To mark the beginning of sales of the brand-new FF gran turismo in South Korea, the Italian brand held a unique launch event at the Tree Club & Spa, which a luxurious five-star resort located in downtown Seoul.
Read more »
On Tuesday, General Motors released the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu in South Korea, which is the first market to receive the mid-size sedan. Local production will begin later this month at GM Korea’s Bupyeong manufacturing plant while sales are scheduled to start on November 1.
But now the tables have turned, and in a big way: at the recent Frankfurt Motor Show we saw none other than VW CEO, Martin Winterkorn himself, examine Hyundai’s newest C-segment hatchback, the i30.
And boy was he impressed with the i30’s quality…But at the same time, he seemed to be frustrated by the work his own staff is doing in VW Group models. “I hear nothing!” Winterkorn said about the absence of any rattles while adjusting the steering wheel. “How did they do it?," he continued.
Read more »
Only a few years ago, six-speed automatic gearboxes were available only in top-of-the-line cars. Then the gear count started to increase gradually: first at seven, which seemed like a novelty, and quite recently at eight, which most luxury carmakers rushed to adopt.
Read more »
The driver of this silver Daewoo Matiz wanted to bypass everyone on the left turning lane by sprinting across the center and squeezing his/her way in front of the other cars.
But in the driver's fury, he (or she) failed to notice the closed triangle in the middle of the road and as a result, got caught inside. Watch the short clip in the vide below.
Read more »
Nevertheless, we were surprised to learn today that LG Electronics and its subsidiary, the component-making LG Innotek Co., filled a lawsuit with a South Korean court seeking to block BMW and Audi from selling their cars in the country.
What is happening is that the two German luxury carmakers have been caught in the middle of a patent war between LG and Osram over LED technologies. LG seeks to stop their the German automakers' vehicles from being sold because they are equipped with Osram lighting systems.
Read more »
As expected, Toyota is planning to sell the new generation of the Camry in South Korea starting from early 2012. However, the Nikkei business daily reported on Monday that the Japanese company is mulling transferring production of the South Korean Camry from Japan to the United States.
Read more »
The deal builds on GM's expanding relationship with LG, which is the battery cell supplier for the American firm's Chevrolet Volt and Opel Ampera extended-range EVs.
Read more »
In the video after the jump, a Youtube user compiled a 7-minute-long clip with all sorts and types of automobile and motorcycle related incidents that allegedly took place in numerous countries of Asia (though understandably, there's no way of ratifying this claim for each and every crashe seen in the clip).
Read more »
It is a reputation built over more than 30 years, starting from the first generation of the Civic in the ‘70s and continuing throughout the years with novelties such as VTEC, the futuristic first generation Insight hybrid back in 1999, the S2000's high-revving 120HP-per-liter engine, the first practical supercar, the NSX – and the list goes on.
However, something seems to have changed, and not for the better.
Read more »
The French carmaker, which bought a 70% stake in Samsung Motors back in 2000 to spearhead the brand's expansion efforts in the developing Asian region, said the SM7 will have a "radical effect on the big saloon car market".
The unlucky owner of the car, who is from South Korea, posted these photos of the mishap over at the BMW 1Addicts forum. He said that he was the first customer to receive one of the 80 BMW 1 M Coupes scheduled to arrive in the South Korean market.
Read more »
The light cosmetic surgery on the outside brings a revamped front grille with a little bit less chrome on top and around the sides, plus new LED taillights at the back, reshaped mirror casings and a fresh choice of alloy wheel designs including a set of 18-inch multispoke rims.
Michael Sprague, Kia’s VP for marketing and communication describes their relationships to the New York Times likes this:
“Kia Motors America operates as a completely separate sales, marketing and distribution organization in the United States. [Hyundai and Kia share engineering efficiencies] similar in many ways to other global automakers.”
Read more »
Drum-roll please…and the winners of the Ferrari World Design Contest are…the students from Seoul’s Hongik University. The South Korean school finished first ahead of the second-placed IED of Turin in Italy and London’s Royal College of Arts.
The agreement between GM Korea and the union includes a raise of basic salaries by 4.7% and, more importantly, a $6,140 (6.5 million won) bonus to each worker.
Read more »
Needless to say, a lot has changed over the past few years with Hyundai and in particular its latest Sonata sedan, not only challenging, but this past May even surpassing the Camry in U.S. sales for the first time in history.
Of course, the fact that Toyota’s production capabilities were seriously affected by the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan, played a significant role in Hyundai’s accomplishment.
The first thing you’ll notice on the updated model is the brand new fascia, evidently inspired by the newly launched Latitude sedan, which like the Koleos, is the product of Renault Samsung Motors in Busan, South Korea.
Read more »
The South American nation’s US$6 billion (€4.19 billion) trade deficit has already led to one Porsche distributor agreeing to export wine and olive products, while similar deals have been struck with carmakers Chery, GM, Peugeot-Citroen, Alfa Romeo, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Fiat and Ford.
Read more »
