Hot News: Opel/Vauxhall's Mini Rival to be Called 'Adam'

It's official – Vauxhall has revealed that its upcoming MINI rival, previously codenamed Junior, will be known as the Adam when it arrives early next year.

And these spy pictures give us our best idea yet of how the new model will look. Vauxhall has revealed it will get a “sporty and muscular design”, which is likely to draw on some of the company’s established styling cues. These include the blade motif on the flanks and the ‘eagle eye’ headlights that can be seen through the heavy camouflage on the car in our pictures.

The Adam will only be offered as a three-door, four-seat model and measures approximately 3.70 metres in length – almost identical to the 3.72m MINI hatch.

The big focus is set to be on customisation, with an insider revealing “there are around 10,000 different variants of paint and interior trim; you won’t see two alike on the road”. Everything from the headlining to the floor mats will be customisable.

The Adam will use the chassis from the next-generation Corsa, while power will come from a range of efficient small petrol and diesel turbos from the supermini line-up, as well as a new three-cylinder engine.

The newcomer will debut at September’s Paris Motor Show. Vauxhall has told us the Adam will go on sale early in 2013 and should have a starting price of just over £10,000, placing it in Fiat 500 territory. For more details click here.
Thanks to: Auto Express

Hot News: VW Plans to Release Compact SUV & Crossover Based-on Up!

German newspaper Handelsblatt is reporting that Volkswagen is planning a whole family of vehicles based on the recently-introduced Up! model, including a small SUV. The consideration of a subcompact SUV is largely based on the favorable public reaction to the Buggy Up! and Cross Up! concepts that debuted at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show.

Albrecht Reimold, the plant manager in charge of the Bratislava, Slovakia factory where the current Up! is produced, said the Up! was always intended to be a vehicle family, and not just a single model, but would not go on record with specific production plans for the reported new model.

The Up!-based SUV would reportedly start below $26,000, approximately $6000 less than the Tiguan model starts at in Germany. For comparison, the current U.S.-spec Tiguan starts at $23,660 including destination.

Like the Up! on which it would be based, as well as the subcompact Ford EcoSport, the SUV version of the Up! would likely not be sold in the U.S. market.

The article notes that sales of SUVs are up 11.6 percent in Germany, and are projected to top 480,000 by 2015, representing 15 percent of total new vehicle sales in the country.

Do you think VW should sell a SUV in the U.S. market smaller and cheaper than the Tiguan? Or stick with what it has? Share your thoughts below.

Thanks to: Motor Trend

Recall Up Date: 2009-2011 BMW 3-Series, X5, & X6 Diesel

The Problem: BMW has announced that certain emissions components on 2009-2011 3 Series, X5, and X6 diesel models including the SCR catalyst, DEF mixer, and the EGR valve may overstate vehicle mileage. This may cause emissions standards to be exceeded and illuminate the check engine light. This in turn could cause affected models to fail U.S. emissions tests.

The Fix: Beginning May 9 BMW will begin recalling affected models. The fix involves the inspection and replacement of certain emissions components, and a re-flash of the vehicle’s ECU.

Number of Vehicles Potentially Affected: According to Automotive News, 24,340 diesel BMWs are affected by the recall, including 2740 2011 and 2012 X5 and X6s, and 21,600 3 Series cars.

Thanks to: Motor Trend

Recall Up Date: 2011-2012 Chrysler 300 & Dodge Charger

The Problem: Chrysler has announced that it will be recalling certain 2011-2012 Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger sedans due to a fuse issue. According to Chrysler, a plastic insert surrounding the fuse may be particularly susceptible to thermal expansion and contraction. This may cause the ABS and ESC system to temporarily stop functioning. This will also cause the ABS and ESC warning light to illuminate on the dashboard.

The Fix: Chrysler will begin notifying owners of the issue this month. Chrysler will fit the recalled 300s and Chargers with new fuses, and relocate the fuse to prevent the issue from occurring again. Chrysler will perform the fix free of charge.

Number of Vehicles Potentially Affected: There are 119,072 Chrysler 300s and Dodge Chargers built before December 21, 2011 affected by this recall. Concerned owners may contact Chrysler at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler’s internal recall number is M10.

Thanks to: Motor Trend

New Car: 2013 Toyota RAV4 EV

Toyota has revealed its second all-electric RAV4 SUV, and it is the result of a partnership between the Japanese automaker and Tesla Motors. The original electrified RAV4 was introduced in California in 1997 for fleets, and a small number eventually made their way to customers in 2003. When we were given a look at this iteration of Toyota’s electric SUV at the 2010 L.A. auto show, the company wasn’t sharing final technical specs or detailed information of any kind. At that time, the vehicle was only just entering its testing phase; now that the production model is here, so are the specs.

As its name implies, the RAV4 EV is pretty much a normal RAV4 but with an electric powertrain. Tesla contributed all of the RAV4’s electric bits, including the motor and lithium-ion battery pack; Toyota provided the RAV4 wrapper. The motor is good for 154 hp and max torque of 273 lb-ft; the output is routed through a single-speed transmission to the RAV4’s front wheels. There are two driving modes, Normal and Sport. Even though the idea of sport anything on an electric SUV may sound silly, the Sport mode provides access to full torque, which makes a tangible difference in the crossover’s performance. (Just 218 lb-ft of torque is available in Normal mode.) In Sport, the claimed 0-to-60-mph time drops from 8.6 seconds to 7.0, and top speed climbs to 100 mph from 85. The given acceleration estimates for the electric RAV4 in either driving mode fall between our test results for the pokey four-cylinder RAV4 and the 269-hp V-6 model. As for weight, the EV carries an additional 400 pounds over a 4WD V-6 model, which puts it over 4000 pounds.
Thanks to: Car and Driver

Spied: 2014 Mini Paceman

Get ready to welcome a seventh model to the MINI line-up, as these spy shots prove the coupe-crossover Paceman is only months away from its public debut.

The car is a sportier, two-door version 
of the Countryman, and the good news is that the prototype in these pictures looks near-identical to the original concept, 
seen at last year’s Detroit Motor Show.

While the five-door Countryman has a level window line, the Paceman’s waistline rises all the way up until the C-pillar. To 
narrow the window line further, designers have given the newcomer a lower roof 
than the Countryman – by 20mm at the front and 40mm at the back. The rear screen is also far more angled than the 
flat design used for the Countryman.

Further marking out the Paceman 
are the horizontal tail-lights, which are placed vertically on the five-door, while under the bonnet, the car is expected to use the same engines as the Countryman.

This will include a 215bhp 1.6-litre 
four-cylinder turbo, which will power the John Cooper Works model. The flagship Paceman will also feature four-wheel 
drive, and should sprint from 0-62mph 
in only 
seven seconds. MINI has confirmed that the Paceman will sit alongside the Countryman in the model range, rather than above 
it. With that in mind, we can expect 
to see a price tag similar to the five-
door car, which costs from £16,510.

The full production version of the Paceman will be revealed at September’s Paris Motor Show, with sales set to 
start at the beginning of 2013. For more details click here.
Thanks to: Auto Express

Hot News: Nissan Juke-R Gets Green Light

A limited number of Nissan Juke-R models will go into production, after the manufacturer received a number of offers that, according to Nissan, were 'too good to ignore'.

Following the car's debut as the pace car for the Dubai 24 Hours in January this year, a number of high-profile clients approached Nissan, and the first three models have already been sold.

Order books officially open in four weeks, but potential customers will be looking at a six-figure sum for the exclusive model, at £30,000 more than the Nissan GT-R it is based on.

All of the GT-R’s running gear is used in the ultimate crossover, including the 545bhp twin-turbocharged V6 engine. The prototype Juke-R was based on a 2010 GT-R with 485bhp, but production cars will get the latest 2012 platform and running gear. Buyers can expect acceleration from 0-62mph in just over three seconds.

Despite the extra performance, the Juke-R will remain the same physical size as the standard Juke, with a wider track being the only major change.

Building the Juke-R will be down to British motorsport engineers at RML. The company worked with Nissan’s Technical Centre Europe to create the prototype, and were behind the 2003 Nissan Micra-R concept, which had a mid-mounted 3.5-litre V6 from the Nissan 350Z.For more details click here.
Thanks to: Auto Express