Author: yoann besnard

The Demon will be Chinese and front-wheel drive

The Dodge Delon Cocept has been given the green light and will be built in China by the local Chrysler’s partner Chery.
The production version will share its underpinnings with the Hornet model due to go on sale in 2009. Also built in China by Chery, the small car will feature a front-wheel drive layout. Unfortunately, the Demon will likely share the same layout. Chrysler missed the opportunity to offer a viable competitor to the Mazda MX-5. The company explained the move due to a higher cost generated by the rear-wheel drive layout and stricter emission regulations.

At this early stage, no information is available regarding the engine spec. The concept car was powered by a 2.4-litre petrol engine with an output of 170bhp being hooked up to a six speed manual gearbox.
January 15, 2008
Third generation G-Wiz i on sale

GoinGreen has unveiled the third generation of its ugly iconic vehicle, the G-Wiz i. This time, the little electric car comes with a new safety package and increases its top speed from 45mph to 50mph.

After the catastrophic crash test operated by Jeremy Clarkson where a G-Wiz is launched against a table, it was more than urgent for the company to upgrade the safety package of its model. With the help of Lotus Engineering,the company has introduced a new safety package to the G-Wiz i, frontal crash tested at 25mph city speed. Safety features include front and side impact protection, a strengthened space frame, a collapsible steering column, a hill rolling restraint feature and new front disc brakes that deliver a 30% improvement in braking performance.
While the exterior remains unchanged, the interior features a roomier cabin. The G-Wiz i has a colour-impregnated body whose standard colours include marine blue, lightning silver or deep black.
At £8,895 inc VAT, the G-Wiz i fails to convince despite 900 of them on London’s roads. How can a sensible person spend almost £9,000 on a car whose only merit is not to pollute if we don’t take into account the pollution generated by the power centrals?
Using public transport is likely to be less expensive and more comfortable. At least we can read a decent newspaper or discuss with friends on the bus or the tube. In a way, the G-Wiz i isn’t a vehicle to show your green credentials but to make your friends realise how stupid you are.
January 10, 2008
Chery QQ5 to feature a turbocharged engine

The Chery QQ will soon become the first Chinese first small car to be powered by a turbocharged engine. The 0.8-litre petrol engine will have an output of 59bhp.
The new engine will be featured on the new 3 door QQ5 due to appear in mid-2008 while it hasn’t been confirmed for the 5 door variant QQ3.
It is easy to laugh at the displacement and the power of the engine, but Chery is probably the most advanced car maker among the Chinese clique. The company is expected to release a 2.0-litre four cylinder unit, and to V6 2.4-litre and 3.0 litre engines. The three engines are being developed in collaboration with Fiat and will be hooked up to either a six-sppeed manual gearbox or a four-speed automatic gearbox.
January 10, 2008
New photos of the Skoda Superb

After a first picture released last November, Skoda has unveiled new details about the next-generation Superb saloon due to be unveiled at the next Geneva motor show.

The Superb shares its inner structure, powertrains and suspension layout with the Volkswagen Passat, but has unique exterior and interior styling, and chassis tuning. Its wheelbase is 70mm longer than the Passat, and the car is 50 mm longer and 40mm narrower respectively. The superb will be available with three petrol engines and two diesel units. The entry level engine will have an output of 105bhp while the topping unit will pump out 260bhp.

The Superb will feature new technologies unseen on Skoda models: adaptive “look-round-corner” headlamps, a new electronic air conditioning system and an automatic parking assistant system.
January 10, 2008
Mahindra has bought the Italian designer GRD

The Indian car maker Mahindra has been in the spotlight of the media recently. After the failed bid over Jaguar and Land Rover sale, the company has bought the Italian designer GRD.
GRD, for Grafica Ricerca Design, is certainly unknown to many of us, but the small company, founded in 1996, is used to working for Fiat, Pininfarina and Magna Steyr. It collaborated on the Fiat Bravo and the premium platform projects. The practical details of the operation remains unknown, but Pawan Goenka, president of Mahindra’s automotive unit said that “this acquisition will help us [Mahindra] strengthen our existing design capabilities, help us emerge as a global auto design powerhouse (and) provide a solid European footprint.“ The acquired design company will be renamed Mahindra Graphic Research and Design.
For Mahindra, this is the first milestone of a race to acquire European technology and knowledge as Indian market promises to be tougher in the coming years. Its current models can’t compete with the Western and Japanese cars. With the Jaguar and Land Rover purchase, Mahindra wanted to access the Land Rover technology, but the failed attempt pushes the company to acquire technical skills elsewhere.
January 10, 2008
GM cancels its future V8 program

GM has announced that it has cancelled a $300-million program to build a new V8 engine for its luxury models due to rising gas prices and tighter emission regulations. This is a surprising move for the American group as it shakes up the Cadillac’s roadmap as there is now no successor to the V8 NorthStar expected to cease production in 2010. The company had announced last year that the new engine would be built in the Tonawanda factory by 2009.
Instead of a V8, the NorthStar will be replaced by turbocharged V6 petrol engines which deliver similar performance to a V8. As Cadillac spokesman Kevin Smith said in an interview with Automotive News, “the V6 become the predominant engine in sales on the (2008) STS because it’s so close in power to the V8”.
However this news doesn’t mean it’s the beginning of the end for the V8 engines. Indeed, GM still plans to build V8 units and will launch a new V8 4.5-litre petrol engine next year. Due to be featured on the pickup lineup and on the Hummer H2, the new V8 will reduce gas consumption by 25% and CO2 emissions by 13%.
January 8, 2008
Lamborghini might build 100 Reventòn

Lamborghini originally planned to build only 20 Reventòn but demand is strong and the Italian supercar maker is seriously considering to increase the number to 100 vehicles. This is a rumour but in the past Ferrari built more F40 than planned and more recently Maserati produced more MC12 than expected.
Lamborghini Reventón debuted at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show and is most expensive Lamborghini to date, costing one million euro. Although the exterior is partially new, almost the entire mechanics, including the engine, are taken directly from the Murciélago LP640. The exterior styling was inspired by the F-22 Raptor. The instrument panel in the Reventón comprises three TFT liquid crystal displays with two different display modes. The Reventón features a completely new G-Force-Meter which displays the dynamic drive forces, longitudinal acceleration during acceleration and braking, as well as transversal acceleration around bends. By simply pressing a button, the driver can switch to the second, quasi-analogical display, where there are the usual circular instruments; speedometer and tachometer. The G-Force-Meter still remains at the center of this display mode.
The Reventón is named after a fighting bull according to Lamborghini tradition. The car’s namesake, owned by the Don Rodriguez family, is best known for killing famed bullfighter Felix Guzman in 1943.
January 7, 2008
Toyota overtook Ford on the US market last year

For the first time in 75 years, Ford lost its second rank on the US market as the company has been supplanted by Toyota last year. With a 2.7% increase to 2.62 million delivered vehicles, Toyota overtook Ford which sold 2.57 million vehicles last year, which is a 12% drop from the previous year over the same period.
2008 will likely confirm the trend as the American market going to recession will be tougher for American brands. Toyota will likely rank second next year and don’t expect the Japanese giant to overtake GM in the US as the American group has delivered 3.87 million vehicles there last year despite a 6% decrease compared to 2006 over the sane period.
January 7, 2008
Spyshots: next-generation E-Class interior
Auto Motor und Sport magazine had unveiled some renderings of the next-generation E-Class in last July, but interior styling still remained unknown until now. With the future E-Class, Mercedes-Benz confirms the direction taken by the company’s designers with the GLK. Mercedes models’ dashboards will go square.
The exterior styling caught on prototypes had already announced the changes. With the future E-Class, the designer wanted to feature more appealing saloon than the current model without encroaching upon the CLS battlefield. While the CLS features expansive curves, the next-generation E-Class will adopt taut lines and new angular headlamps.

Like the new GLK, the E-Class dashboard design won’t be noted for its elegance with its boxy styling which reminds us of the ’80s models. Despite being six year old, the current model’s dashboard appears to be more modern and certainly is more elegant. This bold move made by Mercedes is surprising at a tie when Audi excels in designing interiors and plans to release more new models in the next five years. After all, Audi might achieve its ambitious plans if it takes sales from Mercedes.
January 7, 2008
More details on the Fiat twin-cylinder engine
Fiat had featured a twin-cylinder engine in the Panda Aria concept car at the Frankfurt Motor show last year, but information remained scarce on what could be the smallest engine in Europe.
First of all, there will be two engines instead of one as it was believed. In addition to the 0.9-litre unit, Fiat will also build a tiny 0.7-litre engine. The two engines will be turbocharged and will feature the innovative MultiAir technology, which has been under development by Fiat Powertrain for some years.The MultiAir system uses an electro-hydraulic system to actuate the valves and can provide full control over valve lift and timing. As a result, the two engines have an impressive power output. The 0.7-litre petrol unit pumps out 81bhp, which means a power/litre ratio of 116bhp/l in other words.

The torque is also in the same vein with a 92lb/ft at 3000rpm. The engine promises to be smooth to run with a torque of 67lb/ft available from 2000rpm. The 0.9 litre unit will have an power output of 110bhp and a torque of 132lb/ft. In addition to the power increase, the MultiAir technology also reduces consumption and emissions. A 90bhp 0.9-litre version allows a 50mpg range while reducong CO2 emissions by 50% compared to the current four cylinder 1.2-litre petrol unit seen in small Fiat. The two engines will comply with Euro 5 and Euro 6 emissions requirements.
The twin-cylinder unit will be available on the Fiat Panda and 500, Grande Punto and Idea, and even the compact Bravo model.
January 7, 2008