January 4, 2012
New vans launched January 2012
AutoeBid can help you get the best new van deals on new models launched in January 2012. Below is a list of new van models just launched this month.
New cars launched January 2012
AutoeBid can help you get the best new car deals on new models launched in January 2012. Below is a list of new car models just launched this month.
September 29, 2011
One giant leap for the Mini London 2012
Back in the 70s it was was motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel grabbing the headlines and breaking his bones with his feats of derring-do. As the London 2012 Olympics looms on the horizon a long-jumper has been getting in on the act by vaulting over a line-up of Mini London 2012 Edition Models.
The man with the extremely long reach is England long jump champion JJ Jegede. This week at Potter’s Field in London, he successfully vaulted over three Mini London 2012 cars — a distance of around 6 metres. To put that in context, a top-class jumper might achieve 7-8 metres if conditions were favourable.
Of course JJ Jegede wasn’t in the hunt for a medal here. But he did have the pressure of delivering a success story for the Mini London 2012 and the London 2012 Olympics. Bear in mind that there was no safety net!
In preparation for JJ’s leap of faith, the run-up track and sandpit were raised to the same height as the roofs of the line-up of Mini London 2012 vehicles. After all, he is a long-jumper not a high-jumper.
JJ’s (puntastic) take on his brave auto vs athlete feat was: “I’ve always wanted to demonstrate my ability in a fun way, so I jumped at the chance to perform an Evel Knievel-style display.”
Mini UK is an official partner to Team GB through its affiliation with London 2012 partner BMW. It is also partner to the ParalympicsGB Team and hopes the association will prove inspirational to athletes across all disciplines.
There are limits, of course. I’m sure Mini UK would join me in saying that what JJ Jegede did comes with a great big “don’t try this at home” warning.
Only (you guessed it) 2,012 of these limited edition Mini London 2012 vehicles will be built. Naturally they’ll be themed in patriotic red, white and blue. Appropriately, the three cars used for JJ’s jump were all fitted with JUMP! registration plates.
September 13, 2011
Volvo unveils the Concept You at Frankfurt 2011
Car manufacturers love to fuel buyers’ fantasies by suggesting what a new vehicle can do for your image. But as Volvo’s Concept You arrives at Frankfurt, it seems the company’s modest aim is to make
life “less complicated and more enjoyable”.
The Concept You gives a strong hint about what Volvo’s next large sedan will look like. According to Stefan Jacoby, Volvo’s President and CEO, this means “contemporary Scandinavian design, exquisite craftsmanship and intuitive technology”.
After revealing the Concept Universe earlier this year, Volvo has been hanging around Twitter and Facebook to find out what potential customers really think about its new baby. Of course they’ve done surveys, too, to get feedback on the Concept Universe.
What’s the result of all those helpful Tweets? The Concept You has evolved with a more coupé-like profile than its predecessor, with the front giving a nod towards what the company calls “a more classic Volvo look”. (I don’t think that’s a reference to soccer moms.)
Let’s take a closer look at what Volvo’s “Designed Around You” strategy has done for the Concept You:
- It’s a large, luxurious sedan than combines classic Volvo elegance with “a new, sculpted Scandinavian form language”.
- The Concept You shows how Volvo’s new Scalable Platform Architecture (SPA) can open up dynamic design possibilities — as well as offering technological advantages.
- By including intuitive smart pad technology, Volvo shows it’s ahead of the game in offering “super-functional connectivity features”.
Volvo is keen to sell the idea of luxury and maximum driving pleasure — but without throwing environmental consciousness out of the window. Apparently it’s all about being “intuitive and uncomplicated”.
But once you hear more about the Concept You — hand-tufted wool carpets, hand-crafted walnut interiors and “FreshAir” subwoofer — I bet green is the furthest thought from your mind. It all sounds like the kind of “Scandinavian inspired environment” I could move into.
September 5, 2011
Squaring Up to the Citroën Tubik Concept
Timing is everything. As the kids head back to class, the new Citroën Tubik Concept arrives to turn the routine of the daily school run into a fun-packed adventure.
The Citroën Tubik Concept will make its debut at Frankfurt next week and it’s being billed as a “high-tech executive shuttle”. The word “shuttle” always has dreary airport runway connotations for me, but Citroën’s latest addition to the Multicity project is aiming to put the fun back into travel.
On a historical note, the Citroën Tubik Concept owes a debt to the classic Citroën TUB (it stands for Traction Utilitaire Basse), which later morphed into the Citroën TUC van and then the bestselling Type H.
Measuring 4.80m long, 2.08m wide and 2.05m tall, the Citroën Tubik Concept is a nine-seater, with a “lounge-style cocoon” that’s designed for group road trips. The modular seats offer lots of flexibility and the gadgets include a huge semi-circular screen with surround sound. It sounds as though trips to the cinema would be almost redundant. You could just stay in the cocoon with your mates and enjoy the big screen experience for free.
Inside you can luxuriate in felt seats, silken backrests and even a leather floor (?), but as you can see, it’s also pretty eye-catching on the outside. Two large doors are almost seamlessly integrated into that two-tone exterior — metallic grey with pearlescent white at either end.
While the kids are glued to the big screen, the driver will be stuck in what the designers have dubbed the “cyclotron”. This is a module that incorporates the seat, steering wheel, pedal assembly and curved head-up display in one super-sleek circular form.
Despite its tub-like shape, the Citroën Tubik Concept doesn’t aspire to being a big old gas guzzler. Utilising Citroën’s innovative Hybrid4 technology, and with optimised aerodynamics, this vehicle maintains CO2 emissions at a level comparable to a regular saloon.
With its 22-inch wheels, low rolling resistance tyres and Hydractive suspension technology the Citroën Tubik Concept works very hard to overcome its less than alluring shape.
August 31, 2011
Going Global: the Ford Evos Concept
A new “car of future” seems to arrive almost every week, but the Ford Evos Concept might just be a little different. This four-door, four-seat fastback will make its global debut at Frankfurt, but it’s not just the eye-catching looks that will have everyone talking.
Encouraged by the success of the kinetic design approach used in the Ford Focus and Ford Fiesta, the company is taking the concept upmarket — starting (appropriately) with the Ford Evos Concept. It’s a continuation of the One Ford product strategy that is transforming the brand.
Here at Auto eBid we enjoy translating what manufacturers say about their cars into plain English that our customers can understand. We do love seeing the word “global”, but we don’t want you to lose sight of the important stuff amongst all the meaningless verbiage.
So news that the Ford Evos Concept isn’t just a car but an excuse for a “new exterior and interior design vocabulary” is a bit worrying. Here are a few key points that you might want to brush up on:
- Silhouette innovation. This sounds like a weight-watching plan, but is an indicator of Ford’s highly distinctive profile. In the case of the Ford Evos Concept, what you’re seeing is “sportiness” and “fun to drive”.
- Perceived efficiency. This deceptively dull phrase is a reference to the Concept’s fastback roof profile (it’s aerodynamic!) and the teardrop shape of the car’s lines towards the rear. Character-wise, this car is said to be light on its feet. (Back to the slimming vocabulary again.)
- Technical graphics. OK, this can’t be too confusing, can it? Apparently the Ford Evos Concept is flying the flag for smart technology with its low-profile headlights and tail lamps and an integrated rear exhaust.
- New face of Ford. They really do mean a new face here: the inverted trapezoid grille has been shifted upwards.
Away from all the talk about global design DNA, the Ford Evos Concept also features a state-of-the-art lithium-ion plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain. This will offer the same next-generation performance and fuel economy as the Ford C-MAX Energi, which will arrive in North America in 2012 and Europe in 2013.
August 22, 2011
Liftoff for the New VW up!
August is traditionally the “Silly Season”, and Volkswagen has been getting into the spirit by announcing details of its new range of small cars. The new VW up! (the exclamation point is important) will make its debut at Frankfurt next month, ahead of its European launch in December.
Go on, admit it, that name almost made you spill coffee over the keyboard. That’s just the start, though. There are three versions of this compact four-seater, which has a footprint of just 3.54 x 1.64 metres but a surprisingly large 251 litre boot. The cheapest version is called (wait for it) the VW take-up!, followed by the VW move up! and (if your budget allows) there’s the pricier VW high up!
The launch will include two versions of the VW high up! — the up! black and the up! white. Exclamation marks are known as “screamers” in the newspaper world, and VW’s overenthusiastic use of them is already driving me to distraction. So let’s talk about the vehicle hiding beneath this headline-grabbing name.
The new VW up! will feature a new generation of three-cyclinder petrol engines, with outputs of 60 PS and 75 PS. Combined fuel consumption as a BlueMotion Technology version is 4.2 l/100 km (60 PS) — this includes a Stop/Start system. This version also boasts CO2 emissions of less than 100 g/km. If you’re already wondering about a version with electric drive, it’s in the pipeline. Perhaps they should have a competition to come up with a suitable name . . .
Recent surveys about drivers texting on the move and ignoring red lights emphasise that preventing accidents is more important than ever. So the new VW up! features the optional City Emergency Braking system, which can detect impending collisions at speeds of under 18 mph.
Apart from that capacious boot, the new VW up! offers up to 951 litres of cargo space with the rear seat fully folded. That leaves plenty of room for your PID, which as I’m sure you’re aware stands for Personal Infotainment Device.
This is the first time VW has offered a maps + more system, and it snaps into place above the centre console to cater for all your navigation, communication and entertainment needs. I guess you could say it cheers you up!
August 19, 2011
Ford’s 100 Years in Photos: the Wild Side
All this talk about Ford safety research has left me with an appetite for something a little more light-hearted.
As part of the company’s centenary celebration of manufacturing vehicles in Britain, Ford’s 100 Years in Photos has been offering a glimpse into a fascinating archive.
You won’t spot anyone social networking in these pictures, but I’m not sure the road safety experts would approve.
This ice sculpture from 2006 might have looked cool, but it weighed considerably more than a ton (more like six and a half) and obviously wasn’t fitted with Ford’s Active City Stop.
This manoeuvre demands 100 per cent of your attention, so it’s probably best to upate your Facebook status once you’re back on terra firma.
Proving that Ford’s 100 Years in Photos isn’t just a tale (or even tail) of glamour, innovation and human endeavour. Back in 1953 eating on the hoof was mainly confined to the cow population.
August 16, 2011
Chevrolet’s New Miray and Colorado Rally Concept
The countdown to Frankfurt 2011 continues with a couple of new additions to the Chevrolet stable. GM’s largest global brand is celebrating its centenary this year and what better way to do it than with the new Chevrolet Miray and the Colorado Rally Concept.
At first sight those names don’t trip off the tongue in quite the same way as the Corvette or the Camaro. But let’s give Chevrolet the benefit of the doubt here: it did grow its European market share to 2.5 per cent last year, shifting an impressive 477,194 vehicles in the process. It’s not all about pickup trucks!
The New Chevrolet Miray Roadster Concept
First seen at the Seoul Motor Show earlier this year, the new Chevrolet Miray apparently takes its name from the Korean word for future. Chevrolet Europe’s Wayne Brannon says the car “demonstrates the potential for rescaling and extending today’s propulsion technologies”.
What you’ll probably want to know is that it boasts a couple of front-mounted, battery-powered 15-kW electric motors. Thanks to the Miray’s dual-clutch transmission, the 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-charged engine is smaller than you might expect.
Outside there’s a nod to the much-loved Corvette with the front and rear fenders and the wraparound twin cockpit. Does the “unique diamond shape” of the cabin make it a girl’s best friend? I don’t know, but I like the sound of the Miray’s luxury interior — all brushed aluminium, leather and white fabric. (Just don’t eat chocolate in it.)
Chevrolet Colorado Rally Concept
The Colorado is a more rugged, midsize pickup — designed for the rally raid category. Powered by a 2.8-litre turbo-diesel engine, the Colorado certainly looks the business. The 18-inch wheels are aluminium, fitted with mud terrain tyres, and the suspension system is height-adjustable (up to 50 mm).
If you are planning to take the new Colorado a bit further than the local supermarket, these “interior highlights” might be of interest:
For other Chevy models, check out this page of the AutoeBid site.
May 29, 2011
New Mercedes SLS AMG Roadster Unveiled.
For all you Mercedes fans out there, here is the moment you have all been waiting for. The unveiling of the soft-top version of the Mercedes SLS AMG supercar!
With top speeds of 197mph and the ability to go from 0-62mph in just 3.8 seconds; the Mercedes SLS AMG roadster is sure not to disappoint; planning to make its official debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show this September.
The new Mercedes does not differ greatly from the original coupe, powered by the same 563bhp 6.3-litre V8 engine and with a boot capacity of 173-litres (only 3 short of the coupe).
The fabric roof comes in black, beige or red and is made up of lightweight steel, magnesium and aluminium. It can be controlled by the slick switch on the central armrest and going at speeds of around 31mph, can be opened or closed in a mere 11 seconds.
When it hits UK dealers in November this year, it is set to come in at around £170,000 and comes complete with heated AMG sports seats, sat-nav, black ‘designo’ leather and climate control.
Better start saving the pennies!
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