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A Millward Brown survey has rated BMW as the most valuable car brand in the world, valuating it at around $21.82 billion. BMW overtook last year’s winner Toyota, which is now positioned at the second place with an overall estimated worth of $21.77 billion. It is noteworthy that both companies reflected worth was a lot lesser than last year owing to the economic downturn that hampered the global economy.

The biggest losers in this year’s survey were Porsche which was down by 31 percent and Toyota that saw a downfall of 27 percent compared to the estimated value last year. VW rose up in value by 20 percent and Ford also registered a rise of 19 percent. On the other hand, Audi, which self proclaims themselves to be the best premium brand, stood at a disappointing ninth place with an overall value of $3.62 billion.

Source: Alex Ion

As weird as it may sound (or not) a Ferrari F430 Spider was caught bursting into flames somewhere in Singapore. The exquisite Spider reportedly caught fire on April 28th at 11:56 am (local time) and until now, there are no specific details available as to how the commuter charred to ashes. Luckily there was no one injured in the mishap but despite quick efforts by the Singapore Civil Defense Force to save it from burning completely, the final result was the same. Brings tears to our eyes.

Source: Alex Ion

Saab has lined up a couple of interesting new models, with the new 2012 Saab 9-5 Wagon, also known as the SportCombi, the most interesting to make it to the market. A fresh image of the commuter has surfaced courtesy of a sales presentation and the leaked image reveals the sleek design with a distinctive profile. It gets sloping C pillars which will, by all means, reduce the luggage capacity of the estate wagon and it will hold 540 liters of cargo with the seats folded down. The wagon will share the engine from its sedan variant which runs on three options — 162 kW turbocharged 2.0-liter petrol, a 118 kW 2.0-liter turbodiesel, and a turbocharged 2.8-liter V6 with 221 kW output. The 2012 Saab 9-5 Wagon will probably break cover at the Paris Motor Show later this year.

Source: Alex Ion

Toyota will be heaving a huge sigh of relief knowing that other famous brands will also recall some of their vehicles. Joining the bandwagon, Porsche is going to recall 11,324 Panameras (2010 models) as the automobile manufacturer discovered a seat belt related flaw during internal testing. Porsche detailed that accelerating and reversing repeatedly could cause the seat-belt to release. While this is no major problem, Porsche intends to fix the Panameras when they are taken to a dealership for scheduled maintenance. I think we can start making bets to find out who’s next in the recall saga. Who do you think they are?

Source: Alex Ion

The Nürburgring circuit is always flocked with test mules and the latest coming from the spy photographers is the upcoming Audi RS3 that sports an unique orange color scheme. Compared to the A3, the new Audi RS3 is a pretty different looking commuter — a visible difference in these spy flicks are the larger air intakes on the modified front bumper. The RS3 is indeed directly comparable with the S3 Sportback in terms of body. While there are no official specs for the RS3, it is widely believed that it will come with the same 340 PS 2.5 liter, turbocharged 5-cylinder engine as in the Audi TT RS. We expect to see a finished version of the Audi RS3 at the Paris Motor Show in September. [via WCF]

Source: Alex Ion

It’s not only Michael Schumacher who’s looking for an F1 comeback, the likes of 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve are also eyeing their return to the circuit. Villeneuve is still practicing to make his dream come true which is why he is maintaining his fitness condition by using a bespoke EUR400,000 machine which has been conceived by his famous trainer, Erwin Gollner. Villeneuve almost made it back to the F1 circuit with the Serbian outfit Stefan GP but sadly the Zoran Stefanovich headed unit was not granted an entry in this year’s competition. He also mentioned that he is ready to replace any current driver in the ongoing season and he is confident that there is still place for experienced contenders on the circuit.

Source: Alex Ion

The 2012 Hyundai Veloster Concept has evolved thoroughly since the first time it was showcased three years ago at the 2007 Seoul Motor Show. The hatchback variant that is headed to the production floor and will start selling next year, was spied (again) testing and the cameras managed to get a shot of the interior along with the heavily clad exterior that hardly revealed anything.

Despite the heavy camouflage, the lighting units the center-mounted exhaust and the sloping roofline were all evident. On the inside the spy images reveal a symmetrical dash with a prominent center stack. The 2012 Veloster features a Dimension audio system, heated seats, a push-button ignition, chrome door handles, a large LCD display and a smallish steering wheel.

Engine speculations for the Veloster include a naturally-aspirated 1.6L four-banger capable of churning 121hp and 155Nm of torque. A turbocharged variant will also be offered and that will render 175 horses. [via WCF]

Source: Alex Ion

Former F1 driver David Coulthard isn’t pleased with Michael Schumacher’s apparent criticism as he believes that Schumi should be give more time in this season to gain a firm footing.

David believes that it is not Michael’s fault and Mercedes should be blamed for not offering him the kind of car he likes to drive.

Schumi is 40 points behind his own teammate Nico Rosberg in the first four races and the revised Merc package for the Barcelona GP is being touted as his last chance to avoid being written off.

Coulthard thinks that Schumi should be given more time (at least half a season) before being assessed.

As per him, the current car Schumi is driving was originally made for Jenson Button who switched to McLaren making room for Schumi in the rebranded Brawn team.

Coulthard is hopeful that the seven time world champion will have to wait for Mercedes to develop the right kind of car.

Source: Alex Ion

Ford has been one automobile outfit that has withered the storm of the credit crisis in the best possible manner, compared to other giants from this arena. The Blue Oval posting a profit in the first quarter of 2010 therefore does not come across as a huge surprise. What is a surprise though is the quotient of the profit against the expected profit for Q1, 2010.

While analysts thought that Ford will make around $1 billion in profit in Q1, the actual profit at the end of the first three months for 2010 sits at a whopping $2.8 million. The biggest reason for this successful quarter is Ford’s largest quarterly gain (2.7%) in the US market since 1977. Ford Europe though was a bit of a disappointment as the pre-tax operating profit posted was a modest $107 million despite Ford being the best selling brand with a hefty market share.

Source: Alex Ion

BMW and Audi, the two German premium brands have their daggers drawn at each other and no one is in the mood to spare the other. The already popular ad campaign war between the two has now headed to Hong Kong where BMW is a tiny bit ahead after buying a huge ad space — where they display the new BMW 5-series — directly above the Audi showroom in Hong Kong.

And from what we can tell, this board effectively displaces the Audi dealership from viewing. Those following this battle closely will remember the two premium German brands competing with billboard adverts in the US, too, in California. Considering the ongoing battle, this sure is an impressive move by BMW while Audi needs to figure out the source that gave BMW the ad space. We wonder what will be their next step.

Source: Alex Ion