BMW Group sales dropped by 22% in January with 16,935 delivered vehicles.
The BMW brand recorded a 26.7% decrease with 14,475 units while Mini scored a 20% increase to 2,460 units.
BMW expects its 2008 year sales to increase despite the fear of a recession in the US. The German car maker expects the 1-Series model to meet a big success thanks to the coupé version and the eagerly-awated 1-series convertible.
Like the German clique, Cadillac knows that its future lies in smaller cars, especially with the plan to expand its sales abroad. Cadillac is planning to build a compact set to compete with the Audi A3 and the BMW 10-Series.
In an interview with GoAuto, Bob Lutz revealed a few details about the future baby Cad’ which would be christened ATS. Like the BMW, it will be a rear wheel drive compact car and will offer similar dimensions. Due to be launched in 2011, the car is being developed in Australia by Holden.
Above the ATS, Cadillac is currently working on the next-generation BLS which doesn’t meet its sales expectation. This time, the car will go global and will be built in the US or in Mexico. Due to be launched in 2010, the future BLS will be based on the Epsilon II platform, but in a detuned version in order to reduce costs.
Lexus is seriously considering launching a compact SUV set to compete with the BMW X3, Infiniti EX35 and the announced Mercedes GLK.
Despite being the first car maker to build a luxury SUV with the Lexus RX 300, the Japanese car maker never really believed there was a strong demand for compact luxury SUV. However the success encountered by the BMW X3 model on the American market obliged Lexus to reconsider its position.
In an interview with Automotive News, Jim Lentz, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. president, said that a compact SUV could appeal to customers “sick of the suburbs, but who don’t want to give up the utility of their SUV. A small luxury SUV might be the right product for that environment.”
In Japan, Toyota is selling an upmarket RAV4, called Vanguard, under the Toyota label. Powered by a 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine, the Vanguard is longer and wider than the RAV4 despite sharing its underpinnings.
Day after day, car makers always seem to be announcing new production milestones. This time, Volkswagen has announced that the 100,000th Eos model had rolled off the production line.
The 100,000th unit is a silver painted Eos powered by a 148bhp 2.0-litre diesel engine hooked up to a five speed manual gear box. The car will be delivered in the UK, which the model’s largest market.
The Eos convertible is being built in Portugal in the same plant as the Seat Alhambra and Volkswagen Sharan.
The Japanese Car Magazine Best Car has revealed more information about the new sports car being developed in collaboration with Subaru. Toyota plans to bring the future coupé on the American market.
This news comes at a surprise as it was originally thought that the coupé would be only sold on the domestic market, in Japan.
Developed with the help of Subaru, the future sports car will be based on the Subaru Impreza and will come with a rear wheel drive for the entry level and an all-wheel drive transmission for the most powerful version. he car will be available with two levels: GT and GT Four, which reminds us of the Celica versions sold on our shores.
The GT level will be powered by a 200bhp 2.0-litre engine designed and built by Subaru. The price is rumoured to be less that £10,000. The GT Four wil be powered by the same engine which equips the Subaru Impreza STI. The boxer engine has an output of 300bhp.
Unsurprisingly, the future Toyota might also be available with a hybrid powertrain.
VW Spokesman Andreas Meurer confirmed that the next-generation Phaeton luxury executive will return to the US.
However, the next-generation will be sold at a lower price tag and will be smaller in order not to compete with the Audi A8. Besides, the future Volkswagen saloon will share its inner structure, powertrains and suspension, with the Audi A6, but will feature a unique exterior and interior styling, and chassis tuning.
Volkswagen ceased to sell the current model as a result of poor sales in 2005. In its best year, the company never sold more than 2.000 units on the American market.
Due to poor sales, Mercedes ceased the production of the ForFour in the middle of 2006 and ruled out a possible come back at that time. The company changed its mind and is serious considering bringing back the four door Smart model.
This news doesn’t totally come as a surprise. Indeed, other car makers have announced that they would build small cars in order to comply with stricter emission regulation. Among them, Volkswagen revealed the four door Up! concept car at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show.
This time, Daimler would go on its own to develop the future ForFour which would share its inner structure with the current ForTwo model. Daimler executives think the car suffered from a design that had no links with the two door model. The former ForFour shared its underpinnings with the Mitsubishi Colt.
The first spyshots and information about the baby Rolls are emerging on Internet. The future limousine has been spotted in the streets of Munich.
The future entry level Rolls Royce will share its underpinnings with the future 7-Series which will go on sale from 2009. Secrecy surrounds the powertrain although it is rumoured that the future Rolls Royce would be powered by the same V12 as the Phantom model and by a smaller engine shared with the 7-Series. According to some insiders, the baby Rolls might also feature a diesel engine.
The future saloon will be priced at £160,000 to £180,000, which is £70,000 to £90,000 less than the Phantom.
At a time when cars are considered no better than razor blades and car makers want us to believe that a model has a lifespan limited to four years, it is refreshing to learn that an American car owner will soon hit the one million miles mark with his 1991 Chevrolet Silverado pickup.
Franck Orsenic bought his secondhand pickup in 1996 with 41,000 miles on the clock. Since then he drove it more than 950,000 miles which is an average of more than 80,000 miles per year! He’s just now 1,200 miles from the one million mark and will put his pickup into retirement. When asked about his secret, the lucky owner just says he just changed oil every 3,000 miles.
Volvo has announced it will recall 82,000 vehicles due to a rust problem that might lead the vehicle’s engine to stall. The recall only concerns the five-cylinder petrol powered models that were built between 2005 and 2006.
The problem concerns the cars sold in region where corrosion is a major issue. Volvo Cars spokeswoman Maria Bohlin said recalls were being made in the company’s “corrosion markets,” in which the cars are exposed to more rust-speeding factors such as rain, snow, or road salt. The main countries are Sweden, of course, Germany and the US.
The problem has been located in the fuel pump electronic module, which controls the fuel supply to the engine. The electronic module is situated in a way that it can be affected by corrosion, which would lead to the fuel supply being cut off.