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It was the North American International Auto Show last week and Volkswagen quickly unveiled the E-Bugster, an all-electric concept car that is based on the 2012 Beetle. The concept is powered by the same electric drivetrain that will be used in the Golf Blue-e-Motion hatchback from 2014. An electric motor connected to the front wheels provides 114 hp and 199 lb-ft of torque, drawing power from a 695-pound lithium-ion battery mounted beneath the trunk floor. Their design chief Walter De Silva stated, "It's a crazy car, it's funny, it's bold, and it's an American Car." Volkswagen says driving range is about 100 miles per charge.

The Electric version of the Golf will go into production in 2014 but it is unlikely that this speedy 2 seater will be nothing more than a show car.

Staying with VW and the Volkswagen Up was named Car of the year at the 'What Car?' awards last week. Editor Chris Hallet said "The Volkswagen Up is the best car we’ve seen this year because it combines refinement, quality, space and economy. It sets new standards for the £10,000 price bracket. It feels at home in town and copes admirably on the motorway."

Volkswagen also went home with the small family car award for the Golf.

Ford have released pictures of their brand new Mondeo, it is due to go on sale in North America later this year before hitting UK shores in 2013. The new version will also be available as a hatchback as well as an estate, prices in the UK are likely to match the current model starting at £17,800. It will come with new technology and a higher quality interior and next public outing will be the Geneva Motor Show.

Going back to America and Honda are looking to go back into the Supercar business after revealing the Honda NSX in Detroit, despite being unveiled as a concept the Japanese company have said it is likely to go on sale within the next 3 years. It will be the world's first green supercar and will stick to its V6 mid-engined two-seater origins and all-wheel drive technology. Their President Takanobu Itoh said, "In this new era, even as we focus on the fun to drive spirit of the NSX, I think a supercar must respond positively to environmental responsibilities."

Finally, the Lexus LF-CH Concept was named best concept car at the event. There is no doubt that it is a stunning look car although Lexus have yet to reveal any performance details, however Toyota president Akio Toyoda is understood to have requested personally that the LF-CH concept has the wow factor!

Have a good week!

Daimler have revealed that the Maybach will cease production in 2013. This hasn't come as a surprise too many after recent poor sales of the current 57 & 62 limousines. Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche confirmed the news by saying "It would not be sensible to develop a successor model for the current Maybach. We have had full discussions within the company about which path in the luxury segment was the most promising. And we came to the clear conclusions that the sales chances for the Mercedes brand were better than Maybach’s." A recent plan to involve Aston Martin in the development of future Maybach models was abandoned earlier this year.

Is this the world’s most expensive car accident? Eight Ferraris, three Mercedes-Benz, a Lamborghini and two other vehicles were involved in the pile-up in the southern prefecture of Yamaguchi, Japan. Fortunately no one was seriously hurt, but the road was closed for six hours after the accident. Reports are suggesting the damaged cars are worth at least 300m Yen ($3.85m; £2.46m) in total.

Top Gear Magazine have named the Range Rover Evoque as 2011 Car of the Year. It beat off competition from the BMW 1 Series M, Mclaren MP4 12c, Ferrari FF, VW Up! and the Kia Picanto. It was chosen by Jeremy Clarkson and he revealed, "There have been many great cars launched over the last 12 months, but these are just one-trick ponies. The Evoque is more than that. It’s a pony that is also a racehorse, a shire horse, a dray horse, a show jumper and an easy rosette-winner in the dressage competition. Its brilliant and it’s the Top Gear Car of the Year."

Finally this week and carrying on with the Evoque - could it soon have a new rival? Volkswagen recently unveiled the new Cross Coupe Concept at the Tokyo Motor Show. It’s powered by a petrol-electric hybrid system which can drive either the front wheels or all four wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, it is a cool looking car and you can’t help but feel if it does go into production they have to build a 3 door version as well!

Have a good week!

There are many models in the luxury sector that, due to the cost of fuel, are becoming increasingly illogical for their original purpose. Cars that were lauded five years ago carry technology and engineering that is becoming obsolete when oil is nudging $120/barrel, and there is the spectre of relentless demand from Emerging markets for the black stuff. On top of this, governments are seeking to heap more duty onto the price we pay at the pumps to help relieve the already hemorrhaging public coffers.

Take the BMW M3 for example. In the mid 2000s we saw, what was effectively, an arms race spring up between Mercedes, Audi and BMW in the small luxury Saloon/Coupe sector. The E90 M3 was launched in late 2007 with a high-revving naturally aspirated V8 engine that produced 420 bhp. The car’s powerplant was largely dictated by its competitor, Audi, who had launched their popular new RS4 with a V8 engine. Both cars were lauded by the critics: the chaps who drive them for a few days and then hand the keys back. To live with though, these cars are quite a different proposition. I remember buying one in a fit of pique early in 2008. Switching from a Porsche 911 I remember thinking that the BMW seemed to be guiding me to the pumps more often than I would have liked. I put it down to the fact that the car, being brand new (what was I thinking?!), was taking a while to bed down and that eventually it would start delivering a more economical return. I was wrong, owning the car for three years I only once managed to ring out 300+ miles in one tank and that was driving at 70mph in 6th gear from London to Newcastle. I remember how proud I was of covering such a “long” range. Yesterday I read in the Sunday Times that the new BMW 3.20d has a touring range of 800 miles and can sprint briskly from 0-60mph in 7.5 seconds! By the time I traded out of the M3 I had become obsessed with watching the fuel gauge needle, trying my hardest to be keep the car at low revs and in high gears at all times - what a miserable way to drive such a fabulous car. I averaged 18mpg for 30,000 miles over 3 years.

I have found myself going full circle and back to a car I originally owned 6 years ago. A fortnight ago I collected a 2006 E46 M3 CS from an approved dealer in Glasgow and was shocked at the fuel economy compared with newer V8 powered car. Without trying, I squeezed out 400 miles of motorway touring down towards London. The fuel-tank needle on the straight-6 car had hardly moved a millimetre by the time I drove past Edinburgh. As I left Glasgow and re-familiarised myself with the old M3, I began to wonder why I ever sold my first one all those years ago. It is a good size, has a reasonable boot, the rear seats are no smaller than in the newer model, and has all the performance one needs in the real world. The six cylinder may not have the grunt of the V8 but the “6” is keener and sharper for a mixture of urban and extra-urban driving. I found you had to really work the V8 in its lower gears to get it really hot and bothered, and of course the results were mind blowing, but, guess what? The fuel was getting combusted faster than you could fill the thing up (at £1.35/litre!!).

So, for those fortunate enough to have a few extra pennies to deploy, these unprecedented times are throwing up some interesting buying opportunities. I reached for an “expensive” E46 M3 and shelled out £17.5k for the rarer CS version (£45k when new), but good, standard stock examples are available for around the £13-16k mark – astonishing bang for your buck. And if you just want a sportscar car for weekend driving, I would not discount the newer V8, just be aware its shorter range, heavy penchant for premium unleaded and Michelin Pilot Sports sneakers. Expect to pay no more than £25k for a 35k miler (£55k when new). The deals continue among other thirsty, heavily depreciated V8s or performance cars that were manufactured in large numbers, particularly the Porsche 911 (997s). Audi S5s, Mercedes C63 AMGs, Maserati Gran Turismos and Nissan GTRs are all taking a bath and still have further to go with so much uncertainty paralysing the broader economy. If you decide to buy, there are bundles of fun to be had!

The Skyline is probably the most famous car ever to have come out of Japan, at least in the way of performance vehicles. It has made many appearances in popular culture over the years, with famous showings in The Fast and the Furious film series and the Gran Turismo video game series.

The GT3 is one of those cars that turn heads wherever they go. Its sleek, elegant yet impactful design wowed car fanatics when it was released in 1999 and is still wowing us to this day. Porsche manages to hit the nail on the head with every car it produces.

What can we say about the Mustang? It is truly one of the sexiest and downright coolest cars on the planet. It is still going strong today – currently in its fifth generation – as the ultimate all American muscle car. The Mustang, in its many forms, has also made many appearances in popular culture, with starring roles in the Bond classic Goldfinger in 1964 and Steve McQueen’s Bullitt in 1968.

Bentley just seems to nail it with every car it produces and the Continental GT is no exception. It was released in 2003 to replace the Continental R and T and held the World Speed Record on Ice until March this year, topping an astonishing 331 km/h. The Continental GT is a quintessentially British powerhouse of a car.

The Italians are famous for a lot of things, but perhaps none more so than the fleet of Ferraris it produces every year. The 458 is up there with the best of them and it’s no wonder when you consider that it was developed with the Formula One technology that the firm has so masterfully engineered over the years.

Land Rover have unveiled the DC100 AND DC100 Sport Concepts at the Los Angeles Auto Show, John Edwards, the company's global brand director revealed.

"The Defender has always been at the heart of the Land Rover Brand and single-handedly defines our go-anywhere, can-do sprit. Our ambition is to create an all new Defender for a global market that remains absolutely faithfully to its original DNA: tough, versatile, durable and capable. At the same time, it will be developed for the 21st century and adaptable for the needs of future generations, our intention is to introduce the all new Defender in the middle of the decade – there’s a lot of work to do to meet these dates and our concepts are just the start of the journey."

A couple of weeks ago, Rowan Atkinson was invited to be McLaren's guest during the Indian Grand Prix, check out this brilliant video of him going into Mr Bean mode during Lewis Hamilton's unfortunate crash.

With the Japanese Motor Show in full flow, Honda have unveiled their competitor to the Porsche Boxster, the Small Sports EV Concept. Unfortunately very few details are known about the car about but we do know that it will be a full EV and that the company has said that the car is “fun to drive while achieving excellent environmental performance.”

Chevloret - lets be honest you don't see many of them in the UK but then again you don't see many flying cars either or do you? Have a look at this!

Have a good weekend!

I was hoping to show you pictures of next year's new Range Rover but unfortunately the official press photos are still to be released, so instead I thought I'd show you the new BMW 3 Series which will go on sale in the UK from 11th February 2012. It's larger and has more space than the previous the model, BMW claim that is lighter and faster as well. The new model will available with 4 different engines at the launch. These include a new four-cylinder 2.0-litre petrol, a 3.0-litre six-cylinder TwinPower Turbo unit in the 335i, an improved 184bhp 2.0-litre diesel in the 320d and the 163bhp version of the same unit in the 320d EfficientDynamics. I'm sure it will be good car but my immediate reaction when I first saw it was it's not very pretty! I wish BMW would take a leaf out of Jaguar's book and make you go wow that's nice.....prices will start at £24,100.

Are SAAB about to got bankrupt? SAAB boss Victor Muller is to signal out his plan to keep the company afloat to a Swedish courtroom on the 31st October. Two Chinese companies Pang Dang and Youngman are both willing to invest subject to authorization from the China's National Development and Reform Commision (NRDC). The final decision if they together can invest £215 million will be made in mid November. It would be a huge dissapoinment if the Swedish car manufacturer were to go under especially as they unveiled the gorgeous looking PhoeniX Concept earlier this year.

Finally this week, in my last blog I showed you a picture of what the Nissan Juke-R might look like, well now Nissan have released a behind the scenes video of one being built, check it out!

Have a good weekend!

Things have been busy over on our sister site Who Can Fix My Car, if you haven't already please check it out - if you provide servicing or car repairs it should be right up your street!

First up this week with the London Olympics drawing ever closer I thought I had to share this brilliant picture of Olympic hopeful JJ Jegede jumping over the 3 new Mini London 2012 special editions.

This is the Bugatti Galiber which was supposed to go into full production by the end of this year, however it has now been delayed until 2013 at the earliest! The French company's reasons for this are simple - they want to make it more stylish and comfortable. I guess if you can afford to spend £1.5 million on a car you want the very best...

The Nissan Juke - a good solid family car. The Nissan GT-R - probably the most under rated car available. Now imagine if you put the GT-R engine in the Juke?! Well it could be about to happen. The Japanese car maker has hinted a supercharged Juke-R could be released if interest in the 480bhp GT-R based concept is high. The Juke-R would have a 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 engine from the GT-R. Wow. Fingers crossed this will become a reality.

Land Rover have begun plans to replace the iconic 63 year old Defender. They believe that there is still a strong global market for utility SUVs and will now begin customer research for the final format of the new model. The new version was recently unveiled at the Frankfurt motor show and is expected to go on sale in 2015.

Next week we will have pictures of the new Range Rover!!! Have a good weekend.

This is the Jaguar C-X16 Concept which will be unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month.

The C-X16 has described as a "production concept" and is likely to show the future design of Jaguar vehicles. It has been designed by the same team that produced the Jaguar XJ, XF and XK, which is run by the brand's design chief Ian Callum and is expected to be smaller than previous models in an attempt to compete with rivals such as Aston Martin. If it does go into production it is likely to have a V6 petrol engine as well a six-speed gearbox and could launch in 2013. Jaguar have stated the car will have ""the ability to surprise, to excite and invigorate".

Check out this sneak pic video of what it will be like.....

With Goodwood Festival done for another year we thought we'd share with you our best pictures from the weekend's event.

Have a good weekend!

With Audi winning its 10th Le Mans trophy, the German car manufacturer has decided to release a new limited edition R8 V8. The new model has several equipment upgrades, including satellite navigation, integrated seatbelt microphones with Bluetooth interface for making mobile phone calls and a Bang & Olufsen sound system. It stands out from the previous model by having GT-inspired 19-inch alloy wheels, featuring red brake callipers similar to the Le Mans-winning model. Prices start at £93,985 and only 100 will be built.

Rolls Royce have unveiled the Phantom Drophead Coupe a hand-built one-off which is designed to offer “the perfect weekend get-away” and “the ultimate in luxury and relaxation”. Its interior features an Asprey jewellery box, discretely placed in the glove compartment. The Drophead comes in a very special colour - Mazarine Blue, a shade that brings together 44,000 already available to Phantom customers. It will be on display at the Royal Hospital Chelsea until July 5th.

As I'm sure you're probably aware it's the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend. One thing that it set to dominate the show is the brilliant sculpture of the Jaguar E-Type in celebration of its 50th birthday, check out this brilliant video of how it was put together.

Have a good weekend!