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Suzuki to build a Mondeo/Vectra competitor

Suzuki decided to focus on small cars at time when competitors were building bigger models like SUVs. Once again, while carmakers abandon the traditional saloon market to produce crossovers, the Japanese carmaker will launch a new saloon in the coming years set to compete with the Mondeo.
In an interview with Ward’s Auto, American Suzuki vice president Gene Brown has revealed that the company will launch a saloon derived from the Kizashi 1 and Kizashi 2 concept cars unveiled at Frankfurt and Tokyo respectively. However, the future model won’t compete directly with the segment best sellers. Doing so would likely be a bottomless pit. The car maker would go on its own to develop a smaller car with a roominess matching the best in segment.
Suzuki sold a Mondeo competitor in the US which was are-badged Chevrolet Epica but the car never met any success there. The company will unveil the Kizashi 3 at the next New York Auto Show in April.
February 22, 2008
A new British sports car under development

A new British sports car is being developed by a former McLaren engineer, Jim Dowle, who expects to launch a prototype within the next 18 months.
The future sports car will aim at taking on the established Lotus Exige model. It will be powered by a mid-mounted powertrain whose power output will be around 200bhp. At this moment Dowle is reviewing several engines that could match the car’s requirements. Following the example of Lotus, the future Exige challenger would focus on weight reduction and will weigh 870kg. Doyle wants the car to be offered at a competitive price tag of £35,000 although he didn’t mention how many units would be built every year.
Jim Doyle brings a proven expertise to the project as he worked on the F1 road car and the SLR under the leadership of Gordon Murray. I think readers will agree that there is no better classroom than that!’
Source: Pistonheads
February 22, 2008
Ford, Mazda and ChangAn to invest £29 million

Ford has announced it will invest £29 million in China with the help of Mazda and ChangAn to boost sales on the Chinese domestic market.
The investment will boost the joint venture’s registered capital to more than £175 million. Ford will provide £10 million, ChangAn £14 million and Mazda £5 million. As usual in China, the Chinese partner holds 50 percent of the joint venture. Fold and Mazda holds 35 percent and 35 percent respectively.
Chang’an Ford Mazda’s sales rose by 60% to 271,100 vehicles last year. After opening a new factory in last September, the three-way joint venture production capacity jumped to 410,000 units. Despite the recorded growth in 2007, Ford is far behind other carmakers. The carmaker’s rivals broke into the market earlier and have already established their brands among China’s growing consumer class.
Ford’s Focus compact became one of the 10 best-selling cars in China last year, but the company’s profit margins were slimmer than some of its competitors’ because many of the parts used to build the Focus are still made outside China.
February 21, 2008
Nissan to lay off designers in the US

In a surprising move, Nissan has decided to lay off a part of its American design team in an attempt to boost productivity among the remaining team and cut costs.
Of the 100 designers working in the US, 12 have accepted the buyout. most of them work at the San Diego Office specialized in concept cars. In the meantime, the company wants to reduce the development time from 24 months to 12 months. The Japanese carmaker has already shortened the development time from 48 months to 24 month a few years ago.
Nissan is not the only carmaker to plan such a goal. Fiat has led the way by developing the Bravo compact model in less than 18 months from from the first sketches to the official launch. Fiat CEO has similar plans for Lancia as he wants to shorten the development time to 12 months.
February 21, 2008
Smart ForTwo starts strongly in the US

Penske Auto Group, distributor of the Smart ForTwo in the US, has announced it had delivered 1,400 cars in January of this year.
This is good news for the carmaker as the ForTwo was launched last month. The distributor plans to sell 1,500 more vehicles this month and another 2,000 in March. It expects to sell between 20,000 and 25,000 this year. Roger Penske said. “We think it’s the right car at the right time ” and “we’re really excited about the smart business.”
He also said he was pushing Daimler Benz to send more vehicles in order to satisfy a growing demand. He shouldn’t have any problems to be heard in Stuttgart as Daimler CEO Dieter Zietsche hopes the American market will save the Smart brand. Indeed, the company hasn’t made a profit yet despite a launch which occurred almost ten years ago.
February 21, 2008
Chery, official providers of hybrid cars for the Olympic Games

The Chinese A5 hybrid saloon has been elected as the official car of the Olympic Games due to occur next summer.
The Chinese government wants to show it cares about the environment and put pressure on the domestic carmakers to develop hybrid cars. Unfortunately, the same carmakers are not really interested in hybrid technologies and have only expressed their good will in press statement. Choosing the A5 hybrid is a clear message that the authorities send them: build hybrid cars if you want to take part in the future of China.
The Chery A5 is powered by a 1.3-litre petrol engine associated to a hybrid solution whose details remain unknown. 80 cars will be provided to the Olympic organization and the cars will be christened “Olympics Green Messengers”.
Last year the Chinese carmaker built 380,000 cars and has set the ambitious plan to build half of its production with a hybrid solution at a time when Toyota changed its strategy on hybrid models.
February 21, 2008
2007 Jaguar sales drop by 19%

Jaguar sales have dropped by 19% last year due to the end of life of the S-Type model as the company is expected to be sold by Tata in a few weeks.
The company sold 60,485 cars last year which is far from the target established by the company at the launch of the S-Type. The carmaker executive has announced the goal to boost the sales to 200,000 units per year. After mixed welcome given tot the S-Type and the X-Type failure, the company reached a new low last year.
Hopefully, 2008 promises to be a better year as the eagerly-awaited XF has already generated 10,000 orders, 3,000 from the US only, the largest market for Jaguar. With the introduction of rumoured models, the company might one day achieve the ambitious goal of 200,000 cars considered at the break-even by Ford a few years ago.
But, now the main question is: will Tata get rid of the British carmaker as soon as it buys it?
February 21, 2008
Top 10 European best sellers

After the global sales result for the European market, here are the top 10 European best sellers for the month of January of this year.
The percent figures between brackets represents the variation over the same period last year.
1. VW Golf : 39 887 (+31.4%).
2. Peugeot 207 : 37 506 (+9.2%).
3. Ford Focus : 33 884 (-4.5%).
4. Vauxhall/Opel Corsa : 32 668 (-17.7%).
5. Fiat Grande Punto/Punto : 30 293 (-17.6%).
6. Renault Clio : 29 859 (-17.5%).
7. Ford Fiesta : 28 673 (-11.2%).
8. Vauxhall/Opel Astra : 28 391 (-5.0%).
9. VW Polo : 22 498 (+2.2%).
10. Fiat Panda : 21 858 (-10.9%).
February 21, 2008
Cadillac to build the CTS coupé

Cadillac has announced it will build a production version of the CTS Coupe Concept unveiled at Detroit last month; however no launch date has been given.
The future coupé is the company serious attempt to increase the CTS sales globally and boost the brand image in the SU but also abroad as the American struggles to survive on worldwide markets because of an intense competition generated by the German clique.
Like Saab, Cadillac is struggling to increase its sales and the company has set an ambitious plan to sell 210,000 cars by the end of this year. By comparison, Audi, BMW or Mercedes will sell more than 200,000 cars each in the US only.
Launched at Detroit, the CTS Coupe Concept was acclaimed by the press for its stylish exterior design.
February 21, 2008
Alfa Romeo unveils the revamped 159

Along the 8C Spider, Alfa Romeo will unveil a slightly revamped 159 model whose main interest will be its weight loss.

The 159 is a moving sculpture to look at but due to its platform, the Italian diva was rather heavy on the scale and this was presented as one of the mina default of the model. Concerned about the problem, Alfa Romeo engineers focused on weight reduction. The facelifted 159 loses 100 lbs thanks to lighter alloy wheels and stabilizing bar, single-body aluminum front brake calipers on the 4 cylinder version and the front suspension brackets.

If the exterior remains hopefully unchanged, the interior styling features minor cosmetic changes such as new display graphics, updated trim and upolstery and new wraparound ergonomic seats. The display graphics changes concern the instrument display, the satellite navigator at the centre of the dashboard and the climate controls.

The 159 gets a new trim level called Sport which comes with exclusive 17” alloy wheels, with a specific 5-spoke design combined to 225/50 tyres, sporting wheels with radio mounted controls and gear stick lined in leather with black stitching. The revamped 159 introduces three new paints, Ice White, Crystal Blue and Grey Indigo, and three new alloys.
The range evolves as the 3.2 V6 260 CV engine is from now on available as front-wheel drive model enabled to reach a top speed of 155mph.
February 21, 2008