LEAKED! - Dacia Duster appear in its final form in Romenian forum

One more automotive mystery is over. The series-production Dacia Duster, developed under the codename H79, has appeared with no disguises at the Romenian forum DaciaClub.ro and soon in the pages of Autos Segredos, from our friend Marlos Ney Vidal, who has warned us about the scoop and authorised us to publish the images.



Duster may follow the same dimensions its concept has presented, or else, it can be 4.25 m long, 1.50 m high and 1.64 m wide, with a wheelbase of 2.80 m. Which such a wheelbase, the same one of a full size car, 7 cm longer than a Ford Fusion. That will make this small and low cost SUV be able to carry five or seven people, possibly in different versions, as it happens with Nissan Livina and Nissan Grand Livina, for example. The version that has been photographed must be the five-seater.

Dacia H79 must really adopt the name Duster and be presented at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. Engines are expected to be the petrol units 1.6-litre and 2-litre that are already used by Renault, as well as some diesel options.




If you want to check the images in a bigger way, click below to see the original images, made by "balaurel_cli", in high definition.





Source: DaciaClub.ro via Autos Segredos

Bajaj ULC will also be built in Brazil as a Renault or Nissan

The next Brazilian (and South American) Renault can be the small SUV based on Dacia Duster, but it certainly is not the one that is going to drive more attention. That task is up to Bajaj ULC. According to "The Hindu Business Line", this vehicle, which is expected to be presented in 2012, will be built in Brazil.



It is still not defined whether the new car will wear a Renault or a Nissan badge, but we would bet on Renault because of its dealer network, which is bigger than Nissan's in Brazil. The ULC will cost about US$ 3,000 in India. In Brazil, its price is expected to be at least three times higher than that, what would still make the car amazingly cheap for Brazilian standards.

Bajaj ULC is still under development by Bajaj Auto, Nissan and Renault. The idea is to turn it into a world project, more remarkable by its fuel consumption (about 35 km/l) than by its price. We just hope development to be quicker.




Source: The Hindu Business Line via Indian Autos Blog

LEAK! - Future Renault Clio IV designs appear ahead of official presentation

The future generation of Renault Clio is expected for 2011, when the fourth generation of Nissan Micra will also be revealed. Although there's still a long waiting period for the car, we can already have an idea on its looks due to these images below. They have leaked and present us to a sort of mini Mégane, what makes perfect sense.



While the car looks a lot different from the current Clio, its platform must remain the same one, the B platform, with some evolutions. Engines must follow the same path and present only relevant changes, such as direct injection technology, to take fuel consumption and emissions down.




Source: Car Spy Shots via World Car Fans

What do Qazana and Duster have in common? More than you think

Have a good look at the two cars below and aswer: what do Nissan Qazana and Dacia Duster, two of the main attractions at this year's Geneva Motor Show, have in common?




If you think they do not have anything to do with each other, you are very mistaken, because they do. Although they will probably be very different in appearance when they reach the production lines, they will be very similar from underneath, once they are supposed to share the same platform, B0.

The B0 platform is a simplified version of the B platform, the same one used by Renault Modus and Nissan Tiida/Latio. In other words, both platforms can be built in the same plant with minor differences, so much that they look so similar only a specialist could differ one from the other.

This is why Nissan Livina has been recently presented in Brazil. The South American country already produces Logan and Sandero, badged as Renault vehicles, instead of Dacia. Since Nissan did not have a Brazilian produced car, only a truck, Frontier, it has seized the fact that the B0 platform is already in use in Brazil and have built there its first car. But it will not be the last.

Dacia Duster has been eagerly expected because it anticipates the small SUV that will be produced and probably launched in Brazil. The world premiere must even be in this country, as it has happened with Sandero. This is because Ford has been the first company to present a small SUV in Brazil, called EcoSport. It uses the previous Ford Fiesta platform and sells like hot cakes because it is the only option available in South American countries with that price tag. Renault clearly wants a piece of this market. Apparently, Nissan also does.

Since Duster's production version will be produced in Brazil, Qazana's may be built there as well. It would be something easy and fast to do, offering a car that perfectly fits a market segment that keeps increasing its share. And all this in one of the only car markets of the world that has not been heavily affected by the finantial crisis. Doesn't it sound sweet?

Both cars have different sizes, what may give the impression they do not share the same platform. Duster is 4.25 m long, 1.50 m tall, 1.64 m wide and has a wheelbase of 2.80 m. Qazana, on the other hand, is 4.06 m long, 1.57 m tall, 1.78 m wide and has a wheelbase of 2.53 m. Some means say it will use the new A platform that will be applied to the next generation Micra, but since the current Micra uses the B platform, we keep our bet that Duster and Qazana will have the same platform. We may be wrong, but we don't think we are.

Keep on comparing the two concept cars below. They may be look different, but they will surely be siamese twins.
















Source: Nissan and Renault

Renault presents the new Symbol sedan in Brazil

When Clio Sedan was introduced in Brazil, what was offered to Brazilian customers was a hatchback with an attached luggage compartment in the best way found by Renault with that car. It may have been a satisfactory engineering result, but not even close to that in terms of beauty, even though its owners may like it very much (and they should, even to justify their choice). Now, when the evolution of this car is released in the South American market, we cannot say it is ugly anymore, although many Clio Sedan remains are still found in it. This is what Symbol is all about.



In Brazil, even the entry-level version, called Expression, comes with air conditioning, steering wheel and driver's seat with height adjustment, power windows, power steering, alarm and front airbags. This may sound basic, but Brazilian cars are even more basic than that.

As for the top version of Symbol, called Privilège, the air conditioning has digital commands. It also brings a CD player able to read MP3 and WAV files, 15-inch alloy wheels, power mirrors and a trip computer as standard equipments. ABS only comes as an option.

Symbol is 4.26 m long, 1.44 m tall, 1.67 m wide and has a wheelbase of 2.47 m. It does not share Clio Sedan's platform, but many of its worst features, such as the lack of leg and head room in the back seats and the spare tyre, which is located in the same position it would be on the hatchback, or else, well inside the luggage compartment.

















Source: Renault

Dacia reveals its first concept car, the Duster, in Geneva

The B0 platform, which has already given birth to Dacia Logan line-up and Sandero, was also expected to allow a crossover vehicle. Although it must look a lot different in its production version, we can expect the name to remain the same. Here is the Duster, the first concept car from Dacia, a concept that will turn into reality very soon.



Duster is a 4.25 m long, 1.50 m tall, 1.64 m wide vehicle with an impressive wheelbase of 2.80 m. If it keeps this large measure when it comes to production lines, what is very likely, the car will surely drive a lot of attention, besides selling a lot. That's because it will be cheap, as it has happened with most B0 Dacia products.

Besides the huge space the car offers (there is a 470 l luggage compartment as well), the concept car presents a very daring desing. Its drag coefficient is as low as 0.30, what helps the 1.5 dCi turbodiesel engine deliver 139 g/km of CO2 and a fuel consumption of 18.9 km/l. This engine generates 105 bhp (77 kW) and 240 Nm at 2,000 rpm and is mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox.

Duster can reach 100 km/h in 9.6 s from standstill, what, with its 1,300 kg and its diesel engine, hints a rather spirited behavior, reinforced in appearance by its 21-inch five spoke wheels and 245/35 ZR21 tyres.

The concept car is also one of the only true four-door vehicles of the world that is not a sedan. That's because it does not have two doors on the left side, but only one. At its right side, there are two and the back door is in suicide style, or else, it opens from the middle to the back and is hinged in the C column instead of the B column, as usual.

The production version of this crossover will very likely reach the market in 2010, possibly in Brazil as its first marker, as it has already happened with Sandero. That's because Ford has created a small crossover vehicle called EcoSport that sells like hot cakes and Renault also wants a share of that market segment. A huge one, if possible. And Duster may be the answer for that.





















Source: Renault