Ford EcoSport production model unveiled in Beijing

by Ajit Menon

First images of the compact SUV's interior reveal a smart, roomy cabin

Three months after its global unveiling at the 2012 Delhi Auto Expo, Ford has showcased the production version of the all-new EcoSport at the Beijing Auto Show. The show car on display at Beijing is the top-of-the-line model EcoSport Titanium, painted in distinctive Mars Red and sporting 16-inch aluminium alloy wheels and a chrome grille. In terms of styling, it looks identical to the concept model barring minor changes like halogen headlamps in place of LEDs.

This is also the first time Ford has offered a peek into the EcoSport’s cabin, which borrows heavily from the Fiesta. Despite its compact dimensions, the EcoSport is spacious enough to seat five in comfort. The driving position is high and there are plenty of smart technologies such as Ford’s SYNC driver connect system with voice control, smart keyless entry, Ford Power Start, and a cooled bin in the glovebox.

Safety kit includes ABS, Electronic Stability Program and dual front airbags and side curtain airbags though the Indian spec could be stripped-down to keep costs under check. The SUV also boasts an array of driver-assist features such as Hill Launch Assist and rear parking sensors.

A number of powertrain options are on offer including Ford’s 1-litre, 3-cylinder EcoBoost petrol engine that can put out 118PS of power and 125Nm of torque. A 1.5-litre diesel spec that powers the Fiesta is also on the anvil.

“The all-new EcoSport is designed and engineered specifically for customers in global growth markets using Ford’s global SUV engineering expertise and reflecting our commitments for quality, leading fuel economy, safety and smart technology,” said Raj Nair, group vice president, Global Product Development. “We’re delivering innovative products like this to drive our global growth.”

The EcoSport joins Ford’s family of small global vehicles, which will reach an annual production capacity of 20 lakh units by 2015. It will be manufactured in four locations across the world including Ford’s Chennai plant, Chongqing in China; Camaçari, Brazil; and Rayong, Thailand.

The compact SUV is expected to launch in India early 2012 and priced in the Rs 6 – Rs 10 lakh range, which should place it in competition with the Premier Rio in the lower end of the spectrum and, perhaps, the Renault Duster and Maruti XA-Alpha SUV when it hits production.

New Lamborghini Urus breaks cover at 2012 Beijing Motor Show

by Abhishek Nigam

Known more for their exotic hypercars, Lamborghini isn't totally unknown when it comes to SUV's thanks to the awesome LM002. With the Urus then, Lamborghini is all set to hit "Bulls-eye" again!

Utter the word “Lamborghini” and one can immediately picture chariots fit for the gods. Cars like the Miura, Countach Diablo (and the list goes on) are pretty much the poster on every car enthusiast walls. But for those who didn’t know, Lamborghini  also made one SUV, in fact let me correct that, one “special” SUV called the LM002.


When it was unveiled in 1985, the LM002 was an absolutely revolutionary vehicle. An automobile suitable for off-road driving with a twelve-cylinder engine and 450 horses (rather bulls in this context), a top speed of more than 210 km/h, a luxurious interior and, above all, an absolutely stunning appearance – it was utterly unthinkable at the time. Only 300 units were built making the LM002 not only an exotic but also a very exclusive piece of machinery.

And now with the Urus, the factory at Sant’Agata Bolognese is all set to churn out another master piece. Following its tradition, its name is derived once more from the world of bulls – the Urus, also known as Aurochs, is one of the large, wild ancestors of domestic cattle.


Coming to the design, the Urus is unmistakably Lamborghini with its muscular and highly athletic stance. At a length of 4.99 meters, it fits perfectly into the sporty SUV class. At a height of just 1.66 meters, however, it is considerably lower than all its competitors. Together with its width of 1.99 meters, the Lamborghini Urus boasts just the right proportions. Attention to detail is mind-boggling


While this might be a concept, it pretty much tells us what the insides of the production car will turn up like. Virtually the complete interior is – in keeping with the Lamborghini lightweight design strategy finished in carbon fiber reinforced polymer. The center tunnel is particularly notable – an open, skeletal carbon fiber structure made from forged composite.

 
It carries through the entire interior and is only partially clad in leather-upholstered cushioning. Single cushions also clad the four bucket seats. The seating position is lower and flatter than in any other vehicle in the segment. Also all four bucket seats are made from forged composite. Expect any and every bit of luxury one would expect from a premium SUV and then some.

To make sure it goes just as well as it looks, expect this beast to be powered by a V8 (lots to pick from the VW bin, forced induction could be a possibility as well) and is expected to put out at least 600 bhp to all four wheels. Beautiful, brutally fast and luxurious, the Urus is sure to take the SUV world by storm. Keep watching this space for more.

Beijing Automotive makes bid to gatecrash ailing Vauxhall's sale

By Karl West

Chinese car producer Beijing Automotive attempted to gatecrash the auction for Vauxhall, as the German government prepared to whittle down the list of bidders.
Ailing U.S. parent General Motors, which is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, is seeking an investor for its European business, which includes the Vauxhall and Opel marques.
Germany is leading the negotiations with four bidders. Italy's Fiat and Canadian car-parts group Magna are seen as the favourites, but it has not written off bids from financial firm RHJ International and Beijing Automotive.

Last-minute entry: China's Beijing Automotive is positioning itself as a bidder for Vauxhall

Berlin has agreed to underwrite billions of euros in loans to help rescue GM Europe, and chancellor Angela Merkel was last night due to reveal a preferred bidder. But sources indicated the Germans would continue talks with two parties.

Union leaders fear Vauxhall and its 5,000 UK workers could suffer in the takeover because the British government has taken a back seat in the negotiations.

But, business secretary Lord Mandelson last night said Britain would provide funds to the new owners in return for guarantees that it would retain Vauxhall's plants at Luton and Ellesmere Port in Cheshire.

TI to sell Automotive Systems

By This Is Money

Engineering group TI said today it was planning to sell its Automotive Systems division.
The company said the process was 'at a preliminary stage' and did not name the potential buyer. The sale is expected to raise more than £1.2bn for the company and could lead to the break-up of TI.
TI Automotive contributes more than 40% of group sales, and makes fuel storage and delivery systems. Private equity groups such as Doughty Hanson, CVC Capital Partners and Cinven are among those being tipped as possible buyers for the business.
The remaining TI divisions include its Dowty aerospace business, the John Crane seals business and TI Specialty Polymer Products. It has been speculated TI might consider also putting these up for sale, either as separate businesses or a whole package.
At its half-year results last month, TI said it had seen a 35% surge in sales boosted by £1.5bn worth of acquisitions over two years.
Pre-tax profits rose to £145.6m compared with £130.4m a year earlier, although the results were hit by a one-off goodwill cost of £27m.

Hampson mulls automotive division sale

By Mark Foxwell

Aerospace and engineering company Hampson Industries is considering the sale of its loss-making automotive division as part of a strategic review.
Finance director Howard Kimberley said a disposal would be the preferred option to allow the firm to concentrate on its core aerospace business of making parts for the Airbus A380 and the Boeing Dreamliner.
The company wants to appoint an adviser in due course after receiving expressions of interest from several parties for the business, which makes parts for turbochargers at two sites in Lancashire and one in India.
It employs 170 staff after recently cutting 150 posts.
Analysts believe the division, which posted a loss of £9.8m for the year ending last March, could fetch up to £10m.
Kimberley said: 'Volumes of turbocharger components have dropped to low levels during the recession.'

MOTORING NEWS 'Go East' for China's booming automotive industry

By Ray Massey
Once upon a time, the advice to any young person of ambition was ‘Go West’. now it’s very definitely ‘Go east’.
You have only to look at how the centre of gravity for the world’s motor industry has shifted decisively in that direction.
China’s long march to become an automotive giant has been as spectacular as the unfeasibly stretched Range Rover on show at the Beijing Auto Show in booming China.

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A model poses next to a stretched Range Rover at the Beijing Auto Show. Luxury car sales in China have soared

The Beijing show is growing massively in importance and is starting to overshadow some of the more traditional events in the West after the shopping trips the Chinese are making to snap up Western car companies, such as Britain’s MG-Rover and Volvo, of Sweden.
The surge has been propelled by an economic boom that created a new crop of Chinese millionaires and several dozen billionaires in a country that, 15 years ago, had hardly any private cars.
I can vouch for that. I travelled around china in the mid eighties and bicycled extensively around Beijing when there was barely a car on the road, but there seemed to be - as the song says - about nine million bicycles.

 

China’s car market is now the world’s biggest - and it’s getting ready to expand its export business to Britain.

Luxury car sales in China soared 66 per cent in the first three months of the year.

Speaking at the Beijing auto Show, Mercedes-Benz boss dieter Zetsche said: ‘China is increasingly becoming the engine of our industry.’

Sales of its cars there soared 112 per cent in the first quarter of this year to 23,600 vehicles.

China’s mainland now has 825,000 people worth around £1million, say experts. And leading motor magazine Autocar reckons that, in the wake of the Japanese and the Koreans, the Chinese automotive invasion of Britain is gearing up.

It will be spearheaded next year by the aptly named ‘Great Wall’ car brand brought into the UK by international Motors, better known for bringing in Japanese Subarus and Daihatsus.

 

BMW stormed into Beijing with its stately new flagship Grancoupe prototype, which is set to hit showrooms as the Bavarian car-maker’s 8-series.

BMW's GranCoupe unveiled at the Beijing Auto Show

Unveiled at a special BMW ‘design night’, it has been created to take on the likes of the Porsche Panamera, the Maserati Quattro-porte, the Audi A7 and Aston Martin’s Rapide.
Expect a production version in 2012. It’s lower and wider than the current flagship 7-series saloon.

 

China, says Rolls-Royce, is now its third-largest market after the United States and Britain, with sales soaring 200 per cent in the first quarter to more than 20 vehicles.

It has added a production line and hired more workers partly to meet Chinese demand.

Rolls-Royce’s new chief executive Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes said: 'I see China will even overtake the UK - our home market - this year.’

Rolls-Royce publishes a Chinese-language luxury magazine and invites customers from China to visit its factory in Goodwood, Weast Sussex, to see its cars being made.

 

Ford caught the eye with this perky ‘Start’ car - said to be the prototype for a new city car. Similar in size to the Ka, the curvy three-door Start hatchback is powered by a frugal 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbocharged EcoBoost engine to take on the marvellous Mini and Fiat’s fantastic 500.

The Ford Start car is powered by an economical 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbocharged EcoBoost engine

Ford reckons it develops the same power as a conventional 1.6-litre petrol engine, yet has emissions of under 100g/ km of cO2 on which vehicles are now taxed.

 

Zero to hero? The MG Zero is a British-designed but Chinese-owned rival to the Ford Fiesta unveiled in Beijing.

It was developed by a team led by British Mg design director tony Williams-Kenny, based in Birmingham.

Guy Jones, Mg Motor UK sales and marketing director of the firm, said: ‘Mg Zero is crucial to the development of the brand globally, as it gives clear direction for the future beyond the current products. We are all proud to see our British-designed vehicle wearing the Mg badge creating such an impact in Beijing.’

 

Once the pride of Britain, in the wake of the MG-Rover fiasco, MG Motor UK is now a subsidiary of China’s largest car-maker, the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation which sold more than 2.72 million vehicles in 2009.
It now sells the £13,799 MG TF sports car and from the end of 2010 will begin assembly of the MG6 from Longbridge in Birmingham.

Cool Cars That Gained a Cult Following "1982-87 Buick Grand National"

By Ben Stewart

To capitalize on its recent manufacturer's cup win in Nascar's Grand National Series, Buick decided to build a special car in 1982. A handful of those early Grand Nationals packed a 175-hp turbocharged 3.8-liter V-6. The original Buick Grand National wasn't quite the fire-breather of the later cars, but realize that this V-6 made more power than the 5.0-liter "high-output" V-8 in the 1982 Ford Mustang.

Soon, fuel injection, an intercooler for the turbo, and more boost increased the Grand National's performance. In fact, power went up just about every year until the last year, 1987, when the car hit 245 hp in standard trim and 276 hp in the limited edition GNX trim. The GNX was one of the quickest cars on the planet at that time, and these mean black Buick Grand Nationals have long enjoyed cult status among casual enthusiasts and drag racers. The robust 3.8-liter V-6s can withstand very high levels of turbo boost. So these cars are tremendous platforms for racing. And the quickest street-legal modified cars can routinely run in the 9-second bracket in the quarter-mile. That's a full 2 seconds quicker than the quickest modern exotics.