Publicité Volkswagen Golf 7 : Depeche Mode à l'honneur

Même si six ans les séparent (la première est née en 1974, les seconds en 1980), la Volkswagen Golf 7 et Depeche Mode sont à peu près de la même génération. Il aura donc fallu attendre 2012 et la campagne de publicité de la nouvelle Golf 7 pour qu'ils se rencontrent.

Le groupe de pop britannique est en à son treizième album mais c'est une chanson de 1984, People Are People, qui est fredonnée par les occupants des différentes Golf 7 de la vidéo. Le clip s'achève avec la chanson originale en fond, et Dave Gahan, le chanteur de Depeche Mode, au volant.

BMW M6 Gran Coupé : les premières photos

Depuis la sortie de la Série 6 Gran Coupé, des rumeurs affirment qu’une déclinaison badgée M est dans les cartons. En fin de semaine dernière, Motorsport a confirmé l’arrivée de ce modèle, en dévoilant sur son site les premières photos de la M6 Gran Coupé.

Sans grande surprise, ce coupé quatre-portes sportif n’est pas très différent esthétiquement d’un exemplaire équipé du Pack M. Il reçoit tout de même des jantes spécifiques, des ouïes sur les ailes avant estampillées M tandis que le toit adopte sans doute le creux déjà présent sur celui de la M6 Coupé.

Pour le moment, aucune information n’a été communiquée, tous les détails seront connus en décembre. Il paraît cependant logique que cette troisième variante de M6 reçoive le V8 4.4 biturbo de 560, présent sous le capot de coupé et cabriolet.

Ford reducing rare earth metal use in 2013 electrified cars

Ford Motors is coming out with a range of "electrified" cars this year, ones that have either hybrid, or plug-in hybrid or all electric drive trains. The cars have high fuel efficiency, but they also reduce use of rare earth metals. Ford's new electrified vehicles, such as the 47-mpg Ford Fusion Hybrid and EPA-certified 47-mpg C-MAX Hybrid feature lighter, more efficient, more powerful lithium-ion batteries that are expected to reduce Ford's use of expensive, rare earth metals by up to 500,000 pounds annually, while improving Ford's fleet fuel efficiency.

Rare earth metals are in short supply around the world, and as in so many things China has developed a dominant position in rare earth metal supply. Many have worried that widespread adoption of high technology electrified vehicles would switch us from a dependency on foreign oil, to a dependency on foreign rare earth metals. The effort by Ford to reduce rare earth metal consumption in the company's electrified cars should help allay those fears.

In Ford's marketing terminology, "electrification" refers to any sort of electric technology built into a vehicle to improve fuel efficiency. This includes hybrid, plug-in hybrid and all electric drive trains.

Most of the reduction comes from switching away from Nickel-Metal-Hydride (NiMH) batteries to lithium-ion. NiMH batteries contain a range of rare earth metals including neodymium, cerium, lanthanum and praseodymium, none of which are used in the new lithium-ion batteries. Ford has also reduced the use of Dysprosium in magnets used in electric motors. Dysprosium, the most expensive rare earth metal used in Ford vehicles, is reduced by approximately 50 percent in new Ford Fusion and Ford C-MAX Hybrid electric vehicles.

The reduction was undertaken for both financial and physical reasons. By doing away with expensive materials Ford can lower the MSRP, or offer more capability for the same MSRP. Also the switch from NiMH to Li-ION batteries in Ford's hybrid vehicles means the battery pack is 50 percent lighter and 25-30% smaller, leaving more room for other things such as cargo.

"We're continually looking to find ways to provide greater fuel efficiency as well as cost savings to customers of our hybrid vehicles, and the reduction of rare earth metals is a key part of this strategy," said Chuck Gray, chief engineer, Global Core Engineering, Hybrid and Electric Vehicles. "The third-generation hybrid technology we are now using builds on our 20 years of electric vehicle innovations."

BMW 1M Coupe Touched by Best Cars and Bikes

The BMW 1M Coupe must’ve received more tuning packages than production units by now and here we are giving you a new aftermarket package for the car.

This comes from Best Cars and Bikes, who played with the 1M’s tech side and exterior. We’ll start under the hood, where the twin-turbo 3.0-liter straight six received an 85 hp power boost to 425 hp. Unfortunately, the tuning company hasn’t released the performance specs for the vehicle, but we’ll remind you that the stock vehicle needs 4.9 seconds to complete the 0 to 62 mph.

The 1M Coupe’s handling has also been touched, as Best Cars and Bikes has gifted the car with a coilover suspension coming from German specialist KW. In addition to that, the standard rims of the cars were ditched for a set of 20-inch Schmidt Revolution wheels.

Volvo Cars issue ultimatum to suppliers for 20% price cut

STOCKHOLM (AFP) - Volvo Cars has issued an ultimatum to its Swedish suppliers, telling them they would have to slash prices by a fifth by 2015, Swedish economic newspaper Dagens Industri said Friday.

Axel Maschka, the purchasing director for the firm, "told about 400 representatives of sub-contractors active in Sweden that lowering prices by 20 percent is the condition for them to participate in the expansion launched by Volvo to manufacture 800,000 vehicles in 2020".

Volvo sold 449,000 vehicles in 2011, including half of which were sold in Europe.

The loss-making carmaker, which was acquired by Chinese firm Geely from Ford in 2010, wants to quadruple sales in China to 200,000 vehicles a year from 47,000 sold in 2011.

Volvo has been struggling to improve demand, and announced in early September that it lost 254 million krona (30 million euros) in the first half.

Maschka did not confirm his ultimatum to Dagens Industri but said he hoped to increase the company's supply from China in order to meet the 2020 sales target.

"We are planning to buy about 25 percent from Chinese suppliers. We will reinforce our cooperation with Geely over our purchases in China," he said.

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Yukon and Sierra celebrate centennial with Heritage editions

GMC will bring the 2012 Yukon, Yukon XL and Sierra Heritage Editions to the New York Auto Show in April, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the GMC brand — which appeared for the first time at the 1912 New York Auto Show.
Exterior door badges feature the original GMC logo that appeared on the 1912 lineup, which included -gas- and electric-powered trucks.

Available in White Diamond, Onyx Black or exclusive Heritage Blue, the Heritage Editions will be available on Sierra 1500 Crew Cab, Yukon and Yukon XL models in SLT trim.

Differentiating content differs on each, with such goodies as embroidered mats and headrests, beefier wheels, and equipment packages. U.S. pricing ranges from $1,820 to $2,645.

GMC was formed in 192 when the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company, Reliance, and Randolph merged. If GMC were a stand-alone manufacturer, it would be the 10th-largest automaker in the U.S. for total vehicle sales in 2011.

BMW recalls 1.3 million cars

One of the world's largest automakers issued a major recall this week, in response to potential safety concerns.

Germany-based BMW, the world's largest luxury carmaker, said this week it would recall more than 1.3 million vehicles in one of its largest such recalls in years. The automaker said the recall would affect certain models of its 5- and 6-series cars that were manufactured between 2003 and 2010.

BMW has faced mounting competition from other luxury automakers over the past few years as it sought to maintain its dominance in the global auto market. The company said it issued the recall because in rare cases, a batter cable covering the trunk was incorrectly installed in certain vehicle models. The defect could potentially prevent affected cars from starting, while it may also spark a fire in other models, the company said.

The luxury carmaker has improved supply chain management over the past year in an effort to improve reliability and quality. The Associated Press reports the company plans to notify owners by letter and will pay for the repairs, which should only take roughly 30 minutes.

Jaguar poised to pounce on crossover market and battle BMW 3 Series

Luxury Crossovers: it’s what the cool kids are doing these days. BMW has its sporty X6, Audi has the critically acclaimed Q5, Porsche has the ever so sleek and sexy Cayenne, and even Volvo has entered in all the smaller-sized sport utility shenanigans with its stylish XC 60. Feeling left out on the proverbial playground is longtime British luxury automaker Jaguar, but that’s about to change.
Now before the inevitable cries of disapproval come barreling out, a crossover Jag makes total sense from a business perspective. Sister brand Land Rover has had amazing critical success with the Range Rover Evoque, which was named Top Gear’s Car of the Year for 2011 and 2012 SUV of the Year by Motor Trend. So it’s not at all surprising that — in an effort to stay relevant  and competitive — Jaguar wants to follow suit with a luxury crossover of its own.
Speaking earlier this month to Autocar at the Geneva Motor Show, Jaguar global brand direction Adrian Hallmark is said to have all but confirmed the company’s focus on seven “significant” new products over the next two years, including a new crossover that is rumored to borrow major underpinnings of the Evoque (you can see Autocar’s rendering of what they think the new crossover will look like above).
While nothing has been officially confirmed, given that parent company Tata Motors recently announced it would double annual investment in Jaguar gives a good indication that the British automaker may now have the creative and financial freedom to expand its auto portfolio in a substantial way. Earlier rumors suggested Jaguar was working on a fully-fledged SUV, but those rumors have amounted to very little and are looking increasingly unlikely. Instead, it looks like Jaguar will focus its attention on the aforementioned crossover as well as a rumored smaller sedan designed to compete with the BMW 3 Series.
Whatever the case may be, something new may be cooking in Jaguar’s automotive kitchen. Whether it finds success with an Evoque-like crossover, or a direct competitor to BMW’s 3 Series, remains to be seen, but if done right, it could very well have a hit on its hands.

Toyota Prius Camper : Le premier camping car 4 places hybride au profil… particulier !

Vous allez pouvoir ranger définitivement votre Hymer ou votre Pilote à moteur diesel, voici le premier camping écologique, la fameuse Toyota Prius Camper développée par le spécialiste japonais du genre, Campinn. La Prius Camper était dévoilée ces jours au Tokyo Auto Salon 2012. La Toyota choisie est un modèle Prius standard mais sachez que la chose sera réalisable sur la nouvelle Prius restylée et Plug-in. Voilà un véhicule de loisir qui va faire le bonheur des camping caristes qui ne seront pas rebutés par l’allure et surtout le profil assez particulier de cette Prius Camper.



Ainsi métamorphosée, la Prius Camper devient un agréable camping car long de 4.98 m et haut de 2.05 m qui permet à 4 personnes dormir presque confortablement. Reste l’allure un peu particulière de ce « sac à dos » qui est réalisé en fibre de plastique renforcée (GRP) et que se fixe à différents points sur la carrosserie de la voiture.

Le fabricant revendique 4 couchages mais on peut aussi opter pour la table amovible, le Pack « petit réchaud + réserve d’eau » ou le mini frigo. En version « full op » vous serez parés pour de vraies bonnes vacances écologiques au plein air.
Reste tout de même une question et elle est d’importance, Toyota France va t-il importer ce nouvel accessoire saillant qui fera de votre Prius une merveille de style singulier qu’on… ne vous volera pas !

Via Campinn, Debates.coches.net.



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