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Maserati and Lamborghini pull out of Iran

Daimler is out, Toyota is out, Porsche is out, Hyundai, PSA Peugeot-Citroën are out and when it comes to selling cars in Iran, now Maserati and Lamborghini are out, too. The definitive pullouts of those last two automakers are said to be reactions to a press conference held by a group called United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI). The group highlights businesses that sell in both the US market and Iran, and works to get those businesses to choose one market or the other.
UANI said it had sent letters to Maserati and Lamborghini about their dealings in Iran, but that the letters went unanswered. Mark Wallace, head of UANI and a former US ambassador to the United Nations, held a press conference in October of last year that referenced the two companies. Apparently Lamborghini contacted Wallace just after the press conference and told him "they were out, they weren't doing any business in Iran anymore."
Discussions with Maserati then took place, and the Italian automaker said it had been out of Iran ever since Fiat announced it was leaving the country in May 2011. UANI said Maserati had been in talks with an Iranian distributor, however, and that distributor was continuing to use the Maserati name. The carmaker has since cut all ties with Iranian interests and has prevented its name from being used, adding that its new models will not be able to be sold there because they won't pass regulations the country's regulations.

Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #323 LIVE!

We're set to record Autoblog Podcast #323 tonight, and you can drop us your questions and comments regarding the rest of the week's news via our Q&A module below. Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven't already done so, and if you want to take it all in live, tune in to our UStream (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.
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Rear-wheel-drive Lamborghini Huracan coming to LA

We've got an invite to attend a "Lamborghini global product debut" in Los Angeles, and if an Autocar report is legit, it looks like that new car will be a rear-wheel-drive version of the Huracan. Despite touting all-wheel drive across its model range, Lamborghini did offer a rear-drive version of the Gallardo – the Huracan's predecessor – so a two-wheel-drive version of the new car makes a whole lot of sense. Autocar believes the RWD Huracan will be a lighter, more hardcore version of the already-good coupe. This new model is also tipped to be a limited-production car. The two-wheel-drive Gallardo was limited to just 250 units worldwide, and the same could be in store for this Huracan. Also, remember that Lamborghini does technically already make a rear-wheel-drive version of the Huracan: the LP 620-2 Super Trofeo racecar. What's more, Autocar says that Lamborghini could offer a rear-drive version of the topless Huracan LP 610-4 Spyder. Seems like an easy thing to do, especially if this RWD Huracan is, in fact, a more powerful, lightweight take on the entry-level Lambo. We'll know more during the Los Angeles Auto Show festivities, which kick off in just two weeks. Related Video: