Filed under: Motorsports

The preparations have begun for the race formerly known as the Paris-Dakar. The entrants have begun to gather in Le Havre, France, for scrutineering before shipping out to South America for the Dakar’s run across Argentina and Chile. Mike Werner was in Normandy and captured in photographs what was going on. If you ever wondered wanted to see what it takes to get ready for a big-deal international race, the words to describe the images are “intense preparation” — right down to making sure the vehicle sound level doesn’t breach 95 decibels. Follow the link to check out all the photos. And get ready to rumble.

[Source: Motorbiker]

Dakar scrutineering, in pictures originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 29 Nov 2008 14:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Opec leaders leave oil production quotas unchanged after a brief meeting in the Egyptian capital.

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Cote d’Ivoire became the first country in Africa to sign an economic partnership agreement (EPA) with the European Union this week, prompting fears that the accord will prevent the country from developing closer ties with its neighbours.

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Filed under: Euro, Hatchbacks, Volkswagen, Misc. Auto Shows

It’s been no secret that a facelifted VW Golf Plus has been in the works for a while. It’s just that the Euro-market hatch wasn’t supposed to be formally revealed quite yet. The car will be introduced on Wednesday with the usual fanfare at the Bologna Motor Show, but media at this week’s Essen Motor Show got a sneak preview when they picked up the Golf Plus brochure at the VW stand. The error was apparently corrected in short order, but once something’s out, it’s out. Dutch paper De Telegraaf, which was also the first outlet to run official Panamera photos a week or so ago, was among those who grabbed a copy of the new Golf Plus materials. Their scan is what’s shown above. As you can see here, it looks pretty much like the old Golf Plus, except it has the new Golf’s front-end theme. We’ll see the whole thing when VW releases more images and specs next week. If you click the photo you can read a Babel Fish-translated version of the Telegraaf article. Thanks to Jelle for the heads-up.

[Source: AutoTelegraaf]

Oops! VW accidentally distributes new Golf Plus brochure in Essen originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 29 Nov 2008 10:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nearly fifty people have been injured by a grenade blast inside the opposition-occupied Government House in the Thai capital Bangkok.

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Pakistan has demanded evidence for Indian charges it was involved in the Mumbai attacks.

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A weeklong strike by health workers in Burundi has cut services in key hospitals to a bare minimum, with patients complaining of neglect.

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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Nissan

The show must go on! In this case, we’re talking about what’s arguably the most important auto show in America: Detroit. It’ll be a cold day in Hell January for fans of Nissan’s finest, as the Japanese automaker has officially pulled out of the proceedings. The event will still attract a huge audience, despite the horrible economic state that many Michiganders find themselves in, and there’s no way that the local Nissan and Infiniti dealerships want all that foot traffic ogling every brand but theirs. Thus, none of us should find it too shocking that said dealers will be making their own display in January in Detroit.

Like the recently announced display for the Chicago Auto Show, the Detroit showing is not officially sanctioned by the mothership and it won’t be staffed by professionals. At least fans of the marque will get the chance to see Nissan’s latest products, sort of. Unfortunately, some of Nissan’s biggest attractions won’t be there, including the new Cube and the new-for-’09 370Z. Seriously Ghosn, can’t you just throw these poor guys a bone by at least shipping out a single, solitary new Z?

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

Local Detroit-area Nissan and Infiniti dealers to invade NAIAS originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 29 Nov 2008 16:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Government/Legal, Green, Chrysler, LLC., Ford, GM

Remember the growing movement to caravan a few hundred of Detroit’s most fuel efficient vehicles to the automaker’s next meeting with Congress? Not happening. Interestingly, it wasn’t for lack of support. In fact, it was just the opposite. So many people had voiced their support and announced their intentions to join in that the event’s organizers just weren’t able to keep up. Talk about a logistical nightmare.

Organizers have not given up on the idea completely, launching a new website called TheEngineofDemocracy.com that’s supposed to drum up support for Detroit and fuel efficient cars in general. Along with an outpouring of support via the interwebs, a list of 51 people from various suppliers, dealership workers and Union officials will accompany the CEOs of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler to Washington – one from each state plus one from the capital itself – to prove that the loss of the American auto industry would affect everyone. At this point, we think it’s safe to say that Wagoner, Mulally and Nardelli will be, ya know, driving to the proceedings.

[Source: The Detroit News Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty]

Detroit to DC caravan cancelled originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 29 Nov 2008 13:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Army interpreter Daniel James, found guilty of spying for Iran last month, is jailed for 10 years.

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