Fiat has upgraded the heart of the Fiat 500 to a 1.3 liter Multijet 2 diesel engine, which is more powerful, more fuel efficient, and emits less greenhouse gasses. Talk about improvement! The old engine produced only 75 hp, while the new one gets 95, and improves mileage from 67 mpg to 72 mpg — take that, Prius!
The new Opel CEO, Nick Reily, has unveiled a massive restructuring plan for the struggling German brand. The five year plan will cost $15 billion and will cut over 8,300 jobs, both in manufacturing and administrative sectors. Opel plans to kick start the restructuring plan by introducing 8 new modes in 2010 alone.
Ford has unveiled the Transit Connect Electric — an all electric van based on their TC, which was the North American Truck of The Year. Powered by a 28-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion batter pack, the van will sport a range of 80 miles, with a top speed of 75 mph.
Yesterday we posted about the jackass driver, this video however, shows the driver and instruction manage to argue (quite amusingly) during the entire lap, and he drives quite well while doing it, and actually manages to pass a few cars as well.
The Ford Ranger is one of the longest running production trucks in the world, and one of the best selling ones: over its 30 year lifespan, the truck has sold over 7 million units. Sadly however, Ford has announced that the production will cease next year, and will be replaced by the much newer F100.
The Ford GT is already one of the most iconic and beautiful cars today, even though production ceased a few years ago. The Matech GT1 racing version of it, however, actually manages to look even more bad ass. Oh, and it’s faster too.
According to AutoBlog, the Citroen DS3-R will indeed make its debut at the Geneva Auto Show next month. The DS3-R, in addition to its raw looks, sports a 1.6-liter turbocharged engine which produces 200 hp. The car does 0-60 mph in 6.8 seconds, while the top speed is unknown (and likely limited). Pricing and availability unknown.
The Volvo S60 has been the flagship best seller for Volvo for a number of years, and the 2011 editions finally rings some new looks to the S60. As you can see above, a completely redesigned front, middle and back, not to mention the interior, which has undergone a change as well. Expect the full revelation at Geneva in March.
We love those photographers with their long lenses and sneaky attitudes, who manage to take spy shots of upcoming cars, even if they’re covered by layers of plastic. Like the 2012 Mercedes S-class, which you can see above. More spy shots here.