Monthly Archives: May 2010

Tata Motors To Replace Fuel Pipe In Nanos

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tatanano Two back to back fire accidents have finally caused the Indian car maker to take notice of the apparent fault in the safety features of the Tata Nano. And we have word that Tata Motors is conducting comprehensive inspections of the aforementioned car, and has asked its various service centres to replace the fuel pipe in the world’s cheapest car.

According to some employees at Tata’s dealerships in Mumbai, Gurgaon and Chandigarh, the company has instructed them to replace the fuel pipes in Nanos that were manufactured before February 2010.

Tata Motors started the delivery of Nano in July 2009 and since then has delivered 30,390 units of the car.

Tata Motors spokesman Debasis Ray has said that there is no problem with the fuel pipe of Nano. “There are no issues with the fuel line,” he said. “We are adding fuel lines with additional protection.”

Following the fire accidents of Nano, Tata Motors had earlier said that it would examine all Nanos. The tests team consisted of a 20-member internal team and an independent forensic expert to locate the exact cause of the fires.

“Tata Motors assures all customers that the Tata Nano is a safe car, with a robust design and state-of-the-art components,” the company said. “The investigation reveals that the incidents in these two cars, which were being transported to or from dealers, were isolated instances and the reasons are unrelated.”

A Tata Motors dealership in Gurgaon has been inspecting and returning the tiny cars to their owners within three hours. An employee revealed that the undercarriage of the car was thoroughly inspected and parts that were found to be faulty were replaced.

The global auto industry, including Toyota and General Motors, has been plagued by various car recalls of late, but Tata Motors says that the inspection of Nanos do not constitute a recall.

“The magnitude of the performance issue determines the manner in which product recall is done,” said a senior executive at a global consulting firm who requested not to be named.

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Black Box To Become A Standard Feature In Cars Sold In The US

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flight-recorder These past one year, we have heard more than our share of car recalls and would we be wrong in saying that it was all triggered after the slip-up from Toyota. What started as a precaution from the Japanese car maker set in motion a chain reaction of sorts with many auto manufacturers recalling their cars by thousands. And now the unavoidable has happened. Black boxes will become standard equipment in all cars sold in the US of A.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee has given its nod to a bill, that along with other things, that would make it mandatory for all vehicles sold in the US, by 2015, to feature a “black box”. Now, you may ask what a black box is.

A black box is an event data recorder (EDR) that records information, in a tamper proof memory chip, related to vehicle crashes or accidents. This equipment is triggered electronically by sensing problems in the engine or an abrupt change in the wheel speed. Information from this device can be gathered a crash and analyzed to help determine what the vehicles were doing before, during and after the crash or event.

The Motor Vehicle Safety Act will now be presented in the full house for a debate. Also included in the bill is a need for auto makers to feature an emergency brake override system that could stop a car in a situation where the throttle gets stuck in an open position. And yes, you may take a guess; it comes in the wake of the recent Toyota fiasco of acceleration problem.

Here is another blow to the car makers. Those who fail to report a defect in their cars will attract maximum penalty. Toyota has paid $16.2 million in fine for the unintended acceleration trouble. A few of the more difficult clauses of the bills were taken back after strong objections from the auto industry.

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers is in the favour of most of the provisions of the bill including the emergency brake override system and the black box.

The idea of having a black box in an automobile is not very new, and for that matter it has been around for the past 3 decades or so. It was first developed by the National Transportation Safety Board, the agency responsible for investigating airplane accidents.

Fordand General Motors have brought their own versions of EDRs and they already have it in their most recent models. These EDRs are totally capable of sending communication signals to the auto maker’s monitoring system about the emergency.

After a pilot study, the NHTSA has concluded that EDRs should become a standard feature in all cars. While these systems can contribute a lot towards reducing accidents that take place as a result of mechanical errors, they can definitely do nothing about accidents that happen due to human error.

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Ford Figo Will be Costlier Effective Tomorrow

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ford-figo-04 The new car has been drawing too much of an attention towards itself. With its extraordinary features and stunning colours, the Figo has been making sure it gets a second look every time. Now, the sad news; car maker Ford India said it will be increasing the price of this newcomer on account of rising input cost. The new prices will be effective from June 1, 2010.

By how much will the price increase? Well, the rise in amount hasn’t been disclosed yet. In fact, the car maker is still working on the final quantum. “We are still fine tuning the price. It will, however, not be a major hike and well below two per cent,” said Ford India Executive Director (Marketing, Sales and Services) Nigel Wark. The Ford Figo was launched in March and bore a price tag of Rs. 3.5 lakh to Rs. 4.48 lakh. These prices will experience a hike effective tomorrow.

“We can’t defy gravity forever. The general industry cost is rising, steel prices are up, components are costlier and there has also been an increase in transport cost,” Wark said.

The Ford Figo had made its world debut in India on 9th March and the car is available with 1.2 litre petrol and a 1.4 litre diesel engines. While the entry-level version of the petrol variant comes at Rs 3.5 lakh, the diesel one is priced at Rs 4.48 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The Figo has tremendously boosted sales for the car maker.

Ford India has received over 20,000 bookings for the Figo since the car’s debut. The demand has been so great that the waiting period for the Figo’s delivery is currently four weeks. Yes, if you’ve booked the Figo, it will take a month to reach your home. Earlier the waiting period was six weeks and has now been reduced to 4.

Wark said the small car, which was unveiled last year during the visit of Ford Motor Company President and CEO Alan Mulally, will be the company’s mainstay in the market here for the years to come. “The success of the car has been stupendous. A brand new product with a brand new factory is always challenging but we are already past the 20,000 units mark in booking and our effort will be to continue the momentum in the months to come,” Wark said.

ford-figo-7

Ford had earlier announced plans to start a second shift at its Chennai plant from July in order to be able to meet the rising demand for the Figo. It had also said 700 new employees would be hired, including shop floor staff and engineers, to deal with the need for manpower increase. As of now, over 6,000 units of the Figo are manufactured every month at the facility. Wark said that the second shift would significantly increase capacity, but no further details were shared.

The second shift would also help bring down the waiting period. Wark added that work is on to start exporting the car to South Africa and a part of the increase in production at the Chennai plant would be for that purpose.

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Malaysia Set to Capture India with its Small Car?

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protonemas As motorists in India have already begun shifting from two wheels to four, we are experiencing the change. An increased number of car makers have begun invading the Indian car market with their new cars, mostly small ones which an average Indian can easily afford. We aren’t talking just about the automotive majors like Toyota, Ford and Volkswagen, even Malaysia is eyeing India.

Malaysian car maker Proton is finalizing plans for the Indian market. Its first vehicle to premier on the Indian roads will be a small car based on the EMAS concept. Yes, the same concept that it showcased at the recent Geneva auto show.

Proton is believed to be using the EMAS platform to create an exclusively new small car for markets like India and China. The Indian car, designed by Italdesign Giugiaro of Italy, would be a four-seater, five-door hatchback with a 3,550-mm length.

The EMAS concept was, of course, presented as a global concept car at the EMAS at the Geneva Motor Show. But now, the company says that this concept will be adopted for the new Proton model in the small car segment, with focus on India, China, Asian and the Middle East, as four key markets in the company’s long-term business plans.

These four markets have been selected by Proton for its large automobile industry and potential growth. While the company was still evaluating business strategies for the Indian market, it had already had discussions with some original equipment manufacturers and contract-assembly service providers.

“We are mindful that time is of the essence. We want to enter the Indian market as soon as possible,” said Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir, group managing director. He also added that, on a practical level, the assembly in India of Proton cars was a key factor to meet market expectations in terms of price affordability and quality.

Proton-Savvy-Red-Body-Design

So, that’s about Proton’s plans of capturing the Indian roads. However, internationally, the company has another small car called the “Savvy” in its portfolio. The engine and gearbox of the 1200cc super-mini car are being sourced from Renault. Well, there has been no confirmation on this, but speculation says that there is a possibility of Proton sourcing engines from Renault for India operations as well. The speculation is based on the fact that Renault has been looking at setting up an engine plant in India as part of its Rs 4,500-Crore investment in the country in association with Nissan.

It is over ten years now since Proton has been looking for a debut in India. At the outset, it was talking to Hindustan Motors for a joint venture. Later, its own financial problems prompted Proton to put its India plans on hold. Last year, Proton recharged its plans and there were reports of the Malaysian company being in talks with the Hero group for a joint venture. However, even this hasn’t shown any progress as yet. Let’s wait and see how the car maker makes its grand entry into the grand Indian car market.

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Turkish GP Brings glee for McLaren Camp

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McLarens-Jenson-Button congratulates Turkish GP winner Lewis Hamilton on the Podium Lots of drama, and few collisions, that was the Turkish GP for you. Red Bull handed over the 1-2 victory to rival team McLaren as the two drivers, Sebastien Vettel and Mark Webber collided with each other while they were on the lead.

Webber was totally in control and led every lap after starting from pole and there were just 17 laps remaining when Vettel started to get dangerously close to his team mate. And as the duo headed towards turn 12 on lap 41, there was a fateful collision that was totally uncalled for. And by the time the dust settled, McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button had already claimed the one-two lead which continued till the end of the race.

Webber, however, was quick to recover and managed to secure the third position. Vettel, who failed to score, has now dropped down to the fifth position in the world championship chase which is led by his team mate.

“It can happen sometimes. We’re both at the front and it’s not ideal … but it happens,” Webber said. “There was a long way to go in the race so it wasn’t a guaranteed victory. It was an interesting few meters between us on the track.”

Red Bull was up for a second straight 1-2 finish, which would have catapulted them to a big lead on both drivers’ constructors’ standings. The two drivers waited for each other to take the blame but neither did.

“There is no fight. This is something that happens,” Vettel said. “We do not need it, but there is nothing we can do now.”

Red Bull’s misfortune proved to be a lucky chance for a number of drivers, Michael Schumacher being one of them, who finished fourth ahead of team mate Nico Rosberg.

Red Bull and McLaren were being considered as the strongest contenders for the Turkish GP, which turned out to be quite true. And while these two fought it out for podium order, Mercedes, Ferrari, Force India and Renault struggled behind them.

McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain crosses the finish line to win the Turkish Formula One Grand Prix at the Istanbul Park circuit racetrack, in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, May 30, 2010.

The Ferrari’s of Massa and Alonso finished seventh and eighth respectively.

Force India driver Adrian Sutil finished ninth while Kamui Kobayashi scored the very first points of the season for Sauber’s with a 10th-place finish. It was another joyous moment for Sauber as Pedro de la Rosa brought its first double-finish of the season in 11th place.

Last week we told you that Karun Chandhok received an egg as a good luck charm. Looks like the egg did not bring enough luck to allow Chandhok charm his way to the finish but managed to complete 52 laps.

Race Results:

• 1. Hamilton McLaren • 2. Button McLaren +2.6s • 3. Webber Red Bull +24.2s • 4. Schumacher Mercedes +31.1s • 5. Rosberg Mercedes +32.2s • 6 Kubica Renault +32.8s • 7 Massa Ferrari +36.6s • 8 Alonsi Ferrari +46.5s • 9 Sutil Force India +49.0s • 10 Kobayashi Sauber +65.6s
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Hyundai i10 Cars for FIFA World Cup 2010

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1 When we hear the bursting of crackers and see houses extra bright with lights, we know it is Diwali, and, when we see the special fir trees decorated everywhere, we know it is Christmas. What is it when we see footballs everywhere? Yes, it’s the FIFA season. The FIFA World Cup 2010 is just ten days away. It starts on 11th June 2010 and as we spoke in one of our previous blog posts, Hyundai is the official sponsor for FIFA World Cup 2010 ground transportation this year. So, why not make the best use of this opportunity?

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So, how well is Hyundai doing its job? What is the car maker doing to effectively promote its brand through FIFA? Here’s what it’s doing. Hyundai has taken two of its i10 cars. In Malaysia, the car is called the Inokom. Every inch of this car conveys the football message. The cars look less like cars and more like football fields. Oh yes, mobile football fields!

The i10 bodies have been covered with artificial grass symbolizing the field. The cars look like they have been placed on football balls and when the balls roll, the cars move. That’s because the rim covers are done using half of a football. A gigantic football with the Hyundai logo has been attached on top of the car as well and there’s a goal just enough to fit the Hyundai Football if one were to kick it in.

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That was about the exteriors. The interiors of the two Hyundai i10 cars are not the same though. One displays the Hyundai blue theme and the other is decorated with just plain grass. Both cars, however, very well carry the World Cup spirit. Footballs have been used as headrests. It even looks like the gear knob is a football. We wonder if football fanatics are going to like these cars. Even someone obsessed with football may not think of modifying his car to this extent to show off the theme. Hyundai has done it.

Even the side mirrors are designed with a pair of football boots. Another pair of football cleats hangs in the centre down the centre mirror. Hyundai has gone creative with the wipers as well. A pair of goal keeper gloves is always ready to wipe the glass. These green Hyundai i10 cars have been built by Hyundai UK exclusively for World Cup promotion. These cars will be used throughout the United Kingdom to promote FIFA activities. After the successful 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany, Hyundai, along with its sister company Kia, looks forward to maintaining its role to support this great event as the Official Automotive Partner of FIFA until 2014.

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Hyundai-Kia Motors sees football sponsorships as a core element of its marketing strategy and as an efficient way to communicate with customers by sharing their passion for football and building an emotional connection. A great way to promote its new cars! Through its football sponsorship, Hyundai-Kia Motors aims to position itself as a brand bringing the excitement of the world’s greatest game to football fans all over the world, and remains deeply committed to supporting and furthering the development of this beautiful game.

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New Hyundai Verna to be launched soon

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New Hyundai VernaA little wait makes you want something more eagerly. And that is exactly what Hyundai Motors is doing. Even though the new Verna was ready, it chose to showcase it at the Beijing Motor Show as a 2011 model. Wonder why? Because the car maker wanted to emphasise the exclusivity of the car for the Chinese market, which happens to be topping every car manufacturer’s wish list for new car launches.

The new 2011 Hyundai Verna, which is being shown off as the successor to Accent entry sedan, has got all new looks and features. The image of the new Verna will undoubtedly remind you of Sonata. A fresh and bold grill, sweptback headlights and rear-view mirrors with integrated LED turn signals make it one of the very good looking cars. Inside the car, higher quality materials and design promote the good looks of the car.

The new Verna is equipped with a powerful new Gamma petrol engine with multi-port fuel injection. And while the base 1.4-litre churns out an outstanding 106bhp and 13.7kgm of torque, the 1.6 litre engine will bring forth a 121bhp and 15.8kgm of torque. The 1.6 litre engine will be mated to a smooth-shifting four-speed automatic transmission.

The new Hyundai Verna features an attractively sloping roofline and is built on a wheelbase of 2570mm. To enhance the aerodynamics and handling of the car, an increased amount of ultra-high tensile strength steel has been used to build the car. So, you can expect improved better handling and less NVH (Noise, Vibration, and Harshness) levels. The extra spacious boot in the car measures about 454 litres.

So much about the upcoming car. Definitely we all want to know if this new Verna will make it to the roads of India too, and if yes, when. We have word that the new car from Hyundai will reach India somewhere in 2011. Hyundai Motor India would want to localise the production of the car, in order to make it more affordable to the Indians. And that’s not all. Indians might just a get an extra treat in the form of a diesel Verna. With the growing competition in the diesel car market in India, Hyundai just cannot afford to remain ignorant.

You can expect the price to within the range of about Rs 12-13 lakh. This definitely comes as a warning sign to the other cars in the upper C segment. The production of the new Hyundai Verna starts off in July and the global production is projected to start in the upcoming few months.

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Karun Chandhok’s Lucky Charm! An Egg?

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karunegg Half an hour before the Bahrain Grand Prix started, something happened at the back door of the Mercedes garage. Five tall handsome hunks were performing some kind of a combination of a rugby scrum and the haka dance of the All-Blacks. They were chanting some strange lyrics and singing at the top of their lungs. One of the men was wearing the Mercedes racing outfit and a racing helmet. Wondering what it was?

Four of Nico Rosberg’s friends from his school days had come all the way to perform a little good luck dance for the driver right before the race. Considering that Nico finished the race in fifth position and that was actually one spot higher than his seven-time world champion teammate Michael Schumacher, looks like the ritual really worked. Here’s something more.

If the dancing and chanting took place in the paddock of the Bahrain Grand Prix, what was everyone in the paddock outside Istanbul as Formula One prepared for the Turkish Grand Prix gossiping about? Remember Karun Chandhok’s crash in the last laps of the Monaco Grand Prix a couple of weeks ago. Chandhok was Formula One’s only Indian driver.

Jarno Trulli in a Lotus had tried to pass Chandhok who was with the Hispania team. Jarno Trulli not just failed to get by, but actually managed to land his car on top of Chandhok’s head. The bottom of the Lotus had actually touched his helmet. Now, that was quite scary and a narrow escape. Karun Chandhok needs something like Nico Rosberg, doesn’t he? A lucky charm may indeed work!

There was this small press scrum on Thursday in the paddock outside Istanbul when Formula One was getting ready for the Turkish Grand Prix. At the meeting, Chandhok took out an egg from his pocket. Was he going to do some kind of magic? Certainly no. The racer said that a bunch of his friends in England came over to meet him and then offered him the egg for good luck. The idea, he said, came from the lucky egg of the 1988 Olympic Jamaican bobsled team, famously portrayed in the film “Cool Runnings.”

Now that he has an egg for a good luck charm, will the Formula One racer carry it in his car during the race? Karun says, “No way. My engineers would probably complain that it was another 50 grams of weight….” That’s right. This is not bobsledding. But, it was very nice of his friends to think of him and wish him luck.

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Tata Nano Europa EV at the 2010 Madrid Motor Show

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tata-nano-ev The Tata Nano Electric, which was first showcased at the Geneva Motor Show, was recently unveiled at the Madrid Motor Show. And, not surprisingly, it got the unconditional love of everyone who happened to visit the show.

Now it is no secret that Tata Motors is working day and night to have a successful foray into the European markets with its wonder baby Nano. And when finally Tata reaches Europe in the coming 30 months or so, it will be with a convoy of not just Electric Nano, but petrol and diesel Nano.

The Tata Nano Europa, as the EV is well known, is powered by lithium ion batteries and will do a round of about 160 km before a second recharge of the battery. Nano Europa is a small car, and an electric one at that, but can easily do a top speed of 100 kmph, and sprint from 0-60 in just about 10 seconds. Now wouldn’t you say that these figures are rather impressive considering that the Nano Europa is a city car with an electric heart?

Most of us would drool at the very thought of having the electric Nano in India but Tata Motors is not giving any information regarding a possible launch date of the EV in India. Most Indians would not cruise on the highway in their Tata Nano and, hence, it might actually be the perfect city ride for the Indian roads.

The famous Tata Nano Europa had got an amazing response at the Bangkok Motor Show last December. And Tata Motors may consider launching its Nano and the Nano Electric/Hybrid in Thailand. Tata Motors spokesperson Debasis Ray said the company will introduce a “highly fuel-efficient and environmentally-friendly car with appropriate investments for local production in Thailand.”

Tata-Nano-EV-1

Meanwhile, Tata Motors has pulled out of the much coveted Thailand Eco Car Project. Apparently the new cost and tax rules brought in by the Thai government have affected the Indian car maker’s decision to back off from the project. As it is, Tata Motors officials are not talking about the possible causes of the withdrawal, though it is an open secret that Tata got increasingly put off by the Thai government’s new rules.

Additionally, the Thai government has introduced a new project which supports alternate fuel vehicles and incurs lesser taxes than the Eco Car Project. The deal was worth big bucks, almost about Rs 700 crores.

Mr Ray has confirmed the decision of backing out from the project. About 18 months back, the company’s Thailand subsidiary had received an investment promotion certificate from the country’s Board of Investment (BoI). The BoI had little choice but to terminate the certificate after Tata Motors failed to submit the project details on the slotted deadline of 31st March.

Tata had planned to introduce a new 1300cc small car by 2012. Rival car makers of Tata, including Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota, Honda and Suzuki, have confirmed their plans of making the best of this project.

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GM Sued for Using Einstein’s Image in Ad

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GM Logo GM is getting into the habit of finding its place in the news columns. Yesterday we had the GM-Reva breakup-up news. Now, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has sued GM. Wonder why? The Jewish university apparently owns Albert Einstein’s publicity rights and our dear car maker is being sued for unauthorized use of the dead physicist’s image in an ad for its GMC Terrain.

The auto major was sued in the U.S. District Court in California on May 19 for over $75,000. GM has been accused of deceptively using Einstein’s image. Einstein had willed his publicity rights to the university before he died in 1955. All of us know what GM did last summer. It just came out of bankruptcy, and since then, the rather unfortunate GM has been struggling to re-establish its marketing pitch. Spicing up the story is this latest advertising controversy.

Chairman and Chief Executive Ed Whitacre has been accused of stretching the truth in a recent commercial saying that GM had repaid its federal loans, and its marketing team has undergone a management and creative agency shakeup in recent weeks. This month, GM has hired a new marketing guru and a new ad agency for its largest brand, Chevrolet.

“It may be GM thought, ‘Oh, he died and the rights are all public domain now,’ ” said John T. Brooks, a partner with Chicago law firm Foley & Lardner LLP who specializes in estates and trusts. “It’s old and cold and nobody’s got rights to it.” Brooks added, “I suppose you could make a business decision that you can make so much money that you can withstand a lawsuit that would tell them to stop and fine them something. It wouldn’t be the first time a corporation has done something thinking they might pay the price for it, but it’s worth it.”

Was GM trying to come up with an extremely creative ad? The controversial Einstein ad had been published in People magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” issue last September and was produced by GMC‘s advertising agency Leo Burnett. The lawsuit exemplifies the extent to which celebrity estates will go to defend lucrative profits. You would be surprised to know that Einstein is one of the highest earning dead celebrities as his income had grossed $10 million last year.

As per Forbes.com, Einstein’s name and image have been licensed for use in McDonald’s Happy Meals and the popular Baby Einstein products, ranked ninth between authors Dr. Seuss ($15 million) and Michael Crichton ($9 million).

Albert Einstein-GM ad row

Coming back to the controversial ad, it was published in the People magazine last fall and carried Einstein’s head superimposed on a half-nude underwear model with an “E=MC2″ tattoo. The four page ad ran in the magazine with a GMC Terrain tagline and “Ideas are sexy too… that’s why we gave it more ideas per square inch” in red text around a muscular, shirtless Einstein illustration.

GM’s Terrain crossover SUV has been boosting the car maker’s sales figures along with Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac brands, which rose 19.7 per cent last month compared to a year earlier. General Motors has earned a profit of $865 million in the first quarter, its best in three years.

This isn’t the first time GM is getting sued by a celebrity for their image reproduction in ads. New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had sued GMC for $2 million in 2005 for using his likeness in an ad after his contract with the car maker had expired.

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