BMW has kicked off a top secret plan for a baby SUV – the X1 – to take on Toyota’s Rav4. The junior ‘X’ model will mix a 1-series footprint with the X3’s four-wheel drive. The four-seat X1 will run four- and six-cylinder engines, and arrive in showrooms in 2010. Photo above was sourced from carmagazine.co.uk.
BMW predicts that the mid-size SUV market will double by 2016. And the cheapest X car will be pitched at the largest sector of the market, targeting young families, active singles and empty nesters. Those punters want vehicles with a higher seating position, decent safety, extra space and a premium interior, but they are not obsessed with status-through-size and high-performance engines. Like its competitors, the X1 won’t be a hardcore mud-wrestler but a tall, pumped up estate, which majors on visibility and versatility.
Source:- Link
 

Iran is looking forward to expand its auto industry in Asia (especially in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.)
 

New Delhi, July 17, IRNA-Iran Khodro’s deputy director for export and international affairs has announced that this company had the ability to pose itself in the Indian and Pakistani car markets and only needed the government’s support for producing right-side steering wheels.
“Negotiations for entering into Bangladesh’s car market are already on with an Indian car manufacturer called ‘Tata Motors’, reported ‘News from Bangladesh‘. Iran Khodro already has agreed with Peugeot to produce right side steering wheels. Khodro has announced that up to 2010 it plans to inject over 24 percent of it products to the international car market. Iran’s Khodro has planned to export around 60 thousand cars in the current fiscal year.
Source:-Link

BANGKOK: Thousands of car enthusiasts and potential buyers poured into the Bangkok international motor show, which opened Friday even as surging world oil prices threatened to dampen the atmosphere. The event, in its 26th year, is Asia’s second largest motor show after Tokyo.

The Pakistani manufacturers of auto parts and accessories have fared well in Automechanika Gulf as they offered up to 33 per cent less prices compared to their competitors. The Pakistani exhibitors have hoped to fetch big orders running into millions of dollars as the follow-up of the event concluded in Dubai recently. Automechanika Gulf is the event for the rapidly developing automotive aftermarket in Middle East. The event covers a full range of parts of motor vehicles…

Some 600,000 cars in Pakistan have been converted from gasoline to compressed natural gas (CNG), more than two-thirds of those being done in the last three years.

As many as 300 more CNG pumping stations are expected to be established all over the country during the next six months, as the use of compressed natural gas in motor vehicles has gained momentum due to rising petroleum prices.

“According to an estimate currently there are around 700 such stations throughout the country, 200 of them set up during last twelve months,” Abdul Sami Khan, chairman Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association, told Daily Times.

The transition is being catalyzed by the rising price of gasoline in the country, compared to the price of CNG.  The government is also promoting the use of CNG and is encouraging public transport to turn their vehicles to CNG from diesel.

karachi—A new Light duty Chinese Commercial Truck is going to start assembling from November this year at Sind Engineering (Pvt.) Limited under Contractual Assembly Agreement with M/s. Silver Seal International. Anwar Iqbal, CEO Silver Seal International & Lt. Col (R) Syed Akbar Hussain, MD SEL & Chairman PACO signed the contractual assembly agreement, while Waseem Haqqie, Chairman Engineering Development Board, Ministry of Industries Production and Special Initiatives was the chief guest on the occasion. Association of Manufacturers of Parts for Automotives & Motorcycles (AMPAM) awarded a Gold Medal to Waseem Haqqie. Wasim Haqqie, addressing the signing ceremony said Automotive industry has shown tremendous achievement in the last six years and Pakistani market is now flooded with locally assembled light and heavy duty vehicles. The automobile companies have confidence on Pakistani market and its positive results could be seen in terms of growth in auto sector share prices in the stock market.

04 September 2006 - The humble Toyota Corolla is celebrating its 40th birthday. Now control yourself because this is clearly exciting stuff.
It may have a reputation of being one the dullest cars around, but through many overhauls and redesigns, more cars called Corolla have rolled off the production than any other – an incredible 31.6 million.
The first Corolla hit the Japanese market in the autumn of 1966, the same year as Start Trek first aired, the Barclaycard was introduced and England won some sort of global trophy for a sport called football. Since then, it has had more facelifts than a sexagenarian former beauty queen and been manufactured in 16 countries including Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, China and dear old Blighty.
In 2005 alone, Toyota shifted 1.36 million Corollas, which probably goes to show that it’s a car suitable to the needs of a variety of motorists. Sure, some critics might suggest that means blandness – and in the past, that’s been a fair comment – but today’s Corolla is much better than that, even though it’s now become a relatively pricey number – especially in its much more practical MPV Verso form.

[Source:pocket-lint.co.uk]

Our good buddy Dave Thomas over at Kicking Tires alerted us to the appearance of an official photo of the 2007 Tiburon that magically appeared today on Hyundai’s media site. The pic appeared stag without any accompanying information, but we already know there will likely be no mechanical changes to the coupe, which means it will again be offered with either the 2.0-liter four-cylinder or 2.7-liter V6. However, Dave informs us that the 2007 Tib will receive a few new features like a standard tire-pressure monitoring system and available stability control.

We reported in July when this coupe first appeared at the Guangzhou Motor Show in China that it would be a 2008 model, but Hyundai’s media site clearly labels it as a 2007 model. Most of us are fans of the current model’s mug and the new one doesn’t stray far from it, except to make the fascia a little broader and flatter, adding headlights that are longer and sweep farther up into the fender, and reshaping the two air intakes. Hyundai has also added some oh-so-hot fender vents that are showing up on everything these days. No word on pricing availability yet, but you’ll be the first to know when we find out. We wouldn’t be surprised to come face to face with this shark at the SEMA show in November, as a matter of fact.

Follow the jump to view a shot of the 2006 Hyundai Tiburon for comparison.

[Source: Hyundai via Kicking Tires]

As Ford readies the presentation of the Accelerated Way Forward plan for North America tomorrow, in Europe, it’ll be business as usual. Ford’s profitable European division offers a peek at what life could be like for the North American division after the Way Forward — assuming all goes well.

To get where it is today, Ford Europe eliminated jobs, closed plants, and made the remaining facilities more efficient. All seven plants on the Continent operate at 100% efficiency, according to the Auto Channel. Of course, it doesn’t matter how well-oiled the manufacturing operation is if the product isn’t up to snuff. Here again, Europe gets the better of its larger North American counterpart, offering a diverse mix of compelling, stylish vehicles, many of which you’ll see pictured after the jump.

We, like everyone else, are very interested to hear what’s in store when the Way Forward 2.0 is revealed tomorrow. Whatever it is, we hope Ford finds a way to pull it off. There’s plenty of work ahead, and they have several new products coming that can now only be described as crucial, such as the Ford Edge and the new, long-awaited and more powerful 3.5-liter Duratec V6 that will find its way into much of the company’s vehicle lineup.

[Source: The Auto Channel]