Author: yoann besnard

Profits for Seat in 2007
Seat has recorded a profit after tax of £135 million/€170 million which marks the achievement of the planned financial turnaround one year ahead of schedule.
In 2007 the Spanish carmaker increased its deliveries to customers by 0.4 percent to 431,000. Best performing markets were the United Kingdom with +5.8% and France with +5.1% as well as the new markets of Central and Eastern Europe with a global +27.3%. Poland recorded an outstanding growth with a 70.6% increase. The most popular models were, of course, the Leon and the Ibiza.
The good news enables Seat to invest in the future. As Seat CEO, Erich Schmidt said, “Our strategy for the next ten years aims at selling more than 800,000 cars per year, gaining a return on investment of 15 percent, gaining leadership in design and quality in our model segments and becoming Spain’s most attractive employer.”
The company will unveil the next-generation Ibiza in May already seen as a concept car called Bocanegra in Geneva.
March 28, 2008
Peugeot and Citroen SUVs to be built in europe from 2009
The Peugeot 4007 and Citroën C-Crosser will be manufactured in Europe from 2009
PSA Peugeot Citroën has announced the production of its SUVs will be transferred from Japan to Europe.
PSA agreed with its partner Mitsubishi to transfer the production of the Peugeot 4007 and Citroën C-Crosser to Europe. Currently assembled in the Japanese Mizushima factory, the SUVs will be manufactured in the Dutch "Ned Car" factory, which is also owned by Mitsubishi.
The relocation will enable the French group to respond to the European demand. The Peugeot 4007 and Citroën C-Crosser are based on the Mitsubishi Outlander.
March 28, 2008
Mercedes unveils the facelifted A-Class
Mercedes has unveiled the first pictures of the facelifted A-Class due to be launched at next week’s Leipzig motor show.
The facelift is very subtle. The A-Class features new front and rear bumpers, redesigned headlights, a new grille and new tail lamps. On the inside,there are a range of newupholstery fabrics and door trim. What’s interesting about the revamped A-Class is what you can’t see: environment and safety.
The German carmaker claims the revamped A-Class is more environmentally friendly thanks to a new start/stop function featured on a new BlueEfficiency package only available on the A 150, A170 and A 160 CDI. The system automatically switches the engine off when the driver shifts to neutral at low speed whilst depressing the brake pedal. A special display in the instrument cluster informs the driver if the conditions for switching off the engine are met The moment the clutch is pressed or the brake pedal released, the engine springs back to life almost noiselessly and in a fraction of a second.
Mercedes has also enhanced safety in the A-Class by featuring adaptive brake lights. During emergency braking when travelling at more than 50 km/h, the brake lights flash at high frequency to warn drivers behind who can consequently react faster and are in a better position to prevent an accident. The revamped A-Class also sets new standards in this market segment in the area of occupant protection with two-stage front airbags, belt tensioners for the front and outer rear seats, belt force limiters, active front head restraints and head/thorax sidebags. Mercedes has added a crash-responsive emergency lighting in the interior, which comes on automatically after an accident of a defined severity to provide occupants with better orientation and make the task of the emergency services easier.
The optional equipment becomes more luxurious with reverse parking detectors and new navigation systems offering Bluetooth, colour display and Europe-wide navigation.
The facelifted A-Class will go on sale in the UK from June.
March 28, 2008
Daihatsu Materia goes ‘groovy’
Daihatsu models are almost unknown in Europe and you probably didn’t that the Materia was sold in the UK. Aware of the problem, Nick Morgan had a psychedelic idea to promote the car.
Lynx Daihatsu of Yeovil Somerset organised a brainstorming among its staff to promote the Materia and aftersales manager Nick Morgan came up with the idea of a head-turning ‘groovy’ graphics with a ‘Flower Power’ flavour.
“We all sat down and brainstormed how to promote this quirky car and I came up with the idea of a psychedelic theme. The inspiration was a pop video on YouTube called ‘Groove Is In The Heart’ by Deee-Lite.”
So far the car has been displayed in various supermarkets and town centres in the area and Lynx Daihatsu has also produced special ‘Get In The Groove’ hand-out cards.
Dealer Principal, Derek Bunning, says it is difficult to quantify Materia sales as a result of the campaign but at least one Sirion was sold to someone who visited the showroom after seeing the funky Materia promotional car.
March 27, 2008
HPI survey reveals the Porsche 911 is the ultimate in 80s cars
The Porsche 911 has been elected the ultimate of the 80s in a survey conducted by HPI. The Audi Quattro ranked second.
With the hit BBC TV series, Ashes to Ashes drawing to a close this week, the Porsche 911 took almost a third of all votes 29%, just pipping the Audi Quattro with 28%, to be crowned the decades most desirable car. Both cars left their 80s rivals trailing in the dust, with only the Ford Sierra RS Cosworth and BMW M5 to make any impression in the survey with 15% and 12% respectively.
The survey also asked respondents about which iconic cars from that period they most fondly remembered, and it was another TV car that swept all before it. The Ford Capri SLE 71R, immortalised by Terry McCann in Minder, polled 30% of the votes, receiving more than twice as many votes as the Jaguar XJ6 driven by his TV boss Arthur Daly which polled 11%. Sonny Crockett’s Ferrari Testarossa also proved memorable with the Miami Vice car getting 26% of the votes. The DeLorean DMC12 from Back to the Future was next with 23% and the Ferrari 308, as driven by Magnum, scooped up 21% of the vote.
FInally it wasn’t all high performance vehicles that were fondly regarded, the Reliant Regal – the three-wheeler of choice of Del Trotter in Only Fools & Horses came fifth with 19%.
March 27, 2008
Video: Alfa Romeo 159 GTA
Here is a video of the expected but not confirmed future Alfa Romeo 159 GTA likely to be powered by a Maserati V8 engine.
The 156 GTA was highly praised for its Italian V6. The upcoming 159 GTA will also be praised for its engine, a V8 unit likely to be outsourced from Maserati. The video confirms the 159 GTA features a big engine whose sounds are similar to that of a V8 petrol unit. The car was filmed near the Nurburgring where Alfa was conducting driving tests. The car features huge side vents behind the front wheels.
Details remains scarce regarding the engine although some observers believe that the 159 GTA will be powered by the 4.2-litre V8 seen on the Granturismo coupé. However it is also rumoured that the GTA might get the 4.7-litre from the 8C flagship. In both cases, it seems that the engine would be detuned.
March 27, 2008
BMW to end V8 diesel engine
BMW plans to end V8 diesel production due to stricter emission regulations better fuel efficiency demanded by customers.
The stricter regulations made another victim among the engines as BMW stopped producing the rare V8 diesel engine. In an interview with Auto Motor und Sport, the company CEO Norbert Reithofer said that the carmaker would focus on the smaller six cylinder engines which offer similar performances with the help of turbocharging and direct injection technology while meeting the tougher regulations.
Mercedes has similar plans although the company didn’t confirm such plans. Audi is standing against the trend as the carmaker released a V12 TDi engine at Geneva and plans to launch a more powerful version of the 4.2-litre V8 unit.
Codenamed M67, the V8 diesel appeared for the first time in 1999 under the form of a 3.9-litre unit which won the "3-4-litre" category of the International Engine of the Year award for 1999 and 2000. It delivered 234bhp in its first version. Its power jumped to 241 bhp in 2000 and to 254bhp in 2001. It grew in size in 2005 and became a 4.4-litre unit with a power output of 299bhp. In 2006 its power was increased to 329bhp.
March 27, 2008
Smart ForTwo meets success in the US
The Smart ForTwo is meeting a strong demand on the American Market since its launch, but
The demand for the Smart ForTwo is so strong that its American importer, Roger Penske says that he can sell 40,000 vehicles this year although Smart only planned to deliver 25,000 of them to the US. Some customers are expected to wait for the next year batch to be delivered.
The SMart ForTwo is currently being sold through a network of 67 dealers, mainly Mercedes-Benz showrooms. That number will be increased to 74 showrooms by 2009. In the meantime, it is reported that dealers a recording a strong 25% cancellation rate. David Schembri, president of Smart USA, declined to confirm the report.
Source: Autoweek
March 27, 2008
Ford to build a Fiesta RS
After launching the Focus RS that Petrol-Head reported in a previous post, Ford plans to sell a hot Fiesta under the RS moniker.
Like the Focus, the new Fiesta will get a ST version, but Ford would also launch a high-performance RS according to AutoExpress. The car would be powered by a turbocharged 1.6-litre petrol engine delivering a power output of 200bhp. The planned RS would compete with the Renaultsport Clio 197 Cup and would likely offer similar figures with a top speed of 140mph and a 0-62mph in less than six seconds. The Mini John Cooper Works and the Vauxhall Corsa VXR will also be close rivals. Along with the powerful engine, the Fiesta Rs is rumoured to get suspension tuning to give the RS a sportier handling and the usual sporty glitches such as race seats and a body kit. Teh Fiesta RS is expected to be launched by 2010
This is not the first time, Ford is seriously considering building a hot Fiesta as the carmaker revealed the previous-generation Fiesta RS at Geneva in 2004. Unfortunately, the project to move the concept car to production stage didn’t succeed as Ford would haven’t made a profit on it despite selling the car in Europe.
March 27, 2008
Rendering: Mercedes E-Class
Here is a rendering of the next-generation E-Class that Mercedes will launch next year.
One did initially thought that the next E-Class would take its styling cues from the S-Class and C-Class models, but latest information suggests that the E-Class will also take its inspiration from the new GLK unveiled at Detroit. The saloon will feature straight lines as seen on the small SUV. This is the company’s attempt to spearhead a revival of its German roots. On the inside, the dashboard will also abandon curves for straight lines like the old Mercedes models.
As expected, the next E-Class will be available with a wide choice of petrol and diesel engines, from 4 cylinder units to the powerful AMG V8 engine whose power output is expected to jump from 507 to 550bhp. The diesel engines will be equipped with the Bluetec technology. A hybrid version is expected to hit the showrooms by 2010.

Click here to see the renderings
March 27, 2008