2010 FORD SHELBY GT500 PACKS MORE POWERFUL PUNCHThe new 2010 Ford Shelby GT500 delivers the most power and refinement ever for a Ford SVT-tuned performance Mustang – and a few surprises, too.

“The 2010 Shelby GT500 demonstrates Ford’s continuing commitment to high-performance vehicles,” said Derrick Kuzak, Ford group vice president, Global Product Development. “In addition to the numerous performance and refinement improvements inside and out, the 2010 Shelby GT500 is an estimated 2 miles per gallon more fuel efficient on the highway.”

“We’re proud of the many enhancements that were developed jointly by the Ford and Shelby Automobiles team last year that we’ve now incorporated into the new 2010 Shelby GT500,” said Carroll Shelby, founder of Shelby Automobiles. “Building on what we learned to create the Shelby GT500KR, this new car offers a great combination of power, handling and braking. It is truly a special car that is a great deal of fun to drive.”

Ford’s Special Vehicle Team used the gains made on the 40th anniversary edition Shelby GT500KR “King of the Road” Mustangs as the performance starting point and built from there. The design team, with a nod to the original Shelby Cobras from the 1960s, takes those design cues even further with nuanced improvements in both the coupe and convertible, each of which boasts a more-refined interior.

Unadulterated enthusiasm: The Volkswagen drivers experienced an atmospheric opening to the Dakar Rally as they drove over the start ramp in Buenos Aires on the evening of 2 January. Half-a-million enthusiastic spectators lining the "Avenida 9 de Julio” – the world’s widest major road – in the heart of the Argentine capital gave the Volkswagen drivers a rousing send-off during the ceremonial start to the 9,500 kilometre long rally classic. Carlos Sainz/Michel Périn (E/F), Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D), Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) and Dieter Depping/Timo Gottschalk (D/D) contest the world’s toughest motorsport cross country event with four Race Touaregs between the 3 and 18 January.

The impressive setting also inspired Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Board of Management responsible for Technical Development, and Wolfgang Hatz, Head of Group Powertrain Development in the Volkswagen group. The first competitive stage and opening 622 kilometres of the "Dakar" are on the agenda on Saturday with the route from Buenos Aires to Santa Rosa de la Pampa. The rally also finishes in Buenos Aires on 18 January after a total of 14 stages across the most varied terrain, crossing the Andes twice and a section through the extremely dry Atacama Desert.

When the four Volkswagens roll across the Dakar Rally start ramp the level of anticipation for one driver in particular is enormous – Dieter Depping. It is a double premiere for him: The first running of the legendary "Dakar” in South America is simultaneously the first that the all-rounder from Hanover tackles in the Race Touareg 2. However, Depping is anything but a "rookie”. The 42-year old has been an integral element of the Volkswagen family since 1998 and made a name for himself in cross country rallying just as quickly as he had in sprint rallying and on the race track. "Dieter Depping is a multitalented driver and bonus for our team,” says Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. "He can drive anything with four wheels on the limit and in the process always delivers reliable information to the engineers.”

Dieter Depping took cross country rallying by storm in April 2008: In the Central Europe Rally through Hungary and Romania he finished in a strong third place with co-driver Timo Gottschalk and in doing so claimed a podium spot first time out against the assembled "Dakar” competition of his three Volkswagen team mates Carlos Sainz (E), Giniel de Villiers (ZA) and Mark Miller (USA) as well as Mitsubishi, X-raid-BMW and Robby Gordon. He showed strong nerves and also won a stage in the duel for third place which he won against former "Dakar” winner Luc Alphand (Mitsubishi).

Extreme heat, the toughest tracks and dizzying heights: The Dakar Rally, held between the 3 and 18 January in Argentina and Chile for the first time, demands maximum performance from every participant. Even higher temperatures than in Africa, the former venue of the "Dakar”, await the Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 teams during the South American summer. Furthermore, the drivers are exposed to the thinnest air as they cross the towering Andes twice, drive through the Atacama Desert one of the world’s driest regions and must stomach the hardest knocks on the cross-country tracks. Whoever wants to master this challenge must be in peak physical form. For this reason, the Volkswagen team prepared itself just as professionally as meticulously and varied for the marathon.

"The Dakar Rally has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with normal driving,” clarifies Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. "It is professional sport at the highest level.” A mere glimpse at the pulse monitor confirms this: During the long exposure to constant strain in the cockpit pulse rates of 140 to 160 beats per minute appear – comparable with the values seen by professional footballers. For this reason each driver’s personal fitness training lasts up to five hours daily!

Spectacular driving footage, fascinating landscape, the myth of the most famous and demanding rally - the legendary Dakar Rally provides breathtaking pictures on TV screens around the world year in year out. When the four Volkswagen Race Touaregs roll across the start ramp at the beginning of January in Buenos Aires the media event "Dakar”, which sets superlatives itself, starts at the same time. During the South American premiere of the classic desert rally between 3 and 18 January the interest is directed at the 530 participants and their cars, motorbikes, trucks and quads and more specifically at the competition between Volkswagen and its rivals like Mitsubishi and X-raid-BMW.

The unique and varied pictures produced by the rally classic are seen on television screens in 189 countries. Even more numbers document the media event "Dakar”: Eighty TV channels cover this mammoth event, 16 TV channels accompany the complete rally, over 800 journalists are accredited, 125 daily newspaper copy editors representing 96 international publications accompany the huge event with its 14 daily stages over 9,500 kilometres through Argentina and Chile.

Fascination and innovation - precisely these features clearly describe the stance and look of the BMW Group at the 2009 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit.

Highlighting the world debut of the new BMW Z4 and the presentation of future-oriented drive concepts, the world's most successful manufacturer of premium cars offers the public a truly attractive outlook at the new year and beyond from 17-25 January 2009. More than ever before, customers in the North American automobile market may also benefit in 2009 from the results of BMW's EfficientDynamics development strategy. For all BMW models presented at the 2009 NAIAS come with power units combining the dynamic performance typical of the brand with truly exemplary fuel economy and emission control.

Isuzu Motors Ltd., Japan's largest truckmaker, scrapped expansion of pick-up truck production in Thailand and delayed a plan to build heavy duty trucks in Russia next year as the global recession saps vehicle demand.

Isuzu may also delay making diesel car engines for Toyota Motor Corp. from 2012, President Susumu Hosoi said in an interview in Tokyo on Dec. 10.

The company's 67 billion yen ($739 million) capital spending for the fiscal year ending March 31 will be 10 percent lower than its initial estimates, Hosoi said. Economic recessions in the U.S., Japan, and Europe are sapping demand for vehicles worldwide and Thailand's economy may contract for the first time in a decade next quarter, partly due to political turmoil.

With Christmas fast approaching, the Enstone factory has been a hive of activity recently with the car build for the R29 in full swing. A walk around the factory at Enstone shows every department at full capacity as the new challenger comes to life.

Although the first chassis won’t be finished until the New Year, both Fernando and Nelson have already had their first taste of the new car with their preliminary seat-fits in a mock-up chassis. They were impressed with what they saw, but they are now eager to sample the real thing on the racetrack.

While the finishing touches are made to the R29, the test team have also been hard at work this week in Jerez completing the final test of 2008 and the final test with the R28.

The Andes instead of the Sahara: before the Dakar Rally, which after 29 editions through Africa will lead through South America for the first time in January, the Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 has completed an unusual training camp. In the Volkswagen Group’s altitude environmental test chamber in Wolfsburg the cross-country rally prototype was subjected to several series of tests simulating the unique climatic conditions of the world’s toughest rally in Argentina and Chile.

The objective of the complex tests was to adapt engine electronics control to the extreme altitudes of up to 4,700 metres above mean sea level during the 9,578-kilometre endurance test for man and material. This way, the engineers want to assure the durability as well as optimum performance of the 280-hp TDI turbo diesel engines during the crossings of the Andes. At the "Dakar”, which starts in Buenos Aires on 03 January and finishes at the same location on 18 January, Volkswagen fields four Race Touareg vehicles.

PSA Peugeot Citroën and Robert Bosch GmbH have agreed on a strategic partnership for diesel hybrid technology. The recently signed agreement calls for Bosch to co-develop, industrialize and supply electric motors and power electronics for PSA Peugeot Citroën’s four-wheel-drive diesel hybrid powertrain. Unveiled at the Paris Motor Show on the Peugeot Prologue and Citroën Hypnos concept cars, this innovative diesel hybrid technology will equip Peugeot and Citroën vehicles starting in 2011.

Diesel hybrid technology is a key focus of PSA Peugeot Citroën’s environmental strategy, and developing and industrializing this technology is a major challenge for the carmaker. By choosing a core partner, PSA Peugeot Citroën is paving the way to rapid market introduction of hybrid diesel vehicles in Europe. Bosch, the world's leading automobile equipment manufacturer, has been chosen to supply a number of components for this system. PSA Peugeot Citroën is usually sourcing its components from different suppliers.