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U.S. opens probe into whether VW vehicles infringe Jaguar Land Rover patents

WASHINGTON — The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) said on Monday it is opening in investigation into whether Volkswagen AG infringed on patents held by Jaguar Land Rover for a system used for off-road driving. In November, Jaguar Land Rover, a unit of Tata Motors, filed a complaint with the ITC seeking to prevent the import of some VW Porsche, Lamborghini and Audi models with "certain vehicle control systems" that allegedly infringe on it patents held for its Terrain Response system. The models include the Lamborghini Urus, Porsche Cayenne and AudiÂ’s Q8, Q7, Q5, A6 Allroad, and E-Tron vehicles and the VW Tiguan. The ITC said it has made no decision on the merits. VW said in a statement it was examining the action and determining its next steps. "We will of course cooperate with investigating authorities. While we cannot comment on any details of the proceedings, we strongly believe that the claims have no merit and will robustly defend our position," VW said. Many automakers offer a suite of off-road powertrain controls, but JLR claims Volkswagen's tech is more than just similar.  Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) said the vehicles "have used JLRÂ’s patented inventions without payment or permission" notably a patent for an "improved system for driving a vehicle on different driving surfaces, in particular off-road." JLR says its Terrain Response technology uses the patented technology to maximize performance on off-road driving surfaces, including grass, snow, mud, sand and rocks.

Mazda CX-5 named Japan's Car of The Year, Subaru BR-Z wins "Special Award"

The Mazda CX-5 stamped its Kodo design and SkyActiv technology authority all over the Japan Car of the Year awards, taking the top prize ahead of the Subaru BRZ/Toyota GT 86. It is Mazda's second victory in the last ten years, the 2005 MX-5 claiming the same trophy, and the fourth time the Hiroshima company has won.
The award is decided by 60 local "automotive experts and journalists," and open to any passenger car released in Japan from November 1, 2011 to October 31, 2012 that has sold more than 500 units. Each judge gets 25 votes, his or her top vote getting 10 points, the rest of the points being spread among the judge's choice for the next best four cars.
The second-place getters were the Toyobaru twins with 318 votes, the surprise being they didn't beat or get any closer to the crossover. The Subaru BRZ did claw some mojo back, earning the Special Award given to cars that have made "an exceptional impact." The BMW 3 Series was third overall and won the Import Car of the Year award with plenty of room between it and the second place Range Rover Evoque.

Jaguar Land Rover signs manufacturing contract with Magna Steyr

Jaguar Land Rover is in the midst of implementing big plans. Those include a raft of new models, and a series of new manufacturing facilities to build them. It seems, however, that the former is outpacing the latter, as the British automaker has just announced a new manufacturing contract to have some of its vehicles built off-site. The latest deal is with Magna Steyr, the contract manufacturer based in Graz, Austria. That could see a Land Rover produced at the same facility that has handled the Mercedes G-Class since 1979, or a Jaguar at the same place that assembled the Aston Martin Rapide until 2012 when production was moved back to the UK. The big question at this point is just what JLR will choose to have Magna build on its behalf. The British automaker isn't saying at this point, but a spokesman confirmed to Autoblog that it will be a future product – not an existing line moved from its current production site to the contract manufacturer, as Mercedes recently did with the R-Class. A timeline wasn't announced at this early stage, either, but we're told it will take about 24 months before new Jaguars or Land Rovers start rolling out of the plant in Austria. Just what those new vehicles will be remains to be seen, but Jaguar Land Rover has a number of new products on their way. It is expected to reveal in the near future a new Defender, a replacement for the current LR4/Discovery, the new Evoque convertible, a new XJ flagship sedan, and possibly a new coupe and convertible to take the place of the old XK. We'll soon see the new Jaguar F-Pace, which may be followed by additional crossovers as well. The company also recently introduced the new XE, XF, and Discovery Sport models, though given the timeframes, they'll almost certainly be produced at JLR's existing facilities. It recently opened its first overseas plant in China, has another one under construction in Brazil, and is also said to be considering a plant in North America on either side of the US-Mexican border. Jaguar Land Rover Signs Contract Manufacturing Agreement With Magna Steyr Whitley, UK - Jaguar Land Rover has agreed a manufacturing partnership with Magna Steyr, an operating unit of Magna International Inc, to build some future vehicles in Graz, Austria.