Opinion Cars

Like every year, the Volkswagen Group held a special media event on the night before the opening of the Geneva International Auto Salon, where it rolled out all a selection of its world premieres.

Two of the most eye-catching and talked about models were the Lamborghini Veneno and the Porsche 911 GT3 – coincidentally, the former to celebrate the Italian brands 50th anniversary, and the latter the 50th birthday of the 911 series.

Bugatti showed off another specially version of the Veyron hypercar, while Bentley was represented by the new Flying Spur luxury sedan, and Italdesign by the Lamborghini-powered Parcour concept cars.

Other new models to go on show were the super-frugal VW XL1, of which only 250 examples will be built, the VW e-Co-Motion van, the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron and RS6 Avant, the Seat Leon SC, and the latest generation of the Skoda Octavia.

Well have more pictures and details on each car from the Geneva Motor Show tomorrow morning.

Nissan and its Chinese partner Dongfeng Motors lifted the veils off their new local market Teana sedan during a press conference in China on Tuesday in front of more than 1,000 (!) journalists and dealers from all over the country.

If the mid-size sedan looks eerily familiar, its because the Teana is the same car as the North American Altima with some barely noticeable changes such as the added chrome strips on the lower sections of the doors and rear bumper, and the front grilles, the white markers on the headlamps and the revised tail light graphics.

The Teana will be manufactured at Dongfeng Nissan’s plant in Xiangyang, Hubei province, and is set to go on sale in the country in late March. It will be offered with Nissans latest 182hp 2.5-liter four-cylinder petrol engine matched to an Xtronic CVT (Continuous Variable Transmission).

According Nissan, the previous generations of the Teana achieved more than 700,000 sales in China since its introduction locally in 2004, a success the company believes will continue with the new model.

“It doesn’t get any more important than this. This is the flagship of the Nissan range in China. This represents everything that we are about,” said Nissan Executive Vice President Andy Palmer, at the launch in Guangzhou.

“We are confident because the new generation Teana is a stronger product," said Dongfeng Nissan Vice President Ren Yong. "It contains even more of our efforts and we’ve done thorough preparations for it. We hope that with the launch the new Teana, it will bring momentum to dealers and for our sales. It will also allow customers to experience the benefits of the new Teana and return us to a position of strength.”

Articles Source : Carscoop

Nissan GT-R 2013 offering features perfected to increased the performance, and bring more comfort when driving. Nissan GT-R 2013 known as a legendary supercar, with a number of evolutionary improvements, in terms of design and performance of the engine was increased based on the evaluation.

The modifications will be undertaken including twin-turbo 3.8-liter V6 engine with power 542 hp and changes in the specifications of shock absorbers and front stabilizer. The result is a performance of the car improved dramatically as a whole, handling is more stable at high speeds and the ride quality is more perfect. Not only that, Nissan GT-R Premium Edition version eqquiped with the Semiarinin skin soft. Interior color can be adjusted to the wishes of the consumer.

Information Modification Specification Image  2012 Seat Ibiza FR TDI SC
The SEAT Ibiza FR has extended its engine line-up with the arrival of the 143 hp (105 kW) 2.0 TDI variant equipped with common rail technology and DPF particulate filter, making the Ibiza the first VW Group model to mount the 2.0 TDI engine on this platform, which by the way is the most powerful Diesel in its segment.
With these credentials the new Ibiza FR TDI is a full-fledged sporty vehicle, but at the same time committed to environmental sustainability. Its emissions level of 119 g/km is unique on a car of this nature, and is a considerable reduction by 20% compared to the previous FR version equipped with the 130 hp 1.9 TDI engine. Thanks to this low figure, buyers in Spain are exempt from paying registration tax.

Exclusive exterior styling
The same as with the petrol version, the new SEAT Ibiza FR TDI will be available in the SC and five-door body styling, and in both choices its design features set it apart from the rest of the range. The new FR version features specific bumpers, front honeycomb grilles, with a chrome frame surrounding the one in the centre, the characteristic Arrow Design, silver colour door mirrors, 215/40 tyres on specific 17 inch wheel rims, and a twin lateral tailpipe.
The interior also conveys the cars racing nature with shiny black inserts on certain dashboard elements such as the instrument panel binnacle hood or the ventilation nozzle bezels. Other contributing elements to its sporty looks are a specific instrument display that carries the FR logo, the sporty steering wheel design and the seat design, whose contours and stitched upholstery are different than on the rest of the range and sport the FR logo on the backrests of the front seats.
Available throughout the official SEAT sales network, the new SEAT Ibiza FR TDI signals a considerable evolution in terms of performance, noise levels and driving comfort compared to the previous SEAT Ibiza FR equipped with the 130 hp 1.9 TDI pump injector engine.

Fully equipped and available in Bocanegra trim
The SEAT Ibiza FR features an outstanding equipment line-up. Standard equipment includes countless active and passive safety devices, comfort elements and others that contribute to enhancing the model’s sportiness.
The Spanish brand’s new car features the following standard elements – ESP, TCS + EBA, XDS, ABS, low tyre pressure warning, driver + passenger airbag, head-thorax airbag, passenger airbag disconnection, fasten seatbelt warning, rear window side Isofix anchoring points + Top Tether preparation, cruise control, specific suspension ratings, silver colour electric heated door mirrors, 17 inch Cosmos Silver alloy ‘Aera’ wheels and 215/40 tyres, double headlights, cornering fog lights, tinted rear passenger windows and rear window, anti-theft radio aerial, spare tyre, climate control, height and reach adjustable steering column, specific leather steering wheel and gear knob with FR logo, specific sport seats with FR logo on front seat backrests, height adjustable driver and passenger seats, ‘Easy entry’ access from passenger seat (SC version), split folding rear seat, central console with 2+1 cup holders and socket, 3 rear height adjustable headrests, boot light, Hill Hold Assist, audio equipment with MP3 + Aux-in + 6 speakers, radio and telephone controls on steering column, trip computer, front power one-touch anti-trap windows, rear power windows (5-door version) and remote controlled central locking. source:www.zulva.com

In my mind it’s a Fiat Punto, but I really have no clue exactly which variety of vehicular mailbox pulled out into the left lane to pass the commercial truck. I remember that the truck had a cartoon of a hot dog with eyes. This was troubling for several reasons, including the fact that I’m not entirely sure it was a hot dog—where I come from, hot dogs don’t have that little tiara of casing material on the top of their “heads.” But, hey, they have their own kind of wieners in Germany, so I don’t know. But this imposition by the possible Punto was primarily troubling because my co-driver and I were going about 100 mph faster than that shitbox in a 616-hp, two-and-a-half-ton, quarter-million-dollar Burnt Orange Bentley Continental GT Speed, in the very lane of the A8 autobahn it seemed to now be parked in.

I tried to remember what the Bentley guy said the previous day about the GT Speed’s brakes, something about them arresting enough energy at full clamp from the car’s 205-mph top speed to power six houses for an hour. Or maybe it was one house for six hours. Would that be any different? And wouldn’t the one (or six) homeowner(s) be better off just using the heat generated by the brakes to warm the house and power the TV with, say, 18 German shepherds on a huge wheel? We were probably driving about 170 mph, so that would be, like, only four houses/hours.

Anyway, we seemed to have a great deal of time to get our numbers very wrong, since the Punto appeared at first as more of a surprising but emotionless blip on our consciousness. We didn’t really seem to be going that fast, but the Punto was getting too large, too quickly. Then…BRAKES! At that point, the big Bentley went all buns up and swaying—very disquieting. And then, well, then nothing. We didn’t die. Nobody was going to get to scavenge the turned-aluminum sunglasses case (a $470 option) or shattered portions of the monstrous carbon-ceramic brake discs ($13,600) out of the debris field on that particular day.

We’d flown halfway around the world for stretches of road like this one south of Munich. Where else could we test the aptly named GT Speed but on the “derestricted” portions of the autobahn? The thing is a speed sled, a huge metal fist punching at the atmosphere (and wayward Puntos) with 12 cylinders and two turbochargers. Where, outside of a specialized test track, could we confirm that the GT Speed could reach 205 mph, a precious and highly theoretical 7 mph faster than the standard GT W-12 coupe (to be known henceforth as the GT UnSpeed)? With only occasional limit-free stretches of highway, though, we admit we never even matched the top speed of the convertible GTC W-12, a measly 195 mph, which is not even 200 mph. We got to 188 mph, which is plenty damn fast, as it turns out.