Peugeot Le Mans Dealer Creates 208 Rallye Concept, Should the French Automaker Build it?

If you lived or grew up in Europe during the late 1980s through the early 2000s, you will no doubt remember the iconic Rallye series from Peugeot, which started out with the 205 supermini and continued with the 306 compact and the smaller 106.

The common denominator of the series was that the Rallye models were usually based on fast versions of their respective hatchback counterparts (i.e. the 106 XSi and 306 GTI) but did away with most luxury amenities such as electric windows and mirrors, the heavy seats and in some cases, even power assisted steering and airbags.

Peugeot's ultimate goal was to lower the cars' weight to improve performance and handling while also offering them at a lower price point – something that made the Rallye models extremely popular with driving enthusiasts on a budget.

Today, Peugeot is looking to re-enter the sports hatch segment with the new 208 GTi that is lighter at 1,160kg (2,557 pounds), smaller, and thanks to its new 197hp (200PS) 1.6-liter turbo engine, more powerful than the disappointing 206 and 207 GTi models.

Read more »

Concepts , New Cars , Peugeot , Peugeot 208 , Peugeot Concepts

Fiat Pledges to Keep Italian Plants, Shift Focus to Foreign Markets by Building Chrysler Models

As expected after last week’s announcement, on Saturday, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti met with Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne and the company's Chairman and heir to the Agnelli family empire, John Elkann, to discuss the automaker’s future in the country.

The meeting was arranged after rumors surfaced that Fiat, which is expected to lose around €700 million (US$904.5 million) this year due to a sales slump in the European market, is considering closing some of its plants and moving production out of Italy.

Read more »

Chrysler , Fiat , Reports

Watch a Ford Focus do a 180-Degree Flip after Getting Caught on a Trolley Wire!

Russian dashcam videos never cease to amaze us. Just when you think you have seen it all, along comes an incident that defines the word 'strange'. And guess what; the driver is not the one to blame here…

The man seen in the video driving the previous generation Ford Focus hatchback, was going his way when all of a sudden, the car's front end clipped a street trolley wire that had fallen onto the road.

Read more »

Ford , Ford Focus , Ford Videos , Offbeat News , Russia , Video

VW Group Design Boss Says “Flamboyant” is so Last Year, “Simple and Clean” is the Way to Go

Walter de Silva is a man who knows a thing or two about styling; after all, he is in the business for the last 40 years.

The Italian designer has worked at the I.DE.A institute under award-winning architect Renzo Piano, who designed the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris and the New York Times Building. In the automotive field, he has some pretty impressive designs in his long resume such as the Alfa Romeo 156, the Seat Tango concept, the Audi A5 and the VW Scirocco.

De Silva, who joined Audi in 2002 to become VW Group’s head of design overseeing all brands from Skoda to Bugatti in 2007, believes that the “overdesign” school, which began with BMW's Chris Bangle and his "flame surfacing" that has since been adopted by many automakers, is becoming obsolete.

Read more »

Reports , VW , VW Golf

General Motors and its Local Partners Build China's Biggest Test Track

General Motors is pretty serious about maintaining its leading role in China, the world's largest auto market.

On Saturday, September 22, GM and its Chinese partners, which include SAIC, Shanghai GM and the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center, opened the largest automotive proving ground in the country.

Read more »

China , GM , Reports , SAIC

Scoop: New Porsche 991 GT3 Smiles for the Camera Once Again

What we have here is yet another sighting of Porsche's 911 GT3 wearing very little camouflage. To be precise, YouTube user Dani Dominguez Mas, filmed three prototypes of the purest version of the 991 series at a gas station in the town of L'Ametlla del Vallès in Spain. Read more »

Porsche , Porsche 911 , Porsche Scoops , Porsche Videos , Scoops , Video

2013 Jaguar F-Type Disclosed in New Photos Including the First of the Interior

While Jaguar itself was releasing videos of the new F-Type in camouflage, a member of the Teamspeed forums unloaded a fresh gallery of 14 pictures that show us the open-top sports car from in two different shades from all sorts of angles, including the never before seen interior.

We can happily report that the styling of the roadster model's rear end with its sharp lines, narrow taillights and a protruding pair of twin exhaust pipes has also remained true to the well-received C-X16 Coupe Concept model.

The same appears to be case for the interior, at least from this point of view with only some minor changes to the design of the body-hugging seats and possibly the trim décor.

Read more »

jaguar , Jaguar F-Type , New Cars , Paris Auto Show