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Monday, February 15, 2010

COMPANY:019 Maybach-Motorenbau GmbH


Maybach-Motorenbau GmbH (German pronunciation: [ˈmaɪbax]) (founded 1909) is a German luxury car manufacturer. It was founded in 1909 by Wilhelm Maybach with his son Karl Maybach as director. The company was originally a subsidiary of Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH and was itself known as "Luftfahrzeug-Motoreinbau GmbH" (literally "Aircraft Engine Installation Company") until 1918. Today, the brand is owned by Daimler AG and based in Stuttgart.

COMPANY:018 LEXUS


Lexus is the luxury vehicle division of Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corporation. First introduced in 1989 in the United States, where Lexus has ranked as the highest-selling maker of luxury cars, as of 2006 Lexus vehicles are sold in 68 countries and territories worldwide. In 2005, the division launched in Japan, becoming the first Japanese luxury car marque to be introduced in its home market. The Lexus marque has since debuted in additional export markets as part of the division's ongoing global expansion.

Lexus originated from a clandestine flagship sedan project that began in 1983. This effort developed into the original Lexus LS, which was the first vehicle to wear the Lexus marque upon its launch in 1989. In following years, Lexus added sedan, coupé, convertible, and SUV models. In 2005, a hybrid version of the RX crossover debuted, and additional hybrid models were subsequently introduced to the Lexus lineup. In 2007, Lexus launched its F marque performance division with the arrival of the IS F sport sedan.

From the start of production, Lexus vehicles have been consistently produced in Japan, with manufacturing centered in the Chūbu and Kyūshū regions, and in particular at Toyota's Tahara, Aichi, Chūbu and Miyata, Fukuoka, Kyūshū plants. Assembly of the first Lexus built outside the country, the Ontario, Canada-produced RX 330, began in 2003. Following a corporate reorganization from 2001 to 2005, Lexus operates its own design, engineering, and manufacturing centers, solely responsible for the division's vehicles.

Since 1989, Lexus has received top rankings for vehicle reliability and customer service in independent surveys. Consumer ratings firm J.D. Power and Associates has named Lexus the most reliable brand in the U.S. fourteen times, most recently in 2008, based on its Vehicle Dependability Survey of over 53,000 vehicle owners and problems experienced in the first three years of ownership. Through 2008, Consumer Reports has also named Lexus among the top five most reliable brands in its Annual Car Reliability Surveys of over one million vehicles across the U.S.

The Lexus slogan is "The Pursuit of Perfection."

COMPANY:017 Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd


Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd. (ダイハツ工業株式会社 Daihatsu Kōgyō Kabushiki-gaisha , TYO: 7262, OSE: 7262) is a Japanese manufacturer of cars, well known for its smaller models and off-road vehicles. Many of its models are also known as kei jidōsha (or kei cars) in Japan. Its headquarters are located in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture.

The name "Daihatsu" is a combination of the first kanji for Osaka (大) and the first of the word "engine manufacture" (発動機製造 hatsudōki seizō) ; when put together they are pronounced "dai hatsu."

Daihatsu was formed in 1951 as successor organisation to Hatsudoki, and by the 1960s had started exporting cars to Europe, although it did not enjoy any major sales success until well into the 1980s.

Since February 1992 in North America, it has been common for Toyota to distribute Daihatsu models.

COMPANY:016 BUGATTI


Bugatti was founded in Molsheim, France as a manufacturer of high performance automobiles by Ettore Bugatti, an Italian immigrant described as an eccentric genius.

The original company is legendary for producing some of the most exclusive cars in the world, as well as some of the fastest. The original Bugatti brand failed with the coming of World War II, like many high-end marques of the time. The death of Ettore's son Jean was also a contributory factor. The company struggled financially, and released one last model in the 1950s, before eventually being purchased for its airplane parts business in the 1960s. Today the name is owned by Volkswagen Group, who have revived it as a builder of limited production exclusive sports cars.

COMPANY:015 Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW)



Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW), (English: Bavarian Motor Works) is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the MINI brand, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW is known for its performance and luxury vehicles.

COMPANY:014 Mazda Motor Corporation


Mazda Motor Corporation (マツダ株式会社 Matsuda Kabushiki-gaisha?) (TYO: 7261) is a Japanese automotive manufacturer based in Fuchū, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.

During 2007, Mazda produced almost 1.3 million vehicles for global sales. The majority of these (nearly 1 million) were produced in the company's Japanese plants, with the remainder coming from a variety of other plants worldwide.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

COMPANY:013 Vauxhall Motors Limited


Vauxhall Motors Limited (pronounced /ˈvɒksɔːl/) is a British car manufacturer, owned by General Motors. Most current Vauxhall models are right-hand drive derivatives of GM's German Opel marque; however, production of left-hand drive vehicles also takes place for export to other parts of Europe, and certain marginal markets. There are also several performance vehicles coming from Opel Performance Center (OPC) and Holden/Holden Special Vehicles in Australia. Vauxhall is headquartered in the Griffin House in Luton, United Kingdom.

In early 2009, the future of Opel was thrown into uncertainty as the global financial crisis drove GM towards bankruptcy. New GM Europe (Vauxhall plus Opel, minus Saab), is presently controlled by a trustee, with a controlling board made up of representatives from GM, employees and the German Government; the company was subject to a bidding process.

On 10 September 2009, it was announced that Magna, a Canadian car part manufacturer, and Sberbank, a Russian company, would buy a majority stake (55%) in its European Opel/Vauxhall operations. GM would have owned 35% of Opel; while Opel employees would have owned 10%. The agreement would have kept Opel/Vauxhall a fully integrated part of GM’s global product development organisation, allowing all parties to benefit from the exchange of technology and engineering resources. On 3 November 2009, the GM board called off the Magna deal, after coming to the conclusion that Opel and Vauxhall Motors are crucial to GM's global strategy.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

COMPANY:012 Mitsubishi Motors Corporation


Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (三菱自動車工業株式会社, Mitsubishi Jidōsha Kōgyō Kabushiki Kaisha?) is the sixth largest automaker in Japan after Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Suzuki, Mazda and the seventeenth largest in the world by global vehicle production. It is part of the Mitsubishi keiretsu, formerly the biggest industrial group in Japan, and was formed in 1970 from the automotive division of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

Throughout its history it has courted alliances with foreign partners, a strategy pioneered by their first president Tomio Kubo to encourage expansion, and continued by his successors. A significant stake was sold to Chrysler Corporation in 1971 which it held for 22 years, while DaimlerChrysler was a controlling shareholder between 2000 and 2005. Long term joint manufacturing and technology licencing deals with the Hyundai Motor Company in South Korea and Proton in Malaysia were also forged, while in Europe the company co-owned the largest automobile manufacturing plant in the Netherlands with Volvo for ten years in the 1990s, before taking sole ownership in 2001.

Due to strong sales it benefitted strongly in the 1970s and '80s, increasing its annual production from 250,000 to over 1.5 million units. But its strong presence in south-east Asia meant it suffered more than most of its competitors in the aftermath of the 1997 East Asian financial crisis, and since then the company has recovered to consistently increase sales and maintain profitability.

Friday, February 5, 2010

COMPANY:011 ADAM OPEL


Adam Opel GmbH is a German automobile company founded by Adam Opel in 1863.It has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Motors (GM) since 1929. The company was an AG (German plc) up to 2005.

Opel is headquartered in Rüsselsheim, Hesse, Germany.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

COMPANY:010 AUDI AG


AUDI AG (Xetra: NSU) is a German company which produces cars under the Audi brand, German pronunciation: [ˈaʊdi]. It is part of the Volkswagen Group. The name Audi is based on a Latin translation of the surname of the founder August Horch, itself the German word for “listen!" Audi is headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. It has been a wholly-owned (99.55%) subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group (Volkswagen AG) since 1964. Volkswagen Group relaunched the Audi brand with the 1965 introduction of the Audi 60/72/75/80/Super 90 range (sold in certain export markets simply as the "Audi") shortly after the name was acquired as part of Volkswagen's purchase of the Auto Union assets from former owner, Daimler-Benz.