Toyota C-HR.
The Japanese manufacturer delivered a new SUV in the B-C-SUV booming segment. The most striking thing is the bold, sporty design far away from the conventional design we were used to see. Based on the new modular platform that underpins also the new Prius, the C-HR will be offered with petrol, Hybrid and diesel engines.
​The car will be assembled in Toyota's Turkish plant, while the engines will come from Toyota warehouse in Great Britain.

The good news is that this glorious car with stainless steel bodywork will be back.
DeLorean Motor Company firm and its founder, Mr. DeLorean, had a difficult and weird story, but now's history.
Brace yourself for near 300 new DMC-12 with original design and a modern powertrain. DMC Vice President, Mr. James Espey, declared that the firm is in talk with two possible engine supplier for the "new“ car. We only know that one of the two is General Motors, while the other is probably Ford Motor Company. DeLorean aims to replace the original 130 hp V-6 engine with a modern power unit delivering 300-400 hp.

​Due to the power increase, the new DeLoreans will feature bigger wheels, modern brakes, and a revamped interior. “No cassette player, nothing like that,” added Mr. Espey.    
​

​specs&design
The Fiat 124  is powered by the the small displacement four cylinder turbocharged mill which pushes the basic version of the 500 Abarth. It features 1.4 cc per 140 hp  and torque peak is equal to 240 Nm. But the most important news, is that the power is delivered to the rear wheels. 
 
The Fiat 124 as you know, is built thanks to a joint venture with Mazda Motor Corporation and is built beside the MX-5 in the historic Hiroshima facility. It employs the same effective platform that underpins the new MX-5 mark IV but, as above mentioned, features the powerful Italian turbo engines.
With reference to the perfect weight distribution (50:50) and the unparalleled agility of the Japanese spider, we are curious to see the result of  the inclusion of the engine made in Turin.
The car is  slightly longer and heavier than the Japanese cousin because the 124 needs a longer hood in order to host its motor.
If the interior is almost identical between the Fiat and the Mazda, the exterior design and the engine’s character are the more substantial differences.
The Fiat 124 Spider design looks successful.  The lines grow horizontally; the led headlights are posh, modern and expressive and contribute to give personality to this small Italian roadster. Everything is wrapped with neo-retro style. In other words,  what it takes to be successful nowadays.

The market challenge and the sibling rival
The market numbers relevant to the small roadsters are not high at all. But this is due to the failure of previous shortsighted products where the RWD was traded with the lower production costs granted by the cheaper (poor) FWD platforms. 
Currently the Mx-5 is the only compact rear wheel driven roadster available! And the Mx-5 is both an halo car and a  sales successful car. On the other hand, the 124 Spider, is meant to be more an halo exertion for Fiat, than a high volume seller. The market response could surprise even the Italian constructor.

In order to understand the importance of such products, shall be taken into consideration Honda’s global boss, Takahiro Hachigo words reported by the British magazine Autocar:  Hachigo admitted that Honda had damaged its image by “abandoning” products such as the S2000 that had a strong reputation and hardcore fan base.
We are confident that the right products have some good potential. And the Fiat 124 Spider is a true driver’s car

Will the 124 Spider be able to dare the MX-5? It will depend on a few factors: 
The Reputation. Fiat needs to rebuild it for this kind of car: the original 124 Spider was born during the sixties, while Mazda has for years been synonymous of roadster with the MX-5 that is now arrived to the fourth generation. 
The Performances. Performances assured by the 4-cylinder turbo are, on paper, better if compared with the atmospheric 1.5 Mazda mill.  And if the Japanese can also count on a 1.8cc displacement engine, the unit by Fiat can be declined in various power release. The question is: will be just as exciting and well integrated with the car? A windy road, possibly along the coast will tell us.



Uh, the Abarth 124 Spider…has been already spotted during a roadtest! Stay tuned...

Have you ever heard of the Honda S660? The S660 is a Japanese kei car, but is truly a “town's sportscar” in the size of a Fiat 500 featuring authentic sporty technical solutions like the engine placed behind the driver, rear wheel  traction  and a 660cc displacement 3 cylinder turbo mill. A cvt transmission is available, but driver’s choice, a manual six speed gearbox is, for God’s sake, offered.

This small super-nice, super-small, “supercar” is already  sold out! Strange? Not at all.

If for most of the people could be an unexpected result. To Motor News Word, this is the logical consequence of building a small, beautiful, unexpensive car focused on the driving pleasure.

This car could surprise everybody. Included the Honda headquarters. The small size, joined with the attractive, unique technical layout, make this car potentially sold on almost every market.

It would storm every big town’s road in Europe. And the twisty roads in general.But most important for the manufacturer, it is a low cost (=high diffusion) halo car.

While the exotic Honda NSX is not ready for the market, and a midsize supercar below the NSX is just a rumour, the Honda 660 is concrete and already a success that sold the whole production.

The news is that, even if US customers, are used to buy enormous cars, with large displacement motors, Honda America is currently considering the opportunity to deliver a 1000cc  powered version to the North American market.

Even tough compared to average US car size, this tiny Honda could look like a tender, for most of the customers the Honda 660 could be a perfect second car. The 1.000.000,00 USD question is: if Honda is really evaluating the option to import this tiny car in the US, why the Honda S660 is not already available in  the European market? 

 


Marketing note: Honda is investing much to revamp the brand’s sport appeal having returned in Formula One with McLaren and Fernando Alonso.
On the other hand, a different way to get  the same result is delivering true sport cars such as the exotic NSX or the S660 for instance.

Will ever take place a RWD, hatchback challange between Alfa Romeo and BMW?

For years the question was nearly: will Alfa ever come back and deliver again RWD cars? A segment C hatchback  for sure would  give a run for its money to the sharp BMW 1 Series.
Nowadays the issue could be reversed.
Reportedly the actual BMW 1 Series is supposed to be the last BMW RWD hatchback beacause as worldwide reported, the next generation should share the UKL platform with the new Mini models and with the sort of minivan 2 Series Active Tourer. On the other hand Alfa Romeo and Maserati CEO Harald Wester officially declared that no new Alfa Romeos will be front wheel driven any more. Point of fact, the new Giulietta will not be an exception. He added:  "if others changed their mind, will be better for us".

The good news is that customers will have in any case the possibility to purchase and enjoy an RWD car in the C segment.
But there is still a chance to see a competition between the german and italian manifacturer.

BMW official,  Klaus Fröhlich, boss of BMW R&D in an interview, said that there is still a chance to mantain the future 1 Series on the noble and driving pleasure oriented RWD platform. While the cheaper UKL will in any case suit the Mini roster and the BMW minivan. The final crucial decision will be taken in within the end of 2015.

Here what he said: "If rear drive, we would lose advantages of luggage space. But if one sort of customer wants space, he can get the (FWD) 2 Series Active Tourer. The 1 Series is about conquest sales, so it has to be a true BMW. We don't have to decide until the end of this year."

 There are thousands of good reasons to explain why switching the 1 Series to FWD would be a bad move for BMW in the medium and long term. The almost unique technical feature of the RWD, can represent a precious asset for sales and premium brand's perception in the competitive C segment.

But the board of directors could in any case be attracted by the savings of a cost cutting policy with benefits only in the short period. How many car guys they have in the board in Munich?

Is the Google Car and the autonomous cars in general imminent arrival a menace for those who love driving?
Since you are reading Motor News World probably you’re probably one of those more scared than attracted by the autonomous cars.

Big G is investing on it and many other companies like Apple are working on it  too. Point of fact, autonomous cars are a groundbreaking product that  will heavily impact the automotive world.
But will the self-driving car jeopardise our beloved driving experience?
Despite what some people my believe,  we think that autonomous cars, may represent more an opportunity for consumers, than a menace for the car enthusiasts.
To be honest, the Google Car with its cartoonish, inoffensive design, at the beginning scared me a lot even more than a CVT gearshift...

At the end of the day, we have to consider that the automotive world is split in two: there are customers looking for a car that does its job (and is comfy, roomy, and practical) and there are customers that do not renounce to the driving thrills.
Some people are more used to follow their mind, while others are driven by emotions.
So in the same way today the market offers this two kind of products according to customers request, tomorrow the people that are currently forced by necessity to use (and own) a car will (likely) pay per use an autonomous car...amen to that!

On the other hand, customers that currently renounce to a decent room for the rear passenger in favour of the smile on the driver’s face...will continue to purchase cars that deliver emotions. Probably manufacturers of this sporty, soul gifted cars will not be impacted negatively by the new competitors coming from the Silicon Valley. While generalist manufacturers will have to pay much attention and be prepared to the new challenge.

In a perfect world, also the drivers cars, will be available with an optional switch that will allow the driver to ask the car something like “hey, we’re arrived, go finding a place to parking yourself!” or during a night trip: “I’m tired, take the steering wheel control while i take a nap”... What about that Knight Rider TV series? How much were the authors forward looking?? Will we ask to our car “come and pick me up” speaking in our smartwatch as Michael Knight used to do in order  to call back K.I.T.T.?

Who wouldn’t be enthusiast, of driving K.I.T.T.?  

Alfa Romeo is back. They actually never gone, but their soul probably was as admitted during the Giulia's unveil ceremony (“we neglected Alfa, leaving it to compete against  generalist manufacturers…”).

After the halo cars 4C and 4C Spyder arrival on the market, the Alfa Giulia unveil is the confirmation of the brands’s actual rebirth. During the event, FCA officers, have described this moment as the  beginning of a new era for Alfa Romeo. And so it is. We strongly hoped it, and they actually nailed how this should been done under every aspect. The enthusiasm that hovers in the automotive related world is palpable.

 
The Car.
What can we say about the new Giulia? Today has been unveiled the flagship Quadrifoglio Verde sport  model featuring a twin turbo V6 developed jointly with the Prancing Horse brand (!). Enzo Ferrari started his career in the Reparto Corse Alfa Romeo. The collaboration, now goes on.
Bmw M3, Mercedes AMG C63 S and the recent Jaguar XE S  got much  more than a run for their money.
The Alfa V6 engine declares 510 hp and no turbo lag. Due to this the Giulia covers the 0-100 in only 3,9’’. But of course, as an Italian sport car, and true driver oriented Alfa Romeo, it’s  not just a drag race model, the Giulia features a multi-link  rear suspension and a noble  double wishbones up front. The weight is 50/50 distributed and, we won’t  quit mentioning  it, the power is delivered by the rear wheels. Everything is targeted to deliver handling performance, cornering feeling and  and tons of driving thrills. Moreover, the Giulia is said to be equipped with “the most direct steering on the market”. Good..

The official Alfa Giulia video (advice: turn on the speakers)  let us know the engine sound when the Giulia gets out of the tunnel (it’s a visual metaphor of Alfa’s turn?)

 The lineup will feature all aluminum  petrol and Diesel 4 and 6 cylinder engines, six speed manual gearshift or automatic  and of course the new Maserati derived new RWD platform codenamed “Sergio”.  Maserati and Alfa CEO Harald Wester declared: “Alfa Romeo was and will be again a perfect fusion between men and machine. This is the mission”

 
Style.
We started talking  about mechanics and performance before of the styling,  because even if the car has an elegant Italian design, in the pragmatic segment D of executive sedan, there is no much room for fireworks. Styling is simply sporty and elegant with a long hood and proportions that deliver a visual idea that  the weight is distributed on the rear wheels. Note: the tail lights pay homage to the beautiful Maserati Granturismo. Since the car has been engineered in Modena thanks to Maserati  know-how and the two brands are now closer than ever, it is not surprising at all if there is something familiar between them.

 
The Skunk Works engineers.
Sergio Marchionne describes the engineers that made possible the Alfa Romeo rebirth as “heroes” that worked secretly in hidden buildings starting from a blank drawing board. (The secret location later on has been identified in Modena, not too far from Maserati).

 

The next  Alfa models.
Today on June 24th 2015, brand’s 105th anniversary, the last 23 years of basically FWD platforms faded. Harald Wester recently declared that all new Alfa’s new models will be rear wheel driven (or AWD). The above mentioned platform has been developed to suit different models.  Sergio Marchionne’s recently announced a 6 billion Dollars plan to turn Alfa Romeo marque into a consistent rival for the German before mentioned automakers that are storming the premium market. Due to this, from here to 2018 will arrive on the market an Alfa flagship full-size sedan model; a midsize Alfa SUV; a roadster/coupe model  and  later on warmly welcomed, a segment C hatchback RWD model, that will replace the Giulietta. Thankfully, good times are rolling.

                                                                                                                                               Motor News World

Just few days and on June 24th 2015, 105 years later the Alfa Romeo foundation, a new age can begin. The new segment D sedan, will be unveiled by Alfa Romeo. The Alfa Giulia will finally feature a rear wheel driven platform. Heritage and brand's glory days can now be revamped.  

After decades of shortsighted product choices a true Alfa Romeo is coming.  At the end,  they got how it should be done. And likely they did it. If there is a sort of parenthood within the FCA group, this time, is not with generalist Turin based manifacturer, but only with Modena’s high end guys. 

If the new Alfa will match up with expectations (just wait for June 24th). Customers and worldwide Alfa enthusiasts, will be keen to forgive and forget the last unglorious FWD years.
Not just petrolheads, but the whole car industry,  will salute the Alfa Romeo reinassance. 

                                                                                                                                                      M.N.W.