Land Rover Defender will return to the U.S.

This back-to-basics SUV, previewed at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, will be a cheaper alternative to current Land Rovers and a potential cash cow for the company.

The Land Rover Defender, the British brand’s most rugged vehicle, will return to the United States sometime in the next few years, when a completely new model is set to debut. Jaguar Land Rover North America CEO Andy Goss confirmed this with the Car Connection at the Paris Motor Show.

Unlike other current Land Rover’s the Defender is spartan, focusing on utility and off-road ability. It’s used as a military vehicle in certain countries, and comes in a variety of body styles including a panel van, none of which have been significantly updated in years. Think of it as the Evoque’s polar opposite.

Land Rover pulled the Defender from the U.S. in 1997 because it felt that fitting airbags to comply with then-new safety standards wasn’t worth the effort. Now, U.S. sales are an important part of Land Rover’s plan for this boxy sport-utility.

Back in March, Land Rover boss John Edwards said he wanted to use the Defender to capture new markets. Edwards wanted to go after what he called the “leisure market,” or people who use their SUVs as actual utility vehicles instead of status symbols.

While current Land Rovers compete against the wares of BMW and Porsche, the Defender will compete against the Jeep Wrangler, Nissan Xterra, and (in foreign markets) the Toyota Hilux.

Building an SUV for weekend adventurers brings Land Rover full circle. Before the Range Rover, its vehicles were anything but luxurious. They were coveted by farmers and explorers, not lawyers and hedge fund managers.

The Defender will be significantly cheaper than most other Land Rovers, costing $30,000 to $40,000, and that should definitely help broaden its appeal. A convertible version seems likely and would make a great summertime alternative to a Wrangler.

Launching the Defender in the country that birthed the Wrangler, and the SUV itself, is a great way for Land Rover to accomplish its goals. It will also give more people access to a car with Land Rover’s legendary off-road ability at a lower price.

However, the Defender will not be a low-cost Humvee for wannabe militiamen. While the current Defender is essentially a military vehicle with license plates, the new model will have more creature comforts and will be designed for civilians.

The next Defender will closely resemble the DC100 concept from the Frankfurt Motor Show, with a 21st century twist on traditionally tough styling cues.

Land Rover did not confirm when the Defender will go on sale. It could be as early as 2014, or as late as 2017.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Toyota shows eQ EV, but cancels plans for mass production

Just days before its Paris Motor Show debut, Toyota shelved plans to mass produce this electric version of the iQ city car. The Japanese company will concentrate on hybrids instead.

Toyota built an electric version of its microscopic iQ city car (known as the Scion iQ in the U.S.), but it won’t put it on sale. Just days before that car, dubbed eQ, was set to debut at the Paris Motor Show, Toyota announced that it is shelving plans for a mass-market electric car.

Toyota first discussed the iQ EV two years ago, saying the electric version of its smallest car would be a mass-produced item, just like Japanese rival Nissan’s Leaf. However, Toyota has changed its plans.

“Two years later, there are many difficulties,” Takeshi Uchiyamada, Toyota’s vice chairman, told Reuters. In expressing his company’s concern over the limits of EV technology, Uchiyamada vocalized what nearly every other carmaker has denied in the name of green credibility.

“The current capabilities of electric vehicles do not meet society’s needs, whether it may be the distance the cars can run, or the costs, or how it takes a long time to charge,” Uchiyamada said.

As an alternative to all-electric vehicles, Toyota will continue to promote hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars. The makers of the Prius hope to have 21 hybrid models on sale by 2015, and eventually have a hybrid version of every car the company makes.

Instead of building an EV for the masses, Toyota will only build a small number of eQs, perhaps 100. This low-volume approach puts the eQ in the same category as the Honda Fit EV and Smart ED.

Toyota’s other electric vehicle, the RAV4 EV, is also a limited-production proposition. Only 2,600 of the electric SUVs will be sold.

The eQ itself may not be ready for prime time anyway. Its 47-kW electric motor can only propel this pint-sized car to 77 mph, with a maximum range of 52 miles. In comparison, the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, the smallest mainstream EV sold in the U.S., can reach 81 mph, has a 62-mile range, and has two more doors.

Since the eQ is so small, Toyota had to trim the size of the battery pack. This means interior space remains the same as in a gasoline iQ, but it also means the eQ needs new seat heaters and a new windshield defogger that draw less current.

On the plus side, the eQ’s downsized battery charges quickly. A full charge from a 230-volt outlet takes three hours, and an 80 percent charge is possible in just 15 minutes with a quick charger.

Toyota’s decision to abort its EV mission may be sudden, but it isn’t too surprising given the company’s success with hybrids. Pure-electric advocates like Nissan and Mitsubishi can’t claim a success like the Prius, so this might be a case of “to each, his own.”

At any rate, buyers will not be missing much. Even in gasoline-powered form, the iQ just isn’t enough car for most people. The same appears to be true for the electric eQ.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Concept Active Tourer heralds front-wheel drive future for BMW

BMW will show the Concept Active Tourer at the Paris Motor Show, and it's the basis for a future range of front wheel drive cars.

This is BMW’s Concept Active Tourer, which will make its official debut at the Paris Motor Show, and it’s a very important vehicle for the German manufacturer. Why? Primarily because the platform on which it’s built will go on to form the basis of the next-generation Mini, and a new range of entry-level BMWs in 2014.

Also, it’s the first car to showoff BMW’s new, super-frugal, three-cylinder, 1.5-liter turbocharged motor; plus the concept is a plug-in hybrid that uses the same system seen in the gorgeous BMW i8.

However, there’s another reason too, not that BMW will shout about it. The Concept Active Tourer is front-wheel drive. Yes, the three-cylinder engine powers the front wheels, and it paves the way for the first production front-wheel drive BMWs.

In fairness, BMW is easing us in gently, as the electric motor drives the rear-wheels, making the Concept Active Tourer four-wheel drive; except with 134 horsepower through the front wheels and only 67 through the rears, the bias is the opposite of the aforementioned i8.

Back to that petrol engine for a moment though. It’s mounted transversely rather than longitudinally, and is essentially the same as that in the i8; except here, the 1.5 turbo will produce 134 horsepower for a 0-60 time of less than 8-seconds and a top speed of around 120 miles-per-hour.

Economy is the order of the day, and when the petrol and electric motor — which has a standalone range of 19 miles — work together, BMW estimates a minimum of 113 miles-per-gallon while producing less than 60g/km of CO2. Cleverly, the hybrid motor talks to the satellite navigation, deciding between them which will be the most efficient way of driving on upcoming roads.

Features on the concept car include a “Cool Shade” panoramic roof, which has an active particle layer that goes from opaque to clear at the touch of a button, 20-inch rims, a color heads-up display and a 10-inch touchscreen control panel.

Aficionados may balk at the thought of a front-wheel drive BMW, raise their eyebrows at a transversely-mounted engine, and fondly recall a time when the company only used front-wheel drive in ads to mock its rivals. The move is a sign of the times though, as production costs will fall and BMW will be able to produce more small cars.

As for the Concept Active Tourer, it’ll eventually become a Mercedes B-Class competitor, and is almost certainly our first proper look at the previously rumored 1-Series GT.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Dodge will pull out of NASCAR after 2012

For the first time, one of America's Big Three automakers will not be represented in its most popular motor sport.

With their old-fashioned pushrod V8s (which adopted fuel-injection this year) and cookie-cutter bodies, NASCAR racers are not on the cutting edge of technology. However, the sport has been at the center of American performance since bootleggers started throwing their Ford V8s around oval tracks in the 1950s. That’s why Dodge’s decision to withdraw from NASCAR at the end of 2012 is unprecedented: for the first time, one of the Big Three will not be represented there.

The announcement comes after Penske Racing, the only team fielding Dodge cars, said it would switch to Ford in 2013. Despite working on a new car based on the current Charger, Dodge was not eager to chase after new teams.

“This issue came about many years ago when we consolidated down to one team,” said Ralph Gilles, CEO of Chrysler’s SRT performance brand. “We had one-stop shopping with Penske, but what’s available in North Carolina isn’t what was available 5-10 years ago. I’m not undermining the caliber of those who came to talk to us, but it’s not as easy to configure a team at a level we’re used to. But we don’t just want to show up; we want to race to win.”

Gilles said the issue was Dodge’s inability to land another top-tier team like Penske; it has nothing to do with financial concerns. Dodge recently tripled its NASCAR budget, and engineers were working on the 2013 Charger stock car just days before Gilles decided to pull the plug.

Dodge will move on to other forms of motor sport where it will be more visible, and hopefully wrack up a few more trophies. A racing version of the 2013 SRT Viper, the Viper GTS-R is being campaigned in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS); it took tenth place in-class in its first race at Mid-Ohio.

Dodge is also racing a Dart in the Global RallyCross Championship. That should put the spotlight on a very important car for Chrysler’s mainstream brand. Dodge needs the Dart to prove that it can make a quality compact car, and that its partnership with Fiat is working out.

Breaking a tradition is hard, but ALMS and Global RallyCross might be better ways to translate racing success into showroom traffic. Although NASCAR has the words “stock car” in its name, the cars have almost nothing in common with their street-legal namesakes. The headlights are decals, after all. The racing Dart and Viper at least start out with stock chassis, so it will be easier for consumers to relate to them.

Legions of NASCAR fans will probably howl in protest the same way they did when Toyota fielded its first Camry stock car. This all-American motor sport is starting to reflect the car industry itself: nothing is sacred.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com