[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

Very bad news from Berlin-Fourth Night of Car Arson as it continues on and on!
Too sadistic for those outlaws and morons to target the luxury cars for destruction!
Fourth night of car arson prompts terror debate - The Local

As the arson targeted at the premium parked cars in Berlin continues unabated, the concerned residents have decided to form vigilante groups to track the culprits.About 300 such cars, the report says have been destroyed since the beginning of 2011 due to the acts by the outlaws.
More on this link:
Citizen patrols mooted to stop car arsons - The Local

[anjan_c2007]

Gasoline with ethanol- Very less takers in Germany for the fuel called E10 (10% ethanol mix in petrol).The German government has made it mandatory since January 2011 for companies to sell the E10 fuel quota as assigned to each company. But motorists do not prefer this fuel. Defaulting companies may be fined Euros 300 million to 400 million, which they say they will recover from the customers.
Too bad!
The link is here:
Petrol industry to charge more for E10 debacle - The Local

[anjan_c2007]

Some images from parts of the Eastern US of A that were slammed and battered by the Hurricane Irene since Sunday last (27/08/2011).



















The pictures show gory scenes of the widespread damages afflicted by the disaster.
(Source USA today)

[anjan_c2007]

Three more images of the devastation in the Eastern US !







Another interesting piece of news here: A Cessna plane with a couple on board made an emergency landing due to some technical snag on a street in Germany. The plane was damaged but miraculously the couple was safe and even not much damage was done to the surrounding.
More on this link:
Small plane makes emergency road landing - The Local

[anjan_c2007]

More pictures of the ravaged parts of the Eastern US, owing to the fury of Hurricane Irene!



In this picture above a white Hyundai Accent (the Verna is sold as the Accent in the US)
(above pictures: Source USA Today)

[anjan_c2007]

Here is news that Volkswagen has been named as the world's best car company for 2010 by the German Centre for Automotive Management. Toyota was no. 1 for 2009. More on this link:
VW named world's best car company - The Local
Another piece of interesting news is that Porsche wants a pie from Ferrari's market.Porsche is building a new car priced in the Euro 250,000 to Euro 400,000 niche to compete with Ferrari.
This link also says that the Porsche Cayenne and the Volkswagen Touareg are built in the same factory and use a number of the same parts.
More here:
Porsche wants piece of Ferrari market - The Local

[anjan_c2007]

The German carmakers BMW, Audi and Daimler Benz are predicting robust sales in 2011, despite the economic gloom in many of their markets all over the world.They have relied on their very recent sales figures and based on these figures have made optimistic predictions.
More on this link:
German carmakers predict strong sales - The Local

[anjan_c2007]

The Volkswagen and Porsche merger as planned in 2011 will not materialise as Porsche faces legal suits. More on this link:
Volkswagen and Porsche delay merger - The Local
BMW plans to develop electric cars for the Chinese market, but under a different brand due to the Chinese government directives telling them to develop a China specific brand. More on this link:
BMW to develop electric car for Chinese market - The Local

[anjan_c2007]

A few points about the 2012 Volkswagen Beetle on the link below- the prefix "New" has been dropped and a newer looking redesigned and powerful version is in the offing. We have a separate thread for this new car in this section. Here on this link are six pictures of the car with facts.

Test Drive - USATODAY.com Photos

[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

Very bad news from Berlin-Fourth Night of Car Arson as it continues on and on!
Too sadistic for those outlaws and morons to target the luxury cars for destruction!
Fourth night of car arson prompts terror debate - The Local

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

As the arson targeted at the premium parked cars in Berlin continues unabated, the concerned residents have decided to form vigilante groups to track the culprits.About 300 such cars, the report says have been destroyed since the beginning of 2011 due to the acts by the outlaws.
More on this link:
Citizen patrols mooted to stop car arsons - The Local

The police (POLIZEI) in Germany have cracked the case of arson in respect of premium cars. The son of a left wing politician Tobias P (25) has been arrested.A total of nearly 500 cars have been burnt since January 2011, in the dead of the night in Berlin.
More on this link:
Berlin police make arrest in hunt for car arsonist - The Local

[anjan_c2007]

Here is news about an elk in Sweden totalling a police car and sending the two policemen occupants to the hospital.Elks are known to cause damage to cars traversing forest roads in Sweden.Deers are too known to cause such damage but of a lesser intensity.And the blogs below the newsitem say that the Swedish police use Saabs and Volvos. These are solidly built and safe cars-A Volvo's USP is safety. Imagine what the elk could have done to the Altos, i10's and other small boxy cars from India ?

Elk totals police car, sends officers to hospital - The Local

[anjan_c2007]

Here is a crash test done at 100 kmph on a 1978 Holden.The report says that today's crash tests are done at 56 kmph. Today's cars have crumple zones and the passenger cabin is safer.But at 100 kmph its anybody's guess as to what can remain safe?
The link here:
Video of the week: 1978 crash test pie | Drive Arabia : Dubai / Abu Dhabi [UAE, Saudi, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman & GCC]

Another one here is a crash test done on a new Mercedes SLS AMG 2010!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMNVV...layer_embedded

And one more crash test done on a Mercedes 2010 E Class convertible:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Cdrh...feature=relmfu

A thief fleeing with a stolen Porsche from the police destroys it:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...ng-police.html

[anjan_c2007]

2011 has been a bad year for Suzuki. Its partnership with VW has turned from sour to bitter now. The Manesar-Gurgaon, India row must also be affecting its mental peace and well being as a corporate entity at the international level.
The company has served notice to VW for breach of agreement. Suzuki says it was not made privy to technology as agreed under their $2.3 billion tie up. VW was supposed to provide access to its core technologies. If access is not allowed, VW must return Suzuki's 19.9 % shareholding, it says. VW denies any wrongdoing. Maybe the matter goes to a competent court now for adjudication.
More on this link:
Suzuki accuses Volkswagen of breaching agreement - The Local

[anjan_c2007]

This car maker's ambition to become world's no. 1 is perpetual.Not a single month goes by when we do not hear news about Volkswagen's global ambition.
The latest is here- they plan to increase their workforce by another 65,000 to 500,000 by 2018. VW has a strong presence in China but in the US, its share of the car market is nothing to boast of.
Lately, it has beaten Toyota to emerge as the world's no. 2 car maker just behind GM.
More on this link:
VW to increase workforce to half a million - The Local

[anjan_c2007]

A Russian couple stationed in Germany and working in the German auto ancillary company Faurecia has been arrested. Faurecia supplies components to Renault, Volkswagen,Toyota and Ford.The couple has been nabbed as they allegedly passed secrets from the company they were working in to the Russian secret service SWR.
More on this link:
Russian spies suspected of stealing car secrets - The Local