151-200 companies

151)

KTM: The KTM X-Bow (pronounced "crossbow") is an ultra-light sports car for road and race use, produced by Austrian motorcycle manufacturer KTM. It is the first car in their product range. It was launched at the Geneva Motor Show in 2008.

KTM developed the X-Bow in collaboration with Kiska Design, Audi, and Dallara. The X-Bow uses a turbocharged four-cylinder 2.0 litre Audi engine. The 2008 model produces 237 hp (177 kW; 240 PS) at 5500 rpm and 310 newton metres (230 lb·ft) of torque between 2000 and 5500 rpm. and can accelerate from 0-62 mph (100 km/h) in 3.9 seconds. Its top speed is 217 km/h (134.9 mph). In the 2011 X-Bow R model the Audi engine is further tuned to produce 300 hp (224 kW; 304 PS) and 400 newton metres (300 lb·ft) of torque at 3300 rpm.

Originally, KTM planned a production of 500 units per year, however, the company increased production to 1,000 cars a year and built a new plant near Graz due to high demand.

 152)

kuozui: Kuozui Motors is a Taiwanese manufacturing company that builds Toyotas under license for the domestic market. Originally a subsidiary of Hino Motors, the corporation was spun off and became independent in the 1980s. Toyota still invests heavily in the corporation's production sector, recently expanding Taiwanese plants. Its products include, but not limited to: Toyota Corolla Altis, Toyota Aurion, and Toyota WISH.

 157)kurtis

 158)lada: Lada is a trademark of Russian car manufacturer AvtoVAZ based in Tolyatti, Samara Oblast. It was originally the export brand for models sold under the Zhiguli name in the domestic Soviet market after June 1970.

Lada cars became popular in Russia and Eastern Europe during the last two decades of the Soviet era, particularly in former Soviet bloc countries, where they became a symbol of city life.

The original Lada was widely exported in sedan and station-wagon versions, and with over 20 million units sold before production finally ended in mid-2012, it had become the highest-selling automobile to be produced without major design change.

The Lada badge depicts a Viking sailing ship.

 153)

lamborgini: Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., or simply Lamborghini,designs, engineers, manufactures and distributes Italian luxury sports cars. 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 established rear 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.

Ferruccio Lamborghini, the man who would found Automobili Ferruccio Lamborghini S.p.A. in 1963, was the child of viticulturists living in Renazzo di Cento, Province of Ferrara, in the Northern Italys Emilia-Romagna region.After serving as a mechanic in the Italian Royal Air Force during World War II, Lamborghini went into business building tractors based on surplus WWII military hardware. By the mid-1950s, Lamborghini's tractor company, Lamborghini Trattori S.p.A., had become one of the largest agricultural equipment manufacturers in the country. He was also the owner of a successful gas heater and air conditioning manufacturer.

Lamborghini's wealth allowed him to cultivate a childhood interest in cars, owning a number of luxury automobiles including Alfa Romeos, Lancias,Maseratis, and a Mercedes-Benz. He purchased his first Ferrari, a 250GT, in 1958, and went on to own several more. Lamborghini was fond of the Ferraris, but considered them too noisy and rough to be proper road cars, likening them to repurposed track cars. When Lamborghini discovered that the clutch on his Ferrari was broken, and actually was the same clutch that he used on his tractors, Lamborghini went to Ferrari and asked for a better replacement. Ferrari responded, saying that he was just a tractor maker, and could not know anything about sports cars. Lamborghini decided to pursue an automobile manufacturing venture with the goal of bringing to life his vision of a perfect grand tourer.

 154)

lancia: Lancia Automobiles S.p.A. (Italian pronunciation:is an Italian luxury automobile manufacturer founded in 1906 by Vincenzo Lancia and which became part of the Fiat Group in 1969. The company has a long history of producing distinctive cars and also has a strong rally heritage. Some modern Lancias are seen as presenting a more luxurious alternative to the models in the Fiat range upon which they are based. One of the firm's trademarks is the use of letters of the Greek alphabet as the names of its models.

Lancia was founded on 29 November 1906 in Turin by Vincenzo Lancia and his friend Claudio Fogolin, both being Fiat racing drivers, as Lancia & C. The first Lancia automobile the "tipo 51" or 12 HP (later called Alfa) was made in 1907 and produced from 1908. This car had a small four cylinder engine with a power of 58 bhp. In 1915 the Jota, Lancia's first truck, appeared and there followed a series of Jota trucks. In 1937 Vincenzo died of a heart attack, and his wife Adele Miglietti Lancia and his son Gianni Lancia took over the firm. They persuaded Vittorio Jano to join Lancia as an engineer. Jano had already made a name for himself by constructing the Alfa Romeo 1750 Sport Alfa Romeo 6C, 2300, 2900, P2 Alfa Romeo P2 and P3 Alfa Romeo P3, some of the most successful racers of its time.

The original Lancia logo was designed by Count Carlo Biscaretti di Ruffia. The logo shows a lance and shield with flag. The Turin automobile museum is named after him as Museo Nazionale dell'Automobile “Carlo Biscaretti di Ruffia”. The logo was redesigned in 2007.

 155)

land rover: Land Rover is a British car manufacturer with its headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire, United Kingdom which specialises in four-wheel-drive vehicles. It is part of the Jaguar Land Rover group, a subsidiary of Tata Motors of India. It is the second oldest four-wheel-drive car brand in the world (after Jeep).

The Land Rover name was originally used by the Rover Company for one specific vehicle model, named simply the Land Rover, launched by Rover in 1948. Over the following years it developed into a marque encompassing a range of four-wheel-drive models, including the Defender, Discovery,Freelander, Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Range Rover Evoque. Land Rovers are currently assembled in the company's Halewood and Solihull plants, with research and development taking place at JLR's Gaydon and Whitley engineering centres. Land Rover sold 194,000 vehicles worldwide in 2009.

Although the brand originates from the original 1947 model, Land Rover as a company has only existed since 1978. Prior to this, it was a product line of the Rover Company which was subsequently absorbed into the Rover-Triumph division of the British Leyland Motor Corporation (BL) followingLeyland Motor Corporation’s takeover of Rover in 1967. The ongoing commercial success of the original Land Rover series models, and latterly the Range Rover in the 1970s in the midst of BL’s well documented business troubles prompted the establishment of a separate Land Rover company but still under the BL umbrella, remaining part of the subsequent Rover Group in 1988, under the ownership of British Aerospace after the remains of British Leyland were broken up and privatised. In 1994 Rover Group plc was acquired by BMW. In 2000, Rover Group was broken-up by BMW and Land Rover was sold to Ford Motor Company, becoming part of its Premier Automotive Group. In June 2008, Ford sold both Land Rover and Jaguar Cars to Tata Motors.

The design for the original Land Rover vehicle was started in 1947 by Maurice Wilks, chief designer at the Rover Company, on his farm in Newborough, Anglesey. It is said that he was inspired by an American World War II Jeep that he used one summer at his holiday home in Wales. The first Land Rover prototype, later nicknamed 'Centre Steer', was built on a Jeep chassis and axles.

The early choice of colour was dictated by military surplus supplies of aircraft cockpit paint, so early vehicles only came in various shades of light green; all models until recently feature sturdy box section ladder-frame chassis.

 156)

JMC motors: Jiangling Motors Corporation Limited  abbreviated JMC, is a Chinese automobile manufacturer. The company has operated a commercial vehicle joint venture with Ford Motor Company since 1997. JMC also has a passenger car making joint venture with Changan, Jiangling Motor Holding, which sells vehicles under the Landwind marque.

The history of Jiangling Motors Corporation., Ltd. can be traced to a truck repair shop opened in Nanchang in 1952 which operated under the name Nanchang Motors Repair Factory. In January 1993, the company entered into the Isuzu Joint Venture with Isuzu and Itochu. The joint venture acquired the non-exclusive right to produce the cab compartment and certain components of N-Series light truck and to assemble vehicles. The company was granted the approval of Jiangxi Province Economic Restructuring Commission to be reorganized to establish a joint stock limited company on February 20, 1993. JMC A shares and B shares got listed on Shenzhen Stock Exchange on December 1, 1993 and September 29, 1995, respectively.

157)

lexus: Lexus is the luxury vehicle division of Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corporation. First introduced in 1989 in the United States ,Lexus is now sold globally and has become Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. The Lexus marque is marketed in over 70 countries and territories worldwide, and has ranked among the ten largest Japanese global brands in market value. Lexus is headquartered in Nagoya, Japan. Operational centers are located in Brussels, Belgium, and Torrance, California, United States.

Lexus originated from a clandestine flagship sedan project, code-named F1, which began in 1983 and culminated in the launch of the original Lexus LS in 1989. Subsequently, the division added sedan, coupé, convertible, and SUV models. In 2005, a hybrid version of the RX crossover debuted, and additional hybrid models later joined the division's lineup. In 2007, Lexus launched its own F marque performance division with the debut of the IS Fsport sedan, followed by the LFA supercar in 2009.

From the start of production, Lexus vehicles have been produced in Japan, with manufacturing centered in the Chūbu and Kyūshū regions, and in particular at Toyota's Tahara, Aichi, Chūbu and Miyata, Fukuoka, Kyūshū plants. Assembly of the first Lexus built outside the country, the Ontario,Canada-produced RX 330, began in 2003. Following a corporate reorganization from 2001 to 2005, Lexus also operates its own design, engineering, and manufacturing centers, solely responsible for the division's vehicles.

158)

ligier: Ligier is a French automobile maker created by former racing driver and rugby player Guy Ligier.

The firm entered the automobile business with the Ligier JS2, a mid-engined sports car for the road initially powered by a Ford V6 and from 1971 by the same Maserati V6 engine as the Citroën SM. The JS2 was considered by many as a well designed car with a very good power-to-weight ratio. The final SMs were also produced in the Ligier factory in Vichy. The 1973 energy crisis caused such a decline in the market for the JS2 that production ceased soon after, and the firm changed its focus to microcars, for example, 1984 moped-powered Ligier JS6.

In September 2008, Ligier Automobiles completed its acquisition of Beneteau Group's Microcar division, with financing provided by 21 Investimenti Partners. Phillipe Ligier, son of the company's founder, remains as CEO. The Ligier and Microcar brands are to retain their separate identities and manufacturing facilities. The merger creates Europe's second largest microcar manufacturer (after Daimler's Smart unit, if one considers that a microcar), and largest manufacturer of drivers license-exempt vehicles

159)

li-ion motors: Li-ion Motors Corp., winners of the Progressive Automotive X-Prize, is a company based in Las Vegas, Nevada engaged in developing and marketingelectrics cars, motorbikes and other vehicles and products based on lithium-ion battery technology. Li-ion Motors sells custom-made vehicles for customers around the world.

An electric car is an automobile that uses electricity as an energy source instead of the more common internal combustion engine. It usually requires an outlet of 110–120 V or 220–240 V. Li-ion Motors is engaged in converting scooters, bicycles, mopeds, motorcycles, cars, trucks and homes to use zero-emission lithium-ion batteries.

Li-ion Motors Corp. was incorporated in the State of Nevada on April 12, 2000. Earlier the company was known as Hybrid Technologies then EV Innovations and later the name changed to Li-ion Motors Corp. The research and development plant as well as the production facility of the corporation is located in Mooresville, North Carolina and looks much the way any auto factory should look. The Company selected Mooresville for production as it is the home city for many NASCAR teams and has an exceptional labor pool for the work Li-ion Motors does. As many motors are being pulled out of cars as are being put in here. For cars such as the Crossfire and PT Cruiser, the motor and other systems are stripped out and sold back to the automaker or others. By building off existing models, Li-ion Motors can focus on the critical part of any electric car — the battery system.

160)

Lincoln: The Lincoln Motor Company is a United States-based division of the Ford Motor Company that sells luxury vehicles under the Lincoln brand, primarily in North America. The current Lincoln model range in the United States includes two sedans, the MKS and MKZ, two crossovers, theMKT, the MKX and one SUV, the Navigator. Ford is planning to expand the model range to seven different vehicles by 2015 as well as begin selling Lincoln-branded vehicles in China's rapidly expanding luxury car market by 2014.

Henry Leland, a former manager of the Cadillac division of General Motors, and his son, Wilfred Leland, formed the Lincoln Motor Company in August, 1917. Leland named the new company after Abraham Lincoln, his hero and for whom he cast a vote in 1864. Lincoln's first source of revenue came from assembling Liberty aircraft engines, using cylinders supplied by Ford Motor Company, to fulfill World War I government contracts.

After the war, the Lincoln factories were retooled to manufacture luxury automobiles. Ford Motor Company purchased the Lincoln Motor Company in 1922, but Lincoln continued to operate as a somewhat separate company from Ford through early 1940. On April 30, 1940 the Lincoln Motor Company became the Lincoln Division of Ford Motor Company.

161)

lister: Lister Cars is a British sports car manufacturer.

Beginning in 1954, company manager and racing driver Brian Lister brought out the first in a series of sports cars from a Cambridge iron works. Inspired by Cooper, he used a tubular ladder chassis, de Dion rear axle, and inboard drum brakes. Like others, he used a tuned MG engine and stock gearbox. It made its debut at the British Empire Trophy at Oulton Park in 1954, with the skilled, and light, (former MG pilot) Archie Scott Brown at the wheel. Good as he was, Scott Brown could not make up the Lister-MG's deficiencies against superior competition, so Lister swapped in a Moore-tuned Bristol two litre engine and knockoff wire wheels in place of the MG's discs. For the sports car race supporting the 1954 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Scott Brown easily won the two litre class and placed fifth overall, ahead even of C-Jags, behind only works Astons. The Lister-Bristol spent the rest of the 1954 season proving this was no fluke, beating Maseratis, Cooper-Masers, and even Lotus-Bristols.

162)

local motors: Local Motors is an American open source automobile company founded by John "Jay" Rogers and Jeff Jones, bi-located in both Wareham, Massachusetts (founded) and Chandler, Arizona (facility). They co-create vehicles with their community of auto designers, engineers, enthusiasts and customers. Local Motors is in production with their first vehicle called the Rally Fighter, an off-road race vehicle designed to also be street legal which customers buy as part of a build experience with Local Motors engineers in a Local Motors Micro-factory.

163)

lola : Lola Cars International Ltd. was a racing car engineering company founded in 1958 by Eric Broadley and based in Huntingdon, England. Lola Cars started by building small front-engined sports cars, and branched out into Formula Junior cars before diversifying into one of the oldest and largest manufacturers of racing cars in the world. Lola was acquired by Martin Birrane in 1998 after the unsuccessful Lola MasterCard attempt at Formula One.

Lola Cars was a brand of the Lola Group, which combined former rowing boat manufacturer Lola Aylings and Lola Composites, who specialize incarbon fibre production. After a period in bankruptcy administration, Lola Cars International ceased trading on 5 October 2012.

Lola was one of the top chassis suppliers in sports car racing in the 1960s. After his small front-engined sports cars came various single-seaters including Formula Junior, Formula 3 and Formula 2 cars. Broadley designed a Lola coupe fitted with the Ford V8 engine. Ford took a keen interest in this and paid Broadley to put the company on hold for two years and merge his ideas with Roy Lunn's work, giving rise to the Ford GT40. Broadley managed to release himself from this contract after a year and started developing his own cars again, starting off in sports cars with the Lola T70 and its successors (T16x, T22x) which were used successfully all over the world from the World Championship for Makes to the CanAm series, until 1973. Recently, Lola announced that a new batch of T70 coupés, to the original specifications, will be released. These will be homologated for historic racing and there is talk of a one-make series for the cars.

164)

lotus: Lotus Cars is a British manufacturer of sports and racing cars based at the former site of RAF Hethel, a World War II airfield in Norfolk. The company designs and builds race and production automobiles of light weight and fine handling characteristics. It also owns the engineering consultancy Lotus Engineering, which has facilities in the United Kingdom, United States, Malaysia and China.

Lotus is owned by Proton, which acquired it following the bankruptcy of former owner Romano Artioli in 1994.

The company was formed as Lotus Engineering Ltd. by engineers Colin Chapman and Colin Dare, both graduates of University College, London, in 1952. The four letters in the middle of the logo stand for the initials of company founder, Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman.

The first factory was in old stables behind the Railway Hotel in Hornsey, North London. Team Lotus, which was split off from Lotus Engineering in 1954, was active and competitive in Formula One racing from 1958 to 1994. The Lotus Group of Companies was formed in 1959. This was made up of Lotus Cars Limited and Lotus Components Limited, which focused on road cars and customer competition car production, respectively. Lotus Components Limited became Lotus Racing Limited in 1971 but the newly renamed entity ceased operation in the same year.

The company moved to a purpose built factory at Cheshunt in 1959 and since 1966 the company has occupied a modern factory and road test facility at Hethel, near Wymondham. This site is the former RAF Hethel base and the test track uses sections of the old runway.

165)

luxgen: Luxgen Motor Co., Ltd. chinese is a Taiwanese automaker and a wholly owned subsidiary of Yulon. It was founded in January 2009 and Luxgen vehicles have been manufactured in Hangzhou, China since late 2010. The company's slogan is "Think Ahead".

"Luxgen" is an invented name formed from a combination of the words "Luxury" and "Genius".

173)Mahindra: Mahindra & Mahindra Limited (M&M) is an Indian multinational automobile manufacturing corporation headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is one of the largest vehicle manufacturers by production in the Republic of India. It is a part of Mahindra Group, an Indian conglomerate. The company was founded in 1945 in Ludhiana as Mahindra & Mohammed by brothers K.C. Mahindra and J.C. Mahindra and Malik Ghulam Mohammed. After India gained independence and Pakistan was formed, Mohammed emigrated to Pakistan. The company changed its name to Mahindra & Mahindra in 1948. It is ranked #21 in the list of top companies of India in Fortune India 500 in 2011.

Major competitors in the Indian market include Maruti Motors (a 60% owned subsidiary of Suzuki Motors from Japan), Tata Motors (fully owned by Tata Sons; Owner of Indian-British Jaguar Land Rover), Toyota, Mercedes-Benz) (Based in Poona, Maharastra in India; A subsidiary ofDaimler AG from Germany) and others

Mahindra & Mahindra was set up as a steel trading company in 1955. It eventually saw buisness opportunity in expanding into manufacturing and selling larger MUVs, starting with assembly under licence of the Willys Jeep in India. Soon established as the Jeep manufacturers of India, the company later commenced upon the task of expanding itself, choosing to utillise the manufacturing industry of light commercial vehicles (LCVs) and agricultural tractors. Today, Mahindra & Mahindra is a key game player in the utility vehicle manufacturing and branding sectors in the Indian automobile industry with its flagship UV Scorpio and swiftly exploits india's growing global market presence in both the automotive and farming industries to push its products in other countries.

Over the past few years, the company has taken interest in new industries and in foreign markets. They entered the two-wheeler industry by taking over Kinetic Motors in India. M&M also has controlling stake in REVA Electric Car Company and acquired South Korea's SsangYong Motor Company in 2011.

166)

mansory: Mansory is a luxury car modification firm based in Brand, Germany. Besides luxury cars, they also work on performance supercars, luxury SUV and custom bike. They focus on European and Western brands only such as Bugatti, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Maserati, Porsche, Range Rover and Audi.

In 2012, Top Gear featured a Ferrari 458 Italia tuned by Mansory on their website. They often focus on car cosmetics, to make cars look more beautiful and exotic. However, Mansory also offer their customers performance improvement services. They have several dealers around the world including Germany, India, China, Canada, Russia, United States, Japan, Greece, Switzerland, UAE and a few other countries.

They have collaborated with Garia to build the Garia Mansory Edition, a golf and recreational vehicle that was said by them as "The super-sports car of golf cars".

167)

marcos: Marcos was a British sports car manufacturer. The name derives from the surnames of founders Jem Marsh and Frank Costin.

Marcos was founded in Luton, in Bedfordshire, England, in 1959 by Jem Marsh and Frank Costin. Costin had earlier worked on the De Havilland Mosquito fighter-bombers and from there he got the idea to use plywood for the chassis. The company moved to a converted mill in Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire in 1963 and in 1971 to a £125,000 purpose-built factory at nearby Westbury.

Problems with exporting cars to the USA and the move to the expensive new premises led to financial troubles, and in 1971 Marcos went out of business. In July 1971 it was reported that the Rob Walker Group of Companies, a principal dealer, had acquired the stocks and assets and established a new company, Marcos Ltd. The new owners said production would continue, albeit, at least in the short term, only for the UK market, but it is not clear whether any additional cars were built. Although Marcos dealers in the UK had been heavily discounting new cars since the end of 1970, and Motor magazine reported at the time of the collapse that the company's stock of 35 unsold cars in the USA had had to be "liquidated", there may have been a substantial stock of new cars still looking for buyers.

168)

marussia: Marussia Motors is a Russian sports car manufacturer founded in 2007. Its cars are notable for being the first sports cars to be made in Russia.

Marussia is the first Russian manufacturer of premium-class vehicles. It designed, developed and produces the B1 and the B2 sport cars in Russia. The Marussia B1 was launched on the 16 December 2008 in the new Manege hall in Moscow, with the company's first showroom following in the city on the 10 September 2010.

Marussia is led by Nikolay Fomenko. In 2010, it acquired a "significant stake" in the Virgin Racing Formula One team, which was renamedMarussia F1 Team from 2012.

169)

maruthi Suzuki: Maruti Suzuki India Limited (/marut̪i suzuki/), commonly referred to as Maruti and formerly known as Maruti Udyog Limited, is an automobile manufacturer in India. It is a subsidiary of Japanese automobile and motorcycle manufacturer Suzuki. As of November 2012, it had a market share of 37% of the Indian passenger car market. Maruti Suzuki manufactures and sells a complete range of cars from the entry level 800,Esteem and Alto, to hatchback Ritz, A-Star, Swift, Wagon R, Zen and sedans DZire, Kizashi and SX4, in the 'C' segment Eeco, Omni, Multi Purpose vehicle Suzuki Ertiga and Sports Utility vehicle Grand Vitara. The company's headquarters are on Nelson Mandela Road, New Delhi .In February 2012, the company sold its ten millionth vehicle in India.

Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL) was established in February 1981, though the actual production commenced in 1983 with the Maruti 800, based on the Suzuki Alto kei car which at the time was the only modern car available in India, its only competitors- the Hindustan Ambassador and Premier Padmini were both around 25 years out of date at that point. Through 2004, Maruti Suzuki has produced over 5 Million vehicles. Maruti Suzukis are sold in India and various several other countries, depending upon export orders. Models similar to those made by Maruti in India, albeit not assembled or fully manufactured in India or Japan are sold by Pak Suzuki Motors in Pakistan.

178)Masereti: Maserati  is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993. Inside the Fiat Group, Maserati was initially associated with Ferrari S.p.A., but more recently it has become part of the sports car group including Alfa Romeo.

The Maserati brothers, Alfieri, Bindo, Carlo, Ettore, and Ernesto were all involved with automobiles from the beginning of the 20th century. Alfieri, Bindo and Ernesto built 2-litre Grand Prix cars for Diatto. In 1926, Diatto suspended the production of race cars, leading to the creation of the first Maserati and the founding of the Maserati marque. One of the first Maseratis, driven by Alfieri, won the 1926 Targa Florio. Maserati began making race cars with 4, 6, 8 and 16 cylinders (two straight-eights mounted parallel to one another). Another Maserati brother, Mario, an artist, is believed to have devised the company's trident emblem, based on the Fontana del Nettuno, Bologna.

Alfieri Maserati died in 1932, but three other brothers, Bindo, Ernesto and Ettore, kept the firm going, building cars that won races.

170)

matra: Mécanique Aviation Traction or Matra (Mécanique Aviation TRAction) was a French company covering a wide range of activities mainly related to automobile, bicycles, aeronautics and weaponry. In 1994, it became a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group and now operates under that name.

Matra was owned by the Floirat family. The name Matra became famous in the 1960s when it went into car production by buying Automobiles René Bonnet. Matra Automobiles produced racing cars and sports cars, and was successful in racing.

The company was created following the acquisition of the brand Automobiles René Bonnet in 1965 by Jean-Luc Lagardere and disappeared in 2003.

The Matra name was first used for road cars with the Renault-powered Matra Djet (pronounced "Jet"), which was an update of the Bonnet Jet, the Djet was replaced with the Matra 530, Bagheera, the Murena and the Rancho, an early type of SUV.

In 1984 Renault launched the Matra built Espace minivan, the car became a big success.

After the discontiniuation of the Renault Avantime (co-designed and built by Matra), on February 27, 2003 Matra announced its intention to close its automobile factory in Romorantin-Lanthenay, with the factory closing a month later.

In September 2003, Pininfarina SpA acquired Matra Automobile's engineering, testing and prototype businesses. The company was subsequently named Matra Automobile Engineering. On January 13, 2009, Pininfarina sold its share in Matra Automobile Engineering to Segula Technologies.

171)

maxus: The Maxus is a van model, originally produced by LDV Limited. It was launched in late 2004. The model was jointly developed by LDV and Daewoo Motor, prior to Daewoo entering receivership in 2000, in a five year, £500 million development programme. Following General Motors acquisition of Daewoo, LDV secured the exclusive rights to the vehicle, purchased the tooling and moved it from Daewoo's plant in Lublin, Poland to the LDV site in Birmingham. A version of the Maxus is manufactured by GAZ.

In 2011, the Chinese company Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) launched a new commercial vehicle marque called Maxus, following its acquisition of the intellectual property of LDV in 2010. The LDV Maxus model was relaunched by SAIC as the V80 in June 2011.

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maybach: Maybach-Motorenbau GmbH is a German luxury car manufacturer.

The company was founded in 1909 by Wilhelm Maybach and his son, originally a subsidiary of Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH and was itself known asLuftfahrzeug-Motorenbau GmbH until 1912.

Today, the ultra-luxury car brand is owned by Daimler AG and based in Stuttgart. Tognum AG based in Friedrichshafen manufactures the commercial Maybach diesel engines under the MTU brand through its subsidiary MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH.

Daimler announced in November 2011 that Maybach will cease to be a brand by 2013. This is due to poor sales, Maybach have only sold 3,000 cars since their revival in 2002.  The decision follows almost a decade of trying to make Maybach a profitable rival to Rolls Royce and Bentley. Maybach will be replaced by new and more luxurious models from the Mercedes brand, which is also owned by Daimler.

Wilhelm Maybach was technical director of the Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) until he left in 1907. On 23 March 1909 he founded the new company, Luftfahrzeug-Motorenbau GmbH (literally "Aircraft Engine Building Company"), with his son Karl Maybach as director. In 1912 they renamed it to Maybach-Motorenbau GmbH ("Maybach Engine Construction Company"). The company originally developed and manufactured diesel and petrol engines for Zeppelins, and then rail cars. Its Maybach Mb.I a was used in aircraft and airships of World War I.

The company first built an experimental car in 1919, introduced as a production model two years later at the Berlin Motor Show. Between 1921 and 1940, the company produced a variety of opulent vehicles, now regarded as classics. The company also continued to build heavy duty diesel engines for marine and rail purposes.

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mazda: Mazda Motor Corporatio is a Japanese automotive manufacturer based in Fuchū, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.

In 2007, Mazda produced almost 1.3 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly 1 million) were produced in the company's Japanese plants, with the remainder coming from a variety of other plants worldwide.

Mazda began as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd, founded in Japan in 1920. Toyo Cork Kogyo renamed itself to Toyo Kogyo Co., Ltd. in 1927. Toyo Kogyo moved from manufacturing machine tools to vehicles with the introduction of the Mazda-Go in 1931. Toyo Kogyo produced weapons for the Japanese military throughout the Second World War, most notably the series 30 through 35 Type 99 rifle. The company formally adopted the Mazda name in 1984, though every automobile sold from the beginning bore that name. The Mazda R360 was introduced in 1960, followed by the Mazda engines in 1962.

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mc larne: McLaren Racing Limited, trading as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, is a British Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, England, United Kingdom. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor but has also competed and won in the Indianapolis 500 andCanadian-American Challenge Cup (Can-Am). The team is the second oldest active team (after Ferrari) and one of the most successful teams in Formula One, having won 182 races, 12 drivers' championships and 8 constructors' championships.

Founded in 1963 by New Zealander Bruce McLaren, the team won its first Grand Prix at the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix but their greatest initial success was in Can-Am, where they dominated from 1967 to 1971. Further American triumph followed, with Indianapolis 500 wins in McLaren cars for Mark Donohue in 1972 and Johnny Rutherford in 1974 and 1976. After Bruce McLaren died in a testing accident in 1970,Teddy Mayer took over and led the team to their first Formula One constructors' championship in 1974, with Emerson Fittipaldi and James Hunt winning the drivers' championship in 1974 and 1976 respectively. 1974 also marked the start of a long standing sponsorship by Phillip Morris' Marlboro cigarette brand.

Bruce McLaren Motor Racing was founded in 1963 by New Zealander Bruce McLaren. Bruce was a works driver for the British Formula One team Cooper  with whom he had won three Grands Prix and come second in the 1960 world championship. Wanting to compete in the Australasian Tasman Series, Bruce approached his employers, but when team owner Charles Cooper insisted on using 1.5 litre Formula One-specification engines instead of the 2.5 litre motors permitted by the Tasman rules, Bruce decided to set up his own team to run him and his prospective Formula One team-mateTimmy Mayer with custom-built Cooper cars. Bruce won the 1964 series, but Mayer was killed in practice for the final race, prompting his brother and manager Teddy Mayer to become involved with the running of the team. In 1964 and 1965 McLaren were based in New Malden, then Feltham before settling on premises in Colnbrook. During this period Bruce drove for his team in sports car races in the United Kingdom and North America and also entered the 1965 Tasman Series with Phil Hill but didn't win it. He continued to drive in Grands Prix for Cooper but judging that team's form to be waning, decided to race his own cars in 1966.

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merkur: Merkur  was an automobile brand which was briefly marketed by Ford Motor Company in the United States and Canada from 1985 to 1989. The brand made only two entry-level luxury cars (as a smaller companion to Lincoln's large luxury cars).

Ford introduced the Merkur brand as a franchise separate from its other brands, and it was only offered to Lincoln-Mercury dealers, of which only about 800 accepted.

When the Merkur name was launched in North America, advertising and PR materials strongly urged the proper German pronunciation. Below the Merkur badge was a script stating FORD WERKE AG-Cologne, West Germany, indicating the car's place of manufacture.

Like the Capri before it, the Merkur was Ford's attempt at selling a European car in the North American market. However, Ford could not just import the cars and sell them; American government-mandated safety regulations dictated that Ford modify the design of the XR4Ti and Scorpio. This meant that the two cars were manufactured in Europe in a manner different from other European Fords.

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Messerschmitt: The Messerschmitt KR200, or Kabinenroller (Cabin Scooter), was a three-wheeled bubble car designed by the aircraft engineer Fritz Fend and produced in the factory of the German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt from 1955 to 1964.

Messerschmitt, temporarily not allowed to manufacture aircraft, had turned its resources to producing other commodities. In 1952, Fend approached Messerschmitt with the idea of manufacturing small motor vehicles. These were based on his Fend Flitzer invalid carriage.

The first of Fend's vehicles to enter production at Messerschmitt's Regensburg factory was the KR175. The title Kabinenroller means "scooter with cabin". While the Messerschmitt name and insignia were used on the car, a separate company, incorporated as Regensburger Stahl- und Metallbau GmbH, was created to manufacture and market the vehicle.

The KR200 replaced the KR175 in 1955. While using the same basic frame as the KR175 with changes to the bodywork (notably including wheel cutouts in the front fenders) and an improved canopy design, the KR200 was otherwise an almost total redesign. The rear suspension and engine mounting were reworked, and hydraulic shock absorbers were installed at all three wheels

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MG: The MG Car Company Limited was a former British sports car manufacturer founded in the 1920s by Cecil Kimber.

The original MG marque was in continuous use (barring the years of the Second World War) for 56 years after its inception. Production of predominantly two-seater sports cars was concentrated at a factory in Abingdon, some 10 miles (16 km) south of Oxford .The British Motor Corporation (BMC) competition department was also based at the Abingdon plant and produced many winning rally and race cars. In the autumn of 1980, however, the Abingdon factory closed and MGB production ceased.

Between 1982 and 1991, the MG marque was revived on sportier versions of Austin Rover's Metro, Maestro and Montego ranges. After an interval of barely one year, the MG marque was revived again, this time on the MG RV8 – an updated MGB Roadster with a Rover V8 engine, which was produced in low volumes.

A second revival came in the summer of 1995, when the high volume MG F two-seater roadster was launched. This was an instant hit with buyers, and sold in volumes which had been unthinkable on affordable two-seaters since the 1970s.

The MG marque passed, along with the Rover marque, to the MG Rover group in May 2000, when BMW "broke up" the Rover Group. This arrangement saw the return of MG badges on sportier Rover-based cars, and a revised MG F model, known as the MG TF, launched in 2002. However, all production ceased in April 2005 when MG Rover went into administration.

The assets of MG Rover were bought by Chinese carmaker Nanjing Automobile in July 2005 (subsequently bought by SAIC in December 2007), who now operate a UK subsidiary, MG Motor.

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MINI: The Mini is a small economy car that was made by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered a British icon of the 1960s, and its space-saving front-wheel drive layout – allowing 80 per cent of the area of the car's floorpan to be used for passengers and luggage – influenced a generation of car makers. The vehicle is in some ways considered the British equivalent of its German contemporary the Volkswagen Beetle, which enjoyed similar popularity in North America. In 1999 the Mini was voted the second most influential car of the 20th century, behind the Ford Model T

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mit suoka: Mitsuoka Motors is a small Japanese automobile company. It is noted for building cars with unconventional styling, some of which imitate British vehicles of the 1950s and 1960s. It is primarily a coachbuilder, taking production cars, like the Nissan March, and replacing the bodywork with its own custom designs. It has also produced a sports car, the Orochi. Mitsuoka Motors is also the principal distributor of retro-classicTD2000 roadster in Japan. Mitsuoka is the oldest Japanese auto manufacturer, and bases its current cars off Nissans and Infinitis. Also, it built just one ute version of the Viewt, which is in the U.K. It also makes its cars look like different cars (i.e., the Galue is meant to look like an older Rolls Royce).

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Mitsubishi: The Mitsubishi Group also known as the Mitsubishi Group of Companies or Mitsubishi Companies) is a Japanese multinational conglomerate comprising a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi brand, trademark, and legacy.

The Mitsubishi group of companies form a loose entity, the Mitsubishi Keiretsu, which is often referenced in Japanese and US media and official reports; in general these companies all descend from the zaibatsu of the same name. The top 25 companies are also members of the Mitsubishi Kin'yōkai, or "Friday Club", and meet monthly. In addition the Mitsubishi.com Committee exists to facilitate communication and access of the Mitsubishi brand through a portal web site.

The Mitsubishi company was first established as a shipping firm by Yatarō Iwasaki (1834–1885) in 1870. In 1873, its name was changed to Mitsubishi Shokai . The name Mitsubishi ( consists of two parts: "mitsu" meaning "three" and "hishi" (which becomes "bishi" under rendaku) meaning "water caltrop" (also called "water chestnut"), and hence "rhombus", which is reflected in the company's famous logo. It is also translated as "three diamonds".

Mitsubishi had been established in 1870, two years after the Meiji Restoration, with shipping as its core business. Its diversification was mostly into related fields. It entered into coal-mining to gain the coal needed for ships, bought a shipbuilding yard from the government to repair the ships it used, founded an iron mill to supply iron to the shipbuilding yard, started a marine insurance business to cater for its shipping business, and so forth. Later, the managerial resources and technological capabilities acquired through the operation of shipbuilding were utilized to expand the business further into the manufacture of aircraft and equipment. Similarly, the experience of overseas shipping led the firm to enter into a trading business.

The company bought into coal mining in 1881 by acquiring the Takashima mine and Hashima Island in 1890, using the production to fuel their extensive steamship fleet. They also diversified into shipbuilding, banking, insurance, warehousing, and trade. Later diversification carried the organization into such sectors as paper,steel, glass, electrical equipment, aircraft, oil, and real estate. As Mitsubishi built a broadly based conglomerate, it played a central role in the modernization of Japanese industry.

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Monteverdi: Monteverdi was a Swiss brand of luxury cars created in 1967 by Peter Monteverdi (1934–1998) and based in Binningen on the southern edge of Basel, Switzerland.

During the late 1950s and early 1960s Peter Monteverdi built, sold and raced a number of "specials" called MBM while at the same time developing the motor vehicle repair business founded by his father into a major dealership handling Ferrari, BMW and Lancia marques.

By 1967, he had decided to undertake series production of exclusive high performance luxury sports and touring cars. The first model, the 2-seater Monteverdi High Speed 375S coupé, was launched at that year's Frankfurt Motor Show and received very positive reviews. The car used a heavy and simple steel frame provided by Stahlbau Muttenz GmbH with an aluminium body designed by Pietro Frua. It looked quite similar to other Frua creations of that time, particularly the Maserati Mistral Coupé and the British AC 428. There are rumours that all the three shared some details like windows etc. The elegant looking car was powered by a 440c.i. (7.2  Litre) Chrysler V8 engine delivering up to 375 bhp (according to SAE standards) and had a luxurious interior finished to the highest standards. Eleven copies of the Frua-designed Monteverdi coupé were built from 1968 to 1969, then the alliance of Monteverdi and Frua split in anger. Not long before, Frua had built two 2+2 coupés with a stretched wheelbase. One of them was presented as Monteverdi 375/L, the other one stayed for some years at Frua before, in 1971, it was slightly modified and sold to AC where it was presented as a one-off AC 428.

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morgan: The Morgan Motor Company is a British motor car manufacturer. The company was founded in 1910 by Henry Frederick Stanley Morgan, generally known as "HFS" and was run by him until he died at age 77 in 1959. Peter Morgan, son of H.F.S., ran the company until a few years before his death in 2003. The company is currently headed by Charles Morgan, son of Peter Morgan.

Morgan is based in Malvern Link, an area of Malvern, Worcestershire and employs 163 people. Morgan produced 640 cars in 2007. All the cars are assembled by hand. The waiting list for a car is approximately one to two years, although it has been as high as ten years in the past.

The visitor centre and museum feature a guided tour of the factory and exhibits about the company's history from Edwardian times until the present day, developments in automobile technology, and a display of automobiles.

The early cars were two-seat or four-seat three-wheelers, and are therefore considered to be cyclecars. Three-wheeled vehicles avoided the British tax on cars by being classified as motorcycles. Competition from small cars like the Austin 7 and the original Morris Minor, with comparable economy and price and better comfort, made cyclecars less attractive.

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morris: Morris Motors Limited was a British motor vehicle manufacturer. Though merged into larger organisations, the Morris name remained in use until 1984 when British Leyland's Austin Rover Group decided to concentrate on the more popular Austin brand. The trademark is currently owned by the China-based automotive company SAIC after being transferred from bankrupt subsidiary Nanjing Automotive.

Morris Motors began in 1912 when bicycle manufacturer William Morris moved on from the sale, hire, and repair of cars to car manufacturing. He planned a new light car assembled from bought-in components. In this way he was able to retain ownership by keeping within the bounds of his own capital resources.

A factory was opened in 1913 at former Oxford Military College at Cowley, Oxford, United Kingdom where Morris's first car, the 2-seat Morris Oxford "Bullnose" was assembled. Nearly all the major components were bought-in.

In 1914 a coupé and van were added to the line-up but the Bullnose chassis was too short and the 1018 cc engine too small to make a much-needed 4-seat version of the car. White and Poppe, who made the engine, wanted more money than Morris was prepared to pay for a larger version, so Morris turned to Continental of Detroit, Michigan for the supply of a 1548 cc engine. Gearboxes and axles were also sourced in the US.

In spite of the outbreak of the First World War the orders were maintained and, from mid-1915 a new larger car, the 2-seat and 4-seat Morris Cowley was introduced.

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moskvitch: Moskvitch (sometimes also written as Moskvich, Moskvič or Moskwitsch) was an automobile brand from Russia produced by AZLK from 1945 to 1991 and by OAO Moskvitch from 1991 to 2002. The current article incorporates information about both the brand and the joint-stock successor of AZLK for the sake of simplicity.

OAO Moskvitch was a privatized venture name given to the former factory in order to avoid legal issues after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Since the factory had no assembly branches outside Russia after 1991, its name is largely used today to refer to the building located in Lower Eastern part of Moscow and abandoned since 2006.

The word moskvitch  itself translates as "(a) Muscovite" into English. It was used to point out the original location of the cars manufactured outside of Moscow

In 1929 the construction of Moscow Automotive Plant began with initial production of 24,000 vehicles. In 1941 the plant was evacuated to Ural and the entire production converted for the manufacture of the military equipment at the dawn of World War II. After the war, the USSR brought an entire Opel manufacturing line from Brandenburg in Germany. A factory called MZMA (Moskovsky Zavod Malolitrazhnykh Avtomobiley, that is, Moscow Compact Car Factory) started in 1947 to manufacture an automobile called Moskvitch 400 based on the Opel Kadett. Further models were developed by Soviet engineers. In 1969, the factory changed name to AZLK (Avtomobilny Zavod imeni Leninskogo Komsomola, which means Car Factory in the name of the Leninist Communist Youth Union).

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mustang: The Ford Mustang is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. It was initially based on the second generation North American Ford Falcon, a compact car. Introduced early on April 17, 1964, dubbed as a "1964" model by Mustang fans, the 1965 Mustang was the automaker's most successful launch since the Model A. The model is Ford's third oldest nameplate in production and has undergone several transformations to its current fifth generation.

The Mustang created the "pony car" class of American automobiles—sports car-like coupes with long hoods and short rear decksand gave rise to competitors such as GM's Chevrolet Camaro, AMC's Javelin, and Chrysler's revamped Plymouth Barracudas and Dodge Challengers. It also inspired coupés such as the Toyota Celica and Ford Capri, which were exported to the United States.

The Ford Mustang was brought out five months before the normal start of the 1965 production year. The earliest versions are often referred to as 1964 models, but VIN coded by Ford and titled as 1965 models with production beginning in Dearborn, Michigan on March 9, 1964 and the new car was introduced to the public on April 17, 1964 at the New York World's Fair.

Executive stylist John Najjar, who was a fan of the World War II P-51 Mustang fighter plane, is credited by Ford to have suggested the name.John Najjar co-designed the first prototype of the Ford Mustang known as Ford Mustang I in 1961, working jointly with fellow Ford stylist Philip T. Clark. The Mustang I made its formal debut at the United States Grand Prix in Watkins Glen, New York on October 7, 1962, where test driver and contemporary Formula One race driver Dan Gurney lapped the track in a demonstration using the second "race" prototype. His lap times were only slightly off the pace of the F1 race cars.

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MVS: Venturi Automobiles is a French manufacturer of sports cars born under the name of MVS (Manufacture de Voitures de Sport). The original company built high performance mid-engined sports cars, the most well known of which is the Venturi Atlantique, from 1984 until it declared bankruptcy in 2000.

The brand was purchased in 2001. It is now based in Monaco and builds extremely limited production electric vehicles.

The first Venturi came out in 1984, created by Claude Poiraud and Gérard Godfroy, two former engineers at Heuliez. The goal was to present the only "Grand Tourisme" French car capable of competing with the French Bugatti, the Italian Ferrari, and the German Porsche. The headquarters of the company were located in Couëron, Pays de Loire, where almost 750 cars were produced in 20 years.

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neckar: Neckar was a German automobile manufacturer which produced Fiat and Autobianchi vehicles under license in Heilbronn from 1957 to 1971.

NSU had sold its Heilbronn factory (near the river Neckar) in 1929 to Fiat due to the economic crisis. Fiat started to produce Fiat Topolinos and Balillas models under license in this factory under the brand NSU-Fiat. The same models were also produced under license in France by SIMCA-Fiat.

In 1957, NSU decided to restart the production of personal cars and asked this Fiat licensee to change its name; therefore NSU-Fiat became Neckar. Neckar was producing less than 25,000 vehicles a year, Fiat 500 (Neckar Weinsberg), 600 (Neckar Jagst) and 1100 (Neckar Europa) slightly modified, often more luxurious and sporty than the Fiats produced in Turin.

The launch of the Fiat 1500 in 1961 and of the Neckar Panorama (derived from the Autobianchi Bianchina) allowed Neckar to reach a yearly production of 50,000 units in 1962. A coupe derived from the 1500 and called the Neckar Mistral was designed. A coupe and a convertible based on the Fiat 600 was produced as the Neckar Riviera. The Fiat 850 (as the Neckar Adria) was the last model produced by Neckar.

The high cost of the German workforce (compared to the Italian one) doomed Neckar. Fiat refused to sell the license of the new Fiat 124, 125 and 128 to Neckar. Production of Neckar slowed down from 1963. 50,000 cars were produced in 1962, down to 44,000 units in 1963, 22,000 in 1964, 18,000 in 1967 and 12,000 in 1970. Neckar closed in 1971 having produced 370,000 cars in total.

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Nissan: Nissan Motor Company Ltd , usually shortened to Nissan is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Japan. It was a core member of the Nissan Group, but has become more independent after its restructuring under Carlos Ghosn (CEO).

Nissan was the sixth largest automaker in the world behind General Motors, Volkswagen AG, Toyota, Hyundai Motor Group, and Ford in 2011. It formerly marketed vehicles under the "Datsun" brand name. As of 2011, the company's global headquarters is located in Nishi-ku, Yokohama. In 1999, Nissan entered a two way alliance with Renault S.A. of France, which owns 43.4% of Nissan while Nissan holds 15% of Renault shares, as of 2008. Along with its normal range of models, Nissan also produces a range of luxury models branded as Infiniti.

Masujiro Hashimoto founded The Kwaishinsha Motor Car Works in 1911. In 1914, the company produced its first car, called DAT.

The new car's name was an acronym of the company's investors' family names:

·         Kenjiro Den 

·         Rokuro Aoyama

·         Meitaro Takeuchi .

It was renamed to Kwaishinsha Motorcar Co., Ltd. in 1918, and again to DAT Motorcar Co. in 1925. DAT Motors built trucks in addition to the DAT and Datsun passenger cars. The vast majority of its output were trucks, due to an almost non-existent consumer market for passenger cars at the time. Beginning in 1918, the first DAT trucks were produced for the military market. It was the low demand of the military market in the 1920s that forced DAT to merge in 1926 with Japan's second most successful truck maker, Jitsuyo Motors.

In 1926 the Tokyo-based DAT Motors merged with the Osaka-based Jitsuyo Jidosha Co., Ltd.  a.k.a. Jitsuyo Motors (established 1919, as a Kubota subsidiary) to become DAT Automobile Manufacturing Co., Ltd.  in Osaka until 1932. (Jitsuyo Jidosha began producing a three-wheeled vehicle with an enclosed cab called the Gorham in 1920, and the following year produced a four-wheeled version. From 1923 to 1925, the company produced light cars and trucks under the name of Lila.)

In 1931, DAT came out with a new smaller car, the first "Datson", meaning "Son of DAT". Later in 1933 after Nissan took control of DAT Motors, the last syllable of Datson was changed to "sun", because "son" also means "loss"in Japanese, hence the name "Datsun"

In 1933, the company name was Nipponized to Jidosha-Seizo Co., Ltd "Automobile Manufacturing Co., Ltd.") and was moved to Yokohama.

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noble: Noble Automotive Ltd., more commonly known simply as Noble, is a British sports car manufacturer.

It was established in 1999 by Lee Noble in Leeds, West Yorkshire, for producing high-speed sports cars with a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel drive layout. Lee Noble was the chief designer and owner of Noble. He sold the company in August 2006. He resigned from the company in February 2008 and announced his new venture, Fenix Automotive in 2009.The company has since moved to larger premises at Meridian Business Park near Leicester.

Noble is a low-production British sports car company, its past products include the M12 GTO, M12 GTO-3, M12 GTO-3R and Noble M400. The M12 GTO-3R and M400 share chassis and body, but have minor differences in engines and suspensions. The M15 has a new space frame chassis. The body and chassis of the Noble is built by Hi-Tech Automotive in Port Elizabeth, South Africa alongside Superformance cars. Once the body shell is completed, it is sent to the Noble factory where the engines, transmissions, etc. are added.

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nota car: Nota is an automobile manufacturer in Australia. The company was founded by Guy Buckingham in 1952. He was an aircraft engineer and used his expertise to build triangulated spaceframed sportscars. Possibly Australia's first space-framed cars. In 1958 the company built a series of all-enveloping aluminium streamlined sports cars. First called "Streamliners", and later called "Mazengarbs". Up to 1960 eleven of those were made. In the late 1950s the company produced Formula Junior cars. In 1963 the company started with Mini powered sports cars. In 1964 they started production of the Nota Sapphire. In 1965 they started with Formula Vee cars. In the 1960s the company started with their "Sportsman", a Lotus 7 lookalike. In 1968 came the Nota Fang, their most successful model with over 100 being made. In 1973 Nota started with their Marauder range of cars. At first they used the same mechanicals as the Nota Fang, but in 1974 the Nota Levanti front engine twin cam was released. In 1975 the supply of Leyland 1275 GT engines started to ran out so Nota contacted FIAT and both Marauders and Fangs were made with the 2-litre twin cam FIAT/Lancia engine.

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NSU: The NSU Prinz is an automobile produced in West Germany by the NSU Motorenwerke AG. The car was built from 1957 to 1973, and received a model change in 1961 (the old model was continued until 1962).

When NSU was acquired by Volkswagen in 1969, it was merged with Auto Union AG. Auto Union had previously been taken over by VW in 1964 and produced mid-sized cars, resurrecting the Audi marque. The name of the new company changed to Audi NSU Auto Union AG. The small, rear-engined NSUs were phased out in 1973, as they were far too competitive against Volkswagen's own Type 1 and production capacity was needed for larger and more profitable Audis. The successor of the NSU Prinz was the front-wheel drive Audi 50, later rebadged Volkswagen Polo.

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olds mobile: Oldsmobile was a brand of American automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory. Ironically, when it was phased out in 2004, Oldsmobile was the oldest surviving American automobile marque, and one of the oldest in the world, after Daimler, Peugeot and Tatra. The closing of the Oldsmobile division presaged a larger consolidation of GM brands and discontinuation of models during the company's 2009bankruptcy reorganization.

Oldsmobiles were first manufactured by the Olds Motor Works in Lansing, Michigan, a company founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In 1901, the company produced 425 cars, making it the first high-volume gasoline-powered automobile manufacturer. Oldsmobile became the top selling car company in the United States for a few years. Ransom Olds left the company in financial difficulties and formed the REO Motor Car Company. The last Curved Dash Oldsmobile was made in 1907. General Motors purchased the company in 1908.

The 1901 to 1904 Oldsmobile Curved Dash was the first mass-produced car, made from the first automotive assembly line, an invention that is often miscredited to Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company. (Ford was the first to manufacture cars on a moving assembly line.) After Olds sold the company in 1899, it was renamed Olds Motor Works and moved to a new plant in Detroit. By March 1901, the company had a whole line of models ready for mass production. Unfortunately, a mistake by a worker caused the factory to catch fire, and it burned to the ground, with all of the prototypes destroyed. The only car that survived the fire was a Curved Dash prototype, which was wheeled out of the factory by two workers while escaping the fire. A new factory was built, and production of the Curved Dash commenced.

Officially, the cars were called "Oldsmobile automobiles," colloquially referred to as "Oldsmobiles." It was this moniker, as applied especially to the Oldsmobile Curved Dash, that was popularized in the lyrics and title of the 1905 hit song "In My Merry Oldsmobile."

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oltcit: Oltcit  was an automobile manufacturer, established as a joint venture between the Romanian government (64%) and Citroën (36%).Their main product was the Oltcit Club / Citroën Axel hatchback, assembled in Craiova, Romania.

In 1991, as a result of the withdrawal of Citroën from the joint venture, the name of the company was changed to Automobile Craiova and production continued under the Oltena brand.

In 1994, the company decided to go into partnership (49%-51%) with Korean company Daewoo Heavy Industries and Rodae Automobile was established, later renamed into Daewoo Automobile Romania.

The name "Oltcit" comes from the region of Oltenia in Romania, with "cit" being an abbreviation of Citroën. The Oltcit logo is also similar to the Citroën one, but features only one chevron, as opposed to the two found on Citroën's logo, plus the letter "O".

194)

opel: Adam Opel AG (Opel) is a German automobile company founded by Adam Opel in 1862. Opel has been building automobiles since 1899, and became an Aktiengesellschaft in 1929. The company is headquartered in Rüsselsheim, Hesse, Germany. It became a majority-stake subsidiary of the US based General Motors in 1929 and has been a wholly owned subsidiary since 1931.

In 2010, Opel announced that it will invest around €11 billion in the next five years. One billion of that is designated solely for the development of innovative and fuel-saving engines and transmissions.

The company was founded in Rüsselsheim, Hesse, Germany, on January 21, 1862, by Adam Opel. At the beginning, Opel just produced sewing machines in a cowshed in Rüsselsheim. Above all, his success was based on his perfectly customized sewing machines. Because of the quick growth of his business, in 1888 the production was relocated from the cowshed to a more spacious building in Rüsselsheim. Encouraged by success, Adam Opel launched a new product in 1886: He began to sell high-wheel bicycles, also known as penny-farthings. Besides, Opel's two sons participated in high-wheel bicycle races and thus promoted this means of transportation. Therefore, the production of high-wheel bicycles soon exceeded the production of sewing machines. At the time of Opel's death in 1895, he was the leader in both markets.

The first cars were produced in 1899 after Opel's sons entered into a partnership with Friedrich Lutzmann, a locksmith at the court in Dessau in Saxony-Anhalt, who had been working on automobile designs for some time. These cars were not very successful and so the partnership was dissolved after two years, following which Opel's sons signed a licensing agreement in 1901 with the French Automobiles Darracq S.A. to manufacture vehicles under the brand name "Opel Darracq". These cars were made up of Opel bodies mounted on a Darracq chassis, powered by a two-cylinder engine.

The company first showed cars of its own design at the 1902 Hamburg Motor Show, and started manufacturing them in 1906, with Opel Darracq production being discontinued in 1907.

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paccar: Paccar Inc (stylized as PACCAR, Inc.) is the third largest manufacturer of heavy-duty trucks in the world (after Daimler AG and Volvo), and has substantial manufacture in light and medium vehicles through its various subsidiaries.

Based in Bellevue, Washington, in the Seattle Metropolitan area. It was founded in 1905 by William Pigott, Sr., as the Seattle Car Manufacturing Company. Its original business was the production of railway and logging equipment. Upon a subsequent merger with a Portland, Oregon, firm, Twohy Brothers, Seattle Car Manufacturing Company became the Pacific Car and Foundry Company. In 1924, the founder, William Pigott sold a controlling interest in the company to American Car and Foundry Company. However, his son, Paul Pigott reacquired a significant interest in the company from American Car and Foundry Company in 1934.

196)

pagani zonda: The Pagani Zonda is a sports car built by the Italian manufacturer Pagani. It debuted in 1999, and production ended in 2011, with three special edition cars, the Zonda 760RS, Zonda 760LH and the Zonda 764 Passione, being produced in 2012. As of June 2009, 206 Zondas had been built, including test mules. Both 2-seat coupe and convertible versions have been produced. Construction is mainly of carbon fiber.

Some of the early Zonda engineering was done by Formula One champion Juan Manuel Fangio. The car was originally to be named the "Fangio F1" after him but, following his death in 1995, it was renamed for an air current above Argentina.