Blog on 2040Parts

Peugeot 308

Despite the continuation of the nameplate – unique in the company's recent history – this Peugeot 308 is an all-new competitor in the European C-segment hatchback market. The new 308 sits on PSA's new EMP2 modular platform, which will underpin future Peugeot and Citroën C- and D-segment cars in much the same way as the VW Group's MQB chassis. The upshot for the designers is its flexibility, specifically in terms of proportions.

Domestic brands top latest consumer satisfaction survey

Volkswagen Group and Ford Motor Co. fared well among automakers in an annual study released Monday measuring quality and how deeply consumers feel about a new car or light-truck purchase after several months of ownership. And for the first time in over a decade, domestic automakers, led by GM, topped foreign brands in individual product segments surveyed by Strategic Vision, a California research and consulting firm.

Toyota Auris Hybrid emissions cut to 84g/km

We’ve long believed that car makers better serve their customers by offering ‘Green’ options as add-ons to regular car models, and adding the hybrid option from the Prius to the Auris has seen Auris sales climb steeply whilst Prius sales drop off. There’s only so many buyers who want to shout their green halo from the rooftops, so incorporating green technologies in the regular range opens up far more possibilities for a sale. Now, with the Auris Hybrid sales growing by 69 per cent year on year in the UK, Toyota has had a play to make the Auris Hybrid even more efficient.

Tesla Model S outsells Mercedes & BMW say CNN. Rubbish.

We don’t have much time for the push to make the electric car a replacement for the ICE car. But we do applaud – and covet – the Tesla Model S for its technical ability and performance. And its tax breaks.

Rolls Royce sponsors Bloodhound 1000mph World Speed Record attempt

The last time we had news about a sponsor for the Bloodhound 1000mph World Record attempt aproject, it was all about a carbon off-set company sponsoring the project with off-set credits so the speed record project could claim to be carbon neutral. This time, it’s something of proper value to the project. Rolls Royce – the plane people, not the car people – are supplying their EJ200 jet engine from the Eurofighter Typhoon – and technical support – which will be bolted in Bloodhound to get it up to 350mph before a rocket engine takes over and thrusts it on past 1000mph.

Lamborghini Urus SUV confirmed to arrive in 2017

The Urus will be VW Group’s lightest and quickest SUV – expected to best even the Porsche Cayenne Turbo – and will be built on VW’s new large SUV platform – the same platform that will underpin the Bentley Falcon SUV, Audi Q7 (and Audi Q9) and Porsche Cayenne – and will use a forged carbon composite structure from the central tunnel to the rear suspension to save weight. Power for the Urus is expected to come from the twin-turbo V8 we’ve already seen in the Bentley Continental GT and Audis, producing something in the region of 600bhp and perhaps even more if Lamborghini add a hybrid option to throw some electric assistance at the V8′s 600 horses. It seems likely the Urus concept will remain largely unchanged for production, although we could see some toning down of its more extreme elements, as Lamborghini look to add 3,000 sales a year to their annual total when the Urus hits showrooms.

BMW are rolling out their ‘BMW Genius’ programme across UK dealers

Even when you’re immersed in the latest car news day in and day out, it’s often quite tough to keep up with the new technologies car makers are offering, so many buyers must struggle to know exactly what their options are. That should be a job for the car salesman, but most car salesmen only worry about explaining how good the deal is and how it’s better than any other deal, so buyers often come away with a car that doesn’t fit their needs as well as it could. But with fewer new car buyers really wrapped up in performance and dynamics and more interested in the tech behind the wheels, BMW has been trying out an idea borrowed from Apple Stores by employing ’BMW Geniuses’ at 10 of their UK dealerships to explain the advantages of much of their technology to customers.

918 a match for Ferrari and McLaren in corners, says Porsche

Had you forgotten about the third contender in the hybrid supercar wars, given the furious competition betwen Ferrari and McLaren? Porsche’s hybrid 918 Spyder is that third competitor, which mates a 4.6-litre normally aspirated V8 to an 84bhp front-drive electric motor and a 127bhp EV motor helping drive the rear tyres. It costs £768,026, and though Porsche won’t quite admit as much, you can still buy one of the 918 being produced - unlike the sold-out LaFerrari.

HSV GTS/Vauxhall VXR8 (2013) first pictures of new Aussie M5

This is the new HSV GTS: all 577bhp of it. The V8-powered supersaloon has had a supercharger bolted onto its 430bhp engine, taking power from BMW M3 levels to the same poke as a Mercedes E63 AMG S. Plus, there's a new exterior and cabin design.

New 2015 Honda NSX – Made in America

The new Centre – costing $70 million, stretching to 184,000 square feet and housed inside Honda’s old logistics facility – will employ 100 of Honda’s most skilled workers in Ohio to bolt the new NSX together, and even the engine will be assembled at Honda’s engine plant in Anna, Ohio. Not only has Honda revealed where the US-designed NSX will be built, but they’ve appointed their R&D chief engineer, Ted Klaus, to lead the team developing the new NSX and Clement D’ Souza, associate chief engineer at Honda USA, to head up production. Ted Klaus said: This new plant will be as unique as the vehicle we will build here.

2014 BMW M5 facelift leaked – by BMW’s own website

Fortunately, the BMW news specialists at BimmerPost were on the ball and managed to get some screen-grab photos of the new M5 before BMW realised their mistake, so we get to see what BMW has planned for the M5, and probably a guide to what the facelift for the rest of the 5-Series range will offer. The changes aren’t huge, and as far as we can see all that’s going on is a bit of influence from the M6 and 6-Series in general, with a new kidney grill that looks like the 6 Series, and a steering wheel looks like that on the new M6 too, together with the latest iDrive controller. The leaked images don’t tell us what BMW are planning under the bonnet of the facelifted M5, but it’s not too much of a stretch to expect a Competition Package for the M5 to give it similar clout to the new Mercedes E63 AMG S.

NHTSA investigates Ford Super Duty for steering problem

Federal U.S. safety officials are investigating about 340,000 copies of the 2008 Ford F-250 and F-350 Super Duty pickup trucks for a reported steering problem. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received five complaints that an internal failure of the steering gear box results in a complete loss of steering control.

Mitsubishi subcompact hinted for US

Desperate for new models to bolster their limited lineup, Mitsubishi dealers recently got a glimmer of hope with news that an entry-level sedan may arrive stateside in 2015. The dealers were shown a rendering of the subcompact at the brand's regional dealer meetings held during the first two weeks of April, according to attendees and Mitsubishi Motors North America. The company told dealers it is targeting a 2015 release for the vehicle, attendees said.

Tesla Model S outsells luxury competition

As if Tesla needed any more good news this month, first-quarter sales are in and the electric Model S outsold the Mercedes S-class, Audi A8 and BMW 7-series, according to “CNN Money.” In the first three months of 2013, Tesla sold 4,750 sedans while Mercedes sold 3,077 of the S-class, BMW sold 2,338 of the 7-series and Audi sent 1,462 A8s out of the dealership. The Model S does have its sticker price going for it. The base model can be had for $69,900 -- possibly less with tax incentives -- while the cheapest S-class goes for $93,255, the 7-series for $74,525 and the A8 for $73,095.

2014 Acura ILX priced at $27,795

The 2014 Acura ILX sedan will cost $27,795 when it goes on sale on Tuesday, including an $895 destination charge. The premium package adds $3,200 while the technology package adds $4,700. A six-speed manual can also be specified.

A.B. Shuman: 1941-2013

Arnold Baer Shuman, better known as “A.B.,” the former Naval Aviator and hot-rodder who was generally considered to be the auto industry's best product public-relations man, died suddenly Friday at his home in Hillsdale, N.J. He was 72. The cause of death was not announced.

Chrysler recalls Jeep Grand Cherokee, Commander

Chrysler is recalling more than 295,000 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Commander SUVs in the United States for an electrical problem that could cause the vehicles to shift into neutral unintentionally. Chrysler has received 26 reports of crashes and two injuries related to the problem. The Jeep Grand Cherokees are from model years 2005-2010 while the Commanders were from years 2006-2010.

Experts predict nine-, 10-speed transmissions to dominate in North America

In March, luxury maker Land Rover proudly told an audience at the Geneva auto show that it would soon bring to market the industry's first nine-speed transmission. One month later, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors announced that they would jointly develop 10-speeds.

One Lap of the Web: Buick Hellcats, Ford's five-dollar workday and a new look for the Lotus Seven

We spend a lot of time on the Internet -- pretty much whenever we're not driving, writing about or working on cars. Since there's more out there than we'd ever be able to cover, here's our daily digest of car stuff on the Web you may not otherwise have heard about. -- Petrolicious asks a tough question we don't mind answering: Would you rather have a 1956 Facel Vega FV2B or a 1962 Maserati 3500 GT by Touring?

Jaguar F-Type lands in the lap of the 2013 Playboy Playmate of the Year

It does seem like Jaguar have decided that association of the F-Type with high-profile public faces is a good way to get the F-Type a few headlines, so we’ve had Lana del Rey singing her heart out in the F-Type cause, Damian Lewis acting his socks off for the F-Type’s Desire film and a plethora of faces associated with Jaguar’s Mille Miglia outing this year, where they’ve managed to get the F-Type front and centre and firmly bolted on to Jaguar’s Heritage outing. Now it’s the turn of Raquel Pomplun to raise the profile of the new F-Type a little higher, as Hugh Hefner has gifted her $100k and the use of an F-Type for a year as part of her prize for being crowned Playmate of the Year. Ms Pomplun may have preferred the F-Type as an outright gift – rather than a year long lease – but at least she’ll have the chance to parade round sunny California with the top down for 12 months.

Volvo’s new VEA family of four-cylinder engines starts production

As a result, Volvo has been planning a new range of four-cylinder engines to power their range in the future – the new Volvo Engine Architecture (VEA) – and has spent the last couple of years readying their design – and their facility in Skövde – to start production. And now it’s underway. Together with Volvo’s Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) the new VEA engines will be a core part of every new Volvo before too long, and will replace the five and six cylinder engines Volvo currently uses and will provide more power than current six-cylinder engines with economy and emissions better than current four-cylinder engines.

New Peugeot 308 (2014) revealed ahead of debut at 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show

The new Peugeot 308 - revealed this morning ahead of a debut at Frankfurt in September and an on sale date in the UK of January 2014 – moves the 308 further towards the sector leaders with a new car – built on PSA’s new EMP2 platform – that’s a bit shorter and a bit lower than the old 308, and looks a lot slicker. The nose of the new 308 is lower than before and it sports Peugeot’s new, more refined, grill with slime LED headlights and manages to look like a convincing big brother to the new 208, with elements borrowed from the Onyx Concept too with the back end sporting LEDs that create three ‘Lion Claws’ in their graphic (like the Jaguar XJ). Inside, Peugeot have created what they call an ‘i-cockpit’ layout with a big centre console featuring a 9.7″ touchscreen that takes the place of most of the buttons you used to get, allowing Peugeot to create a dash with a sleek and uncluttered feel and heads-up instruments.

Lamborghini Egoista concept

To celebrate the 50th birthday of Sant'Agata's most famous export, Volkswagen Group Design Director Walter de Silva led a team in the creation of the wild Lamborghini Egoista concept. "I am very attached to this Italian brand, being an Italian myself," said de Silva at its unveiling. "I wanted to pay homage to and think up a vehicle to underline the fact that Lamborghinis have always been made with passion, and with the heart more than the head." This single-seat, V10-powered sportscar – with Alessandro Dambrisio responsible for its exterior design and Stefan Sielaff its interior – is an extreme interpretation of the faceted aesthetic introduced by the 2007 Reventón and last seen on the Veneno shown earlier this year at the Geneva motor show.

Mercedes E 63 AMG S: UK price from £83,740

The E63 AMG S is the extreme version of what is already an extreme car in the E63, with a power boost that takes it from 549bhp to 577bhp – and throws in an extra 60lb/ft of torque for good measure too – and promises real extreme performance. The problem is, getting that power down to the road. In left hand drive markets that’s solved by simply offering the Mercedes 4WD option – 4MATIC – which does a much better job of transferring power to the road than the regular RWD layout.

Peugeot 308 (2014) first pictures of Peugeot's new Focus-fighter

This is Peugeot's all-new family hatchback: the 308. Yep, that's right: Peugeot isn't rolling over to the '309' moniker, but don't be fooled: the new 308's design looks worlds apart from the off-the-pace outgoing car. Sticking with the same model names for all future cars will simplify the range for consumers, reckons Peugeot: it's a demonstration of the fightback to rebuild the brand's image (think Ford ditching the 'Escort' badge and sticking with 'Focus' instead). The new 308 is 140kg lighter than before, more economical and gets a totally rethought cabin.

Mercedes E63 AMG S (2013) priced from £83,470

Mercedes has announced the hottest E-class you can buy, the E63 AMG S, will cost from £83,470 in the UK from June 2013. In uprated 'S' guise, the 577bhp/580lb ft exec saloon monster can only be ordered with 4Matic all-wheel drive in left-hand drive markets, but the UK gets only rear-drive cars. CAR has already tried the E63 AMG S in 4Matic form: click here for our full review.

VW Amarok Power Pick-Up (2013) first pictures of super-truck concept

This the the VW Amarok Power Pick-Up concept car. After the 496bhp Golf GTI 'Design Vision', Seat racers, Skoda Rapid Sport and Audi's stripped TTS, you'd have been forgiven for thinking we'd seen the last of 2013's tuned VWs, but instead we've got an Amarok that'll hit 62mph in just 7.9sec. What gives the VW Amarok Power Pick-Up its, erm, power?

Lamborghini Egoista (2013) first official pictures

Lamborghini's latest birthday present to itself is this: the crazy-looking Egoista concept. The one-off Egoista follows the Veneno and Aventador Anniversario in paying tribute to Lamborghini's 50th year in the supercar business, and is the most radical looking yet – it's so exclusive Lambo isn't even considering putting it up for sale. Is the Egoista just a bodykitted Gallardo?

2013 Volkswagen Passat R-Line & new 1.4 TSI arrive

The Volkswagen range is hugely successful and largely appealing, but it’s not always the most dynamic looking range of cars on offer. Which is why the R-Line option of fairly understated sporty add-ons is so popular and why VW is offering it on more and more of its range. Now we get the VW Passat R-Line treatment (just as we did with the old Passat) with a bespoke body kit offering more butch bumpers front and back – and cornering fogs in the front bumper – side skirts, 18″ Kansas alloys, spoiler at the back, lowered suspension, extra chrome, Bi-xenon headlights with LED running lights and privacy glass to give the Passat a much more appealing look.

Lamborghini Egoista revealed at Lamborghini’s 50th Anniversary celebrations UPDATED

The Lamborghini Egoista (which translate as the Lamborghini ‘Selfish’) gets its name because it is designed as a single seater, purely for the pleasure of the driver. Designed by Walter De Silva, the Egoista sports dramatic styling that is said to be inspired by the Apache helicopter (and isn’t entirely successful – the Apache looks better) and extensively uses carbon fibre with a canopy that can be removed for real single-seat fresh air thrills. Power comes from the Gallardo’s 5.2 litre V10, although so far all Lamborghini has done is release a single photo of the Egoista (above), so we don’t yet know whether the Egoista will be a one-off special like the Aventador J, a short run at silly prices like the Veneno or just a concept that will never see the light of day again.