The trend is clear in the auto industry: fuel efficiency and greener cars. Especially in the power hungry US the tides are really changing. Diesels are now cool, smaller engines sell better. First BMW announced that the new BMW M5 will get a turbo V8 replacing the NA V10 it has now as they are quite pleased with the turbos they have now.

Audi is also getting with the program and the new RS4 will get a V6 turbo instead of the current NA V8. It will be an improved version if the 3.0L V6 powering the S6 expected to put out at around 350 hp. Audi is claiming that the reason for the change was to get better low end torque but I think it’s marketing sweet talk. The market for gas guzzling V8’s is shrinking and car makers have to adapt.
While fuel efficiency is good for everyone it’s not exactly the greatest age to be a car enthusiast.

Source: CAR Magazine

The rumors about the upcoming 2010 Cayman and Boxer appear to be true. The design is, as always, just incremental which, for Porsche, is a good thing. It isn’t sure that this is in fact the official design so there’s no reason to get to deep in to it. Suffice to say it looks good.

The more interesting changes are under the bonnet because, apparently, the S versions of the Boxter and Cayman will be getting Direct Injection, the same as their older brother the 911, which should bump the power up to 320 hp for the Cayman with the Boxter falling 10 hp short. They’ll also be getting Porsche’s new 7 speed semi-auto gearbox the PDK along with a limited-slip differential for good measure.

A 25 hp increase along with a new gearbox doesn’t seem to much performance wise, considering that the 911 will also get them. But the rumor is that the reason the current generation didn’t get LSD even as an option was because it’s performance was to close to the 911 already. Now with the same gearbox, LSD, and almost as powerful engine as the Carrera but on a lighter and nimbler car the Cayman may actually be faster than the 911 while also significantly cheaper. These are just speculations at the moment and the very fact that it may be faster than the 911 with these upgrades make me a little cautious as to the truthfulness of these claims. We’ll have to wait and see but if they are true the Cayman will be one hell of a buy.
Read More: "Speculated: 2010 Porsche Cayman"

Bugatti, currently a part of the VAG group, has to recover some more of it’s huge investment developing the Veyron because right now the Veyron is being sold at a loss. Just look at all the “special edition” Veyrons out there. But special editions can only get you so far. So Bugatii is planning to launch a Targa version and apparently it’s being unveiled at the 2008 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

The Targa will get a glass removable hardtop, as well as a retractable soft fabric roof. The hardtop can’t be stored inside the car either, because of space issues. Losing it’s top it also lost some of it’s rigidity so some changes were made to stiffen it up. But that adds weight so the doors and hood will be carbon-fiber. Even with the changes a convertible can’t take the 407 km/h top speed so that’s limited to 350 km/h (217 mph) still making it the fastest open top car in the world.

In a recent marketing ploy Chevrolet put up a billboard, in London, covered in one-pence coins. 769,500 pence to be exact, the actual price of the Aveo. The ad was designed to grab attention and it certainly succeeded. A little too much attention actually as the money only lasted for 30 minutes before they were picked clean. While certainly not unexpected even not unintended the Chevrolet folks hoped it would last a little more than 30 minutes.

Here’s what Chevrolet’s Les Turton had to say: “There have been some great car adverts before, but none that has stopped traffic and actually put money back into the motorist’s pocket so this is certainly a first. We’re glad we’ve topped up lots of people’s wallets, purses and, in some cases, rucksacks, but it would have been nice for the billboard to last a little longer than 30 minutes.”

More photos after the jump.
Read More: "Chevrolet Aveo billboard doesn’t last the hour"

The Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione is certainly one the best looking cars around and, in my opinion one of the most beautiful cars of all time. And with the 450hp V8 borrowed from Maserati it’s also a very fast one. With the initial run of 500 coupes almost over and another 500 convertibles planed after that it’s a pretty exclusive car too.

It’s got the looks, the power and the exclusivity so how you’d think that Alfa would be pleased. Well, apparently, they weren’t as they’re planing an 8C that’s faster more exclusive and, though hard to believe, maybe even better looking the 8C GTA. They’re hoping to shed 150kg while also squeezing 50 more hp bringing the total to a nice round 500 hp. They’re also only making 100 of them just in time for Alfa’s 100th birthday in 2010. I guess that would make pretty nice birthday present.

With a roumored 8C 2 maybe based on the upcoming Ferrari California (we’ll have to see what Ferrari has to say about that) I’d say Alfa is doing pretty well these days.

The new Ford Focus RS was announced and will be available to the public in 2009. The public unveiling will be at the London Motor Show later this year. The Focus already looks great but all the visual modifications make it really hot. Widened body, new front and rear bumpers and a bunch of other mods complete the look but what’s under the hood is what’s important.

And what’s under the hood, at least on paper, is pretty impressive. A turbocharged 2.5 liter 5 cylinder putting out 295 hp and 410 Nm. That’s a lot of power, a lot more than most hot-hatches, but it’s only going to the front wheels. Weight was apparently a big influence in not going for a 4 wheel drive but I’m guessing price was an even more important one. Ford assures us that they handled the handling with the help of a “special” suspension system and the limited-slip differential but that remains to be seen when the first road tests pop up.

The Focus RS looks good on paper and if Ford can keep the price down it may have a winner in the, pretty crowded, hot hatch market. It certainly has the looks. Now if only Ford US was doing so well as it’s European division. But we know the Focus is making it’s way stateside and most likely the RS too.

More photos after the jump.
Read More: "Official: 2009 Ford Focus RS"

Dacia, Renault’s economical brand, unveiled the refreshed Logan, dubbed the New Logan, which sports some interior and exterior changes as well as some minor mechanical upgrades.
The Logan has proven quite a success and the only thing keeping it back in some european markets was it’s rather ugly design. The facelift set out to make it look a little better and for the most part it succeeded though no miracles were expected.

There is a new front facia more in line with the also new Sandero, and redesigned taillights and bonnet. The interior gets the Sandero dash as well as some of it’s trimmings. It also gets a new Bosh 8.1 ABS as well as a slightly longer wheelbase. No changes on the engine side but a 105hp dCI engine is rumored. All of the prices will remain the same though that was somewhat expected.

A full list of changes below:
- front fascia
- front and rear bumper
- tailgate and lamps
- dashboard from the Sandero
- upholstery in 4 versions
- drivers seat height adjust
- steering wheel also from the Sandero
- side mirrors
- ABS Bosch 8.1 with EBD and EBA
- wheelbase increased by 7 mm
- 3 new colors

More photos after the jump.
Read More: "Dacia Logan facelift"

Photos of the upcoming 2009 BMW 7 series popped up all over the net so we can assume that an official press release is imminent and is due perhaps over the weekend. The Bangle design of the current generation 7 series was almost controversial with opinions going only in the hate it or love it categories. I for one loved the quirkiness of the design so I’m sad to see the the next generation will be a lot more tame and unassuming, though this wasn’t entirely unexpected especially after the 2006 facelift.

BMW’s have never been ugly but they never stood out to much either, perhaps in true German manufacturer tradition. That all changed with the current generation Bangle designed BMW’s first the 7 series then the 5 and 3 which you couldn’t help but notice.

It seems that BMW is done experimenting as the new 7 series is much more mainstream. That is not to say it’s not good looking. The general line is simple and elegant, the headlamps are much more like what we are used to in any other car though the taillamps are a bit odd. The whole thing has a sort of american feel much in the way of the Mercedes C-class.

The interior is what you would expect form the top of the line of a German luxury car with leather and wood as far as the eye can see. There is also a redesigned iDrive one that will hopefully give it’s owners less headaches as the first iDrive introduced in the current generation was notoriously frustrating.
We’ll probably get the official word in a few days and hopefully more photos but from what we already have we can see that, while it won’t win any design awards, the new 7 series will feel right at home parked in front of your estate or office building.

More photos after the jump.
Read More: "2009 BMW 7 series photos leaked"

Several years ago VW unveiled a car capable of doing 1 liter per 100 kilometers properly named the “one-liter”. Everything went quiet after the initial presentation but in the current eco-friendly, mileage conscious environment VW apparently decided it was time to begin production of the one-liter even if a limited one. The initial concept vehicle was able to do better than the goal of 1 liter per 100 kilometers and was rated at 0.83 liters per 100 kilometers or 282 miles per gallon. Impressive. The production version will apparently get a two cylinder diesel and possibly a hybrid drive.

In order to get that fuel economy VW has resorted to some rather drastic measures. The passengers sit one behind the other, motorcycle style, and the whole car has an aerodynamic tear-shape. In order to keep the weight down all the panels are built from carbon-fiber on top of a magnesium frame ensuring a weight of only 300kg. This along with the low height has got some people concerned about safety. The one-liter has 4 wheels so at least that should calm some fears. A trike can be classified as a bike so it doesn’t have to pass the same safety standards as a car. It also has the basic safety equipments we have come to expect ABS/ESP, airbag but then it better have considering the expected price in the range of 30.000.

Even at that price VW is expected to sell the car at a loss a la Veyron, hence the limited production numbers maybe even in the hundreds, although they hope to get some sort of government tax cuts or incentives.

While this may be little more then a publicity stunt, and will not in itself have a real impact on car pollution, it is a first step and it will get people noticing. A two seater may not be very practical for to many but a four seater with a very aerodynamic body and low weight may be entirely possible without sacrificing much of the fuel efficiency and introducing that type of car in, say, 2013-2015 could prove a real success so maybe VW is on to something.

More photos after the jump.
Read More: "VW still planning to launch one-liter car, possibly in 2010"