Blog

Chrysler to open a public advisory board
Chrysler will start recruiting members of the public to share their ideas over the future models the carmaker plans to launch.
The troubled carmaker has created the “Customer Advisory Board” an online forum called ChryslerListens where members of the public can give their opinions and ideas of what they want to see featured in the future models. People are not obliged to own a Chrysler model to participate, but must be over 18 years old and own a valid U.S. driving licence.
However the company plans to limit the number of members to 5,000 in order to control the flow of future information. The company has set the ambitious plan to transform an idea into a drawing within two weeks.
If Chrysler is the first carmaker to launch the initiative, Apple and Nike have been pioneering the concept for years. You can apply at ChryslerListens.
March 26, 2008
Hyundai to start building hybrid cars next year
Hyundai has announced it will start to produce hybrid cars from next year in order to increase its global sales at a time when environmental issues are rising.
Hyundai has plan to be among the top five carmakers by mass-producing hybrid-powered vehicles. The Hyundai Avante/Elantra compact saloon will be the first model to feature a hybrid solution by the middle of next year. A family saloon likely to be the Sonata will arrive by 2010 while the company plans to release fuel cell model by 2012.
Hyundai will join Honda in the battle of mass-produced cars as the Japanese carmaker will sell a low-cost hybrid model next year. if Honda has already given a targeted price of around £12,000 for the entry level, Hyundai didn’t confirm any price tag. The current i30 starts at £10,995.
March 26, 2008
Video: Alfa Romeo Mi.To to look from every angle
Alfa Romeo has released a video of the new Mi.To small car in which an Italian guy has been invited to the Alfa Romeo Centro Stile to get a look a the new baby Alfa.
Beyond the corporate message, what’s interesting about this video is that it shows the Mi.To with people next to it, showing the true proportions of the future car.
March 26, 2008
Future Honda hybrid to fit standard nickel-metal hydride batteries
Honda CEO Takeo Fukui has revealed more details about the future low-cost hybrid model due to be unveiled at the next Paris Motor Show.
The closer we get to the launch date, the more Honda reveals about its mass-market hybrid models which will take on the established rivals in term of volume sales. The future model will be fitted with standard nickel-metal hydride power packs. Honda President Takeo Fukui says the technology is still too unreliable to go into mass production. "Lithium-ion batteries are still not usable from our perspective," Fukui told Automotive News in an interview at Honda’s Tokyo headquarters on Wednesday, March 19. "In terms of reliability and durability, I must say there still remain some concerns," he said. "I don’t think they are necessarily best suited for mass-produced vehicles."
Fukui’s statement stands out against other carmakers as GM, Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi have announced plans to sell cars equipped with lithium-ion batteries. The Japanese carmaker remains wary as it wants the hybrids to make up 10 percent of sales by 2012. The future hybrid model is expected to find 200,000 buyers every year.
March 26, 2008
Audi Q7 hybrid not for the US
The Q7 hybrid was expected to go on sale from next year on the American market, but Audi has announced that the hybrid SUV won’t cross the Atlantic ocean as its selling price would be too high there.
In an interview with Automotive News, Johan de Nysschen, Audi’s brand head in the U.S, has revealed that the carmaker won’t bring the hybrid-powered Q7. However the company plans to sell it on special order. “It was a very hard car to make the numbers work. We will not do the hybrid Q7 as a conventional product offering," told Johan de Nysschen to the newspaper.
Expected to weigh in €50,000 in Europe, the Q7 would cost around $78,000 in the US while a hybrid GMC Yukon only costs $50,000. It seems that Audi doesn’t believe people are ready to pay a $28,000 extra for the quality of the Q7. The hybrid Q7 is powered by a 272bhp 3.6-litre FSI petrol engine and a 51bhp electric motor. The carmaker claims the hybrid Q7 achieves 28mpg and emits 237g CO2/km.
The company doesn’t mention the recent sales drop in the large SUVs segment as one of the reason to drop off the hybrid Q7 in the US. However, the company plans to focus on the Q5 hybrid which won’t also be sold at a competitive price due to the weak dollar. Maybe, Audi doesn’t see any future for big SUVs.
March 26, 2008
Ford to develop a new RWD platform
Ford is starting to work on a new rear-wheel drive platform due to be featured on the next-generation Mustang and several saloons.
Company’s executives have given the green light to the new platform which will underspin several models such as the next-generation Mustang and the Australian Ford Falcon. The future platform will be for Ford what the Zeta platform is for GM, a global platform designed to cut costs.
Initially being developed in Australia the program has been transferred to the US due to the weak dollar.
March 26, 2008
Lexus under-performs in Japan
Toyota’s luxury brand, Lexus, is under-performing in its domestic market as a result of poor brand image and high prices.
The Japanese giant launched Lexus in its domestic market three years ago in an attempt to take on European premium carmakers such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW which were meeting a relative big success there.
The company opened 160 all-new showrooms and even sent its staff to best etiquette school in Japan, but demand remains weak. What’s interesting about Lexus in Japan is the wrong approach taken by the company.
The company’s executives might be blamed but the problem encountered by Lexus is more than complex. Sold as a premium brand in the US, the company promotes its Japanese technology to compete with the German clique. Bringing this strategy to Japan is out of the question as Toyota already offers models with similar technologies. Lexus can’t also promote an exotic image when belonging to Toyota as European carmakers can do it in Japan. So, the company decided to promote the Japanese core values which is not what Japanese European car buyers are looking for.
Another reason for failure was the limited lineup of three vehicles: the GS and IS saloons, and the SC convertible. Not only they were sold previously under the Toyota label, but they were also 20% more expensive under the Lexus badge.
One approach Lexus never considered was its American success. Japanese people admires American culture in a way that can be seen as ridiculous sometimes. By selling its American success, Lexus might have appeared as exotic as German competitors without directly fighting with them. However, the poor image of American cars in Japan might have threatened the brand’s future.
Source: Business Week
March 26, 2008
Peugeot might launch a small SUV
Peugeot Citroen is rumoured to be working on a small SUV based on a Mitsubishi model.
Peugeot Citroen might launch its own version of the small SUV Mitsubishi is currently working on. The small Japanese Mitsubishi will be derived from cX concept car seen at the latest Frankfurt Motor Show in September last year.
The new model would reinforce the brands’ lineup by fitting below the Peugeot 4007 and Citroen C-Crosser. The Mitsubishi cX was powered by an all-new 1.8-litre diesel engine hooked up to the in-house dual clutch transmission called SST.
March 22, 2008
Virago’s mission impossible
A small British carmaker plans to unveil the Virago coupé at the Top Marque motor show at the end of next month.
Vigaro Cars, will launch a new coupé which will be powered by a 3.0-litre V6 Ford Durated engine. the power output will be between 230 and 280bhp enabling the coupé to run from 0 to 62mph in less than 5 seconds. The Virago is expected to be sold at around £50,000.
However the Virago Coupé is far from production stage as the carmaker has set the mission to find investors and buyers during the motor show. The company needs about £4 million to build the coupé.
March 22, 2008
Bentley Boys S3 design study
An automotive engineer has unveiled the S3 design study that marque’s purist will likely compare to a crime of lese-majesty.
Arturo Alonso and his team have designed the Bentely Boys S3 and have set the ambitious plan to build three unique cars if the design study receives enough interest. Each car would be sold at £75,000 at a slow rate of one every eight months. The team would target prospects located in Dubai and Moscow.
The S3 Design Study is based on the eponym Bentley from the 60’s, but has been upgraded to feature a 300bhp V8 4.4-litre petrol engine sourced from BMW associated with a five speed automatic gearbox. The car comes with dual air conditioning system, leather upholstery and 20in wheels.
March 22, 2008