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November sales on the Chinese Market

Chinese market continue growing at a high pace and in November total sales reached an impressive 583,200 vehicles, a 17% increase over the previous month. The closest segments to ours are the saloon and hatchback markets. The Santana 3000 topped the chart with 19,300 vehicles being sold while Toyota performed rather well with two cars in the top ten, the Corolla and the Camry. GM proves it can be competitive with 18,500 sold Buick Excelle which is the Chinese version of the Chevrolet Lacetti
Top ten in the hatchback and saloon segments:
1. Santana 3000: 19,300
2. Buick Excelle: 18,500
3. VW Jetta: 17,300
4. Corolla: 16,500
5. Camry: 16,400
6. Xia Li: 13,700
7. Chery QQ: 11,800
8. Hyundai Elantra: 11,500
9. Haimai Familai: 10,900
10. Honda Accord: 10,900
December 13, 2007
Ssangyong has released the first teaser of the next Chairman

Have you ever heard of the SsangYong Chairman? It is a luxury Korean car based on an outdated Mercedes platform with an outdated six cylinder petrol engine and I saw the car once in my life in Sapporo, Japan. The situation might change with the next-generation as the Korean car maker has released the first teaser.

This time, the new Chairman is Ssangyong’s serious attempt to take on established rivals such as the S-Class or the 7-Series. The car will be based on a unique platform and will feature a 5.0-litre V8 petrol engine hooked up to a seven-speed automatic gearbox. Oddly from the pictures, the engine looks like it comes from Stuttgart. The luxury saloon will grow in size and promises a roomier interior. The exterior styling will be derived from the WZ concept car unveiled at this year’s Seoul Motor Show.

Initially only sold in South Korea next year, the Chairman will go worldwide around 2010. The saloon is part of an ambitious plan which will see the launch of 30 new models until 2011 with the help of the parent company SAIC.
December 13, 2007
Spyker in exclusive tals with a Lithuanian bank

Troubled luxury car maker Spyker has announced that it had entered in exclusive talks with the Lithuanian bank, Snoras Group, on refinancing the company. The Dutch company expects to reach a deal within ten days and has suspended talks with other potential investors including the Lichtenstein-based firm ACI.
Secrecy surrounds, of course, the talks although it is believed that the Lithuanian bank won’t get a stake inferior to 30% as interim CEO Hans Hugenholtz told in an interview last week that “Spyker needs funding to develop new cars” and “a stake in the company could be part of the refinance plans” but the “stake won’t exceed 30 percent.”
According to the newspaper De Telegraaf, Spyker planned to get will get €48 million / £35 million from ACI in exchange of a 26 percent stake.
December 13, 2007
Nissan GT-R tops ¥10 million at an auction

The Japanese auction company aucnet.jp reserved to professionals has revealed that ¥10 million milestone despite an official price of ¥8,340,000/£36,430. The Premium edition with a white paint reached ¥10,400,000/£45,430,. In other words, someone was ready to pay more than 20% over the official price to get a GT-R!
In the past, Nissan had announced he would fight GT-R speculation but its efforts don’t really convince and the Japanese brand is rather happy by such frenzy. The GT-R becomes the third in Aucnet history to generate such a buzz after the 1987 Nissan Be-1, a small car, and the 1990 Honda NSX.
December 13, 2007
Green light for the 308 RCZ

The 308 RC-Z concept car has been given the green light and should hit the showrooms sometime in 2009.
Company sources reveal that the future coupé will be built by Magna in Austria and will be based on the PF2 platform used by the 308 and the C4. Secrecy surrounds the future car and one doesn’t know whether the car will get specific chassis tuning. The concept car was powered by a 175bhp 1.6-litre petrol engine taken from the 207 RC. This petrol unit might be a bit too weak so, Peugeot will likely feature a bigger engine under the hood.
This is very good news for Peugeot as recent PSA CEO Christian Streiff statements remain unclear. If by “reliability, trust and elegance”, he meant 308 RCZ, we are eagerly waiting the future company’s lineup.
Source: Motorlegend
December 13, 2007
Fiat is planning a factory in the US

In an interview with Automotive News Europe, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has revealed that Alfa Romeo might build a new factory in the US in order to counter-balance the weak dollar. “It was already expensive when the dollar was 1.10 to the euro; now it is more expensive,“ he told the magazine.
He also said that Alfa Romeo will lose money on the American market the first three-four years due to a weak dollar but also to the highly competitive market there. He also gave the reasons why he considered bidding for the Jaguar and Land Rover sale. According to him, the most interesting asset in both companies for Fiat were their large dealer network while Alfa Romeo will have to rely on the tiny Maserati network the first years. The situation might improve if Tata Motors wins the bid. Indeed, the Indian car maker has set up a partnership with Fiat and is being advised on its bid by the Italian car maker.
Before building a new factory, Alfa Romeo has to focus on improving the quality of its products and reduce loss. It has taken a first step by closing Alfa’s main factory at Pomigliano d’Arco in southern Italy for two months beginning in January as an effort to get Alfa Romeo build quality up to German standard. The loss will likely be reduced by the launch of the baby Alfa next year.
December 13, 2007
Ford Mustang Glass Roof

According to a survey conducted by JD Power and Associates, 62% of owners of sports car are interested in a sunroof. So, Ford decided to feature a sunroof on the Mustang, but when you want to stay ahead of the future competition, you have to innovate. Here is the new glass roof option which will be available in next Summer.

Mustang’s Glass Roof is made of tinted privacy glass, which reduces both infrared rays and vehicle cool-down time by 50 percent. A manual roller blind is built in, allowing owners to further control exposure on sunny days. To help improve acoustics and Mustang’s interior quietness, the glass also features a layer of vinyl that reduces noise, vibration and harshness. The technology will cost the owner $1,995. It’s less expensive but expensive enough to be a stumbling block at the time to sign the order form.
With sales down since the beginning of the year, let’s hope this new option will boost sales while waiting for the new model.
December 13, 2007
Spyshots: Renault Laguna coupé

Due to be unveiled at the next Geneva Motor Show, the Renault Laguna coupé has been caught during winter testing.
Underneath, the coupé will share its platform, powertrains and suspension , with the saloon but will feature a unique exterior styling very close to the concept car seen at the last Frankfurt Motor Show. However, it is still unknown wether the coupé will come with a unique interior styling in a goal to move the car upmarket.

The coupé will be powered by finally decent and powerful engines. Expect the Laguna coupé to be equipped with only V6 petrol and diesel engines. It is rumoured that it might feature the small 1-6 litre engine. We hope Renault executive will be clever enough to avoid this petrol engine.
Click here to see all the pictures
December 13, 2007
Bob Lutz likely to retire in 2010

In an interview with Reuters, the car czar, Bob Lutz has revealed he will retire from GM when the Chevrolet Volt hit the showrooms, sometimes in 2010.
The Volt appears to be an obsession for the 75 year old executive who declared that the car is “an absolutely critical product“, but also said that health and board decision will have an impact on his retirement date. “You never know about your health. You never know about the needs of the corporation,“ Lutz continued. “You never know what the board wants to do, or Rick wants to transition to a younger team. All of those things are possible.“
Bob Lutz has been credited for the GM turnaround which presented more appealing models the past few years. Unfortunately, GM sales doesn’t show any improvement, but with the new Malibu aggressively priced and well made, and the crop of future models, the efforts will likely pay at one moment.
December 13, 2007
Next British International Motor Show plans to welcome 550,000 visitors

The first British International Motor Show in 2006 was a milestone for the UK as it was the first time that a British show has had a worldwide stature for a long time. Thanks to the launch of the Opel/Vauxhall Corsa, the show got a good press coverage and succeeded in attracting 415,000 visitors.
For the second opus, the organiser plans to attract 550,000 visitors thanks to a bunch of expected world premiere. At this stage, it is still difficult which car maker will take the opportunity to unveil new models although it is confirmed that GM Europe will come with the future Opel/Vauxhall Insignia and the eagerly awaited Saab 9-1 prototype.
Let’s hope that next year, Porsche and Volkswagen will have the decency to come as they ignored the 2006 show pretending it had a poor worldwide appeal. It’s true that 550,000 visitors don’t compare well with the 1.5 million figure recorded by the Paris Motor Show, but it’s the perfect show to be noticed.
December 13, 2007