Your daily automotive news!
Kizashi concept from Suzuki which was seen during the year 2007 at the Frankfurt motor show has today uncovered a production edition. This release shows that the firm is taking its first departure from budget cars and 4×4s. This is the confirmed first model in the Suzuki array which will get the firm’s new hybrid engineering. (more…)
Citroen’s outstanding GT super car notion is to make its first appearance in UK on the 1.16-mile Goodwood Hill during this year’s Festival of Speed taking place between July 3 and 5.
This demo run is not the first time for the GT by Citroën as the car has finished laps of honour at both the Nürburgring and Le Mans 24-hour survival races.
The car had made its first appearance at the Paris Motor Show in October 2008. Citroën and Polyphony, architect of the driving replication game Gran Turismo5 on the PlayStation 3, revealed the imitation of the digital vehicle and impressed the crowd with its innovative looks and high-tech technology.
The size of the car is almost 5 metres long (4.96m), and is only a metre more in height which is 1.09m. It has a big coil of windscreen that falls into the roof and on the rear mobile surface.
Continuing business and restructuring will be carried out simultaneously by Chrysler, since it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the USA.
20% of the stake of Chrysler will be taken up by Fiat and this will be augmented to 35% in increments- Fiat has confirmed to this extent today. This is being done under an ‘agreement in principle’ mode.
The increments will be done in the following ways:
Fiat will be not be given full ownership of Chrysler till all the debt of Chrysler’s to the US government are paid off.
The governments of both US and Canada will take up 8% and 2% stakes respectively. A new organisation known as the Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (VEBA) will possess 55% of the stakes.
PSA Peugeot-Citroen will cut over 11,000 jobs this year, with the 1st superfluousnesses in European factories outside France.
This is in addition to the loss of 2,700 jobs late last year. The company had incurred a loss of €343 million last year.
PSA’s plants in Slovakia and the Czech Republic are the first affected. The prioritizing of jobs in France has been helped by President Nicolas Sarkozy’s proclamation of a €3billion loan to PSA to guard French employees.
The European Commission also has sanctioned a €1.7million package to assist jobless auto industry workers in the Castilla y Leon and Aragon regions of Spain. Over 1,080 workers from12 firms have been struck in these deprived areas and unions have enforced to the EU under a scheme which funds for training of individuals made surplus.
Citroen is extending ‘Airdream+’ exceptional edition versions of its C3 and C4. 
The C3 Airdream+ will have 1.4 HDI (70bhp) diesel engines which give 64.2mpg and 115g/km of carbon dioxide – and its equipment includes air conditioning, electric windows, rear parking sensors and 15-inch alloy wheels. The price starts from £10,995.
The C4 Airdream+ the price starting from £13,895 is based on the normal 5 door 1.6 HDI SX, with extra parking sensors.
Both cars will be available on a 0% APR which has to be repaid in 3 years and there is no-deposit finance deal.
Citroen is extending ‘Airdream+’ exceptional edition versions of its C3 and C4.
The C3 Airdream+ will have 1.4 HDI (70bhp) diesel engines which give 64.2mpg and 115g/km of carbon dioxide – and its equipment includes air conditioning, electric windows, rear parking sensors and 15-inch alloy wheels. The price starts from £10,995.
The C4 Airdream+ the price starting from £13,895 is based on the normal 5 door 1.6 HDI SX, with extra parking sensors.
Both cars will be available on a 0% APR which has to be repaid in 3 years and there is no-deposit finance deal.
Ford’s Lincoln part is taking into account a compact car which however packs in all the customary Lincoln luxuries.
The C Concept has been planned with nowadays upscale, city-bred consumer in mind, and as a rational indulgence.
He considers that people are well-situated with the idea of curtailment. Its door set up reminiscences the ‘suicide door’ of 1961 Lincoln Continental, with rear-hinged front doors.
The low-rise, Focus-length C’s equipped with a turbocharged 1.6-litre EcoBoost engine developing 180bhp and 180 lb-ft, and six-speed dual-clutch sequential-shift transmission. It’s capable of 51.6mpg on the highway.
The cabin is all-white, with chrome details, light grey recycled wood trim, white chromium-free leather seats, instrument panel and door panels, and white Alcatraz headlining.
For the 13th year in a row the Holden Commodore is the best-selling car Down Under.
Though the 51,093 cars sold were less when compared to the Commodore’s peak sales figure of ten years ago 94,642, it was still ahead of the next contender, the Toyota Corolla.
Sales were promoted by the addition of the Sport wagon estate to the array and discounts offered to the tune of $10,000 towards the end of the year.
Toyota, having its manufacturing facilities in Australia, was the best-selling brand by a wide margin. It sold nearly 239,000 vehicles, whereas Holden sold less than 130,500. Ford sold 104,715.
New car sales went down by just 3.6% on 2007’s results, with 1,012,164 vehicles sold. Fiat, Maserati, Ferrari, Volkswagen, Audi and Citroen all recorded large rises.
In Britain, the best-selling car is the Ford Focus and in the US it’s the F-150 pick-up truck.
Honda’s keeping a tight rein on the 2009 Insight hybrid, due to officially drop for the U.S. market in two weeks at the North American International Auto Show . (Honda has cancelled its press conference at the show, but the Insight will still be displayed.)That hasn’t stopped the folks at the Temple of VTEC and Carscoop from getting leaked scans of a Japanese-market brochure, revealing the new Insight’s front, rear and interior details.
Judging by the pictures, the interior is largely unchanged from the Insight Concept that debuted in Paris.
The brochure also shows images of the Japanese-market Insight Modulo, a sportier version of the hybrid featuring a body kit, auxiliary lighting and larger wheels.
According to the scans, the Insight will be available in three trim levels in Japan. There’s also a set of specifications copied below from the “Insightman” website, but they’re unverified.
More info about alternative fuels or hybrid technology can be found on the website of car fuel options. The newest alternative fuel is CNG, also known as Compressed Natural Gas. More about cars on natural gas. Looking for a better car insurance? A full coverage insurance or other types of cars insurance.
Prices for Seat’s all-new Exeo saloon start from £17,740 and goes on till £21,340. The car is to go on sale in the UK in April.
The Exeo will be accessible in S, SE, Sport and range-topping SE Lux trim levels, with an original option of 3 engines.
Power plants come in with a brace of general rail turbo diesels giving 141bhp or 168bhp, and a 198bhp turbocharged petrol. They are all matched to a 6-speed manual gearbox.
When launching, the new Seat saloon’s 0-62 mph times range from 9.2 seconds through to 8.4 seconds to 7.3 seconds for the 197bhp TSI petrol-powered version. Maximal speeds are 133mph, 142mph and 149mph respectively. Betting on engine, the Exeo is capable of up to 51.4 mpg and gives out 143g/km of carbon dioxide.
Instrumentation includes USB connections, cruise organizes, steering wheel-mounted audio controls, double zone climate control and alloy wheels. Front fog lamps, electrically adaptable and heated door mirrors, electric windows all round and color-coded door handles and mirrors are also standard on every Exeo.
It also offers rear parking sensors, automatic lights and wipers, auto-dimming rear view mirror, leather steering wheel and gear knob and sound-deadening windscreen.
Renault-Nissan has signed a deal with Swiss electricity provider Energie Ouest Suisse to develop a recharging infrastructure and promote electric vehicle use.
Renault-Nissan intends to supply EOS with electric vehicles for its fleet.
EOS says that transportation accounts for 33% of Switzerland’s greenhouse gas emissions and that replacing 15% of Switzerland’s cars with electric vehicles by 2020 would save 1.1million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. 85% of the electricity it produces is from hydropower generators.