What's New - January 2006

Volvo S80     Volvo has released pictures of the second-generation S80, a model series which when first launched in 1998 revived the Swedish brand with less slab-like, more expressive styling. This new model evolves those themes, and with it now carries Volvo's compact V8 that first appeared in the XC90 SUV last year. With 315PS put to the road through all four wheels, it will be Volvo's spearhead for penetrating the crucial American market and luring 35,000 new owners each year.

Venturi America

Following on from the low-slung Fetish EV sports car, Venturi has released this, the America. Utilizing the same 300bhp equivalent battery powertrain, the America evolves the Fetish's technologies and looks to the future of the small-scale French manufacturer. The bespoke carbon monocoque chassis forms part of the America's bodywork, with the rest being made up of two separate deformable 'cells'.

Baby Range Rover confirmed in Land Rover shake-up

By Phil McNamara Motor Industry 24 September 2009 11:08 The shake up at Jaguar/Land Rover continues, with a consolidation of the brands’ Midlands manufacturing facilities announced alongside plans for more vehicles. The headline news is that Land Rover’s Solihull factory and Jaguar’s Castle Bromwich plant will be amalgamated over the next 10 years. JLR promises there will be no compulsory redundancies, and the industrial logic is compelling: consolidating production of the Range Rover/Discovery and XJ/XK/XF lines will bring around 200,000 vehicles together under one roof – still 100,000 fewer cars than Mini builds a year down in Oxford. The move will reduce JLR’s fixed costs, provide room to grow and give greater flexibility to meet the natural ebb and flow of demand. JLR has also confirmed production of the LRX, the baby Range Rover.