Land Rover Highlights Royal Couple's LA Visit With 2012 Land Rover Defender 110 Donation

Prince William and Princess Kate visited Los Angeles last week and attended an event held by the Tusk Trust, a philanthropic group that William has been involved with since 2005. Land Rover donated a 2012 Land Rover Defender 110 to the group during the Tusk Trust US Patrons Circle launch reception held in Beverly Hills, California.

The Royal couple met a number of donors and supporters of the group, which supports wildlife conservation, communities and education in Africa. The Duke of Cambridge has served as the Tusk Trust's Royal Patron since 2005.

"Land Rover vehicles have a strong philanthropic history and we're pleased to sustain the heritage of the brand thr"Land Rover vehicles have a strong philanthropic history and we're pleased to sustain the heritage of the brand through the donation of a Land Rover vehicle to the Tusk Trust," said Andy Goss, President of Jaguar Land Rover North America. "We are honored to have our vehicles support Tusk's outstanding ongoing conservation efforts in Africa, and thrilled that Their Royal Highness es, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, were personally able to attend this very important charitable event today."

Land Rover has supported the group for over a decade and has donated a number of vehicles for use in many of the groups projects throughout Africa.

"We are enormously grateful to Land Rover for their support of this important Royal reception in Beverly Hills and the donation of the Defender 110 Station Wagon for our work in Africa, said Charles Mayhew, founder & CEO Tusk Trust. "Tusk and Land Rover have enjoyed a longstanding and mutually beneficial relationship in Africa, where their vehicles have become the reliable 'work-horses' of many of our projects."

Source: Land Rover

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Ford uses recycled tires and soybean oil for seals and gaskets in several 2011 vehicles

Ford Motor today announced it has combined rubber from more than 2.2 million pounds of recycled tires with other material, such as soybean oil, to produce what it says are environmentally friendly gaskets and seals for new cars.

Teaming up with Detroit-based supplier Recycled Polymeric Materials, Ford has turned 210,000 used tires and 150,000 pounds of soy into material for the new gaskets and seals.

"The gaskets and seals are derived from 25 percent post-consumer, recycled-tire particulate and 17 percent biorenewable content from soy," Ford said in a press release.

"The sustainable gaskets were first introduced to Ford in 2008, and have now expanded to include 11 [2011MY] vehicles," including the Ford F-150, Escape, Mustang, Focus, and Fiesta, the company said.

"When it comes to finding a way to use more renewable and recyclable content in our vehicles, Ford and our suppliers are looking at every part of a vehicle," said Cynthia Flanigan, Ford technical leader for Research and Innovation. "As long as an application makes sense and upholds strict quality standards, we'll look to get these sustainable materials inside our vehicles."

Ford also uses soy and recycled materials in the interior of the 2011 Ford Explorer. And Ford uses material derived from recycled carpet to make cylinder head covers.

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Rear-Wheel Drive Cadillac Flagship Sedan Approved

      With the Cadillac STS and DTS no longer in production, there has been a lot of speculation on what the automaker would bring in as its next flagship. Well today, GM Inside News received information from sources close to product planners at General Motors that Cadillac has given the green light for a flagship sedan based on a new, rear-wheel drive platform.

The report states that the platform is referred to internally as Omega and will likely be a larger offshoot of the Zeta architecture that currently underpins the Chevy Camaro and a number of vehicles in Holden’s lineup. The new Cadillac has a target launch date of anywhere from 2015 to 2017.

The news is in line with statements made by Cadillac’s Global Marketing Director James R. Vurpillat who spoke with Ward’s a few months ago about the upcoming XTS sedan. The XTS, expected to launch shortly as a replacement for the STS and the DTS, will likely receive all-wheel drive with a choice of a V6 and V8 engine. But Vurpillat stated that the XTS would likely be a temporary replacement until Cadillac produces a more proper and larger flagship sedan. “Our priority is to get the main segments covered,” Vurpillat said, “Then we can start thinking of cars in the S-Class and 7 Series range. I’d like to have a car like the concept Cadillac Sixteen.”

The CTS, SRX and Escalade have proven to be legitimate competitors in their respective segments, but Cadillac hasn’t had a true player when it comes to large luxury sedans. A proper rear-wheel drive flagship sedan seems like a no-brainer and it couldn’t come soon enough.

Source: GM Inside News

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Audi's victory at the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans Video Recap.

          The 79th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans was one of the most exciting in the history of the race, with Audi narrowly beating Peugeot by less than 14 seconds. The win made it 10 victories in 13 years for the Four Rings, and incredible record that is is only bested by Porsche.

Like in previous years, Audi's victory at Le Mans didn't come as a result of a faultless race, but because they were able to handle the hardships given to them by the grueling event. The #2 Audi, which was the fastest car during qualifying, had to hold off four Peugeots for more than half the race after both Allan McNish and Mike Rockenfeller suffered massive crashes. The three winning drivers set a blistering pace that couldn't be matched by their competitors, and it was André Lotterer who finally took the checkered flag.

If you weren't able to catch the race on television (or even if you did), you can get a great recap of Audi's victory in the video after the jump.

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2013 Porsche 911 Turbo Spied.

It seems we’re getting to a point now where there are about as many future Porsche 911 test mules running about as there are different versions of the current car on sale. Our adventures in spotting 991s (Porsche’s internal designation to refer to the upcoming 911) started late last year when we brought you a bevy of details on the base car, which was at that time roaming around with decals mimicking the Turbo’s massive rear-fender intakes. Those big ducts became the real thing back in March but that 911 Turbo test mule seemed to be missing something. Where’s the wing, Porsche?

Considering that early mule did show evidence of a Panamera-style retractable spoiler, it’s entirely possible that Porsche plans to offer the next Turbo with a smaller, power-deployable unit. But these new photos should soothe traditionalists, as they seem to indicate that the usual whale tail will reappear. As with past mules, the head- and taillight designs are fake-outs; the real things should be markedly different than these disguised shapes, especially at the rear. If you see a 991 Turbo on the street, that view is likely the only one that you’ll need to worry about, because it will pack an estimated 550 horsepower—bettering both the current base car’s 500 and even the Turbo S’s 530, and, with few exceptions, whatever you’d be driving.

The Turbo’s supercar-grade output and all-wheel-drive system put it near the top of the 911 hierarchy, but it also will boast all of the next-gen traits we’ve reported for the base car. That means a longer wheelbase and a jump in overall length, but also weight-savings efforts like aluminum skin to cancel out any extra mass from the increase in size. Because of its higher price tag and place in the 911 lineup as the acceleration king (or at least the crown prince), the Turbo is likely to boast a few additional lightweight bits. Porsche’s seven-speed PDK will carry over as the car’s automatic transmission option, but we’re more intrigued by the manual, which we expect will be the world’s first do-it-yourself seven-speed. The standard 911 will debut this fall in Frankfurt; figure on waiting a few months to see the Turbo.

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Jaguar E-Type sculpture at Goodwood.

A striking iteration of the Jaguar E-type, which celebrates its 50th birthday this year, will be the centrepiece at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Made out of steel tubes, the distinctive shape of the world's most-loved sports car is captured in a truly jaw-dropping manner – the result soars 28 metres into the air in front of the beautiful backdrop of Goodwood House.  At 150 tonnes, the installation weighs the same as 122 Series 1 E-types and took 10 days to install by a firm specialising in bridge building.Echoing the curved fuselage of the car itself, the sculpture has been created using half a kilometer of painted steel tubes 1,200mm in diameter. Originally intended for use in gas pipelines, these are constructed from 12mm thick steel and machined to very high tolerances. Much of the metal was donated by Tata Steel, a subsidiary of Jaguar’s parent company. Appropriately for the car that earned itself a permanent place in New York’s Museum of Modern Art, the E-type’s sensual shape has been recreated and transformed into a work of art itself by world-renowned sculptor Gerry Judah. The design process began in January and was followed by detailed engineering calculations and planning stages that lasted four months.Previous Goodwood installations have incorporated actual cars into the design but Judah explains why this year was different: “The E-type is famous for its shape but too small and delicate to hoist into the air. I thought I would like to express the form of the car itself without any embellishments."As well as the soaring sculpture, visitors to the event will be able to see an array of Jaguars past and present. Naturally the E-type will be taking centre-stage but also taking to the Goodwood Hillclimb course will be its famous C and D-Type racing forebears and the XK120 that founded the Jaguar sports car lineage. The current award-winning XF, XK and XJ will also be present and the stunning C-X75 concept car, that has already wowed crowds worldwide, will provide a glimpse into Jaguar’s future.Geoff Cousins, Managing Director, Jaguar UK said: “Jaguar has always been proud of its heritage and we feel particularly honoured to have been asked to provide the Goodwood sculpture for a second time. The E-type captures the essential beauty, drama and passion of every Jaguar – engineering and design DNA that is equally apparent in the current range.”

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GM gives a year free Auto Insurance.

Could free auto insurance for a year sway your decision on what kind of vehicle to purchase? That is the question General Motors Co. is trying to find out with a new pilot incentive program currently available in two states.

Last week, the Detroit automaker announced customers in Oregon and Washington who purchase a new 2010, 2011 or 2012 Chevrolet, Buick, GMC or Cadillac car, truck or crossover through Sept. 6 will receive a one-year insurance policy from MetLife Auto & Home.

Officials say GM is using the states to test the auto insurance as a standard feature to determine consumer appeal.

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