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Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Lamborghini, Rumormill

Lamborghini Gallardo LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni

Lamborghini Gallardo LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni – Click above for high-res image gallery

Following in the footsteps of its parent’s at Audi, Lamborghini has made all-wheel drive something of a battle cry. What was introduced as an option on the Diablo VT has now proliferated across every model Lamborghini has made since its introduction. Well… until the Balboni edition came along.

To honor the career of the company’s long-serving test driver Valentino Balboni, Lamborghini rolled out a purist’s version of the Gallardo that did away with the all-wheel drive system in favor of rear-drive only, dropped 10 horsepower and was available with a classic gated manual in the place of the e-gear sequential gearbox.

The Balboni edition – carrying the LP 550-2 designation to mark its metric horsepower output and traction configuration – was set to be the only rear-drive Gallardo available, until Lamborghini announced the Bicolore edition just the other day. Although sold overseas with all-wheel drive, the American version was announced as the first rear-drive LP 550-2 to follow the Balboni.

According to reports coming in from Italy, Lamborghini is now preparing to offer the LP 550-2 as a sort of “entry-level” Gallardo, undercutting the price of other versions while offering the more direct drivetrain set-up. Apparently Lamborghini already sold a number of these LP 550-2s to Asian customers who missed out on the Balboni’s limited production run, and will now offer the bare-bones Gallardo as a regular member of the family.

Gallery: First Drive: 2010 Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2 Valentino Balboni

balbonilp5502fd_01 balbonilp5502fd_02 balbonilp5502fd_03 balbonilp5502fd_04 balbonilp5502fd_05

[Source: OmniAuto.it – translated]

Lamborghini to position rear-drive LP 550-2 as “entry-level” Gallardo? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 18:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Car Buying, Ford, Toyota, Earnings/Financials

As difficult as the past few years have been for the U.S. auto industry, automakers and analysts alike continue to hope for a better future. 2010 has been a vast improvement over 2009, with sales up 11 percent. Even better, the last three months have seen sales rise above an annualized rate of 12 million cars and trucks, and analysts see 2011 sales approaching 13 million units.

Nearly all automakers have benefited from customers’ renewed faith in the economy, but few have fared as well as Ford. The Blue Oval has seen sales rise by 21 percent so far in 2010, and the Dearborn, MI-based automaker appears destined to reclaim its spot as the number two automaker in the States. Ford analyst George Pipas points out to The Detroit News that the automaker has seen two consecutive years of market share increase for the first time since 1993, going from 14.2 percent in 2008 to an expected 16.8 percent for 2010. At the same time, Toyota has seen its share shrink to 15.2 percent due in part to the recall of 6.75 million vehicles in the U.S. alone and over 10 million cars and trucks globally. Should sales trends continue, Ford will overtake Toyota in sales for the first time since the Japanese automaker wrestled away the number two spot back in 2007. General Motors remains at the top of the U.S. sales food chain, stabilizing its market share at 19.3 percent despite shedding four brands during bankruptcy.

Ford had a fantastic 2010, and with the 2011 Explorer and 2012 Focus on their way to showrooms and continued momentum from cars like the Mustang, we’re thinking 2011 will be a winner as well. Meanwhile, Toyota will need some fresh product in its showrooms if it hopes to re-engage Ford and take back its place in line. And it will be tougher than ever to steal sales from GM or Chrysler, as both companies have stabilized market share and have new product for 2011.

[Source: The Detroit News | Image: Paul Sakuma/AP]

Report: Ford looks ready to overtake Toyota for No. 2 sales position originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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