The Volkswagen Golf is getting a little greener with the recent release of the second generation BlueMotion Rabbit. Although the alternatively fueled car is going on sale in its home market of Germany, we should expect to see the TDI powered 62 MPG Golf stateside sometime in the near future, that is if Americans can shake their distaste for diesels. Aside from the less refined fuel burning power plant Volkswagen’s engineering team has built a few more economical features into the new Golf BlueMotion, starting off with a brake energy regeneration unit. A start/stop function that automatically turns off the engine at idle to save gas when stopped at a traffic light, a gear recommendation unit to keep you on the right cog for optimum efficiency and a set of lightweight aerodynamic wheel wrapped in low rolling resistance tires as well as a slight drop in ride height.
All of those items help the Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion to make the most out of what it has under the hood. That would be a 1.6 Liter TDI power plant that delivers a very economical output of 105 HP connected to a very tall five speed gear box that could theoretically lap the Nurburgring’s Nordschleif almost five times on only one gallon of diesel. Although the other gas has caught a bad wrap over the years, modern day diesel fuel is much cleaner than it used to be and the result is nothing like the soot stained chimneys on top of 18 wheelers. Most new diesel automobiles make use of high tech particulate filters and with exhaust treatment systems in order to comply with the current regulation restrictions in Europe. With less moving parts and a whole heck of lot better fuel mileage, the 21,560 Euro Golf BlueMotion is a very practical solution to personal transportation.
Although everyone knew how it will look like and what is capable of, the Megane RS made its official debut today at the Geneva Motor Show. With an addition 25 hp and a choice of sport suspensions, the new Megane RS will go on sale later this year.
The new Megane Renault Sport is powered by a new-generation 2-litre 16-valve turbocharged petrol engine which boasts maximum power of 250hp at 5,500rpm and peak torque of 340Nm from 3,000rpm. It is available with a choice of two chassis: the ’Sport’ chassis or the ’Cup’ chassis, which comes with a limited slip differential for even greater traction.
It also features: front bumper that incorporates the LED daytime running lights, 18-inch aluminium alloy rims, central exhaust tailpipe and rear diffuser. On the interior the RS features sports seats, analogue rev-counter with visual and audible gearshift indicator, aluminum pedal cover and RS logo on the headrests, rev-counter background and dashboard.
Citroen sure knows how to take advantage of the latest in video technology. In a bid to promote their latest hatchback the DS3, the French manufacturer has resorted to a video-game style feature that allows you to take control of a DS3 from a piece of printed out interactive pages that you have in your hands.
All you need to do is go to Citroen’s website, print out the pages, and hold them in front of your webcam. What follows is a unique interactive program that allows you to muss over the DS3 and place it in different situations, including one where you can take it out for a nice drive with the piece of paper you’re holding as your very own steering wheel.
It’s a fun way to get acquainted with Citroen’s latest hatchback. The quick tutorial at the company’s website is easy enough to get you up to speed with what you need to do to give this a shot.
With the Tokyo Motor Show just a few days away, manufacturers that are set to participate are working double-time getting their concepts prepped for their debuts at the event.
Subaru is one such brand that is scheduled to partake in the event and one of its meal tickets, the Hybrid Tourer Concept, is the company’s first major foray into the world of hybrid vehicles and, incidentally, the first-ever hybrid to use a boxer four-cylinder engine. If you haven’t been prepped on what this type of engine really is, it’s actually a pair of electric motors housed in a lithium-ion battery pack that allows for regenerative braking, blended electric boost, and a purely electric drive.
Together with Toyota’s FT-86 Concept, the Hybrid Tourer concept is another car that was created out of the joint partnership between Subaru and Toyota to introduce cars that fit under the new hybrid umbrella that’s beginning to take shape as the cars of the future. Though the concept will be introduced in Tokyo in a few days, plans are already under way to have a production version out on the road in the coming years.
With hybrids and electric vehicles becoming more and more popular these days, Subaru is hitching on the Gullwing-ish-designed Hybrid Tourer to bring the company into the world of hybrids. Judging by these new photos that Subaru recently released, the Hybrid Tourer is fast-shaping up to be a hybrid that should give its more established counterparts a run for their money in the coming years.
Check out the new photos to get a closer look at Subaru’s new baby.
The Japanese automaker Mazda has commenced production on their compact hatchback the Mazda2 at their AutoAlliance factory in Thailand. Although the diminutive city car may not seem so impressive, you have to remember that it did win a few car of the year awards in its previous form and that the new car comes with an all new enticing feature, an even wider grin. The new Mazda2’s smiley face is not only more inviting than the generation that came before but it also gives the 2010 model year small city car a fun face that adds to the Japanese automaker’s Zoom-Zoom spirit of car building.
Just like the new MX-5, the Mazda2 has undergone a design refreshening and features a new front bumper that incorporates a set of larger larger vertical air intakes as well as the new happy face five point lower grill that is going into all of Mazda’s fun to drive vehicles. A new Mazda2 also gives hope that a new open air roadster inspired version could be in the works, especially after consumers have adjusted to the new car’s playful front end. As for now, these images are pretty much all we have to go on, but we promise to get back to you with more details as they become available.
The German tuners at Motoren Technik Mayer Tuning have just come out with a stellar example of the world’s favorite sport compact car, the Volkswagen GTI. While the standard Golf VI GTI comes from the factory with 210 HP 2.0 Liter TFSI four cylinder engine and the automaker planning on releasing a turbocharged all wheel drive version making an impressive 270 HP and will almost certainly carry a pretty premium. The new MTM VW GTI promises to deliver power on par with the Golf R and should save owners quite a few quid while doing it.
For the fraction of the difference between the two cars, owners can upgrade their front wheel drive hot hatch with MTM’s tuning program that raises output to match the Golf R at 270 HP but also raises torque to a total of 295 lb-ft of twist with a simple air filter and reflashed ECU that also raises the GTI’s top speed to 165 MPH. In order to handle the additional power MTM offers a variety of high performance clutches and a variety of Brembo brake setups to bring the high speed high jinks to a quick halt. Finishing off MTM’s latest show piece are a set of their signature Bimoto lightweight rims measuring 19 inches in diameter and finished in a similar black to compliment the decorative stripe that runs along the base of the doorsill. The German tuner is offering an all around upgrade for the Golf VI GTI that make it almost as good as the upcoming Golf R for a lot less money.
Hyundai revealed today the 2010 Accent, a model that comes with lower friction engine components, aerodynamic improvements, lower-rolling-resistance silica tires, a “smart” alternator management system and other enhancements all aimed at reducing fuel consumption.
The GLS version will be destinguished by a chrome-accented grille combine with bold tail lights and strong character lines to deliver a standout presence. Up front, the Blue, GS and SE feature an aggressive bodycolor grille with fog lights standard on the SE. Accent SE’s high-performance P205/45R16 tires and lightweight five-spoke 16-inch aluminum wheels provide a big dose of street credibility. A long wheelbase and higher seating position increase the spacious feeling of the interior. A rear spoiler and rear defroster are standard on all Accent three-door models with the GS and SE adding a standard rear wiper.
The Accent is powered by a 1.6-liter DOHC in-line four cylinder engine that delivers 110 hp at 6,000 rpm and torque is 106 lb.-ft. at 4,500 rpm. With a manual transmission, the Accent Blue’s EPA mileage is 27 mpg City and 36 mpg Highway. With the optional four-speed automatic transmission, the Accent’s 2010 EPA rating is 27 mpg City and 36 mpg Highway besting Versa and Fit on the highway.
While the current economic crisis has resulted in a few interesting partnership with a number of unlikely automobile manufacturers and other manufacturers weary of risky high priced ventures, the man from Prodrive feels that his super car company can sell premium compact city car for the not so unheard of asking price of $32,000; after all it is an Aston Martin. As part of the English coach builder’s plans to unroll a few new vehicles in order to recuperate some profits the powers at be behind Toyota and Aston Martin have joined forces to create a fashionable compact city car for the crowded narrow streets of densely populated European urban environments. What they ended up with is the upscale Aston Martin Cygnet based on the economical Toyota i.Q.
The venture actually sounds like another English sport/luxury hybrid when Mini commissioned the design team at Rolls Royce to produce a series of extremely extravagant small cars. The car’s foundation will be built at Toyota’s factory in Japan and then shipped to the Aston Martin factory in Gaydon where the team of hand built super car interiors will have a go at restyling the lowly Toyota’s interior bringing it up to super car status. Obviously the Cygnet should also wear some unique body work like an Aston Martin style twin vented hood, some flared arches and plenty of winged emblems.
This is a very bold move for the English automaker, attempting to sell a car smaller than a Smart for a little over $30,000. The German luxury automaker Audi has recently admitted to having a hard time justifying a premium hatchback for the U.S. market, dooming whatever chances we might have had for an RS3 stateside. The Vantage should be happy because it can now pass on the title of being the baby Aston; if they can keep production limited and watch the demand skyrocket, they should have no problem selling out of their Cygnet inventory. After all, who would pass up on the chance to buy a brand new Aston Martin for the price of a Nissan Maxima.
The third concept Toyota will have on display at the Tokyo Motor Show is the Prius Plug-in Hybrid - the first Toyota vehicle brand that uses a lithium-ion battery as the drive battery.
Thanks to the lithium-ion battery, the Prius Plug-in Hybrid has a fuel efficiency of at least 55km/l (target); that’s quite an improvement compared to the 38km/l of the model now on sale.
Charged from an external power source such as a household electrical outlet, it extends the cruising range in electric vehicle mode, maximizing the benefits as an environmentally-considerate vehicle. As the cruising distance as an electric vehicle increases, environmental benefits that surpass those even of the regular Prius can be expected including lower CO2 emissions and air pollution and reduced consumption of fossil fuels. Approximate charging times using ordinary household electricity are 180 minutes at 100V and 100 minutes at 200V.
The Volkswagen Golf is another iconic shape from Germany. The original Rabbit started the hot hatch craze as well as giving the tuner car market a boost. Just like its high performance cousin the 911, the practical Volkswagen continues to become larger, heavier and more sophisticated. With the brand new MkVI Golf scheduled to arrive in the U.S. as a 2010 model, all while European drivers have been scooting around in one of the world’s best loved hatchbacks since this past January. However it looks as if the sleeker five door hatchback may be short lived. According to the automotive sleuths at Auto Express, because they have already found official images of what the soon to be seventh generation Golf and it might just surprise you as to exactly who they came from.
AE is claiming that these are official images leaked onto the web by none other than Volkswagen themselves. This is not as far fetched a plan as you may think. After a few extra attentive hyper milers caught a few designers working one something interesting in the background of the “New Volkswagen L1 Concept Car Design Package” (after the jump) Internet video. At exactly 4:36, a trio of designers are working on a clay model of an even sleeker hatchback with sharper lines and bolder fenders. It just so happens that these new images reflect the cues of that model very closely. So perhaps knowing that the jig was up, VW simply decided to beat all the spy photographers and computer aided imagineers to the punch by releasing it themselves.
If this is the case and the Golf VII has already taken shape, you can expect that what we here in the U.S. are looking forward to might be short lived in order to make space in showrooms for what you are looking at. However if the German automotive conglomerate continues to do business as usual we will have to wait until the European market has had their fun with the new car before U.S. drivers can have a go behind the wheel. Even if the Golf VII is slated for a 2012 release, it may not arrive in the U.S. until as late as 2014, giving the new 2010 Golf VI a few years to shine in the spotlight on Volkswagen of America’s sales sheets.
New Volkswagen L1 Concept Car Design Package video after the jump.
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