2011 Land Rover Range Rover Sport Hse Lux Vision Assist Camera on 2040-cars

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Jaguar Land Rover mulling factory in Georgia?

London's Sunday Times reported last October that Jaguar-Land Rover was sniffing around The South looking for a potential manufacturing site, and was "talking to several southern states." We imagine Georgia was one of them; The Peach State has Kia Motors Manufacturing in West Point, it claims Porsche HQ as a resident, and soon the Mercedes-Benz regional office, too. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has said that Governor Nathan Deal recently took the initiative to fly to the UK to "make prospect calls" with JLR executives about a deal. We don't have any details about the calls, but we'll guess that they involved Deal making a financial case for GA over other states while sipping a cup of tea. It's said that the English luxury maker wants to build a factory here with a 200,000-unit capacity, to take advantage of the same financial efficiencies that have planted other automakers in the US and Mexico; it opened a facility in China last year to build the Range Rover Evoque, Land Rover Discovery Sport, and the Jaguar XE, and is casting eyes over Brazilian and Saudi Arabian soil for other facilities. No timetable has been given for a decision. Related Video: News Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution via Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: AP Photo/Tony Ding Government/Legal Plants/Manufacturing Jaguar Land Rover Luxury

This Ford F-150 might have a Land Rover turbodiesel V6

Our spy photographers just caught this Ford F-150 driving around Dearborn, wearing camouflage around the bed – not so unusual near Ford's headquarters. What's interesting with this particular mule is that it might be packing a Jaguar-Land Rover turbodiesel V6. As with the Super Duty, the F-150 prototype pictured here sports a Venturi exhaust tip popping out the side of the rear bumper behind the wheel, which – along with the sound reported by our shutterbug – suggests that it's burning oil up front. That could mean Ford has found another application for the 3.2-liter, five-cylinder Power Stroke diesel that it just federalized for the Transit van. However our sources suggest what the mule is actually powered by the 3.0-liter Lion V6 diesel that Jaguar Land Rover – once subsidiaries in Ford's Premier Automotive Group – is bringing over for the Td6 models of the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport. The engine produces a respectable 254 horsepower and a healthy 443 pound-feet of torque, and is tipped to be mated to the same ten-speed automatic transmission as the new Raptor. That could give the F-150 the kind of fuel economy and muscle it would need to challenge the likes of the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel and the heavier-duty Nissan Titan with the Cummins engine. With gas prices as low as they are, however, and sales of diesel-powered vehicles lagging, Ford could just be trying to keep up with the competition by offering a light-duty diesel pickup. With its lightweight aluminum body, the diesel F-150 could even surpass the Duramax diesel-powered Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon for frugality at the pumps, according to Mark Williams of PickupTrucks.com. He told Autoblog that, "it makes perfect sense for Ford to do a diesel. It seems like everyone is pushing them to do a Ranger, but if they can get the F-150 to push 30 mpg it can challenge the Ram Ecodiesel and even the Colorado Duramax." Reached for comment, Ford spokesman Mike Levine sent us the following statement: "We do not speculate about future products. While diesel is a solution, it is not the solution. EcoBoost offers the ideal combination of performance and fuel economy that over 60 percent of F-150 customers are choosing." Featured Gallery 2017 Ford F-150 Diesel: Spy Shots Image Credit: Brian Williams / SpiedBilde Green Spy Photos Ford Land Rover Truck Diesel Vehicles jaguar land rover ford f-150 diesel

Recharge Wrap-up: Jaguar Land Rover talks EVs, Batteries should be modular

A new study out of Germany suggests adopting a modular approach to battery offerings in plug-in hybrid and extended range electric vehicles. Automakers could offer the same car with different battery sizes (and different costs, accordingly) to drivers depending on their driving ranges. This would optimize the total cost of ownership for various drivers better than the current approach. Developing a modular battery design and offering appropriate batteries for different customers "is the key for electric powertrains to meet customer expectations and become cost competitive against conventional technologies," according to the report from the Institute of Vehicle Concepts, German Aerospace Center. Learn more at Green Car Congress. Jaguar and Land Rover are looking to offer more electric driving from their vehicles. Wolfgang Ziebart, head of product development for Jaguar Land Rover, said in an interview that its hybrid system is being tweaked for more electric power and "downsized" combustion. He also said the likely target market for EVs would be second and third vehicles, rather than primary vehicles for urban driving. Within that market, Europeans look for something smaller, while American drivers lean toward larger luxury vehicles for their second car. Ziebart uses the Tesla Model S as an example of American tastes, and compares its size to that of the Jaguar XJ. Read more at Automotive News Europe. Thailand will likely approve a Volkswagen factory as early as next week. A German newspaper suggests that Thailand's Board of Investment is set to greenlight the plant, which is planned for a site near the Port of Bangkok. Thailand is a relatively large and growing auto manufacturing country, which seeks to be a major producer of eco-friendly vehicles. The country's "Eco2" program would provide incentives to Volkswagen if it builds clean cars and meets certain production targets. Read more at Reuters. Formula E has chosen Sky Deutschland for broadcasting rights in the German market. The deal includes television rights, as well as online broadcasting. Sky Deutschland has 3.8 million subscribers in Germany and Austria. Showing the races on Germany's largest pay television provider should help generate interest for the series, particularly the Berlin ePrix - the inaugural season's penultimate race - scheduled for May 30, 2015. Read more at the Formula E website.