Tag: triple

Report: Maserati orders triple on strength of Quattroporte demand in China

Filed under: Car Buying, Sedan, China, Maserati, Luxury

2014 Maserati Quattroporte S Q4

Considering Maserati sold all of 6,300 cars globally in 2012, its goal of selling 50,000 by 2015 seemed like a bit of a stretch to say the least, but it turns the Fiat-owned automaker was on to something. Reuters is reporting that Maserati has already received about 17,000 orders for cars this year, with help from the new 2014 Quattroporte and strong demand in China.

The US continues to be the top market for Maserati sales, but the report quotes Harald Wester, brand chief executive, as saying that China is now the top market for Quattroporte. As big of an improvement as this is it bears mentioning that the Ghibli isn’t even on sale yet and the Levante SUV, a redesigned GranTurismo and a new 911-fighting coupe are still waiting in the pipeline.

Maserati orders triple on strength of Quattroporte demand in China originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 Aug 2013 17:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2012 Triumph Street Triple goes bug-eyed

Filed under: Performance, Etc., Motorcycle

2012 Triumph Street Triple

2012 Triumph Street Triple – Click above for high-res image gallery

If you’ve been waiting to see Triumph translate some of the more impressive changes the company made to its Speed Triple this year to the more modest Street Triple and Street Triple R, wait no more. The bike maker has dropped a few photos and details on the 2012 model-year and it should come packing updates borrowed from its bigger brother. Those include a startling pair of new headlights, aluminum handle bars and engine case cover. Speaking of the mighty three cylinder nestled between the frame, Triumph has dialed up the power to 106 ponies and 50 pound-feet of torque.

There’s no word on whether Triumph was able to shave any weight from the bike, but the three-pot should have no problem moving both rider and machine down the road in a hurry. Asphalt & Rubber reports that prices for the 2012 model are the same in France, which means the company may keep the MSRP flat for American buyers as well.

Gallery: 2012 Triumph Street Triple

2012 Triumph Street Triple

[Source: Asphalt & Rubber]

2012 Triumph Street Triple goes bug-eyed originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 17:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: GM studying how to double or triple Chevy Volt production

Filed under: Hybrid, Plants/Manufacturing, Hatchback, Chevrolet, GM, Electric

Early Volts reportedly cost $40,000 to build

Chevrolet Volt battery pack – Click above for high-res image gallery

How’s your math? If you have 240,000 “potential buyers” but only 10,000 vehicles to sell them in the first year, what can you do? If you’re General Motos and the item in question is the Chevrolet Volt, then you look for ways to seriously increase the number of Volts you can build (and, of course, sell).

That’s exactly what CEO Dan Akerson says his company is trying to do, looking to double or triple production rates of this very important car. The problem, according to GM North America President Mark Reuss, is the bottleneck created by the limited number of battery cells that vendor LG Chem can produce for GM. The current plan is to make around 10,000 in 2011 and 45,000 in 2012. That 2012 number has already been increased from 30,000.

Upping the production numbers is good for GM for another reason. According to Steven Rattner, who was President Obama’s former auto bailout chief and worked intimately with GM, “At least in the early years, each Volt would cost around $40,000 to manufacture (development costs not included).” GM won’t confirm this number, but increased production will get the company, presumably, better economies of scale and thus lower production costs.

Gallery: 2011 Chevrolet Volt battery pack

[Sources: The New York Times, Automotive News – sub. req.]

Report: GM studying how to double or triple Chevy Volt production originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 01 Dec 2010 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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