Mazda5 minivans recalled over fuel pump concerns

 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued a safety recall on certain Mazda5 minivans from the 2009 and 2010 model year.
This recall focuses on the van’s fuel pump, with NHTSA citing that water may not have been completely removed from the pump’s harness connector before vehicle assembly. Thus, the connector pin may corrode, causing the pin to break. If the harness connector breaks, this could lead to an inoperative fuel pump. The Mazda5′s engine could stall, and the inability to restart the engine increases the risk of a crash.
Approximately 16,200 of the Mazda minivans are effected by this problem, and the safety recall is expected to begin on or before December 11th. Dealers will inspect the fuel pump connector and replace the harness free of charge. For the full details, follow the jump to read NHTSA’s official statement.

2012 BMW 1 Series M Coupe gets early reveal

BMW hasn’t done the best job of keeping its 2012 1 Series M Coupe a secret. The hot new two-door isn’t scheduled to make its public debut until the Detroit Auto Show next month, but we’ve already seen dozens ofteaser images and videos. Heck, we’ve even driven a prototype.
Now, BMW has released video of the production-ready 1M with all of its swirly paper removed. Its bulgy, brash front end and wider stance certainly look the part of a serious baby brother to the M3, and while official numbers have yet to be confirmed, we’re indeed looking forward to flogging all 340-ish horsepower via a standard six-speed manual transmission.

Gilles says new Chrysler models to hug the ground

According to Ward’s Auto, we can expect more than a nice interior from future Chrysler products. It seems the automaker will be making a conscious effort to keep its vehicles closer to the ground in order to improve styling, fuel economy and handling. This revelation came after lining Dodge products up against the competition. Apparently, the company found that comparable products from rival automakers were generally lower than anything rolling out of the Pentastar den. For 2011, the automaker has moved to fix that, cranking out vehicles that have a lower center-of-gravity compared to their predecessors.
That includes products like the 2011 Dodge Durango, which uses a significantly lower front fascia than theJeep Grand Cherokee specifically to nudge the vehicle’s fuel economy as high as possible. According to Ralph Gilles, senior vice president of product design, low-slung looks will come to dominate the company’s design language moving forward, especially as Chrysler begins to redraw models based on Fiat architecture in the near future. Don’t expect to hear us complain about the change, but off-roaders and those suffering from parking lot barrier scrapes might have a few things to say about it.

Ford to introduce Escape/Kuga concept in Detroit

A source within Ford Motor Company has reportedly revealed that a near-production crossover concept will be heading to the 2011 Detroit Auto Show. When this concept vehicle takes its production shape, it will serve as the replacement for the venerable Ford Escape and Kuga crossovers.
Based off of the 2012 Focus’ platform, the new Escape/Kuga is expected to go into production in the second half of 2012 and be sold as a 2013 model in the United States. At this time, it is unclear as to whether or not Ford will keep both the Escape and Kuga names in the vehicles’ respective markets. The automaker’s “One Ford” global product strategy would call for a single name for vehicles sold in different regions, and the Blue Oval team will surely face a similar problem with the redesigned Fusion and Mondeo sedans in the near term.
We’ll have the full scoop direct from the Cobo Hall in January, so stay tuned.

2011 Dodge Avenger

Chrysler has chosen vastly different fates for its Sebring and the Dodge Avenger, despite the two essentially being identical vehicles. While the Sebring underwent a complete personality makeover for 2011 and emerged with new sheetmetal and a new nameplate to match, the Avenger was left to soldier on with more conservative tweaks. The Dodge version of Chrysler’s midsize sedan still wears the same basic body lines as before, masking over the significant adjustments to the vehicle’s interior, drivetrain and suspension. While theChrysler 200 may be stealing (okay, borrowing) the show, the 2011 Avenger is no less improved, at least when equipped with the company’s new 3.6-liter V6 engine.

With 283 horsepower and respectable fuel economy, the new six-cylinder turns the Avenger into a vehicle that no longer takes its driving cues from capital punishment, though lower-rung trim levels don’t fare as well. Buyers who opt for the old 2.4-liter four-cylinder will be met with visions from the vehicle’s less-than-award-winning past, including plenty of engine vibration and fuel economy that’s not on par with new hardware coming out from the competition. All this begs the question: Is there room for both the Dodge Avenger and the Chrysler 200 under the new company tent?

BMW X1 2011

For the first time the features and qualities so typical of a BMW X model are besides available in a premium vehicle in the compact segment. Indeed, the BMW X1 is entering the market with the assignment to offer the Sheer Driving Pleasure so characteristic of BMW with a recently made known measure of quality also in this segment of the market. The latest member in the family of BMW X models therefore stands for versatile, sporting performance and supreme agility in some urban environment and beyond.

In Europe, the X1 will be available in six trim levels, from the 258 horsepower, straight-six gasoline powered X1 xDrive28i to the turbodiesel X1 xDrive23d, which produces 295 pound-feet of torque. BMW isn’t telling which, if any, of the European power trains we will see in the North American X1, but the press release makes special mention of the X1 sDrive18d, which reaches an estimated 54.3 mpg (EU standard), so we think it’s safe to assume that at least that variant will make the hop across the pond.

BMW X1

Japan Extreme Modification – Car Modification

About motorcycles and cars modification , Japan is a country with the result that quite a lot of modifications. According to Keiichi Terada the modification experts from Sigma Spyder Osaka, modification enthusiasts is decreased than ever before Caused by the emergence of new products that have been modified from the manufacturer. types modification in the most preferred by consumers is on the body and engine. to modify the motor mostly done in the body, while for more cars in the machine