Thanks to a company called fahrmitgas ("go with gas", get it?), our European readers will soon be able to cut their fuel costs to the low, low price of €3 (about $4.20 USD) for every 100 km of driving. Of course, they'll need need to be driving a converted Chevrolet (nee, Daewoo) Matiz converted to LPG, but on the other hand... that's just €3 to go 100 kilometers. The fahrmitgas Matiz LPG Concept has been put through a suite of bench-tested enhancements in order to be so frugal. Since fahrmitgas is a supplier to Chevrolet, it has intimate knowledge of the Matiz's systems. After installation of the LPG unit and some engine tuning for mid-range power, the company added stop/start, lowered the car a whopping 30 mm, and fitted it with ultra low rolling resistance Hankook Optima 4S tires. A shift light on the center console helps the driver get the most of from his or her LPG. A liter of gas in Germany is about €1 (@ $1.40 USD), meaning 3 liters/100 km for the LPG Matiz, instead of 5.2 liters/100 km for the petrol Matiz. fahmitgas is looking at a production run, but no timetable or prices have been announced. In the meantime.
If you've been distressed by not being able to buy a clown car at any local lot, Toyota has news for you: the company is working on a Yaris-sized seven-seater. That is odd enough to make us ask "What?" and "Why?" in several languages. Even better, though, is when Toyota engineer Hiroki Nakajima says "We can do it, and give limo-like legroom in the back." We aren't sure what Nakajima-san's idea of a limo is, but the current five-searter Yaris doesn't have limo-like room for the people in the front, much less the back and the cargo area...
The next Yaris is due in 2011, and recent rumors suggest the use of Toyota iQ's packaging to make it more roomy inside. Toyota has also said it planned to build an MPV on blueprints of the iQ. While a repackaged Yaris with iQ clever bits would be an impressively spacious subcompact, we simply can't see it making for a limo-like minivan.
Europeans will get another premium compact car not bound for U.S. shores and this time it comes courtesy of Lexus. The automaker is targeting the BMW 1 Series and Audi A3, vehicles that its rivals have offered in the United States market. Lexus, though, only plans the vehicle for markets outside the U.S. where sales of smaller cars outpace their larger siblings. Apparently, Lexus has set a goal to sell 150,000 vehicles in Europe by 2015 and believes the new model is necessary to meet that number. At this point, we have no idea what platform the compact car would be based on, but Toyota certainly has a number of options, most notably the Auris, which is offered in the European market in hatchback form. There is also the possibility that the new entry-level Lexus could be based on an upcoming small hybrid model from Toyota that would slot beneath the Prius, a version of which the automaker plans to debut in the Lexus line.
Ever since the Z4 went bigger, rumors have been circulating that BMW is considering building a smaller Z2 roadster. The time may be ripe now for the Bavarian automaker to introduce a compact sportscar based on the underpinnings from the 1 Series. Reports suggest it would likely have a folding soft top instead of a collapsible tin roof like the upcoming Z4 replacement and a small trunk capable of swallowing just a weekend bag. Sources also hint that the Z2 would come exclusively with four-cylinder power, which could discourage BMW from bringing the vehicle to the United States where the assumption is that customers are not prepared to pay for premium cars with four-bangers. However, the development of new four-cylinder turbos potentially destined for American shores could make the Z2 a reality. Still, with the 1 Series cabrio available with the twin-turbo six, the Z2 could have its legs cut out from under it before it even materializes.
Automotive News sat down with Derrick Kuzak, Lincoln's product development chief, to discuss what lies ahead for Ford's erstwhile luxury marque, and Kuzak was quoted as saying, "We do think that there is room for a smaller car in the Lincoln brand," but he was unable to provide any hard details on what – if anything – is planned. Lincoln surely has a slot to fill below the MKZ sedan (think 1-series or compact Caddy competitor), but Kuzak said in the past that Mercury will be repositioned to fill the gap between Ford and Lincoln, with a focus on smaller, premium cars. If that plan has any chance of success, Lincoln has no business getting into the compact marketplace. Ford's mid-level luxury brands are in desperate need of definition, but brand overlap seems to be de rigueur for the domestics, and if a compact Lincoln comes to fruition the cannibalization will continue unabated.
While there is a mad rush for automakers to make smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles for the U.S. market, many of the vehicles we crave are already available to European customers. Mercedes sells A- and B-Class vehicles were deemed too small for U.S. consumption. One product Mercedes doesn't have in either of its two biggest markets is a small crossover vehicle, but that could change in 2011. Autocar is reporting that Mercedes is looking to rectify its small crossover position with the BLK, which will be positioned to take on the BMW X1 and Land Rover LRX. If Mercedes does build the BLK, it will likely be on an all-new FWD chassis that will also accommodate the next-gen A- and B-Class, as well as other like-sized models. The guys and gals on team Benz were looking to strike a deal with another automaker to platform share, but talks apparently came up empty. Mercedes is still looking to partner up with BMW on engine development, which would help drastically reduce engineering and development costs. BLK engine choices are rumored to be between 1.6- and 2.2-liters, with direct injection gasoline and diesel variants.
Looking startlingly like a Vans shoe, preproduction versions of Kia's Soul will be doing their roadie routine with the Vans Warped Tour in the U.S. this summer. The front and rear of the car will be hidden under camo tape done up like Vans trademark checkerboard pattern, and dark windows will keep prying eyes out, but kids will still get a good look at what's on offer.
Taking what appears to be more than a few pages from the Scion playbook, the Warped Tour sponsorship will also include things like interactive Soul Lounges with live DJs, airbrush tattoo artists, and plenty of contests. There's even going to be a solar powered stage.
At first glance, you may hiccup and taste a little bit of your last meal in your mouth. Swallow, take a deep breath, and continue reading... What you are looking at is called the Chevrolet Tornado. Built in Brazil (where it is sold as the Chevrolet Montana), the two-seat pickup is sold in Mexico and South Africa (where it is rebadged the Opel Corsa Utility). With a 1.8-liter four rated at 104 hp under the hood, and a 5-speed manual to row the gears, the little truck scoots to 60 mph in about 10 seconds. The Tornado offers a payload area larger than that found on the Honda Ridgeline, and a payload capacity of 1,600-pounds (50 pounds more than the Ridgeline's rating). Saving the best for last, the frugal Tornado is rated at 23 mpg city and 30 mpg highway. Do you think Americans who are accustomed to full- and mid-size pickups would ever consider something like this? If you think consumers would never stoop to such levels... think back to the early 1970s and remember the Chevy LUV.
While it might not be the prettiest girl at the prom, we're still extremely intrigued by Mahindra's upcoming diesel pickup for the American market. Up until today, we've been referring to the new truck as the Appalachian, though reports now indicate that it will drop that moniker. Apparently, the Indian company wants to highlight its own name in an effort to build some much-needed brand recognition in a market it has never played in before. For that reason, some sort of nondescript name made from numbers and/or letters is to be expected.
Mahindra's newly un-named truck will feature a new four-cylinder diesel engine produced just for the States with help from Bosch and AVL. Power output should hover around 150 horses, though torque is expected to be a massive 300 lb-ft. Coupled with what should be reasonable fuel economy from just 2.2 liters of displacement, we think that Mahindra's new pickup could re-ignite the compact pickup market in no time at all. At least one domestic brand might be thinking the same thing, as this spy shot indicates that one of Detroit's finest brought one over for testing.
It's been so long since we've heard anything new regarding the Dodge Hornet concept from way back in 2006 that you could be forgiven for assuming it was dead on arrival. Not so, according to Thomas Hausch, ChryCo's veep for international purchasing, who says that the automaker is hard at work developing its Hornet model. Not that it's particularly shocking that Chrysler would be doing everything in its power to bring more small cars to market, considering that sales in that segment are so strong in the face of $4 per gallon gasoline.
It has long been assumed that the tie-up with Chinese automaker Chery would yield the first Chrysler compact, but remember that Chrysler recently made a deal with Nissan. In that arrangement, Nissan would get a version of the Dodge Ram in exchange for a Nissan-built small designed and developed by Chrysler. So perhaps the Hornet will actually come from Nissan. Whatever the case, the American automaker is in desperate need of a good compact vehicle as quickly as possible.
