GM launched this days in China the 2011 SLS luxury sedan at the Guangzhou Auto Show. It will be offered in four different version, with prices ranging from 448,000 RMB to 698,000 RMB.
The new 2011 Cadillac SLS will be offered with a choice of two new engines: a 3.0-liter SIDI engine that delivers 272 hp with 300 Nm of torque, and a 3.6-liter SIDI engine with 310 hp and 374 Nm of torque. Both engines are mated to a six-speed automatic-manual transmission.
The list of technologies featured in the new SLS includes: MagneRide, an electromagnetic active suspension system, and Air Quality Control. It will be offered with a choice of five body colors: Black, Titanium Silver, Golden, Space Gray and Platinum Gray combined with two interior colors: Champagne and Ebony.
While Cadillac may be at the top of the heap as far as General Motors domestic sales are concerned, the Buick brand is surprisingly popular in a few far off markets. Keeping their other customers happy the other upscale arm of GM has just unveiled the all new Excelle XT at the Guangzhou Auto Show. The XT is an interesting vehicle due to its coupe like profile despite being a five door wagon. The new car is slated to go on sale in China in 2010 and is basically an Asian iteration of the European Opel Astra.
The Excelle XT will be offered with a choice of three engines. The top of the line model will be powered by a 1.6 Liter turbocharged four cylinder gasoline engine cranking out 180 HP. Aside from the boosted offering, there will also be a naturally aspirated version with the same displacement making 116 HP and a slightly larger 1.8 Liter DOHC inline four with lots of high tech working parts to manipulate the cam profiles and produce an impressive and at the same time efficient 138 HP. No matter which internal combustion option you choose, all engines will be mated to a fuel efficient six speed automatic transmission, putting the driver at ease when they are behind the wheel.
Well, it was auctioned off today at the Red Gate Gallery in Beijing for a whopping $1.75 million. Unfortunately, the identity of the winning bidder was withheld so we have no idea who he was, although, we do know that he’s probably rich enough to afford paying for this car.
If you recall, this uber-rare Ferrari, which incidentally was based from a limited edition 599 that is going to be exclusively sold in China, was designed by Mr. Hao with pottery patterns from the legendary Song Dynasty.
While the one-off 599 was the highlight of the auction, other Ferrari items were also up for bids, including racing overalls worn by Giancarlo Fisichella, as well as a helmet and model car that has been signed by no less than seven-time F1 world champion, Michael Schumacher.
The auction was done as part of a fund-raising where proceeds generated by the auction would go to the funding of a number of students and teachers from the Department of Automotive Engineering at Tsinghua University. These select group of students and teachers will be given the opportunity to go on a trip to the land of the Prancing Horse – Italy – where they’ll be given a chance to study at Politecnico di Milano University and take up an internship job at Ferrari.
After months of negotiations and a few bumps in the road along the way, General Motors has finally reached an agreement with China’s Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery to sell an 80% stake of Hummer to the China-based company.
News of the impending sale have been floating around for months now but for a time, the deal was met with some strong resistance from the Chinese government especially since the proposed purchase of a gas-guzzling vehicle like Hummer goes against the country’s new protocol of becoming more eco-friendly out on the roads.
But now it seems that the road to the sale has been smoothened out and while the deal still needs approval from a number of regulatory agencies in the US and China, it’s looking like it’s only a matter of time before Hummer finds a new home out on the Far East.
For its part, Tengzhong’s foray into the world of consumer vehicles is a step away from its comfort zone of only producing commercial trucks and industrial equipment. Nevertheless, the company is optimistic that it can make a seamless transition into producing fuel-efficient vehicles down the road.
According to Tengzhong’s CEO, Yang Yi: "We are excited about some of the initiatives already underway at HUMMER that we believe our investment will be able to accelerate, particularly related to the creation of the next generation of more fuel-efficient vehicles to meet not only future regulations but also customer expectations."
As part of the deal, GM will continue producing Hummer vehicles in its plants until June of 2011 with a possible one-year extension until 2012.
We have just learned that the Italian automaker Ferrari is commemorating its 5th anniversary selling cars on Chinese soil with a special edition 599 GTB Fiorano HGTE. Apparently, one of those 599 limited edition GT cars has become unit number 1 of 1 in an even more limited edition lineup. This one-of-a-kind Ferrari, which was also penned by Chinese designer Lu Hao, will be put up for auction at a charity gala that Ferrari will be hosting in Beijing on November 3, 2009.
As the only one that will ever be made, Hao went to painstaking lengths to make it as special as possible. Taking inspiration from the legendary Ge Liln porcelain of the Song Dynasty, Lu etched the pattern into the car. Apart from the specific etching, Hao also added a few more touches to make this special Ferrari even more unique, like the jade start button and gold colored rev counter with ancient Chinese “Xiao Zhuan” script, which also comes as standard issue on the 599 GTB HGTE China Limited Edition.
The exotic Italian automaker Ferrari has just released a special edition model to commemorate their fifth anniversary doing business in the China with a unique take on the 599 GTB Fiorano with HGTE, because when you are Ferrari you go all out. Not only will future collectors of the 599 examples of the China limited edition Ferrari feel the benefits of the GT car’s 6.0 Liter V12 that makes a screaming 612 HP and 448 lb-ft of torque that rockets the better handling Ferrari from 0 to 60 MPH in only 3.7 seconds. The car also comes complete with goodies like the: F1-Super gearbox, F1-Trac system, enhanced manettino, optimized aerodynamics and of course the even more high performance HGTE suspension setup.
Designed in collaboration with Chinese artisan Lu Hao, the Rosso Fuoco 599 China Limited Edition is painted with a silver roof and is adorned with a plaque that identifies the Ferrari as a China edition. The celebratory 599s are rich with highly detailed touches that celebrate the Asian nation’s culture and history. The numbers on the rev counter have been replaced with their representative symbols in Xiao Zhuan script. Not only does the starter button say the word in the same Chinese script, but it is also made of jade. The decorative green stone dates back thousands of years in Chinese history as not only ornamental but ceremonial as well, this makes the precious stone as valuable to them as items like diamonds and gold play in our lives here in the U.S.
This first celebratory model intended for the Ferraristas of China also comes with its own dedicated luggage to fit in the 599’s tight trunk space. The hand crafted leather baggage is decorated with an embroidered map of the ancient Silk Roads that connected China with Africa and the Mediterranean becoming the old world’s first major commercial route. Perhaps this means that Ferrari is planning another cross country celebration for their new car in which owners can pick up their cars at the factory in Maranello and drive them home using their luggage to guide them, although that would most likely never happen, the 599 GTB China Limited Edition will most certainly be an instant classic.
Japan has been known as one of the world’s strongest manufacturers, thanks to brands like Toyota, Honda, and Nissan calling the Land of the Rising Sun as home. And while a lot of us the world over have been treated to a wide variety of high-quality vehicles from these brands, as far as manufacturers are concerned, Japan is more than just these three brands, for better or for worse.
One other Japanese-based car company that we’ve all had the privilege to come across is Mitsuoka. For those who don’t know, Mitsuoka produces some of the most aesthetically gawky cars you can ever find. Why they do so, we have no clue, but we assume it has something to do with the Japanese way of being aggressive and bombastic with their ideas.
In any case, Mitsuoka’s forte is to create retro-looking cars that are, in some way shape or form, stylistically copied from cars coming from the Western world. And while small in stature compared to the Toyotas and Hondas of the world, Mitsuoka is now primed to expand their operations out of Japan with their first stop being China.
The car brand is crossing over to China with the company’s new Orochi luxury brand heading the plight. From what we’ve gathered, Mitsuoka is planning to use the 2010 Beijing Motor Show – where it will formally introduce the Orochi to the Chinese market - as its stepping stone towards its planned Chinese invasion. > More
It’s been awhile since we last heard of the Hummer-to-China deal, but apparently, the two sides have been working hard on ironing out the final kinks of the deal that would involve Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery buying one of the most iconic SUV brands in the world.
As part of the deal, which is expected to be completed at the latter part of the year, Tengzhong will maintain Hummer’s vast dealership network – the SUV brand is sold in more than thirty countries around the world.
A Tengzhong spokeswoman said: “there will be no change in Hummer’s existing global sales networks and the quality of its after sales services after the completion of the deal.”
Now it seems that the government has reserved course, with the commerce ministry softening its stance, saying that the deal was nothing more than a company taking advantage to grow its portfolio and network all over the world.
With talks now in the advanced stages, expect the deal between Tengzhong and Hummer to be finalized sooner than later.
There is a new hybrid super car coming from Japan that is set to debut sometime next year. If all goes well Tong Jian will be remembered amongst the greats such as Enzo Ferrari and Ferdinand Porsche; except for one thing Tong Jian is a Chinese figure skater. Perhaps the designers wanted to inspire the Tong Jian S11 to be as agile as the other speed machines that it resembles.
The car was designed by students from the Tongya University, and used a number of elements from super cars that are already on the market. The nose is a mix of Lamborghini scoops and Audi inspired headlights. The super car also features a pair of carbon fiber side scoops from an R8. Out back there are Ferrari inspired taillights and a powerfully round rear end that gives the S11 a GT-R like stance when viewed from behind. The Ferrari elements are carried over into the interior as well.
What should make electric automakers like Tesla take notice, is that the car will be powered to a combination of electric motors and internal combustion that will send power to all the four wheels. Could this be the next green super car?<
General Motors may be a long ways from getting back on its feet in the US, but in another country, the Detroit-based manufacturer is standing tall.
Despite a tenuous hold on the US auto market, GM can take comfort in the fact that they’re Chinese consumer base has more than picked up the slack, accounting for a whopping 814,442 vehicles in sales in the first six months of 2009.
It doesn’t come as the least bit surprising to us to see China establish themselves as the world’s leading auto market. After all, the country still comprises about 1/6th of the entire world’s population so naturally, that many people would entail a lot of customers too. GM also benefited through a number of stimulus policies the Chinese government has implemented, allowing foreign brands to import their products easier.
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