Car of the Year 2008

Turin, 19 November 2007 - The international jury presiding over the “Car of the Year” award, which is made up of 58 specialist journalists from 22 European countries, has voted the Fiat 500 “Car of the Year 2008″ with 385 votes, ahead of the Mazda 2 (325 votes) and the Ford Mondeo (202). In addition to winning the “Car of the Year 2008″ award outright, the super compact Fiat distinguished itself by obtaining votes from most members of the jury: 57 out of 58 in fact included it in their short-list and as many as 33 made it top in their personal rankings.

This is the second time – the first was the Fiat Panda in 2004 – that a segment A model has won the most prestigious car industry award in the world. This extraordinary record brings Fiat Group Automobiles total win to twelve: the Fiat 124 (1967), Fiat 128 (1970), Fiat 127 (1972), Lancia Delta (1980), Fiat Uno (1984), Fiat Tipo (1989), Fiat Punto (1995), Fiat Bravo/Brava (1996), Alfa 156 (1998), Alfa 147 (2001), Fiat Panda (2004) and the Fiat 500 (2008).

Launched on 4th July this year, the new Fiat 500 immediately sparked huge interest and very favourable comments from more than 7,000 people from 63 countries (more than 1,000 journalists were accredited) who flocked to Turin for its début, including institutional authorities, financial analysts, businessmen and people from the worlds of entertainment, fashion and sport.

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The Tata Nano Standard Edition

Last week, Tata Motors unveiled what it hopes will be the shape of things to come in the automotive industry. As if taking a page from Apple Corp., there had been many tantalizing rumors and photo leaks in the run up to the unveiling of the Tata Nano. Now that all the buzz has died down somewhat, let’s take a closer look at what could be the best thing that has ever happened to the automotive industry. The Tata Nano is no ordinary car. To understand this car it is important to understand the company behind it.

Tata Motors Limited is part of the Tata Group of companies, the largest conglomerate company in India. If you live on the Indian subcontinent, it is nigh impossible to go a day without bumping into something that came out of a Tata factory or using a service provided by one of its subsidiaries. Suffice to say that in India, Tata is not just a brand name, it’s the brand name.

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2005 Ford FreeStyle

Amazing things happen when inspiration and empowerment take hold. Outstanding products come out of normal places. 2005 was the year when a breath of fresh air came out of Ford when they introduced FreeStyle crossover as one of six new nameplates during the company’s “Year of the Car”.

It is probably what a station wagon of our childhood years would have naturally evolved into if not for our misguided love affair with the SUV. What makes FreeStyle special is it draws on some of the best segments of Ford’s portfolio.

Its architecture draws its inspiration from Volvo XC90 with its platform is based on the Ford Five Hundred sedan. The results are reflected in the excellent safety ratings for this model. If you are in the market for something slightly smaller than an SUV that has all the versatility of a minivan, then the FreeStyle should fit the bill nicely.

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News of the U.S. subprime mortgage market meltdown has dominated most of the business and finance headlines in the last quarter of 2007. Consumer spending has slowed down and its effects have rippled across all sectors in our economy: the automative industry is no exception. Sales figures from most car manufacturers in the US and abroad (with the exception of Chrysler and Honda) all indicate a downward trend in consumer spending on new vehicles.

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DEARBORN, Mich., Jan. 3, 2008 – Led by two new and three redesigned models, Ford, Lincoln and Mercury crossover utility vehicles paced the industry’s fastest-growing segment with a gain of 62 percent in 2007, more than triple the industry-wide growth of 17 percent. In its first full year, Ford Edge sales were 130,125, exceeding Ford’s original forecast by 30 percent. In December, Edge capped off the year with its best-ever retail sales month.

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