The all-new 2012 Peugeot 208 hatch is set to continue the success chronicle of the lion-badged French carmaker in the sub-compact segment. Revealed as the successor to the Peugeot 207, the marque intends to leapfrog ahead of its segment competitors.
A few months ago, we had publicised the British auto giant Mini’s intentions of vast expansion with the introduction of their strict two-seater 2012 Mini Coupe. And even while the Coupe has barely been launched here, there seems to be a convertible version of the Coupe unveiled, namely the MINI Roadster.
If you were wondering what that rusted old car in the picture is doing in our news column, you may be surprised to hear that this is going to be one of the show-stealers at the SEMA show in Las Vegas. Dubbed as the Icon Derelict, this beauty from history is a resurrected 1952 Chevrolet Business Coupe Deluxe, enclosing a plethora of mechanics and electronics from the modern era, thanks to Jonathan Ward at Icon, a US-based company better known for rebuilding 4x4s. What we are uncertain of is, whether the discolouration on the body is custom too!
Toyota’s luxury division Lexus is all keen to steal the show at the SEMA 2011 exhibition in Las Vegas, with the debut of the 2013 GS 350 F Sport featuring a unique performance and visual upgrade package. Though no visual extravaganza, the racing-inspired F Sport package does give the GS 350 some aggressive mien.
Mahindra, a leading Indian automaker prominent only in the Indian automotive scene, is probably one of the rarest of brands in the Middle East. Despite attempting to compete with the automotive giants by launching models, like the Scorpio that has won several accolades in India, Mahindra’s failure in the international scene was miserable and inevitable, largely due to the outrageous quality issues, dated styling and horrendous driving experiences. However, Mahindra has now seemingly realised their blooper and gained some sense, apparent from the launch of their all-new visually-stunning XUV500 (read as “5-double-oh”) crossover.
German auto giant BMW has just expanded their line-up of hybrids with the launch of the all-new BMW 5-series-based hybrid, dubbed ActiveHybrid 5.
For those who thought Toyota can only make boring plastic trash, here is the reply. What we see here is a spy-shot of the Lexus LS-F TMG edition which has been reported testing at the Nurburgring.
So after 8 months and over 20,000 km, the Mondeo has departed. In an unanticipated move, I spontaneously decided to sell the Mondeo as the idea of owning a four-wheel drive, which sprouted up from nowhere in a corner of my brain, and had incurably spread all over my mind like cancer in short notice.
Volkswagen has always been known to make some of the best campervans, none of which are offered here in the Middle East, thanks partly to the vast desert terrains and climate, and partly towards the tendency of the customers to opt for SUVs when it comes to choosing a large family hauler. Towards the West, however, there is a good demand for such mini mobile-homes purpose-built for campers; and the Volkswagen California Multivan is one of them.
While most other manufacturers participating in the 2011 Frankfurt International Motor Show, were busy trying to steal the show with their new models sporting glitzy designs and displaying promising concepts, Japanese auto giant Honda seemed to focus on the greener side of things by exhibiting various plug-in hybrid and electric-vehicle concepts, including the yet-to-be-named Jazz-based Honda EV concept.