New E-class caught testing

I decided to post these here, but truth be told the idea of eating raw broccoli excites me more than this car. We know the spiel: even more technology (failed electronic brakes aside), slightly larger dimensions, shrunk S-class styling, dull but worthy to drive, crazy AMG model.

Somehow every new Audi/BMW is an event. Even a new Lexus. MB is cranking out simmilar cars in different niches at such a pace that it's all become boring to follow.

Maybe this time they'll at least have a half-decent cabin?

[source: AutoExpress]

Audi A1 art

I feel like all these illustrations are wishful thinking - after all, the A1 is to be based on the new Polo/Fabia/Ibiza platform. I know they said it's to be inspired by the Shooting Break concept, but there is no way they could make it look as sleek as Huckfeldt envisions on the humble hatch platform.

Trivia: there was talk of basing the A1 on the platform of the Golf IV (that’s right, not the VI!), which would have meant that Audi would have two cars on offer whose platforms are two generations apart! (the A1 and A3 III)

[source: CarSpyShots.net]

Jag XF chops / spy pics

Some new chops courtesy of Auto Express. And even though they aren't very accurate (AE's chops never really are), they give a good sense for how sleek the new XF will be in production form (ghastly green paintwork aside)

The car caught testing looks great on huge GTI-ish alloys, and the horizontal proportions seem perfect! However, there is a distinct (and most unwelcome) whiff of the Lexus GS around the C-pillar and in the raised bootlid. I am sure the raising line will make the XF's butt less droopy than that of the GS, but it may end up being the motoring equivalent of J-Lo's derriere

[source: AutoExpress]

another Nissan GT-R chop

I somehow doubt they will give him such an elongated snout. I hope they don't. The lights seem to be pinched from the G35

[source: thehollywoodextra]

Melling Hellcat

What a name! You tremble even before you hear this beast of a car has 1175 bhp and is promissed to hit at least 275 mph. That's more than the 1 million Euro Veyron and the recently unveiled Bristol Fighter T. All yours for 185,000 pounds. Plus another 100,000 in life insurence.

Trivia: the engine, a 8-liter V-10 (unrelated to that of the Viper) is said to be milled from one single billet of aluminum; no surprise given Al Melling is a British engine guru

Voyager fails crash test

Chrysler Voyager, or Town & Country as it's called in it's homeland, received only 2 out of 5 stars in the demanding European crash test EuroNCAP. It's an old design, fair, but in times when whole marques can base their advertising campaigns on the safety aspect of their cars (Renault), Chrysler should rethink offering cars such as the Voyager to the European public. It only tarnishes it's image, and this kind of reputation may prove very difficult to shake off.

First pic of de-Bonded Mondeo - UPDATED

While the basic good lines remain, without 18in rims the car is woefully under-tyred, tall and bloated. To me it looks bit like a design for a C-segment that was magnified 110% to fit the D-segment. If Ford intended to lure the aspirational middle class from their A4s and 3-series then it has one fell of challenge ahead

The Escalade bombs!

That's not a headline you read everyday. Basically, in some drunken dream Caddilac thought it would be a good idea to officially import the 'Slade to the UK. But because it's client base (footballers' wives, rap-star wannabees etc) have already laid their hands on unofficial imports, that leaves the General's luxo-brand trying to convince Brits to give up their Cayennes, MLs and X5s for a truck-based atrocity. Good luck to them, but maybe the sour experience will make them smarter in the future.

Infiniti G35 heading to the UK

In my last couple of years in the US I have grown very fond of the Infiniti brand. It's newest baby, the second gen G35, is a great-handling, good value sports sedan that has one thing the BMW 3-series has no more: great looks. And it's coming to the UK to spearhead Infiniti's expansion into the European market.

Finally, the British press has taken notice and tested the G35S. The judgement was predictably emphatic for anyone who has driven the Infiniti: brilliant is a word that stuck in my head after reading the review. The Infinity G35S deserves to succeed, and I am sure the buyers will soon enough vote with their wallets.

What is it that I hear you say? Lexus still cannot quite crack the European market? Well, us Europeans tend to be set in our ways, but that was not the reason that Lexus failed. The reason they failed is that they came with cars designed primarily for the US/Japanese market. The Infinity brand has a much more interesting portfolio of genuine sports sedans (the G and M series), as well as a great sports-SUV (the FX) which upstages the Cayenne in the looks department. It should and will succeed.

the updated Cayenne

This picture made me realize that no matter how much Porsche nips and tucks it's undeniably successful SUV, it will always be an ungainly sportified truck.

For the second generation, Porsche really needs to think radical. I am sure that it can still share the platform with VW Touareg / Audi A7 / Bentley / Skoda / Lotus (if the rumours are true), but it really needs unique sheetmetal: lower sidewindows, swoopier lines and less ground clearence will ensure the "Porsche tank" headline dies forever.

And in case Messr Wiedenking gets cold feet about messing with (ugly) success, he should look at Maserati's Kubang GT Wagon to see how a really sexy sports-SUV should be done.

New Vectra / GM Epsilon II platform testing

Nothing really surprising here: a few cm more in width and in the wheelbase.

What's more interesting is that, according to Lutz, the new platform will come with different suspension modules depending on the brand. The "value" ones (Daewoo, Chevrolet, Saturn) are said to get a torsion beam at the back, while the "premium" ones (Opel, Saab, Cadillac?) would get an independent set-up. I wander if the saving per unit is worth the investment in a completely different design, but I guess it is, given the General decided to go down this route

Then again, they also made a business case for building the Pontiac Aztec and Buick Rendezvous...

New Bravo on the road

Here are some pictures of the New Bravo on the road, as well as a clear interior pic. While I think the car looks great, I feel it could have been much better still. The front looks a little bit unresolved, with a forced kink in the headlights and an upper grill opening, which is too short compared to the bottom one. But the rear is great, a nice play on the original Bravo's end (which is interesting - that was a 3-dr only, this is a 5-dr)

The interior also looks nice, with a swooping design not unlike the Alfa 147. Overall, the car seems to have bits an pieces borrowed from FIAT's sister brands: a Maserati front, Lancia profile and wheels, Alfa-esque rear end and interior. But that's not a bad thing in itself, and not surprising given none of FIAT's previous efforts in the segment (the Primo, Tipo, Bravo I/ Brava and Stilo) were ever trully successful.

I like the new chick FIAT image, as started by Punto Grande and continued by Bravo/500, but I feel this leaves little space in the market for Lancia. After all, that it won't ever compete with trully luxurious marques is a given, and now FIAT is stealing the show as the stylish non-sports italian brand, for a lower price

Renault Clio Sport 197 F1 Team Limited Edition

It seems to me that Renault have decided to be on pole in all the wrong races this year. First, they present the ugliest paintjob of any F1 car this decade, and than the longest name for a car. They give you the Renault Clio Sport 197 F1 Team Limited Edition (no kidding!)

Having said that, the car itself looks pretty nice, I like the yellow color and titanium colored alloys - it suit's the little hatch's zesty image. Also, the Renault new F1 badges, though still on the naff side, no longer stick out like a sore thumb (as they did on the Megane R26).

It's just a pity the car has no more power than the basic one, or more importanly, is no lighter.

Personally, I think the manufacturers need to realize their cars are getting too heavy too quickly. How can we think of a 200 HP B-segment hot hatch as needing more power?

New Civic Type-R tested!

The first tests of the CTR are out, and the reactions are mixed.

CAR's Frank Ifield likes the car a lot, calling it characterful, fun to drive and good value.

Autocar's Adam Towler, however, points to two weaknesses:
1) ditching an independent rear suspension for a torsion beam to save money does make for less-polished handling on bumpy surfaces
2) higher kerbweigth and a high-rpm screamer of an engine don't make for easy or particularly fast progress

They both agree that the car is more comfortable and refined then before, though, and looks way better.

Reading these two tests reminds me a lot of the comments the new RenaultSport Clio got - somehow, with a higher kerbweigth, the new model does not set the enthusiast's world alight like the old one did. With the advent of small engine turbocharging, I wander if a naturally-aspirated engine is still adequate for new-gen, heavier hot hatches

New Astra / Golf VI chops

Huckfeltd just came up with this. Personally, I like the Astra, although it looks a bit bloated like the new Mondeo.

The Golf VI, on the other hand, doesn't look at all nice - it's neither conservative-cool (think Golf IV) or radical (think Focus I), it's actually even less of a looker than Golf V, if that's possible. Hope Da Silva injects VW design with some zest before long!