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Land Rover to unveil the LXR concept car at Detroit

A kind reader sent a picture to Carscoop of the concept car that Land Rover will likely unveil at the Detroit Motor Show in January. There is some doubt whether this sketch is official or not.
Secrecy surrounds the concept car although it is understood that it will be two-door SUV with design similar to BMW X6’s. It will be Land Rover’s first foray into the crossover coupé market. While BMW focused on an exclusive vehicle which derives from the X5, Land Rover plans to go mainstream with the production model of the concept car. It will be positioned below the Freelander and would reinforce the company’s line-up.
Dubbed LXR, the concept car represents Land Rover’s serious attempt to reduce its CO2 emissions along the range while keeping the Range Rover at the top. The LXR concept car would also confirm Land Rover’s will to lead the 4×4 innovation despite its smaller size.
December 11, 2007
New pictures of the Subaru Forester

The recent leaked pictures or scans of the next-generation Forester didn’t render properly the car but a new shots taken in real conditions enables us to have a closer look at the Forester, which will be unveiled in a few days.

To be perfectly honest, the current model offers a dull look, a hybrid design that tries to combine the advantages of an estate and some off-road abilities on platform taken from a smaller model. With the new model, Subaru makes a huge step in the right direction by finally giving a SUV look to the Forester. Without a doubt, the Forester would do well compared to the Mitsubishi Outlander or the Land Rover Freelander.
The design is still very Japanese with a lack of personality, but at least the Forester didn’t try to adopt the fascia of the B9 Tribeca or the Hannibal Lecter grille of the Peugeot 4007. Combined with the boxer-engine, the Matured design might give the Forester a boost.
Source: Carscoop
December 11, 2007
Europe might become the largest automotive market
We regularly talk about the booming Indian and Chinese markets, but without hype Europe might become the world’s largest car market by the end of the year. The first rank is traditionally taken by the US.
December sales will be crucial for the two markets as the US leads with 13,583,559 vehicles and Europe follows with 13,572,669 vehicles. Over the same period last year there was a gap of 740,000 vehicles.
The European sales have increased thanks to the dynamic countries in Eastern and Central Europe, but traditional markets have also performed well especially the British and Italian markets. In the meantime, the downturn caused by the rising fuel costs and the subprime crisis have slowed down car sales in the US.
Source: Automotive News
December 11, 2007
German battery could jump-start electric cars

A German company might have found the solution to the biggest problem encountered by current batteries: too large, overheating and limited power. Indeed, Li-Tec unveiled new batteries which “take up 30% less volume than those from Toyota“ and “allow you to go three times further for the same weight than French models, “ according to Li Tec director Tim Schaefer.
This is an unusual bold statement but the German company received support from Bosch and Bosch’s spokeman didn’t hesitate to declare that the batteries were “a step towards totally electric cars.“ What differentiates the Li-Tec batteries from others is that the electrodes are separated by a flexible ceramic membrane which provides greater thermal stability. Overheating is a major problem encountered by current batteries. Toyota postponed the next-generation Prius due to overheating problems.
Despite such an enthusiastic tone, the batteries are at an early stage and there is still a long path before producing the batteries at an industrial scale. Li-Tec has joined a consortium that includes Bosch, chemical giant BASF and German car maker Volkswagen to develop the product. German industry is determined to take the lead on batteries and electric cars. How will Toyota react?
Source: li-tec.de
December 11, 2007
Land Rover reaches the 200,000 milestone

For the first time in its 59-year history, Land Rover has reached the 200,000 milestone with vehicles 205,717 being sold from January to November. For the month of November, the global sales increased by 27% over the same period last year and several markets like China, France, Russia and Spain recorded their best ever November.
This puts the company on course for its third successive record sales year. In 2006, the 4×4 manufacturer sold 192,500 vehicles and 184,000 vehicles in 2005.
Land Rover didn’t mention the forecasts for the next year but its Managing Director, Phil Popham, said “Confidence is high – we’re firmly in the black with innovative new products that will continue Land Rover’s sustainable development.“
The British offroad manufacturer will likely reveal a concept car at the Detroit Motor Show in order to show its green credentials and where the brand is going over the coming years.
December 11, 2007
Martin Winterkorn plans to stay CEO until 2018

In a recent interview Volkswagen group CEO Martin Winterkorn said that he planned to stay until the 2018 goal has been reached. In other words, he will leave his position only if Volkswagen catches up with Toyota or if the board fires him. He also said that he wants VW in 2010 to be where Toyota is today. It means that the group will have to sell 3.3 million more cars by 2010. Quite a challenge for the group!
In order to achieve such an impressive target, Martin Winterkorn says the company will focus on improving its productivity by 10%. He revealed that each Toyota vehicle has a cost advantage of €3,000/2,155-4,000€/£2,875 over Volkswagen. Martin Winterkorn forgets to mention that the minimum wage -700€/£503 is lower in Japan than in Germany. it is also rumoured that Toyota employs Chinese and Korean workers who don’t require the Japanese company to provide health insurance. Beyond the Toyota production system, the Japanse social system might also help Toyota to build car at a lesser cost.
Vokswagen CEO also said that German design and perfectionism will make the difference in overcoming Toyota. It is true that Toyota fails mainly on the design side as almost all Toyota cars features a dull styling, but Volkswagen models are not better, except for Audi.
Volkswagen also plans to unveil more than 20 new models over the next three years and will invest £20 billion between 2008 and 2010 in product development and manufacturing.
December 11, 2007
Ferrari rules out the SUV rumour

In a recent interview, Ferrari general manager Amedeo Felisa has ruled out the rumours of Ferrari planning to build a SUV. He also denied once again the rumours of the future Dino.
Porsche Cayenne’s success keeps maintaining the rumours, but Ferrari statement matches the decision made by Lamborghini which chose not to build a SUV. Launching a super SUV in the coming years would be a bad idea at a time when polluting emission regulation becomes stricter. Even Porsche might downsize the next-generation Cayenne, which will use the Audi Q5 underpinnings.
Amedeo Felisa acknowledged that Ferrari had tested a four-wheel drive transmission on the F430 but also added that the car maker dropped the idea because of the extra 176lbs generated by the system.
December 11, 2007
Volkswagen to produce the Up! in India

A big part of the 2018 world domination planned Volkswagen focuses on increasing sales in emerging markets. While the German group is a strong leader in China, it still needs to build its nest in the other largest emerging market, India. Volkswagen announced that it will build 240,000 vehicles per year there by 2012. It plans to produce two small cars there: the next-generation Polo and a a model derived from the Up! concept car.
If the production model keeps the core ideas of the Up!, the German low cost car will be more revolutionary than the Renault Logan. Although the latter is an industrial success story, it is more a skilful DIY from former Renault cars than a brand new offer. The Up! production version will receive a brand new platform, will feature a rear-engine and a minimalist interior.
Along the tow cars, it is also rumoured that Volkswagen might build a four-door Polo like Honda did with the City model. Volkswagen group has already been present in India with the Skoda brand whose models are considered as premium vehicles. The Volkswagen brand has been selling the Passat since November and the next-generation Jetta will head there.
December 11, 2007
SL-Class’ renderings from Autobild

In its latest issue, Autobild released a few renderings of the face-lifted Mercedes SL-Class. As reported in a previous post, the grille grows in size and the headlights are inspired from the CLS fascia. The revamped SL-Class becomes more aggressive but lacks a bit of elegance in this rendering, Let’s hope the real car will keep the elegance that characterises the iconic roadster.
Although the final specs of the future car remain unknown, the face-lifted SL-Class will feature new engines with direct ignition which will reduce the CO2 emissions. The engine range will start with the SL350 and will be topped by the SL 65 AMG whose V12 delivers 604bhp.
December 11, 2007
Martin Bubble unveiled on a car park at the Bologna Motor Show

Daimler must be in a mad rage as Martin Motors unveiled the Bubble model on a car park at the Bologna Motor Show. Indeed, the Italian importer of the Shuanghuan cars had been forbidden by an Italian court to show the Smart ForTwo’s carbon copy at the Italian motorshow. But its CEO, stubborn, got round the court order in a clever and funny way.
Daimler had already threatened China Automobile Deutschland of a legal action if the importer displayed the Shuanghuan Noble at the Frankfurt Motor Show in last September. In Italy, Daimler went to court to forbid the sales of the Noble/Bubble in Italy. If Daimler wins the case, the front-wheel drive city car will go back to China.
December 10, 2007