Haihaupro: February 2012

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

U Spy: Another Mystery Sedan Awaits to be Unraveled, What do You Think it is?

The evolution of mobile phones into a technological Swiss army knife has made capturing a picture of anything interesting you may stumble upon as easy as lifting a finger.

Nevertheless, you'll have to be very observant to seize the moment as was the case with Carscoop reader Scott M. that quickly snapped a few shots of a heavily disguised sedan model on a freeway in Southern California before it got away.

In a very similar scenario to another "U Spy" story on a sedan model about a year ago (read more here), we'll have to admit that we’re not sure what it is we're seeing here.

Sure it looks like a mid-size sedan, but what about the brand and type of model?

The heavy camo and grainy pictures don't help much, but to open the conversation that you can continue after the break, our first though went to the production version of the Lincoln MKZ Concept shown in Detroit last month.

As you may have noticed, gas prices have been on the rise these past few days. In fact, a gallon of gasoline now costs more than four dollars and in some cases over five or six dollars.

You can blame the oil companies, economy, world politics, government taxes, OPEC, Iran or maybe gas station owner greed.

Last Wednesday, ABC News’ Cecilia Vega was reporting on the rising gas prices at “World News with Diane Sawyer” live from a gas station in Los Angeles. After her introduction, the video showed footage from various U.S. cities.

Jumping from one international motor show (that would be Geneva) to another, General Motors revealed today that it would perform the world premiere of its redesigned 2013 Buick Enclave at the New York Auto Show, which runs from April 6 to 15.

Along with the announcement, the Detroit automaker also dropped a darkened teaser image of the new model's interior, which looks like it gained a revised center console featuring GM's new infotainment system.

Following the release of a teaser sketch back in December, we now have the first official image of Hyundai's i-oniq concept study that is set to debut at the 2012 Geneva motor show next week.

Albeit not a coupe in the traditional sense as it sports a rear hatch, the i-oniq is a sporty looking model featuring a low roofline and sleek body work that represents the next evolution of the Korean brand’s ‘fluidic sculpture’ styling language.

Maybe it's just us, but from this angle, the front-end design brings to mind the Nissan 350Z.

German-based tuning company MTM has shared photos and details of the vehicles it plans to debut at the 82nd Geneva International Auto Salon in a just a few days' time.

We'll start with the Audi Q3 crossover with the 2.0-liter TFSI engine. MTM's tune includes a power kit that lifts output from 170PS (168hp) to 310PS (307hp) allowing for the improvement of its 0-100km/h (62mph) sprint time by two seconds to 6.1 seconds, its top speed from 212km/h (132mph) to 250km/h (155mph).

The tuning house also adds a custom exhaust kit, a rear diffuser, a sports suspension kit, 20-inch Bimoto lightweight alloy wheels shod in 255/35 ZR20 tires and the optional black-red-gold foil wrap seen on this car.

BMW is planning to inject some serious power under the hood of its sexy 6-Series Gran Coupe sports sedan with the addition of a flagship version wearing the iconic M badge.

However, don't expect any prizes for guessing the power source as it's a well-known fact that all upper level BMW M models are motivated by the same or in some cases, mildly modified version of the brand's 4.4-liter bi-turbo V8 engine.

We anticipate that it will be the same unit found in the brand-new M6 Coupe and Convertible models with the internal designation S63Tü.

And while there's always the possibility of BMW M engineers fiddling around with the electronics to push out a few more ponies, chances are it will deliver the same output at 560-horses (412kW) between 5,750 and 7,000 rpm, and a peak torque of 680Nm (502lb-ft) from 1,500 to 5,750 rpm.

After the release of a second image of the new Chevrolet Cruze Station Wagon, we now have the first official video that provides a more in depth look at the compact estate model, which is scheduled to receive its world premiere at next week's Geneva Motor Show.

As we've noted in our previous articles, certain styling tweaks featured on the Station Wagon model such as the new front bumper and grille, alloy wheel designs, headlamp graphics and interior trims, will pass on to the rest of the Cruze range that includes the four-door sedan and in certain markets, the five-door hatchback, for 2012.

You can take a peek at the official footage in the video that follows after the jump.

While a fairly new entry in the aftermarket industry, Bulgarian design studio Vilner is beginning to make a name for itself. The company specializes in designing more premium interiors and its latest work based on the new BMW 5-Series sedan (F10) is no different.

The car was created for Bulgarian footballer Kostadin Stoyanov who currently plays for CSKA Sofia.

Vilner redid the 5-Series sedan's interior in white leather for the outer parts of the seats, sections of the door panels, the center console and the lower part of the dashboard while it chose black Alcantara for the headliner and the center portions of the seats.

Starting from tomorrow, Thursday, March 1, the Leaf will become the first pure-electric car available for order in all U.S. markets as Nissan commences the final launch phase with the addition of the remaining 21 states.

The Japanese automaker said that those that had reserved a car in these states would receive an invite from Nissan to begin the ordering process on March 1, while other consumers from these new markets will be able to place a reservation starting from next week.

It's not often that you get to see two completely unrelated fails happening almost instantaneously in the same video, which is why this clip grabbed our attention immediately.

Remember to keep your eyes on the biker as well as the photographer on the lower corner. Video follows right after the jump.

So you want to play around with the looks of the all-new Ferrari F12berlinetta, do you now? Well, then you will be happy to know that the famed Maranello automaker has just launched an online configurator for its most powerful production model ever.

For those of you seeking to waste some time, the online tool allows you to customize the exterior of the front-engined supercar through a wide choice of colors together with three different alloy wheels options and several finishes for the brake calipers.

On the other hand, your choices for the interior are limited to two colors, at least for now.

If you don't feel like skimming through Ferrari's website, we've picked 69 pictures of the F12berlinetta from several angles that you can check out for yourself in the gallery that follows below.

We had a hunch that the all-new V40 hatchback wouldn't be making it to the United States after the Swedish automaker stated that it expects to sell 90,000 units per year with 85 percent of those or 76,500 cars earmarked for the European market.

Nevertheless, just to make sure, we contacted Laura DiStefano, who is the Corporate Communications Manager for Volvo Cars of North America, asking her if the Swedish company had "plans to bring the new V40 or any of its future derivatives to the U.S.A. or Canada".

Well, that didn’t take long, did it? Only a week after the first report that General Motors and PSA Peugeot-Citroen were discussing a possible alliance in order to cut their costs and improve their performance in Europe and other regions, the two companies announced today that they have reached an agreement.

The global alliance between the world’s number one car manufacturer and Europe’s number two automotive group involves two main topics: the sharing of platforms, powertrains and modules, and a joint venture for the sourcing of US$125 billion worth of parts and services from suppliers.

GM will acquire a 7 percent stake in the French group, which is slightly higher than the 5 percent originally reported, but still enough to make it the second largest shareholder behind the Peugeot Family Group.

With less than a week left for the grand opening of the 2012 edition of the Geneva Auto Salon, we're continuing our reports on the vehicles that will make it to Switzerland with the Ford brand.

Today we can confirm that aside from the world premiere of the production B-MAX small MPV that we've already covered extensively, the Blue Oval will debut the European version of the 2013 Escape as the new generation of the Kuga SUV and the production version of last year's Fiesta ST Concept 3d.

Moving around a 40-foot shipping container weighing several tons in the air is not an easy task by any means. A lot of things can go wrong, and in this case, they did. Luckily, no one seems to have been hurt (or at least not seriously) in this accident, though the driver of the forklift was definitely shaken like a rag doll.

Head past the break to watch the video

Maybe it’s the Mad Max syndrome, but there's something very cool (just as long as you're occupying front seat...) about mean looking police cars like the 2012 Dodge Charger Pursuit, which as we learned today, will pace both NASCAR Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup Series races in Phoenix on March 3 and 4.

The pace car will assume its role in full police livery on top of a matte black finish combined with white accents for the body.

Some 23 years and one model change after Land Rover introduced the original Discovery back in 1989, the British automaker rolled out the 1,000,000th example of its capable SUV at the Jaguar-Land Rover's Solihull assembly plant in the UK.

The Discovery, which first came to market as a third model sitting between the more luxurious Range Rover and the rough'n'tough Defender, set records sales of almost 45,000 units last year across 170 worldwide markets.

When it comes to supercar exotics like the Pagani Huayra, we never miss the opportunity to share with you a new video that comes our way.

This latest find is the work of the crew over at eGarage who filmed a short clip of the Huayra with the promise to release more footage in the near future. Here's hoping that next time, they'll skip on the annoying music background and let the 700-horsepower V12 powerhouse do the singing…

You can check out the video after the break.

With each passing day, we are edging closer to the 82nd Geneva Motor Show premiere on March 6 and more models are coming out in the open.

One such case is the Volkswagen Golf GTI Cabriolet. Just yesterday, we received word that the production version of concept model shown at last year's Wörthersee meeting in Austria will be displayed at VW’s 2012 Geneva motor show stand, and today we have the first official details and images of the car.

Maranello has blown the covers off the successor to its 599 GTB Fiorano and a direct opponent of the Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4. The car was rumored to be called the F620 GT but as it turns out, we will come to know it as the new F12berlinetta.

Billed as the fastest and most powerful regular production Ferrari in history, the F12berlinetta sports a 6.3-liter naturally-aspirated V12 engine that produces 730HP (740PS), which translates to a specific output of 116HP per liter. It also delivers a peak torque of 690Nm or 508.9 lb-ft, 80 percent of which is available at just 2,500 rpm, while it can rev up to 8,700 rpm.

The 12-cylinder unit is linked to an F1 dual-clutch transmission with close gear ratios that drives the rear wheels.

Ferrari says that the F12berlinetta accelerates from 0-100 km/h (62mph) in 3.1 seconds and from zero to 200 km/h (124mph) in 8.5 seconds en route to a top speed in excess of 340km/h (211mph+) adding that it also completes a lap of the Fiorano circuit in 1.23", faster than any other Ferrari road car.

What Would You Want to Drive in a Post-Apocalyptic World?

In Chevrolet's recent Super Bowl ad, which was set in a post-apocalyptic world, a bunch of friends chose to drive the Detroit brand's Silverado pickup truck, sans one Dave, God rest his soul, who drove a Ford F-150 - we didn't say it, GM did.

In the dystopian future world of Mad Max, The Man with No Name chose a supercharged Ford Falcon XB GT351 for his transportation needs.

In a similar scenario, the crew over at Popular Mechanics came up with a list of 10 vehicles that they would want as their "trusty steed" if the world went berserk.

A station wagon model probably isn’t what comes to mind when you think about Jaguar but times and attitudes changes and the British brand is willing to give it another try after its hapless X-Type Sportwagon.

At a first glance, Jaguar's new XF Sportbrake is a handsome creation, although those abnormally large LED tail lamps look somewhat odd from certain angles.

Jaguar says that every panel on the XF Sportbrake, from the B-Pillar and back, is completely new. Added touches include the silver signature line running the entire length of the car while the gloss black C-Pillar is reminiscent of the XJ limousine. The polished roof rails will be offered as an option.

The largest Mini of them all, the Countryman crossover, will soon accept a new member into its family as the BMW Group owned British automaker will debut the John Cooper Works (JCW for short) model at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show.

The new JCW Countryman is fitted with Mini's all-wheel-drive system known as ALL4 as standard with power coming from the latest iteration of the firm's 1.6-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine featuring a twin-scroll turbocharger, direct injection and a variable valve control system.

In European specification, the turbo'd unit is rated at 215bhp (218PS) and 280Nm (207 lb-ft) of peak torque or 300Nm (221 lb-ft) with the overboost function.

We have more news concerning the VW Group's presence at the 82nd Geneva International Auto Show as we learned that Seat will bring a new Toledo prototype along with the FR versions of its facelifted Ibiza supermini range.

We weren't able to obtain more details, but it is believed that the Toledo study will mark a return to a more conventional saloon or liftback body style for the series after the confused third generation model that was essentially an Altea MPV with a boot strapped on the rear end.

Citroën may have kissed its old ways goodbye when it comes to developing it cars (well, for the most part), but its eccentric designers from the 1970s and 1980s seem to have been put to work to create its official press site that has to be one of the quirkiest and unnecessarily complicated we've ever used.

But all's well that ends well and after more than an hour of cursing and clicking, we are now able to share with you 50 photos of the new Citroën C4 Aircross that will make its grand premier at next week's Geneva Motor Show.

Whilst this video of a couple of children playing around with a Peugeot 107 that they allegedly end up crashing makes for a good laugh, we can't say for sure if its staged or not.

Like its Toyota Aygo and Citroen C1 siblings, the Peugeot 107 is available with an automated manual gearbox, so theoretically at least, it is possible for a youngster to put it in reverse gear as depicted in the clip.

Check out the video after the jump and tell us what you think.

Here's our first real life glimpse of Mercedes-Benz's upcoming Citan urban delivery van that was teased through a handful of sketches earlier this month. If the Citan's shape looks familiar, that is because it's based on the Renault Kangoo series.

To elaborate, the two automotive groups have formed a strategic alliance that will see them working together on a number of projects including, but not limited to, the development of a common platform for the next Smart models and the Renault Twingo.

In a move that most likely has to do with the company's recent troubles including problems with the Karma's batteries and news that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) froze a $528 million federal loan, Fisker announced today that it has named former Chrysler Chief Executive Tom LaSorda as its new Chief Executive Officer.

In addition, Henrik Fisker, the company's co-founder and the original CEO, was appointed executive chairman.

Being that we're approaching the 2012 Azera's U.S. market launch that takes place in April, Hyundai is entering campaign mode.

The South Korean automaker released two new spots for its latest sedan model, both of which were directed by Wes Anderson.

The first one is called "Talk to My Car" and it touts the Azera's technological gadgets with references to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Knight Rider's KITT, while the second spot named "Modern Life", is all about the Hyundai's comfort features featuring a mother taking it easy inside the car.

You can watch both commercials in the videos that follow.

To say that the original Subaru B9 Tribeca's looks are polarizing, would be an understatement, which may explain why the Japanese took a 180 degree turn and rearranged its face to look as a bland as a Chrysler Town & Country a few years back.

What we can't explain is why anyone in the limousine industry would opt to transform the Tribeca into a sausage dog.

If you find the Tribeca stretched limo's looks hard to swallow, then you are sure to choke at the asking price of $75,000. More pictures follow after the break.

We heard earlier this month that Volkswagen might introduce the production version of its Golf GTI Cabriolet at the 82nd Geneva International Auto Salon.

Carscoop can now confirm the news and add that the German company will also premiere another new model, the Polo GT Blue fitted with VW's new 1.4 TSI with a cylinder deactivation system.

The Golf GTI Cabriolet was previewed as a thinly disguised concept model at last year's Wörthersee fest in Austria, alongside the Golf R Cabrio study .

Volvo's new V40 is by far the most leaked model of the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. And after the recent revelations, there was no point to keep it under wraps so the Swedish automaker came forward with all the details about its new premium C-segment contender.

“The all-new V40 is the first new model that is fully developed according to our human-centric, Designed Around You strategy”, said Volvo CEO Stephan Jacoby.

Jacoby added that the new model will “definitely give our toughest competitors a headache”. By which he means the BMW 1-Series and the upcoming Audi A3 and Mercedes-Benz A-Class.

A passing car hit Florida highway patrol officer Daniel Morley while he was talking to another driver on the emergency lane last Thursday.

The dramatic incident was caught on film by the trooper's dashboard mounted camera and was released to the public to highlight the fact that drivers should or rather are required by law to move one lane over when they spot emergency personnel on the shoulder of a roadway.

Luckily, Morley only suffered minor injuries from his narrow escape with the passenger car, according to WPTV News. You can watch the footage from the incident in the video below the break.

In yet another debut for Citroën, the French carmaker will display a new limited production version of its spicy DS3 Racing hatchback at next week's Geneva Motor Show.

The new special edition is named after Citroën's French superstar Sébastien Loeb, who has won the World Rally Championship a mind-blowing record eight times in a row. Only 200 examples of the DS3 Racing S. Loeb are scheduled for production.

The most visible feature of the DS3 Racing S. Loeb is the unique paint job on the outside as the body is finished in a bespoke matte black cooler with a textured effect.

Owning the first example of a sports car is something a lot of people strive for but being the first to crash a new high performance car is something you’d rather not have on your record.

As we reported yesterday, 'About.com Cars' auto journalist Aaron Gold who's also the Vice President of the Los Angeles-based Motor Press Guild (MPG) and a consulting producer on Top Gear USA, now bears the title of being the first person outside of GM to have crashed the Camaro ZL1 during its presentation at the Virginia International Raceway.

Thankfully, no one was hurt – not even the airbags were deployed. GM told Gold that the damage was cosmetic, but as he acknowledges, maybe the company didn’t want to make him feel that bad…

“Those few times when younger journalists have asked me for advice, I have always said ‘Observe the situation, figure out who that guy is, and Don’t Be That Guy", Gold wrote on a new posting about the incident at 'About.com Cars'. “Today, I was That Guy”, he admitted.

One of the models that BMW will reveal at the 2012 edition if the Geneva Motor Show next week is the M550d xDrive, the 5-Series based model of the M Performance Automobiles sub-brand that also make its premiere at the same event.

As is common practice these days, the “550” badge doesn't reveal the engine’s capacity as it used to. The M550d is powered by BMW’s new 3.0-liter inline-six diesel that features no less than three turbochargers, including two smaller and a larger unit.

Exactly one year after displaying the C3 Red Block concept at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, Citroën is returning to the same venue for the presentation of the production version of its special edition model.

While the production C3 Red Block lost the concept's cool matte finish and red pin stripes and wheel accents, it does retain its 17-inch diamond-effect rims that are fitted with 205/40 tires.

At next week's Geneva Motor Show, Chevrolet will officially present the third addition to its Cruze range after the four-door sedan and five-door hatchback models, the new Station Wagon.

Following the release of a single image showing the Station Wagon's rear quarters, Chevrolet dropped another picture today, this time of the car's front end. If you pay close attention, you will notice the remodeled front fascia that will be introduced on all Cruze models in 2012.

In a video celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Nissan Technical Center in Atsugi, the Japanese automaker accidentally showed a pre-production prototype of the 2013 Altima sedan without any camouflage.

The find was made by Mike Magrath from Insideline who was able to capture a screen shot of the car before Nissan pulled out the video replacing it with a revised version (3.44 minutes into the clip) that displays a covered up prototype of the Infiniti JX crossover in its place.

The official European CO2 emissions and fuel economy numbers for the new Prius Plug-in Hybrid are in.

According to Toyota, with the use of the battery, the plug-in hybrid model will be able to travel 134.5 miles on one imperial gallon of petrol (equal to 112mpg US or 2.1lt/100km) and emit just 49g/km of CO2 on the combined driving cycle.

Once the battery is depleted and the car switches into HV mode, it delivers a fuel economy of 76.4mpg UK (63.6mpg US or 3.7lt/100km) and CO2 emissions of 85g/km.

First Official Photos of Kia's New K9 RWD Flagship Sedan

Only hours after we shared with you a scoop video showing the Kia K9 without any camouflage whatsoever, the South Korean automaker revealed the first official photographs of its all-new flagship sedan that will be launched in its home market this summer.

Initially referred to by its codename 'KH', Kia confirmed that the Korean market version of the car will be named 'K9' adding that the name for export markets, as well as overseas launch timings, will be announced later this year.

With the new K9, Kia completes its domestic range of "K" sedans, which also include the K5 (Optima in overseas markets) and K7 (Cadenza in overseas markets).

We'll start with the first thing we noticed about the K9 and that has to do with its design. What started out as a hunch when Kia showed us a handful of teaser sketches of its first ever rear-wheel drive saloon has now became more of a certainty. And yes, as many of you also noticed, the K9 appears to borrow one too many styling elements from BMW and especially its 7-Series flagship.

There are more automotive awards given each year than you can shake a stick at; there's the World Car of the Year, the American Car/Truck of the Year, the European Car of the Year, and so on and so forth.

Then there are individual publication and website awards. Luckily, most of them are driver oriented, thus their “COTY” announcements usually concern a driver’s car and not a people carrier or an underpowered eco-box.

The crew over at Motor Trend has published a behind-the-scenes video explaining its criteria in judging the best new driver’s car of 2011.

You've no doubt seen the official pictures and video of the all-new Volvo V40, which is proving to be the worst kept secret of the 2012 Geneva Auto Salon.

Nevertheless, we have more news coming our way thanks to our Greek friends over at Auto2day-gr, as they sent us the skinny on all those details about the V40 we were missing. And yes, we can confirm that the data is official.

We'll start with the V40's dimensions as in one of our previous posts featuring some scans from the Swedish edition of Auto Motor und Sport magazine, we wrongly assumed that the V40 measured 450cm (177-in.) long.

As it turns out, the publication was referring to the maximum length of the series, which it said would eventually include the S40 sedan, C40 three-door hatchback and XC40 SUV, and not specifically the V40.

The V40 measures 4,369mm (172.0 -in.) long, 2,041mm (80.3-in.) wide including the mirrors and 1,445mm (56.9-in.) tall, while it rides on a 2,647mm (104.2-in.) wheelbase. That makes it roughly the same size as its BMW rival, the new generation of the 1-Series.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Monday, February 27, 2012