Honda to begin sales of the all-new Fit in Japan

Honda has announced it will begin sales of the Honda Fit (known as Jazz in Europe) in Japan on Friday, October 26, 2007. The hugely popular small car retains all its best features – class leading economy, cabin space to rival mid-sized saloons, and easy manoeuvrability – yet has been brought bang up-to-date with some subtle design changes, and clever interior space solutions.Two engines will be available on the new car, a 1.5-litre i-VTEC and a super frugal 1.3-litre i-VTEC which delivers maximum output of 100PS. CVT transmission is also available. In the chassis, a longer wheelbase and wider track offer even better stability, manoeuvrability and handling. Honda Fit was first introduced in Japan in June 2001. It is now being produced in six factories in five countries and sold in approximately 115 countries around the world. Cumulatively, sales of Fit and Jazz exceed two million units. A rotating passenger seat is available on the Japanese car which takes full advantage of the Fit’s easy access. The seat has a higher position than previously, has additional foot space and features a specially contoured seat cushion. The seat enables easy loading and unloading of a wheelchair through the rear seats. A new Jazz for the European market will go on sale late in 2008. No details of this car have been announced.

2008 Audi R8

LONDON — Audi is launching a head-snapping advertising campaign for its 2008 R8 in the United Kingdom today that uses the tagline "the slowest car we've ever built."

The $12.2 million ad campaign makes heavy use of irony, since the R8 is the fastest production car Audi has ever produced. It is equipped with a 420-horsepower V8 4.2-liter FSI engine and sprints from zero to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds. It has a top speed of 187 mph. "But because each one is constructed with painstaking precision, largely by hand, it actually has by far the slowest build process of all Audi models," the automaker notes in a statement. Only 450 R8s will be shipped to the U.K. in 2007, with 750 to follow in 2008.

The 90-second commercial by Bartle Bogle Hegarty promises to be fairly riveting, with a group of real Audi mechanics putting together an R8 over the course of several days "from the very first bolt to the finished car."

Irony is defined as something that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects. If you Google "Germans and irony," you get a sense of the controversy behind the linking of the two. "Do Germans Do Irony?" asks one citation, while castigating the celibate German-born Pope Benedict XVI for criticizing Europeans for having fewer children than in the past.

When the 2008 Audi R8 launches in the U.S. this fall, it will start at $109,000. No word yet on whether we'll see the ironic ad campaign in these parts.

What this means to you: Hey, it got your attention, and that's what the best ads do.

© Source: edmunds

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2007 Los Angeles Auto Show Preview: Acura shows drawings of a future fuel cell Le Mans racer

Diesel power is the hot ticket at Le Mans right now after the dominant win by Audi's R10 this year and Peugeot coming next year. But technology always moves on in racing (unless you're talking Nascar, but that's a whole other story). By the middle of the next decade, racers will likely have moved on to something else, and Acura is playing off of parent Honda's fuel cell efforts by showing drawings of a potential fuel cell powered Le Mans racer. It's unlikely a racer will look much like any of these drawings, but some of the technology could make it to the track. More drawings and a press release after the jump.

More excellent articles about LA Auto Show
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Details on '08 Cadillac CTS, Including Tutorial on French Stitching

DETROIT — More details have been released about the 2008 Cadillac CTS, including the reason why the entry-level luxury car is minus an electric parking brake at launch time. The details were outlined on Wednesday in a posting on the GM FastLane blog by Eric Clough, Cadillac interiors director of design.

"Not having a handbrake in the center console was a conscious decision to enable dual cupholders and air ducting to reach the rear passenger outlets," Clough explained in a follow-up to an earlier posting about the cabin of the CTS. "An electric park brake will be in the car starting in model-year 2009, located just behind the shifter. It was unfortunately not fully developed in time for this launch, but along with the obvious interior space-saving benefit, will also be lighter than the mechanical system it replaces."

Clough also noted that the CTS's radio is usable with the navigation screen retracted. "In fact, the only time the full screen is necessary is for nav use," he pointed out.

Apparently, consumers (male) are clueless when it comes to the benefits of French stitching. Clough patiently explained that "French stitching is a type of seam that has a line of stitching on both sides of the seam. The excess material from each piece being joined is folded back under and secured by the lines of stitching. This keeps the seam flat and greatly improves the quality of the surface because the excess can't wobble back and forth underneath."

© Source: edmunds
We need your comments below >>

2007 Los Angeles Auto Show Preview: Acura shows drawings of a future fuel cell Le Mans racer

Diesel power is the hot ticket at Le Mans right now after the dominant win by Audi's R10 this year and Peugeot coming next year. But technology always moves on in racing (unless you're talking Nascar, but that's a whole other story). By the middle of the next decade, racers will likely have moved on to something else, and Acura is playing off of parent Honda's fuel cell efforts by showing drawings of a potential fuel cell powered Le Mans racer. It's unlikely a racer will look much like any of these drawings, but some of the technology could make it to the track. More drawings and a press release after the jump.

More excellent articles about LA Auto Show
+ Los Angeles Auto Show 2007 Preview: Quick test drive in BMW 535d
+ LA Auto Show 2007: Honda Civic GX quick test drive
+ LA Preview: Volkswagen to unveil plug-version of the Up! mini

"BMW Welt" Customer Delivery Complex Opens in Munich

German carmaker BMW unveiled the "BMW Welt," a giant car delivery center, recreation and exhibition complex, located in Munich, Germany. The steel and glass building covers 10,000 square meters and was designed by Austrian architect Wolf Prix. Clients are able to view their vehicles at the center, tour the BMW factory and visit the new BMW Museum.

Award-Winning Chevrolet Volt Concept Heading Towards the Middle East

First shown at Detroit in January this year, followed by Canada and more recently at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the award-winning Chevrolet Volt Concept car has created great excitement within and outside the motoring community. The Chevrolet Volt concept is the first vehicle to use GM's new E-flex family of propulsion systems which can offer triple-digit fuel economy. The car is capable of traveling up to 1,030km without a fuel fill-up or a battery recharge. The Volt draws from GM’s previous experience in starting the modern electric vehicle market when it launched the EV1 in 1996, according to GM Vice Chairman Robert A. Lutz.The Volt also represents a new chapter in hybrid thinking. While current hybrids use an electric motor to supplement or complement a gasoline-powered engine, the Volt has been designed to run only on electric power until the battery runs out. To recharge the battery, there’s a small internal combustion engine that helps moves a generator to produce electricity for the battery. Technology employed in the Volt also ensures that energy usually lost in braking is also tapped efficiently. Alternatively, the batteries can also be recharged by plugging into an electrical outlet at home. The stylish Volt is a four seater and gets a front-mounted electric motor that generates 120 kilowatts of power (about 160 horsepower). With the current battery technology, the Volt has a range of 60km on pure electric power, which is the distance most commuters travel each day. Studies have showed that half of commuters travel less than 50km per day to work. No wonder the Chevrolet Volt concept has also impressed the critics. The concept was awarded the 2007 North American Specialty Concept Vehicle of the Year and the Most Significant Concept Vehicle of the Year at an awards ceremony at the Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn. The Volt concept is an important vehicle and is not just a ‘science project’. The technology chapter is on going and at the 2007 Shanghai Motor Show in April, a fuel cell variant of the Volt concept was announced. GM is consciously working towards helping energy diversity and reducing carbon dioxide emissions. The Chevrolet Volt concept was designed with exactly these objectives in mind and uses energy diversity as part of the solution.