Showing posts with label New Cars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Cars. Show all posts

Friday, June 17, 2011

Honda Launches New Fit Shuttle Small MPV in Japan [ 46 Photos]


After briefly postponing the presentation of its all-new Fit Shuttle due to a variety of problems that arose from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Honda on Thursday officially launched its mini MPV.

While keeping the five-seat layout of the regular Fit (called Jazz in Europe), the Shuttle is longer and taller, with the extra space benefiting both the rear passengers and the cargo area.

Read more »

Lexus Wants to Target Younger Buyers with New 2011 LS 460 Touring Edition


How do you attract younger buyers into your showrooms? The easy to say, but evidently hard to follow-through, answer would be to design a vehicle(s) from scratch that caters to the needs of the all important 35-to-55-year-old male demographic.

So what happens when you want to do something about it…yesterday? Well, obviously, the most cost and time efficient method is to enhance the range of your model with a sport trim level. And that is exactly what Lexus is attempting with the latest addition to its top-end model.

Read more »

2012 Chevrolet Sonic Priced from $14,495 as a Sedan, $15,395 as a Hatchback


GM has just released pricing information on its North American replacement for the Chevrolet Aveo, the new Sonic. When the subcompact model goes on sale in the U.S. this fall, it will be available in four-door sedan and five-door hatchback body styles with prices including destination to start from US$14,495 and US$15,395 (€10,290 - €10,930) respectively.

There are three trim levels, LS, LT and LTZ. The base models are offered with a naturally aspirated 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine rated at 135HP, coupled to a standard five-speed manual or an optional six-speed automatic transmission priced at $1,070.

Read more »

Renault Sets New Nürburgring Lap Record for a Front-Wheel Drive Car with Megane RS Trophy


Renault has slashed its own longstanding lap record for a front-wheel drive production car at the Nordschleife, which the company held since June 23, 2008, with its new Megane RenaultSport (RS) Trophy special.

The 265-horsepower version of the Megane RS completed a full lap around the Nürburgring racetrack in 8 minutes and 7.97 seconds beating the time of the previous generation Mégane Renaultsport R26.R by 9 seconds. In comparison, the now obsolete 305HP Ford Focus RS posted a lap time of 8 minutes and 26 seconds in the summer of 2009.

Read more »

Thursday, June 16, 2011

New Renault Duster for South America Debuts at Buenos Aires Motor Show


The Renault-Nissan Alliance’s low-cost Dacia Duster SUV has lost its Romanian badges to cater to the needs of the South American market where it will be sold under the Renault brand.

Redesigned for the local market, the Renault Duster SUV makes its regional debut at this week’s Buenos Aires Motor Show. It will first launch in Argentina and Brazil during the last quarter of the year, with more countries to follow after. Production will take place at Renault’s Curitiba plant in Brazil.

Read more »

Toyota Europe Officially Presents 2012 Yaris, Sales Start this Summer


We first brought you news on the European version of third generation Yaris hatchback on Wednesday, but today, Toyota followed up with initial details on its VW Polo and Ford Fiesta rival.

Toyota’s newcomer in the European supermini segment will manufactured at the Japanese firm’s Valenciennes factory in France with sales to start before the end of this summer.

Read more »

Saab UK Announces 2012 9-5 Sedan and SportWagon Amidst Production Halt


If there was ever an award for bad timing, Saab’s UK division would probably be a front-runner this month. You see, there is something fundamentally wrong with announcing pricing and details on a new product when its production has been suspended (even if, as Saab claims, proves to be temporary, in which case, why not wait?).

In any case and with Saab’s future depending on deals that still need to be approved from Swedish, European and Chinese officials, the company gave out UK pricing information on the 2012 model year 9-5 range, which benefits from the introduction of the SportWagon and a series of enhancements, including additional features and further reduced CO2 emissions for all engines.

Read more »

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Nissan Rebadges Mazda5 MPV for Japan, Calls it the New Lafesta Highway Star


After preparing its customers with an announcement in January, Nissan today went ahead and introduced a re-badged version of the Mazda5 MPV (called Premacy in its home market) in the form of the new Lafesta Highway Star. The compact minivan is supplied to Nissan by Mazda on an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) basis, and will be sold exclusively in Japan. Read more »

Chevrolet Improves 2012 Cruze’s Fuel Economy by 2MPG and Adds New Standard Features


General Motors is releasing a model year update for its Cruze compact sedan. There are no styling changes as the company focused its attention on improving the car’s fuel economy and equipment features.

Thanks to a lower axle ratio for the 2012 models equipped with a six speed automatic transmission, the standard Cruze with the 138HP 1.4-liter turbocharged engine returns 38 mpg compared with 36 mpg for the current model, while the Cruze Eco with the same powetrain setup delivers 39 mpg instead of 37 mpg.

Read more »

2012 Buick Regal GS Officially Rated at 270HP, up from 255HP


The official performance and fuel economy numbers on the 2012 Buick Regal GS are out. When GM revealed the Buick’s sports sedan in production trim at the Detroit Motor Show this past January, the company estimated that the Regal GS was good for 255HP and a 0-60mph time of less than 7 seconds.

Now GM announced that the Regal GS’ 2.0-liter direct-injected turbocharged four-cylinder engine has been SAE-certified to deliver 270 horsepower (201kW) and 295 lb.-ft. of torque (400Nm) fat 2,400 rpm or an estimated 0-60 mph performance of 6.7 seconds, or 0.9 seconds slower than the car’s European sibling, the Opel Insignia OPC that features a 325HP V6 and AWD.

Read more »

New Peugeot 107 Sportium Special Edition for the UK Market


When automakers don’t have something truly new to add to one of their models, they tend to introduce special edition versions, which most of the times translates to added equipment features. And that’s the case with the new Peugeot 107 Sportium Special Edition for the British market. Read more »

BMW Officially Lifts the Veil on 2012 M5 with 560HP V8 Turbo [154 High-Res Photos]


With the first photos of the all-new 2012 M5 making the internet rounds since the early hours of Wednesday morning, BMW decided to lift the embargo and officially present the fifth generation of its high-performance saloon.

As with all previous M5s since the introduction of the first generation model back in 1984, the most important highlight of the car is tucked away behind the double kidney grilles. This time, BMW’s M division opted for a 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine that replaces the previous M5’s more exotic but less powerful, naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V10 with 507HP.

Read more »

All-new European Market 2012 Toyota Yaris Breaks Cover


Toyota has unveiled the European version of the new Yaris, its all-new supermini which will replace the model of the same name in the summer of 2011. The new Yaris is, quite predictably, based on the Yaris HSD Hybrid prototype that we saw last March in Geneva.

It adopts Toyota’s new design language, with more angular headlights and more prominent creases in the body, although the general shape does not stray too much from the previous generation model.

Read more »

2012 BMW M5: First Official Photos Leak on the Internet


These are the first official pictures of the all-new BMW M5. It is based on the latest generation of the 5-Series, the F10, and boasts all the visual cues that you expect from a car that has been honed by BMW’s famous M-division: namely huge air intakes in the front bumper, side vents in the front wings bearing the M-logo, 20-inch wheels with 265/35 front and 295/30 rear ZR-rated tires, and twin tailpipes at either end of the rear diffuser.

As anticipated, the new model breaks with tradition by using a twin-turbocharged V8 (the outgoing M5 had a V10 and the one before that a V8, with the previous versions making do with in-line straight sixes, all naturally aspirated) sourced from the X5 M and X6 M.

Losing two cylinders and gaining two turbochargers seems like a fair trade, though, since the new M5’s output is up by 45 hp, from 507 to 552, and, more importantly, maximum torque has risen from 383 to 501 lb-ft (53,0 to 69,4 kgm).

Read more »

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Renault Samsung Debut New SM7 Saloon in South Korea


The Renault-Nissan alliance’s South Korean subsidiary Samsung has presented the production version of its SM7 sedan model, which was displayed as a thinly disguised concept car at the 2011 Seoul Motor Show this past April.

Putting aside some minor details such as the lower parts of the front and rear bumpers, and the less extravagant choice of alloy wheels, nothing else has changed from the concept model.

Read more »

Zenvo Announces Special Edition ST-1 50 for North America with 1,250HP, Priced at…$1.8 Million


If you have a couple million dollars lying around and do not know what to do about it give us a call , perhaps Zenvo can help. Denmark's first supercar manufacturer and its U.S. importer Red Sea Distribution have announced a special edition version of their ST-1 created exclusively for North America.

Named the ST-1 50, the North American special is offered in a choice of three colors (red, white and blue) and comes equipped with an upgraded version of Zenvo’s own 7-liter supercharged and turbocharged V8 engine pushing out a thundering 1,250 HP and 1,500 Nm (1,106 lb-ft), up from the standard ST-1’s 1,104 HP and 1,430 Nm.

Read more »

Mazda Expands CX-9 Lineup in Australia with Front-Wheel Drive Model


Given that are many buyers are not interested in the merits of all wheel drive when it comes to shopping crossovers, Mazda decided to expand the range of its 7-seater CX-9 in Australia with the addition of a front-wheel drive [FWD] only version available in a choice of two trim levels, Classic and Luxury.

Power for the FWD CX-9 continues to be provided by a 3.7-liter V6 engine producing 204kW (274HP) and 367Nm, mated to a 6-speed Activematic transmission. As you would expect, the FWD version is a tad more fuel efficient than the AWD model returning 11.0 lt/100km instead of 11.2lt/100km.

Read more »

BMW Rumored to Rename New 1- and 3-Series Coupes into 2- and 4-Series. What Do You Say?


Citing unnamed sources from within the brand, Britain’s Car Magazine reported on Tuesday that BMW is seriously entertaining the idea of renaming the next generation of its two-door 1- and 3-Series models into the 2- and 4-Series respectively.

The new badges would be applied on the two-door coupe and convertible as well as the sportier GT fastback models of the future 1- and 3-Series lineup.

As some of you may recall, this is not the first time that BMW has toyed around with the thought of turning the 3-Series coupe and convertible into the 4-Series, with the Bavarian company coming very close to executing the idea in the beginning of the new millennium.

Read more »

Alfa Romeo 4C Sports Concept Heading to Goodwood Festival of Speed


The new Alfa Romeo 4C Sports Concept will receive its UK public debut at the rapidly approaching 2011 Goodwood Festival of Speed, which takes place from July 1 to 3.

Seen for the first time at the Geneva Salon in March, Italy’s answer to the Lotus Elise boasts a lightweight chassis with power coming from a mid-mounted 1.75-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine delivering 200 ponies to the rear wheels. It can complete the 0-62mph (100km/h) sprint in less than 5 seconds and reach a top speed of 155mph (250km/h). Production is set to start in 2012.

Read more »

BMW Crafts Special 760Li Individual Limos for The Charles Hotel in Munich


The guests at The Charles Hotel in Munich, Germany, can now savor the services of BMW’s finest as the Bavarian carmaker has just handed over to the hotel the keys to a pair of special limousines based on the flagship 760Li, which come equipped with a twin-turbocharged V12 engine churning out 544-horsepower. Read more »