Author: yoann besnard

Ford boss gets £10.9 mllion in 2007
Ford Motor Company released its 2007 Annual Report which reveals valuable information at a time when the carmaker is losing money in the US. Ford Mulally earned £10.9/$21,6 million 2007.
After a massive loss of $12.5 Billion in 2006, the company recorded a news $2.7 Billion loss last year. Part of the plan to restructure the group is the deal sign with the union enabling the carmaker to recruit new employees at a lower price. But Alan Mulally doesn’t seem to be concerned by the new deal as his total compensation for last year reach £10,9 million.
Alan Mulally, Ford president and CEO, earned £1 million in salary and received incentive bonus awards of £3.5 million. In 2006, Ford had given £20 million to the CEO to convince him to quit Boeing for Ford.
April 7, 2008
Volkswagen Recalling 410,000 Passats in the U.S
Volkswagen has announced it will recall every petrol-powered 410,000 Passat sold in the US between 1999 and 2005 to fix a few defects which might cause concern for safety.
The concerned vehicles might have a faulty heat shield near the catalytic converter. Along with this problem VW will also fix a faulty fuel line on the turbocharged 1.8-litre powered models and a potential damaged fuel tank ventilation valves on all-wheel drive models.
No injuries or accidents have been linked to the recall issues and owner will be contacted by end of May.
April 7, 2008
Learn Volvo’s history in 9 Minutes
If you know little about the Swedish carmaker’s history, take the opportunity to update your car expertise thanks to this video.
April 7, 2008
More images of the Defender SVX
Land Rover has released more pictures of the Defender SVX, a limited edition launched to celebrate the carmaker’s 60th anniversary.
Due to be delivered to the first customers in the summer, the Defender SVX comes with metallic black paintwork and satin black graphic decals. The limited edition Defender features new, ‘diamond turned’ five-spoke alloy wheels, a reinforced aluminium front undershield and LED rear lights. On the inside, it is equipped with custom-designed Recaro front seats, distinctive alloy gear knobs, a new audio system, iPod cradle and Garmin satellite navigation.
The Defender SVX is available in both 90 soft-top and 90 station wagon versions. The soft-top models comes with a metallic silver tubular cage that supports a tailor-made, removable black fabric hood. Each SVX model for the UK will also come fitted with an individually numbered plaque, e.g. 001. A total of 200 SVX vehicles will be made available in the UK – 140 two-seat Defender 90 soft-tops and 60 four-seat 90 station wagons.

April 7, 2008
Spyshots: Facelifted 911 spotted
The expected facelifted 911 has been spotted by spy photographers during testing. The facelift will be evolutionary on the outside while the real changes will be hidden.
As usual, the The next 911 won’t feature heavy styling changes. The spied 911 had a slightly revised front and rear fascia while adopting new LED lights and a new exhaust system. What you can’t see is where Porsche engineers have focused their efforts. The six cylinder engine will see its displacement being increased from 3.6-litre to 3.8-litre and is rumoured to see its power being increased by 10-15%. The petrol unit will get the same direct-injection system introduced in the Cayenne last year. For the first time, the engine will be hooked up to a dual clutch gearbox, dubbed Porsche Doppel Kupplungen, or just PDK for short. The new gearbox is derived from the Volkswagen’s DSG gearbox.
The legendary sports car is expected to hit the showrooms in autumn of this year. All standard models, Carrera, Carrera S, Carrera 4, Carrera 4S will revamped as the same time. There are no information regarding the 911 Turbo which suffered from the comparison with the NIssan GT-R.

Click here to see the pictures
Source: Car Magazine
April 7, 2008
Audi R8 V12 TDI practicing singing exercises
Until now the V12-diesel-powered Audi R8 has haunted the motorshows, but hasn’t revealed more details yet. Here is the sound of the V12 TDI.
The German news magazine, Der Spiegel has recorded the V12 engines and is offering to listen to the music form the inside, the outside, in acceleration, and at normal pace. It’s still possible to hear the traditional diesel’s noise, but high revs are still impressive.
Click here to listen to the V12 TDI
April 7, 2008
Leaked pictures of the 7-seater Qashqai
Leaked pictures and details about the 7-seater Qashqai have emerged on the Internet
Dubbed Qashqai+2, the new derived model will be launched at the next London Motor Show in July. In order to fit two seats in the luggage compartment, Nissan designers have lengthened the roofline and redesigned the rear profile of the crossover model. The rear doors have also been redesigned and features a square window.
At 4,526 mm long, the Qashqai+2 is 211 mm longer than the normal Qashqai while the wheelbase has been lengthened by 135 mm. At 1,643 mm the Qashqai+2 is 38 mm higher increasing the headroom for rear passengers by 16 mm for the second row of seats and 10 mm for the third seat row. Nissan claims that third row of foldable seats can fit children or adults up to 5.2 ft tall. When the third seat row is folded away, the boot reaches a 500-litre capacity. As a result of these changes, the Qashqai is 22 lbs heavier than the five-seater model.
The Qashqai+2 will ba available with petrol and diesel engines. The entry level will be powred by a 115bhp 1.6-litre unit followed by a 140bhp 2.0-litre engine. The diesel engines will be the 106bhp 1.5-litre unit and the new 150bhp 2.0-litre both outsourced from Renault. While the two smaller engines will be only available with front-wheel drive, the 2.0-litre diesel and petrol models will also come with a four-wheel drive transmission.
April 7, 2008
Mercedes-Benz to buy Aston Martin?
According to company sources, Mercedes is interested in buying a stake in the British carmaker Aston Martin.
Neither Mercedes nor Aston Martin have confirmed the rumour but the news comes after Aston Martin has been reported to be interested in the German carmaker’s hybrid technologies. Mercedes will certainly get attention from the Kuwait-based Investment Dar which bought a stake in Aston Martin last year. As soon as the deal was signed the investment firm had said it wanted to sell its stake.
Buying a stake in Aston Martin would enable Mercedes to buy a place in the luxury segment at a time when Maybach’s future is shadowed. After the SLR production ends at the end of the year, Mercedes will separate from McLaren. For Aston Martin, the situation has been less than easy since its split with Ford. if the British marque wants to survive, it will likely need the support of a bigger manufacture to share at least the cost of compliance with the stricter emission regulation which appear in the world.
Source: Autocar
April 7, 2008
Skoda Superb Break
According to rumours, Skoda is working on a Superb Estate which might have spotted in Northern Europe.
At first glance, the photographed estate looks like a normal Octavia model, but a close look reveals a lengthened wheelbase. Company sources have reported that the recently launched Skoda Superb will be added an estate variant due to hit the showrooms in 2010, nearly two years after the saloon. The Superb Estate will likely get its engine range from the saloon from the 138bhp 1.4-litre TSI to the 276bhp 3.6-litre V6 for the petrol units and from 113bhp to 168bhp for the TDI family.
The Superb estate will be Skoda’s first attempt to take on the established Volvo estates. In the Volkswagen Group, Skoda has to compete with the Swedish carmaker. Until now, the current range wasn’t able to compete as Skoda’s lineup features smaller models than that of Volvo. The future estate might change the order.

Click here to see all the spyshots
Source: Worldcarfans
April 6, 2008
Citroen unveils revamped C2
Citroen has unveiled the facelifted C2 four years after its launch. The revamped supermini comes with minor styling changes and a new diesel engine which should be just enough to maintain its sales.
The C2 belongs to the former generation of Citroen models and doesn’t feature an appealing design like the C4 or the new C5. However, the French carmaker decided to give it a slight facelift which includes a new front bumper and a new radiator grille with wider and bigger chevrons. One will need a trained eye to spot the the C2 before and after the facelift.
A new engine has been added to the range in some countries. The 1.6-litre HDI engine delivers a power output of 110 Hp at 4,000 rpm and maximum torque of 177 lb ft at 1,750 rpm. Citroen claims the C2 1.6-litre HDI achieves 53MPG and emits 119 g CO2 per km.
April 6, 2008