Monthly Archives August 2014

If you have paid attention to some international corporate news, you may know that recently the Chinese government is conducting multiple antitrust investigation on some famous foreign companies who are doing business in China.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) has been determined by the regulator – the China National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), to has monopoly activities and is facing a fine of 7-billion RMB (approx. 1.13-billion USD). And, it has been said that Microsoft China is also under a separate investigation recently.

The same thing happens on automobile industry too...

According to BMW insider, after the release of the M2 next year, the next exciting news for the M brand is the GTS model of the M4.

For your reference, the GTS trim is a more track-oriented variant, it usually deletes some non-necessary parts and incorporates structural enhancements. For example, the E92 M3 GTS weights approx. 300 lbs less than the standard M3. Of course, there may be other upgrades to the powertrain, suspension and braking system.

Currently there is no further information about the M4 GTS, we will keep an eye on it and report back any updates.

Following Cadillac releasing powertrain spec for the 2015 ATS long-wheel-base version, now we also get a side profile comparison between the ATS sedan and the ATS-L, as shown below. The ATS-L has a 3.35-in longer wheelbase than the standard version.

Below are two more live photos of the 2015 ATS-L.

Recently (mid-July), Honda upper management has green-lighted the S2000 successor project.

The S2000 successor is developed alongside the new Acura NSX, at Honda’s Performance Manufacturing Center in Ohio. Below are information we got at this moment:

– Carbonfiber and aluminium car frame construction
– Mid-engine layout
– Turbocharged 2.0L 4-cylinder engine plus an electric motor
– Total combined power output: approx. 365 hp
– 7-speed dual-clutch transmission
– RWD only
– Scheduled on sale date: fall/winter 2017

Below is image of the previous generation S2000.

Today Cadillac announced detailed powertrain spec for the upcoming LWB ATS. Currently this ATS-L is only available in Chinese market.

Two engine options will be offered, they are both using the turbocharged 2.0L 4-cylinder engine:

ATS-L 25T: 227 hp, 260 lb-ft of torque
ATS-L 28T: 275 hp, 295 lb-ft of torque

Please note that the ATS-L 28T has higher output (3 hp more) than the US market 2014 ATS sedan equipped with the same engine, which outputs 272 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque; it also has higher horsepower than the 2015 ATS coupe, which is 272 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque.

Regardless of the engine option, they are all mated to GM’s 6-speed automatic transmission...