Honda May Push for an Early Facelift for its North American 2012 Civic to Address Criticism

To say that the reception for the North American market 2012 Honda Civic was cold would probably be the understatement of the year. Pundits were very harsh on their comments for the New York Motor Show-revealed sedan and coupe models, making negative remarks about its stale styling and its cheap interior plastics.

Consumer Reports gave it the final blow: in a recent report, the publication described the 2012 model as “insubstantial” and with an interior that “feels cheap, a letdown from previous Civics”.

As a result, the 2012 Civic ranked second to last in CR’s report and lost its “recommended” tag for the first time in, well, as long as we can remember.

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Italian Ministry Orders 19 Maserati Quattroporte Limos Amidst Severe EU Economic Crisis

Unless you’ve been living in a cave these past few months and were completely cut-off from the outside world, you’ll surely have heard of the European economic crisis that started with the Greek debt and is now threatening to engulf many more European countries.

For the past two years, Greece taken extremely severe austerity measures to reduce its debt – though their implementation has left a lot to be desired. Italy and Spain are considered by many analysts to be next in line.

Yet the Italian Ministry of Defense recently ordered 19 range-topping Maserati Quattroporte limousines for government officials!

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Thai Floods Force Honda to Halve Production at U.S. and Canadian Plants, New 2012 CR-V to be Delayed

After Toyota, Honda is the next Japanese carmaker to announce significant production cuts at its North American plants due to component shortages caused by three months of disastrous flooding in Thailand.

And is the case with Toyota, the production cuts for Honda come just as the company was recovering from the effects of the March earthquake and tsunami.

Honda said that as the flooding in Thailand continues, a number of its suppliers in Asia are currently unable to maintain parts production to its assembly plants in the U.S. and Canada.

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Toyota Celebrates Production of 2 Million Yaris Hatchbacks at its Vallenciennes Plant

Toyota has had more than its fair share of problems in 2011, from the devastating March earthquake to the rising yen and the recent Thailand floods that have curtailed the brand's production.

However, despite all these setbacks, the troubled Japanese carmaker still has a couple of reasons to celebrate these days. The first of course is the eagerly awaited FT-86 RWD coupe.

The second reason is that last Friday, October 28, the two millionth Yaris rolled off the Toyota Motor Manufacturing France (TMMF) plant in Valenciennes, France.

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Saab Presents New Restructuring Plan to its Creditors

On Monday, Swedish Automobile presented the restructuring plan of Saab Automobile to the company's creditors at a preliminary meeting in Vanersborg, Sweden.

Saab’s management informed the creditors about the key points of the reorganization process, which has the support both of the administrators who are overseeing the process as well as future owners Pang Da and Youngman.

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Formula 1: Indian Grand Prix Results

Niki Lauda may have been wrong in our opinion about Michael Schumacher’s return to Formula1, but as far as the latest world champion is concerned, his predictions appear to be spot on.

The Austrian had said that, given the right circumstances, Sebastian Vettel has the potential to match and even surpass Schumacher who so far, has broken nearly all records in F1.

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Nissan Infographic Tells the Tale of NYC Taxis by the Numbers

On Tuesday, New Yorkers will get their first taste of the Big Apple's new taxicab, the Nissan NV200 minivan, at a special exhibition that takes place from November 1 to 5 on the pedestrian plaza across from the Flatiron building at Broadway and Fifth Avenue.

We'll remind you that the NV200 was selected as the exclusive cab of New York City for the next 10 years, starting from late 2013.

Today, Nissan organized a special event for a host of New York City officials, including Taxi & Limousine Commissioner David Yassky, to preview the vehicle's interior design.

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VW Boss Confirms Production Version of XL1 Concept for 2013

Remember the XL1 Super Efficient Vehicle (SEV) diesel-electric hybrid concept that Volkswagen unveiled at the Qatar Motor Show this past January? Martin Winterkorn, CEO of the VW Group, told to Autonews Europe that development plans for the ultra-efficient two-seater model are proceeding.

"We will start small series production by 2013 – in Germany," Winterkorn told the publication.

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Sioux City Police Denies Mistreatment Allegation in Woman’s Forceful Arrest [Video]

A patrol car dashboard camera video showing a woman being arrested in Sioux City has sparked allegations for police mistreatment.

Dacota Daniels, 34, was detained on August 8 at Sioux City by two officers, one in uniform and one in plain clothes after they stopped the rental car she was in as a passenger.

The plainclothes drug task force officer said in the report that he spotted Daniels’ fiancé, Christopher Robinson, driving the car despite being "known to have a barred license."

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2011 Formula 1: Indian GP Qualifying Results

This weekend, India hosts its first-ever Formula 1 Grand Prix at the newly constructed, 5.1 km (3.17-mile) long Buddh track in New Delhi. Along with being a big event for the country it also marks a new record for this year’s world champion.

The unstoppable Sebastian Vettel scored his 13th pole position this year, matching Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost for most poles in a season. He needs just one more to equal Nigel Mansell’s 1992 record of 14 poles, while his team has already set its own record in F1 with is 16th pole position in a season.

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Toyota Reduces U.S. Production Due to Thailand Floods

It seems that nature's forces do not like Toyota. The March natural disaster in Japan affected Toyota the most and now, just as it is gearing up production to make up for the lost time, a massive flood in Thailand has plagued the automaker's three local factories forcing the company to change its plans once again.

Toyota issued the following statement: “Parts availability from Thailand is not predictable at this time and is changing with the continued severity of the flooding.”

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BMW Begins Regular Production of new 2012 3-Series Sedan

With the official presentation out of the way, the BMW Group began series production of its new premium sedan, the 2012 3-Series, at is Munich plant in Germany as it prepares for its worldwide market launch in February next year.

“The BMW 3 Series is the most important volume-produced model from the BMW Group as well as the biggest-selling model in the entire premium segment," said Frank-Peter Arndt, Member of the BMW AG Board of Management responsible for production.

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Report: Ferrari California to Receive Mild Life Facelift with a Power Upgrade for 2012

[2011 Ferrari California pictured above]

When Ferrari launched the California in 2008, the hardtop roadster model was a novelty for Maranello. Despite objections from purists, Ferrari proved to be right and the California was a major sales success.

Not only did it boost the brand’s sales but it also succeeded in its original goal to bring in buyers who would only consider Aston Martins, Porsches and Bentleys as they found Ferraris to be impractical.

Now, according to CAR magazine, Ferrari’s front-engined V8 model is about to get a major overhaul for 2012, with production of the refreshed version beginning as early as January.

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Tesla CEO Confirms Plans to Launch All-New Roadster in 2014

The Model S saloon that was previewed earlier this month in Beta form, the upcoming performance version of the same model as well as the RAV-4 EV that it will be produced in cooperation with Toyota, are not the only plans Tesla CEO Elon Musk has in mind for the Silicon Valley-based brand.

The company is also working on an EV crossover based on the Model S while Musk recently told Autocar magazine that Telsa is also planning to launch a BMW 3-Series rival and an all-new Roadster in 2014.

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Peugeot Expands Range of Accessories for RCZ Sports Coupe

The funky-looking Peugeot RCZ sports coupe has been in the market for a little over a year and now, the French carmaker has decided to introduce a new line of accessories for both new and current owners.

First up is a new sports muffler with dual tailpipes on either side of the bumper that is available in a choice of two designs, with the oval shaped pipes priced at €733 in Germany and the round shape units at €788.

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Audi Launches A1 e-tron Trial Program in Munich

The first examples of Audi's A1 e-tron gasoline-electric hybrid project car hit the streets of Munich today as the German company in cooperation with E.ON and the public utility Stadtwerke Munchen and Technise Universitat Muncher initiated the trial program.

Audi has provided a fleet of 20 extended-range A1 e-tron electric vehicles, while E.ON and SWM have installed charging infrastructure both within the city limits and in surrounding areas.

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China's Pang Da and Youngman Agree to Buy Saab for €100 million and Save it from Bankruptcy

Saab's parent company Swedish Automobile N.V. [Swan] said on Friday that it has agreed to sell the company to China's Pang Da and Youngman.

If the deal goes through, the Chinese will own Sweden’s car industry bar Koenigsegg as Volvo was sold to Geely in 2009 – admittedly at the much higher price of US$2 billion dollars than the €100 million (US$141.7 million) Pang Da and Youngman are willing to pay for acquiring 100% of Saab Automobile and Saab GB shares.

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Saab Attempts an 11th Hour Rescue Deal Before Friday's Court Hearing

This is your daily news info about the current state of affairs of the ongoing saga that is the Svenska Aeroplan AktieBolaget restructuring story or, more accurately, your second Saab news story of the day.

In this latest chapter, Saab's parent company Swedish Automobile NV [Swan] said that it is “in intense final negotiations” with investors in order to secure its financing and, thus, avoid bankruptcy.

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Porsche Offers Drivers First Taste of New 911 through Winter Experience Program

Porsche enthusiasts will be happy to learn that the German sports car maker has launched its new Winter Driving Experience program that offers drivers the opportunity to test-drive the brand-new 911 in extreme conditions.

The company says that regardless of the driver's level of driving skills, instructors will teach them to improve their skills and refine their driving style through a carefully selected mix of theoretical and practical lessons.

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Suzuki Ditches Los Angeles and Detroit Motor Shows

The strong yen is eating away profit margins and hurting Japanese carmakers’ sales and as a result, is forcing them to find ways to cut their losses.

Suzuki, which has been hit very hard by the currency exchange rates since it manufactures all of its U.S. market models - sans the Equator pickup truck- in Japan, decided to withdraw from next month’s Los Angeles Motor Show, despite having originally confirmed its participation.

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