New Car: 2009 Renault Laguna Coupe

The long-awaited Renault Laguna Coupe will be launched Monaco Grand Prix and the Cannes film festival this weekend.

To reduce rear visibility, the bootlid sit up high like the Laguna hatch and it will receive LED rear lights, borrowed from the concept. The new car is closely based on the Laguna hatch so the coupe is built on the same platform as the 5dr with the same suspension layout. The Laguna Coupe is shorter, lower and wider, measuring at 4.64m long, 1.4m high and 1.83m wide. Higher-trim levels will be available with Renault’s new Active Drive four-wheel steering system as used on the Laguna GT.

Under the bonnet, the Laguna Coupe will use a series of petrol and diesel engines borrowed from the current Laguna. The 3.0-litre diesel will produce 235hp and 332b ft of torque, while the 3.5-litre petrol unit offers 240bhp and 244lb ft and both come with an automatic transmission. The petrol V6 will be the range-topping model and should hit 60mph in under seven seconds.

The coupe will be aimed and priced in between the Peugeot 407 Coupe and the BMW 3-Series Coupe which means that prices will start around £22,000 and rising to £27,000 for the flagship V6 models.

Despite the low sales of upmarket French cars such as the 407 Coupe, Renault Vel Satis and Avantime, Renault claims that the UK is one of the important four markets for the new Coupe.

Due to be launched at the Paris Motorshow in October, sales of the new Renault Laguna Coupe will start this November in the UK.

Related link:

Renault Laguna Concept Coupe

Press Release:

RENAULT LAGUNA COUPÉ:

FOR SHEER MOTORING ENJOYMENT:

Renault has chosen the glamorous weekend which sees the Cannes Film Festival coincide with the Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix to take the wraps off Laguna Coupe.

The flowing lines of the newcomer’s elegant, uncluttered design express timeless beauty and the promise of sheer motoring enjoyment. Its performance provides unprecedented pleasure behind the wheel thanks to the combination of its Active Drive chassis equipped with four-wheel steering – which has been acclaimed by the media across Europe on the GT version of Renault Laguna – and the two new V6 powerplants which have been introduced at the same time as this image-forging vehicle. The brand new V6 dCi, which is poised to become a benchmark in terms of performance and pleasure, delivers 235hp (173kW), while the new 3.5-litre petrol powered V6 offers 240hp (175kW). Laguna Coupe stands out as an inspiring, four seater with genuine sensual appeal and will be shown in further detail at the forthcoming Paris Motor Show in October.

Saturday May 24 saw Renault President Carlos Ghosn arrive at the foot of the illustrious steps of the 61st Festival International du Film de Cannes at the wheel of Renault Laguna Coupe. The occasion marked the first public showing of the new model’s definitive, distinctive lines and was a fitting way for the carmaker to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its exclusive partnership with the famous film festival. Renault Laguna Coupe also profited from the weekend to make a guest appearance around the track of the 66th Monaco Grand Prix to showcase its sporting credentials. Two Laguna Coupes completed several laps of Monaco’s legendary circuit in the hands of ING Renault F1 Team test drivers Lucas di Grassi and Romain Grosjean, providing the many thousands of spectators with a unique and unexpected show.

Renault Laguna Coupe bears a close resemblance to the racy concept car revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2007, while its elegant styling and proportions boast all the hallmarks associated with truly exceptional coupes. Its distinctive front end suggests the presence under the bonnet of the finest Renault-Nissan Alliance engines which have been designed and developed to ensure supreme driving enjoyment. Indeed, Renault Laguna Coupe is capable of accelerating from standstill to 100kph in less than seven seconds, and this upper-range performance combines with the Active Drive chassis and four-wheel steering to deliver optimum pleasure at the wheel.

Head-turning, racy styling:

The flowing lines of Renault Laguna Coupe’s elegant, uncluttered design express a blend of timeless beauty and the promise of sheer motoring enjoyment. There is no mistaking the legacy it has inherited from the show car unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2007 and from the Renault Laguna range at the top of which it is destined to preside. With a length of 4.64 metres and a width of 1.83 metres, its proportions are nicely balanced, while the character line which stems from the grille rises forcefully along its flanks, like a wave of air, gracefully underpinning the design of its front wings before extending rearwards to highlight its muscular haunches. The glazed area of its windows is shown off to its best advantage by a pure, flowing arc. Sitting on its 17- or 18-inch aluminum alloy wheels, Laguna Coupe’s stance exudes a sense of dynamism and power thanks to a wheelbase dimension of 2.69m and a height of 1.40m. This sensation is echoed by the pronounced crease-lines of its long bonnet and by its new variant headlamps. The rear, meanwhile, features a very short overhang and broad, slim lights which give Laguna Coupe a bright, distinctive lighting signature which suggests refinement and power, especially at night when the indicators form a halo that picks out the contours of the thin red LEDs.

Four-wheel steering for an exceptional ride:

Developed jointly by Renault Engineering and specialists from Renault Sport Technologies, Laguna Coupe’s technologically-advanced chassis guarantees the ultimate in dynamic performance. Its outstanding agility and stability set new standards when it comes to safety and surefooted handling, while the new car corners with unrivalled directional precision as if it were on rails. Following its introduction on the GT version of Renault Laguna, this chassis has naturally been carried over to Laguna Coupe and is particularly suited to being powered by the new car’s V6 engines. At low speeds, the Active Drive chassis and four-wheel steering system enhance manoeuvrability and it takes drivers no time at all to familiarise themselves with their characteristics. In town, as well as on twisty roads, the car is easy to drive and offers outstanding handling precision. It makes choosing the optimal cornering line intuitive and further enhances the pleasure experienced behind Renault Laguna Coupe’s wheel, a feeling reinforced by the absence of transient dynamic phenomena through turns and by its directional precision at small low steering wheel angles. On the active safety front, the Active Drive chassis equipped with four-wheel steering excels not only under braking in difficult conditions (asymmetric grip, deployment of ESP), but also when taking avoidance action (the so-called ‘elk test’). Meanwhile, the high level of travelling comfort ensures peace of mind for all occupants who can sense Laguna Coupe’s unrivalled active safety.

Powertrains with pedigree:

Under the bonnet of Renault Laguna Coupe, the brand-new V6 dCi, which is destined to become a benchmark in terms of performance and driving pleasure, develops 235hp (173kW) and peak torque of 450Nm. The same figure for the petrol 3.5 V6 powerplant, which is mated for the first time with the AJ0 automatic six-speed transmission it shares with the diesel engine, is 330Nm, while maximum power is 240hp (175kW). In this configuration, Renault Laguna Coupe can accelerate to 100kph in less than seven seconds. Renault Laguna Coupe also naturally benefits from the best engines available for Laguna, in particular the top performing versions of the range’s two-liter petrol and diesel powerplants.

Immersive experience with Microsoft®’s Deep Zoom technology:

Friday May 23 saw the inauguration of a bespoke Renault Laguna Coupe website. Building on the success of the Renault Laguna launch in 2007 (inside new laguna), the experience has been carried over for customers who wish to find out more about Laguna Coupe. The www.laguna-coupe.com website has been developed in an exclusive European association with Microsoft®. Thanks to a landmark innovation known as Deep Zoom technology, it has been designed to evolve constantly depending on the latest news to offer an immersive experience at the very heart of this exceptional coupe.

Renault Laguna Coupe will be shown in greater detail at the forthcoming Paris Motor Show and will be available for international media road tests immediately after that. As the spearhead of the Laguna range, it has been designed to offer sheer driving pleasure and plays a key role in the Renault’s brand’s expansion in the upper-range market. Renault Laguna Coupe epitomizes this savoir-faire when it comes to motoring enjoyment and quality which is built into its genes and which can be seen in the finish which matches even the most demanding standards. Laguna Coupe will be introduced progressively across the Renault sales network from mid-October featuring a long list of luxury equipment.

Honda Pilot pricing announced (U.S)

Honda USA has announced pricing for their 8 seaters, newly designed Pilot SUV. Prices start at MSRP $ 27,595 for the entry level Pilot LX and will rise to $38,395 for the flagship Pilot Touring.

"The timing is right for a vehicle like this as fuel prices drive families out of larger SUV's even though their lifestyles still require the type of functionality that Pilot delivers," said Dick Colliver, executive vice president of Honda USA.

The Honda Pilot is powered by a 3.5 litre, 250bhp i-VTEC V6 engine with Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) which can switch between six-cylinders and 3-4 cylinders depending on circumstances so it achieves 17 mpg in the city, 23 mpg for highway driving and 19 mpg on the combined cycle.

Staying with the Honda Pilot, the new SUV will also be sold in Russia. Russian-bound Pilots will still be produced at Honda's Alabama production facility but Honda doesn't expect Russia to be a large market for the Pilots with only 3,245 units are slated for the Russian market for this year but that number should climb to 4,650 by 2011. The first Pilots will be shipped to Russia this summer.

Honda engineers didn't have to tweak the Pilot much for Russian consumptions with the only changes being the addition of headlight washers, rear heated seats and reflectors on the rear bumper.

Russian-bound Pilots will also get different corrosion protection — to guard against chemicals used to melt snow but will still be powered by a 3.5 litre V6.

As with the previous-generation Pilot, the new SUV will also be sold in Canada, Mexico, the Middle East and South America.

Chevrolet has a new beat

Updated: 29/05/2008:

Out of Chevrolet's trio (Trax, Groove and Beat) of city cars, the Beat won over 1.8 million votes which has force GM to produce it.

Prototypes have only been sighted and spied in China undergoing winter testing and mechanical testing. Despite the thick camouflage, the overall styling and size of the car remains true to the concept first shown at the New York motorshow.

GM hasn't set a launch date yet but we can expect to see the new car in late 2009/early 2010. The U.S market is not scheduled to get the Beat but GM hasn't ruled the idea out.

The new city car is set to replace the popular but dated Matiz/Spark in 2009. The Beat would rival the upcoming Nissan Cube, Suzuki Splash, Vauxhall/Opel Agila and Fiat Panda in Europe. Prices are likely to start from around £6,500.

Related links:

Chevrolet Beat heads for production

Chevrolet Trax heads to New York motorshow

FIAT announce's 500 cabrio

Watch out Mini Cooper, Fiat is on a roll. Following the successful launch of the 500 hatchback which outsold the Mini Cooper, Fiat has announced that a cabriolet will be joining the line-up next year.

This information comes from the manufactures styling director, Roberto Giolito, who revealed at a recent conference in Turin, Italy, that the car will feature a traditional fabric soft-top.

Giolito explained that the car will remain simple and affordable and that recent advances in fabric roof design will remove some off the perceived drawbacks. “They’re now tougher and more resilient through the use of new materials,” he told journalists.

Lower cost is not the only benefit of a fabric roof. The design also weighs less and takes up less room than a complicated folding hard-top which in the end should also improve fuel economy, performance and carbon-dioxide emissions.

Engine will also likely stay the same as the coupe, which means the new 70bhp 1.2 and 100bhp 1.4 petrol engines and the fuel efficient 75bhp 1.3 Multijet diesel will be carried over.

Also planned for production is a new wagon called ‘Giardinetta’ which translates to "garden" in Italian and is expected to be launched late next year.

Related links:

Fiat 500 sold out in the UK

FIAT 500 at 2008 F1 Grand Prix

FIAT 500 UK pricing

FIAT 500 production expands again

FIAT 500 crash test results

Private importers import FIAT 500 in UK

FIAT 500 production expands

FIAT 500 goes off-road

FIAT 500 Abarth expected in Tokyo

FIAT 500 goes on sale in France & Italy

FIAT 500 commercial shoot pictures

Toyota to export U.S built vehicles to emerging markets

Sales of large SUV's and pick-up trucks have been pummeting in the U.S for a few months thanks to rising fuel prices and growing environmental concerns have forced customers demand towards smaller and more economical vehicles.

Fast-growing car markets like the Middle-East, Russia and China, where gas-guzzling SUVs still sell in massive numbers, could allow Toyota to ramp up production at one of its under-utilised U.S. factories. According to a Japanese newspaper, Toyota will begin shipping the large Sequoia SUV to the Middle East later this year and the Sienna MPV as early as 2010 to China and other markets.

Both models are built at a plant in Indiana but extra capacity could be utilised at Toyota’s Texas light truck facility.

Toyota currently sells all vehicles built in the U.S within North America except for the Avalon sedan, which it already exports to the Middle East in limited numbers.

Ford to import Kuga SUV and C-Max MPV to U.S

Ford is continuing with its European invasion into the U.S. The Fiesta sedan and European Focus has been given the green light for import and the Kuga and C-Max should be ready by 2010 and 2011. These will be third and fourth of Ford’s global cars to come Stateside.

Both models will be based of the C1 platform which is used on the Volvo S40/Volvo V50, Ford Focus and Mazda3. The current U.S. Focus uses an older generation of the platform but all three models - Focus, Kuga and C-Max share the same underpinnings in Europe.

2010 will see the launch of the U.S Fiesta sedan followed by the European Focus in 2011 and 2011 or 2012 for the Kuga and C-Max although the latter dates aren't official.

Ford also announced that it would be synchronising the product development cycles between the U.S, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region now that it is moving to global platforms. The move is intended to keep supply chains and economies of scale advantages that would disappear if models aren’t receiving updates at the same time across the global market.

Skoda to produce first generation Octavia again

Launched back in 1998, the first generation of the Skoda Octavia will come back into production as a discount model to provide value for money to such rivals as Kia, Hyundai and Dacia.

Although details have been kept under wraps, the newcomer is set to go on sale in 2010 with a price tag of £10,000 and it will be well equipped with front electric windows, electrically adjustable/heated door mirrors and air-conditioning.

Skoda has described the car as a "world car" and will be available across Europe as emerging car markets such as China. It is possible that the first models will use an upgraded version of the VW Group’s 1.9-litre diesel and its 2.0-litre petrol engines, however, smaller, more economical engines may also be offered at a later date.

The newbie is likely to share some of its design and engineering with the recently confirmed SEAT Bolero which is based on the last Audi A4 platform.

Volkswagen Routan pricing announced (U.S)

Volkswagen USA have announced pricing of the new Routan. The Routan is based on the Chrysler Grand Voyager/Town & Country and rivals the like of the Dodge Caravan, Chrysler Town & Country, KIA Sedona, Hyundai Entourage, Toyota Sienna and the Nissan Quest.

Prices start from $24,700 for the entry level S grade, $29,600 for the SE grade and $33,200 for the flagship SEL grade. As an added incentive VW is partnering with Upromise, the country's largest private source of college funding, to offer Routan customers $1500 towards customers kids college education.

"We know parents are concerned about saving for their kid’s future. To help families tackle this challenge of saving for college, we’re excited that we are able to partner with Upromise,” said Tim Ellis, Vice President of Marketing, Volkswagen of America, Inc. “We’re aware that the cost of college continues to rise exponentially, far outpacing inflation, and our hope is to help our customer’s off-set that cost, while getting a great new vehicle.”

The minivan will go on sale in the U.S this September.

Prius sales exceed 1,000,000 units

Despite the credit crunch and rising fuel prices, the successful Toyota Prius hybrid has sold in excess of a million units worldwide ever since its launch back in 1997, 1,028,000 to be precise.

Although the Prius only ventured beyond Japan in 2000, over 100,000 units have been sold in Europe since then with the UK market taking 23,893 Priuses

The Prius continues to perform strongly despite being an old model in a struggling new-car market. UK sales are up 7.1% in April this year compared to last years sale in the same period. In the U.S, sales rose by a staggering 67% last month.

It’s claimed that since the car’s launch, Prius vehicles have contributed to reducing CO2 emissions of approximately 4.5 million tonnes when compared with conventional vehicles of the same class.

Infiniti gains 10,000+ potential customers

Nissan's luxury marque, Infiniti has launched an exclusive digital reservation list for potential customers ahead of its European launch. The site, http://www.infiniti.eu/ gives those who sign up top priority in purchasing a new Infiniti before pre-orders begins.

After signing up and receiving your own personal reservation number, you will be invited by your nearest Infiniti centre to specify your desired car before pre-ordering is opened to the public.

According to Infiniti Europe’s marketing director, Bastien Schupp, 10,000 + people have signed up to be an “Infiniti Insider”. Schupp said, “We are pleased to see that excitement and anticipation are building even faster than we expected”.

Infiniti is to launch across Europe over the next two years; first countries to open it doors are France, Spain and Italy in October 2008, followed by Germany and the UK in April 2009 and Sweden in January 2010.

The European line-up will consist of the EX-Series, G-Series sedan, coupe & convertible, and the flagship FX-Series SUV and a series of V6 and V8 petrol engines but in 2010, in conjunction with Renault, a V6 diesel will arrive which is expected to be the most popular engine.