Latest News
 
Oct 26, 2006
Fiat Bravo to replace Stilo


This is the first official picture of Fiat's new Bravo, which will replace the unsuccessful Stilo next spring. The new Bravo is a 5-door hatchback, unlike the original 1995 Bravo which was strictly a 3-door (alongside its 5-door sister Brava). From the picture, it has the same body profile as the forthcoming Lancia Delta HPE - a wide stance, slim nose and rising shoulder line. Unsurprisingly, both cars share the same platform. The Bravo has some traces of Grande Punto at its nose, but Frank Stephenson of Fiat Style Center opted for a more elegant treatment. This means the Bravo looks even more stylish and expensive than Grande Punto.

The Bravo measures 434cm long, 179cm wide and 149cm tall. This is quite long and wide by class standard. However, most of the extra length is spent on the long front overhang for stylish look. That means the 2600mm wheelbase is just average by class standard. However, the 400-liter luggage space is outstanding for a hatchback.

Technical details are scarce. Fiat's press release only mentioned that it will offer the following engines:

- 90hp 1.4-liter petrol (from Punto)
- 120hp 1.4-liter T-JET petrol turbo (new engine)
- 150hp 1.4-liter T-JET petrol turbo (high boost version of the above)
- 120hp 1.9-liter Multijet turbo diesel
- 150hp 1.9-liter Multijet turbo diesel

Thanks to the popularity of Grande Punto and the cost cut, Fiat has posted 4 straight quarterly profits recently. If the new Bravo perform as good as it looks, Fiat will undoubtedly enter a new prosperous period.
 
Oct 26, 2006
3-Series Cabriolet


Official details of the new generation 3-Series Cabriolet has been released. As expected, it switches to the popular retractable hard roof to offer better thermal and noise insulation, plus larger window area unobtainable from fabric roof. The 3-piece electro-hydraulic mechanism opens and closes in 22 seconds. Boot volume is 350 liters and 210 liters when the roof is up and down respectively, which is competitive by class standard.



Five models will be offered: 335i is powered by the new twin-turbo direct-injection 3.0 inline-6 with 306 horsepower. 330i and 325i are powered by the existing magnesium-aluminum block inline-6 with 272hp and 218hp respectively, but they gained direct-injection and deleted Valvetronic. 320i will get a new direct injection 2.0-liter 170hp inline-4 instead of the current 150hp unit. In the diesel side, initially there will be 330d with 231hp 3.0 turbo diesel six. Expect more diesel variants to join.
  
Oct 26, 2006
Roewe 750 = Rover 75


SAIC has unveiled the Roewe 750 in its Chinese web site (www.roewe.com.cn). Unfortunately most of you won't understand, so let me translate. The car retains almost all details of Rover 75 in its final form, including the Audi-inspired single-frame grille, but the wheelbase has been stretched by about 100mm to 2849mm (though shorter than the 2950mm of Rover 75 Vanden Plas / Limousine). At launch, the only engine offered is the 2.5-liter KV6, with Siemens engine management system to comply with Euro IV emission and produce 184 horsepower. It mates with an Aisin 5-speed automatic transmission to do 0-100km/h in a leisure 10.2 seconds. Suspensions continues to be struts up front and BMW's Z-axle at the rear.
  
Oct 26, 2006
Fiat Linea


As "Linea" means "line" in Italian, it is apparently a booted and stretched version of Punto, which means "point". While the mainstream European markets are satisfied with the hatchback Punto, people in developing countries prefer 3-box sedans. Therefore Fiat stretched the wheelbase of Punto by 90mm to 2600mm, added a 500 liters boot and created the Linea. Production will start in Turkey, with China and probably Brazil to follow.
      
Oct 26, 2006
Toyota Auris production car


Shortly following the concept car shown in Paris Motor Show, Toyota has unveiled the production Auris, in both Japan and Europe. It will replace the outgoing Corolla hatchback and aim at younger customers than the conservative Corolla can attract. The Japanese Auris has just gone on sale, while European sales will start in spring next year.

The elegant but slightly dull shape is the work of Toyota's European studio in France, which also styled the two generations of Yaris. The interior is more radical, thanks to a Volvo-like floating center console on which the gearshifter is mounted high for easy reach. Underneath the floating console is a storage cubby.



Mechanically, the car shares all the underpinnings with Corolla, including the flat rear passenger floor, the MacPherson strut / torsion-beam suspensions (though whose setting is tuned in Europe), the Super CVT-i transmission with 7-speed manual simulation, the 136hp 1.8-liter Dual-VVT-i engine and 110hp 1.5-liter VVT-i engine. Instead of these engines, European Auris will offer 97 hp 1.4 VVT-i, 124hp 1.6 VVT-i, 90hp 1.4D4-D, 126hp 2.0D4-D and 177hp 2.2D4-D turbo diesel.


    
Oct 26, 2006
Industry News
Taurus end of the road



After years of struggling and rely on cheap fleet sales to keep surviving, Ford is going to end the production of Taurus tomorrow (Oct 27). The Taurus was born in 1985 and nearly 7 million units have been built.
   
Oct 20, 2006
TVR finally quits UK !
A couple of days ago TVR's Russian boss Nikolai Smolenski announced that the company will close its production plant in the UK and subcontract the assembly work to an overseas supplier. All 260 staffs will be dismissed. This came as a shock after the company reached an agreement with local city council in June to stay in Blackpool. In the press release, Smolenski expressed regret to the decision but described that it is necessary to secure the future of TVR.

Smolenski did not reveal where the production will go, only said that it will remain in Europe and the engine will continue to be built in the UK. Now everybody is guessing who are the subcontractors. Yesterday Autocar reported that, according to insiders, the production will go to Bertone in Turin, Italy. This makes sense because Bertone's plant is now empty after finishing the production of Mini GP (it previously built Opel Astra Coupe and BMW C1 scooter). Subcontracting the assembly work to Bertone could reduce costs and dramatically improve the notorious build quality of TVR simultaneously.

Autocar also revealed that the production of Speed-Six engine will be transferred to UK engineering consultant Ricardo, which is already handling the modification work to comply with Euro IV emission standard.

While the decision to close Blackpool factory and leave UK seems cruel, it is probably a correct decision. To survive, TVR can no longer produce its cars in the old fashion way and ignore the call for high quality. Although UK may still be a good place for design and engineering, manufacturing has been a sunset industry there because of the cost / quality problems. As for design and engineering, TVR has plenty of choices in the UK, such as Ricardo, Prodrive and many ex-employees of other sports car specialists. This mean there is no need to keep running its own engineering and styling departments.
  
Oct 20, 2006
TT Roadster


The Roadster version of TT has been unveiled. Styling-wise, it remains loyal to the original TT Roadster, thanks to a pair of rollover bars behind the headrests. The roof continues to be a fabric soft roof, as Audi thinks the fashionable retractable metal roofs are too heavy and space consuming. The entry-level 200hp 2.0TFSI model gets a manually operated roof and front-wheel-drive only to justify its lower price, while the 250hp 3.2 V6 has Quattro 4WD and an electro-hydraulic roof opens in 12 seconds. It also gets an additional layer of insulation.

Chassis reinforcement includes the rollover bars, strengthened side sills and an additional steel tube built into the windscreen pillar. Torsional rigidity is more than doubled over the last generation TT Roadster, while kerb weight has been reduced due to the aluminum-steel hybrid chassis. 58 percent of the chassis is made of aluminum, compare with 69 percent in the coupe. The 2.0TFSI with manual roof weighs only 35 kg more than the equivalent coupe. Aerodynamic drag coefficient merely increases from 0.30 to 0.32, so the Roadster loses little performance.
  
Oct 14, 2006
Roewe = Rover (the ghost never dies)
Left: Roewe; Right: Rover

After failing to purchase the Rover brand name from BMW (as Ford exercised the clause in their contract to buy the Rover brand in order to protect Land Rover), Chinese car maker SAIC decided to develop its own brand. Yesterday, it made the announcement in China. The brand is called "Roewe", horribly close to Rover and give us an impression of intellectual property piracy like many fake Chinese products.

However, SAIC did not hide the fact that it owns the intellectual property of Rover 75, if not the brand name. In its website (www.roewe.com.cn) it said "Although it is not a traditional British marque, its Rover-originated intellectual property DNA let it actually succeed the traditional features of British marques - noble, elegant, good taste, timeless... such qualities to become a classic."

The Rover 75 replica, or "Roewe 750",  will be unveiled on 24 October. It will be positioned as a middle-upper class vehicle in the Chinese market. However, we did not hear any firm plans for export now.
   
Oct 10, 2006
The 10th generation Toyota Corolla


Toyota has released the 10th generation Corolla in Japan today. The Japanese Corolla consists of 2 versions: Corolla Axio is the 4-door sedan and Corolla Fielder is the station wagon. Disappointingly, both cars look conservative and boring. The sedan has a proportion unbelievably close to the old car - length, width and wheelbase are unchanged, only the height has been reduced by 10mm. The headlights and grille are the only noticeable styling differences.

Inside, the cabin gets marginally longer and wider thanks to more efficient packaging. Following arch-rival Honda Civic, the rear cabin floor is now nearly flat, easing the foot room for the middle passenger. The dashboard design is new but hardly inspiring. From photos, we cannot see any upgrade in build quality and materials in the cabin. If there is any, the improvement won't be as vast as the old generation did 5 years ago.
Mechanical aspect remains close to the old car. It rides on MacPherson struts suspensions up front and torsion-beam axle at the rear. Toyota didn't talked much about chassis rigidity, so we expect driving dynamics won't be much improved. Powertrain continues to include 1.5 VVT-i and 1.8 VVT-i engines. The former is a tuned version of the old car, producing 110 horsepower. The latter, codenamed 2ZR-FE, is said to be a new development. The main improvement is the introduction of dual VVT-i, one for intake valves and one for exhaust valves, to improve efficiency further. This mean slightly lower fuel consumption and higher torque throughout the range. Peak power, however, is unchanged at 136hp. Both engines can partner with a new Super CVT-i transmission to enhance fuel economy. It can also simulate a 7-speed manual.

Nevertheless, the biggest advance of the new Corolla is safety features. It is equipped with many big cars safety equipments:

1. A rear view monitor aiding parking;
2. An intelligent self parking system like that being used in Prius and LS460;
3. Radar cruise control;
4. Mercedes-like Pre-Crash safety system, which uses radar to detect possible collision. In prior to collision, it applies braking and tightens seat belts.
Model
Corolla Axio 1.5
Corolla Axio 1.8
Layout
Front-engined, Fwd
Front-engined, Fwd
L / W / H / WB (mm)
4410 / 1695 / 1460 / 2600
4410 / 1695 / 1460 / 2600
Engine
Inline-4, dohc, 4v/cyl,
intake VVT.
Inline-4, dohc, 4v/cyl,
intake & exhaust VVT.
Capacity
1496 cc
1797 cc
Power
110 hp
136 hp
Torque
103 lbft
129 lbft
Transmission
Super CVT-i
Super CVT-i
Suspension (F/R)
strut / torsion-beam
strut / torsion-beam
Tyres (F/R)
All: 195/65SR15
All: 195/65SR15
Weight
1150 kg
1190 kg
 
  
Oct 10, 2006
ECOTY finalists
The finalists of 2007 European Car of the Year award has been announced. This year the competition is so tight that the jury panel chose 8 finalists instead of the usual 7. They are:


 Fiat Grande Punto


 Opel Corsa


 Peugeot 207


 Honda Civic


 Volvo C30

 
 Skoda Roomster


 Citroen C4 Picasso


 Ford S-Max

Which one will win the contest ? it seems to close to predict, but I will put more money on C4 Picasso. We shall know the final result by November 13.
  
Oct 5, 2006
GM-Renault-Nissan talk of alliance dead
Yesterday, GM's board voted against forming alliance with Renault-Nissan. CEO Rick Wagoner said the alliance would have generated more benefits to Renault-Nissan rather than GM, which is against the interests of GM's shareholders. As Carlos Ghosn refused to make compensation to GM, the two firms agreed to terminate the alliance talk.

“GM sells more than 9 million vehicles a year globally," said Wagoner, "It’s not logical or responsible to say we must have a partner to recover.”

Wagoner might be right for that. But as everybody knows, the real point of the alliance is not to optimize economy of scale, but to bring a more competent management than Wagoner himself. Wagoner has been GM's CEO since year 2000 (plus chairman since 2003). After 6 years of leadership he still fails to find solutions to the company's deep-rooted problems. Yes, GM doesn't need any alliances. What it needs is a new CEO / Chairman.
  
Oct 5, 2006
Daihatsu Move renewed


Daihatsu has released the new generation Move in Japan. As before, Move is a very tall Kei-car emphasizing interior space and versatility. The new car measures 1630mm tall, 90mm taller than a Fiat Panda. Other dimensions are strictly bounded by the Kei-car regulations - 3395mm length and 1475mm width. However, Daihatsu managed to squeeze 2490mm for the wheelbase, setting a new standard for Kei-cars ! for comparison, its arch-rival Suzuki Wagon R measures 2360mm only.

Styling-wise, the new Move look quite boring. Its interior also lacks any innovation, as there were already too many storage cubbies or flexible layout in the cabin. However, material quality and fit and finish have been improved.

The new car is powered by a new KF-VE 3-cylinder DOHC engine with variable valve timing. It outputs a maximum 58 horsepower at a heady 7200 rpm and 48 lbft of torque at 4000 rpm. Transmission can be either 5-speed manual, 4-speed automatic or a fuel-saving CVT.

Move Custom gets aggressive body kits and a turbocharger to enable 63 horsepower and 76 lbft of torque at a much useful 3000 rpm.
  
Oct 3, 2006
Paris Motor Show: other cars
Renault Twingo Concept



The successor of the first generation Twingo is surprisingly conservative - it even sacrifice the once-pioneering monospace design ! shown here as concept car, the production Twingo II will be toned down. It measures 3600mm long, 1727mm wide and 1411mm tall, i.e., 170mm longer, 100mm wider but slightly lower than the old car. The show car is equipped with a new 1.2-liter 16V turbo petrol engine good for 100 horsepower and 107 lbft of torque.

Toyota Yaris TS



The hot hatch version of Yaris gets Toyota's new 1.8-liter four with Dual-VVT-i (previously only VVT-i at the intake valves), although horsepower is actually reduced from 136hp to 132hp, both rated in DIN. A top speed of 120mph and 0-60mph in 8.7 seconds is rather poor by class standard.

Toyota Auris



The new generation Toyota Corolla is going to be launched next week in Japan, but in Europe it will give way to a new nameplate, Auris, in order to get rid of the conservative image. Auris should look more funky than Corolla, which will remain conservative to please Japanese buyers. However, from the proportion it looks unmistakably close to the current Corolla hatchback, meaning this is still a boring design to us. No technical details has been released, but you can expect its underpinnings to be the same as the new Corolla.

Skoda Joyster



Probably the most impressive concept car to me is Skoda Joyster. It breaks the mould from mainstream hatchback. The next generation Fabia may get some influence from it.

Ford Mondeo sedan



Having shown the Mondeo concept car in estate form, Ford has released pictures of Mondeo sedan.

Venturi Astrolab



Very interesting ! French (actually Monaco-based) car maker Venturi is to produce the world's first electric-solar hybrid power car. It is constructed with carbon fiber monocoque to form a survival cell like formula one race cars. Power comes from a 21 horsepower electric motor supplied by a NiMH battery, which can be charged by either AC power socket or the solar cells covering all over the car - warn you: the latter alone could take a life's time. As the car weighs only 280kg, it could run up to 75mph (120km/h) has has a max range of 68 miles (110km), barely suitable for inter-city transport. Sales will start in Jan 2008 at the same price of a 911 Turbo. No, I am not kidding. Venturi's last car, the electric-powered Fetish, was as expensive as Ferrari Enzo and no one wanted it. Good luck !
 
Oct 3, 2006
Industry News
Audi's 1.8TFSI engine and 2.8 FSI Valvelift V6

Audi has introduced two new engines. The first one is a 1.8TFSI (turbo, direct injection). It is the little brother of Volkswagen group's 2.0TFSI but is designed to be cheaper and larger in production scale – it will be a successor to Volkswagen group's legendary 1781cc four cylinder engine. It will be built in its engine plants at Hungary and China. To reduce costs, it employs cast iron block instead of aluminum alloy one. However, the FSI's injection pressure has been increased to 150 bar and make through new 6-hole injectors for finer and more efficient fuel mixing. The engine develops 160 horsepower from 5000 to 6200rpm and 184 lbft of torque from 1500-4200rpm. The engine is still equipped with twin-balancer shafts and CVVT at the intake side.

Meanwhile, Audi is introducing a new 2.8-liter FSI V6. It is a family of the existing 90-degree V6 / V8 family and is derived directly from the 3.2 FSI V6 with stroke reduced. The 2773cc engine employs CVVT at all camshafts, a 2-stage intake manifolds, FSI direct injection, balancer shaft and Audi's new Valvelift system (see AutoZine Technical School for details). It produces 210 horsepower and 206 lbft of torque. Fuel consumption (combined cycle) is 32.4mpg when equipped in A6 with manual gearbox.
  

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