Author: yoann besnard

Seat unveils a body kit for the Leon Cupra
The Spanish carmaker has unveiled a body kit called K¹ to make the Cupra wilder than ever!
The Cupra is critical to the Leon’s success in the UK and get all the attention from SEAT with this body kit. Boasting a bespoke K¹ boot badge, the kit includes a revamped front and rear bumpers, new side skirts, a more pronounced spoiler and a unique oval exhaust. The car is available in four colours: Inferi Black, Emocion Red, Luna Grey and Candy White. The kit costs £1,000 but for the new registration plate that starts on Saturday, Seat has decreased the Cupra’s price tag from £19,695 to £19,495. So, the aggressive body kit costs just £800.
In addition to the new price, there are two new options: 18” Orion alloy wheels in black or white for £205 and Bi-xenon headlights that follows the turn of the steering wheel for £870.
February 28, 2008
Logan to conquer the US?
Mahindra & Mahindra has to double its efforts to catch up with Tata that will announce next week the acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover. The Indian carmaker is considering building a plant in the US.
M&M has lost one battle, but is already readying for another, in the US this time where it wants to build a factory. Located near Chicago, the future facility would produce the company’s models such as the Scorpio, the Bolero and the Ingenio, but also the Logan according to the rumours. The carmaker is currently looking for partners and entered into talks with a few American companies.
For Renault, the new factory would enable him to enter the American market by the back door. Only Mahindra&Mahindra’s brand image would suffer if the Logan fails. On the other hand, the Logan’s success enable the French carmaker to come back in the US as long as it doesn’t plan to sell a reincarnation of the LeCar.
February 28, 2008
BMW to eliminate 8,100 jobs
BMW has announced it will cut 8100 jobs, 7.5% of its workforce, as part of the part of a plan announced last year to increase its profitability.
The temporary workers will be the first to leave the company as 5,000 of them will lose their contract at the end of this year. Also 3,100 permanent jobs will be eliminated whose 2,500 in Germany only as the country suffers from high labour costs. Only 600 jobs will be eliminated overseas. Furthermore, if Euro goes beyond €1.50, the carmaker would cut more jobs in Germany.
In May last year, the carmaker had announced its intention to build the next-generation X3 in the US due to the weak dollar effect on profit margins. The company plans to increase the production capacity of the american factory, located in Spartanburg, to 200,000 vehicles.
BMW wants to increase its profitability to 10% by 2012. In addition to job cuts, the company asked its suppliers to decrease their prices, The move surprised them as BMW is well known to never focus on prices but on quality.
February 28, 2008
We remember our first car better than first kiss
Most people remember their first car more readily than their first kiss, according to a new survey.
The British International Motor Show has commissioned a survey about our love for cars: “which one do we remember the most? Our first car or our first kiss?”
Ladies, it’s sad to tell you that more than 40% of those surveyed were so attached to their first car that they could recall its number plate in full, the survey by the British International Motor Show found.
Six in ten regarded their first car as female, a quarter gave it a name and 12% felt more attractive to the opposite sex once they had qualified to drive.
Kirsty Perkinson, one of the show organisers, said: “People develop powerful bonds with their cars, especially their first. First cars represent an explosion of independence and a gateway to untold adventures, which is why they are so special.”
The most common first car was a Ford Fiesta, followed by a Ford Escort, Mini and Nissan Micra, most of which were between six and ten years old.
February 28, 2008
Fiat to increase 500 production to 190,000 per year
The Fiat 500 was the hottest car in the press last year and won a bunch of awards. The small Fiat is the hottest car in term of sales this year.
The demand is so strong that Fiat UK sold its first quota in less than a month and there is no sign of a slowing demand. Aware of the problem, Fait has boosted its production output to 190,000 vehicles per year. Initially, the company planned to build 120,000 cars per year but increased the figure to 140,000 due to the initial strong demand, especially in Italy and in France.
The production will jump from 500 vehicles to 750 vehicles per day in its Polish factory locate in Tychy. However the situation might become a baffling problem for the carmaker. By increasing its production so quickly, it might also increase the possibility of quality problems. Such a situation would damage the brand image at a time when Fiat just recovers from its worst years ever. The carmaker might also encounter some problems to produce the expected variants like the convertible or the estate version.
February 28, 2008
Honda to feature a V8 engine at last?
Honda never really made it in the executive segment because the carmaker never made the jump to V8 powertrains like Nissan/Infiniti or Lexus did. If it’s not essential in Europe, it’s considered like a crime of lese-majesty in the country of V8s explaining. But the situation might change.
The Japanese car magazine reveals that Honda is currently working on a new V8 engine which is expected to be featured on the Honda Legend also sold under the Acura label in the US as the RL model. The V8 engine would have a displacement of 4.5-litre and a power output of about 400bhp. The car is expected to be launched in Japan first in 2010. So if true, a V8-powered wouldn’t reach our shores before 2011.
With the rumoured V8, it appears that Honda has ruled out the possibility to sell the V6 diesel engine that the company is readying for Europe. The future V6 unit is expected to be featured on the Honda Accord and maybe on the Legend in order to increase its sales.
Source: WindingRoad
February 28, 2008
Spyshots: Chang’an CV8
The car you see here is likely to be unknown to you as the saloon is the future Chang’an CV8 which will hit the showrooms sometime this year.
The Chang’an CV8 is a conventional saloon smaller than the Ford Focus which features a tame design although it doesn’t really borrow any styling cues from other carmakers. In a way, the CV8 offers the usual design we can find today in the saloon segment.
The car will be powered by a 1.4-litre and 1.6-litre petrol engines whose final spec remains unknown. Along the two petrol engines, the carmaker will also offer a turbocharged 2.0-litre diesel unit. Codenamed JL486Q, it comes with the modern bits you find today in European diesel powertrains: multivalves, twin overhead camshafts, but its injection system remains unspecified.
The Chang’an CV8 will offer a modern equipment on the topping version such as GPS, air conditioning and reversing sensors.
Source: Chinacartimes
February 28, 2008
Pininfarina unveils the Sintesi
After a few teasers, Pininfarina finally takes the wraps off its latest concept car, the Sintesi, which will be on display at Geneva next week.
The Sintesi is four-door crossover coupé-hatch, but fortunately, it is a winsome combination thanks to an appealing styling penned under Lowie Vermeersch, the company’s head of design and its scissor-opening doors.
What’s more interesting about the Sintesi is the alternative propulsion which is a fuel cell system developed by Nuvera. The Sintesi also comes with a system called Clancast and able to talk with other cars on the road to communicate traffic patterns eliminating the need for traffic lights or street signs.
The Sintesi is the first concept car in three since the company has revealed the Maserati Birdcage concept car at the same Geneva Motor Show.
February 28, 2008
Skoda Fabia Greenline hits showrooms
Skoda UK is now taking orders for the new 1.4 TDI Fabia GreenLine which it claims delivers an impressive 69mpg fuel consumption and bring fuel efficiency to the masses.
The Greenline version is based on the 1.4 TDI model on which minor changes have been made: additional aerodynamic panels have been fitted to the underside of the chassis and the front bumper has been raised by 35mm. However why did they replace the spar tyre by a puncture repair kit? It’s a bit petty.
With such a frugality, the Fabia Greenline car run 689 miles on a full tank of 45 litres. This is 75 more miles than the normal version and will make easier to accept the price increase to £11,490 for the hatchback and £12,140 for the estate. The Fabia Greenline is available in Amazon Green, Magic Black, Brilliant Silver or Candy White.
February 28, 2008
Audi to launch a X6 competitor
German carmakers have switched their war from a race to power to lineup expansion and according to rumours, Audi is seriously considering a X6 competitor on the new-born segment of coupé crossover
At a time when German carmakers expand their lineup, it was predictable that Audi or Mercedes would follow BMW in the coupé crossover segment. BMW is expected to sell 40,000 X6 this year, which means that the new model won’t be a high-volume vehicle. However with the ambitious goal to increase its global sales to 1.5 million vehicles, Audi is ready to go wild and to set its heart on every new concept.
The vehicle hasn’t been given the green light yet and any information is pure speculation at this stage. The Audi’s coupé crossover might be called Q6, but Q8 wouldn’t be excluded if the company wants the future model to position the future model as an upmarket version of the Q7 SUV.
February 28, 2008