Volvo Truck’s New Merchandise Collection

Coinciding with the launch of its new truck range, Volvo Trucks has presented an in-house designed merchandise collection. The range, which consists of two collections, the “FH16” and the “Volvo Trucks”, comprises more than one hundred items, including leather wear, UV-safe baby clothing, bags, watches and lifestyle products.

Without wanting to sound stereotypical, we can’t help thinking that the collection and especially the “feline” models promoting them in the pictures seem to share more in common with C30 customers than with your typical truck drivers… -Continued

2011 Toyota Rear-Wheel-Drive Coupe Rendering

Earlier this year, Subaru and Toyota officially announced that they will co-develop an all-new rear-wheel drive coupe. While a first batch of scoop images featuring Subaru’s version of the compact sport coupe have already hit the web, we’ve yet to see any spy pictures of Toyota’s variant.

However, one of our readers sent us a scanned image from a Japanese car magazine with an artist’s impression of the forthcoming Toyota RWD coupe. Despite the Lexus-esque styling, we find the rendering quite promising. Hopefully, earlier reports stating that Toyota’s version will only be sold in Japan won’t be confirmed. But even if they prove to be true, here’s a grand idea; how about if Toyota sells its version of the coupe as a Scion in the States?

2009 Dodge Challenger Brochure

While not as snazzy as the Challenger SRT8’s media kit (see here), the full brochure for the 2009 Dodge Challenger has its strong points. The first thing that caught our attention were the scrumptious 20-inch Polished Heritage Alloys that are standard on the R/T Classic. They look absolutely stunning and if we set to buy Dodge’s bad-boy muscle car, the retro-themed alloys would be our first choice. Check out the brochure after the jump.




























Via: Autoblog.com , Source: Flickr

Roush Presents Bespoke... One-Horse Power Training Vehicle!

We won’t lie and tell you that we didn’t double check this story. Though it would have been cool if someone (re)invented a one-horse powered car that would solve our energy problems, this bespoke vehicle was created by the Roush Technologies for Turkish-based, Kurt Systems that specializes in racehorse and camel training equipment.

In a nutshell, the ground-up, turnkey project will be used as a high-tech machinery for the continuous monitoring of animals at speeds of up to 60km/h or 37mph. The yet unnamed vehicle effectively provides a moving enclosure similar to a starting stall, in which the animal can walk, trot or full gallop freely in a controlled environment, whilst being monitored and trained to optimise race performance. -Continued

Weighing in at around 4 tonnes, the training vehicle uses a cross-braced frame, with suspension derived from a Ford F150 series truck. Power is provided by a Volvo 2.4litre, 5-cylinder turbodiesel matted to an automatic gearbox.

The training vehcile’s cabin, which is mounted rearward of the horse, includes a centrally mounted driver’s seat, plus additional seats for a trainer and a veterinary specialist. Onboard systems include 12-volt and 240-volt electrical supplies, to power systems such as computerised heart, blood, oxygen and fitness monitoring.

As for the open fronted stall section of the vehicle, it features an independent hydraulic steering, combined with electronically controlled reins, to steer the horse in the same direction as the vehicle. The reins are enclosed within two forward curving booms on the body structure, controlled by the driver.

VW Scirocco R 3.0 TFSI Teaser or… Photoshop?

This allegedly official, teaser image of the VW Scirocco R has appeared on several sites on the web today. We tried to verify the teaser image, but we came out empty handed. However we did find a picture of the Nurburgring 24h endurance race Scirocco GT24 that looks too similar to be ignored. Our take? While a future top-spec version of the Scirocco equipped with Audi’s new 290Hp 3.0 TFSI isn’t out of the question, we believe that the teaser image is nothing more than a product of an imaginative photoshop artist. See the Scirocco GT24 image after the jump. -Continued

Via: Autoblog.nl

BMW 7-Series Teaser Poster Appears at Golf Tournament!

While we’ve seen more spy shots of the new BMW 7-Series that we can remember, this is the first “official” teaser picture of the forthcoming Bavarian luxury sedan. The teaser poster that displays a darkened view of the 2009 7-Series’ front end was seen at a BMW sponsored Golf tournament. BMW’s new flagship model will make its public debut at the Paris Auto Show this fall. Read more about the 2009 BMW 7-Series here.

Mercedes Planning Electric A-Class with Lithium-Ion Batteries for 2010

Citing inside company sources, German newspaper “Automobilewoche” is reporting that Mercedes-Benz will market an electric version of the current A-Class in 2010. According to an unnamed senior manager in the automotive industry, the current generation A-Class’ sandwich construction with its double floor is ideal to fit the batteries without performing any serious modifications to the vehicle.

The newspaper also supports that Mercedes-Benz is currently in talks with Tesla for the supply of the lithium-ion batteries. Compared to nickel hydride units, lithium-ion batteries are not only more powerful but they also weigh less.

NISMO to Test Tuned Nissan GT-R at Tokachi 24H

Nissan’s official motorsports and performance division, NISMO, will enter a specially-prepped Nissan GT-R into the 15th Tokachi 24-hour race, to be held from July 20th to 21st in Hokkaido. The NISMO GT-R that will be based on the standard production car will be equipped with the newly-developed NISMO tuning parts and competition motor oil jointly developed with MOTUL. The GT-R specific NISMO tuning parts used in the race will be available as accessory options to GT-R customers this summer

Team Director Taro Kumagai said, "This is the first Nissan GT-R to race based on the standard road-car specifications. Our target is to complete the race distance, testing both the performance and reliability of the car. Following its success in Super GT, we know that GT-R fans want to see the car compete in this kind of endurance racing series.” -Continued

Team:
Entrant: NISMO
Entry Name: MOTUL NISMO Racing Team
Vehicle Name: MOTUL NISMO GT-R
Team Director: Taro KUMAGAI
Drivers: Masami KAGEYAMA, Tetsuya TANAKA, and Kazuki

Car Specification:
Base Vehicle: NISSAN GT-R (R35)
Engine: VR38DETT
Displacement: 3799 cc
Max. Power: over 480 ps/6400 rpm
Max. Torque: over 60 kgfm/3200-5200 rpm
Weight: over 1600 kg
Tyres: Bridgestone Racing POTENZA

Kia Koup to Enter Production in 2009, No Hatchback Version for the U.S.

The production version of the Kia Koup Concept that was previewed earlier this year at the New York Auto Show will go on sale in the States during the third quarter of 2009, according Lee Hyun-soon, president of Hyundai-Kia Motors' R&D division. Kia's first ever Coupe model will be based on the replacement for the Spectra, teaser shots of which have already appeared throughout the web.

The Spectra sedan, that may bear a different name, will be available in the U.S. by mid-2009. According to Lee, the Spectra hatchback will no longer be sold in the U.S. as the Korean automaker believes that the Coupe variant will easily outsell it.

Via: AN (Sub. Req)

Mitsubishi Lancer EVO X Drawing Customers from German Brands

An in-house study of UK customers buying the new Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X since the car was launched in March 2008 has shown that 38% of the exchanges offered against the Twin Clutch SST (Sports Shift Transmission) model have been from premium German brands, while 31% have been from other Japanese competitor brands.

On the other hand, sales of the manual transmission have been dominated by the FQ-360 variant, with the majority (40%) coming from existing EVO owners. However, a further 19% of part exchanges came from premium German marques and 20% from other Japanese manufacturers. According to Mitsubishi, several super cars have also been traded in against new Lancer Evolution Xs, with one dealer handing over a Lancer Evolution X FQ-300 SST and a cheque for £90,000 against a Ferrari F430. -Continued

Lance Bradley, Mitsubishi UK’s Sales and Marketing Director stated that, “this shows that the new Evolution X is certainly attracting people out of German cars, especially into the SST, and that the manual gearbox car is not only attracting traditional Evo customers, but also customers of other Japanese marques.”

Citroen C-Crosser Gets 2.4-liter Petrol Engine & CVT Gearbox

Citroen is enhancing its C-Crosser range in the U.K. with a new model that features a more powerful, 170hp 2.4 litre petrol engine that can be combined with a new Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). There are two available trim levels, the VTR+ and Exclusive with prices starting from £19,995. Standard equipment includes automatic folding of the reclining and sliding split rear seats, cruise control, light sensitive headlights, ABS with EBD and ESP and 6 airbags. -Continued

New Models	R.R.P. OTR
VTR 2.4i 170hp 5 speed	£19,995.00
VTR+ 2.4i 170hp CVT	£22,495.00
Exclusive 2.4i 170hp CVT	£25,195.00

Proton to Enter Indian Market in 2009

Malaysian national carmaker Proton has announced its plans to enter the burgeoning Indian market that currently supports annual sales of about 1.5 million passenger vehicles. Initially, the Malaysian company will market three models, the Savvy, the Saga and the Persona with sales expected to begin in early 2009. Proton is also negotiating with a joint-venture partner in India to manufacture and market its cars. "We are looking at a number of possible joint venture partners in India with a strong focus on marketing," said Syed Zainal, managing director of Proton Cars.