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Paris 2008: Chevy Orlando unceremoniously revealed online

Thursday, September 25th, 2008 by admin

Live images of the Chevy Orlando, possibly shot during GM’s own photo session, have surfaced online, showing the seven-seat crossover in all its conceptual glory ahead of its unveiling at the Paris Motor Show next week.

The Orlando shares the same Delta II platform as the Chevy Cruze, with power provide by a 2.0-liter turbodiesel, and blends some traditional Chevy styling cues with a blocky, upright silhouette and show-friendly lighting tricks. Unlike other pie-in-the-sky concepts, the Orlando’s interior looks downright drivable, with two-tone leather seats, a traditional steering wheel and a center stack that wouldn’t shouldn’t look out of place on anything rolling off the General’s assembly line.

All the details and plenty of live images from the show floor are coming in just over a week.


Paris Preview: Lamborghini “Urus” concept teaser shot #3

Thursday, September 25th, 2008 by admin

A third teaser shot of Lamborghini’s mysterious concept car has surfaced on the web just weeks before its debut at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. All signs point to a front-engine, four-door coupe concept similar in form to the Porsche Panamera and Aston Martin Rapide. The first teaser merely showed the car’s rear diffuser, but the second showed its front wheel with a fender vent clearly visible that indicates a front-mounted engine. This third teaser shows the rear taillight and what we can clearly see as the cut line for a trunk lid. The taillight itself features LEDs and seems to be inspired by new taillight designs on the Reventon and LP560-4. Though we don’t have a name for the concept yet, Lamborghini recently registered the name “Urus” with the Italian copyright office. All will be revealed soon enough, though expect a few more teasers between now and Paris.

Paris Preview: Mitsubishi inadvertently posts pics of Colt

Saturday, September 20th, 2008 by admin

Our hunch that Mitsubishi would bring a redesigned Colt to the Paris Motor Show after it released a teaser earlier this week has been confirmed when the automaker inadvertently (?) posted a banner ad of the new sub-compact on its webpage.

The new Colt benefits from the familial angry-eye headlamps and trapezoidal grille, although both elements have been toned down to better suit the Colt’s smaller proportions. The compact cruiser is available in both three- and five-door body styles, with an upright backside that should maximize cargo space. A range of miserly mills power the current Colt, ranging from 1.1- to 1.5-liters, along with a 1.5-liter DI-D diesel. We expect some of these engines to carry over to the new model, and a cabrio version is probably right around the corner.

If Mitsubishi wants to do battle with the Yaris, Fit, Versa and… ahem… Aveo/G3, we might see the Colt come Stateside. But we’re not quite ready to hold our breath.

Chevy Camaro SS unveiled at Indy Bash 2008

Saturday, September 20th, 2008 by admin

The crew from Camaro5 were on hand to capture the first live unveiling of the Chevrolet Camaro SS at Indy Bash 2008, and although we’ve seen the silver-hued coupe on numerous occasions, this is the first time we’ve gotten a glimpse inside.

As you’re undoubtedly already aware, the Camaro SS is powered by a 6.2-liter LS3 V8 putting out 422 hp and 408 lb.-ft. of torque, and in this case power is sent to the rear wheels through a six-speed automatic gearbox.

The most striking element of the SS’ interior is the shiny plastic door panels and dash trim that matches the two-tone black and leather seats, with contrast stitching. It’s very racy, and should tie in nicely with the SS badges fore and aft.

We’ll be able to see the Camaro SS up close at the Paris Motor Show next month, so stay tuned for our impressions from the floor.

Educated Guesstimation: Lamborghini bringing four-door super sedan to Paris

Thursday, September 18th, 2008 by admin

Lamborghini’s lofty “new world” teaser has set the Internet on fire with rumors and innuendo, but after some coaxing from InsideLine, an unnamed Lambo exec has denied several speculations and brought about the most obvious conclusion.

Lamborghini’s surprise for the Paris Motor Show won’t be a retro exercise like the 2006 Muira concept, nor will it be a successor to the LM002. Forget about more Versace editions or Superleggera variants. No. It’s most likely a sedan, following the Porsche Panamera and Aston Martin Rapide into the uncharted waters of four-door supercars.

The project, which began less than five months ago and was given the go-ahead by Lamborghini bosses (independent of Ingolstadt), could share the Audi A8’s architecture with a front-mounted V10 or V12 engine aft of the strut towers for a front-midship arrangement. A V6 isn’t likely, but a next-generation V8 could be equipped on entry-level models. There’s no indication about how power will be delivered to the wheels, but all-wheel-drive seems plausible considering Lamborghini’s recent offerings.

IL’s source at Lamborghini was insistent that the Panamera’s underpinnings wouldn’t be used, going on to say that, “Lamborghini is at a point where we can set off in new and plausible directions with the entire brand image. In a sense, we need to be able to tell customers what they ought to like about our brand. We’re the experts.” Since no one has claimed the title of “expert” super-sedan manufacturer, we’d say that Lamborghini has a good chance of owning it.

Paris Preview: Ssangyong in the house with C200

Saturday, September 13th, 2008 by admin

If you want an SUV that looks like what a really cool Saab 9-4 might potentially look like, but you want it to have a Mercedes model name and be from Korea, then you’re looking for the Ssangyong C200. Known outside the U.S. for its 4-wheel drives like the Ssangyong Musso, which means “double dragon rhinoceros”, the C200 is a four-wheel-drive, unibody CUV meant to grow Ssangyong’s product range. It is packaged with a 2.0-liter engine and a 6-speed transmission, claimed to put out low emissions and be EURO V emissions-approved. Depending on how many horses they can squeeze out, it could be a nice little ride for Ssangyong money. That’s all we know about it for the moment, but we’ll bring you the full story when it’s launched at the Paris Motor Show next month.

Infiniti bringing FX37 to Paris, no FX37 for the U.S.

Saturday, September 13th, 2008 by admin

We’ve just gotten confirmation that Infiniti will equip its European FX series crossover with the 330 hp, 3.7-liter V6 (VQ37VHR) and it’s slated to make its world debut at the Paris Motor Show next month.

Infiniti has decided to only offer the 3.7-liter V6 on its range of vehicles abroad, and there are no plans to bring the FX37 Stateside.

Infiniti’s crossover will be available in both FX37 GT and FX37S versions, with 0-60 times in the 6.8-second range and a top speed of 145 mph. Standard equipment includes 20-inch alloys, Scratch Shield paint, all-wheel-drive, xenon headlamps and a seven-speed automatic gearbox controlled via steering wheel-mounted paddles. The FX37S comes equipped with 21-inch wheels, sports seats and Continuous Damping Control.

Paris Preview: Fiat Fiorino Qubo for the young folk

Saturday, September 13th, 2008 by admin

The new Fiat Fiorino Qubo is a new multi-purpose vehicle that looks a bit like Kermit the Frog with a massive under-bite. Judging from the photos supplied by Fiat, it’s a great vehicle for surfer dudes with hot girlfriends and families with dogs. Considering its got dual sliding doors and airy cockpit, we can imagine that the young guys and gals towards which it’s marketed can find plenty to do with the MPV. Think of it as a very Italian Honda Element. Anyway, there are some nice details here, including an interior with six possible seating configurations — all for a 13,000 euro starting price, which translates to about $18,500 in the States. Two engines are available, a 73-horse 1.4-liter gas-powered four and a 1.3-liter oil-burner with 75 horsepower along with a five-speed stick or six-speed “robotized” automatic. We expect to see the Qubo in person at the Paris Motor Show, soon after which folks in Europe will actually to get to buy one. Read the whole press release after the break and check out the gallery below to view more beautiful people having fun with the Qubo.

Paris Preview: Subaru debuts boxer diesel Forester and Impreza

Saturday, September 6th, 2008 by admin

Subaru debuted its new 2.0L diesel boxer engine earlier this year in the Legacy and Outback, and soon it will also be offered in the Forester and Impreza, though only in Europe. These two latest models to feature the unique horizontally opposed oil-burning engines will debut at the Paris Motor Show next month. The Forester 2.0D will offer 147 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque while returning 44.8 combined mpg in the European cycle, which is class-leading for a small CUV over there, while the Impreza 2.0D offers 148 hp and 258 lb-ft (fuel economy for the Impreza 2.0D was not released for some reason). The diesel Forester will hit showrooms later this month while Euro shoppers will have to wait until January for the diesel Impreza. While we certainly hope Subaru is tweaking its 2.0L diesel boxer engine to meet emissions standards in all 50 U.S. states, we haven’t heard one word about it.

Nissan Nuvu concept, Pixo city car, revised Note headed to Paris

Saturday, September 6th, 2008 by admin

Nissan is bringing a trio of vehicles to the city of lights for the 2009 Paris Motor Show: a new concept called the Nuvu, an all-new production car car called the Pixo and a revised Note. We don’t have an image of the Nuvu yet, but Nissan says it’s a compact all-electric city car with 2+1 seating. It takes its green theme seriously with solar panels shaped like tree leaves on the roof that channel the sun’s power through a “tree trunk” conduit in the center of the vehicle.

Next up is the Pixo, a new production car for the city with four-doors and a rear hatch that’s powered by an eency-weency 1.0L three-cylinder engine. Built in collaboration with Suzuki, the new A-class car will obviously be geared towards fuel economy and low emissions when it goes on sale in Europe in the spring of 2009.
Finally, Nissan will have a revised version of its Note compact car that features a new, sleeker front end. New wheels, colors, a revised suspension and an available 1.5L dCi engine round out the changes. The Note also gets Nissan’s new in-car nav/infotainment system called Nissan Connect. It comes with everything the market demands including a touch-screen navigation system, connectivity for digital audio players and Bluetooth connectivity.