out for medical reasons (lucky them!). Since Mid-July, my work travel is done until end of August, so I finally have had the chance to catch up on things at home and recupera…
Last reply by justusforus, -
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Does it seem snappier since the power outage? The System logs show a far less burdened server....
Last reply by G. David Felt, -
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We had a site outage today for about 8 hours. Our host had to restore us from backup. About 30 hours of posting were lost. Sorry for any inconvenience.
Last reply by daves87rs, -
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I have stacks of small prizes here to give out but no contests to go with it. We need to think up some contests so I can clean my office out. I have hats, branded USB drives, a Jeep first aid kit (very heavy/rugged), a 3M restoration kit, and an R/C Cadillac Escalade. So help think up some contests!
Last reply by G. David Felt, -
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Check out an initial new look for C&G by scrolling to the bottom of this page, click "Change Theme" and select the test theme. Feedback welcome
Last reply by FAPTurbo, -
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As you made have noticed on front page, Cheers & Gears now has a blog section (hooray!). Drew and I have posting stuff in there to get it somewhat going. I'm looking for some feedback and ideas with the blog I'm working on, The Mudpit. I have started two ongoing series on the blog. The first is called The Test Diaries which deals with the vehicles I get in for review. Its a place where I can go a little bit more in depth about the vehicles, give some thoughts and observations, and give a behind the scenes look in how a review gets done. The other series is tentatively called Random Links. It will appear every Sunday morning and provide a wide selection of stories, …
Last reply by G. David Felt, -
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March 2, 2013 - State of the Site As promised, on the first Saturday of each month, I present the State of the Site. Last month's can be viewed here: February 2013 State of the Site. Operations Server - The new server is proving to be dead reliable with no involuntary reboots since it was installed. I still plan on having it performance tuned at some point, but it is not a priority right now. We did get pinged that we've used up 89% of our free disk space, so I will need to buy some additional room there. Software - IP Board has released a small maintenance update that I will install tomorrow or Monday evening. Nothing drastic, but a number of small fixes for annoyi…
Last reply by GMTruckGuy74, -
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OK I started noticing that I was getting ads on every page, so I knew it was time to renew my "premium subscriber" status here at C&G. I inquired about it but didn't hear anything. Then I got an email showing an automatic payment being taken out of my credit card, supposedly renewing my account. But I've still got ads everywhere, and it still says "members" at my avatar, not "premium subscriber" or whatever it should say. Posting this here to try to find out what is happening. Thanks. I've lost my privileges and they have not been restored after the automatic payment. Anyone else in the same boat?
Last reply by ocnblu, -
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February 2, 2013 – State of the Site I plan to do these monthly to give you an idea of what is going on around here regarding site operations. Please bear with me as I work on the format and structure of these posts each month. As always, suggestions, thoughts, and questions are welcomed and requested. I plan to publish these reports on the 1st Saturday of each month. Operations 1. Server – We changed servers on January 1st of this year. The new server is half the cost for more processor and ram with substantially faster storage. While it has been perfectly reliable, I do feel there are additional performance gains to be made. Our old server was tuned to the hilt, bu…
Last reply by daves87rs, -
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Guys, I'd like to reorganize the way the Auto Show forums are listed. Rather than have sub-forums by year, I would like to have sub-forums by show location and then all of the years grouped under that show. Rather than having to search 5 different forums for Detroit auto show stuff, all years of Detroit Auto show would be in one forum listed in reverse chronological order. The current structure was built at a time before we had our articles system in place and doesn't mesh well (read: at all) with our new preferred way of posting articles. Making this structure change will allow front page articles to dump into the appropriate forum automatically and correctly. This …
Last reply by Camino LS6, -
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Bugs
by Blake Noble-
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Is anyone else having issues: Uploading image files? Embedding .jpg images, etc., into posts? Editing their signature? These are a few bugs I've noticed.
Last reply by Drew Dowdell, -
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Spam
by Drew Dowdell-
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There are two people spamming us via guest posting lately. Just report the posts and do not quote the post. I record the IP of the spammer and block them in the firewall. Each of these spammers has multiple IP addresses, so it will take time to grab them all, but eventually they will be totally blocked. Thanks, Drew
Last reply by G. David Felt, -
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I'm toying with the idea of allowing unregistered users to post to certain forums. The posts would not be visible till after a moderator approves the post. What do you think of the idea?
Last reply by Drew Dowdell, -
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I'm going to be upgrading the invision power software that runs C&G tonight. Things might look a little weird or not operate at all for a short while. I plan to start the updates at 930 pm eastern.
Last reply by G. David Felt, -
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On the default skin for the page, at the top there is the dark blue area w/ the stylized Cheers and Gears logo..there are some gray and silver objects behind the logo in the background. It looks like a grille mesh on the left behind 'Cheers' and to the right of 'Gears' is soemthing with a folding flap on the far right. They perplex me. What are they?
Last reply by PurdueGuy, -
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I've noticed that certain members have renamed themselves from time to time... but I can't seem to figure out where to do it. Is this disabled for some users?
Last reply by A Horse With No Name, -
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FYI
by Camino LS6- 1 reply
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New posts in the Buick forum are not updating on the main forums page.
Last reply by Camino LS6, -
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So.... has the sales ticker reporting been purposely discontinued?
Last reply by A Horse With No Name, -
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... But I believe I've lost the ability to edit my signature.
Last reply by Blake Noble, -
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...it just plain sucks. Can we do something about it?
Last reply by Drew Dowdell, -
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I upgraded us to the newest version of IP.Board and IP.Content today. Please report any bugs in this thread.
Last reply by Paolino, -
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Made a tweak to the server settings at the recommendation of another webmaster who runs this same software. Please post here if you notice any unpleasantness in the site operation.
Last reply by bobo, -
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Starting Monday, I will be on the road for work for 5 weeks straight, returning home only on some weekends. I will still be checking in when I can, but the volume of my posting will be down substantially.
Last reply by G. David Felt, -
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...member names displayed in the threads anymore? This detail was always something I liked about C&G as compared to other sites.
Last reply by Camino LS6, -
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Like, it doesn't work at all. Just to let you know. Anymore that's the area I prefer to talk.
Last reply by §carlet §wordfish, -
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As you know, last night the server experienced some major issues again. Well today, I approached a person recommended to me by other people who run this same software. On the forum for IP.Board admins that I frequent, Gary is often mentioned as a savior. Well, today he did just that for us. The problem last night wasn't that Cheers and Gears doesn't have enough server. No, in fact, the server we have is way more powerful than we really need. By my calculations, we could be 5 to 6 times our current size and traffic levels.... if the server is configured properly. Essentially, we have a Z-06 engine under the hood here. And there in was our problem. I am an I.T. guy... bu…
Last reply by Camino LS6, -
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Not a fan. I would much rather see a few more pics posted within the threads.
Last reply by Robert Hall, -
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Guys, I need some forum description suggestions for the following forums: Ford Lincoln Volvo Dodge Chrysler Ram Jeep Fisker Tesla Mercury They can be witty, but not derogatory.
Last reply by GMTruckGuy74, -
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Over the next few days I'm going to be cleaning up and consolidating some forums. Check this thread for where things end up.
Last reply by Drew Dowdell, -
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Can we stop having ads that will start blaring as soon as the page loads? I don't need to listen to inane chatter or music for an ad I am ignoring anyway...
Last reply by Robert Hall, -
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We just got a coupon for $200 in free advertising, but we don't have any banners to set up. Anyone care to help design some ads for the site?
Last reply by Drew Dowdell, -
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Well ... how about it? Or is there something else in store for the main page?
Last reply by Blake Noble, -
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Will there be much gnashing of teeth of I condense the Corvette, Camaro, and Volt forums down into the Chevy Car forum?
Last reply by FAPTurbo, -
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It's painfully slow, is that going to change or are we stuck with it?
Last reply by Drew Dowdell, -
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What's the deal with the images that are hosted off site not loading correctly? Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't.
Last reply by 67impss, -
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Coming Soon: CheersandGears - The Next Generation Well it's time for us to upgrade to the next platform of the software CheersandGears.com runs on. It is a pretty big jump, so it won't all happen at once. A couple of features won't work right out of the box and all of our skin templates will need to be re-written. Improvements coming with the upgrade: Vastly improved search function. A new area for articles separate from the regular forums, the forums will still be used for comments on the articles. View New Content is now more customizable, you'll be able to select the forums you want to monitor. View New Content will FINALLY work correctly and not forget to…
Last reply by Drew Dowdell, -
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am I still being warned? it's been like a month now? who do I talk to about being not warned?
Last reply by Potluck, -
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http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/09/autos/NHTSA_pagani_huayra/index.htm
Last reply by Sixty8panther, -
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I just want to send out a Thank You to those members who are helping to keep C&G running right now, a big shoutout to MudMonster and also to all of those who posted the sales numbers for June. I am well on the road to burnout at work. I am away from home for 50% of every month, except this month, when I will have house guests from Germany staying with us for 13 days....... I will be on the road again for the first 14 days of August and most likely away for another 23 days and 14 days in each of September and October respectively. (though two weeks in September are my yearly trip to Germany) But, I have a couple of surprises coming for you guys. We'll be teaming up…
Last reply by daves87rs, -
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Why does the administrator delete a link that doesn't have anything more than a link? He seems to want you to discuss what is in the link in addition to posting a link. Why? Besides his forum..his rules? Is the DO NOT SPAM message an automatic link? Or does he personally E Mail everyone who posts a link without additional words/comments. Somehow to accuse someone of spam (for sending one link) seems a bit offensive. Thanks.
Last reply by 01Malibu, -
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Guys, When you know of a car show or a regular car cruise that will be happening in your area. Can you please make an entry in the calendar at the tab at the top? I'm going to start working on the ones I know. Include date/time/location and if possible a link for more information.
Last reply by Cory Wolfe, -
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Mazda & Honda Suspend Orders For US William Maley - Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com March 28, 2011 Mazda and Honda are suspending orders for vehicles built in Japan due to the earthquake and inventory problems. Mazda said it's shutting down it's plants in Hiroshima and Hofu. The plants which build the Mazda2, Mazda3, Mazda5, MX-5 / Miata, RX-8, CX7 and CX9 were running last week for three days using parts in its inventory. However, Mazda will be idling plants starting this week due to part shortages. Mazda's U.S.spokesman Jay Amestoy said the decision to idle plants will only effect shipments of vehicles for May 2011. Amestoy also said it was un…
Last reply by CSpec, -
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Eliminate the Politics section as it is, and then have a section for debate. Have a moderated, intelligent debate between two C and G members on a specific topic. We could have a Peanut gallery thread, but most of those tend to be useless. methinks a section where the general audience could "cross examine" the debaters with a limited # of questions (say a limit of 3 per member) would be better... Just my two cents.
Last reply by Camino LS6, -
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Ad Free April Premium Membership Drive Now, a special deal for all of you. You can get 18 months of Advertisement free Cheers and Gears goodness for the price of 12*. That comes out to just 66 cents a month for an ad free experience. But wait! There's more! If we get 15 new subscriptions or renewals by midnight on March 31st, I will turn off advertisments* for all registered users for the entire month of April. That is one subscription per day for the rest of the month. If you are a current premium subscriber, the system won't allow you to renew until you are within 30 days of your expiration date. In that case, contact me directly, and I will give you instruct…
Last reply by Drew Dowdell, -
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Volkswagen Wants Alfa Romeo In The Family, Fiat Says NO! William Maley - Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com March 15, 2011 Volkswagen has been making passes at Alfa Romeo, trying to get the Italian automaker to leave it's parent company Fiat and join the Volkswagen family. Earlier this month, VW Chairman Ferdinand Piech said if Alfa Romeo was under the Volkswagen umbrella of brands, they could see sales of 400,000 vehicles within five years. This week, a rumor has come around saying Porsche could provide assistance to Alfa if they moved to the Volkswagen family. Part of the assistance could be a new flat-four engine Porsche is working on. The engine …
Last reply by Potluck, -
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Since the Politics section seems to be the most active forum on the website right now... and it's not related to automotive news... a small restriction has been put in place. In order to enter the Politics forum, you must make at least 5 posts in any other forum in the previous 24 hours before you will be permitted to post in Politics. No one, not even myself nor the other Admins are exempted from this rule. This also presumes that you already have access to Politics. -DD
Last reply by Camino LS6, -
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I've been a little annoyed by the latest PM settings on the forums. I never know when I have a PM in my inbox because it just shows up as a little green square in the top corner of my screen, so I've set out to find a fix. For those of you annoyed with this too, follow these steps to enable a pop-up notification every time you receive a PM. First, go to the top right corner of the screen, and you'll see this: Click on the arrow, and you'll get this drop down menu: Select "My Settings" and you'll be brought to this page: Select "Notification Options" and you'll see this section when you scroll down a bit: Click the check mark on the first option (Show popup wh…
Last reply by CSpec, -
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Gents, We've upgraded the Cheers and Gears Garage system to version 3.01 We're gathering quite the collection of cars. Is yours included? DD
Last reply by Drew Dowdell, -
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Yes yes... I broke the front page. I'm not sure what happened. I was upgrading the Garage system to the latest version and for some reason it took out the uPortal app that runs our front page. I've tried re-installing uPortal to no avail. I'm debating whether to put my efforts into fixing the uPortal app or if I should just finally bite the bullet and activate the Pages system that was intended to replace it.
Last reply by Drew Dowdell, -
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The 2010 sales numbers will be out very soon. Can any of you who have accounts on Wikipedia help me go through and update the 2010 sales for as many models as possible on the Wiki and use a link to C&G as the reference?
Last reply by Drew Dowdell, -
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New Category created: Cheer and Gears Features Sub-forums include: C&G Drives - renamed to C&G Reviews C&G Competitions C&G Top News Ford of Europe posts moved into Ford - Ford of Europe forum REMOVED Old "C&G Features" category renamed "Editorials" - new name once I can think of one Volvo moved from Ford Family to European Marques. Saab moved from GM to European Marques Buick New Vehicles and Concept merge with regular Buick forum - New Vehicles and Concepts forum removed Ditto Cadillac Ditto Chevrolet Concepts GM Motorsports merged into Motorsports and removed Added 2011 Autoshows forum Added 2010 Monthly Sales Archive Added "Heritage …
Last reply by regfootball, -
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Cheers and Gears for 2011 <br> December 31, 2010 - Drew Dowdell - Chief Editor CheersandGears.com<br> <br> 2010 was a year of steady growth for Cheers and Gears in terms of revenue and traffic. I am looking to accelerate that growth for 2011. I fell I should share with you our goals for 2011 and some of the plans in the works that will help us to reach them. <Br><br> More unique content. As some of you may have seen, I am looking to hire out writing work. In the coming year we will be scaling back on the use of our NewFeeder bot and instead generating our own articles to post. Partnerships with automobile dealerships. People who join …
Last reply by Drew Dowdell, -
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Guys: I am looking for help with some areas of the website. Some of the jobs available: Permanent Jobs Forum Moderating duties - this includes Forum cleanup of your designated forum - i.e. removing threads that are over 90 days old and have 2 or less posts. There is an automatic script that can be run once a month, but it needs to happen per forum. Maintaining order in the forum, moderating disputes. Sending people to their room with no supper, etc. Maintaining accurate descriptions on your designated forums. Spam hunting Gallery Moderating duties - one position available Cleaning up descriptions of albums approving picture comments Making sure pictures are …
Last reply by Dsuupr, -
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Xenatec Maybach Cruiserio coupe enters production with Saudi investment by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) on Dec 30th 2010 at 11:31AM Want to get your hands on a Maybach coupe? You've got two options. First would be to commission a replica of the Exelero concept car on the chassis of a Dodge Viper. That'll set you back €550,000, or about $730k at today's conversion rates. Your other choice is to have Xenatec convert a Maybach 57 S limo into a coupe for €675,000 ($894k). We brought you initial news of the project back in May, followed by details in October. For a quick refresher, the German coachbuilder brought in Fredrik Burchhardt, designer of the original Exelero, to pen t…
Last reply by NINETY EIGHT REGENCY, -
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Japan’s Economic Future in Doubt: A National Introspective TUESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2010 It’s not been a good year for Japan. China has recently overtaken the Land of the Rising Sun as the world’s second biggest economic power and a recall of over ten million vehicles by one of the nation’s biggest and most respectable companies, Toyota, kicked off a global PR debacle that some analysts predict will take years to recover from. Add to that Japan’s aging population, its growing national debt and heavy reliance on manufacturing, all of which are effectively killing what was once thought destined to be the world’s leading economic superpower. The departure of its fourth Pri…
Last reply by CSpec, -
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Report: BMW, Mercedes experiment with upscale car-sharing by Zach Bowman (RSS feed) on Dec 29th 2010 at 6:39PM If you think that joining in on the car-sharing party means that you'll be stuck behind the wheel of a low-buck auto, prepare to be amazed. According to AutoWeek, both BMW and Mercedes-Benz are diving into the car-sharing world with programs designed to allow users to experience a slice of luxury without having to foot the hassles associated with car ownership. BMW on Demand will provide drivers with a 1 Series for as little as €16 per hour in Europe (around $21 USD/hr). Those wanting a little more room can opt for a 5 Series for the low price of €23/hr ($30/…
Last reply by NINETY EIGHT REGENCY, -
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German luxury cars in high demand, but not in Germany 10:28 AM If you're interested in a German luxury car, you're probably not German. Business is booming for BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Porsche, a nice turnaround from a slow 2009,the Detroit News reports. Plants are so busy that some are apparently avoiding the end-of-the-year shutdown and running this week to try to catch up with demand. Demand, that is, in export markets like China, Brazil and the U.S. But not in Germany. There, in the fatherland, German luxury is still just that, a luxury. Sales slipped 25.2% in the first 11 months of the year. How much is demand up. Nine of the 10 top selling luxury nameplate…
Last reply by NINETY EIGHT REGENCY, -
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LUXURY CAR DEMAND SHORTENS THE HOLIDAY SEASON FOR GERMAN PLANT WORKERS By Drew Johnson The Christmas and New Year’s holidays are typically a slow time for the world’s automakers, but German luxury brands like Mercedes-Benz and BMW are working overtime to keep up with booming foreign demand. New cars sales have actually declined more than 25 percent in Germany over the last 11 months, but strong demand from China and the United States is keeping production rolling along at full capacity. In fact both Mercedes-Benz and BMW are keep factories open during their normal Christmas to New Year’s shut down. “2010 was expected to be a tough year all round,” John Lawson, a Londo…
Last reply by NINETY EIGHT REGENCY, -
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Mahindra trying to back away from another U.S. deal? by Zach Bowman (RSS feed) on Dec 27th 2010 at 8:29AM After Mahindra notoriously backed out of a deal with a U.S. supplier, Compact pickup fans are still licking their wounds over the news that the company's trucks won't be coming to our shores anytime soon. As it turns out, Global Vehicles USA may not be the only American company to have been wronged by Mahindra. According to The Post-Standard, electric car start-up Bannon Automotive LLC has filed a law-suit against both Reva Electric Car Company of Bangalore, India and Reva's parent company, Mahindra & Mahindra. Bannon Automotive claims that the two broke a dea…
Last reply by NINETY EIGHT REGENCY, -
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Rumormill: Marussia bringing seven new models to Frankfurt by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) on Dec 27th 2010 at 11:01AM If you're going to make it in the exotic supercar business, it helps to have two things: a substantial lineup and an F1 team. The Ferrari case, first of all, goes without saying. McLaren has the latter covered, and is in the process of kicking the former into high gear. Spyker bought its own F1 team, and though it subsequently sold it, look at the Dutch automaker now: they own Saab. Lotus is following the same path with not one, but two F1 teams, and an aggressive model rollout plan. Now Marussia looks poised to follow the same path. The exotic Russian au…
Last reply by SAmadei, -
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The link to the forums in the menu on the left side of the front page gives a 404 error when clicked.
Last reply by Camino LS6, -
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VW, Fiat, Ford face probe in Brazil on auto-parts policies Automotive News Europe -- December 16, 2010 14:03 CET BRASILIA (Bloomberg) -- Brazil's antitrust agency ordered an investigation into automakers Volkswagen AG, Fiat S.p.A. and Ford Motor Co. to find out whether their policies toward auto parts suppliers are abusive. The agency, known as Cade, wants to determine if the automakers are “abusing their economic power and illegally exercising their property rights on the auto parts,” Cade said Thursday in Brasilia. The investigation was requested by Brazil's federal association of partsmakers, known as Anfape, which claims the automakers, based on their intellectual…
Last reply by NINETY EIGHT REGENCY, -
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Fiat, Toyota, Ford lead European car-sales drop Opel/Vauxhall was the only major European volume maker to post a sales gain in November, thanks to cars such as the new Meriva, shown. Automotive News Europe -- December 15, 2010 08:16 CET PARIS (Bloomberg) -- Fiat S.p.A., Toyota Motor Corp. and Ford Motor Co. led an eighth-consecutive monthly decline in European car deliveries as fallout from last year's government incentives hampered a recovery in the region's largest markets. Registrations fell 6.5 percent to 1.11 million cars in November from 1.18 million a year earlier, Brussels-based industry association ACEA said today in a statement. Eleven-month sales dropped 5.…
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Tata Nano retrofitted with four-year warranty to assuage quality fears by Chris Shunk (RSS feed) on Dec 10th 2010 at 2:00PM Tata Nano sales may have started out strong, but a number of price increases and several reports of electrical or exhaust fires have resulted in a huge sales plunge for the world's most affordable vehicle. Last month, Tata sold just 509 copies of the micro mini – a far cry from the massive waiting list for the Nano back in 2009. Automotive News reports that the Indian automaker is looking to once again win over perspective buyers by introducing a four-year factory warranty. What's more, Tata will extend the warranty to all 70,000 owners already…
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Toyota and Honda Hold Back as the Rest of Japan’s Automakers Go Electric THURSDAY, DECEMBER 09, 2010 The electric vehicle market in Japan is now burgeoning. Once the mainstay of small independents building low speed, short range Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs), major manufacturers including Nissan, Mitsubishi and Subaru are now hopping on the EV train in the hopes of raking in some greenie revenue. With its U.S. launch mere weeks away, Nissan already has 6,000 orders in Japan and a further 20,000 in the United States for its lithium-ion powered Leaf EV. The automaker has so many orders, in fact, that they won’t be taking any more. As you would expect, Nissan …
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Tata to offer 4-year warranty on Nano Safety fears after several models catch fire Automotive News Europe -- December 9, 2010 08:16 CET MUMBAI (Reuters) -- India's Tata Motors Ltd. will offer a four-year manufacturer's warranty on Nano cars. It's a perk that will be extended to all existing customers of the vehicle. There have been concerns over the car's safety after several of them caught fire in the last year. Last month the company announced it would contact the 70,000 Nano owners to offer them the option of installing "additional safety protection in the exhaust system and the electrical system." "We have noticed instances of additional foreign electrical equip…
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Report: Tata to go on Motown hiring binge by Chris Shunk (RSS feed) on Dec 6th 2010 at 8:28AM The state of Michigan has been especially hard-hit by the Great Recession, slow auto sales and the 2009 bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler, but there appears to be a bit of employment help on the way from an unlikely source. Drive reports that Tata Motors subsidiary Tata Technologies is looking to hire 400 workers at its Detroit-area technical center. Tata Technologies is a supplier for several auto companies in North America. Tata is looking for designers, engineers and professionals with experience dealing with product lifecycle, and these aren't jobs that will be…
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Report: Renault-Nissan engines to power future Mercedes, Smart models by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) on Dec 8th 2010 at 3:58PM The door metaphorically adjoining the offices of Msr. Ghosn and Dr. Zetsche swings both ways. The two executives – heads of Daimler and the Renault-Nissan Alliance respectively – signed a deal that would see the two auto groups collaborating on future products. So far all the reports appear to be benefiting Nissan – including the latest on AMG engines in Infiniti Performance Line models – but the latest indicate a measure of reciprocation. According to the wire coming in from across the pond, the next generation of Mercedes-Benz A- and B-Class hat…
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Proton Shows Mitsubishi Lancer EVO X Lookalike Concept of Inspira with 240HP Turbo Engine FRIDAY, DECEMBER 03, 2010 The 2010 Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show at the Putra World Trade Centre in Malaysia saw local automaker and owner of Lotus, Proton, revealing a host of concept models including a sport prototype of the recently launched Inspira called the Jebat. Needless to say, it's clearly inspired from the Mitsubishi Lancer EVO X. As you may remember, the Inspira is a rebadged Mitsubishi Lancer sedan and is the result of an OEM collaboration between the Malaysian automaker and Mitsubishi Japan. However, we're not so sure if Mitsubishi had this in mind when it …
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Is the Lotus Europa set to be reborn as a Proton? by Jeff Glucker (RSS feed) on Dec 3rd 2010 at 2:29PM The Lotus Europa died so that the Evora could live. Now it seems that Lotus-owner Proton is looking to revive the Europa and stick the Proton badge on the bodywork. The resulting Proton-badged Europa would provide a relatively affordable sports car for the Malaysian market. In fact, this very car has recently popped up in the form of the Proton Lekir Concept, which is essentially a tiger-badged Europa. If this conceptual car ever comes to fruition, we'll be interested to see how the Malaysian market would respond to a Lotus they can truly call their own. link: htt…
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NHTSA PROBING 2006 HONDA CR-V, 2007 KIA OPTIMA OVER SAFETY CONCERNS By Drew Johnson The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced it has two separate safety probes involving the Honda CR-V and the Kia Optima. The first investigation, involving the 2006 Honda CR-V, is due to an electrical issue. The NHTSA is investigating complaints that the vehicle’s master power window switch is defective, causing the melting or burning or related electrical wiring components. The NHTSA has only received three complaints about the issue, but all of them have involved a vehicle fire. If a recall is issued, it could include 150,000 2006 CR-V models. In a separate in…
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Dispute With Distributor Continues to Keep Mahindra Out of U.S. By Byron Pope WardsAuto.com, Nov 24, 2010 9:00 AM The feud between distributor Global Vehicles U.S.A. Inc. and auto maker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. is growing more contentious by the day, and no solution appears in sight. The argument, which continues to keep Mahindra vehicles out of the U.S. market, stems from a series of long delays in delivering a small diesel pickup produced in India. Alphareta, GA-based Global Vehicles, earlier inked a deal to be the sole distributor of the 2- and 4-door trucks, but Mumbai-based Mahindra continues to refuse to ship the vehicles, contending its contract with …
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Due to some abuse by spammers, you are now no longer able to edit your signature (and thus put links in there) until you have over 200 posts or purchase a premium membership. I will update the member options in a moment. for 99% of you who read this, it won't be an issue for you.
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BMW, Mercedes to shorten Christmas breaks as sales rebound BMW's production shutdown at its Dingolfing plant (shown) will be as short as possible to keep up with demand for its 7-, 6- and 5-series models. November 23, 2010 06:01 CET BERLIN (Bloomberg) -- BMW AG and Mercedes-Benz will shorten Christmas breaks at their factories because of surging demand for new models. BMW's German plants in Dingolfing and Leipzig will stay open over the holidays after halting output for about three weeks in 2009. Dingolfing makes the new-generation 5-series and Leipzig produces the strong-selling X1 crossover introduced last year. Mercedes's Hamburg factory, which supplies parts to ve…
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Mahindra to buy 70% Ssangyong stake for $378 million Staff and Wire Reports Automotive News Europe -- November 23, 2010 06:01 CET Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., India's largest SUV maker, will pay 427.1 billion won ($378 million) for a controlling stake in Ssangyong Motor Co., the companies said Tuesday. Mahindra, which aims to widen its model range and boost sales overseas, will take a 70 percent stake by buying new shares in the deal, which needs approval from Ssangyong creditors. Mahindra also will buy 95.4 billion won (about $84 million) of new bonds from Pyeongtaek-based Ssangyong. Mahindra expects to complete the acquisition by March, the company said. The au…
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Ghosn says Renault-Nissan EVs may be profitable in 3 years Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has predicted battery-powered autos may account for 10 percent of global auto sales by 2020. November 18, 2010 15:00 CET TOKYO (Bloomberg) -- Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said the alliance's electric cars business may be profitable within three years as the two automakers plan to introduce new models. “There are customers who want really zero emission cars,” Ghosn said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in New York Wednesday. “This segment is going to grow with time.” Ghosn has predicted battery-powered autos may account for 10 percent of global auto sales by 2020. Hi…
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Fiat, Ford lead monthly sales decline in Europe Paul McVeigh November 16, 2010 12:37 CET Fiat S.p.A., Volkswagen AG, Ford Motor Co., Opel/Vauxhall, Renault and PSA/Peugeot-Citroen all saw steep declines in their European new-car sales in October as the region's auto market fell by 16.1 percent to 1.06 million units. Fiat brand led the decline with a 36.4 drop in volume last month followed by Ford, whose sales were down by 29.3 percent, according to figures released on Tuesday by ACEA, the European automakers association. Renault brand sales fell 21.5 percent, PSA's volume was down 19.1 percent, while Opel/Vauxhall sales declined 18.7 percent and Volkswagen brand sales…
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A new front page is coming. I would like your input as to what you would like to see changed, added, subtracted any other comments you have. No guarantee that I can integrate all ideas, but would like everyone to throw something into the ring.
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VIDEO: Ferrari 458 Italia is Auto Express’ 2011 Performance Car of the Year TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 09, 2010 British car magazine Auto Express, has crowned the Ferrari 458 Italia their 2011 Performance Car of the Year (PCOTY). The magazine chose the Italian supercar from a list of 20 contenders, including other big names like the Audi V10 Spyder, Porsche GT3 RS, BMW M3 Competition and Mercedes SLS AMG. The Honda CR-Z, Renault Twingo Cup 133 and Skoda Fabia RS were the more down-to-earth cars of the group. Watch the video summary after the break to see what makes the F458 this year's performance car in AE's opinion. You can also see each car's lap time here. By Csaba Daradi…
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European jurists announce seven finalists for 2011 Car of the Year by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) on Nov 9th 2010 at 8:58AM While it may seem like every magazine worth its bar-code is clamoring to select its own Car of the Year, over in Europe things are a bit more civilized. Seven publications from seven different countries get together each year to nominate their collective Car of the Year, speaking in one united voice. The process takes place over the course of months. First comes the nominees, then the finalists and ultimately the solitary winner. The super best-friends have just arrived at that middle step, announcing the finalists for 2011, and as in years past, it'…
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Global Vehicles emails potential customers, attempts to explain delays. Again. by Jeremy Korzeniewski (RSS feed) on Nov 5th 2010 at 6:29PM Mahindra Pik-Up – Click above for high-res image gallery The plot thickens. Global Vehicles USA, the one-time and possible-still (pending litigation, of course) importer of Mahindra pickups has sent an email to those who have reserved a spot for one of the first 30,000 or so little diesel trucks in the United States. You'll find the text of the email here, but basically the importer still sounds hopeful that it will be putting the Indian machines into the hands of dealerships at some unknown point in the future. Will it actually ha…
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Finalists For 2011 European COTY Awards Announced By Viknesh Vijayenthiran Editor November 2nd, 2010 2011 Volvo S60Enlarge PhotoThe finalists for the 2011 European Car of the Year awards have been announced and surprisingly there is not a single luxury car among them, except perhaps the 2011 Volvo S60, which sits near the bottom of the luxury car spectrum. This means that original candidates like the new Jaguar XJ, Mercedes-Benz CLS and BMW 5-Series were all overlooked. Not surprisingly, most of the finalists are economical compacts, reflecting the changing trend of what’s most important when judging new cars. Even the all-electric Nissan Leaf has made this year’s fi…
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Honda, Hyundai issue anti-used-parts memos, junkyards object by Chris Shunk (RSS feed) on Oct 29th 2010 at 9:58AM The Automotive Recyclers Association is ready to go to war with Honda and Hyundai. Why? The ARA claims that the automakers warn against the use of recycled auto parts, saying that the use of these components will void vehicle warranties. The ARA filed an official letter of complaint with the Federal Trade Commission saying that the actions of the automakers fly in the face of the Magnuson-Moss Act of 1975, which was enacted to make warranties more straightforward. Recycled auto parts have been in wide use for decades, and the ARA says that the use of these …
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Europe could be largest global market for electric cars Luca Ciferri Automotive News Europe -- October 28, 2010 09:25 CET TURIN – Europe could become the largest global market for battery-powered electric vehicles by far, predict analysts J. D. Power and Associates. But EV volumes will still be lower than some automakers' expectations. By 2020, EV sales in Europe could reach 742,020 units, or 3.1 percent of 23.8 million sales predicted for that year, according to a report by California-based J. D. Power. China would be the second EV largest market with unit sales of 332,775 and a 1.9 percent market share. The United States would be third in term of unit sales, 107,…
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VIDEO: BMW X3 vs. Audi Q5 in an all-wheel drive man-made hill climb WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2010 Who would have thought that BMW's all-wheel drive systems were enough to shame Audi's famous quattro system? Not the average consumer, that's for sure (though BMW certainly has had enough time to get it right). BMW, which has actually been making AWD cars for the past 25 years, has decided to begin more aggressively targeting consumers who live in harsher climates. According to this video, BMW's xDrive is vastly superior to Audi's quattro - at least when driving up metal inclines built by BMW... In the clip, we get a glimpse at what appears to be some sort of BMW press even…
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Europe Still Working to Reach Agreement on EV Recharging-Plug Standards By William Diem WardsAuto.com, Oct 26, 2010 9:00 AM PARIS – Dozens of cities around Europe are preparing to install recharging points for electric vehicles in public areas, but the French-German working group that will recommend what type of plug to use has until March 31 to report. Until a standard is agreed upon, recharging for early EV arrivals on the market will be done from normal 220-volt household sockets. “The industry can begin with domestic charging for urban and suburban driving,” says Igor Czerny, director-transportation for EVs at the French electric-company EDF. The “second stage” i…
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Wiesmann upgrades all V10 models to twin-turbo V8 by Jeff Glucker (RSS feed) on Oct 21st 2010 at 3:32PM Wiesmann was in a bit of a pickle when BMW announced it was no longer producing its V10. In addition to the M5 and M6, the high-revving 10 was used to power the Roadster MF5 and GT MF5 and we assumed Wiesmann would make the switch to the new 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine. We were right. What we didn't guess is that it would be sticking the new mill under the hoods of both the Roadster MF4 and GT MF4. The Wiesmann MF3 will retain its 343 horsepower six-cylinder engine. No word yet on how much power the twin-turbo will produce when utilized with the MF4, but wh…
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BMW Group and PSA Peugeot Citroën want to Expand Cooperation to Hybrid Systems MONDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2010 The ongoing love affair between the BMW Group and PSA Peugeot Citroën has just become more intense as the two companies announced today their intention to further expand the cooperation to include hybrid components for front-wheel-drive vehicles by singing a memorandum of understanding. Both parties have agreed not to disclose financial details of the agreement. In a joint statement, the two automakers said the components are to be used in front-wheel-drive vehicles with electrified drive trains with the proposed deal said to offer significant economies of scale for …
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MAHINDRA CONFIRMS IT HAS "NO DATE" FOR U.S. LAUNCH OF COMPACT PICKUP TRUCK By Drew Johnson Mahindra & Mahindra assured Leftlane back in the summer of 2008 that its compact pickup truck was right on schedule for its United States launch, but that guarantee has apparently turned belly up. Following a number of subsequent delays, a squabble between Mahindra and its U.S. distributor – Global Vehicles USA – has indefinitely put the Indian automaker’s U.S. plans on hold. Mahindra was originally slated to begin U.S. sales of a compact pickup truck in mid-2009. Global Vehicles USA recently filed a lawsuit against Mahindra, claiming the Indian automaker unlawfully termina…
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Why Audi, BMW and Mercedes will dominate China's luxury market Automotive News Europe -- October 18, 2010 06:01 CET SHANGHAI -- While dozens of mass-market brands brawl to gain share in China's automotive market, the luxury segment is dominated by just three. Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz control nearly 76 percent of China's luxury car sales, and their market share over the next few years may even grow. Why? The German brands enjoy two huge advantages: lower prices and products that have been customized to satisfy Chinese tastes. First, the German automakers have stretched the wheelbase of their products to satisfy wealthy Chinese customers who prefer to sit in the sp…
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Brazil's boom is good news for Fiat and VW October 12, 2010 - 11:30 pm ET The unthinkable has finally happened. Brazil has overtaken Germany as the fourth-largest market for passenger car and light commercial vehicle sales. That's good news for Fiat, Volkswagen and other European volume carmakers. Fiat and VW have dominated the Brazilian auto market for decades. Their rivals Renault and PSA/Peugeot-Citroen have big growth plans for South America and Brazil, the region's biggest market. Let's take a look at the numbers: In the first eight months, Brazilian car and LCV sales grew 8.4 percent to 2.08 million while Germany fell 27.3 percent to 2.03 million, according to m…
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Lamborghini, Ferrari and Bentley expand use of carbon fiber Rhoda Miel Automotive News Europe -- October 13, 2010 06:01 CET European carmakers such as Lamborghini, Ferrari, Bentley and McLaren made carbon-fiber composites the standard for high-end supercars. Now they're taking carbon fiber even further, creating new ways to reduce molding time and get more of the material into structural parts. Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A made its new technology the centerpiece of its Sesto Elemento concept, which was introduced Sept. 30 at the Paris auto show. The car uses carbon fiber for the passenger compartment, the front and rear-end structures, suspension components, the i…
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A tale of two lost automakers in search of their mojo. By Peter M. De Lorenzo (Posted 10/12, 12:00 p.m.) Detroit. No, I’m not going to write about the Chevrolet Volt this week in this column, although I do have a mini-rant in this week’s “On the Table” if you just have to read more about it. I’d rather talk about two Japanese car industry stalwarts – Toyota and Honda – and where they’ve been, where they are now and where they need to go given increasingly stiff competition from Ford and the Hyundai-KIA group, etc. Five years ago you could pretty much predict the tone of any article mentioning either Toyota or Honda, the two most successful Asian automakers of their tim…
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TATA ARIA: INDIA'S FIRST CROSSOVER By Drew Johnson India’s Tata Motors is best known for making rugged SUVs – and of course its recent purchase of the Land Rover and Jaguar brands – but the off road-brand has just announced the launch of India’s first four-wheel drive crossover. Dubbed the Aria, Tata describes the CUV as “a luxurious creation with the finesse of a sedan and the muscle of an SUV all blended in one car.” At first glance, the Aria appears to be a Nissan interpretation of the Mercedes-Benz R-Class. However, the Aria has a higher ride height than your typical crossover, giving it the off-road chops of a traditional SUV. Inside the Aria features three rows…
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Folks, I'm looking at running a cleanup on the forums. The plan is to delete any thread that has one post and zero replies and isn't a pinned thread. This will happen in most forums except the sales ticker threads or any other forum that jumps out at me as needing to be archived. This will reduce many/most people's post counts. I know some of you are more concerned than others with this. Objections? Comments? Concerns?
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I don't want this to get lost in the Google Ads thread. Please read, comment, and suggest alterations. I'm pretty much set on this direction generally, but refinements are welcome. ------- Here is my vision for Cheers and Gears. I don't care if we have 500 members of 500,000.... that's not how I'm measuring our success. Eventually, and with the appropriate software development changes, I want C&G to be an automotive Wikipedia with the best forums (not necessarily biggest) around. I want C&G to be the reference site for car people to learn about the "stovebolt chevy" then kick around and argue about it. I want C&G to offer the automotive news, but…
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