Ford presents the iosis MAX, the European Ford Fusion replacement

Ford has just presented the official pictures of one of its main attractions at the Geneva Motor Show. Called iosis MAX, this new concept car anticipates the next European Ford Fusion, a small minivan based on Ford Fiesta.



The concept car, as Ford Verve, has no B column. It is powered by a direct injection petrol 1.6-litre EcoBoost engine able to generate 180 bhp. That alone saves up to 20% in fuel, but iosis MAX also counts on Auto-Start-Stop system, which turns the engine off in traffic jams and turns it back on when the driver releases the brake pedal or presses the gas pedal. Add a Powershift gearbox (the name Ford gives to its dual clutch automated gearbox) to this and you should have a very clean vehicle, even if powered by a combustion engine.

Ford plans to start offering all these systems in its vehicles in 2010. This is the year in which it will turn iosis MAX into the new European Ford Fusion.



Source: Ford

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

Magna Steyr shows it is able to produce an electric car with Mila EV

The biggest supplier of the world, Magna Steyr, is even capable of supplying production, as it does for Mercedes-Benz and Chrysler. At this year's Geneva Motor Show, the company will present Mila EV, a fully electric car. Check it below:



The car is powered by an electric engine that generates 67 bhp (49 kw) and by lithium-ion batteries that can be entirely recharged in 2.5 hours. The range of the car is 150 km.

Magna Steyr does not plan to produce the car, but to produce and supply some of its parts to automakers. Ford, for example. Being a supplier must be a nice thing, afterall. Especially the biggest.

Source: Autonews.com via World Car Fans

Chevrolet Volt meets its siblings, Opel Ampera and Holden Volt

You readers of MotorTips already know Chevrolet Volt is one of GM's highest bets in history. And it is so high GM has just revealed it will be planetary bet, since Volt will probably reach the market with all its siblings, Opel Ampera and Holden Volt. So far.





All these recent presentations reveal GM's strategy for the Voltec powertrain: scale. A lot of scale, in order to make components as cheap as possible in the smallest period of time. Especially after a stupid study has said electric cars with extended range are not economically viable, as if any new technology was not considered to be impossible or unworthy to implement. Petrol once was said to be exactly this. And dangerous.

Both Ampera and the Australian Volt will follow on the steps of Chevrolet's, or else, they will be able to run 60 km only on their ion-lithium batteries charge. This range is enough for 78% of North-American drivers not to use a single drop of fuel in their daily needs, as well as Australian and European folks.

If the battery power gets too low, a combustion engine (Family-0, three-cylindre, 1.4-litre, turbocharged) acts like a generator and feeds electricity to the batteries in order to power the 150 bhp, 370 Nm electric engine that moves Volt ahead. With this generator, Volt can run up to 1,030 km and save 1,900 litres of fuel every year. This combustion engine will be able to use petrol or E85.

The sad part is that Volt and its siblings will only be sold in 2010, maybe even later, in the first quarter of 2011. In the meantime, its design may get older, especially if the car continues to appear so often. Opel's design, as usual, looks a lot better than Chevrolet's. Anyway, we already know what to expect: a 4.40 m long, 1.80 m wide and 1.43 m tall notchback with a wheelbase of 2,69 m and 301 l of luggage capacity. Top speed is limited at 161 km/h, to preserve the batteries' charge. For all of them, very likely


















Source: GM

New generation of VW Polo appears outside of Palexpo

The fifth generation of VW Polo will really appear at this year's edition of Geneva Motor Show. This is what the picture below, taken from one of the walls of Palexpo, in Geneva, has confirmed, although we still cannot say much about the car from it. The most important information, nonetheless, is there: the new Polo is coming!



Built over the new PQ25 platform, the same one used by Skoda Fabia and Seat Cordoba, the new Polo will probably have sedan and station wagon versions, not necessarily in Europe, but surely in other places where the car is built, such as Brazil.

Engines will probably be the same ones offered for Seat Ibiza: three petrol units (a three-cylindre 1.2-litre producing 70 bhp or 51 kW, a four-cylindre 1.4-litre that generates 85 bhp or 63 kW and a four-cylindre 1.6-litre that pumps out 105 bhp or 77 kW) and three turbodiesel powerplants (a 1.4-litre generating 80 bhp or 59 kW and a 1.9-litre that has two different outputs: 90 bhp or 66 kW or 105 bhp or 77 kW). Geneva will soon reveal one of its biggest secrets. It has already given us a hint on one of its walls, but we want more!

Source: AutoWeek.nl via LeBloAuto