Author: yoann besnard

Spyshot: next-generation 7-Series

Due to be unveiled at the next Paris Motor Show in September 2008, the spyshots of the next-generation 7-Series are starting to emerge on Internet. With its future flagship, BMW will make a return to normality with a sportier design, but will innovate with a differentiated long wheelbase version.
Internally known as ‘F01’, the standard version will be focused on sports and will adopt a more classic look abandoning the controversial current boot design. Dubbed ‘F02’, the long wheelbase version will offer a different style expected to be more conservative than the standard 7-Series. The two cars will be powered by the current engine range and will feature the 4.8-litre V8 petrol engine and the 6.0-litre V12 petrol unit.
The 7-Series will also provide the underpinnings of the future small Rolls Royce saloon.

Click here to see the whole picture
December 10, 2007
Future Tesla saloon to be powered by petrol engine

Recently, the new car maker made the news with its founder being fired and with any new CEO come new ideas. According to the rumours, the future Tesla saloon might feature a petrol engine which wouldn’t power the vehicle but would be used to recharge the batteries, an architecture similar to the Chevrolet Volt’s.
Thanks to this technical move, the Tesla saloon would require less batteries which, of course, would reduce the production cost. Also, the petrol engine would allow to increase the saloon’s autonomy as it would permanently recharge the batteries. The car would then reach an autonomy of around 400 miles, which is a strong sales argument when you want to sell electric cars at a high scale. Indeed, new management also decided to go mainstream as the future saloon won’t cost the initial £25,000 but closer to the price of £15,000 announced for the future Chevrolet Volt.
The Tesla saloon which will be dubbed Whitestar will be on sale in 2010.
December 10, 2007
Audi’s future plans until 2012

Here is a highly valuable information as a document revealing the Audi future plans until 2012 has been revealed by Quattro Quarterly, a publication released by the Audi Club of North America. Most of the cars are already known but some rumoured models are also confirmed such as the mysterious R4. Click to read the full list.
– September 2007 – B8 A4
– September 2007 – C6 RS6
– January 2008 – A3 Cabrio
– March 2008 – B8 A4 Avant
– June 2008 – A3 Facelift
– July 2008 – Q5
– August 2008 – TT-S
– September 2008 – R8 V10
– December 2008 – Q7 Hybrid
– January 2009 – A5 Cabrio
– February 2009 – RS5
– March 2009 – R8 Targa
– June 2009 – A7 Coupe
– July 2009 – Q3
– August 2009 – TT-RS
– September 2009 – A5 Sportback
– December 2009 – A1
– February 2010 – Q5 Hybrid
– June 2010 – New D4 A8
– October 2010 – New A3
– January 2010 – A7 Cabrio
– January 2011 – New C7 A6
– May 2011 – C7 A6 Avant
– June 2011 – R4
– October 2011 – A1 Cabrio
– January 2012 – A4 Facelift
December 10, 2007
Suzuki pickup to be unveiled at the Chicago Motor Show

Suzuki will release a pickup at the next Chicago Motor Show in February 2008. Dubbed Equator, the Japanese pickup will be derived from the Nissan Navarra named Frontier in the US.
At this stage, details regarding the final spec of the pickup remain unknown. Perhaps Suzuki will focus on a new design in order to appeal to the current brand’s customers although the pickup will likely be a re-badged Navarra in order to cut cost. As the Navarra is currently being built in the Nissan Tenessee factory, the future Suzuki pickup will avoid the traditional custom tax of 25% applied to imported pickups.
This is not the first time, Suzuki wants to sell a pickup model in the US. Indeed, it unveiled a Grand Vitara pickup concept car at the 2001 Tokyo Motor Show but it never went into production as it would have been tooo expensive on the American market. But Suzuki has signed an agreement with Nissan since then. Suzuki provides Kei car models to Nissan on the Japanese market while Nissan provides bigger vehicles like the Nissan Serena re-badged Landy and soon the Navarra.
December 10, 2007
Citroen ZX Fukang to be revamped
This is not a dream. Citroen sells its ’90s compact ZX model in China and has announced that it will revamp the car next year. PSA Peugeot Citroen CEO Christian Streiff has declared that the group has strong ambition on the Chinese market. From 200,000 vehicles in 2006, PSA plans to deliver 450,000 vehicles in 2009. Fortunately, Fukang means health and prosperity in Chinese.
Secrecy surrounds the future specs of the car, but PSA CEO said that car will be offered for less than £5,000. Is the ZX the right model to succeed on the Chinese market? Nothing is sure. History proved that the ZX Fukang has never been a success. Originally sold in China in 1992, the sales suffered from a market which grew slower than the expectations. When it finally started its boom in 2000, the Citroen model was to old to seduce Chinese consumers eager to buy the latest models. Citroen quickly launched a more modern ZX called Elysée, but sales still slumped. PSA increased its sales thanks to new introduced Peugeot models in 2004.
December 10, 2007
Pontiac Vibe to be cheaply priced

Pontiac has announced the prices for the recently unveiled Vibe which will be on sale in next February. The entry level will start at $15,895/£7,822 followed by the four-wheel drive at $19,495/£9594. The top of the range, the GT will have a price tag of $19,895/£9,791.
GM has unveiled the new Pontiac Vibe at the last Los Angeles Auto Show. Like its sister, the Toyota Matrix, it derives from the ubiquitous Toyota Corolla/Auris. Indeed, the NUMMI joint venture authorizes GM to do the styling, the final calibration and tuning for every new model. Other actions fall to Toyota. Obviously, the Japanese carmaker select the closest components available in its range, which is the Corolla model.
Compared to the previous generation, the new Vibe offers a more customized style and switches from a SUV-like design to a sportier look, especially the GT version. Nevertheless, GM still describes the car as a crossover. This a very silly marketing gimmick.
As said earlier Toyota provides underpinnings and engines, which are based on the Corolla. The entry level gets the 1.8 litre VVTi petrol unit which has an output of 132 bhp and a torque of 128 lb-ft. It is available with a choice of a five speed manual gearbox and four speed automatic gearbox. The sporty version, GT, receives a 2.4 litre engine which produces 158 bhp and a torque of 162 lb-ft. Like the entry level, the GT can get a manual gearbox or an automatic gearbox, but with five speeds. The Vibe is also available with an all-wheel drive transmission, which gets the GT engine but associated with a four-speed automatic gearbox. oddly, the entry level can also be equipped with the GT engine as an option. The rear suspension is different among the versions. The 1.8 litre model has a classic torsion-beam rear suspension while the GT gets a multi-link independent rear suspension.
On the inside, the Vibe keeps the original design, but with an improved quality, at least on pictures. The dashboard is more driver-focused with its gear stick inspired from the Toyota Matrix and Auris. Standard features include the GM StabiliTrak electronic vehicle stability system, a tire pressure monitoring system a dual-stage frontal air bags with a passenger sensing system and, head curtain side air bags, a steering column with telescoping/rake adjustability, a 115-volt, a six-way adjustable driver’s seat and front active headrests. All models are equipped with the latest version of OnStar system.
December 10, 2007
Antonio Baravalle leaves Alfa Romeo

Antonio Baravalle left Alfa Romeo to become CEO of the Mundadori media group. Fiat refused to comment on his departure, but it is rumoured that Baravalle left on his own. It is rumoured that Alfa Romeo is Fiat’s biggest money loser according to Automotive News Europe. A change of CEO might not be the best news for the Italian brand. Aware of the problem, Fiat is looking for a replacement within the company.
Born on December 23 1964 in Turin, Antonio Baravalle graduated in Mathematical and Physical Sciences before taking a Master’s degree in Business Administration at the SAA in the same city. After several sales jobs between 1989 and 1992, he joined the Diageo to become sales manager of one of its distribution channels. He joined Fiat in 1999 and became sales coordinator for several European markets in the Alfa Romeo Business Unit in 2002. He became Alfa Romeo marketing manager in September 2003, but moved to Lancia to succeed Luca De Meo as Lancia Brand & Commercial Manager. He came back to Alfa Romeo as CEO to replace Karl-Heinz Kalbfell in September 2005.
Mundorario media group is owned at 51.2% by Fininvest, the conglomerate owned by Silvio Berlusconi.
December 10, 2007
6,000 deposits for the Dodge Challenger

This is a very good news for the troubled Chrysler. The American car maker received 4,300 pre-order deposits for the first day of the Dodge Challenger debut. From December 3 until last Friday, it recorded 6,000 deposits. This unplanned rush might also become a nightmare as Chrysler originally planned to build 5,000 cars per year. The waiting list might become longer when the car will be officially on sale. But, Chrysler has announced that it might increase the production to 10,000.
If demand remains strong, Chrysler might increase the production to 30,000 units per year in 2009 according to the Challenger Brand Manager, Mark Mallie. Of the 6,000 deposits, a trend emerges as the HEMi orange colour has been the most popular among the available paints that also include black and silver.
With a price tag of $37,995/£18,700, the Challenger SRT8 is a competitive offer thanks to its bold design but also its 6.1-litre V8 HEMI engine whose power remains unknown. Officially launched at the next Detroit Motor Show, the unique SRT8 model will be followed by a full engine range later with a V6 engine for the entry level. With the Challenger coupé, Chrysler hopes to meet that same success Ford met with the Mustang.
December 10, 2007
Spyshot: BMW X1 prototype

Here is the picture of the future the small BMW SUV X1 due to be on sale in 2010. At the beginning it was thought that the vehicle on the picture was the next-generation X3 but a closer look and new information suggests it is the future X1.
Secrecy surrounds the X1 model although it is believed that it will offer an overall design similar to the BMW X6 model with a unique SUV-coupé shape. It is rumoured that the X1 will offer dimensions similar to the Toyta RAV4. It will likely feature BMW 1-Series underpinnings.
It appears that BMW is quite determined to offer a full range of SUV-coupé models with the X6 unveiled at the last Frankfurt Motor Show and the announced X4 model which will be unveiled in 2008 or 2009. While the X6 is a four-door SUV, the X4 will offer only two-doors. Thus, the X1 might also be a two-door SUV. Sales will say whether consumers is ready for those oddly designed vehicles. I am rather sceptical about the future success of the SUV-coupé models.
Click here to see all the pictures
Source: Leftlanenews
December 10, 2007
Hummer H3 Black edition

European Hummer fans can rub their hands as the importer of the iconic SUV has launched a limited edition of the H3 model called Black Edition. Only 50 units will be sold in Europe and, of course, the vehicle will feature a black paint and a black interior.

Oddly, this limited edition will be available with two versions. There will be a basic version based on the H3 Adventure model which will add the black trimmings and a set of black accessories such as a black grille, tubular assist steps, roof crossbars, lockable fuel door, door handles, mirrors and black powder-coated wheels. The upper version limited to twenty five units will add the large electric sliding sunroof. While the added equipment has been valued at €6,150/£4,434, the customer will only pay those €1,250/£901. In Germany, the H3 Black edition will cost €49,950/£36,014 including VAT.
The H3 is powered by a 241bhp 3.7-litre five cylinder engine which has a torque of 242 lb-ft at 4,600rpm.
December 10, 2007