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Filed under: Car Buying , Euro , BMW BMW made it official today, after we told you about it "unofficially" last week. As expected, the German automaker is raising prices across its model range an average of 2.1 percent for the 2009 model year due to "...significant structural and economic changes in the marketplace." Regardless, the direct price increase of vehicle MSRP doesn't tell the whole story. BMW has also increased pricing on popular options (the Sport Package is up $450 on the 335i sedan and coupe) and removed some standard features (the premium Logic 7 audio system is no longer standard on the 335i -- now it's an $875 option) driving the consumer's cost even higher than it initially appears. If that isn't bad enough news for those hoping to put a Roundel in their driveway, we are also hearing rumors that BMW's latest lease residuals and money factors aren't as sweet as they were over the summer. Check out all the pricing details in BMW's...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Sedans/Saloons , Euro , Cadillac , UK Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2009 Cadillac CTS-V. Cadillac's wicked new CTS-V may have the likes of the BMW M5 in its sights, but it appears that it won't be hunting down the best that Munich, Stuttgart and Ingolstadt have to offer on their Autobahn home turf. According to Top Gear , Caddy's U.S. minders don't think the V's blown V8 is good for Europe, so the car apparently won't be making the boat trip across the Atlantic. Unfortunate, as it would have been interesting to see how America's ultimate muscle sedan would have fared when euro journos pitted it against all the hometown favorites. Sure, we'll see comparos done Stateside, but it would have been fun to see Cadillac put on the "away" jersey to try and add some luster to that long-tarnished "Standard of the World" mantle against Europe's top performance machines -- including the ones we don't see...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Euro , Hatchbacks , Ford Click image above for a photo gallery of the Fiesta Zetec S While the official unveiling of the 2009 Ford Fiesta is still a couple weeks away, that hasn't stopped Ford from tossing sneak peeks of a sportier Fiesta Zetec S out to the hot-hatch followers. Nowhere near as aggressive as the Focus RS , the Zetec S is differentiated by its body kit with new front splitter and side skirts. The European Fiesta will be offered with five different engines, but the Zetec S will feature only the Duratec 1.6-liter rated at 118 hp. Tuned for efficiency, yet designed to be fun-to-drive, the new hatch will scoot to 62 mph in less 9.9 seconds and squeeze an impressive 50 miles out of a single gallon of gas. Gallery: 2009 Ford Fiesta Zetec S Gallery: 2009 Ford Fiesta [Source: Auto Express ] Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Car Buying , Sports/GTs , Euro Click above for a high-res gallery of the Artega GT As production ramps up on the impossibly gorgeous Artega GT, parent company Paragon has announced that the compact sportscar will sell for €74,983 across the pond. The pricing makes it compelling competition for a well-equipped (and similarly proportioned) Porsche Cayman S . As we previously reported , final assembly is scheduled to begin this summer at a rate of two per day, ramping up to 20 per week for a total production run of just 500 vehicles. Among those will be a right-hand-drive model for the UK market, as Artega establishes a British dealer base. The vehicle initially unveiled as a concept in Geneva 2007 and in production form a year later is powered by a mid-mounted, Volkswagen-sourced 3.6-liter V6 coupled to a DSG transmission. 300 horsepower driving the rear wheels is all that's needed to propel the Fisker-designed (think BMW Z8 and a handful of Aston Martins along with...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Euro , Renault Click above for gallery of the R26 R Even though the official launch of the hot Renault R26 R isn't scheduled until the London Motor Show at the end of July, a couple pics of the race-ready hatch have been leaked. Powered by the same 169kW (225 hp) 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder as its sibling, the R26 Megane, the R26 R differs with a serious performance edge. The interior features a roll cage and carbon-fiber seats -- best to match the new carbon-fiber hood. The dual exhaust is upgraded to lightweight and corrosion-resistant titanium alloy. New bright-red 18-inch wheels shod with optional semi-slick tires connect the performance-tuned suspension to the asphalt. Compared to the Megane, the R model trims 125 kg (275 lbs) of weight, bringing it down to a svelte 1,235 kg (2,722 lbs). With a limited-slip differential driving the front wheels, performance is said to include a sprint to 100 km/h (62 mph) in less than six seconds, but we bet its...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Euro , Crossovers/CUVs , Hatchbacks , Volkswagen Click the image above for a gallery of live shots of the Volkswagen Tiguan In a rather odd yet intriguing move, Volkswagen in Germany is handing out a new fifth-generation Golf to anyone who orders a Tiguan. The customer will keep the Golf until their new Tiguan utility vehicle is available, which, at current rates, will not be until next January at the earliest. In an effort to cover the cost of giving away a new car and getting it back used, VW will be providing its dealers with a one-time payment of €1,000 for each Tiguan sold. Unfortunately for the affected dealers, that won't be enough to recoup the lost value of the Golf, but it shows how eager VW is to sell its new small-ute in the face of similar new models coming from its key competition, namely the Mercedes-Benz GLK . We've previously reported that the Tiguan will start at $22,490, which equals $23,840 after the expensive shipping cost is tacked...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Etc. , Euro , Volvo , Carsumer Advocacy "Hey, Stompy, you wanna take a test drive? Nein, I'll just take the one in black, please." So goes the imagined conversation between Michael Herzog, he of size 12 (UK) feet, and the Volvo dealer from whom he purchased a C70. Herzog says his feet are too large for the pedal box in his Volvo, precluding use of that most essential pedal, the accelerator. The issue went to court in Wiesloch, Germany, where a judge ruled that size 12 is not freakishly large, so Volvo should have designed a car to accommodate that size foot. Size 12 on UK size charts is about the same as a U.S. size 12, so it's not an incomprehensibly large foot. The dealer has been directed to refund five percent of the purchase price, a total of £1,350, to pay for a custom pair of shoes that allow the owner to drive his new car, as well as compensate him for time lost to shoe-changes. And we thought the U.S. was litigious. [Source: am...
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Filed under: Car Buying , CES , Etc. , Euro , Volkswagen Volkswagen knows that 73% of the people want to take the tiny soap and shampoo from hotel rooms. They also know that 60% of ice cream buyers prefer cones over cups. On an apparent quest to learn everything, Volkswagen's just-announced multi-faceted polling effort, known as It's what the people want , "...is a way of keeping in touch with what matters to people today," according to Tim Ellis, Vice President of Marketing for VW of America. In addition to the web-based polling, VW has also taken their efforts to Times Square where consumers may participate in live-polling, via text SMS, with the ABC Supersign ( pictured above ). If music is more your style, VW is also encouraging people to visit pandora to influence the playlists of two Volkswagen radio stations. While we endorse any effort by an automaker to understand what the public really wants, this obsession to learn everything may have gone too far. We just can't...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Geneva Motor Show , Euro , Hatchbacks , Ford Click above for high-res gallery of the 2009 Ford Fiesta hatchbacks Though Ford has stated that it will only sell the new Fiesta in the U.S. as a sedan, the debut of two hatchback versions at the Geneva Motor Show this week, a three-door and a five-door model, apparently has the Blue Oval boys and girls reconsidering. Ford's new marketing chief Jim Farley told Automotive News that a decision about whether to sell the hatchbacks in the U.S. as well will come in 12 months. The company will be watching consumer reaction to the Verve hatchback concepts at second-tier U.S. auto shows this year to see if they resonate with young buyers (It may also show the production Fiesta hatchbacks in the U.S., as well). Hatchbacks have traditionally been a tough sell in the U.S., which is what prompted Ford's initial decision not to sell them here, as well as, we presume, the decision cancel the Focus three- and five-door hatchback...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Sedans/Saloons , Euro , Jaguar click above for high-res gallery of the Jaguar XF The Jaguar XF goes on sale worldwide in the UK, Europe and North America on March 10. A simultaneous debut in multiple markets is reportedly a first for Jaguar, as is this initial heavy demand for a brand new model. Automotive News reports that Jaguar has 10,000 customer deposits in hand for the new Jaguar XF, with 3,000 orders in the U.S. alone. Jaguar, a near constant fixture as Autoblog's Biggest Loser every month in our By The Numbers report of monthly sales figures, sold just 664 cars in the U.S. last month. We bet that come the end of March, it will no longer hold that dubious honor. We knew demand would be big , as Jaguar dealers reported having to create informal waiting lists for the sports sedan, which will be sold with no mark ups on a first come, first serve basis. The successor to the stylish but slow-selling S-Type, the XF will start at $49,975 and come with a 300...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Euro , Infiniti , Earnings/Financials It's easy to forget that the luxury brands the Japanese automakers started in the late '80s were established specifically for the U.S. market. However, much like its competitors, Nissan's Infiniti brand has expanded outside of North America, establishing itself in several Asian markets, and is now in the midst of an all-out assault on Europe. Infiniti Europe hopes to have 78 dealers across the continent by the end of 2010 selling an initial line-up consisting of the new EX (shown), FX and G models. It's also reportedly considering the development of a compact crossover around the size of the Audi A3 specifically targeted for Europe. Nissan realizes, however, that it will take a long time for Infiniti to establish itself in the market, and as a result is planning to financially subsidize its European dealerships in the short term until they can turn a profit. [Source: Automotive News Europe - sub. req'd]...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Sports/GTs , Etc. , Euro , Aston Martin Faulty economy or not, top-end luxury purchases are on the rise, and the new owners of Aston Martin are looking to capitalize on the trend. Plans are in place to increase Aston production from 7,000 units in 2007 up to 8,000 in 2008, but the top-luxury automaker's new owners want more. DAR (owns 50% of Aston) business development manager Adham Charanoglu has met recently with Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Daimler with regards to leveraging the Aston Martin brand with high end luxury products. While increasing merchandising revenue from $100m to up to $300m by whoring out the Aston name is nothing to sneeze at, we're mostly interested in the British automaker's conversations with Mercedes. Charanoglu told Reuters that the two automakers could one day collaborate on everything from platforms to powertrains. It makes sense that Aston is looking to buddy up with another high-end automaker since minority owner Ford will...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Wagons/Estates , Euro , Audi , UK click above for a high-res gallery of the Audi RS6 Avant There are a lot of different figures to get caught up in when discussing Audi's UK-spec RS6 Avant , and most of them concern the wagon's performance. Let's start with power. The RS6 produces 572 hp and 479 lb.-ft. of torque from a twin-turbo'd V10. That means 60 comes up in 4.6 seconds, the quarter mile is dispatched in 14.9 seconds (at 124 mph) and Audi has to limit the top speed to 155 mph for fear of... well, you name it. The price on the other hand is just as shocking. £77,625 is the cost of entry for the RS6, but only 380 Avants will be produce this year and they've all been snatched up by enthusiasts with a few kids and a dog to schlep around. Granted, the RS6 Avant comes equipped with Quattro, ESP, 20-inch rollers and Alcantara lining the inside, but that price doesn't include the optional carbon ceramic brakes. Just for some perspective...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Sedans/Saloons , Euro , Ford , Jaguar , UK Ford may finally be ridding itself of the cash bleeding Jaguar brand, but the automaker is doing so just as the XF is about to hit dealers' showrooms. If indications from the UK mean anything, the XF may be the hit for which the leaping cat has long searched. The Brits have placed 3,000 orders for the good-looking sedan, and it seems the S-Type replacement has some momentum on its home turf. Ford chief technical officer Richard Parry-Jones sees a more confident Jaguar, mainly because of early indications that the XF will meet or exceed sales projections , netting a profit for the ailing nameplate. While it's great news that the XF is racking up orders in the UK, the positive results are still in Jaguar's back yard. If the XF is going to succeed, it will need to sell in the US and elsewhere in Europe. With it's modern sheet metal and elegant interior, the XF has a better chance to succeed than any of the...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Euro , UK So far this year, increased car sales in the U.K. and Italy -- two of the biggest markets in Europe -- along with a rising tide across Central and Eastern Europe, have contributed to a 1.9-percent increase in car consumption across the Atlantic. While the U.S. has traditionally been the world leader in units of vehicles sold, with some 16 million leaving dealer lots in 2006, that might change come the end of this year. The raw numbers are staggering. In the first ten months of 2007, 13,583,559 cars were sold in the U.S., compared to 13,572,669 in Europe during the same period. That's a difference of just over 10,000 vehicles, and with sales dropping due to rising fuel prices and the credit crunch here at home, Europe has a good chance of knocking the U.S. out of the top spot come December 31st. Analysts predict that both markets will get close to the 16 million mark by the end of the year, with Europe handily eclipsing the U.S. in 2008. [Source: Automotive...
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