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Land Rover to build the LRX
Tata has given the green light to Land Rover to produce the LRX concept car which is expected to hit the showrooms by 2011.
Without a doubt, the LRX has been one of the best concept car around since January and this is good news for the British brand. This doesn’t come as a surprise. Indeed, the carmaker had plans to launch a small SUVs in the future and recent news confirmed the carmaker was working on this all-new vehicle. However, Tata had to confirm it would support the company’s plan.
The LRX will be built at the Halewood factory which will double its production capacity to 210,000 vehicles by 2012 after investment from Tata. The small SUV concept car was powered by a 2.0-litre hybrid-diesel engine, but is unknown at this stage whether Land Rover will put the engine in production or not.
April 5, 2008
New 7 Series Spy Shots
New spyshots of the next 7-Series have emerged on the Internet. This time, the future flagship is barely camouflaged.
The current generation has been roundly bashed by the professional press and brand’s fans for its design, the first of a series designed by the controversial Chris Bangle. Since then, almost all carmakers have copied the “flame surface” design and Bangle has mellowed. The next-generation is expected to feature a more classical design which borrows styling cues from the CS concept car.
The boot of the current 7-Series has been heavily criticized at its launch. Revamped in 2006, it was integrated a bit more into the general overshape. With the next-generation, the boot will be almost integrated. However, the camouflaged tail lights are cause for concern as they seem to feature a round shape while the general design features straight lines.
The next 7-Series is expected to be unveiled at the next Paris Motor Show.

Click here to see the pictures
Source: Auto Express
April 5, 2008
Seat unveils the new Ibiza
Seat has taken the wraps off the next-generation Ibiza by unveiling official pictures of the small car expected to be officially launched at the Madrid Motor Show in May.
The first variant to be unveiled is the five-door hatchback set to compete with the market segment’s best seller such as the Fiat Grande Punto or the Peugeot 207. As predicted the new Ibiza is very close to the Bocanegra concept-car seen at Geneva although the final design looks a bit different from the concept car. Penned by former Lamborghini stylist Luc Donckerwolke, the new Ibiza features a sporty line with a front fascia that takes its styling cues form the Tribu concept car seen in Frankfurt last year.
The new Ibiza shares its inner structure with the Skoda Fabia and Roomster models although it gets chassis tuning to spice up the handling. At 4050 mm long, the car is 80 mm longer than the current model, so the new Ibiza should be a little roomier. With 292 litres, the boot is also bigger than that of the current Ibiza.
Under the bonnet, the next-gen Ibiza will initailly offer three petrol engines: a 69bhp 1.2-litre unit, followed by a 84bhp 1.4-litre engine and topped by a 101bhp 1.6-litre unit. Those engines can either be hooked up to a five-speed manual transmission or VW’s seven-speed DSG gearbox.
For Seat, the new Ibiza marks the start of a major product offensive which will, over the coming months, also see the debut of further Ibiza variants, as well as the new saloon and estate contenders in the upper medium segment.
April 3, 2008
Chevrolet Volt migth cost $48,000
The closer we get to the launch date, the more expensive might be the future Chevrolet Volt. After a target price of £15,000/$30,000, then raised to £20,000/$40,000, the Volt will cost £24,000/$48,000.
In an interview with Business Week, Bob Lutz said that GM has to raise the price once again if the carmaker wants to make a profit. Thus, the future Chevrolet Volt might cost £24,000/$48,000. For this price, what are the alternatives on the American market? BMW sells the 535i saloon for $49,400 or a M3 saloon for $53,900. You can get an Infiniti M45 for $49,700 or a G37 for $34,500 and keep the rest in the bank. Suddenly the Volt appears less appealing than initially thought.
Along with the rising price, GM has also reduced its production output from 60,000 to 10,000 for the first year.
April 3, 2008
Mercedes SLR production to end in 2009
Mercedes-Benz will stop producing the SLR supercar next year five years after its launch.
The German carmaker will roll off the last SLR at the end of next year. The SLR is only built in its roadster variant as the coupé version production ceased last year. The SLR was initially unveiled as a concept at the end of the last decade and reached the showrooms in 2004. Last year, 275 SLR have been built, 14 more than in 2006. However, the production output is far from the company’s expectation as Mercedes initially planned to build between 400 and 500 vechicles per year.
The supercar has often been criticized for being overweight and is considered as the origin of the split between Mercedes-Benz and McLaren which developed the car. Both carmakers will develop their own successor.
McLaren is currently working on a new V8-powered supercar internally known as P11 set to compete with the Ferrari 430 and the Porsche 911 GT2. The P11 will be powered by the AMG 6.3-litre V8 petrol engine.
Mercedes is actively developing the SLC which will be built by HWA, a company founded by AMG founder after he left Mercedes. Details remain scarce, although it is rumoured that the supercar will feature a retractable hard top.
April 3, 2008
Three million holes in roads
Drivers are having to dodge more than 3 million holes in the road.
In a report, the Asphalt Industry Alliance reveals that around 1 million are potholes left unfixed by local councils, while holes dug by utility companies account for a further 2.5 million road openings. The poor state of roads in England and Wales is caused by a shortfall of more than £1 billion in road maintenance budgets and £53 million was paid out in compensation for damage to vehicles or road traffic accidents in 2006/07.
"Despite some increase in central Government funding over recent years, it seems that highways maintenance is still suffering from historically being treated as the Cinderella service, " said Asphalt Industry Alliance chairman Jim Crick.
There is an 11-year backlog of maintenance work, while some roads faced a 65-year wait for resurfacing.
April 3, 2008
Toyota may increase its stake in Subaru
The Japanese carmaker plans to spend £152 million to increase its stake in Subaru form 8.7 per cent to 17 per cent according the Nikkei newspaper.
Toyota wants to increase its stake in Subaru by buying 64.25 million shares for a total amount of £152 million. However the carmaker has no intention to go beyond 20%. Toyota had bought the current stake from GM in 2005 when the American carmaker sold some assets to reduce its debt. Since then, Toyota has launched the Camry production at Subaru’s American facility located in Lafayette, Indiana, and the first vehicle rolled off lat year. Both carmakers are currently collaborating on a new affordable coupé based on the Impreza underpinnings and intended to be sold under the Toyota label. With its 17 per cent stake, Toyota wants to produce subcompact cars in the Subaru’s Japanese factory.
The increased stake won’t change Subaru’s affairs as the carmaker is used to having another carmaker among its shareholders. General Motors bought 20 per cent of Subaru in 1999 to increase its presence in Japan. Their collaboration gave birth to the Saabaru 9-2X while Subaru sold the Zafira in its domestic market. Before that, the stake owned by GM was owned by Nissan, who acquired the stake in 1968 during a period of government-ordered merging of Japanese auto industry to merge in order for improved competitiveness .
April 3, 2008
One million Nissan Tiida in the world
Nissan has sold the millionth Tiida in March of this year less than four years after its launch.
Often considered as the Japanese Megane, the Tiida is a compact car you won’t notice in the streets but still achieves top sales numbers despite lack of media spotlights. The one million milestone has been reached after launching the compact model in key markets such as the US or China. The Tiida is also sold in Europe since last year.
The compact car was facelifted in Japan in January of this year.The Tiida is available with three petrol engines, a 1.5-litre petrol engine, followed by 1.6-litre unit and a 1.8-litre engine. There is also a 1.5-litre diesel engine. The engines can be hooked up to a four-speed automatic, CVT or a six-speed manual gearbox.
April 3, 2008
Tesla boss confirms 2009 European launch
Tesla has announced that it will start selling the roadster in Europe at the end of 2009 at a price of £79,000/€100,000, but don’t rush for your chequebook as the Roadster won’t be available in the UK.
Tesla has decided to boost its sales by exporting its cars to Europe. With the help of the weak dollar, one did expect the roadster to be sold at a competitive price, but it seems that Tesla executives don’t really known anything about exchange rate. Indeed, if a Euro is roughly $1.5, a Euro is equal to $1 for them. While the roadster was expected to cost around €80,000, European customers will have to pay €100,000 to own a Tesla car.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Tesla boss Ze’ev Drori justifies the higher price with laughable reasoning such as shorter average driving distances and higher fuel prices. The car will be sold in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway.
April 3, 2008
Audi RS8 to debut in 2009
Audi has announced that it will launch a V10-powered R8 in the second quarter of next year.
Audi executive director of engine and powertrain, Wolfgang Hatz, confirmed that the carmaker will launch the eagerly-awaited V10-powered R8 next year after solving the cooling problem generated by the twin-turbocharged engine. “The cooling is no problem now. The car is now signed off, and will appear during the second quarter of 2009. I can’t say much about it until then,” he said. He also confirned that the engine will be an updated version of the 5.2-litre petrol unit. “Why would we spend money developing a whole new engine for this car, when we already have such a good one,” he added.
Expected to be dubbed RS8, the top of the range will feature the V10 seen in the RS6. Final specs remains unknown. The RS6 engine delivers 580bhp, so the RS8 will likely be more powerful. The RS8 is rumoured to reach a top speed above 200mph and run 0-60mph in less than four seconds.
April 3, 2008