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For the 2010 Rabbit, one of Volkswagen’s goals is to keep development costs down. (Photo by KGP Photography)

DEATH VALLEY, Calif. — Spy photographers caught up with the 2010 Volkswagen Rabbit during hot-weather testing in California’s Mojave desert. As expected, it doesn’t appear much different from the current Rabbit, with which it shares a platform, although it is expected to grow a bit.

The Rabbit currently suffers from high build costs, so this version is expected to focus on making the car cheaper to build rather than delivering major design or engineering upgrades.

Expect sales to begin in Europe in 2009 under the Golf name, with U.S. Rabbit sales starting around 2010.

What this means to you: Don’t expect major changes when the “new” Rabbit goes on sale in 2010, as most of the upgrades will be transparent to owners.

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The Toyota ist has been redesigned for Japan for 2008. It’s priced starting just under $14,000 there. (Photo courtesy of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.)

TOKYO — Just as the new Scion xD begins arriving in U.S. dealerships, its Japanese sibling, the Toyota ist, has been redesigned for the home market.

The original ist — which shared sheet metal with the now-discontinued Scion xA — was launched in Japan in May 2002. The five-door hatchback shares its underpinnings with the Toyota Yaris.

The redesigned ist (pronounced “east”) is pitched to “second-generation Baby Boomers” in the Japan domestic market. The Scion xD in North America, like the rest of the Scion lineup, is aimed at roughly the same demographic, Gen-Y buyers in their early to middle 20s.

… Read the rest of this entry

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Peugeot 308RC Z looks nearly production-ready, with one question being whether a production version would be a coupe or a retractable hardtop. (Photo courtesy of PSA)

PARIS — As it prepares to launch its new 308 compact range across Europe, Peugeot has lifted the covers on a 308-based concept for the Frankfurt auto show that suggests the French automaker may be considering a potential competitor to the Audi TT.

Called 308RC Z, the 2+2 coupe shares many of its mechanical underpinnings with the new 308 hatchbacks that begin reaching European dealerships in August.

The design of the sporty two-door appears to be nearly production-ready, although it is not clear if Peugeot would build the vehicle as a fixed-roof coupe or a coupe/convertible with retractable hardtop.

Powering… Read the rest of this entry

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Toyota is still number one, but Korean automaker Hyundai has surged ahead of Porsche and Lexus in the Best Global Brands survey. Pictured: 2007 Hyundai Azera (Photo courtesy of Hyundai Motor Company)

NEW YORK CITY — Hyundai ranked eighth in the new 2007 Best Global Brands survey, racing ahead of such mighty competitors as Porsche, Lexus and Nissan. The study is conducted by Interbrand and Business Week.

Toyota, not surprisingly, was named the number-one automotive brand in the world, followed by Mercedes-Benz. BMW took the number-three spot, followed by Honda, Ford, Volkswagen and Audi. Porsche came in at number nine, followed by Lexus and Nissan.

Toyota’s brand value is estimated at $32.1 billion, while Hyundai’s brand value is pegged at $4.5 billion.

What this means to you: The surprise here is just how much public perception of the Korean automaker has shifted.

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Bob Lutz says the 2008 Malibu should cost about $20,000 for the base model and about $25K for the LTZ V6 model. (Photo courtesy of General Motors Corporation)

DETROIT — General Motors has yet to announce official pricing on its redesigned 2008 Chevrolet Malibu, but GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz gave curious consumers a bit of a heads-up in his latest posting on the GM FastLane blog.

Lutz said he has “two late builds at home for a test drive”: a base four-cylinder with a four-speed automatic transmission and a loaded LTZ V6. He said, “Although we haven’t announced official pricing, it [the base model] will be around 20 grand.” The 2007 Chevrolet Malibu LS starts at $17,865, including a $650 destination charge.

Lutz said the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu LTZ V6 will be priced “in the mid-to-upper $20s, again unofficially.”

The 2007 Chevrolet Malibu… Read the rest of this entry

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Toyota’s MegaWeb showcase in the center of Tokyo proudly displays 13 sedans, 11 minivans, nine hatchbacks, six 4×4s, four station wagons and zero sports cars. Since production of the MR2 went the way of the Supra and the Celica and Soarer fell under the Lexus banner, Toyota has had precious little for car enthusiasts to get excited about.

The situation is so dire that even Toyota’s top brass have noticed. According to the August 26th edition of “Best Car” magazine (Japan is no longer just 16 hours ahead of the US it would seem), the board of directors has created a “Committee to create interesting cars” in response to grass roots criticism that recent Toyotas are uninteresting. Let’s hope that by admitting to having a problem, the company has taken the first step to recovery.

No word about what the committee’s recommendations have been to… Read the rest of this entry

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var digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/design/Peugeot_asks_Parlez_vous_TT_with_308_RC_Z_Coupe_Concept_PICS’; The Audi TT’s shape is the envy of many designers who didn’t think of it first, but that hasn’t stopped Peugeot’s designers from outright aping the Ingolstadt coupe with the 308 RC Z concept that will debut in Frankfurt come September. The car is meant to show us what can be done with the 308 beyond the basic 3- and 5-door body styles, in this case a 2+2 coupe. The front end is unmistakably Peugeot, while everything else reminds us instantly of the Audi TT, with that longish rear deck even evoking the Audi Avus Quattro Concept from 1991.

The 308 RC Z concept is based on the garden variety 308, which allows it to share many bits with its pedestrian sibling and make a better business case for production. In order to reduce weight, however, the 308 RC Z also… Read the rest of this entry

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When updating one of their most popular products, car companies must be very careful not to offend a loyal fan base. Take for instance Subaru’s Impreza WRX loyalists. For the most part, they weren’t very excited about the 2008’s new look.

So, like we said in June, every time a replacement of the 08’s egg crate grille shows up, our hearts flutter a bit. This time it’s in Australia, and Drive.com claims Subaru has listened to complaints and, at least Down Under, will fit a wire mesh grille in front instead of the Dodge Chrysler Sebring-style nose job.

Will the grille come here? Who knows?

Thanks for the tip, Daniel.

[Source:Drive.com]

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Judging by the positive reception the Chinese-marketed Buicks have been receiving here in the States, GM would be ill-advised to continue offering the same warmed-over products that it’s been selling over the past decade. According to Automotive News, the General sees the writing on the wall and intends to go global with the new look of Buick, originally shown at the Shanghai Motor Show in the shape of the Riviera concept.

The idea is to make Buick an affordable luxury brand here in the States, and it has plans on offering a number of new vehicles to the U.S. market that will take on the high-end competitors from Japan.

To begin with, the Excelle, a small sedan, is set to be released sometime in 2008, based off the Alpha platform currently under development in Germany, while the next iteration of the LaCrosse will come in 2009 and… Read the rest of this entry

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HUMMER’s general manager, Martin Walsh, has put all the speculation about the long-rumored HUMMER H4 to rest, telling those assembled at a dealer conference that the truck will be shown in concept form in January at NAIAS as the HUMMER HX. The HX will become the H4, which is set to arrive in 2010 as a 2011 model. After giving up the details, Walsh then showed the dealers the actual HX concept. According to descriptions given to the website Hummer Guy, the 2-door, 4-seat HX rides on a shorter wheelbase and is not as tall as its stablemeates, yet is easily identifiable as a HUMMER, thanks to familial styling cues like the signature grille and glass-to-bodywork ratio. The doors are completely removable, as are the fender flares and roof panels. In addition, the H4 will have an optional slantback that evokes the original Humvee. One person who… Read the rest of this entry