Rumormill Yet Again Lexus GS F is coming

This certainly isn’t the first time we’ve heard rumblings about Lexus working on a performance version of itsGS sedan. The crew at Road & Track reports that the upcoming GS-F will serve as the range-topping trim in the GS model range, set apart from its siblings with not only a more aggressive appearance, but a serious increase in power, to boot.

Sources within Toyota have told the buff book that the GS-F will be powered by a 5.0-liter V8, just like the smaller IS-F, but that output will be increased to 465 horsepower for the larger sedan. The other key ingredient to making the GS-F a serious performer is a substantial reduction in weight. Through the use of aluminum and carbon fiber components, Toyota aims to have the GS-F weigh in at about 3,700 pounds, meaning it should be capable of ripping off 4.5-second 0-60 times.

Toyota is positioning the GS-F to compete with the likes of the BMW M5 and Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG, with prices to start somewhere around the $90,000 to $100,000 range. No official timeframe has been given on when we’ll actually see the GS-F, but R&T states that it could show up as early as 2012, after therefreshed GS range debuts.

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Chrysler’s Marchionne says only one minivan per brand C Max competitor coming

Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne says the automaker plans to only offer one minivan in the future, eliminating either the Chrysler Town and Country or Dodge Caravan by 2013. Additionally, the company is working on a smaller “people mover,” that will go to whichever marque doesn’t retain the minivan.

“If our Project Genesis [a plan to have all Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep showrooms at a single dealership] goes to its conclusion, which is the plan, then it makes no sense to offer consumers two minivans differentiated only by equipment,” Marchionne said in an interview with reporters at the North American International Auto Show.

The smaller “people mover” is being engineered from a new architecture that will underpin several new vehicles in the Fiat and Chrysler lineups. Though Marchionne didn’t get into specifics, the platform is likely to be developed for the Fiat Giulietta, with Chrysler and Fiat engineers planning to expand and adapt the chassis to serve as the basis for a replacement for the Jeep Compass and Patriot, among other vehicles.

Inititally, Marchionne indicated that he would prefer to keep the Dodge Caravan and make the micro-van a Chrysler. In Canada, 80% of the minivan mix is comprised of the Dodge Caravan. But the Town and Country outsells the Caravan in the U.S. and other markets. “We will have to look at the branding, but we are absolutely going to one minivan.” One consideration for Chrysler planners will be that it would be difficult to get the premium price points – over $40,000 for the top-of-the-line Town and Country – for a Dodge branded minivan. LIkewise, it will be difficult to get prices North of 30,000 for even a loaded Chrysler micro-van.

Marchionne also said that both the minivan, and the micro-van would be built at the company’s Windsor, Ontario plant where the minivans are currently produced and designed to compete against the Mazda5 andFord Grand C-Max.

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Qoros Vehicle the Chinese car are coming

We can jump to high or low, the Chinese are coming! Currently in Europe there are still few car manufacturers that vast Asian country, but that will change gradually. Take the Chinese Qoros. This has serious plans with three European tastes cut models.

 At this time we take the few Chinese car brands that currently are not very serious in the "Western" world car. Their cars can not nearly match the seasoned car manufacturers. Not yet. But look at a Chinese car five years ago and one of nowadays and you probably arrange for the steps they have taken.

Geneva
Qoros, a Chinese car brand that was founded in 2007 after a joint venture between the Chinese Chery and Israel Corporation, thinks its ready to be competitive and at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show they mean to prove. In early March 2013, they were in Switzerland their first of a total of three new models (preliminary) reveal. The other two will follow, but thats going to come up with a modern, European-inspired design and modern conveniences. Or so claims Qoros. To want to switch vendors will certainly not lie, because on the list no shortage names like Magna Steyr, Continental, Bosch, Valeo and Microsoft. And the fledgling automotive brand also plays immediately on safety by claiming that all of its products to the highest step of the independent EuroNCAP crash tests will end. We are curious.

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2012 Honda Civic coming in April all variants to launch in quick succession

A Civic for everyone. That was Soichiro Honda’s motto when rolling out the original Civic, and it’s one to which his company intends to stick with the launch of the next-generation model. When the all-new 2012 Civic is launched in April, Honda will roll out a whole variety of body and propulsion configurations within mere weeks of each other, instead of letting months pass between the debut of one model to the next.

Among those variants, we can expect both a sedan and a coupe, with several conventional gasoline engines on offer – including natural gas and hybrid versions – as well as the sporty Civic Si.

The new Civic, previewed recently at the Detroit Auto Show, was slated to debut in 2009. But when the global economy started going south, Honda sent the design back to the drawing board for a nearly complete overhaul before it ever saw the light of day. The result is expected to be much roomier than the current model, though the exterior design hasn’t changed all that much.

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