A company representative was able to attend TruSpeed Porsche’s meet and greet recently prior to the Porsche Cup Series race in Long Beach. TruSpeed had 2 cars in the race and our rep had a great time at the meet and greet for drivers at their Costa Mesa shop. He was able to get some great pictures and we thought we’d share!

Mini to reveal Paceman Concept at the Detroit Auto Show

Mini will debut the Paceman concept car this January at the Detroit Auto show. The Paceman closely resembles the Countryman on which it was based. The Paceman is a two door version and will keep some of the Countryman features like the headlamps, grille shape, hood and rounded front fenders. The Paceman will run on a turbocharged 1.6 liter four-cylinder gasoline engine.

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Volvo has launched the R-Design versions of the S60 and V60 models. Already considered a strong rival to BMW, Saab, Audi and Mercedes, the improvements have sparked excitement from Volvo fans and other car enthusiasts alike.

The specially designed chassis in the S60R and V60R models were made to give drivers that ultimate sporty driving experience that the car’s appearance boasts. These models are equipped with a fitted strut brace to stiffen up the body, shorter stiffer springs and even firmer bushings.

If you haven’t yet, now might be the time to check out the Volvo driving experience.

Does it ever seem like there are a lot of movies with Volvo Cars in them? That is probably because there are!

You will even find them in the Twilight Saga.

Photo Credit: http://cullenboysanonymous.blogspot.com/2008/11/volvo-twilight.html

Photo Credit: http://www.twilightgear.net/featured/edward-trades-in-his-volvo/3068

The Saint, Vanilla Sky, Notting Hill, The Da Vinci Code, all have Volvos in them. Here is a fun list of movies that you can see your favorite Volvos in.

- 1964 Volvo 122 Amazon (The Preacher), Movie, 2004

Photo Credit: http://imcdb.org/vehicle_112481-Volvo-Amazon-P130-1964.html

- 1962 Volvo 122 S (Pink Flamingos), Movie, 1972

- 1968 Volvo 142 in (The Exorcist), Movie, 1973

- 1974 Volvo 164 in (The Silence of the Lambs), 1991

Photo Credit: http://imcdb.org/vehicle_658-Volvo-164-1974.html

- 1970 Volvo 1800 E in (Beverly Hills Cop), 1984

- 1971 Volvo 1800 E in (Gone in 60 Seconds), 1974

- 1972 Volvo 1800 ES in (Vanilla Sky), 2001

- 1965 Volvo 1800 S in (The Saint)

- Volvo 240 in (Con Air), 1997

Photo Credit: http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_1392-Volvo-240-245-1986.html

- 1983 Volvo 240 in (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), 1986

- 1977 Volvo 242 in (The Ring Two), 2005

- Volvo 245 in Tomorrow Never Dies (Tomorrow Never Dies [James Bond]), 1997

- 1978 Volvo 264 in (Detroit Rock City), 1999

- Volvo 265 in (Final Destination 2), 2003

- 1990 Volvo 460 in (Ronin), 1998

- Volvo 740 in (The Lost Boys), 1987

- Volvo 760 in Mission: Impossible II (M:I-2), 2000

Photo Credit: http://imcdb.org/vehicle_2731-Volvo-760-764.html

- Volvo 780 Bertone in (Heist), 2001

- 1993 Volvo 850 in (Mrs. Doubtfire), 1993

- 1993 Volvo 850 in (The 40 Year Old Virgin), 2005

- 1995 Volvo 850 in (Lethal Weapon 4), 1998

- 1995 Volvo 850 T5 in (Training Day), 2001

- Volvo 940 in (Old School), 2003

- 1995 Volvo 960 in (Entrapment), 1999

- 1965 Volvo Amazon in (Good Morning, Vietnam0, 1987

- Volvo C70 in (The Saint), 1997

- 1999 Volvo C70 in Die Another Day (Die Another Day [James Bond]), 2002

- 1959 Volvo PV 544 in (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids), 1989

- 2000 Volvo S40 in (Mercenary for Justice), 2006

- 2001 Volvo S40 in (Batman Begins), 2005

Photo Credit: http://imcdb.org/vehicle.php?id=13111&PHPSESSID=e02f190039689ad989e30f9fa557aef8

- 2005 Volvo S40 in (The Butterfly Effect 2), 2006

- Volvo S60 in Die Another Day (Die Another Day [James Bond]), 2002

- 2000 Volvo S60 T5 in (Mercenary for Justice), 2006

- Volvo S70 in (Finding Forrester), 2000

- 1997 Volvo S70 T5 in (Notting Hill), 1999

- Volvo S80 in (The Haunting), 1999

- 1998 Volvo V70 in (American Beauty), 1999

- 2000 Volvo V70 in (The Da Vinci Code), 2006

- 2000 Volvo V70 XC in (Vanilla Sky), 2001

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Founded in 1937 at Wolfsburg, by the German Labor Front, Volkswagen was designed by Ferdinand Porsche, a famous engineer, in 1936. Initially called the “Beetle”, reflecting its shape, it was renamed Volkswagen, meaning “People’s Car”. Later known as the “Bug”, it became Volkswagen’s hallmark product, and featured fuel efficiency, reliability and economical Volkswagen auto parts.

WW II forced the company to exclusively produce military vehicles in support of the German war effort. In 1945, as Volkswagen auto parts were ruined by bombing raids, Americans turned over the factory to British Army Officer Major Ivan Hirst. He ensured that Volkswagen auto parts would not be used to maintain military vehicles. To keep his promise, he painted one green to convince the British Army to place an order for 20,000 Volkswagens. Volkswagen auto parts remained operational. Volkswagen began production en masse in early 1946, becoming a key component of the German economic recovery.

Volkswagen Auto Parts: Image Is Everything

In 1949, only two units were sold in the U.S. Canada’s first order in 1952 totaled 143,075 units. This popularity warranted the construction of a Volkswagen auto parts manufacturing plant in Scarborough, ON (near Toronto). Located in New Jersey, Volkswagen of America was formed in 1955, standardizing U.S. Volkswagen auto parts sales and service.

Triggering this phenomenal growth were the ingenious advertising campaigns of New York advertising agency Doyle Dane Bernbach. Attractive art and witty copywriting made Volkswagen ads as popular as the car. One such campaign was the “Think Small” full-page ad, featuring mostly a blank page, with only a small picture of a Volkswagen. In 1968, Disney released the movie “Love Bug”, a film portraying “Herbie” as a Volkswagen with a mind of its own. These advertising campaigns effectively lured young, sophisticated consumers to associate with Volkswagen and Volkswagen auto parts, better known as the “Beetle”.

As Volkswagen auto parts became outdated during the 1960s and 1970s, innovative advertising and reliability significantly boosted sales and extended the life of the Beetle. Searching for a successor in 1964, Volkswagen acquired Auto Union (owner of the Audi brand). Ultimately, the Golf model would become the replacement for the Beetle.

In early 1972, Volkswagen auto parts surpassed the world record for production of a single make of car, previously held by the Ford Model T, at 15,007,034. By 1973, total production was over 16 million. In New Stanton, Pennsylvania, the first U.S. Volkswagen auto parts factory opened in 1978, specifically to produce the Rabbit (known as the Golf in Europe), and effectively becoming the Beetle’s successor.

U.S. Sales slumped over the 1980s and 1990s. Expanding its product line in the early 2000s, Volkswagen auto parts showed gains, based largely on the Audi brand. In 2003, the final Beetle was produced in Mexico, bringing the record-breaking total to 21,529,464. August 2009 brought fame, as Porsche merged with Volkswagen. This move, with its existing brands (Audi, Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini) made Volkswagen the largest automobile manufacturer in Europe. Later in 2009, Volkswagen auto parts overtook Toyota as the world’s largest car production manufacturing group. Volkswagen has become the mainstay of diversity and reliability with its products.

Enjoying diversity and reliability is easy with Volkswagen auto parts from www.all-volkswagenparts.com.

VOLVO. The name rolls off the tongue as easily now as it did on February 20, 1915 when it was submitted to the Royal Swedish Patent & Registration Office. VOLVO is the first person singular form of the Latin verb “volvere”. Think of a revolving door, or the handgun with a rotating drum known as a revolver. It means “I roll”, and points to the earliest history of VOLVO as a subsidiary of a Swedish ball bearing manufacturer.

The auto manufacturer was officially founded on April 14, 1927, when the first car rolled out of the factory in Hisingen, Gothenburg. Only 297 cars were built that year. The vision of the two founders, Assar Gabrielsson and Gustav Larson, was to build cars that could stand up to Sweden’s rough roads and cold temperatures. Durability has been a feature of Volvo products ever since.

Volvo ÖV4 Jakob : 1927

Photo Source: http://www.cartype.com/pages/4612/volvo_v4_jakob__1927

VOLVO Symbols

From down the road, you know a VOLVO from the diagonal band running across the radiator. It is found on the grille of every VOLVO vehicle today, and was on the first VOLVO car in 1927. Originally a necessity to keep the chrome badge in place on the grille, it was kept as a decorative and distinctive symbol.

On the VOLVO grille badge and in the center of the steering wheel you will find the ancient chemical symbol for iron: a circle with an arrow pointing diagonally upwards to the right.  Also a symbol for Mars, the ancient Roman god of war, and the symbol for the male gender, it became associated with iron as the choice material for the weapons of that time period. The VOLVO badge symbolizes steel and strength.

Photo Source: http://www.ipdusa.com

BMW (Bavarian Motor Works) began in 1916 as a Munich aircraft manufacturer. Engine production ceased in 1917, switching to motorcycles as mandated by the Versailles Armistice Treaty, post WW I. BMW auto parts legacy began in 1928 with production of the first BMW automobile.

BMW's First Car - Dixi

Photo Credit: http://puzzles-games.eu/puzzle-bmw-dixi-da2-160.html

BMW’s logo represents white propeller blades against a blue sky, referencing Bavaria’s Coat of Arms and flag. Pre-WW II, BMW was best known for the Type 328 roadster, responsible for over 120 racing victories from 1936 to 1940, powered by BMW auto parts. These same BMW auto parts helped define BMW’s racing DNA, breaking the world motorcycle speed record of 134 mph on a BMW R37 in 1929.

BMW Auto Parts Emerge from War

By 1945, Russia and bombing raids consumed most of BMW’s manufacturing abilities. However, BMW auto returned in 1948 with the six-cylinder, BMW 501 and the world’s first light-alloy V8-powered BMW 502 in 1954. 1950 thru 1962 introduced the Isetta micro-car, BMW 507 Z8 and the BMW 1500 family sedan, all powered by authentic BMW auto parts. An attempted takeover by Daimler-Benz in 1959 was unsuccessful.

BMW pioneered turbo-charging, vehicle electronics technologies and introduced the 3, 5 and 7 Series sport sedans, with BMW auto parts. In 1972, a new headquarters was built in Munich, shaped like a four-cylinder engine; a second Dingolfing plant opened; assembly operations of BMW auto parts began at Rosslyn, South Africa, increasing the production of BMW auto parts. In 1973, BMW won two European Touring Car Championships. The BMW 2002 Turbo became the first European production turbocharged automobile in 1974, powered by BMW auto parts.

BMW 2002 Turbo

Photo Credit: http://iedei.wordpress.com/2009/03/25/original-1973-diagram-of-the-bmw-2002-turbo-engine-engine/p0034906b/

The R80G/S Enduro motorcycle took off in 1981, winning the Paris-Dakar Rally. In 1983, BMW won the F1 World Championship, marking the first win by a turbocharged engine. BMW Technik GmbH was established in 1985 as a think tank to envision how to leverage BMW auto parts. The BMWZ1 was born, the 750i resurrects the V12 engine and a new BMW Research and Innovation Center (FIZ) is opened in 1987 where 6,000 engineers planned the future of BMW auto parts.

BMW Auto Parts Flex Performance Muscles

BMW partnered with Rolls-Royce in 1990, and BMW auto parts supported its re-entrance into aircraft engine manufacturing. 1991 marked car and BMW auto parts recycling, and the unveiling of the BMW E1 electric concept car. BMW entered the U.S. in 1994 as it opened a plant to manufacture BMW auto parts in Spartanburg, South Carolina. BMW returned to the Paris-Dakar Rally in 1998, after a 12-year absence.

The Mini-Cooper was launched in 2001, followed by the Clean Energy hydrogen-powered car in 2002, using BMW auto parts. 2003 launched the Rolls-Royce Phantom and BMW auto parts manufacturing began in China in 2004, Egypt in 2005 and India in 2007. BMW celebrated the production of its one millionth vehicle in 2006.

2008 and 2009 saw BMW making history with the new electric MINI E showcased at the Los Angeles Auto show. Fuel saving and emission reducing technologies brought additional awards and recognition to BMW, and it earned a triple victory in the Engine of the Year Awards.

M3 Coupe

X3 SUV

Photos: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW

The innovation of Mercedes Benz auto parts began with the concept of luxury. In the 1880s, amid the invention of the high-speed engine and automobile. Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz grew up just 60 miles and one decade apart in southern Germany. Although they never met, they shared a fascination with machines, Albeit having different approaches to building cars.

Mercedes Benz Auto Parts – Epitome of Power and Luxury Benz revealed the first automobile to the world in January 1886. The Benz Patent Motor Car was a three-wheeled vehicle. Just months later, Daimler and his chief engineer, Wilhelm Maybach, followed suit. They unveiling a four-wheeled vehicle powered by the Daimler engine.

Shortly after Daimler’s death in 1901, the Mercedes Benz was born. Maybach built the impressive vehicle which was commissioned by Emil Jellinek, one of Daimler’s primary distributors. The car was named after Jellinek’s daughter, Mercedes, meaning “grace”. Mercedes-Benz lives up to that name, even today, and authorized Mercedes Benz auto parts keep the dream alive.

Daimler and Benz merged their companies in 1926 to form Daimler-Benz AG. The power and luxury of the Mercedes-Benz brand was born. From the beginning, Mercedes Benz and technologies seemed to surpass extraordinary. In fact, the 1931 Mercedes-Benz 170 offered the world’s first vehicle with four-wheel independent suspension.

MB 170

Photo Credit: http://www.philseed.com/mb170-31.html

Mercedes Benz auto parts continued to advance technologies and impressed the driving public throughout the thirties and forties. In 1933, the 380 was the first Mercedes-Benz sports car with a smooth-riding swing axle independent suspension. In 1936, the 540K was supercharged with a 180 hp engine.

The fifties was another cutting-edge decade for Mercedes Benz. It marked the birth of a dynamic new sports car: the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL featuring innovative “gullwing” doors. Daimler-Benz made significant technological advancements in the area of safety. The Mercedes Benz 220 sedan was the first vehicle to include a patented “crumple zone” structural feature, designed to compress and absorb energy from the impact of a car accident. Mercedes auto parts continued to evolve with every new model.

1955 300SL

Photo Credit: http://tirekicker.blogspot.com/2008_10_01_archive.html

In 1963, the Mercedes Benz 600 carried a V8 engine with an astounding 300 horsepower. It was just one of the Mercedes Benz auto parts that blew the roof off luxury for this elegant sedan. Also featured was an air suspension system that was way ahead of its time. Now, the Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3, a full-size sedan, could shoot from zero to 60 in less than seven seconds!

The 1970s brought the S-Class line to life, and proved to be another innovative decade for Mercedes Benz. The lavish sedans and coupes were replete with outstanding Mercedes Benz auto parts: powerful engines, endless luxury features, and a new invention: antilock brakes, proving yet again Mercedes’ commitment to driver safety.

The 1980s brought more safety firsts to the automotive industry with Mercedes Benz components, including airbags and traction control. Ride comfort and handling reached a whole new level with the introduction of multilink rear suspension on the Mercedes-Benz 190 E.

In the 1990s, Mercedes Benz partnered with AMG to provide customers with upgraded models that boasted higher performance levels, better handling, and better stability.

Mercedes Benz innovation, elegant design, and impressive power continue today. Whatever your need, you are sure to find it within the widespread luxury lineup of Mercedes-Benz vehicles ranging from coupes and roadsters to sedans and SUVs. And when you need 100% Mercedes Benz auto parts, you’ll find them right here at www.allmercedesparts.com

Mercedes Benz Mclaren SLR

Photo Credit: http://www.ssip.net/manufacturers/mercedes/model/mercedes-benz-mclaren-slr/

If you attended the 2009 Detroit Motor Show then you no doubt got a glimpse of the A7 Sportback concept car. July marked the release of the production model and the official unveiling.

 

Audi A7 Sportback

 

Photo: http://forums.audiworld.com/showthread.php?t=2699308

The A7 offers four V6 engine options, 2 gas and 2 diesel. The gas models get 34 MPG and a quick 5.6 second dash to 62 MPH. Both also come with Audi’s famous Quattro all-wheel drive and an S-tronic twin clutch automatic gearbox. Your diesel engine options offer an entry level front wheel drive with an incredible 53 mpg! The uprated diesel offers all wheel drive and combines a swift 6.5 sec 0-62 mph time with a nice 47 mpg. All the modern technology packed into this car along with the comfort and sport options it offers, the A7 really combines the Beauty, Brains and Power you could want from your Audi vehicle.

Full Article and Photo Resource: http://www.evo.co.uk/news/evonews/255034/new_audi_a7_sportback_revealed.html?CMP=NLC-Newsletters&uid=eeb5de728eb0ad1cd7f5a230f90efd9f

Audi A7 Sportback

Audi A7 Interior

Audi A7 Sportback