All New 2012 Chevrolet Cobalt Revealed in Production Form, will be Available in 40 Countries

The Chevrolet Cobalt may be dead in the States where it was successfully replaced by the Cruze sedan, but the nameplate lives on in the rest of the world.

After the debut of the concept version at the Buenos Aires motor show this past summer, General Motors today introduced the final production 2012 Cobalt that will eventually go on sale in 40 countries across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and South America - but not North America.

In addition to Brazil, which is the first country to receive the new Chevrolet Cobalt, the car will be produced in three more factories around the world, though GM did not disclose any more details on the locations.

Read more »

Ballsy Brazilian Cops Ram their Car into Smuggler's Airplane Just Before Liftoff

Like all professions, there are cops and there are cops. The police officers you're about to watch in the following raw footage are the type of cops that even the most hardened of criminals would avoid like the plague.

A video posted online on Thursday shows the two federal police agents from Brazil chasing a single-engine airplane filled with contraband notebooks and electronic surveillance equipment.

Read more »

Carlos Ghosn Says 2012 will be a Record Sales Year, Bets Heavily on EVs

Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn is upbeat about the way the automotive industry is heading, despite the fact that the economic crisis that threatens Europe is far from over.

In fact, during the recent launch of the electric versions of theRenault Fluence and Kangoo in Portugal last Friday, Ghosn predicted that 2012 will be a record year for car sales worldwide surpassing 2011's volumes.

Read more »

Fiat Group Loses Big in Europe, Hits a 20-Year Low Mark in Italy

Just two days ago, we reported that Fiat Group CEO, Sergio Marchionne, said that he would make the North American market Alfa Romeo’s top priority.

Now the Italian automaker’s boss admits that his company is facing huge troubles in Europe as in the first nine months of 2011, the company's sales decreased by 12% compared to the same period last year, with its share in the European market dropping from 8.2% to 7.3%.

Read more »

China’s JAC to Build New Car Factory in Brazil

Chinese automaker JAC Motors announced on Friday a new deal with its Brazilian operator SHC Group to build a new factory in Brazil's northeastern Bahia state, the company's first outside its home market.

JAC originally intended to invest US$600 million in building a plant in Brazil, but cancelled the project when the government increased taxes on cars with less than two-thirds domestic content, in its effort to protect local jobs.

Read more »

Renault to Increase Output of its Brazilian Factories by 100,000 Units in 2013

Brazil is currently Renault’s third biggest market, behind only France and Germany. This year, the French company sold 133,158 Renault passenger cars and 30,672 Renault and Nissan LCVs and, according to the company’s CEO, Carlos Ghosn, along with Russia and India, it's “one of its three top priority markets”.

Ghosn visited Renault’s Curitiba plant and announced the group’s plan to invest €200 million (US$267 million) and add 1,000 jobs in order to increase its production by 100,000 units until 2013.

Read more »