KEY POINTS:
Ford wants to continue its sponsorship of the All Blacks. The carmaker's current contract is up for renewal next year, when it expects to negotiate a new deal through to the Rugby World Cup here in 2011. It might like to remind rugby big-wigs of what another all-American icon, Casey Stengel, the former tongue-tied manager of the New York Yankees baseball team, had to say about big-time challenges. "If we're going to win [the world series] we have to start thinking we are not as good as we think we are."
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The Mexican government is being criticised for allowing used imports into the country. Mexico's new vehicle dealer group, the AMDA, claims that about 1.2 million used vehicles, costing an average of US$4000 ($5188) each, entered Mexico in 2006. AMDA charges that many of the imports are wrecks and do not meet the safety and emissions standards to which new and used cars sold in Mexico are subjected. Sounds familiar.
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Mitsubishi will unveil a new coupe at the Detroit motor show next month. The aluminium space frame design comes with plastic bumpers and bonnet and uses the all-wheel-drive system and twin-clutch transmission from the Lancer Evolution 10. But instead of the go-fast Evo's turbocharged 2-litre engine, Mitsubishi has teamed the slick clutch with a direct-injection 2.2-litre turbodiesel unit producing 150kW and around 360Nm of torque. There is talk that the concept will lead to a 21st-century version of the Starion coupe of the 1980s and the GTO of the 1990s.
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Volkswagen group and Porsche are discussing new areas of cooperation since Porsche became a significant shareholder in VW. Both VW and Audi are interested in the super-light technology of Porsche's four-door Panamera that will be introduced in 2009. Until now, observers expected Porsche to be interested in VW technology, not the other way around. One product of co-operation between the two carmakers will be the new VW Beetle, expected in 2012
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A Toyota employee died of overwork after logging more than 106 hours of overtime in a month, a judge in Japan has ruled. The decision reversed a labour ministry's earlier decision not to pay compensation to his widow. The 30-year-old employee was a middle manager in charge of quality control at a factory in Toyota City. He died in 2002 after experiencing an irregular heartbeat and passing out in the factory around 4am.
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November was Korean carmaker Kia's best sales month since it entered the New Zealand market in the mid-1990s. Last month's high of 311 sales followed a strong October, when it sold 281 vehicles. Kia has sold more vehicles in 11 months this year than it sold in all of 2006. Meantime, Kia's head office in Seoul is said to be working on a major contract with specialist German coachbuilder Karmann. Reports say the deal would involve Karmann building an entire car for Kia. Karmann built around 26,000 units of the Kia Sportage between 1995-98 and developed the soft-top for the Ex Cee'd convertible that Kia unveiled at this year's Geneva motor show.
WE ARE THE WORLD
Michael Hill, jeweller, jokingly told professional golfers before the NZ Open on Hill's private 18-hole layout in Arrowtown that he didn't want them breaking his course record of 99.
US country singer Willie "Bio" Nelson - Bio because he fuels his tour bus with bio-diesel - has his own golf course, too. He was asked what par was. "Par is what I say it is," said Nelson. "I've got one hole that's a par-23 and yesterday I nearly birdied the sucker."
* alastair.sloane@nzherald.co.nz
