Posts tagged "Show"

Saab’s Ghost To Haunt The Beijing Motor Show

Just when you thought that the sad ending of Saab was finally done, it looks like some of the brand’s GM-influenced models will be reborn under the Beijing Automotive Industry brand. Three models, including one based on the former Saab 9-5 and two based on the former 9-3, are expected to be exhibited at next April’s Beijing Motor Show.

Left Lane News tells us that Beijing Automotive’s range will include two sedans and a compact SUV, all of which will use Saab’s old platforms. Since the Chinese company doesn’t also own the rights to Saab’s exterior styling, expect the cars to look a bit different than their former Swedish cousins did. Read more…

Hyundai Blue2 Concept Debuts at 2011 Seoul Auto Show

Hyundai makes its hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle concept Hyundai Blue2 on Thursday at the 2011 Seoul Motor Show, saying it “presents a blueprint for future sedans.”

The concept is the Korean automaker the first sedan-style FCEV. Hyundai gives no information about production plans for the Blue2, which she says is, mark as read “Blue Square”, but it seems more emphasis on hybrid and fuel cell vehicles and pure electric vehicles at this location. Hyundai says the name comes from a combination of the company “Blue Drive” and the No. 2 H2, the symbol for hydrogen. Read more…

Toyota To Show Production FT-86 At Tokyo Motor Show?

If Japan’s Best Car magazine is correct, Toyota will show a production version of the FT-86 sports coupe as soon as this year’s Tokyo Motor Show. Held in December, the Tokyo Motor Show is usually considered one of the industry’s most significant, and it’s often used by Japanese manufacturers to highlight both concept and new production vehicles. Toyota showed a re-styled FT-86 II at this year’s Geneva Motor Show, and the concept met with mixed reviews. Some (like myself) felt that it was too busy and departed from the clean lines of the original prototype. Others (likely Toyota’s target demographic) liked the edgy styling of the FT-86 II. Read more…

Fiat Freemont Debut at 2011 Geneva Auto Show

Fiat Freemont crossover – a rebadged Dodge Journey, and an excellent example of cross-selling Fiat and Chrysler Group models – was unveiled before its debut at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show.

The seven seats Freemont was described by Fiat as a “Factotum developed vehicle to the differing needs of families and people who meet the spacious, comfortable and versatile car.” A “Factotum”is “a worker employed all sorts,” says the Oxford Encyclopedic English Dictionary. Read more…

Chevrolet Cruze Hatchback Debut at 2011 Geneva Auto Show

General Motors will introduce the Chevrolet Cruze Hatchback production model at the upcoming Geneva Auto Salon Show 2011, but has no concrete plans to bring to this version to the U.S. market.

“There are no plans to come to the U.S.,” spokesman Chevrolet Lesley Hettinger said in a telephone conversation with Inside Line on Tuesday. “It’s a maybe. The beauty of a global vehicle that we can make adjustments quickly. So that’s not to say that it ever not come here. ”

The Cruze is a virtual clone of the Chevrolet Cruze Concept, which debuted last September at the 2010 Paris Motor Show.

The new model is essential to the success of the compact Chevy’s in Europe, where hatch accounted for two thirds of sales. Since the spring of 2009 Chevrolet Cruze sold 500,000 vehicles worldwide. The Cruze launched in the U.S. in September last year with the Cruze Eco-model on the market in December. Read more…

Infiniti To Show Etherea Concept in Geneva

Compact personal luxury cars are all the rage among manufacturers these days. Audi has spent a considerable amount of time and money promoting the A1 to European buyers. Lexus is doing the same with the Ct 200h, and Mini seems to be introducing a new variant on their Cooper about once per quarter. Even such “pedestrian” manufacturers as Hyundai are offering amenities such as nav systems, leather interiors and heated front and rear seats on their compact offerings, so where is Infiniti in all this confusion?

I’m glad you asked, because Infiniti is set to show a coupe sedan hatchback crossover at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show. Called the Etherea, Infiniti calls it a “highly sculptural, near-mono volume form”, and if anyone can translate that marketing speak into words that actually have meaning, feel free to hit me up. Here’s what we do know about Etherea: it’s about fourteen and a half feet long, it’s ‘space efficient’, it introduces design cues we’ll see on future models (such as the crescent shaped C-pillar) and it’s supposed to represent a new type of luxury for younger buyers. Read more…

Lexus To Show LFA Nürburgring Edition In Geneva

After announcing the car in May of 2010, Lexus will finally take the wraps off the LFA Nürburgring Edition at next months Geneva Motor Show. A more aggressive, track-centric version of Lexus’ supercar, the Nürburgring Edition brings you even more of a good thing. The 4.8 liter V10 gets ten more horsepower, which raises output to 562 horsepower. Shift times are reduced by 50 milliseconds, the suspension is tightened up even further and an enhanced aerodynamic package (with a less-than-subtle rear wing) is added to improve downforce and high speed stability. Only ten percent of the LFA’s production will be Nürburgring Edition variants, which means that only fifty will be built. Ever.

If you can afford the $375,000 price of admission for an LFA, the additional $70,000 needed for the Nürburgring Edition will probably seem like Taschengeld to you, but let’s just ponder that for a second. Spending as much money as a new Z06 Corvette gets you no improvement in 0 to 60 times and perhaps a marginal improvement in lap times. Sure, the aerodynamic package will help at triple digit speeds, but unless you’ve got your own personal road course to practice on, how much time will you really spend driving north of 100 miles per hour? The LFA isn’t my cup of meat, and the Nürburgring Edition is more cup, same meat. If I had that kind of money to play around with, I’d opt for a McLaren MP4-12C, and spend the $216,000 I saved driving as many of the world’s great road courses as I could. Your mileage may vary.

Source: Autoblog

2011 Chicago Auto Show: 2012 Camaro ZL1 Revealed

Image: © GM Corp.

After months of speculation, the new uber-Camaro was revealed today at the Chicago Auto Show. To the surprise of many, the car didn’t carry the expected Z/28 nameplate; instead, Chevy opted to label the car the Camaro ZL1. Don’t feel bad if you don’t know the significance of that name, since it was used only once, as an internal order code for an aluminum-block racing engine option on the 1969 Camaro. Only 69 were ever built with the ZL1 order code, and their performance and value is the stuff of legend. What better way to honor the name than by building the most powerful and most capable Camaro in Chevrolet’s history?

Image: © GM Corp.

As rumored, the ZL1 gets powered by the LSA, 6.2 liter supercharged V8 from the Cadillac CTS-V. The ZL1 loses a few ponies in the translation, since the CTS-V is a Cadillac and the Camaro is a Chevy. If you want specifics, the ZL1 gets rated at 550 horsepower versus the Caddy’s 556, while torque drops to 550 ft lb from the CTS-V’s 551. It’s academic, really, and I suspect that both cars would put out nearly identical numbers on a dyno. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to find that the ZL1 has a similar zero to sixty time (3.9 seconds for the Caddy), but Chevy isn’t publishing those numbers just yet. Read more…

How can the clock be changed on a car and still show more mileage?

How can the clock be changed on a car and still show 149,000 even though the true mileage is 82,000?
I was going to buy a car (BMW) and the seller says the true mileage is 82,000 but the clock shows 149,000 this is because a “new clock” was fitted.
How can this be true? If it is a digital clock can it not be set accordingly?
Is he trying to pull a fast one, he sounds Greek.

- I know that if you fit a new clock to a peugeot the milage the car had will show up on the new clock but if you fit a second hand clock off a car which had higher milage the clock will show the higher milage, dont know if this is the same for bmw, i would stay well clear of the car, plus 2500 for it i wouldnt look twice although it does look like a nice car.
- You don’t say how old the car is or what year. If he has the paperwork for any mechanical work done by a certified mechanic, ask him to show you the paper work. This sound shady to me and personally I wouldn’t buy it. A good rule of thumb is 12 – 15000 miles driven per year.
- Its ilegal to change the mileage on a car and you can be arrested for fraud. and it is quite hard to change the mileage.
And yes i believe he’s lieing and looking for the cash, So if you havnt already brought it, don’t buy it or from anyone that talks like this again.
- The question you really need to be asking yourself is “Why would the owner want to replace the clocks in the first place?”
It sounds to me like the seller is trying to lie about the mileage on the car to get a better price for the car.
Ask him for all the past MOT certificates to see what the recorded mileage is? Second examine the interior of the car to see what the wear and tear on the seats/peddle rubbers. This is will give you a good indication of the age of the car.

2012 Acura TL to debut at Chicago Auto Show

Acura has announced that it will debut the newly refreshed 2012 TL at the Chicago Auto Show next month. Details are slim as of this writing, but the automaker says that the 2012 model “further enhances its position in the segment with aggressive, yet refined styling and performance.”

In its current form, the TL has been praised for its high-quality and tech-friendly interior, not to mention the relatively impressive driving dynamics of the SH-AWD 6MT model. However, the biggest deal-breaker for the current TL has been its styling, which has garnered a whole slew of negative praise – especially the angular front fascia. We’ll have the full details on the 2012 TL closer to its official debut on February 9, so stay tuned.

[Source: Acura]