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US will not get the 7-seater Chevrolet Orlando

May 1, 2010 at 2:40 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars, Chevrolet, International News

Automotive News has reported that General Motors will not sell the 7-seater Orlando in the US and said that the company intends to focus on its current models. Nevertheless the Cruze (Delta II)-based Orlando which was presented as a concept back in 2008 will make its market introduction in Canada, Europe and Asia.

In the US General Motors has decided to increase the output of the Equinox, Traverse and Malibu models to make up for the missing Orlando. At the same time the production of the Cruze in the US later this year is still on schedule. If we’re lucky, we may just see Chevy’s new distributors Naza bring in the Orlando as a Honda Stream competitor since it seems to use the same formula – use a C-segment sedan platform to make an MPV.

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PSA Peugeot Citroen to rebadge Mitsubishi ASX

April 27, 2010 at 6:01 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Citroën, International News, Mitsubishi, Peugeot

PSA Peugeot Citroen and Mitsubishi have announced that the Mitsubishi ASX (called RVR in Japan) will be built for PSA Peugeot Citroen. This comes as no surprise considering how many other “rebadge” deals PSA and Mitsubishi have been having in the past – the Outlander rebadged as the 4007 and C-Crosser as well as the i-MiEV rebadged as the Peugeot iOn and the Citroen C-zero.

The Peugeot and Citroen versions of the Mitsubishi ASX will have their own styling, much like what they did for the Outlander project. PSA Peugeot Citroen will be using its own 1.6 litre HDi turbodiesel for its versions of the ASX. They are targetting a fuel consumption of 4.7 litres per 100km for the two wheel drive version. An all-wheel drive version will also be available.

Look after the jump for pictures of the original RVR. The two photos you see above are Theophilus Chin‘s impressions of what Peugeot and Citroen versions of the RVR/ASX might look like.
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Alfa Romeo TZ3 Corsa race car by Zagato

April 27, 2010 at 10:13 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Alfa Romeo, Cars, International News

This is not a concept car like the Alfa Romeos we saw in Geneva, namely the 2uettottanta roadster by Pininfarina and the outrageous Pandion by Bertone, but a real race car. It was commissioned by Alfa collector Martin Kapp (you can see the German’s name on the car) who owns rare stuff like the SZ coda tonda, SZ coda tronca, TZ and TZ2, Junior Z and S.Z, among others.

Zagato says that the TZ3 Corsa honours 100 years of racing and winning in the 20th century. Alfa and Zagato has a long history together, from the Mille Miglia victories of the 1500 6C, 1750 GS and 8C 2300 Zagato to the Formula 1 championship of Juan Manuel Fangio, aboard his Alfa 159 bodied by Zagato. In the 60s, they conqured the 12 hours of Sebring, Targa Florio, Nurburgring and the 24 hours of Le Mans together.

Powered by the 8C Competizione’s V8, the TZ3 Corsa is based on a monocoque carbon fibre tubular chassis, coupled with a tubular frame and a lightweight aluminium body. It comes with goodies from OMP and Pirelli. Check out the gallery after the jump.
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Volkswagen: China vital to the success of EVs

April 26, 2010 at 8:34 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, China, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News, Volkswagen

The Chinese market has become so important for world automakers that Volkswagen is betting the success or failure of the electric car on how well it is received by consumers in China. It has displayed an electric version of the Volkswagen Lavida in China called the E-Lavida and will also be reportedly showcasing an electric Golf next week in Shanghai. The Chinese government is supportive of EVs – it will start an EV funding initiative in July, and charging stations will be built within the next few years.

“China is the most important market worldwide for the Volkswagen group, and the success of e-mobility in China is decisive for the global execution of the e-mobility strategy,” said Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn in a media statement. Volkswagen intends to start selling EVs in China in four years time. It will be investing over US$5.9 billion in China over the next few years, hoping to ride on the Chinese market boom. Volkswagen already expects that China will overtake Germany as the company’s largest market this year.

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Hyundai’s new GDI engines revealed in Beijing

April 26, 2010 at 9:19 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Hyundai, International News, Koreans

Other than the new Verna, Hyundai has a few other interesting announcements made at Auto China 2010. First is a new 1.6 litre engine packed full with tech such as direct injection, dual continuously variable valve timing, and a variable induction system.

Everything is in including efficiency tech such as CrN Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) coating, Diamond Like Carbon (DLC) coating and water jacket inserts to enable a stable temp balance between the upper and lower blocks. The only thing missing is turbocharging. But thanks to all of this technology the engine manages to make 140 PS (138 horsepower) while keeping to the latest emission standards. That’s just about 22 horses short of 100 horsepower per litre of displacement.

Next is a direct injection version of its Lambda V6 engine of 3.3 litre displacement – as a result peak output is 300 PS (296 hp), also from a normally aspirated engine. GDI will later also be added to the 3.8 litre Lambda model. Hyundai also reveals that it will be adding a third variant to the Lambda family – not sure if it will be smaller than 3.3 litres or larger than 3.8 litres. Hyundai also displayed a self-developed 8-speed automatic transmission.

Look after the jump for a video presentation of the new 1.6L GDI.
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Youngman Europestar Lotus L5 launched in Beijing

April 25, 2010 at 6:03 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, China, International News

Youngman Europestar launched a new car at Auto China 2010, engineered by Lotus for the Chinese company. The previously launched RCR (GEN2) and Jingyue (Persona) have been renamed the Lotus L3 5-door and 4-door respectively, while this new model has been christened the “Europestar Lotus L5″.

From the naming scheme I’m assuming that this is a car that’s larger than the Persona and GEN2. There’s not much information about the car online at the moment but a peek at the interior reveals that the dashboard is unique but does resemble the Exora’s a little especially in the upper half of the dashboard.

I can’t find information on dimensions anywhere but Europestar’s website says this car marks Europestar’s jump from the A segment to the B segment (vehicle segmentation in China is named differently). The L5 is available in both 5-door hatch and 4-door sedan form and is powered by the Campro CPS engine.

Youngman also unveiled that an L6 and L7 is in the making. Future models will include more sedans as well as SUV and MPV models. Source

Look after the jump for more pix of the new Lotus L5.
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Maybach models get facelifted at Auto China 2010

April 23, 2010 at 8:51 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Maybach

Maybach

The latest (and possibly last) facelifts of the Maybach 57, 62, 57 S and 62 S will be unveiled at Auto China 2010 in Beijing. The Maybachs have been updated with a a more powerful 630 horsepower V12 engine for the “S” models, a new front grille, a reshaped engine hood, LED daytime driving lights on the front bumper, dark red tail lamps, a new paint shade called Bahamas Blue, and new 20 inch and 21 inch wheels.

Maybach

The 57 and 57 S will also now be able to be equipped with the reclining seat from the 62 models. There are now even more customisation options for the cars including Swarovski crystal, a flacon perfume atomiser and a WLAN router for wireless internet access which uses HSDPA/UMTS/EDGE/GSM for mobile data access.

Maybach

That last option should be very very useful for the businessman who wants to work while slowly crawling through Beijing’s traffic congestion, otherwise there is also a new DVD player. You’d better be making the most of your time in the car considering you’ll be burning as much as 15.8 litres per 100km for the S models and 15 litres per 100 km for the non-S models on the combined cycle.
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Volkswagen Phaeton facelift for Auto China 2010 exhibit

April 22, 2010 at 6:27 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, China, International News, Volkswagen

Volkswagen has given the Phaeton a makeover and is set to launch it at the Auto China 2010 expo. Other than the aesthetic changes, the car also gets some new equipment such as a satnav system with a 30GB hard drive that can pull Google Maps “Satellite Hybrid View” data via UMTS (3G), a camera-based main beam adjustment system called Dynamic Light Assist, and speed limit signboard recognition. The Phaeton’s recognition system can also recognize the “no overtaking” signs and this is claimed to be a first in the world feature.

Both a short wheelbase and a long wheelbase version will be available, and the rear bench can be configured to be either a 3 seater or with 2 individual seats. There will be one V6 TDI engine making 240 PS and the rest are V6, V8 and W12 petrol engines making 280 PS, 335 PS and 450 PS respectively.

The Phaeton is not sold here in Malaysia, although there are a few running around. We’re much likely to spot the A8L on the road than the new Phaeton. Look after the jump to see the new Phaeton in a hi-res gallery.
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How the Chinese previous generation Saab 9-5 looks like

April 21, 2010 at 11:36 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, China, International News, Saab

This is not a copy, they bought the rights to it. Late last year, Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp (BAIC), China’s fifth-largest automaker paid $200 million to General Motors for three vehicle platforms and two engine technologies from Saab. This deal, which was done before the Swedish brand temporarily died and got revived, included the old 9-5 design, and BAIC’s BAW brand has a reworked version of that car ready for the Beijing Motor Show.

Called the C71 concept, BAW grafted on a new face to the Saab’s angular, distinctly three-box saloon shape. The front end, which has a pre-facelift Camry style “one-piece nose”, hi-tech looking headlamps and sculpted bumpers, looks almost too modern for the rest of the body. It looks a little disjointed to these eyes, what do you think?

But before we throw arrows at the Chinese for murdering a good design, let’s remember that the old 9-5 in its final iteration wasn’t the best looking car in town either; it had chrome surrounds for the headlights! Don’t remember? We have one waiting for you after the jump!

Source
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Production at BMW’s US plant may grind to a halt thanks to the volcanic ash cloud phenomenon

April 20, 2010 at 3:22 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under BMW, Cars, International News

The effects of the volcanic ash cloud phenomenon is creeping into the automotive industry. A spokesperson from BMW Mathias Schmidt revealed to Bloomberg that the operations at the company’s plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina may be put on hold if trans-Atlantic flights don’t get the green light within the next two days.

The flight cancelations will disrupt the parts supply chain which involves BMW sending parts to the US plant via air. The Spartanburg plant assembles BMW’s X5 and X6 SUVs and up to 600 cars are rolled out per day. We believe that if the airport shutdown continues, we will see more and more stories on plant shutdowns in the news.

The volcanic ash cloud has been covering airspace in Europe since Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted on April 14th. Airports from Dublin to Moscow have been forced to shut down and it is costing airline companies up to US$300 million a day in revenue.

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