Mini’s Vanishing Van Edition

Mini The Mini Clubvan is like a Mini Cooper Clubman, but with its rear windows blanked out.
In which we bring you motoring news from around the Web:

• Not long after last year’s debut, Mini has discontinued its Clubvan, which is essentially a Mini Cooper Clubman with sheet metal in place of rear windows. Introduced last year as a future concept that would become available in the North American market, Mini pulled out after selling 50 of the miniature sedans. The automaker cited low demand and the 25 percent “Chicken Tax” tariff on foreign commercial vehicles as reasons for its decision. (Green Car Reports)

• Facing multiple lawsuits over hybrid vehicle fuel-efficiency claims, the Ford Motor Company announced that it would update software on 77,000 Ford Fusion, C-Max and Lincoln MKZ hybrid vehicles to increase fuel economy. Midwestern customers, whose vehicles face colder temperatures and higher speed limits than average, have posed a particular problem for Ford, which told hybrid owners that they would update the software by the end of July. (The Detroit News)

• The 2013 Ram 1500 pickup has lumbered to the top of the Consumer Reports full-size pickup heap, according to Consumer Reports’ latest ranking. The redesigned model, introduced last summer, received a number of modifications including weight reductions and high-tech fuel saving measures like grille shutters and a variable demand fuel pump. In its report, Consumer Reports points out that rankings in the highly competitive pickup truck market are likely to shift, but for now the publication lauds the truck’s simultaneous refinement and capability. (Consumer Reports)

• Diamond Electric, a Japanese company that manufactures ignition coils for Ford, Toyota and Subaru, has plead guilty to the Justice Department charges on price fixing and conspiracy charges. The company agreed to pay a $19 million fine for its role in the conspiracy. This is the latest in a two year antitrust investigation, which has led to 15 executives and 10 automotive parts suppliers pleading guilty to price-fixing charges and has generated a number of fines that have reached $828 million.


• With sales of the Volkswagen Passat on the wane, Volkswagen AG has decided to bring the Phaeton back to the North American market. VW had pulled the Phaeton – Volkswagen’s most expensive model – out of the American lineup seven years ago, after weak sales. According to a report from Bloomberg, the new Phaeton may make an appearance at the Detroit auto show in January.

Venice Film Fest Releases 70th Edition Poster

ROME – The Venice Film Festival on Friday released the official poster for its 70th edition, showing a man waving from a seashore, an image organizers said was inspired by a scene starring Bruno Ganz from Eternity and a Day, the 1998 drama from Greek filmmaker Theodoros Angelopoulos.

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The poster, painted by Italian animator Simone Massi, also features a smaller image from last year’s poster, inspired by Federico Fellini’s 1983 film, E la nave va (And the Ship Sails On), one of the Italian maestro’s final films.

The style of the artwork will be familiar to Venice regulars: Massi, who has won a David di Donatello award for best short film, last year created the opening sequence that is shown before each Venice screening. The sequence will be used this year as well.

The Venice Film Festival, the world’s oldest film festival, runs Aug. 28 through Sept. 7.

Twitter: @sajilpl

Lamborghini Launches Limited India Edition Gallardo Sports Car

Six super-sports cars adorned with the colors of the Indian flag will be available to mark the 50th anniversary of the Italian luxury automaker.

NEW DELHI -- Italian super-luxury automaker Automobili Lamborghini rolled out an exclusive limited edition of its Gallardo model sports car Wednesday in Mumbai that was made specifically for the Indian market.

Only six units of the Gallardo LP550-2 India Edition will be available. The car comes in the three colors of the Indian flag: arancio borealis (pearl orange), bianco monocerus (white) and verde ithaca (pearl green). In addition, the supercar is adorned with Indian tricolor stripes that run from the front bonnet to the rear engine bonnet, including over the roof. There is an "India Serie Speciale" plate beside the driver's seat quarter-glass. The car has a predominantly black interior design, with stitching on the driver's seat in verde ulysse (green), on the passenger seat in arancio leonis (orange) and on the doors, center console and dashboard in bianco polar (white).

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The limited-edition car is priced at about $500,000 (30.6 million rupees).

The India edition is part of Lamborghini's 50th anniversary celebration, for which the company has launched various international commemorative models and products. These include a 200-unit limited edition of its Aventador model and a partnership with Car Shoe (owned by Italian fashion group Prada) that produced a limited edition of its famous moccasin: A metal logo for Lamborghini's 50th anniversary features on the lace, and the company shield is enameled on the back and printed on the insole. The moccasin was given to drivers and staff participating in the Lamborghini Grande Giro, in which 350 vintage and modern Lamborghinis drove about 750 miles through Italy from May 7-11 to mark the company's half-century.

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Lamborghini launched in India in 2006. The company said it since has sold 90 cars from two showrooms, one each in Mumbai and Delhi. Celebrity owners include Bollywood actor-producer John Abraham, who recently bought a black Gallardo. "In the last two years alone, we have sold 31 units," Lamborghini India head of operations Pavan Shetty said. "In 2011, Lamborghini sold 14 cars here, while in 2012 the number rose to 17 cars."

One of the six India Edition cars has been sold to a Bangalore-based entrepreneur, according to reports.

During recent years, the luxury super-sports car market in India has seen the arrival of other majors such as Ferrari and Aston Martin.