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After sales for the 2010 X3 peaked at a meager 6,075 units last year, BMW went back to the drawing board and redefined the X3 as we know it. The all new 2011 BMW X3 has everything that its scrawny predecessor didn’t. The new X3 has better handling, more horsepower, and is more fuel-efficient than ever before. It also boasts a longer and wider body which makes this SUV not only drives better, but looks better.

Cars.com writes, “With a slightly larger size, a new eight-speed automatic transmission and standard all-wheel drive, the five-seater combines BMW’s signature driving prowess with the utility of a crossover.”

With the exciting new changes, the X3 is now challenging its rivals for the top spot of the luxury SUV class. Though highly competitive from the likes of the Audi Q5, the Lexus RX 350, the Mercedes GLK 350 and the EX35 from Nissan, consumers have taken kindly to the changes BMW has made. In the first three months of this year, U.S. sales of the X3 more than quadrupled over the same period last year, nearly selling as many as all of 2010 combined.

The 2011 BMW X3 is equipped with the fuel efficient, naturally aspirated 3.0-liter, 240-horsepower in-line six-cylinder engine. The X3 is also available in the high performance xDrive35i model which packs the 3.0-liter, 300 horsepower, turbocharged six-cylinder engine, that tops the best horsepower rating of many of the X3′s main competitors.

With either engine, the 2011 X3 comes standard with all-wheel drive and a highly efficient eight speed automatic transmission with a manual shifting function. Despite adding length and power to this year’s model, the xDrive28i is rated to get 19 miles per gallon in the city with a highway mileage rating of 26mpg.

Of the features that have been redesigned, the most impressive is the new revamped suspension. BMW claims the new electronic damping system is so quick that when the front wheels hit a pothole it can adjust damping before the rear wheels hit the hole creating a sporty yet smooth ride.

The X3′s interior has also taken on major improvements. Added rear space allows passengers to ride in the back seat with optimal comfort and leg room. The sightlines have been made better as the passengers sit up higher allowing for an easier ingress and egress. There is also an optional panoramic moonroof which gives the cabin an open and airy feel.

With improvements to the interior and the exterior of the X3, consumers would have to assume that the price tag on would go up for this top of the line SUV right? Their assumptions would be wrong then. Coming in at $37,625, which is $2,100 less than the 2010 X3, all the hype for this 2011 model is well deserved.

With BMW expanding its factory in Spartanburg, S.C., this is the first year that the X3 is being built in the United States. With the all new X3 hitting the 2011 luxury SUV class by storm, consumers will continue to look for great things to continue rolling out of Spartanburg.

The Ford Transit is likely the most well known commercial van name in the world. The name is so popular and well known that the term “Transit” is often used in relation to any commercial van of similar size to the Ford Transit van. The van is manufactured in Europe and has become the best selling light commercial van in the past four decades, with over five millions transit vans produced since the production began in nineteen sixty five.

The Ford Transits name originates to the Irish city of Cork, located in the north of the island. Ford had a production facility in the city up until the nineteen seventies. Post World War Two the local garage, “The Transit Garage”, was working on a high performance car to enter into the Cork 20 rally, a car came to be known as the Ford Transit. The name was then given to the newly produced commercial van which was being manufactured.

The first Ford Transit van was produced in Germany between nineteen sixty one and nineteen sixty five. The Ford Taunus Transit was a renamed FK 1000, which had been produced in Cologne, Germany, since nineteen fifty three. As the Ford Transit van has evolved it has commonly been given mark numbers, with the first Transit labelled as mark 1, although Ford chooses to refer to the various models by their production years.

The Ford Transit has been produced for four decades, with various facelifts and alterations made to each new model. Between nineteen seventy eight and nineteen eighty six the mark two UK model was produced, with a high capacity 3 litre engine available for police and ambulance vehicles. The mark three and four variations were introduced between nineteen eighty six and nineteen ninety one, with little change made to the engine, although the appearance had changed to a “one-box” design. The mark five, produced between nineteen ninety four and the year two thousand, received a major face lift to both the engine and the body. Various options were made available at this time, including airbags, central locking, and electric windows

Automobile industry has a special impact on the daily life of the modern day man, which requires fast mobility with reliability. The rapid growth in automobile industry has had its ebbs and flows. Currently it is undergoing a recession globally. The auto industry is evolving new strategies and signing up new contracts and joint ventures in an effort to stabilize itself and avoid further slump.

There is a particular need for rationalization of taxation and customs policies in order to support enterprises producing automobile components.

Automobile and automotive parts & components manufacturers make the major portion of the automotive industry throughout the world. Automobile manufacturing sector consists of truck manufacturers, motor vehicle body manufacturers, motor vehicle parts and supplies manufacturers. This is engaged in manufacturing of automotives and light duty motor vehicles, personal utility transport vehicles and chassis, cabs, trucks, automobile and utility trailers, buses, military small and heavy vehicles and the main parts of the motor vehicle engines.

In 1997, the majority of automobile construction enterprises have passed through the lowest critical point and began to increase production volume, restructuring themselves while taking into account consumer requirements, their solvency, and the overall economic situation. Thus, in the first six months of 1997 there was a substantial increase in the volume of production compared to the corresponding period in 1996.

The global automotive industry is highly diversified and includes different sectors like manufacturers, suppliers, dealers, retailers, original equipment manufacturers, automotive engineers, spray painters, motor mechanics, auto electricians, aftermarket parts manufacturers, body repairers, fuel producers, environmental and transport safety groups and even many of trade unions.

The global leaders in auto industry are United States, Japan, China, Germany and South Korea. The United States of America is the world’s largest producer and consumer of motor vehicles and automobiles accounting to almost 6.6 million direct and indirect-jobs. Automobile industry is one of the significant ones in the world that provides employment to 25 million people across the globe. This industry is largely dominated by the five giant automobile manufacturing corporations namely Toyota, General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Volkswagen AG and Daimler Chrysler. These corporations have their presence in almost every country of the world and they continue to invest into production facilities in emerging markets namely Latin America, Middle East, Eastern Europe, China, Malaysia and other markets in Southeast Asia. To overcome certain production costs many mainstream auto corporations have established there units worldwide.

Engine parts form one of the largest segments of the automotive components industry. The latest trend in this sector is of outsourcing a part of the engine to different vendors who provide good comparative technological expertise as well. Recently auto industry is going through its worst periods. The global giants are facing the toughest economical crisis. This is also resulting in heavy losses to the work force in the form of lost jobs. There are varied factors behind this decline of automobiles industry that have badly affected it as a whole. Nonetheless, it is hoped that this industry, which is an integral part of the modern day life and has stood the test of time in previous recessions, has the tenacity and the resilience of bouncing back once again.