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Kia Rio And Kio Rio5 Named “Top 10 Best Small Cars”

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The Kia Rio and Kio Rio5 have been named to the “Top 10 Best Small Cars” list by Gayot.com.

“Rio and Rio5 are the vehicles of choice in today’s car-buying market as fuel prices hit record highs and budgets become increasingly tighter,” said Tom Loveless, vice president, sales of Kia Motors America (KMA). “However fuel efficiency does not mean style and substance need to be sacrificed, as Kia’s sub-compact offerings prove by providing consumers with a sporty, stylish option packed with standard features, an extensive warranty and budget-minded starting price.”

The Rio series starts at $10,890.

“This Korean-built sedan may be inexpensive, but it doesn’t skimp on protecting its passengers,” according to the GAYOT.com review. “For a starter vehicle in urban settings, this vehicle is a bargain.”

For more information: Kia

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Gm Settles Dispute With Workers At Last Striking Plant

The nearly constant GM labor woes might be at an end as GM settles with labor at the last remaining plant to be on strike against them.

United Auto Workers union local 31 said on its website that picketing would continue until “all votes had been counted” by workers at a Kansas plant which produces one of GM’s hottest-selling cars, the Chevrolet Malibu.

The deal reached late Tuesday comes just days after the UAW reached a tentative agreement with key supplier and former GM subsidiary American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc.

GM’s production has been cut by more than 300,000 vehicles since the American Axle strike began February 26.

The first five weeks of the nearly three month-long strike cost the automaker 800 million dollars, GM said in securities filings. It has not released more recent cost estimates.

The company resolved a similar strike last week in Michigan.

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Is GM Set To Kill Saturn?

Jerry Flint seems to think that GM doesn’t have much interest in running Saturn anymore. According to him, the company has never really cared for doing business the Saturn Way, and might even be ready to starve the brand to death.

Over the past few years, Saturn received an entire new lineup. It just introduced the Astra, a sleek, small car, which it currently imports from Europe. Given the weak dollar, GM cannot be making money on the current Astra, which is why it plans to build the next generation model in Mexico. Last year Saturn launched the Aura, a family-sized sedan that it builds in the U.S., though it is closely based on a European design. Saturn also has other new U.S.-built vehicles: the Sky two-seat roadster, an under-the-skin twin of the Pontiac Solstice; the Outlook, a big crossover SUV; and the new Vue, a small SUV based on a German design.

Saturn now has the best lineup in its history, but sales have been anemic.

It’s been a tough year so far for all auto makers, but Flint thinks the trouble for Saturn is much deeper.

GM for their part has given no indication of any such plans to discontinue the brand.

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Toyota Prius Sales Top One Million

Toyota has sold over one million of their popular Toyota Prius hybrid vehicles. Toyota started offering the Prius ten years ago, and the move was considered risky because “green” cars hadn’t take off yet. The fact they’ve now sold one million of the vehicles seems to validate their belief that customers would want to drive and environmentally friendly car.

A cumulative 1.028 million Prius vehicles have been sold globally as of the end of April, Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday.

Toyota, Japan’s top automaker, sells other hybrid models, but the Prius has been by far the most popular model. Toyota has said it plans to sell a million hybrids annually sometime in the few years after 2010.

When including the other hybrid models, Toyota’s cumulative overall sales of gas-electric vehicles total 1.46 million, according to Toyota, which also makes the Camry sedan and Lexus luxury cars.

Toyota also recently announced plans for a 2009 Toyota Prius that is reasonably priced and comes with a number of unique “green features.”

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Chrysler Says $2.99 Gas Deal Driving Sales

Chrysler has been luring in new customers with promises of locking in their gas prices at $2.99 a gallon. Chrysler’s auto sales have been down 17% in 2008, but the company says the recent “Let’s Refuel America” initiative is driving new car sales.

The Chrysler incentive, introduced two weeks ago, gives new vehicle buyers the option of taking a prepaid card that can be used to cap fuel prices at $2.99 a gallon for three years.

The prepaid gas card is good for regular, diesel and E85 — an ethanol blend fuel — and can be used at participating gas stations nationwide. The $2.99 offer excludes mid-grade and premium unleaded fuel. Chrysler’s performance cars like the Dodge Viper and the Challenger, along with the Jeep Wrangler and Dodge Sprinter work truck, are excluded from the offer.

Chrysler is extending the incentive by one month.

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Renault Wins Environment Award

Renault is quite happy with recent news that they’ve won the Environment Award from the 2008 Fleet World Honours.

“The environment is becoming an increasingly important factor for Fleets when selecting vehicles, and Renault has consistently demonstrated its commitment by offering a wide range of low emission models. This includes 37 Renault cars which fall into the 120 g/km CO2 emissions or under category,” according to Keith Hawes, Director, Fleet & Commercial Vehicle Sales, Renault UK.

“Renault has one of the most economical vehicle ranges on the market today and the launch of our eco² symbol last year demonstrates our commitment to the environment during the whole-life cycle of the vehicle, from design to end-of-life. I am delighted that Renault has been recognised for our extensive environmental credentials and we have won such a highly-coveted award.”

“It is also testament to the enduring appeal of the Renault Trafic van that it has won this prestigious award for the sixth year in a row and is clearly still the van of choice for fleets, ” he added.

Renault has recently been criticized for its’ green claims.

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2009 Lexus IS F

The IS F series by Lexus is designed to compete with the “M” series sedan from BMW. The car is built primarily for high performance, despite its’ four door form factor. This car sounds like it’s made for street racers.

It still has four doors and comes in an understated package. The only obvious clues are the badge on the rear and the exhaust pipes. At the front, the fascia has a larger air intake, part of which feeds cool air to the brakes and on the side there is a functional duct that lets hot engine compartment air out. It does sound like a lot, but to the average person looking for a bit of bling on a car, they will just gloss over it.

Inside, the driver’s seat and instrument cluster give things away big time. The fancy “jeweled movement” look of the previous IS instrument panel is gone. In its place is an easy to read dash that is dominated by the tach and speedometer. Gauges for engine temp and fuel are located between the two major instruments and are done up as an LCD display. All the other functions are monitored by warning indicator lights. Mounted on the steering column are a set of paddle shifters with the left one for downshifts and the right one for upshifts. You also have the choice of leaving the shifter in drive and not worry about shifting.

The Lexus IS F sports a whopping 416 horsepower engine for those rare urban moments when you need race car speeds to get to your appointment on time.

For more information: Lexus IS F

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Hyundai Motor India Announces $3,500 Model

Hyundai Motor India is aiming at expanding their market with the introduction of an ultra low cost compact car, which will sell for $3,500. Tato has announced their new Nano, which will be priced at $2,500. The unnamed Hyndai and the Tato will compete for pre-eminence in this fast growing market.

Right now the Nano is way ahead of the Hyundai, which isn’t coming out until 2012 at the earliest, according to a company spokesman.

“It will take at least 4 years to develop the car and we think we will be able to introduce this car by 2012 for Indian market,” said the rep.

Hyundai faces a number of challenges worldwide, including supply prices that are rising rapidly.

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Toyota China Car Joint Venture Restarted

Earthquake damage in China has disrupted car production at a joint venture between Toyota and FAW Group. Production had been completely halted for one week, but now the day shift will be back in action.

The Coaster microbus and Prado sport utility vehicle are produced at the plant.

Fortunately for the companies, the actual plant didn’t suffer much damage from the earthquake. There was a split down the middle, but it was repaired easily.

No employees or their family members were hurt because of the earthquake.

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Ford Recall

The Ford Motor Company just announced a recall that affects over 650,000 F-150 trucks and Lincoln Mark LT Pickups. These vehicles could have a faulty brake assist hose.

Model year 2005 and 2006 trucks with 5.4-liter three-valve engines are affected. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported:

The brake hose may swell over time causing the hose to become detached from the intake manifold. As a result, applying the brakes could require increased pressure on the brake pedal. Several brake applications with power assist will be available before the vacuum reserve is depleted.

Ford said there had been 11 reports of minor accidents due to the faulty brake assist hose. There have been no injuries as a result.

Ford will begin sending out recall notifications in early June and repairs will be made at no cost to the consumer after the recall begins.

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