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Audi A1 to be sold outside EU, but not the USA?

September 1, 2010 at 11:32 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Audi, Cars, International News

Audi’s has changed its sales strategy by announcing that they will be making the Audi A1 available in markets outside Europe. This was down to an increasing global interest in the entry level Audi, according to Peter Schwarzenbauer Audi’s sales chief.

A website that Audi set up attracted more than 150,000 interested customers, a big change as sales was originally planned for just the European market. “Many of the Asian markets are now showing a trend toward smaller vehicles, For that reason, it’s right to sell the A1 also in those regions.”

Unfortunately for Chinese and American customers, they’ll have to wait. The A1 is said to go on sale in China sometime after 2011, while the US will only receive the car “at the earliest” with the second generation.

In preparation for global sales, Audi will be bumping up production by 20 percent for the A1. Audi also plans to dethrone BMW as the world’s largest luxury car maker by 2015, with a target sales figure of 1.08 million cars and SUVs this year.

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More speculation on exciting Lotus line-up at Paris 2010

September 1, 2010 at 11:14 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News, Lotus

More unconfirmed information has surfaced about Lotus’ line up for the Paris Motor Show, with sources reporting the Hethel based company presenting four new models, with two of them using some form of hybrids powertrain.

First up is a modern interpretation of the Lotus Seven. According to sources Lotus has made the car heavier and more comfort orientated with niceties like air conditioning. The original was more like the Caterham’s that you see today, which is in a way a descendant of the original Lotus Seven.

Even more surprising is the fact that there won’t be anything Lotus about the car, as the car is based on a “stillborn” Spanish sports car concept and most probably will be produced in Spain. This is expected to be priced around the $100,000 mark.

An Esprit is also said to make an appearance, which was previously put on hold by former CEO Mike Kimberly, to push forward the Evora, deemed more important at the time. The car is said to be mid-engined with a turbocharged V8. Moving away from its lightweight roots, the car will use minimal carbon fiber and more bonded aluminum materials.

Most exciting is the introduction of two front-engined Lotus hybrids. One will definitely be a premium Lotus-badged version of the Proton EMAS Concept. All this will be displayed alongside the Lotus Evora S and the Lotus IPS in Paris on the 30th of September 2010. We will keep you updated as soon as we hear anything.

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Euro 5 compliant 2011 Lexus IS-F unveiled ahead of Paris

September 1, 2010 at 11:01 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News, Lexus

Automotive manufacturers have been “cleaning up” their act so to speak in terms of their high performance variants, with announcement of the discontinuation of models like the Focus ST.

Fortunately for Lexus and the IS-F, this hasn’t been the case. The Toyota based company will be unveiling a revised 5.0 litre V8 that will be more compliant with the upgraded Euro 5 standard. The engine will still generate 423hp, accelerating the car to a 100 km/h in just 4.7 seconds. This goes on to reach an electronically limited top speed of 270km/h.

The 2011 model which will debut at the upcoming Paris Motor Show, will also feature exterior tweaks such as a new headlight design with LED daytime running lights, rear light design, a revised front grille, new alloy wheels along with new exterior colours. This is nothing new as they’ve also been made available for the regular IS with the F-sport package.

Inside changes include better support for the driver in the form of a new seat design, blue stitching for the leather upholstery and redesigned instrument clusters. A picture gallery is available after the jump.
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Holden-designed Cruze hatchback may debut in Paris?

September 1, 2010 at 10:37 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, Chevrolet, Holden, International News

According to reports from Australian publication Go Auto, General Motors might be showcasing a Chevrolet Cruze hatchback alongside the new Aveo and Orlando at this year’s Paris Motor Show.

GM Holden is said to have links with the design of the hatchback model (essentially an Optra5 replacement) which was done at its design facility in Melbourne, Australia. This would also mean that the hatchback will be built at the GM Holden factory in Adelaide and is expected to cater for the Australian, Asian and European market. In Europe, it will likely be positioned as a cheaper alternative to its platform-mate, the Opel Astra.

The car won’t vary too much from the standard sedan and will be put into production sometime in 2011. It will also be based on the same platform and mechanics as the Cruze sedan, with some speculating that it might have better suspension and handling.

Holden on the other hand have not confirmed any reports of its appearance at Paris but went on to make this statement.” There will be some exciting news coming out of the Paris motor show and the Chevy reveals for the Australian market,” Holden external communications director Emily Perry speaking to GoAuto. Truth or fiction, we’ll find out when the Paris Motor Show rolls out the carpet on the 30th of September.

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First photos of Cruze-based Chevrolet Orlando 7-seater

August 31, 2010 at 5:04 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Chevrolet, International News

This is the production version of the Chevrolet Orlando 7-seater MPV, which is based on the Chevy Cruze platform. It’s basically a competitor for other C-segment car platform based MPVs such as the Toyota Wish, the Honda Stream, and the Peugeot 5008.

The design differs quite greatly from what we usually expect – all of its competitors are sleek and curvy while GM has decided to go for an American boxy and muscular look with the Orlando. This production car was first previewed as the Orlando Concept two years ago.

Perhaps there is a possibility that Naza might just launch this as an official Chevrolet offering sometime in the future as the Orlando is set to be launched in Indonesia soon for about 250 million Indonesian Rupiah. This shows that GM has the “ASEAN market introduction” checkbox ticked for the Orlando 7-seater.

Two engine variants are planned for the Indonesian market – a 1.8 litre petrol engine similar to the one in the Cruze and a 2.0 litre diesel with 163 horsepower.

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Opel is coming to China and the rest of Asia Pacific!

August 31, 2010 at 4:25 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News, Opel

Opel, who are under GM’s European division, have announced plans of selling the brands in China. This will eventually open up to countries in the Asia Pacific region, Australia and South America. Current GM brands in China, include Buick, Cadillac and Chevrolet.

“We will market Opel as a European designed car in the premium segment. There are a growing number of Chinese who like European cars and have the money to afford them,” said company spokesman Andreas Kroemer talking to a German publication.

They have yet to set a date for sales to begin, but the company has previously sold around 4000 cars in the country as a testing phase. Currently the only other way you could get an Opel car in China was through Buick, which included the Opel Insignia-based Buick Regal in its product portfolio.

This will soon change and analysts predict that Opel will initially export cars to China until it has established a market position in the country. It will then assemble cars locally to avoid import taxes, which usually increases the price of the car by 20 percent.

Due to it being marketed as a premium brand, Opel will be competing against the likes of BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen who have been in China for sometime now. It seems that if ever the German-made brand make a return to Malaysia, it will be priced to compete at the premium level, and not the affordable category it’s priced at in Europe.

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Paris 2010 debut: Mazda Shinari 4-door coupe concept

August 31, 2010 at 4:18 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News, Mazda

Mazda has unveiled a new concept called the Shinari at a private press event held in Milan recently. This new four-door coupe concept will give the public a hint to the future direction the Mazda family will take in terms of design language.

Given the designation “Kodo”, it replaces the oddball Nagare design language that we’ve all become accustomed to, most recently seen on the latest version of the Mazda5 M{V. In Japanese, “Kodo” translate to “soul of motion” and the creation of the design was a joint effort between Mazda’s design studios in Japan, U.S. and Germany.

General Manager of Mazda Motor Corp design division Ikuo Maeda had this to say when asked when the new design language will appear on new models, “this design will lead to the next generation of Mazda design and will lead to other elements.”

Apart from the usual, Mazda also unveiled their plans of wanting to compete with luxury carmakers and has confirmed that they will be improving the quality of their interior levels. “We want to play in the same group as BMW and Audi. On fit and finish we want the same level of quality, ” said Derek Jenkins, director of design for Mazda North America.

The Shinari will make its official debut at the Paris Motor Show on the 30th of September this year. Check out the picture gallery after the jump.
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Ben Collins sacked as the Stig, replaced by another?

August 31, 2010 at 4:13 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News

It has been reported by British tabloids that Ben Collins (allegedly The Stig), has been sacked from the hit motoring show Top Gear. Pictures from the Daily Mirror, showed Collins playing with his kids at his home in England, while the “tame racing driver” was at a Top Gear Live event at the Nurburgring, Germany.

The supposed replacement Stig was brought in a week after Ben Collins’ was unmasked as the Stig. This comes after a row between Collins and the BBC on his right to publish his autobiography. BBC bosses state that the book is in breach of a confidentiality agreement.

Naturally his publishers HarperCollins disagree, stating that the BBC are wasting British TV audiences’ license fee money on costly legal action.

Rumours surfaced as Collins being The Stig, after reports from his company accounts pointed to the direction of Ben Collins as it described “a cornerstone year in 2003”, a month after the white Stig made his first TV appearance.

Ben Collins is remaining tight-lipped about the whole fiasco only saying “I am not allowed to talk about it.” Thus just another log entry into the rumourmill of the most famous-faceless race driver in the world.

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Citroen DS4 unveiled prior to Paris 2010 debut

August 30, 2010 at 4:41 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Citroën, International News

Citoren has unveiled yet another new model in its DS range – the Citroen DS4, bringing the new modern DS line-up up to a total of two models so far.

It’s essentially a very high spec Citroen C4, using the same platform, however dimensions are a little different. It’s shorter, taller and wider than the C4, and while the interior pretty much has a similar design except with much higher grade materials, on the exterior you can notice that the shape of the car between the B and C pillar of the DS4 is noticeably shorter than the C4. The rear door handles have also been hidden in the window trim.

The Citroen DS4 will be available with a choice of 5 engines – two HDi diesels and three petrol engines. The most powerful is the 200 horsepower THP petrol engine, joined by a THP 155 and a VTi 120. All three are different variants of the 1.6 litre BMW-PSA Prince engine, with the THPs being turbocharged and the VTi being a normally aspirated model. You can either have these with a manual transmission or a Citroen EGS transmission which is an AMT-type automated clutch manual.

Look after the jump for more photos and a full press release.
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Carlashes to make the woman in your life green with envy!

August 30, 2010 at 10:19 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Laughs

The lady may not be very happy with your obsession with “the other woman” in your life – the car – but here’s something that could potentially make her turn green with envy. Carlashes are fake eyelashes for the eyes of your car (the headlamps of course) that’s sure to beat her natural lashes in volume and length!

Carlashes is easy to install and is attached to either the underside of the bonnet on the top border of the headlamp. There’s a “flexible style” carlash for oval or round lights. The $24.99 product sticks to the car via strong 3M double sided trim tape.


“I may be old and rusty, but I still want to look pretty!”

For full effect, Utah based Turbo Style Products recommend that you put on eyeliner as well! The jewel like $19.99 Crystal Eyeliner adds some bling and sits on the top edge of the eyelashes.

Although a car’s front design is often seen as its face, and many men refer to their ride as female (some give theirs sexy names too), we don’t see too many blokes rushing out to get this enhancement for their car, which should spare the lady (the real one!) some stress.

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