Fastest Cars: Brazil

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South American Consumers Wooed by China's Low Cost Cars

China may be one of the largest car manufacturers in the world, but its local brands haven't really managed to infiltrate any major markets.

And while Europe and North America continue to be out of their reach (for the time being, at least) for a great number of reasons ranging from their vehicles' sub-par quality and safety credentials to the fact that some brands blatantly copy Western automakers' models, certain countries in Latin America are seeing a surge in Chinese car sales.

"Little by little, I heard favorable comments. It took a long time to decide, but I'm risking it," Lima taxi driver Mario Segura, told the Detroit News. Segura had just dropped $12,000 on a brand-new Fullwin XR sedan, half the cost of a comparable Fiat or Renault.

Another example from Peru is Luis Lina, a doctor by profession, who decided against buying a second-hand Japanese model after he was convinced by relatives to visit a JAC dealership. We'll remind you that JAC is the maker of the Ford F-150 pickup truck clone.

Starting from next week, Fiat will offer its new Strada pickup truck in its home market of Italy. The Strada is Fiat's second best-selling commercial vehicle after the Ducato with 127,800 units sold worldwide in 2011. It is built at the company's FIASA plant in Betim, Brazil.

The revised light commercial model comes in three flavors named Working, Trekking and Adventure plus three body styles, including short cab, long cab and the four-seater crew cab for a total of six different variants.

You may be able to put up a fight, but in the end, gravity will always take you back from where you started – especially if you don't take the necessary safety measures…

Three men were trying to push a three-door Volkswagen Gol, ~~which looks like it's an Alfa Romeo Arna - but we could be completely wrong, so feel free to enlighten us in the comments section below-~~ up on a very steep road, purportedly in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte.

We don't know if someone was actually in the car and the brakes failed or if the three men wrongly assumed that they could handle it themselves (probably the latter as in the beginning of the video, the man in the green shirt looks like he's turning the wheel from the outside), but the result is the same as the hatchback escaped and rolled down the road crashing into a parked vehicle.

Roll down the jump to watch the video.

The FIA Foundation announced the results of the first ever crash tests carried out by the Latin New Car Assessment Program (Latin NCAP), and the news isn’t good for consumers and automakers alike.

Actually, the crash test results reveal a terrifying reality: most of the best selling cars in Latin America’s emerging markets offer minimal or no protection at all to their adult occupants let alone children...

Max Mosley, president of Global NCAP, said: “The latest results of the Latin NCAP reveal that South America’s most popular cars are still about 20 years behind the levels of safety enjoyed in Europe and North America. This cannot be acceptable.”

"We want to see the UN’s global crash test standards applied to all new cars across the world. And we want consumers to be aware of the life and death choices they make when buying a new car," Mosley added.

In its simplest form, Murphy's Law says that if anything can go wrong, it will. In other words, regardless of how careful you are or how easy the task may seem, there is no such thing as a guarantee of perfect safety.

And one motorcycle stunt rider in Brazil found that out the hard way during a routine show at the Beto Carrero World, which is the largest multi-theme park in Latin America, and is located in the municipality of Penha in Brazil.

In Abu Dhabi, Sebastian Vettel matched Nigel Mansell’s record of 14 pole positions in a single Formula 1 season, which stood for 19 years. In the final qualifying session of the season at the Brazilian track of Interlagos, he had his last chance to break it - at least for the current season. Read more »

All New 2012 Chevrolet Cobalt Revealed in Production Form, will be Available in 40 Countries

The Chevrolet Cobalt may be dead in the States where it was successfully replaced by the Cruze sedan, but the nameplate lives on in the rest of the world.

After the debut of the concept version at the Buenos Aires motor show this past summer, General Motors today introduced the final production 2012 Cobalt that will eventually go on sale in 40 countries across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and South America - but not North America.

In addition to Brazil, which is the first country to receive the new Chevrolet Cobalt, the car will be produced in three more factories around the world, though GM did not disclose any more details on the locations.

Like all professions, there are cops and there are cops. The police officers you're about to watch in the following raw footage are the type of cops that even the most hardened of criminals would avoid like the plague.

A video posted online on Thursday shows the two federal police agents from Brazil chasing a single-engine airplane filled with contraband notebooks and electronic surveillance equipment.

Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn is upbeat about the way the automotive industry is heading, despite the fact that the economic crisis that threatens Europe is far from over.

In fact, during the recent launch of the electric versions of theRenault Fluence and Kangoo in Portugal last Friday, Ghosn predicted that 2012 will be a record year for car sales worldwide surpassing 2011's volumes.

Just two days ago, we reported that Fiat Group CEO, Sergio Marchionne, said that he would make the North American market Alfa Romeo’s top priority.

Now the Italian automaker’s boss admits that his company is facing huge troubles in Europe as in the first nine months of 2011, the company's sales decreased by 12% compared to the same period last year, with its share in the European market dropping from 8.2% to 7.3%.

Chinese automaker JAC Motors announced on Friday a new deal with its Brazilian operator SHC Group to build a new factory in Brazil's northeastern Bahia state, the company's first outside its home market.

JAC originally intended to invest US$600 million in building a plant in Brazil, but cancelled the project when the government increased taxes on cars with less than two-thirds domestic content, in its effort to protect local jobs.

Brazil is currently Renault’s third biggest market, behind only France and Germany. This year, the French company sold 133,158 Renault passenger cars and 30,672 Renault and Nissan LCVs and, according to the company’s CEO, Carlos Ghosn, along with Russia and India, it's “one of its three top priority markets”.

Ghosn visited Renault’s Curitiba plant and announced the group’s plan to invest €200 million (US$267 million) and add 1,000 jobs in order to increase its production by 100,000 units until 2013.

Now here is something you don't hear about every day. A local businessman's new Porsche Boxster was discovered paritally submerged in a lake at the Parque Ecológico (Ecological Park) in São Paulo, Brazil on Friday, July 29.

Brazilian news site TV Sol found the owner of the car who told reporters under the condition of anonymity that he was driving through the park when lost control of the Porsche ending up into the lake.

And here's where the story gets slightly twisted as TV Sol also reported that eye witnesses placed the owner of the Boxster at a local restaurant the same night calling a cousin on the phone and telling him to "Throw the Porsche into the lake of the park".

In one of the weirdest car accidents of the year so far, a young man wearing only a t-shirt crashed his new Chevrolet Camaro in a park located at Sao Bernardo do Campo in São Paulo, Brazil.

According to the local media, the unnamed man who happens to be the son of an influential businessman, was found locked inside the Camaro coupe intoxicated with a bottle of whiskey on his side but luckily, unhurt.

Toyota is planning to launch a new small car designed specifically for China in 2013, according to a report from Reuters citing the Nikkei business daily newspaper.

The new small car will be a little larger than the low-cost Etios that is sold in India. A 1.5-liter gasoline engine will power it and prices are expected to begin from under 1 million yen (approximately US$12,853).

Back in March, Nissan do Brasil aired a commercial, which drew the wrath of Ford’s local arm for making claims that the Detroit automaker charges customers too much for its family models. But while Ford’s people only saw a Focus and a pair of rappers dressed as engineers chanting about the money they made by overpricing the hatchback, some viewers were also captivated by the curvalicious bikini-clad models…

Now, Nissan of Brazil returns with a new TV spot, this time for the Livina 7-seater compact minivan. While the Japanese carmaker avoids referring to a specific rival, the theme appears to be similar: scantily dressed female models dancing provocatively and a tagline aimed at the competition. And oh; towards the end of the clip you may notice the Livina and young family of four (not that we’re complaining about the appearance of the ladies…).

South American Consumers Wooed by China's Low Cost Cars

Fiat to Launch New Strada Small Pickup Truck in its Home Market

You Can't Beat Gravity: VW Gol Rolls Down a Steep Road and Crashes

Shocker: Crash Tests Reveal that Most Cars Sold in Latin America are Deathtraps on Wheels

Motorcycle Stunt Goes Terribly Wrong at Brazil's Beto Carrero World Theme Park [Video]

Formula 1: Brazilian GP Qualifying Results

All New 2012 Chevrolet Cobalt Revealed in Production Form, will be Available in 40 Countries

Ballsy Brazilian Cops Ram their Car into Smuggler's Airplane Just Before Liftoff

Carlos Ghosn Says 2012 will be a Record Sales Year, Bets Heavily on EVs

Fiat Group Loses Big in Europe, Hits a 20-Year Low Mark in Italy

China’s JAC to Build New Car Factory in Brazil

Renault to Increase Output of its Brazilian Factories by 100,000 Units in 2013

Man Sinks Porsche Boxster into a Lake [with Video]

Half-Naked Man Crashes New Chevy Camaro in Brazil, gets Locked inside… [Video]

Toyota to Launch New Small Cars for China, Brazil and Indonesia

Nissan Brazil Strikes Again with an Ad for a Family Minivan that You’re Never Going See in the U.S. [NSFW]

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