Via autoblog:

Love it or hate it, the automotive industry of today is not lacking for its exercises in reviving old nameplates. The trend ranges from Mini to Maybach, from Dodge Dart to Dodge Challenger. And the French are certainly not immune. Citroën revived its fabled DS moniker for a range of premium hatchbacks, and Renault – most of all – has been mulling bringing back the Alpine for years now.

Arguably just as central to Renault's performance heritage as the recently revived Gordini line, Alpine made mid-engined sportscars with Renault mechanicals starting in the 1950s and discontinued four decades later. Its most famous model, however, was the A110 (pictured above), which is now celebrating its 50th anniversary. And if a new report from Autocar is accurate, Renault has no intention of letting the occasion slip by unnoticed.

In fact, the French automaker is reportedly planning an Alpine concept car to unveil at the Paris Motor Show next fall. But the question remains whether there's any production potential with such a concept. The French are known for producing some rather intriguing show cars – sportscars in particular – that never seem to get very far from the show stand, from the GTbyCitroën to the Renault DeZir.

Whether Renault can make the business case – without the North American market, at that – to take on the sports car establishment remains to be seen, but having the Nissan product bin to raid certainly couldn't hurt.

News Source: Autocar

Via autoblog:

Despite the popular saying, history cannot simply repeated. So, when faced with the possibility of losing the entire classic collection of cars that had made up the official Saab museum in Trollhättan after the officials in charge of the automaker's bankruptcy proceedings threatened to break it up, a few organizations stepped up to the plate to keep it together.

According to a report from Autocar, the city of Trollhattan, SAAB AB and The Wallenberg Foundation came up with the $4.05 million required to purchase the entire collection outright. A total of 120 cars are included, including the Ur-Saab, which is the first automobile built by the Swedish company.

News Source: Autocar

Se bilde galleri her...

Via autoblog:

The Volkswagen Golf GTI stands as an enduring icon in the hot hatch genre. But as the Golf gets bigger, so does the GTI, and when it comes to hot hatches, bigger is not always better. That's where the Polo GTI comes in, but if even that's too big for minimalists, Volkswagen is reportedly set on putting the Up! GT into production.

Unveiled as a show car alongside the production Up! at the Frankfurt Motor Show last year, the GT Up! concept pictured above incorporated 17-inch alloys to fill those little wheel wells, a new front end with wider grille, bigger brake ducts and integrated LED accents, as well as a diffuser, spoiler and twin exhaust pipes installed around back.

According to PistonHeads, the production Up! GT is tipped to get a three-cylinder turbo driving around 110 horsepower through a six-speed gearbox to the front wheels. That may be less than the 133 hp packaged by the Renaultsport Twingo, but could prove a feisty pocket rocket in its own right.

News Source: PistonHeads

Via autoblog:

It isn't every day that BMW offers an electric vehicle, but the ActiveE is just that. The German luxury car maker is now accepting applications for 700 ActiveE "Electronauts" in the test markets of Boston, Hartford, New York, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and San Francisco.

The hand-raisers will need to complete a charging station consultation with BMW Partner AeroVironment to make sure the house of the perspective lessee can handle a charger. The meeting will also serve as a teaching session to make sure the user understands the charging and maintenance of an electric vehicle.

Once the perspective lessee meets those criteria, they will be given the opportunity to lease the
4,000-pound, electrified 1 Series Coupe for 24 months at $499 per month, plus $2,250 down. Hit the jump to look over the BMW press release, and head over to BMWActivateTheFuture.com if you're interested in learning more about the ActiveE.
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Citroën salgsresultat for 2011 er nå offentliggjort, og det fremgår at Citroën har blitt et merke som er blitt mer globalt og sterkere i løpet av året. En nøye planlagt posisjonering av modellprogrammet har begynt, først og fremst gjennom de tre modellene i den nye DS-serien: DS3, DS4 og DS5.
2011 var et vanskelig år med skiftende resultat alt etter hvordan utviklingen var i de ulike markedene. Det første halvåret ga en liten fremgang (+0,8 %) men så fulgte et tøffere annet halvår. Resultatet for 2011 ble at Citroën solgte 1 436 000 biler på verdensbasis (-1,65 % sammenlignet med 2010, + 6,7 % sammenlignet med 2009).
Strategien for Citroëns internasjonale satsning har begynt bra, og andelen solgte biler utenfor Europa økte og utgjorde 35 % av salget, hvilket betyr 3 % økning på ett år. I Europa beholder Citroën sjetteplassen som ble erobret i 2010. I Norge solgte Citroën 6 520 biler, hvorav ca 44 % var lette nyttekjøretøyer. Dette innebærer en salgsvekst på 5,6 % og står for 3,8 prosent av det norske bilmarkedet.

VIKTIGE HENDELSER I 2011
· Et sterkere og mer globalt merke
o Utenfor Europa: 33 % av det totale salget, dvs. 3 % økning sammenlignet med fjoråret.
o Kina: markedsandelen opprettholdes og et nytt Joint Venture er lansert.
o Sør-Amerika: øker raskere enn totalmarkedet.
o Russland: dobbelt så rask økning som markedet.
o Europa: sjetteplassen opprettholdes. Frankrike: økende markedsandel for personbiler og
lette nyttekjøretøyer.
· En forsterkning av modellprogrammets posisjonering har begynt


[ LAN_THEME_4 ]

I oktober i fjor lanserte Peugeot Norges beste el-bilgaranti. Da fikk iOn 5 år/120.000 km garanti på både batteripakke, drivverk og bilen for øvrig. Dette ble gjort for å understreke tryggheten ved å kjøpe Peugeot el-bil. Garantien har tilbakevirkende kraft og gjelder derfor også samtlige som har kjøpt iOn til nå.

Nå gjør Peugeot nok et grep for å gjøre iOn ytterligere konkurransedyktig – lavere pris! De nye prisene er et resultat av Automobiles Peugeot sin reposisjonering av bilen i Europa.
Peugeot iOn 1: 191.500 kroner
Peugeot iOn 2: 193.000 kroner
Garanti (5 år/120.000 km) opprettholdes som før.

Peugeot iOn er utstyrt med en motor på 64 hestekrefter og 180 newtonmeter. Dette sørger for fartsressurser som holder til det meste av dagligdagse bilbehov. Batteriet av typen lithium-ion har en kapasitet på 16 kWt og lades opp på 6 timer i vanlig veggkontakt. iOn er også klargjort for hurtiglading.

iOn klarer 0 til 100 km/t på 15,9 sekunder og toppfarten er 130 kilometer i timen.

iOn er en godt utstyrt bil med alt tenkelig sikkerhets- og komfortutstyr for biler i denne størrelsen. Av standardutstyr har den ESP/antiskrens, seks kollisjonsputer, fire seter, isofixfester i baksetet, aluminiumsfelger, elektrisk betjente vinduer foran og bak, elektrisk justerbare speil med varme, fjernbetjent sentrallås, klimaanlegg, kjørecomputer, oppvarmet førersete, stereo med CD, MP3, bluetooth og USB. Som ekstrautstyr kan det leveres norskmontert navigasjon med lokalisering av ladestasjoner.

Via autoguide.com:

Officially, Toyota will tell you that the future is in hybrid powertrains. But unofficially, well, they’ve built an electric sports car, which was revealed at this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon.

Based on the chassis of a Toyota Sera (a rare sports car built from 1990-96), the TES-ERA EV shares that car’s gullwing door concept, though the car is altogether more modern looking. While tiny (roughly 10 inches shorter in length than a second generation MR2), it’s certainly not cutesy looking thanks to plenty of angles and a wide stance.

A proper rear-drive machine the TES-ERA EV makes roughly 165 hp and produces 247 lb-ft of torque. Weighing in at 2,500 lbs it’s not going to be a rocket ship, but should produce some modest smiles.

Built by the Toyota Engineering Society (hence the TES in its name), the car is part of an annual skunkworks project made up of volunteers within the automaker and isn’t even technically an official Toyota concept car.

Created in 1947 to explore organic new ideas and actually move ahead with them, last year’s TES project car was the TES Concept T-Sports, looking at a baby Scion FR-S.

See videos of the TES-ERA EV in action below:

Via autoblog:

Here's a surprise: Toyota has announced the company will produce the iQ Supercharger first unveiled at the 2011 Tokyo Auto Salon in limited quantities. The automaker has confirmed the development at the 2012 Tokyo Auto Salon. The vehicles will be built by partner Gazoo Racing and will feature a brawnier version of the same 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine found in the standard iQ. With a little forced induction on its side courtesy of a supercharger, the engine should be good for 130 horsepower and 133 pound-feet of torque. That's an increase of 36 ponies and 44 lb-ft over the stock configuration.

Like the concept, the production model will wear a not-so-subtle widebody kit, stiffer suspension and more aggressive brakes than its standard siblings. A six-speed manual transmission will be the only gearbox option. Indoors, buyers can expect to find custom seats and gauges that read all the way up to 124 mph.

Toyota and Gazoo Racing only plan to produce 100 of the muscle-bound iQ Supercharger models, and there's no indication its Scion cousin sold in the States will receive a similar treatment. What a shame. Hit the jump for a brief introductory video featuring the original concept as well as the full press release.

Ett år etter lanseringen av sin nye generasjon elbiler har PSA, Peugeot Citroën oppnådd en markedsandel i salget av elbiler på hele 30 % i Europa.
Mot slutten av 2010 lanserte PSA-konsernet sine to eldrevne personbiler, Citroën C-Zero og Peugeot Ion. I tillegg ble to eldrevne utgaver av
varebilene Citroën Berlingo og Peugeot Partner introdusert samme år. Siden lanseringen av dette el-bilprogrammet har PSA-konsernet levert
4000 elbiler og mottatt 6000 ordre.
I første omgang er det større virksomheter og det offentlige som har vist interesse for elbiler, og PSA konsernet har etablert en rekke mobilitetskonsepter
med blant annet General Electric, Deutsche Bahn, den franske jernbanen SNCF, Kone, Airbus, det franske el-verket EDF, GDF Suez,
Allianz, Europcar og ChooseEV
På det norske markedet viser de foreløpige tallene at det til sammen er registrert 421 eldrevne personbiler av konsernets to merker. Av disse
utgjør Peugeot Ion 213 biler og Citroën C-Zero 208 biler. Det totale elbilmarkedet i Norge var 1996 solgte biler, hvilket gir PSA en markedsandel på 21,1 %.
PSA Peugeot Citroën arbeider med en rekke teknologier for å redusere drivstofforbruk og utslipp av CO2, blant annet med den nyeste generasjon
av Stop&Start-systemet, dieselhybrid, samt elbiler med null utslipp i nærmiljøet.

Fra 1. april 2012 er Bilbutikken AS ny forhandler for Land Rover i Drammen.
Forretningen har i dag 33 ansatte, og bilanlegget er på 5.000 m2 , hvorfra det i 2011 ble solgt ca 500 nye og brukte biler. Bilbutikken holder til rett ved Gulskogen kjøpesenter som er et attraktivt handelssted for Drammen og store deler av Buskerud. Bilbutikken A/S eies av Stein Grøndal.
Selskapet ble etablert den 30.juni 1981 og feiret i fjor 30 års jubileum.
Den nye forhandleren vil tilby Land Rover-kundene nye og brukte biler, deler og mekanisk verksted.
- Vi gleder oss enormt til å komme i gang med Land Rover, sier Stein Grøndal. Vi startet med
Saab og Subaru. Siden 1988 har vi hatt agenturene på Citroën, Subaru og Saab. Som de fleste vet, stoppet Saab mer eller mindre opp allerede for 3 år siden og rett før jul var det slutt. Det passer derfor perfekt å få inn Land Rover nå, sier Grøndal. Grøndal mener videre at tilføyelsen av Land Rover dessuten betyr at Bilbutikken AS kan utnytte sin gode kapasitet på ettermarkedet.
- Vi er på vår side meget tilfredse over å ha fått Bilbutikken A/S som vår forhandler i Drammen, fastslår Rune Pedersen, salgsdirektør ved Land Rover Norge. – Dette er en bilforretning med et solid omdømme for god fagkunnskap og fremragende kundebehandling, og det er nettopp slike samarbeidspartnere vi ønsker oss for å kunne videreutvikle Land Rovers posisjon på det norske markedet, fastslår Pedersen. Land Rover vil lansere flere nye modeller i årene som kommer, og sammen med vår nyeste modell Range Rover Evoque, som gjør stor suksess i Norge, vil Land Rover bli en stor andel av Bilbutikken AS’ sitt totale salgsvolum fremover.
- Drammen har vært et viktig sted for oss å få en ny Land Rover forhandler, da vi har vært uten representasjon i Buskerud nå i lengre tid, sier John Helmersen, direktør for forhandlerutvikling i Scandinavia, og som har forhandlet frem avtalen med Bilbutikken AS. Med dette håper vi at både eksisterende og nye Land Rover kunder finner veien til Bilbutikken, da vi er sikre på at de her vil bli tatt vel imot av Stein Grøndal og hans team.
Bilbutikken AS representerer i dag Citroen og Subaru og Saab service - og nå altså Land Rover på salg og service fra 1. april 2011.

Via autoblog:

C is for Cookie. At least, that's what the baking industry lobbyist known as Cookie Monster would have us believe. At Toyota they have another idea, where C is not for Cookie, it's not for Car and it's not for Compact. In the latest addition to the Prius family, C is for City.

What you're looking at is a new, smaller hybrid from Toyota, which is eagerly growing the Prius range from one four-door to include the Prius V (for Versatility), the Prius plug-in hybrid and this, the Prius C. It's both smaller and more affordable than the existing Prius range, while delivering superlative fuel economy figures. In fact, with a 50-mpg combined rating, the Prius C claims the best economy of any car this side of a plug-in EV.

Motivation is provided by a 1.5-liter four that, together with the electric motor, delivers up to 99 horsepower at peak (compared to the Prius liftback's 134hp). It's also more nimble than its bigger brother, and more affordable: when the Prius C reaches showrooms in the spring, it will wear a sticker price under $19,000. In the meantime, you can check out our gallery of high-resolution images from the show floor above, the stock images below and jump into the press release for more details.
Continue Reading
Les mer her... + bilder!!

Via autoblog:

Toyota can justifiably be proud of its position not only as one of the largest automakers in the world, but also the world leader in hybrid vehicles. In fact, the Japanese automaker claims that half of all hybrids sold are Toyotas. But it didn't get there by resting on its proverbial laurels, and it isn't going to maintain (let alone increase) its market share by doing so, either. That's where the concept car you see here comes in.

Taking position as something of a Prius of the future, the NS4 concept cuts a striking profile – certainly more striking than the current kamm-tailed Prius. But even though the technologies it encompasses are targeted to reach the market by around 2015, the show-car details – like that eminently dentable front beak –probably won't.

While Toyota works on all manner of electric and fuel cell powertrains, the NS4 packs a similar plug-in hybrid system as the current Prius PHEV. But the show car encompasses a slew of other technologies, like a smartphone-like interface to monitor and control everything from the air conditioning to the battery charge.

Toyota has also packed the NS4 with its latest pre-collision and blind-spot monitoring systems, adaptive headlights and four new types of glass – the one part of the car we probably take most for granted. Of course, this being a concept car, Toyota has also replaced the side mirrors with an around-view camera system, but laws being what they are for now, don't expect to see that in showrooms just yet.

There's plenty more technological details to digest in the press release after the jump, but for a closer look check out the high-res galleries of live shots from the show floor here in Detroit and the stock images from the automaker.
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Via autoblog:

In true Honda fashion, we're once again presented with a "concept" car that's only a set of wheels and a de-Bedazzling away from being production-ready. What you're looking at here is the concept that previews the next-generation Accord that will be dropping later this year, ready to compete with a full slate of redesigned mid-size sedans.

Honda has once again taken a conservative approach to design, and while it's certainly handsome (except for those gaudy air intakes that flank both sides of the front fascia), we can't help but think that it already looks one or two generations old. (2009 Kia Optima, anyone?) We'll have to wait until we see the car in its production spec before making final judgments, but with sexy new mid-size offerings like the 2013 Ford Fusion, Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima, the Accord doesn't look to be gunning for shoppers who want a whole lot of style with their substance.

Substance, though, it definitely has. The base engine is a new Earth Dreams 2.4-liter inline four-cylinder with direct injection, putting 181 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque to the ground via a continuously variable transmission. Honda will continue to offer a V6 in the Accord – a dying trend in this segment – measuring 3.5 liters, mated to either a manual or automatic transmission, both with six gears.

Les mer her + bilder!!!

Via autoblog:

The Detroit Auto Show media days are still in full swing, but Infiniti is already looking ahead to the Geneva Motor Show with another teaser of the company's plug-in hybrid electric sports car. Yes, we've seen other sketches of the car (this one) but not of this section, the general rear pillar area. You can click to enlarge the image above for a better view of what could become Prince's favorite concept car. See, it's purple.

The vehicle does not have a name yet, so Infiniti is calling it the "Advanced Sports Car Concept." We do know it's mid-engined, with a battery pack in there to extend the range. Infiniti says the purpose of this concept is, "to explore what might be the next stage in how to deliver a vivid, engaging and sophisticated driving experience from an electrically propelled vehicle." The EV range should be respectable, since Infiniti is promising "zero emission operation in urban situations," which we do hope means more than just a few spare miles in a lithium pack. We'll learn more in Geneva.

Infiniti has also been teasing an all-electric luxury sedan that is supposed to launch in 2014. See what little we officially know about that car here.
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News Source: Infiniti