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DETROIT July 31, 2008; Jean Halliday writing for AdAge.com reported that Mark Kaline, the high-profile global media manager of Ford Motor Co., left the automaker this week, according to executives close to the matter.

Mr. Kaline is a casualty of Ford’s latest move, announced in June, to cut 15% of its white-collar staff by Aug. 1.

Mr. Kaline confirmed today that he had left the company. Ford, he said, “is under immense pressure and there are good people being let go.”

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Tags: car news, Volkswagen, cool cars, Mercedes-Benz

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Posted Jul 31st 2008 2:01PM by Chris ShunkFiled under: Sedans/Saloons, Chrysler, LLC., Nissan, FIATMotor Trend is reporting that Chrysler is considering a few different options now for its 2012 midsize offerings. The first option is to stick with Project D, which is gobbling up engineering and design resources. Option two is to use either Fiat’s premium midsize platform or the Nissan Altima platform, and design and engineer the rest of the vehicle from scratch. Chrysler can also decide to badge-engineer one of the vehicles, which would be a far cry from the original plan to have many vehicles spawned off one platform. Since Fiat currently doesn’t have any infrastructure in the U.S. (Read the full post about ‘Chrysler’s next sedan could be a Nissan Altima (or a Fiat)’…)

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Audi RS6 Avant comes already with 580 hp and 650 Nm of torque but for those folks who consider that this is not enough there’s always MTM. The tuner unveiled today an even more powerful version of the German station wagon. mtm audi rs6 r With the help of some ECU tweaking an astonishing 656 hp and 785 Nm of torque was obtained. With these numbers, the sprint from 0-100 km/h is made in 3.9 seconds while the top speed can be limited at 279, 290 or 310 km/h. All these are offered at a price of 3999 euro. According to the manufacturer, an even more powerful version of the vehicle is under development with a massive 702 hp. (Read the full post about ‘MTM RS6 R based on the Audi RS6 Avant’…)

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Posted Jul 31st 2008 2:28PM by Jonathon RamseyFiled under: Etc., Tech, Commercial TrucksRemember in the first Crocodile Dundee movie when he gets mugged in New York City and Sue says “He’s got a knife,” and Dundee says, “That’s not a knife, this is a knife,” and then he pulls out a beast-killing monstrosity of a blade? Well, that’s what the folks at Titan Tire are saying right now about every other — smaller — tire in the world. Titan has made a 63-inch rubber behemoth for use on trucks in Canada’s oil sands. The stats on these rubber donuts is impressive: the 59/80R63 is the biggest production tire in the world, standing over fourteen feet tall and weighing 12,500 pounds with a load rating of 101 metric tons. (Read the full post about ‘Titan Tire ships world’s first 63-inch tire’…)

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CAYMAN ISLANDS, July 31 — Garmin Ltd. announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Puls Elektronik GmbH, the distributor of Garmin’s consumer products in Austria. The company will be renamed Garmin Austria GmbH and will retain its management, sales, marketing and supporting staff, consisting of approximately 30 people, and will continue operations at its current headquarters located in Nestelbach/Graz, Austria.

Dr. Min Kao, chairman and CEO of Garmin Ltd., said, “We welcome the Puls Elektronik team into the Garmin family.

(Read the full post about ‘Garmin Announces Completion of the Acquisition of Its Austrian Distributor’…)

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Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is the ultimate automotive show. For a true enthusiast having a car on the lawn at Pebble beach can rank higher than the birth of a child. To be one of the rare winners may the single greatest moment in an enthusiast’s life. The showcase has traditionally been reserved for automotive time capsules that are restored to a condition as if they were factory fresh. But now intruding on this automotive aristocracy are unrestored riffraff.Pebble Beach is starting to understand that history is preserved in the unpolished automotive gems, and no car shows this better than the Porsche No. 1. (Read the full post about ‘Porsche No.1 at 2008 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance’…)

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TULSA, Okla., July 31 — Thrifty Car Rental, a subsidiary of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. , today announced the expansion of its existing relationship with Expedia, Inc. . Under the multi-year agreement, Thrifty Car Rental will join the Expedia(R) Preferred Rental Car Program on Expedia.com(R) and Expedia.ca(TM), where Expedia customers will continue to receive Thrifty’s best rates on car rentals.

By joining the Expedia Preferred Rental Car Program, Thrifty Car Rental can effectively expand its presence in the online environment and reach Expedia’s more than 22 million unique visitors per month.

(Read the full post about ‘Thrifty Car Rental and Expedia Sign Preferred Partner Agreement’…)

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Posted Jul 31st 2008 10:59AM by Chris ShunkFiled under: Etc., Plants/Manufacturing, Ford Ford has committed to putting 500,000 vehicles on the road annually with its Ecoboost direct injection + turbo technology, which means the Blue Oval is going to need a whole bunch of turbochargers. After some searching, Ford has chosen Honeywell to be the supplier that puts some fuel-sipping pep into its engine lineup. Honeywell already supplies turbo chargers to several European automakers, where forced induction has been an accepted practice for boosting small engines for years. Ford says its Ecoboost technology can, for example, enable four-cylinder engines to produce V6 power with four-pot efficiency, which will go a long way toward helping the automaker achieve its goal of reducing fuel consumption by 30% or more by 2020. (Read the full post about ‘Honeywell tapped to provide turbos for Ford’…)

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Could this be a new future model from Audi? An Audi fan took this photo during a recent visit to the company’s factory. Nice 20-inch rims, don’t you think? The RS6 badging and body style suggest possibly a new performance minded Allroad. If the badging on the car is correct, then this car is fitted with the A6’s standard 3.2-liter V6. So maybe there is a turbo added, or the badging is just designed to throw us off?

We’ll just have to wait for more details.

Tags: ford, new car reviews, cars, cool cars

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Auto Express Car Reviews 31st July 2008 The inside of the Ka is out…almost! We’ve already seen how the all-new Ka city car will look, but Ford hasn’t released any interior shots of the newcomer. However, to coincide with the car’s upcoming appearance in the James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, the firm has unveiled the first image of the all-new Ka’s interior.The picture is under strict embargo until 1 August – but www.autoexpress.co.uk will be first to publish it, giving you a tantalising look at the innovative new cockpit.Originally unveiled at 1996’s Paris Motor Show, the Ka MkI has lasted 12 years and is now seen as a modern classic, with over 1.4 million sold – 480,000 in the UK. (Read the full post about ‘Inside line on next Ka’…)

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