hatchback:
The Smart car is getting a lot of attention for its small size and style, and now it’s earning impressive crash test ratings. In recent Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tests, the 2008 Smart Fortwo, the smallest car for sale in the US market, earned the top rating of good for front and side crash protection. Its seat/head restraints earned the second highest rating of acceptable for protection against whiplash in rear impacts.
Smart Fortwo is classified a microcar, meaning it’s smaller even than minicars. Weighing about 1,800 pounds, the Smart is more than 3 feet shorter and almost 700 pounds lighter than a Mini Cooper. It weighs about a third as much as one of the heaviest vehicles the Institute has tested, the BMW X5, a midsize SUV. As the price of fuel climbs and tougher federal fuel economy requirements kick in, auto companies are expected to introduce more small vehicles to the market. The Smart is the smallest car the Institute ever has tested.
"The big question from consumers is, ’How safe is it?’", says Institute president Adrian Lund. "All things being equal in safety, bigger and heavier is always better. But among the smallest cars, the engineers of the Smart did their homework and designed a high level of safety into a very small package."
Smart ForTwo
>> read
Kerscher, a well-known German tuner unveiled its tuning kit for the fifth generation of the Volkswagen Golf. The new kit consists in a re-designed front bumper with three big opening for additional cooling, a carbon fiber front lip, new side skirts, re-designed rear bumper in the Audi R8 style, as well as a new complete exhaust system with stainless steel pipes. Now words about the price yet! More images after the jump!
Mazda is introducing three-door versions of its all-new Mazda2 small car this month, with a starting price of just £7,999 on-the-road – making the Mazda2 TS 3dr 1.3 petrol one of the most price-competitive small cars in the UK.
This is the first time that Mazda has offered a three-door variant in its popular Mazda2 model range. The newcomer features all the technology and attributes of the five-door hatchback, while delivering the same sporty feel to its dynamic drive at an even more affordable price. Since launch, the new Mazda2 has attracted almost 7,000 buyers and raised Mazda’s share of the small car market in 2008 to 2.4 per cent.
The Mazda2 5dr, which was introduced in September 2007, broke the industry trend for increasing weight and size with each successive replacement model. New Mazda2 is 100kg lighter than the previous model, thanks to Mazda’s ‘gram strategy’ diet, and the use of lightweight ultra-high tensile steels and new technology – leading to excellent fuel consumption and low CO2 emissions.
2008 Mazda three-door
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The Volvo C30 is a very interesting new 2 door hatchback that was introduced on the US market in 2007. The C30 is the smallest Volvo available to date. It features the maker’s signature design elements in a concentrated shape. If you like Volvo’s curvy body style and over sized rear taillights you will love this car. >> read
With its innovative design and pronounced sportiness, SEAT’s most emblematic Ibiza will be on sale this month throughout the company’s dealership network, coinciding with the upcoming Madrid Motor Show.
The new Ibiza is dashingly youthful and features outstanding dynamic qualities thanks to the new Volkswagen Group platform which has been designed for this segment. This new development heightens the allure of SEAT’s new model and combines with the new “Arrow Design” concept, featuring simpler, more powerful geometric lines that lend balanced aesthetics to the new SEAT Ibiza.
The initial engine range includes three petrol versions (70 hp 1.2; 85 hp 1.4 and 105 hp 1.6) and one Diesel engine (105 hp 1.9 TDI) equipped with the DPF particulate filter, although the range will soon expand to include the 80 hp 1.4 TDI and 90 hp 1.9 TDI versions. All of the engines are mated to a five-speed manual gearbox and feature outstandingly low CO2 emissions, of less than 160 g/km on the petrol versions and less than 120 g/km on the Diesel models.
2009 Seat Ibiza
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If you’re a fan of the French Chateaux you’ll definitely like the new Mini Clubman Chateau by Aznom, the well-known French coachbuilder. Based on the Mini Clubman, the vehicle reveals the elegance of the Grands Chateaux but also a really special trunk with 6 bottles found in some specially created places which suggest the idea of a wine cellar.
The most spectacular thing about the new vehicle is the interior due to the fact that it features aged leather and Alcantara. Also the exterior received a special sandy/gold metallic paint for the top and pearly-changeable brown for the rest of the car. The vehicle will be built in limited edition of just 12 exclusive units featuring numbered labels with the name of the owners. No word about the price yet! Press release after the jump! >> read
To appeal to young drivers, Toyota launched a complete line of vehicles in 2004. This new brand is called Scion. Their hope was to repeat the Lexus success story with the Scion. Don’t ask me what Scion means or where it comes from, but after only 4 years in the US, you will have a hard time to find a teenager who doesn’t know or want a Scion. >> read 2008 Scion xB Picture Gallery .
There’s blue, then there is Aygo Blue. This spring Toyota’s award-winning city car has a fresh look with a new dedicated Slate Blue metallic paint finish. The colour co-ordination includes the door mirrors and bumper inserts on the outside and continues inside the cabin with new carpet mats with matching blue stitching and slate blue bezels for the air vents and instrument display.
Aygo Blue sits alongside Aygo Platinum at the top of the model range, offering an attractive array of premium equipment features. Bluetooth connectivity, air conditioning and, on manual models, leather gear knob trim are all part of the standard specification.
And for those owners looking to make their Aygo Blue even more special, two accessory packs are available. Aygo Xtra Protected equips the car for life in the urban jungle with rear parking sensors, mud flaps and unpainted rear and side protection strips, while Aygo Style adds élan with alloy wheels, front fog lamps and front scuff plates. The packs are priced £335 and £595 respectively (including VAT).
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First launched in 1982, the Micra is now in its third generation and has fast become the best-selling Nissan car in Europe. Over 1.3 million units of the previous Micra have been sold between 1993 and 2002. Micra’s B-platform is the first ever to be shared within the framework of the Renault-Nissan Alliance. The culmination of a two-year project to develop a range-leader which would add spice and dynamism to the Micra range, the 160SR is intended for enthusiastic drivers. Central to the 160SR’s character is the 1.6-liter 16 valve four cylinder twin cam engine. An all-aluminum low friction design, the engine is also notably lighter than similar capacity units from rival manufacturers. To produce sharper, sportier handling the suspension has been stiffened and the power steering modified to give greater feel and feedback.
Motive believes that the transportation sector needs to undergo a rapid evolutionary change in order to maintain current standards of living while reducing our energy needs dramatically. In order to achieve this, a shift is required toward low volume high-tech manufacturing techniques.
This will enable us rapid evolution of individualized vehicles that use a fraction of the energy required by today’s automobiles and public transportation vehicles. The Automotive X-Prize will help to push the boundaries of what is perceived not only as possible, but also as probable.
Motive’s intent in entering the X-Prize is to demonstrate our capabilities in the fields of automotive design and engineering. Motive believes in the need for innovation and sustainability and is thus committed to developing and using ecologically sensitive materials and manufacturing methods.
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