Great Wall banned from importing GWPeri minicar

A Turin court ruled this week that a Chinese minicar built by independent automaker Great Wall won't be allowed into Europe.

The court said the GWPeri minicar is too similar to the Fiat Panda.

Fiat sued Great Wall both in Italy and in China. Those moves were aimed at keeping the GWPeri out of the European Union and out of China. Fiat alleged that the car was a clone of its Panda minicar.

On July 16, a Turin court accepted Fiat's claims, saying in its ruling "the (GWPeri) doesn't look like a different car but is a (Fiat) Panda with a different front end."

The court ruled that Great Wall should pay a 15,000-euro fine for the first GWPeri imported in Europe. In case of further violations of the ruling, the fine grows to 50,000 euros per imported car.

Lawyers for Great Wall said the company will appeal the Turin court decision.

The court case in China is still pending. Earlier this year, Great Wall starting selling the GWPeri in China.

Fiat doesn't sell the Panda in China. The car has been Europe's best selling minicar since 2004.

New Camaro photos released

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One of the worst-kept secrets -- the production looks of the new Camaro -- is officially out in the open.

Several automotive Web and blog sites posted the shots of the car, which is nearly identical to what has been seen before. It goes on sale in February 2009, followed by a convertible in November.

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It's modified slightly, but the production car carried much of the vibe of the concept that was revealed at the Detroit auto show in 2006.

The interior has a slight retro feel, accented by halogen gauges and a racing-inspired steering wheel.

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The car will get a 6.0-liter V8 powerplant that makes more than 400 hp and a 3.6-liter V6 that tops 300 hp. A 2.0 liter, 260-hp turbocharged four, similar to what's in the Pontiac Solstice, will also likely be available. Engines will be mated to manual or automatic transmissions.

The car is also expected to have an SS badge.

The "official" reveal is scheduled for Monday afternoon.