BEST OF CAR

Cadillac XLR

2009-10-05T11:06:00.000-07:00

Spy shooters have caught undisguised test mule of the Cadillac XLR out testing.

As these snaps of the undisguised car show, the nose is completely undisguised, revealing a new grille and restyled fog lamps. In addition, this prototype also gets chrome vents on the fenders.

Expect to see the new Cadillac XLR in dealerships in 2009.

BMW V5

2009-10-05T10:57:00.000-07:00

The V5 test mule was caught in camo on public roads in Germany. BMW V5 it’s a new body style for Munich automaker. Looking like a standard five door hatchback, the rear roofline is higher than the more coupe-like X6, allowing for more headroom.

The BMW V5 is thought to be built on the same platform as both the X5 and X6. The V5 is targeted at the US market, which would be an odd choice by BMW.

BMW M3 sedan and convertible

2009-10-05T10:40:00.000-07:00

BMW M3 sedan and convertible was caught near Germany. The new Bimmers snap shotted during road testing without camo.

The convertible shows off its retractable roof. Expect the new models to be released in 2009.

BMW Concept 1 Series tii

2009-10-05T10:24:00.000-07:00

The BMW Concept 1 Series tii was unveiled at Tokyo Auto show. Finished in Alpine White with black stripes and accented with black and blue elements, the 1 Series tii has been lightened through the use of carbon fiber on the hood and other trim elements like the rear diffuser insert, mirror covers, gurney flap, and intakes on the front air dam. Both the front and rear bumpers and the side sills are new designs exclusive to the tii. 18″ split-spoke wheels take up residence in the corners, and overall, the car has a squat, purposeful look.

Inside, BMW covers as many surfaces as possible in black alcantara, with white accents on the seats and steering wheel. BMW gives the tachometer top billing in the instrument cluster by making it white-faced. Unfortunately, the BMW Concept 1 Series tii doesn’t come with any details related to its actual performance upgrades.

BMW 3-Series facelift

2009-10-05T10:12:00.000-07:00

Bavarian carmaker share first official photos its facelifted 3-Series.

As you see, changes to the front end include new lights with LED indicators, revised bumpers, less chrome on the grille and a more distinctive creased bonnet. Fresh, larger mirrors grace the doors, while the restyled rear lamp clusters also include LEDs.

Inside, the 3 gains the latest, simplified iDrive cabin control system with a larger LCD monitor, and has sockets for connecting MP3 players to an 80GB hard drive. All engines get BMW’s Efficient Dynamics technology, and a new 245bhp six-cylinder diesel debuts. Coupe and cabrio buyers can select as option the seven-speed dual-clutch box, too. The revised 3-Series arrives in dealerships in September.

Audi A5 Sportback

2009-10-05T10:04:00.000-07:00

Audi unveiled a first photo and detailes of the upcoming A5 Sportback. The information includes details on the entry prices and the engine range. The Audi A5 Sportback is a sleek five-door coupe with a low-slung roofline and a large hatchback. The new Sportback will be available with an range of turbocharged and naturally aspirated gasoline engines as well as diesel units.

The A5 Sportback is 36 mm or 1.42 inches lower than the A4 Sedan while it also features shorter overhangs at the front and rear as well as a 2mm longer wheelbase of 2,810 mm.

The two gasoline units, the 2.0-liter TFSI with an output of 211HP and the 3.2-liter V6 generating 265HP will be combined with Audi’s all-wheel drive quattro system.

The diesel lineup will include a 2.0 TDI with 170HP, a 6-speed manual gearbox, the 2.7-liter TDI with 190HP, and the three-liter V6 TDI with 240HP and quattro all-wheel drive.

The A5 Sportback will arrive to European dealerships in September with an start price of €36,050 in Germany ($50,000) for the 2.0 TDI version. Later, Audi will add a cheaper model.

Aston Martin V8 Vantage

2009-10-05T09:55:00.000-07:00

Guys from AutoGespot.com publish spy shots of the facelifted version of the fantastic Vantage from Aston Martin.
Sporting a minor facelift, some DBS lenses out back, a little less bling on the mirrors and thicker rocker panels.
The facelifted V8 Vantage that weighs a significant 300 pounds less and has 80 hp more than the current model.

100,000,000 Nissans produced

2009-10-04T12:14:00.000-07:00

Nissan has announced today that June marked an milestone in the company’s history: 100,000,000 vehicles built. Nissan started in 1933 when Jidosha-Seizo Co., Ltd (Nissan today), manufactured its first automobile, a Datsun 12 (example above). In 2006 Nissan produces cars and trucks in facilities worldwide. 100,000,000 is a lot of cars.

PRESS RELEASE:

NISSAN REACHES 100 MILLIONTH PRODUCTION MILESTONE

TOKYO (July 24, 2006)-Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., today announced it reached a new milestone in June with the production of its 100 millionth vehicle. Since its establishment in 1933, Nissan has produced about 76,640,000 vehicles in Japan and about 23,500,000 vehicles overseas. As of the end of June, Nissan’s total global production stood at about 100,140,000 vehicles.

“On behalf of Nissan, I would like to thank all our employees and customers around the world for their support without whom this important milestone would not have been possible,” said Tadao Takahashi, executive vice president of manufacturing at Nissan. “We will continue to improve quality and productivity as well as shorten delivery times for customers, utilizing the Nissan Production Way, in order to realize our next 100 millionth milestone.”

Nissan was established in December 1933 under the name “Jidosha-Seizo Co., Ltd.” (Automobile Manufacturing Co., Ltd.) after taking over operations for manufacturing small-size Datsun passenger cars from Tobata Casting Co., Ltd. The first car produced by Nissan under the Jidosha-Seizo name was a Datsun Type 12. The company name was changed to “Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.” the following year.

In 1935, Nissan began operations at its Yokohama Plant, the first plant in Japan to mass-produce automobiles, and went on to play a pioneering role in Japan’s early automobile industry.

Production capacity in Japan grew further with the start of vehicle assembly at the Oppama Plant in 1962, the Zama Plant in 1965, the Murayama Plant in 1966 (after the company merged with Prince Motor Co., Ltd., a major Japanese automaker, that same year), the Tochigi Plant in 1971, and the Kyushu Plant in 1976.

Nissan’s first began producing vehicles overseas in 1959 in Taiwan. In 1966, the company began production in Mexico, followed by production in the US and Spain in 1983, the UK in 1986 and China in 1995.

The company’s manufacturing plants, including the Sunderland plant in the UK, the Smyrna plant in Tenn., US, and the Canton plant in Miss., US, are today among the most efficient vehicle assembly plants in the world. Nissan led the North American auto industry in manufacturing efficiency in the 2006 Harbour Report, with an overall measurement of 28.46 labor hours per vehicle.

The following are Nissan’s major global production major milestones:

1942 100,000 vehicles
1962 1,000,000 vehicles
1969 5,000,000 vehicles
1972 10,000,000 vehicles
1988 50,000,000 vehicles
1992 60,000,000 vehicles
1995 70,000,000 vehicles
1999 80,000,000 vehicles
2003 90,000,000 vehicles
2006 100,000,000 vehicles

Toyota Sienna 2011

2009-10-04T12:12:00.001-07:00

Look above. Its a Toyota Sienna test mule, snapshoted on public roads. As you see the new 2011 Toyota Sienna doesn’t look too different from the minivan you can buy today. It has been heavily modified around the hood, front fender and the entire rear quarter panel.

For the 2011 model year, the Toyota Sienna will join the Camry, Prius, RAV4, Venza and Highlander on ultra-flexible “MC” platform. Production of the 2011 Sienna will start in January 2010 at the Princeton.

Nissan Patrol 2010

2009-10-04T12:08:00.000-07:00

This spy photo arrived from the Middle East. The new Nissan Patrol fill some of the american markets’s holes left by the cancellation of the Armada and Infiniti QX56.

It is expected that the new 2010 Nissan Patrol will remain body-on-frame, and that it will pick up a 4.8L V8 for the engine bay. Other engine options will likely include a 4.0L V6 and 3.0L V6 diesel that is rumored to produce 265 hp and 405 ft-lbs of torque.

Nissan GT-R 2010

2009-10-04T12:04:00.000-07:00

Nissan has released some info about its facelifted 2010 GT-R hotcar. The facelifted AWD coupe received five-additional hp’s for a total output of 485-hp, revised suspension, brake and transmission, updated wheel finishes and standard front seat- and roof-mounted curtain side-impact supplemental air bags. In result the price lifted on $3,950 for base Nissan GT-R and the GT-R Premium model. Total MSRP are $80,790 and $83,040 respectively.

In September 2008, Nissan hiked the prices for the base GT-R by a whopping $6,990, from $69,850 to $76,840, and by $7,190, from $71,900 to $79,090 for the Premium model.

Nissan 370Z 2010

2009-10-04T11:59:00.000-07:00

Nissan 370Z spotted on the street! The car fan from VWVortex board caught a mildly disguised Nissan 370Z on the freeway. The Nissan 370Z expected to make debut in Los Angeles this November.

It’s been widely reported that the 2010 370Z will be shortened by four inches and will ride on a slightly widened track, but without a profile shot, it’s hard to tell. The rear three-quarter view shows reworked rear windows that are slightly smaller, with the bottom edge angling steeply towards the roofline. The rear glass of the hatch is sunken in, and incorporates a small spoiler into the trunk lid, while the fenders appear wider than the outgoing model and the tail lamps are equipped with LEDs.

Up front, the restyled headlamps are obscured by the camouflage, but the redesigned front fascia is easily identifiable, as is the tweaked hood, which features a slight power bulge flanked by two accent lines stretching from the windshield to the bumper.

Mercedes E-Class Spied 2010

2009-10-04T11:55:00.001-07:00

The spy photographer caught a prototype of the codenamed W212 project close to test base at the Nurburgring.

For the 2010 model year the Mercedes E-Class is likely to drop its Sensotronic Brake Control (SBC) in favour of a conventional brake system with high-tech features such as wet-weather disc wiping and wheel-selective cornering brake control.

The new E-class design will mimic the S-class’ wheel-arch extensions, rising character line below the door handles and big bumpers. Other features will include a more sculpted wide-frame grille and geometric air intakes in the front fascia. Some say the front headlights and c-pillar treatment is heavily influenced by the latest Lexus models, which is rather ironic since Lexus was famous for ‘borrowing’ design cues from Mercedes in the past. We expect that the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show will reveal all.

Jaguar XF-R 2010

2009-10-04T11:49:00.000-07:00

Jaguars XF sedan mule has been spied on public roads. Previous spy shots see here. This lightly camouflaged XF-R mule with a 500 horsepower supercharged V-8 churning away under the hood. The 5.0-liter eight banks engine is an all new direct injection engine as well, meaning that it’s likely cleaner and more frugal than big Jaguar engines of the past.

The XF-R will have a few subtle clues about its performance potential as well, with bigger shoes, a small rear lip spoiler, chromed quad exhaust tips, and revised bumpers.

Hyundai Tucson 2010

2009-10-04T11:45:00.000-07:00

The next-generation Hyundai Tucson was captured in testing in Death Valley. 2010 Hyundai Tucson will made its global premier this fall at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Sales starts in Europe and Korea before the end of the year and in North America new Tucson expected during the first half of 2010.

The 2010 Hyundai Tucson will pick up a number of styling cues from the larger Veracruz. As Hyundai continues to take all its models more upscale, while retaining their current value pricing, is expected to feature an interior that will probably send all its competitors back to the drawing boards. With fuel economy more important than ever, a new turbocharged four-cylinder engine to be offered in the top models in the series.

Hyundai Santa Fe Facelift 2010

2009-10-04T11:35:00.001-07:00

Look at the fresh spy shots. The European version of the subtly-facelifted 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe

has been caught without any camouflage. The new Hyundai Santa Fe has been unveiled in South Korea, and will make its European premier at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. The new Hyundai Santa Fe will arrive to euro showrooms in the fourth quarter of 2009.

As we see, the only visible cosmetic differences between the KDM and EDM Hyundai Santa Fe concern the specific grille treatment with the chrome trim surround and the clear-colored lower section of the headlamps.

The European Santa Fe features the same exterior upgrades as the original Korean model which consist of redesigned bumpers and new tail lamp covers plus revised exterior mirrors that house turning signals and the new exhaust tips.

No word about Europe, but the Korean model gained a new pair of turbo diesel engines
, a 2.0-liter unit with 184 hp and a 2.2-liter with 200 hp, both of which are linked to a 6-speed automatic transmission.

Toyota Avensis 2009

2009-10-04T11:16:00.000-07:00

Look at this first official photo of the upcoming Toyota’s Avensis, which has been leaked on the net. The next generation Toyota Avensis mid-size sedan will make a debut at the 2008 Paris International Motor Show on October 2. The Toyota Avensis has been fully redesigned featuring a crispier and more dynamic styling than the outgoing model. It is rumour that new Toyota Avensis will get a new line-up of engines with lower consumption and reduced CO2 figures.

2010 Cadillac SRX

2009-10-04T09:28:00.000-07:00

Cadillac released the first official photos of its next generation SRX crossover that is in essence the production version of the Provoq Concept. The all-new SRX will make its debut at the Paris Show in October, with sales set to start worldwide in mid-2009. With an overall length of about 4,580 mm or 180.3 in, the five-seater SRX is about roughly the same size as the BMW X3 meaning that its far more compact (and lighter) than the outgoing seven-seat SRX.

“The next-generation SRX, along with the new CTS Sport Wagon, showcases Cadillac taking its dramatic design into new directions, particularly cars and crossovers that are the right size at the right time for today’s luxury consumers,” said Jim Taylor, Cadillac general manager.

We expect to see the CTS’ 3.6-liter V6 gasoline units along with a 2.9-liter V6 turbo diesel engine (for Europe). The new SRX, which was initially referred to as the Cadillac BRX, will also form the base for the upcoming Saab 9-4X.