Teaser: 2009 Kia Mohave/Borrego

Kia Motors have released some official teaser pictures of their all new full sized SUV. Because we weren't expecting the new SUV to be unveiled so soon it could have a world debut at the Detroit motorshow in 2008.

Teaser: 2008 Kia Pro-Cee'd

Kia Motors Corporation has released the first preview image of its exciting new Kia three-door hatchback model which will make its World Premiere at this year’s Frankfurt International Motor Show on 11 September. The new model will be named Pro-cee’d.

Based closely on the earlier ‘pro_cee’d’ concept shown at the Paris Motor Show in 2006, the new production model has been developed by Kia’s design team in Europe under the direction of Chief Design Officer, Peter Schreyer.

“Longer, lower and lighter than its five-door sister car, the new Kia Pro-cee’d is going to be a great drive,” enthused Mr Jean-Charles Lievens, Senior Vice President Kia Motors Europe. “Combining real style and genuine practicality, our new three-door cee’d is sure to delight existing Kia customers and attract a new group of European consumers who have not yet considered our brand.”

Manufactured in Slovakia, Pro-cee’d will be the third member of the Kia cee’d family, joining the popular cee’d five-door and the soon to be released cee’d SW models to make Kia an especially strong challenger for C-segment sales in Europe.

Production of the Pro-cee’d model range is scheduled to begin in November with first customer sales during the early months of 2008.

Via > KIA Motors

Fiat 500 production expands

Fiat’s got Europe whipped into a frenzy over its new 500 supermini, so much so that it’s just announced a plan to increase the number it can make by 20,000 cars a year.

Turin’s re-imagined city car is proving a sales phenomenon. Fiat took 10,000 deposits on the car on the first day it went on sale. To date it has 57,000 dealer orders from Italy and France, the only territories where you can currently order one; that means almost all of the cars Fiat was intending to produce this year have already been snapped up.

So understandably, Italy’s biggest car-maker is going to ramp up the 500 factory in Tychy, Poland. It will now knock out 67,000 units this year, and 140,000 units in 2008. It could rise even further in 2009, by which time the 500 sister car, the new Ford Ka, will be on sale.

The order books open for us Brits on 15 September, and the increase in production will mean we stand at least a distant chance of getting a new 500 sometime in 2008.

Source: Autocar UK

Volkswagen Tiguan Spied

The Volkswagen Tiguan was spotted on a commercial shoot somewhere in Eastern Europe and now we have fresh spy photos of the production vehicle being put through its paces on a test track in Germany.

The vehicle will go on sale in Europe in 2008 and will rival against premium SUV's like the upcoming Audi Q5, Mercedes GLK, Land Rover Freelander, BMW X3 etc but pricing could start around from £18,000 for the entry level model.

Tax-free Volkswagen Polo Bluemotion

Owners of the super-frugal Volkswagen Polo Bluemotion won’t need to pay road tax, because the diesel hatch emits just 99g/km of CO2.

That makes it cleaner than any current hybrid – Toyota Prius included – and one of the cleanest combustion-engined cars on sale.

The Bluemotion uses a specially tuned 1.4-litre three-cylinder turbodiesel engine with intercooler and exhaust gas recirculation for maximum efficiency.

It mixes this with a special five-speed gearbox and carefully honed aerodynamics to make drag as low as possible, and returns a remarkable 74.3mpg.

If you go for the cheaper version, that is. That’s because the Bluemotion will be available in two trims; Bluemotion 1 and Bluemotion 2. The latter gets air-con, rain-sensing wipers, remote locking and leather trim on the wheel, gearknob and handbrake.

Those additions push the Bluemotion 2’s fuel economy down to 70.6mpg, and its CO2 output to 104g/km – still less than a Toyota Prius. They also push the Bluemotion 2 out of tax-exempt Band A road tax, but only just.

The Polo Bluemotion goes on sale in October. A three-door Bluemotion 1 costs £11,995 and the Bluemotion 2 £12,845. The five-door models are £500 more.

Mazda CX-7 Pricing Announced (UK)

The Mazda CX-7 SUV, which arrives in September and will cost £23,960.

Only one engine is available – the 2.3-litre turbocharged petrol four-pot as used in the 3 MPS. That gives the CX-7 256bhp and 280lb ft; enough to push it from 0-60mph in 8.0sec and on to 130mph. Power is sent to all four wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox.

Mazda's hoping that the CX-7 will appeal to UK motorists wanting something a little different, and hopes to sell 1000-1500 a year.

Specification is generous, with a BOSE stereo system, front, side and curtain airbags, leather seats, climate control and 18-inch alloys all standard.

BMW X6 coupé sheds some disguise

This is the first time the BMW X6 off-road, coupe-like crossover has been seen and caught barely disguised! The first spy shots of the upcoming BMW X6, a crossover SUV, were taken late last year around BMW’s Munich headquarters, but now the camouflage has come off and the sloping coupe-like roof line previously revealed is in 100% clear view.

This detail is particularly interesting on the X6, because BMW is applying an aggressive application of the four-door-coupe concept first seen on the Mercedes CLS, to the SUV/Crossover genre. There have been a number of performance-minded SUVs on offer, but the X6 is taking a unique styling approach which appears to be the most ambitious “form-over-function” SUV design effort seen to date.

The roof line begins arching downward after the B-pillar and continues plunging right to the X6's rising waistline. As a result, second-row headroom and rear cargo volume are both severely compromised. The new X6 will be longer and lower than the new X5, but this crossover is expected to seat only four. But what the sporty X6 loses in seating, it will gain in performance. Expect it to arrive sometime during the 2008 calendar year.

Spied: 2009 Mazda6 sedan

The redesigned 2009 Mazda 6 family sedan is expected to launch next spring, and spy photographers captured both four-cylinder and V6 prototypes testing this week. This next-generation Mazda 6 is going to be bigger than the current model, with a wider track and longer body.

An engine upgrade is also expected for the top Mazda 6, with the sedan moving to Ford's 3.5-litre V6 mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. This engine debuted in the 2007 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX crossovers, as well as the Lincoln MKZ sedan, a car which shares the Mazda 6's CD3 platform. The V6 generates 250 horsepower and 240 pound-feet of torque.

New Car: 2008 Fiat Uno Way (South Africa)

Fiat unveiled a new edition of their Uno for South Africa. Its been successful in the South African market along with other Fiat models sold there. There has been no press release on this model.

Other news:

2009 Fiat Uno:

The Uno was axed in the European market in 1993 to make way for the Fiat Punto. The Uno is set to make a comeback in 2009. Its rumored the car will be sold in developing countries in Europe like Romania, Czech Republic, parts of Russia and Italy.

The upcoming Uno is set to be sitting above the Panda but below the Grande Punto. So will the car make its way onto British shores? For the time being we just have to way patiently.

Tiguan on the streets...

Well on the streets of Eastern Europe. The small SUV was caught on a commercial shoot.