In a tough economy with high unemployment rates, college students who are about to graduate will soon be saddled with student loans and trying to land their first job out of school. Toyota is trying to entice these young car shoppers to buy a new Toyota or Scion vehicle with an extra $1,000 rebate.
Toyota Financial Services is offering qualified college graduates a $1,000 rebate toward the purchase or lease of select new Toyota and Scion vehicles, when financed or leased through the dealership and TFS.
The extra $1,000, which can be used in addition to current Scion and Toyota deals, could be a big help to recent college graduates who are in the market for a new car. The extra cash can help reduce the cost of a new Toyota or Scion, especially since prices are up due to the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March, which has caused the automaker to limit production, the Chicago Tribune reports.
“Scion and Toyota vehicles are consistently some of the most popular vehicles among young adults, but more importantly, they provide dependable and safe transportation for new graduates getting to new jobs,” Mike Groff, TFS group vice president of sales, marketing and product development, said in a statement. “We understand that it’s certainly a tough time to be entering this economy, so it’s our hope that this $1,000 rebate, which can be coupled with other incentives, gives these new grads a break and gets them securely started on their next phase of life.”
The $1,000 rebate can be used to purchase or lease a new Toyota Corolla, Matrix, RAV4, Camry (excludes Camry hybrid), Tacoma and Yaris and all new Scion models. If you’ve graduated within the last two years or will graduate within the next six months, you can take advantage of the incentive.
Since the college graduate rebate is good until Jan. 3, 2012, college graduates have the option to wait to buy a new Toyota or Scion until inventories are replenished. Dealership inventories have been down because of limited production and parts availability problems in Japan. Toyota announced in mid-April it would reduce production for the month of May.
New Toyota and Scion vehicles come with complimentary maintenance for two years or 25,000 miles, which can also help recent college graduates save money on oil changes and tire rotations.
The $15,600 Toyota Corolla would cost $14,600 with the $1,000 college graduate incentive. The $14,995 Kia Forte doesn’t have a college graduate incentive, but is available this month with a $1,000 cash back rebate for all shoppers, which brings the price to $13,995, which is a savings of $605 over the Corolla.
The $22,025 Toyota RAV4 would cost $21,025 with the $1,000 college graduate incentive. The $18,895 Hyundai Tucson would cost $18,495 with Hyundai’s $400 college graduate discount. You’d save $2,530 by choosing the Tucson over the RAV4.
Toyota’s $1,000 college graduate incentive will help lower the cost of a new Toyota or Scion, but there are better deals out there on comparable vehicles at other automakers. GM gives college graduates preferred pricing, which varies widely depending on the model, while Suzuki gives $500 to college grads. Honda and Subaru offer college graduates competitive financing to help them since their credit history is usually short and they’d normally receive a high interest rate loan.
Shopping for a new car? Check out the U.S. News rankings of this year's best cars. Then, look for a great deal on a new car by checking out this month’s best car deals. Also, be sure to follow us on Twitter.
We’ll be honest with you: roadsters are never exactly as good as their coupe counterparts when it comes to rigidity, no matter what automakers want us to think (there are some really expensive exceptions, we admit).However, when it comes to Lamborghinis, there is nothing like hearing that V12 road away behind you, while enjoying driving at about 200 miles per hour (322 km/h) with what feels like a hurricane in your hair.
There’s been a flood of italian supercars lately (think Pagani Huayra, Ferrari 458 Italia and Lamborghini Aventador), but none of them has a roadster version yet. All that might change next year, as eurocarblog says that the Lambo will drop its top late next year. Considering the fact that the Aventador is already sold out for the next year and a half, this is a really tall order.
The Aventador uses a state-of-the-art monocoque chassis made from carbon fiber, which allows it to tip the scales at 1,575 kg (3,472 lbs). This will take some time change over to a roadster, but we expect the end result to be jaw-dropping.
The center stage will be taken by the same all-new 6.5 liter twelve-cylinder heart that allows the mortal behind the wheel to play the 0 to 62 mph game in 2.9 seconds (the four-wheel-drive system must also receive some credit for this) and enjoy a top speed of 350 km/h (217 mph). We must also mention that the Aventador uses an ISR (Independent Shifting Rods) transmission, which offers shifting times of only 50 milliseconds, and talks to the road using a pushrod suspension.
Engineers have worked their magic with the supercar, so it manages to reduce fuel consumption and cut CO2 emissions by around 20 percent, compared to the Murcielago, while offering an eight percent power increase. Read More ...
Lamborghini's checklist manifesto of the Aventador goes as follows, and in order: 1. handling, 2. acceleration, and 3. top speed. The congested and cobbled streets of Rome wouldn't give the Aventador enough room to stretch its legs, but the nearby racetrack of Vallelunga will suffice nicely.
Vallelunga is the antithesis of the gleaming new Yas Marina; under the constant, grey cloud cover, its main-straight grandstands sit dilapidated, with calcium water deposits running down the walls and grass growing through cracks in the concrete. But the track itself offers a mix of higher-speed sweeping curves and tight, second-gear hairpins, and I have an opportunity to see if the Aventador's power and handling can possibly match its sinister looks. On paper, at least, the car checks the last two boxes of its manifesto: zero-to-100kph in a frightening 2.9 seconds with a limited top speed of 350kph.
Open the scissor door and crouch down to get in; there's actually quite a bit of room inside for two people. The windscreen is huge but tilted so sharply that you look out a thin sliver of glass. The interior carries the stealth fighter theme, beginning with the start button hidden under a red flip cover; above that is the navigation, climate and stereo controls, all very reminiscent of those found in any Audi (which, like Lamborghini, is owned by the Volkswagen Group, so there is a bit of parts sharing). But the main gauge in front of the steering wheel is very much Lambo - it's a TFT (thin-film transistor) screen, with bold and informative graphics. It can be switched to either have the speedometer as the sweeping hand or, in more aggressive moments, the tachometer. Really, it's a wonderful instrument.
Pushing the start button in pit lane brings the V12 to life, with a short roar up to around 4,000rpm before settling back down to idle, as if to proclaim its presence. I flick the paddle shifter into the first, then second of seven gears following the lead car out onto the track.
As it roars away, I sink my foot onto the throttle - and I'm pressed into my seat with a cacophony of noise from the engine behind my head. I reach two fingers for a quick pull on the right shift paddle and flick it up to third.
Before I describe this next shift, let me just say that the Aventador comes with three driving modes: Strada (street in Italian), which employs full electronic stability control (ESP) and has slower but smoother shifts; Sport, which quickens the shifts, engine mapping and steering and has the ESP allow a bit of squirm for some fun; and Corsa (race in Italian), which increases the fun from Sport even more and allows a lot more slip and slide with the car, while still keeping the ESP under watch in case things get out of hand, as well as shortening the shifts to about 50 milliseconds. I have it in Corsa for most of the day, including this very moment.
Now, imagine standing on a tall cliff, and someone slams you in the back with a sledgehammer, sending you flying off the edge and accelerating at a terrifying rate towards terminal velocity. That's kind of what shifting the Aventador in fury is like; the car instantly surges forward with a sharp jolt, and the wheels lose traction for just a moment before finding their grip again, pulling the body along with it. According to Winkelmann, that feeling is exactly what the company was looking for, and it's why it stuck with a single-clutch gearbox as opposed to a dual-clutch model.
The throttle is steady in third gear into the wide first turn we come to, then the car snaps to the left where you can hammer it out around in fourth gear. Or, you can do it in fourth and fifth - the engine's torque curve spreads the 690Nm around pretty evenly, especially in the middle of the range. And, with all-wheel-drive, a new pushrod suspension and gargantuan Pirelli P-Zero tyres, it sticks to the road and will have your neck feeling the g forces in no time.
The engine sits midship under three plates of jagged-cut glass for display. During and after higher-speed runs, the amount of heat coming out of the open areas is so much that you don't just feel it when standing beside the car; at one point, after a left corner and setting up for a right-hander, the car in front of me passes from side to side and I can see a blurry heat signature rising out from its rear end, making me feel like I'm chasing down a fighter jet in a dogfight. I can't help but laugh out loud with glee.
In the afternoon session, the grey skies finally open up to release a light but steady rain for the rest of the day; something that will surely ruin the test, no? On the contrary, the slick track shows just how good the big Lambo's traction is. Yes, the more wet it becomes, the more the Aventador understeers into the tighter corners. But slow in, fast out, as they say, and if you stick to that adage, the AWD lets you put the power down earlier as you exit the corners. In the faster curves, the level of understeer is predictable and controllable, and you can feel the limit of adhesion and, err, stick to it.
The Aventador isn't just a fantastic car for a driver; it's wild and exotic, exactly what fits the mould for Lamborghini. The Italian company has always been known to stand out from the crowd, and the Aventador does just that - when it's not drawing one, that is.
The Aventador LP 700-4 will sell here for Dh1,439,796, but don't bother heading down to the showroom to pick one up just yet; the first 18 months of production have already been sold Read More ...
Shanghai, 19 April – The FF is enjoying huge success on the Asian market having already won over a plethora of clients in the Far East. The new car made its official debut in the Asia-Pacific region today at the Shanghai Show where it was unveiled by Prancing Horse CEO Amedeo Felisa and Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver Felipe Massa. The latter couldn’t hide his delight with Maranello’s latest creation: "I’m very pleased to be here in Shanghai for the presentation of the FF,” he told journalists. “It’s a car I like very much indeed: the perfect combination of performance and usability. I have a son who’s just over a year old now, and this is a Ferrari that you can use with the family without having to compromise on the driving pleasure that only our cars can deliver.” Massa also went on to emphasise the very special relationship between Ferrari and China: “I was very impressed by the warmth and passion that the Chinese have for the Ferrari brand –that’s also something I’ve seen every time we come here to race, in fact.”
For his part, Amedeo Felisa spoke about the growing importance of the Chinese market to Ferrari: “Last year, we broke all previous records by reaching the 300-car mark,” he said of the company’s sales there. “In 2011, we intend to continue to grow by at least 30% and exceed the 400-car threshold. I am convinced that the Greater China area will be our second largest market by the end of this year.”
Ferrari’s Chinese market has been growing strongly since 2004. Sales have been excellent across the entire range, but the 8-cylinder Ferrari California and the 458 Italia have performed particularly well. In previews, our Chinese clients were greatly impressed by the technological innovations offered by the FF as well as the generous size of its four comfortable seats and roomy boot (the capacity of the latter can extended up to 800 litres).
The FF is a whole new interpretation of the sporty Grand Tourer concept. It is not only the very first four-wheel drive Ferrari but, more significantly, hails a major break with the past by reconciling extreme performances with the usability and versatility of an authentic GT and a highly innovative design.
The FF features innovations throughout, starting with the fact that it is fitted with our first GDI V12 which is coupled with the seven-speed Dual Clutch gearbox. The new engine punches out 660 hp at 8,000 rpm and delivers maximum torque of 683 Nm at 6,000 rpm, 500 Nm of which are available at 1,000 rpm. The FF boasts the blistering performances of an extreme sports car too: 0-100 Km/h acceleration in 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 335 km/h. It also delivers excellent results in terms of efficiency with fuel consumption cut to just 15.4 litres per 100 km and CO2 emissions to 360 g/km, a 25% reduction on the previous V12s. These achievements come in part thanks to the HELE (High Emotions-Low Emissions) system which also incorporates Stop&Start technology.
The FF also guarantees this exceptional performance on terrain with very low grip coefficients, thanks to Ferrari's own patented 4RM four-wheel drive system. Torque is still delivered by the rear wheels, but the PTU (Power Transfer Unit) ensures that as much as is required is also transferred to the front wheels when necessary on low grip surfaces. The FF intelligently distributes torque to each of the four wheels individually, thanks to the fact that all of the dynamic vehicle controls (E-Diff, F1-Trac and PTU) have been integrated into a single CPU.
Read More ...
Maranello, 26 April – A jury consisting of 66 international journalists from 24 different countries awarded the 458 Italia with the title "World Performance Car of the Year", choosing it from an initial list of 14 sports cars, competing for the title. The prize has been announced at the New York International Auto Show and confirms the overall appreciation of the V8 Berlinetta from Maranello by the specialised press all over the world, just like the numerous recognitions did so far. With the "World Performance Car of the Year" the jury’s specialists wanted to underline the 458 Italia’s extraordinary performance capacity on the track and on the road, defining the car as “already a classic in every sense, but its sophisticated handling abilities at the limit take the V8 middle-rear engine Ferrari concept to a whole new level”. In the statement an acclaim regarding the car’s "meraviglioso sound" wasn’t missing.
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