Ferrari

Ferrari S.p.A. is a multinational sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as FerrariS.p.A. in 1947. Throughout its history, the company has been noted for its continued participation in racing, especially in Formula One, where it has had great success. Ferrari road cars are generally seen as a symbol of luxury and wealth.

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Bugatti

Automobiles Ettore Bugatti was a French car manufacturer of high-performance automobiles, founded in 1909 in Molsheim, Alsace by Italian-born Ettore Bugatti. Bugatti cars were well known for their design beauty (Ettore Bugatti was from a family of artists and considered himself to be both an artist and constructor) and for the large number of races that they have won. The death of Ettore Bugatti in 1947 proved to be the end for the marque, and the death of his son Jean Bugatti in 1939 ensured there was not a successor to lead the factory. No more than about 8000 cars were made. The company struggled financially, and released one last model in the 1950s, before eventually being purchased for its airplane parts business in the 1960s. In the 1990s, an Italian entrepreneur revived it as a builder of limited production exclusive sports cars. Today, the name is owned by German automobile manufacturing group Volkswagen

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Lamborghini

Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. is an Italianmanufacturer of luxury sportscars which is owned by the German Volkswagen Groupthrough its subsidiary Audi. Lamborghini's production facility and headquarters are located in Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy. In 2011, Lamborghini's 831 employees produced 1,711 vehicles.

Manufacturing magnate Ferruccio Lamborghini founded Automobili Ferruccio Lamborghini S.p.A. in 1963 with the objective of producing a refined grand touring car to compete with offerings from established marques such as Ferrari. The company's first models were released in the mid-1960s and were noted for their refinement, power and comfort. Lamborghini gained wide acclaim in 1966 for the Miura sports coupé, which establishedrear mid-engine, rear wheel drive as the standard layout for high-performance cars of the era.

Lamborghini grew rapidly during its first decade, but hard times befell the company when sales plunged in the wake of the 1973 worldwide financial downturn and the 1973 oil crisis. The firm's ownership changed three times after 1973, including a bankruptcy in 1978, before Chrysler Corporation took control in 1987. Unable to operate Lamborghini profitably, Chrysler sold Lamborghini to Malaysian investment group Mycom Setdco and Indonesian group V'Power Corporation in 1994. Lack of success continued through the 1990s, until Mycom Setdco and V'Power sold Lamborghini to the AUDI AG subsidiary of Volkswagen Group on 27 July 1998. Audi's ownership marked the beginning of a period of stability and increased productivity for Lamborghini. Sales increased nearly tenfold over the course of the 2000s, peaking with record sales in 2007 and 2008. The world financial crisis in the late 2000s negatively affected all luxury car makers worldwide, and caused Lamborghini's sales to drop nearly 50 percent.

Lamborghini's Sant'Agata Bolognese production facility produces V12 engines and finished automobiles. Lamborghini's current production vehicles are the V10-powered Gallardo and the V12-powered Aventador. Both production models are available in a variety of regular and limited-edition specifications

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Chrysler

Chrysler Group LLC is an American automaker, and has been in a strategic global alliance with Italian automotible manufacturer Fiat since 2009.

Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925. Its core brands today are: Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, SRT, Fiat, and Mopar vehicles and products. The Company is headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, a Detroit suburb.

On June 10, 2009, Chrysler LLC emerged from a Chapter 11 (i.e., re-organization) bankruptcy directed by the U.S. government. It became Chrysler Group LLC, a completely new entity, with 4 co-owners: Italian automaker Fiat, with a roughly 20% stake (and the option of increasing that, in the future, to a majority share); the U.S. government, with a roughly 20% share; the United Auto Workers' pension fund, with a 60% share; and, the Canadian government holding the remainder. Fiat's stake increased to 58.5% (fully diluted shares) after it bought out both the U.S. Treasury's (6% on June 3, 2011) and Canadian government's (1.5% on July 21, 2011) respective stakes. The stake was further increased to 61.8% in July 2012.

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Mercedes-benz

The Mercedes-Benz Museum is the only museum in the world that can document in a single continuous timeline over 125 years of automobile history from its very beginnings to the present day. On nine levels and covering a floor space of 16,500 square metres, the museum presents 160 vehicles and over 1,500 exhibits. As a place of innovation, it also demonstrates that history can point the way ahead.

The exhibition not only presents the fascinating history of the Mercedes-Benz brand, it also affords illuminating insights into the future. This dual function is also reflected in the architecture of the Mercedes-Benz Museum, designed by the UNStudio of Dutch architects van Berkel and Bos, Amsterdam. The building’s interior is inspired by the double helix structure of the DNA spiral that carries the human genome. This in turn illustrates the Mercedes-Benz brand’s philosophy – to continuously create radically new products to advance the cause of human mobility.

During a two-hour tour of the exhibition, visitors experience a unique journey through automotive history. Transported by lift to the uppermost level of the museum, the visitor arrives back in the year 1886, where two museum tours gradually spiral their way down through the extensive collection and back to the museum exit.

The first of the tours consists of seven Legend rooms which narrate the chronological history of the brand. The second tour groups the wealth of vehicles on display into five separate Collection rooms, which thematically document the breadth and diversity of the brand portfolio and collection. The visitor can switch from one tour to the other at any time. Both tours finish at the banked curve entitled Silver Arrows – Races & Records. The exhibition is rounded off by the Fascination of Technology display, which offers a glimpse into day-to-day work at Mercedes-Benz and also presents topics concerning the future of the automobile.

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Volkswagen Golf

La Volkswagen Golf est une automobile, de la gamme dite compacte, de lamarque allemande Volkswagen. C'est une automobile à hayon (des versionstricorps existent, mais marginalement en Europe). Apparue en 1974, six générations se succèdent jusqu'à la version actuelle (plate-forme Golf VII), lancée en septembre 2012. Dominante dans la gamme des compactes en Europe^{[réf. nécessaire]}, elle verra apparaître, à partir des années 2000, une concurrence de plus en plus aiguisée.

Certains disent qu'elle a été produite à 25 millions d'exemplaires. Mais ce chiffre est obtenu en ajoutant tous les modèles depuis sa création. Or, depuis la citadine du milieu des années 70, le modèle actuel n'a plus grand chose à voir, tant au niveau du design que de la catégorie puisqu'il s'agit à présent d'une compacte. Bref, seul le nom a subsisté !

La Golf GTi, lancée durant l'année 1976 (Golf série 17, plateforme A) a créé le concept de petite voiture sportive^{[réf. souhaitée]} avec moteur à injection¹(contrairement aux moteurs à carburateur de l'époque). Un moteur de 1,6 l de 110 ch dans une caisse de 810 kg¹ et bien suspendue avec une décoration spéciale (en comparaison de ses modèles contemporains) permettait de réaliser des performances de haut niveau pour l'époque^{[réf. nécessaire]}.

Fin 1983, une nouvelle version, plus bourgeoise (et plus lourde), apparaît. Le moteur devient un 1 781 cm³ de 112 ch boîte 5 vitesses, déjà utilisé sur les dernières versions de Golf série 1. Jusqu'en 1991, la gamme sportive reposera sur ce 1,8 l épaulé d'une version à 16 soupapes en 1986 jusqu'à l'apparition d'un compresseur en 1990 (moteurs de 160 ch). La Golf GTI de 1992 s'équipe d'un moteur 2,0 l tandis qu'une version V6 de 2,8 l (puis 2,9 l) fait son apparition et chapeaute la gamme sportive, la fameuse VR6. Cette dernière a été produite en version syncro, c'est-à-dire une version quatre roues motrices. Fin 1993 apparaît la version 16 soupapes du moteur 2,0 l qui développe 150 ch.

En 2005, la Golf GTI est dotée d'un moteur TFSI 2.0 de 200 ch (turbocompressé). Le moteur V6 3.2litre passe, lui, à 250 ch dans la Golf R32. En 2006, un modèle de la Golf intègre un moteur de 1,4 l qui innove en utilisant à la fois un compresseur et un turbo pour développer 170 ch avec un couple disponible dès les bas régimes, c'est la Golf GT. Il s'agit de la Golf 1.4l TSI GT, qui préfigure les moteurs essence de l'avenir : faible cylindrée, faible consommation mais efficacité sur toute la plage d'utilisation du moteur grâce au compresseur qui augmente le couple à bas régime, relayé à mi-régime par le turbocompresseur, efficace plus haut dans les tours.

Il existe des Golfs disposant de la transmission « intégrale » (par visco-coupleur central),un système appelé « 4motion ». Ce sont les versions les plus sportives : les séries R. La Golf 4 puis 5 finition R32 munie d'un moteur V6 essence transversal de 3,2L de 241cheveaux pour la golf 4 et 250chevaux pour la golf 5. Poids de 1600kg. 17cv fiscaux. 3 / 5 portes. Disponible en boite mécanique 6 rapports ou en automatique DSG 6. Elles étaient disponibles en bleu, noir, rouge et gris. Phares au xénon de série. Alarme de série. Jantes 18pouces. Double sortie d'échappement ( centrale sur la 5 , une sortie de chaque côté sur la 4 ). Calandre avant chromée, sigles R32 avant et arrière. Considérées plus comme des berlines GT que comme des hypersportives, elles sont les versions ultimes de la golf et coutaient environ 37000€ pour une golf 5 en 2006. Puis en 2010 volkswagen abandonne le V6 pour moteur 4cylindres TFSI 2.0 litres de 265chevaux pour équiper la golf R. Toutes intègrent systématiquement le système "4motion" (4roues motrices).Le comportement sur route mouillée s'améliore alors sensiblement. La sixième génération a reçu 5 étoiles aux crash-tests. La cinquième génération reste produite et commercialisée en version break.

En juin 2009, est commercialisée la Golf VI GTI. Elle dispose d'un nouveau moteur TSI tout aluminium avec distribution par chaîne de 210 ch.

Le 4 septembre 2012, Volkswagen dévoile la nouvelle Golf VII depuis Berlin, modèle qui est produit dans l'usine historique de Wolfsburg.

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Renault

Renault S.A.  is a French multinational vehicle manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past, trucks, tractors, tanks, buses/coaches and autorail vehicles.

Headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt, Renault owns the Romanian manufacturerAutomobile Dacia and the Korean Renault Samsung Motors. Renault also owns subsidiaries RCI Banque (providing automotive financing), Renault Retail Group (automotive distribution) and Motrio (automotive parts). Renault Trucks, previously Renault Vehicules Industriels, has been part of Volvo Trucks since 2001. Renault Agriculture became 100% owned by German agricultural equipment manufacturer CLAAS in 2008. Carlos Ghosn is the current chairman and CEO and the French government owns a 15 percent share of Renault.^[3]

As part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, the company is the fourth-largest automotive group.^[4] Together Renault and Nissan are undertaking significant electric car development, investing €4 billion (US$5.16 billion) in eight electric vehicles over three to four years from 2011.^[3]

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