Hiatus

Dear readers,

I apologize that this week and last week didn't post anything auto news. It just because I'm trying to finish my thesis. And I hope next Monday I can collect it to the campus. After that, I can get back posting auto news to you all. Just get back to my blog on next Monday. I hope you all understand and I hope I can finish my thesis as fast as I can. Thanks for visiting my blog and being my loyal visitor.

Wish Me and You Luck,

Dika

New Car: 2013 Xiali N3

The new Xiali N3 has been launched on the Chinese car market. It didn’t happen at the Beijing Auto Show last month but rather sneakingly at the very local Qingdao Auto Show in Shandong Province. Strangely Xiali only showed the sedan but announced pricing for both the sedan and hatchback. The Xiali N3 is made by Tianjin-FAW Automobile, a subsidiary of First Auto Works (FAW).

The Xiali is one of the longest running cars in China. It all started in1995 as the Tianjin Auto Xiali, which was basically a rebadged Daihatsu Charade. Tianjin Auto had a license for the Charade which by that time was already considered very old by the Japanse. Daihatsu was happy it could still earn a few yen by licensing it to the Chinese. Well, the Charade is still around and Daihatsu is nowhere in China.

Price for the yet invisible hatchback starts at 31.990 yuan and ends at 33.990 yuan, price for the sedan starts at 33.990 yuan and ends at 37.990 yuan. The N3 is one of the very cheapest cars on the Chinese market. In big rich cities such as Beijing and Shanghai sales are minimal these days, but the N3 continues to be very poplar in the rest of the country where hundreds of millions of people are still saving money for their first car.

Only engine is a 1.0 four-cylinder with 65hp and 89nm, mated to a 5-speed manual. The previous N3 was also available with a slightly stronger 1.4 but that engine seems gone, at least for now. I guess Xiali will launch it a bit later, to get some media attention yet again…

Thanks to: Car News China

New Car: 2013 Chery Eastar

The new Chery Eastar sedan has been launched on the Chinese car market. The Eastar is a very important car for Chery. The old one was on the market for some eight years and very popular among budget buyers and taxi drivers who wanted a no-frills big car for little money. Chery made the new one much better, much better looking and it is still incredible cheap. Price starts at only 95.800 yuan and ends at 135.800 yuan.

Big car! Size: 4866/1840/1500, wheelbase is 2768. Engines: 1.8 with 132hp and 170nm or a 2.0 with 139hp and 182nm. Transmission: 5-speed manual or CVT. It comes standard with ABS+EDB, dual front airbags, electric windows and mirrors, USB-ports and a six-speaker sound system, and much more… The platform however is rather old and basically the same, but improved, as under the old Eastar. This saved Chery a lot of money and so they still earn a few bucks on each car they sell. It won’t be that much however so Chery needs to sell high volumes, but looking at this car and its price it seems they will do just that.
Thanks to: Car News China

Hot News: Geely High-end SUV to Get Volvo XC90's Platform

The Geely XC90 is on its way, if you believe Chinese media reports.

Volvo has handed the XC90 platform over to its Chinese owners ahead of a new version launching in 2014, the National Business Daily is reporting that Geely will use the XC90 platform to develop yet another high end brand for the Chinese market with the XC90 being the highlight of the new brand. The agreement to hand over the XC90 to Geely was signed on March 9th of this year, but it is not yet clear if any other vehicles were included in the transfer. The next generation XC90 is currently in development and will hit the market in 2014.

The XC90 is no new vehicle, the P2 platform on which the XC90 is based was first aired in 1999 and was developed prior to the Ford purchase of Volvo, the same platform underpinned several cars such as the S80, Ford Taurus and Lincoln MKS sedan

Geely launched their first SUV at the Beijing Auto Show, the GX7 SUV is the first AWD product from the company, the compact SUV is powered by a 1.8L engine and a six speed manual gearbox.

Thanks to: China Car Times

New Car: 2012 Fiat Punto Sport

Fiat has launched a limited edition of the Punto 90HP called the Punto Sport.

The Punto Sport comes with Fiat's 1.3-litre 90bhp MultiJet diesel motor. The Sport version gets special decals on the sides and rear with colour-coded wing mirrors, chrome-door handles and a chrome exhaust tip.

Interior upgrades for the Sport version include red stitching on Seats, a leather gear knob & gear cover, aluminum pedals, additional chrome bits on the dash, and Punto branded door sills.

In addition to the above, the Punto 90hp comes with dual stage airbags, ABS with EBD, automatic climate control, an integrated CD/MP3 player with USB and Bluetooth.

The Punto Sport is priced at Rs 7.36 lakh ex-showroom, Delhi.

Thanks to: Autocar India

Hot News: 2014/2015 BMW X5

BMW’s E70 X5 is now getting towards the end of its lifespan, and this rendering from Carparazzi shows how its F15 successor could look when it hits the market next year.

Going on the accompanying image, it’s clear BMW isn’t deviating too far from the existing formula, and that’s hardly a surprise given the sales success of the current-gen X5.

Even though long in the tooth, it’s still the market leader in the premium SUV segment, with 798 Australian sales to its credit until the end of April this year. Trailing it are the Land Rover Discovery (700 sales), Range Rover Sport (578 sales) and Volkswagen Touareg (557 sales).

Based on information at hand, the new F15 X5 will be underpinned by a modified version of the chassis that forms the basis for the accomplished F10 5 Series, and it’s likely to achieve significant weight savings over the current E70 model.

As with the current model, the new X5 will be available with straight-six and V8 power, but some sources suggest the line-up may also include the impressive new four-cylinder turbo engines that have debuted in the new 3 Series.

As with the current range, the new X5 line-up will include diesels and an ActiveHybrid version for buyers seeking optimal fuel economy.

Visually, the next-gen model is an evolutionary design, but the smartened up nose with LED headlights brings it in line with the look of the F30 3 Series. Word has it the taillights will also be redesigned to feature the layering concept pioneered by the recent Vision design studies.

The new X5’s flanks are distinguished by the concave/convex surfaces that have been a feature of all recent BMWs, helping alleviate the slabsidedness that can otherwise mar the look of large SUVs.

Thanks to: Car Point

Hot News: Aston Martin Lagonda is in the Way

Although the design shown at Geneva in 2009 didn’t meet with critical acclaim, the Lagonda project is very much alive and Aston boss Ulrich Bez has recently alluded to an updated Lagonda concept “in the coming year”. A second Lagonda model, a saloon, has already been mooted.

Bentley’s £150k-plus ‘Falcon’ concept will have also encouraged Aston; the Lagonda and Falcon are similarly brutal and statuesque.

Both British SUVs will go a long way to better exploiting demand in the Chinese market, where the appeal of super-GTs like the DBS is limited.

“The DBS sells in a global market segment that is struggling to rebound back 
to where it was, and that’s largely down to China,” 
said IHS Automotive analyst Colin Couchman.

“The traditional markets for supercars — the US and Europe — are still depressed,” he added. “Although the Chinese market remains buoyant, that won’t feed through to Aston because the Chinese don’t yet see the value of displaying their wealth through owning an expensive sports car.”

IHS figures show — based on models in the £160k to sub-£200k bracket — that the global super-GT coupé market won’t recover to its pre-recession high of just over 9200 units in 2008 until 2014 at the earliest. That’s despite the launch of the successful Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG in 2010, a car that has expanded global sales by about 2700 cars a year.

The global popularity of Merc’s second luxury coupé — the AMG-tuned CL — shouldn’t be underestimated, either. It accounts for about a quarter of the market, vying with the £178k Ferrari 458 for the title of best-seller. A new CL AMG is due to arrive in 2015, potentially giving the segment a welcome nudge upwards.

Thanks to: Autocar