We've already seen a rough sketch of the new Meriva concept from Opel/Vauxhall, but after a rendered image began leaking out onto the interwebs this week, GM's European division decided to put out a new image and a more extensive press release. The Meriva concept, set to make its debut in Geneva early next month, is being touted by GM as the future of flexibility and practicality. The automaker is heavily pitching the Meriva's major innovation dubbed FlexDoors, which are what we've all come to know and love as "suicide doors." The rear-hinged back doors supposedly offer easier ingress and egress, better aesthetics and greater safety for the little ones when you're strapping them down in thier child seats. Cool, but hardly what we'd consider truly innovative. We'll let you know how innovative this concept truly is in a couple weeks when we touch down in Switzerland.
It'd be far too easy to dismiss the Lancia Delta over here. Made by a quirky and obscure division of Fiat, Lancia hasn't sold vehicles in the United States since 1982. Although the Italian automaker has a rich history, its current models are rather strange and mostly undesirable. But this is the vehicle that could bring them back, launching Lancia back into a period of prosperity with exciting new models to come.
Ahead of its unveiling in Geneva, Lancia has released a whole mess of details on the new Delta, based closely on the Delta HPE concept from Paris 2006. Power will come from 1.4-liter TurboJet engines with either 120 or 150 horsepower, or a 120-hp 1.6-liter MultiJet turbodiesel, mated to six-speed transmissions in either manual, semi-automatic or automatic versions. Once the Delta is more established in the market, Lancia plans to offer a 2.0L 165-hp MultiJet turbodiesel, a 1.9-liter Mutlijet twin-turbodiesel and an all-new 1.8-liter Turbojet gasoline engine that could become the Delta Integrale with all-wheel-drive.
Before the Delta is unveiled in Geneva, computer gamers will get a preview of the new model at the "Lancia Village" on the Second Life computer simulator. We'll be on hand at the show to bring you more, but in the meantime, check out the extended press release after the jump and the additional images in the gallery below.
Having already taken the wraps off the more conventional four-door sedan, three- and five-door hatchbacks and wagon body-styles in Frankfurt, Ford of Europe is preparing to unveil its new hard-top convertible version of the new European Focus. Unfortunately, this model won't be available in the US market, so we'll have to settle for the images Ford has released of the new Focus CC until we bring you the live shots from the Geneva show floor next month. The CC also joins the ST hot-hatch and the upcoming RS in the new Euro Focus line-up.
Like its predecessor, Ford of Europe's new Focus Coupé-Cabriolet is being built in Bairo, Italy, by Pininfarina. The drop-top Focus boasts a stiff body to maintain handling integrity and class-leading luggage space over rivals like the Peugeot 308 CC and Volkswagen Eos, regardless of whether the roof is up or down. The new Focus CC will be offered with three engine options and three trim levels: a 1.6-liter/100-hp and 2-liter 145-hp Duratec gasoline fours, and the 2-liter Duratorq turbodiesel with 136 hp, in either Trend, Sport or Titanium spec.
Hot on the heels of news concerning Lancia's product-led revival comes the announcement from the quirky Fiat division that the production version of the upcoming Delta will indeed be unveiled at the upcoming Geneva show. The images released show that the final version, based on a lengthened Fiat Bravo platform, has lost little from the sharp and angular Delta HPE concept that Lancia showed us in Paris in 2006. The interior also looks significantly spruced-up over its Fiat sibling.
Unfortunately, as of when this post was written, Lancia had only placed the press release in Italian, so if you're up on your romance languages, follow the jump. Otherwise, just gawk at the photos in the gallery below. We'll be on hand at the car's official unveiling next month, so Italian car fans stay tuned.
The Old Grey Lady has officially kicked off the Detroit Auto Show 24 hours early, and they brought some party favors for all their readers to boot. The New York Times' Automobiles section has a Detroit preview article (dated 1/13, incidentally) in its feature spot. No longer under wraps are the 2009 Dodge Ram, 2009 Ford F-150 Platinum, Mitsubishi Concept-RA, Ford Verve sedan concept, and the Fisker plug-in luxo-hybrid, as all are featured prominently in the piece's accompanying new vehicle gallery.more ...
