Nissan Releases Pricing on Refreshed 2011 Murano

We already took an in-depth look at the mildly facelifted 2011 Murano back in August, but now Nissan has released U.S. pricing for the crossover model which went on sale today nationwide. The manufacturer's suggested retail prices (MSRP) for the 2011 Murano start at $28,500 for the entry-level front-wheel drive model and top out at $39,140 for a fully equipped all-wheel drive version. All prices don't include destination and other fees

The most notable exterior changes on the 2011 model year Murano include the redesigned front grille, lower fascia and taillights, while interior refinements are limited to fresh colors, a white back-light for the gauges on the instrument panel and new audio and entertainment features.

The Murano continues to be offered exclusively with a 260-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 engine matched to Nissan's Xtronic CVT transmission in a choice of front-wheel or all-wheel drive.

2011 Nissan Murano MSRP [Excludes applicable tax, title, license fees and destination charges]

Murano S FWD--------- $28,500 USD

Murano SV FWD------- -$31,910 USD

Murano SL FWD-------- $35,450 USD

Murano LE FWD-------- $37,540 USD

Murano S AWD--------- $30,100 USD

Murano SV AWD-------- $33,510 USD

Murano SL AWD-------- $37,050 USD

Murano LE AWD------- -$39,140 USD

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Citroen's Survolt Electric Sports Coupe Receives the Art Treatment

Citroen is displaying several of its new production and concept cars including a Survolt racer turned-art-car and a prize-winning DS3 at its C4_2 flagship showroom on Champs-Elysées in Paris.

The Survolt art car is the work of Francoise Nielly. The Marseille- born artist took Citroen's all-electric Survolt concept racer and adorned it with a psychedelic, fluorescent paint scheme. According to the French carmaker, the contemporary artist was one of the sources of inspiration for the styling of the original Survolt.

Also on display is Flavio Melchiorre's personalized DS3. The Italian artist won first prize in Citroen's Créative Awards, beating out some 700 other entrants. Melchiorre's car will be launched next year along with other DS3 personalization options.

Other vehicles on show include the crossover-ish DS4, a matt-black C5 Tourer, the new C4 e-HDi micro-hybrid, the DS3 "Racing' edition and the zero emission C-ZERO (née Mitsubishi iMiev) electric city car.

By Tristan Hankins

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FAB Design Shows Off 611HP Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG 'Gullwing'

Swiss tuning firm FAB Design has just pulled back the sheets on its powered-up Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG proposal. Though the company has yet to publish all the details, we do know that the tuner found a way to extract 40 more ponies from 'Gullwing' door supercar's V8 engine pushing total output to 611-horsepower. The extra oomph allows the SLS AMG to do the 0-to-100km/h (62mph) sprint in 3.7 seconds instead of the stock model's time of 3.8 seconds.

FAB Design has also crafted a new body kit for Stuttgart's supercar comprising a restyled front bumper with added vents and a lip spoiler, side skirts, a race-like roof scoop, a new rear bumper that houses quad exhaust tips and a fixed rear wing. The 20-inch alloy wheels and the lowered suspension round off the changes.

Source: Fab Design , Via: Autoblog.nl

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Porsche Clamps Down on Employees' Internet Activity for Security Reasons

Porsche AG has decided to curb any potential social network-based espionage, meaning employees will have to soon make a very important decision: work for one of the most prestigious automakers of them all or be able to poke your friends and play FarmVille.

The Stuttgart-based automaker says it's concerned that foreign intelligence services may be spying on employees posting "confidential" information on social sites, thus exposing the company to unwanted surveillance.

Dirk Erat, a spokesman for Porsche, puts it simply: "These services imply a certain threat potential."

Oddly enough, it's also cutting access to eBay. I guess that's just a productivity thing; checking how you're auction is doing is hardly considered "work".

By Phil Alex

Source: Bloomberg

Toyota iQ Disco Concept to Glamour Rock German Showrooms

Say 'hallo' to Toyota's bling-bling shiny iQ Disco, a concept model that was created by the firm's German division purely for demonstration purposes as the oversized Japanese disco ball on wheels will tour dealerships all over the country, starting from showrooms in Cologne.

The tiny Toyota model, which will be sold to Americans under the Scion brand and to super rich buyers under the Aston Martin brand as the Cygnet, has been wrapped in a disco-ball-like sparkling foil and features 18-inch alloy wheels and scissor doors.

The transformation wouldn't be complete without a professional DJ system that consists of 15-inch bass reflex subwoofer, a two-channel mixer and two Numark NDX 800 players. Toyota said the system can play various music formats and delivers up to 1000 watts and a peak sound pressure of 130 dB.

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Chrysler Drops the Curtain on New 200 Sedan

After bringing you dimly-lit pics of the Chrysler 200's exterior last week, as well as some hints of the potential jump in interior quality, we now have EVEN MORE official photos from Chrysler.

Finally, we get a glimpse of the post-Sebring in some proper lighting. Although we now have a much better view of what the nose and tail will look like, I'm still waiting for the rear 3/4, profile, and interior shots before an official judgment is thrown out there.

From what I'm seeing, the new front and rear treatments integrate well with the old Sebring's body while adding some decidedly classier (and modern) lines to the chunky mid-sizer.

For all the specs and pics that have dropped so far, check out our previous posts, but as a refresher, Chrysler will offer the new 200 sedan with a 2.4-liter I-4 World Gas Engine mated to either a four-speed or six-speed automatic, or the new 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 engine linked to a six-speed automatic.

As for me, I'll be here in my jammies twiddling my thumbs, waiting to see what they did with the interior. Oh, and the AWD mentioned in the comments of the last 200 update would be a nice addition, too.

By Phil Alex

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