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Volvo XC90 proves to be a crowd-drawer as Volvo sales increases

* Global retail sales of 38,128 cars in July

* Europe up 10.5 per cent boosted by Germany and Sweden

* More than 52,000 orders globally for the new Volvo XC90

* Volvo Philippines eager for XC90 arrival

The future looks positive for Volvo if we look at how Volvo Cars posted a 4.6 per cent increase in retail sales for the month of July, selling 38,128 cars globally. Europe as well as the US market were key drivers of growth. Both regions reported significant increases based on sales of the new Volvo XC90 and continued strong demand for Volvo’s ’60-series carlines.

Continue reading “Volvo Cars’ global sales up 4.6 per cent on strong demand for Volvo XC90”

Apparently in the world of supercars, waiting time translates to more than P70 million. If that’s shocking, wait til you hear this: some people are actually willing to pay that steep price.

Impatient future Ferrari LaFerrari owners are willing to spend a hefty 1.25M EUR more than the car’s price just to get it delivered faster. Motoring Research reports on Oracle Finance inquiry that shows that LaFerrari buyers are the most eager among all supercar customers. They are followed by McLaren P1 clients, who are ready to spend 377,000 EUR ($504,000) extra. Porsche 918 Spyder comes third with 250,000 EUR ($335,000) premium.
Oracle Finance managing director Peter Brook comments that “it’s a buying frenzy out there at the moment for Ferraris and nothing demonstrates that like the million-pound premiums we’re seeing for the LaFerrari. When you look at the prices of the Enzo, the exclusive hypercar that went before it, that has doubled in recent years from the £400,000 list price to close to £1m now. But despite that rise even we were shocked at the premium buyers are prepared to pay for the LaFerrari”.

Yes, it doesn’t only happen in music.

Nissan has recently unveiled concept designs of NISMO hybrids, including a Maxima GT-R Nismo and Sentra 370Z Nismo. Earlier in February, the Japanese car manufacturer also released images of a Nissan Leaf GT-R NISMO hybrid to announce a “MASHUP” campaign on its Facebook page.

The campaign falls in line with reports about Nissan’s plans to offer a Nismo variant for all models so the range will be expanded beyond the five current offerings: GT-R, 370Z, Juke, Micra and Note. Next on the agenda are the Qashqai and Pulsar which will allegedly be introduced sometime next year with a 1.8-ltier four-cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine rated at around 266 bhp (198 kW). The Sentra will also receive a similar treatment as previewed at the 2013 Los Angeles Auto Show with the Sentra Nismo concept.

While the company says these design concepts are only for fun — meaning no chance of seeing it in the actual production line — which of these do you think should be seen on roads?

In the Philippines, this model literally sold like pancakes, catapulting its Korean maker to the top of the auto companies generally dominated by the Japanese.

Will the next generation Hyundai Tucson replicate its predecessor’s success? Expected to be launched in early 2015, spy shots reveal that the new model will be a bit larger than the previous generation.

These are the best spy shots yet of Hyundai’s next ix35 / Tucson which is set to grow in size now that they have the ix25. Our spies managed to grab a few shots of the partially undisguised rear end of a red prototype, thus showing the taillight design as well as the tailgate and bumper. The front grille will be an adaptation of Hyundai’s Sonata and Genesis while the sweptback headlights appear to benefit from LED technology.

We are not expecting any significant changes in the engine lineup which will likely be borrowed from the outgoing version but probably with a few updates to increase fuel economy and cut CO2 emissions. As a consequence, the 2015 Hyundai ix35 / Tucson will continue depending on the market with 2.0 and 2.4 GDi in United States and with 1.6 GDi, 1.7 CRDi and 2.0 CRDi in Europe. Front-wheel drive will be standard but customers will be able to pay more for an all-wheel drive system. Joining the range later on could be another Fuel Cell variant but details are not available at this point.

 

During the last Philippine International Motor Show (PIMS), Universal Motors Company (formerly a local arm of Nissan Motor Company Ltd) displayed the Nissan Juke as its hero car, hinting that it will be distributing the crossover to Philippine roads.

Two years later and with this year’s PIMS coming up in September, there is still no “legal” Juke traversing our local streets. Will this recent development from Japan re-fuel Nissan Philippines’ intentions to bring the Juke here?

As part of Nissan Motor Company’s 80th year celebration, the auto company is unveiling the Juke 80th Special Color Limited Edition, featuring a new palette of heritage colors.

The main highlight of this special edition is the availability of four heritage colors: Deep Maroon, Sunflare Orange, Brilliant White Pearl and Aurora Flare Blue Pearl which all are a throwback to important Nissan models like the Fairlady Z and Skyline GT-R R34. Regardless of selected paint, all special edition Jukes will feature bronze wheel covers, chrome plating on the door handles as well as bronze exterior mirrors.

It’s available exclusively with a 4-cylinder 1.5-liter gasoline engine producing 99 bhp (74 kW) and 139 Nm (103 lb-ft) of torque. On the inside there are tons of customization options as presented in the facelifted Euro-spec Juke shown at the Geneva Motor Show in March.