The First Photos of the Voice-Commanded VW eT! Van in Action

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Former Ferrari Designer To Lead Lancia-Chrysler Integration

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Lorenzo Ramaciotti to lead design team that will establish a common design language for the two brand

What is the common denominator between Fiat Group and Chrysler LLC? So far it was only Sergio Marchionne, the architect of Fiat's takeover ofChrysler and who also serves as the CEO of both companies.There are also a few Lancia models based on Chrysler cars and Chrysler cars based on Lancia's. However Marchionne is not satisfied with that level of integration, that is only badge engineering.

Now he aims to create stronger links and more substantial integration between the two nameplates in order save costs and double sales.In order to achieve his goal he chose Lorenzo Ramaciotti, Fiat Group's chief of design since 2007 is to lead a design team that will develop cars for the two brands."We are trying to find an international language, which could have a place both here in Italy and in the U.S.," said Ramaciotti to Bloomberg.com. "If you put all the models into the showroom, they must fit together. It's a delicate problem."
Before joining Fiat, Ramaciotti had worked for Pininfarina, the Italian coachbuilder, for 32 years. He was involved in the design of Ferrari cars, among them the 612 Scaglietti. He headed Pinifarina Design for almost 20 years and under his watch the company created some 20 concept cars for various customers.However his latest mission, to combine the two worlds, that of European car design with that American car design is going to be his toughest task, as Marchionne's ambition is to sell 800,000 Lancia-Chryslercars by 2014, more than double the current sales volume.

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Range_e Concept wins the 2011 British Automotive Innovation of the Year

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Range_e Concept wins the 2011 British Automotive Innovation of the Year 

Land Rover's Range_e, a plug-in hybrid diesel-electric powertrain concept, has been crowned as the Automotive Innovation for 2011 by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders in the UK (SMMT). The concept was first shown at the Geneva Auto Show last March.It is powered by a plug-in hybrid system with an overall CO2 output of 89 g/km and 85mpg. The hybrid system made up of a 3.0-liter 245hp TDV6 diesel combined with a 93hp electric motor powered by a 14.2 kWh lithium-ion battery.

The Range_e can be driven more than 20 miles on its electric power alone and its maximum range is 690 miles.The diesel hybrid drivetrain engages seamlessly as the system's combined 339hp delivers a top speed of around 120mph. Battery recharging can be accomplished simply and efficiently by connecting the system to an external 240V power source.The Range_e is engineered with the same full-time 4WD capability as the standard Range Rover Sport, with high and low range in the transmission, front and rear differentials and a mechanical locking center differential. Dependent on the driver's demand, the car's system decides the most efficient method to deliver the power required, whether this is by electric, diesel or both.The Range_e also features regenerative braking to capture energy usually wasted in heat energy via the brakes. This energy can then be redeployed to drive the vehicle, further reducing fossil fuel consumption.

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Toyota Fun-Vii Concept Coming to Tokyo

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Toyota today announced that it will use the upcoming Tokyo Auto Show to give us the Fun-Vii concept, a development that can be described in one word: interactivity.

The exterior of the car can be used as a display space, so the driver can change the color and the message(s) shown on the vehicle, while the interior offers a similar feature, aiming to match the mood of the passengers and also uses augmented reality to introduce navigation information to the occupants
The Fun-Vii has the following dimensions: Length 4,020 mm; Width 1,745 mm; Height 1,415 mm and Wheelbase 2,750 mm and can seat three. Toyota brags that the vehicle can also communicate with surrounding cars and infrastructure.

autoevolution will be attending the 2011 Tokyo Auto Show, so stay tuned for some real up close and personal shots of the vehicles, as well as for first-hand details of the motorized contraptions presented at the event.

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Formula 1 Became More Exhilarating in the 2011 Season

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Due to changes in technical regulations this season, there were more many overtakes than ever before. 

Over the last few years, overtakings on the race track became the main worry for Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula 1 racing series boss. As his show gained popularity around the world it also attracted criticism for the lack of overtakings, and the subsequent bore that millions of viewers had to suffer.As a result, a few technical working groups were established in order to find a solution to that problem. And fortunately, it now appears that a solution has been found.

At the beginning of the current season that will come to a close on Sunday at the Brazilian Grand Prix, a new tire supplier, Pirelli,has been drafted to replace previous supplier Bridgestone. Before Pirelli started developing the new tires, Ecclestone gave them a short brief: make the tires last for the least amount of time as possible and make it so drivers will have to change tires at least two or three times in a race.Pirelli took notice and produced soft tires even on the hard compound (two tire compounds are mandatory for each race meeting) and the result was that we saw many more overtaking maneuvers in the first 18 races of the 2011 season.

Not only are the less durable being tires credited for this phenomenon, but also are the DRS mechanism and KERS system.DRS is a mechanism that allows a chasing car open up the rear wing on certain sections of the track in order to reduce drag and increase its speed and to complete the overtaking maneuver before the designated straight's end.And there was also the KERS system, which accumulates electricity during braking and can feed it back to an electric motor for a few seconds every lap and supplement the engine's output with an additional 80hp. 

As a result of all these combined measures, overtaking became a common occurrence during the races. From the data summary, it's been found that there have been 1,436 overtaking maneuvers in all categories.When excluding overtakes categorized as 'Lap One' or because of damage, there have been a total of 1,180 maneuvers.The combined total of 'Normal' and 'DRS-assisted' moves - the indicator of what most observers consider to be 'clean' overtaking - is 804 overtakes. This gives an average of 45 normal and DRS overtakes per race. There have been 441 normal overtakes this season and 363 DRS overtakes; from the total of 804 clean overtakes, 55 percent were normal and 45 percent were DRS. 300 overtakes were on the three slowest teams by faster cars, with passes between team-mates accounting for 76 overtakes.The highest number of clean overtakes were recorded in Turkey (85), Canada (79) and China (67). The races with the fewest were Monaco (16), Australia (17) and India (18).

 Formula 1

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BMW X6 Car CLP Bruiser View

We would hardly call the BMW X6 crossover it looks good, which may explain the abundance of packages available from independent style tuners. But something tells us that last CLP offers the automotive called “Bruiser” will not help change the idea that the X6 is a failure when it comes to appearance.

The package does not show Bruiser and go, as it is limited to a range Aero kit and new tires.

The cosmetic makeover includes a new front bumper with massive air intakes are covered with a mesh grille, headlights eyelashes [sic ...], front grilles painted in the same color as the rest of the car, extended front and wings back associated with a prominent side skirts and a new rompers with integrated diffuser and four exhaust tips.

A rear spoiler and starting small solid deep dish alloy wheels 23 inches in a round two-tone finish black and bronze on the changes CLP style automobile.

The complete kit is priced at € 10,000 or U.S. $ 13,500 on today’s exchange rates, including German VAT, but not installation.

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IAA 2011: Mansory BMW X6 M

The Swiss aftermarket specialists from Mansory bring to the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show their own interpretation of the BMW X6 M. The new aftermarket program follows the steps of the X5M by Mansory revealed and just like the X5 M twin, the Mansory BMW X6 M package includes an impressive power upgrade to around 670 HP / 493 kW and a 950 Nm of torque at 5900 rpm.

The Mansory BMW X6M can run from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.2 seconds and can reach a top speed of 300 km/h.

At the front, the X6 M by Mansory showcases a redesigned front spoiler with larger air intakes and an extra light bonnet made entirely of carbon which, with its ventilation channels, optimizes air flow to the engine.

The car has 70 millimeters more width at the front and 80 millimeters at the rear.

At the back a newly designed skirt comes into play using an integrated diffuser which has room for four stainless steel exhaust pipes from the MANSORY sports exhaust system. A roof spoiler for additional contact pressure and a rear spoiler lip give the MANSORY X6 M more stability at high speeds.

Nearly all the aerodynamic components are fabricated by the engineers from high-tensile polyurethane (PU-RIM) and from prepreg autoclave carbon, characteristic of MANSORY. In the process, the preformed carbon-fiber parts are given a permanent shape in autoclaves by the effects of vacuum and heat which guarantees a perfect surface finish with low weight.

Enjoy the photo gallery!

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