Buick Rendezvous and Pontiac Aztek under investigation by NHTSA

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating nearly 280,000 Buick Rendezvous and Pontiac Aztek SUVs from the 2001 – 2004 model years for a possible leak in the vehicles’ fuel tanks. There have been 213 complaints filed with the agency.

[Source: Kicking Tires via Detroit News]

Continued- Article

The problem stems from improper welding that could allow fuel or an odor to leak from the fuel tanks’ inlet filler pipe. NHTSA says vehicles manufactured after December 2003 are not affected by the problem. This is the second stage of the investigation by NHTSA, and there has not been a recall at this time.

Read More

VW plans a next-generation Phaeton, only smaller

Volkswagen's Phaeton could not exactly be described as a run-away success. The German carmaker planned to make a modest 20,000 units, but only managed to sell a quarter that amount. But someone in Wolfsburg must have gotten an "if at first you don't succeed" fortune cookie, and they're determined to give it another shot.

[Source: Autoblog]

Continued- Article

The next Phaeton will save considerably on development costs by sharing its underpinnings with the next A6 from corporate cousin Audi. This, however, is no mere speculation: it comes straight from the mouth of CEO Martin Winterkorn. The end result will be a Phaeton smaller than the one it replaces, bringing costs down and bringing it slightly closer to the top-end Passat to help close the enormous gap in the Volkswagen model line-up.

The current slow-selling Phaeton cost Volkswagen a bundle to develop, but all was not lost as the platform ended up providing the basis for the more successful Bentley Continental range, with its coupe, cabrio and sedan variations. What will happen with the next Continental, you ask? Sources suggest that it will take its underpinnings from the latest Audi A8.

All in all this amounts to a change of direction for the German auto group, which has a history of investing heavily into new models which compete with offerings from their own subsidiaries.

Read More

Brilliance headed to the US as early as this year

Having begun its European expansion the next step for China’s Brilliance is the lucrative US market. If everything goes to plan, the company could be shipping models as early as this year or early 2008.Brilliance already sells the BS4 sedan in Europe and plans to expand this to include the BS6 and an unspecified coupe model. Other models in the pipeline for overseas consumption could include a compact car and a mid-size SUV within three years, reports Reuters.

[Source: Motor Authority]

Continued- Article

It’s not clear whether the company will retain the Brilliance brand name or plans to introduce a new brand specifically for the US market. Chinese car makers will need to ensure build quality and reliability are top-notch to compete with Japanese and Korean models. One point in Brilliance’s favour is its partnership with BMW in China, which gives the fledgling company experience in building premium sedans.

Despite this, the BS6 misses out on numerous safety features that are usually equipped as standard these days, such as side and rear airbags, stability and traction control or even a lap-sash seatbelt in the center rear seat. The car runs a 130hp 2.4L four-cylinder engine sourced from Mitsubishi, which pushes the BS6 to 100km/h from rest in a tardy 12 seconds.

It looks like it’ll be at least another five years before the world’s carmakers begin to feel the might of China.

Read More

Hyundai i30 Wagon headed to the US, badged as Elantra

Hyundai's new i30 wagon is headed to US dealerships sometime in early 2008, and it will be badged as an Elantra. Wayne Killen, director of product planning at Hyundai Motor America says that, dynamically, the Elantra wagon will be positioned as a sporty handling vehicle. Unlike the European i30 wagon, which is powered by 1.6L engines (gasoline or diesel), the US-spec car will receive the same 138-horse 2.0L four-cylinder found in the current Elantra sedan. A 5-speed manual will come standard, with a 4-speed auto available as an option.

[Source: Autoblog]

Read More

Next Generation VW Golf launch delayed until the end of 2008

According to an interview that Ulrich Hackenburg, head of development for VW gave to Automobilwoche during the Shanghai Show, VW’s best selling model will not be replaced next spring as originally planned. Hackenburg told Automobiwoche journalists that the current Golf is still selling well and that there’s no time-pressure to replace it.

[Source: CARSCOOP]

Continued- Article

At least that’s the official line, cause unofficially, the company’s new boss, Martin Winterkorn, has postponed the 2008 Geneva Show premiere of the Golf VI as he was not pleased at all with the car’s appearance and ordered a complete redesign. In any case, the 6th-gen Golf is now scheduled for a late 2008 launch.

Hackenburg also informed journalist that the new Golf will get an updated version of Audi's 160Hp 1.8TFSI engine –probably with a GT badge since from what we’ve heard, VW is planning to stop the production of the 170Hp 1.4TSI motor due to reliability problems. As for the GTI, it’ll wear a more powerful version of the current 2.0 TFSI motor.

Read More

No Volkswagen Scirocco for the US

Volkswagen won’t be selling its upcoming Scirocco sport hatchback in the US, an all-new model due to enter production next year. After bowing out from the auto world back in the early nineties, VW is rejuvenating the Scirocco nameplate with a new hatch based on the Iroc concept car that debuted at last year’s Paris Motor Show.

[Source: Motor Authority]

Continued- Article

“We don’t want it,” said VW America executive VP Adrian Hallmark in an interview with Automotive News. Despite the previous generation’s success, the new Scirocco won’t reach US shores because of fears that it would cannibalize sales of the GTI hatchback, also known as the Rabbit. “The GTI is iconic. It’s as strong a name as the Beetle,” Hallmark says, adding “it’s economically suicidal for us to risk the sales volume and the potential for GTI.”

Hallmark revealed that the Scirocco and GTI will share the same platform including the same 2.0L TFSI engine and chassis but will receive a lower ride-height. VW will instead focus on its sedan range in the US rather than the smaller coupe/hatchback market.

Read More

Video: Buick Riviera Concept

Buick (ironically) resurrected the Riviera nameplate at the Shanghai Auto Show with an impressive “gullwing-door” coupe, developed by GM & Shanghai’s joint Pan Asian Technical Center in China. In this video we included includes static and driving clips along with shots from the presentation and a few words from GM’s Vice President of Global Design, Ed Welburn.

[Source: CARSCOOP]

Read More