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From Peoples Daily:

China Iron and Steel Research Institute Group announced that it took the lead in successfully developing the third generation of automotive steel and applied this technology into the industrial products trial stage.

Mr Weng Yuqing an academician from the Chinese Academy of Engineering said “After the application of the third generation of automotive steel, it is more likely for drivers to survive in the accident.”

He said that at present, basically all cars in the world were made of the first generation of automotive steel. The third generation steel possesses high strength and high ductility which he said was two times better than the first generation in terms of tensile strength and extensibility.

According to the group, the newly developed material is expected to be applied commercially in 2014 in China by some automakers including Beijing Hyundai and FAW Volkswagen a major passenger sedan manufacturer jointly ventured by First Automobile Works Group Corporation of China and Volkswagen AG Audi AG and Volkswagen Automobile Investment Co Ltd.

As the largest auto producer in the world, China manufactured around 18.3 million cars in 2010 which has meant an increasing number of traffic accidents. According to data from the Traffic Management Bureau, there were 99,000 traffic accidents in the first six months of 2010 which killed 27,000 and caused 117,000 injured as well as CNY 410 million of direct property loss.

From Xinhua:

Toyota Motor (China) Investment Co. will recall 5,202 imported Lexus cars in China to fix a malfunctioning gas-pedal problem beginning March 23, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said Friday.

Toyota’s announcement of its recall plans in China came one day after the AQSIQ, China’s quality watchdog, demanded an explanation from the Japanese car maker regarding problems with the Lexus.

A spokesperson for AQSIQ on Thursday asked Toyota to “make a full explanation and provide detailed technical descriptions” following its claim that vehicles that were sold on the Chinese market were not defective.

According to Toyota’s announcement, 5,202 imported Lexus RX300/350 cars manufactured between February 2003 and July 2006 will be recalled in China starting March 23 due to possible safety hazards.

If the floor carpet around the accelerator pedal is not properly replaced in the correct position, there is a possibility that the plastic pad embedded into the floor carpet may interfere with the operation of the accelerator pedal. If this occurs, the accelerator pedal may become temporarily stuck in a partially depressed position, rather than returning to the idle position, Toyota said.

Owners of the affected RX 300/350 vehicles will receive a notification by first class mail beginning March and Toyota and Lexus dealers will implement the newly announced and amended recall remedies at no charge to the vehicle owners, it said.

Since the end of 2009 to the end of 2010, Toyota had already recalled nearly 16 million products.

Toyota’s sale volume in China covers 10 percent of its total sales in the world. In 2010, Toyota sold 846,000 vehicles in China.

From Reuters

Trading in the shares of SAIC Motor Corp (600104.SS), China’s top car maker, will remain suspended for another five working days from Monday, the company said in a filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Friday.

Trading in SAIC Motor has been halted since Feb. 14 after its holding company, state-owned SAIC Group, said it was working on a major plan involving SAIC. [ID:nTOE71A03Q]

SAIC Motor manufactures Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac and Volkswagen brands in China through tie-ups with General Motors (GM.N) and VW (VOWG.DE).

Chinese media reported a week ago that SAIC Group plans to inject additional assets into its listed subsidiaries as it finalises its move to float all of its auto-related operations. [

From Canadian Business:

China is expected to surpass Europe as the world’s leading vehicle producer in 2011, while Canada will have North America’s fastest-growing auto sector in the near-term, according to a Scotiabank report released Friday.The latest Global Auto Report from Scotia Economics estimates that Chinese assemblies will rise 17 per cent over the 2010 level to 21 million units this year. That means China will represent 28 per cent of overall global vehicle output in 2011.

“Surging car sales in China are also lifting vehicle production in Western Europe, especially Germany,” said Scotia Economics senior economist Carlos Gomes in the report.

“In January, global sales for Germany’s three major automakers jumped 21 per cent above a year earlier, led by a 31 per cent year-over-year surge in China.”

He said the sharp increase as positively impacted manufacturers who are beefing up their production schedules for the first half of the year.

“We estimate that over the past month, European automakers have boosted their first-quarter output plans by more than six per cent and their second-quarter schedules by two per cent,” he added.

Meanwhile, Canada’s vehicle output will show the highest North American growth the early part of this year, helped by the re-tooling of Chrysler’s car assembly plant in Brampton, Ont. and ramped up production of the Buick Regal at the General Motors plant in Oshawa, Ont.

The report predicts that stronger auto output will add about 1.5 percentage points to economic growth in Canada for the year. In contrast, growth in the U.S. and Mexican auto sectors will add about one percentage point to their economies.

Ford’s new Focus will join the 40-mpg club. The compact has been rated by the EPA at 28 mpg city/40 highway—when the car is ordered in sedan form with the $495 SFE (or Super Fuel Economy) package. This package is paired exclusively with the company’s not-so-hot PowerShift dual-clutch automatic transmission, and outfits the Focus with aerodynamic wheel covers, low-rolling-resistance tires, a rear spoiler, and active grille shutters that can close to reduce drag—all of which help cut fuel consumption. Fuel economy ratings for other Focus trim levels and equipment combinations have not been released yet, but you can expect them to drop a few mpgs.

The Blue Oval is not the only company to offer an efficiency-oriented trim level in the interest of bragging rights. Chevrolet’s Cruze comes in a special Eco spec, which allows the company to tout the car’s 42-mpg highway rating—although that rating is specific to Cruzes with manual transmissions—while other Cruzes wind up in the mid-to-high 30-mpg range. That’s still nothing to be ashamed of, but this MPG maneuvering lends some credibility to Hyundai’s recent boasting that the Elantra is rated at 40 mpg highway regardless of transmission choice, and without tacking on any special packages.

Thanks to the efficiency-friendly aerodynamics of a longer sedan shape, the Focus SFE is able to just about tie the smaller, less-powerful Fiesta in EPA ratings. That car, in its own SFE trim, musters just 29 mpg city/40 highway, leaving the 118-hp Fiesta to compete against its 160-hp sibling on price and parking advantages alone.

At a later date, Ford will add engine stop-start functionality to the Focus, further improving economy. We’ll update you as soon as the Blue Oval spills the beans on EPA ratings for other Focus trim levels.

Related posts:

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A tad more power and a convertible that celebrates Saab’s independence.

If you’ve been paying any attention to Saab news lately, the bulk of your thoughts have probably been spent on the new 9-5 and the upcoming 9-4X. But a look at the company’s vehicle roster will remind you that the Swedish company still makes the 9-3, and Saab plans to put that car back in the headlines for 2012. Okay, so maybe only Swedish headlines. A subtly refreshed 9-3 lineup—including sedan, SportCombi, and convertible body styles—will bow in Geneva alongside the new 9-5 SportCombi.

Keep Reading: 2012 Saab 9-3 Griffin Official Photos and Info – Auto Shows

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The Cayman inches even closer to the 911.

As much as the 911 is the brand’s unquestioned icon, Porsche executives freely admit that the mid-engine layout of the Boxster and Cayman is the dynamically superior concept. To protect the 911, Porsche has diligently made sure to keep a performance gap between the top-of-the-line Cayman and the entry-level 911—a gap in straight-line performance, that is. But now, as both the Cayman and the 997 911 are well in the autumn of their product cycles, the smaller car has been let off the leash.

Keep Reading: 2011 Porsche Cayman R – First Drive Review

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Ever since Mercedes-Benz launched its ultra-premium Maybach marque almost a decade ago, two things have remained unchanged: Maybach’s cars, the 57 and 62, and the brand’s struggle for sales and future direction. A small German coachbuilder called Xenatec (no relation to the warrior princess or her cell phones) might influence the latter with the reveal of its two-door derivative of the Maybach sedan at the Geneva auto show. For now, the Maybach Xenatec coupe is a one-off project for a customer, but we surmise that the car is being shown in Geneva not just to boost Xenatec’s profile with the public, but also as a design proposal for Mercedes. In other words, whether Xenatec means it this way or not, its coupe is a three-dimensional, three-ton message to Maybach to get off its arsch.

Given that the Maybach borrows heavily from the W140 generation of S-class, which was introduced in 1991, as well as its successor from 1998, the W220, it might be difficult for Xenatec to use that car as the basis for this coupe. It’s just too outdated and too big. Indeed, we see an awful lot of the new Mercedes CL coupe in the side profile, and suspect that it could be the basis for this behemoth. Let’s hope the gas cap on the final product is better integrated than it is in these early images.

This is not the first time the Maybach brand has inspired coachbuilders to come up with shocking—and exciting—proposals for coupes. You might remember the sinister Maybach Exelero, styled by Pforzheim design students and shown in 2005, and the Stola Phalcon, shown in 2007. But with the Maybach’s platform aging and the brand’s future surrounded by question marks, Xenatec’s effort may well be the last stab at a coachbuilt Maybach coupe. We’d better put down a deposit.

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Each week, our German correspondent slices and dices the latest rumblings, news, and quick-hit driving impressions from the other side of the pond. His byline may say Jens Meiners, but we simply call him . . . the Continental.

Porsche is pondering racing activities. The next-generation Cayman could be prepared for a racing series, and we hear that the highest ranks of the VW and Porsche orbit would like the brand to go out and race—this time with a dedicated racing team, and beyond selling race cars to independent customers. It will happen.

Audi’s Sports Cars

Audi really wants to build the Quattro Concept, and it likely will position the car well above the R8. But with only a five-cylinder engine? It is possible, a Quattro GmbH executive tells my colleague Manfred Jerzembek. Some execs want the car to be called just “Quattro” like its historic predecessor and inspiration. Does the car make sense? I am not sure. The original Quattro is a brand icon, but what does its relaunch mean for Audi’s more recent icon, the R8?

The Quattro concept and now the A3 concept headed to the Geneva auto show are both powered by a 408-hp variation of the 2.5-liter turbocharged five. So it increasingly looks like Audi will keep this engine and figure out a way to produce it even after the naturally aspirated base engine, VW’s 2.5-liter five, will be phased out in favor of turbocharged fours.

Carlsson’s Supercar

I have written about the Carlsson C25 before, and now I’ve had the chance to take it for a spin. The supercar is based on the Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG, its twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter V-12 tuned to produce 743 hp. Straight-line performance is superior to almost anything else on the road—up to its ungoverned 219-mph top speed. The factory SL65 AMG is governed at 155 or 186 mph. Zero to 62 mph takes a claimed 3.7 seconds. The power is channeled to the rear wheels through a five-speed automatic, and the stability-control system can be adjusted to your wishes. The matte gray tester shown here, a customer car heading to Ukraine, was searching for grip all the time, well into highway speeds. The sound is fantastic; nervously aggressive inside and emitting a dark bass outside.

Designer Rolf Schepp has created an entirely new exterior, including a completely new roofline—no easy feat. The C25 looks wide, impressive, and futuristic, like a modern alternative to the decidedly retro SLS AMG. Inside, the dashboard was modified and is now twisted towards the driver. Carlsson has managed to shave off 400 pounds, not least by replacing the SL’s roof, with its complex and heavy mechanism, with a fixed carbon-fiber structure.

Carlsson wants to make only one C25 per country, for a total of 25. You can still order the one slated for the U.S.—figure two to four months for completion. Should demand exceed the limited supply, an even lighter Clubsport version with a V-8 is possible. And Schepp would like to create a Spider as well. His aim: show a different way to Mercedes-Benz design, which he views critically.

The World’s Most Sophisticated Tow-Hook Covers

Speaking of which, when I saw the new Mercedes-Benz CLS, I was struck by what I thought to be the most elaborate tow-hook cover ever. But what Gorden Wagener’s design team came up with for the AMG appearance package and the CLS63 AMG must be the ultimate in this specific field. For your admiration, here are all three variations:

Mercedes-Benz CLS, AMG Appearance Package, and CLS63 AMG tow-hook covers

Related posts:

1. Carlsson C25: For When Way Overpowered Just Isn’t Enough
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Faithful to the original, except for surpassing it in every way.

Jim Farley, Ford’s global VP of marketing, didn’t have to fly to California for the debut of the Mustang Boss 302. No one told him to. “It’s just that I’ve been driving my own Mustang right through the last two Michigan winters thinking about this project,” he said. “From a business standpoint, the Boss 302 shouldn’t have happened. But it happened. My dream for the car was that it would make a lot of money for a guy street racing. It should be a car that winds up on YouTube doing something illegal. I’ve been waiting 20-plus years to launch a car like this.”

Keep Reading: 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 – First Drive Review

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