JLR to build Range Rover Evoque & Jaguar XJ in India

The 2014 Range Rover Evoque (pictured) joins the Jaguar XJ as new Indian-built cars Jaguar Land Rover already bolt together the Land Rover Freelander and Jaguar XF in India, which explains why they are the best-selling models in JLR’s range in India. That’s because import duties for cars in India can be as much as 170 per cent, so building cars locally make them much more competitively priced. At the Delhi Auto Expo Ralph Speth, JLR’s CEO, confirmed plans to start building the Jaguar XJ in India (including the XJ with the 2.0 litre EcoBoost engine), despite the complexity of producing as complex a car as the XJ outside the UK.

Tesla delivers its 500th Tesla Roadster

Tesla has delivered its 500th Roadster to a New York customer In truth, much as we’ve criticised the Tesla and its drawbacks, it is a pioneering car. It is really the only electric car that can perform properly outside an urban environment. It has great performance, a decent top speed and reasonable range.

BMW M5 manual mess-up

By Chris chilton Motor Industry 27 January 2007 01:34 North American customers were delighted when BMW bowed to their demands for a full three-pedal manual version of the current V10 M5 super saloon, but aren’t quiet so enamoured with the finished product. The issue is not with the gearbox itself – BMW successfully replaced the European model’s seven-speed SMG box with the old-shape M5’s six-speed manual – but with the compromises that were needed to get there. Without the benefit of computer control for the opening and closing of the clutch plates, M division’s engineers couldn’t eliminate axle tramp under hard take-offs.