Hyundai's Global Sales Rise 6.8 Percent in 2008 but Profits Drop

Despite the slowing global economy in the second half of 2008, Hyundai saw its sales rise 6.8 percent year-over-year to 2,796,370 units. South Korea's largest automaker also saw its sales revenues in the 2008 calendar year rise 5.1 percent to 32.19 trillion won. However, the firm's profitability declined by 13.9 percent to 1.448 trillion won from a year earlier while operating profit also dropped by 3.5 percent to 1.877 trillion won. Hyundai said that the decline was "due to higher marketing, dealer and brand development expenses which are needed to secure future competitiveness."

2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe: First Official Photos

Mercedes-Benz seems to be having a problem lately keeping anything that concerns the new E-Class under cover. Just like the E-Class sedan that made its debut on the web well before the official unveiling, the Coupe version of the Merc's executive saloon that will replace the CLK coupe and convertible models has been ingloriously revealed through a series of leaked photos that appear to have been scanned from a brochure. With its quad-headlamp arrangement, the more dramatic styling of the three-part side windows combined with the sleeker roofline and its heavily shouldered rear wheel-arches, the new E-Class Coupe looks more stylish and has more presence than the current CLK.

Inside, from what we can tell, the dashboard is identical to the one found on the new E-Class Sedan. However, Mercedes has fitted the Coupe with four-individual, high-rise bucket seats.

The 2010 E-Class Coupe's engine line-up is likely to match that of the sedan model, meaning that you should expect to find (depending on the marker of course) four- and six-cylinder turbodiesels, plus four-cylinder supercharged petrols, a direct injection 3.5-litre V6 petrol with 292HP and a 5.5-liter V8 producing 388HP. The range-topping E 63 AMG Coupe model will get a 525HP V8 unit.

The new E-Class Coupe will make its show debut in Geneva this March with sales following shortly after in Europe, and towards the end of the year or early 2010, in the U.S.

Via: Autoblog.nl - Thanks for the tip Vincent!

Hamann's Widebody BMW X6 Tycoon

Hamann Motorsport's latest creation is the X6 Tycoon, a widebody conversion for BMW's sporty crossover. While eye-catching, the X6 is no beauty and Hamann's aero kit that broaden the body by 60 mm does nothing to change this. However, the aerodynamic add-ons that include a front apron with large air inlets and LED daytime running lights, a three-part rear diffuser, side skirts, and rear and roof spoilers along with the 23-inch alloy wheels with tires sized 315/25, give the bimmer a more aggressive and distinct look.

For the interior, Hamann offers a variety of accessories such as aluminum pedals, a 12-part decoration set made of carbon fibre, an instrument dial with a scaling up to 300 km/h and a 3-spoke sport steering wheel.

As with any other tuning project, Hamann has developed several performance kits for the X6 Tycoon. The xDrive35i delivers an output of 360 hp at 5230 rpm while the maximum torque rises by 140 Nm to 540 Nm in the rpm-range between 1300 and 5000. At the same time, Hamann also raises the speed limit from 250 km/h to 275 km/h (168 mph). Engine performance kits for the xDrive50i are already in the final stages of the development process.

The X6 diesel series also profits from extra power with the xDrive30d producing 265 HP and 600 Nm while the xDrive35d delivers 320HP and a 660 Nm of torque at 2000 rpm out of the Diesel car.

Via: Motorpasion