***See AutoGuide’s LIVE 2010 Detroit Auto Show Coverage Here***

With MINI almost set to unveil its Countryman Crossover, the British brand is already looking towards its next project with the MINI Beachcomber Concept. This open-air vehicle is based on the same underpinnings as the Countryman: the Crossover Concept. It also features the brand’s new ALL4 all-wheel drive system, which is expected in the Countryman.

Previous reports pointed towards the Beachcomber as being something like the MINI Moke, and for the most part the analogy seems correct. And with no doors and an open roof, it’s easy to make the comparison to Jeep’s Wrangler – although we’re sure the sporty MINI brand won’t deliver the same sort of off-road capability. As for a powerplant, it’s likely to house the same turbocharged 1.6-liter four-banger already shared across the MINI lineup.

MINI hasn’t said anything about the possibility that the Beachcomber could see production and while it does seem far-fetched, certain elements are likely to make their way into special editions of the Countryman. For our part, we’d like to see this toy make it to the streets – if for no other reason than to see if it really can hop a sand dune. That, and it just looks like a lot of fun to drive.

We’ll be sure to bring you more details on this concept when it officially debuts at the Detroit Auto Show in a few weeks time.

GALLERY: MINI Beachcomber Concept

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Lotus has just announced the appointment of Donato Coco as the company’s Director of Design in what seems like the latest step in transforming Lotus into Ferrari. Coco, you see, comes with an excellent record of employment, which includes a stint at Ferrari as the Italian automaker’s Director of Design and Development, where he worked on a few minor hugely important models like the California, 599XX, 458 Italia, F430 Scuderia and the Spider 16M. Previous to Ferrari, Coco started his career at Citroën where he rose to the top spot in the French automaker’s design department.

Lotus CEO Danny Bahar, himself a recent hire after running Ferrari’s marketing division, said that, “The appointment of Donato Coco as the new Director of Design for Lotus puts even more prominence on design within Lotus and strengthens the already talented team. We have a very busy few years ahead of us as we are working on a new strategic business plan which will include the introduction of an all new range of Lotus cars and expansion of our third party design work.”

The current head of Lotus Design, Russell Carr, will continue on in his current position, working on both in-house Lotus projects as well as ones for outside parties.

Coco will work with Carr to design new Lotus vehicles like the upcoming Esprit flagship, as well as eventual replacements for the Elise and Exige.

Along with these hires, Lotus has made known its plans to emulate Ferrari’s success story by creating a strong bond between its road and street cars. Along with joining Formula 1 and announcing a race car version of the Evora, Lotus is also rumored to be considering entries into the Indy Racing League and American Le Mans Series. Should we also expect the British sports car maker to follow the Ferrari marketing philosophy and start selling its name to go on everything from laptops to lingerie?

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***See AutoGuide’s LIVE 2010 Detroit Auto Show Coverage Here***

After Ford recently debuted the 2011 Mustang at the LA Auto Show with a vastly more powerful V6 motor, the V8 GT model is slated to bow in Detroit in just a few weeks time. Under the hood we expect to find the return of the iconic 5.0-liter V8, with at least 400-hp.

Rumors suggested Ford would unveil both the new V6 and V8 engines at the LA show, but it certainly makes more sense to deliver the high-powered GT in Ford’s home-town.

Currently the V8 model makes “just” 315-hp and 325 ft-lbs of torque. Those aren’t bad numbers but they are well below what the Dodge Challenger SRT8 and Chevy Camaro SS make. Plus, the new 3.7-liter V6 is rated at 305-hp and 280 ft-lbs of torque – making the V8 look almost obsolete. If the 5.0 does in fact return, we expected it to be offered with the choice of either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission. This should help it deliver a sub five second 0-60 mph time and, Ford hopes, win back many of the consumers who have been skipping on the Mustang for a Bumblebee Camaro.

We’ll be sure to bring you full details on the new 2011 Ford Mustang GT as soon as we can, with live coverage of the Detroit Auto Show starting January 11th.

***UPDATE*** Since posting this article, details about the 2011 Mustang GT have leaked, pointing out that it will in fact get a 5.0-Liter V8 with 412-hp and 390 ft-lbs of torque. For more info on the new car see here. ***UPDATE***

See our review of the 2010 Ford Mustang GT below:

2010 Ford Mustang GT Review

Kia is examining the possibility of equipping the Forte Koup with a turbocharged engine in the future, helping the youthful two-door to deliver performance and improved fuel economy. In an interview with Automotive News, Kia’s VP of sales Tom Loveless said that it is, “a natural extension, if it makes financial sense.”

For many automakers, using turbochargers has become not only a smart financial decision, one but a smart environmental one. Just recently Chevy announced its new Cruze model would be offered with a tiny turbocharged 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine that will deliver a class-leading 40 mph highway.

There is also a strong possibility that a turbocharged powerplant could appear in a sister car to the Hyundai Genesis Coupe, which Kia is rumored to be considering.

In addition to this news, Loveless also said that the brand hopes to deliver its first hybrid model to the market by 2012. Around that time Kia may also introduce a new flagship car, which is likely to be based on the rear-drive architecture of the Hyundai Genesis Sedan.

Currently Kia is experiencing a huge sales boom in North America and so plans for the future are being crafted carefully. The Korean automaker’s sales have been up continuously, even in a down market, with Kia’s market share increasing from 2.1 to 3 percent.

Along with the right products, Kia has expanded significantly during the past year, adding 24 dealerships in the United States, many of which are previous Saturn dealerships, chosen for their ideal locations.

[Source: Automotive News via Autoblog]

Sure, you’ve probably seen the SLS AMG supercar from Mercedes before, but you haven’t seen it like this before. In true UAE-fashion, Mercedes revealed its new top-tier performer at the Dubai Auto Show painted in a brilliantly bling shade of matte-gold.

The paint is called “AMG Desert Gold” and is highlighted by gloss black detailing and a special set of black wheels. Mercedes has said that the gold color was initially just a one-off for the display purposes of the show car at the 2009 Dubai International Motor Show, but that if demand is significant enough, it could become available as a part of the AMG Performance Studio. Currently AMG already offers two matte colors, “AMG Monza grey magno” and “designo magno alanite grey,” as well as a chrome “AMG alubeam silver.”

Inspired by the 300SL Gullwing, the new SLS AMG is powered by AMG’s first “from scratch” engine. That engine, a 6.2-liter mill, makes 563-hp and 479 ft-lbs of torque in the SLS – enough to propel the company’s new flagship sports car all the way to 62 mph in 3.8 seconds and on to a top speed of 196 mph. Helping achieve that low sprint time is a sophisticated double-clutch automatic transmission, that can be operated via paddle shifters. The SLS is the first production Mercedes to get double-clutch technology.

The engine uses a dry-sump lubrication system (great for serious abuse), as well as a transaxle. That transaxle layout means that the tranny is located out back (for an ideal weight balance of 48/52) and it attached to the engine by a carbon fiber driveshaft.

The curb weight is just 3,571 lbs, due mostly to the fact that this is the first model Mercedes has ever produced with an all aluminum chassis and body. Weight is also saved by using carbon ceramic brakes and light weight wheels, that measure 19×9.5-inches up front and 20×11-inches in the rear. Tires measure 265/35/19 front and 295/30/22 rear.

GALLERY: Matte-Gold Mercedes SLS AMG

Dutch exotic car maker Spyker is likely to become the new owner of Swedish automaker Saab after GM Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre confirmed there are no other bidders. Earlier this week GM reached a deal with Beijing Auto to sell off old Saab assets so the Chinese company could produce previous generation Saab models in its home market.

The deal left two companies (Renco and Spyker) vying for ownership of Saab, but now it appears GM has just one interested party.

Whitacre did say that he though a deal could be reached by the end of the year – which GM had set up as a self-imposed deadline to sell-off its loss-making Saab unit. A company spokesman has, however, said that GM would be willing to bankroll Saab for a short period past the deadline if a deal looked possible.

If an agreement between General Motors and Spyker can’t be made, Whitacre did say that GM would close Saab. That is unlikely, as GM is almost certain to gain more by selling Saab in its current state as an active automobile manufacturer.

[Source: Automotive News]

***See AutoGuide’s LIVE 2010 Detroit Auto Show Coverage Here***

Mercedes has just released full details and a large selection of photos of its latest model, the E-Class Cabriolet, which will officially debut at the Detroit Auto Show in just a few weeks – a very convertible unfriendly time of year.

Like the E-Class Coupe, the Cabriolet model is actually based on the smaller C-Class platform and will initially offered with two engine choices: an underwhelming 268-hp 3.5-liter V6 and a robust 382-hp 5.5-liter V8. Mercedes has also opted to go with a conventional rag-top, rather than a hard top, in order to keep the weight gain to a minimum. The top drops in roughly 20 seconds and can be operated at speeds up to 25 mph. Soft tops are also supposed to provide more trunk space, but that doesn’t appear to be the case here with just 3.2 cubic feet of space available with the roof down. Top-up, there is plenty of room, with a total of 13.8 cu.-ft.

A new item included in the E-Class Cab is what Mercedes has dubbed the AirCap. The system includes a wind deflector mounted to the top of the windshield as well as draft stops inside the cabin. It can be deployed at the push of a button and doesn’t require fiddling or installation; plus it also doesn’t block off the rear seats like some wind deflectors do. And along with keeping a more balanced temperature inside the cabin, it also reduces interior noise.

The AirCap can also be paired with Merc’s Airscarft, which blows air out of the front headrests and right onto the neck of the driver and front passenger.

As with all new E-Class models, the Cabriolet comes with an extensive list of safety features, as well as pop-up roll-over bars and the company’s first use of headbag airbags.

We’ll have our first up-close look at the E350 Cabriolet and E550 Cabriolet at the Detroit Auto Show in just a few weeks and the car will arrive in dealerships in May. Until then, check out the huge gallery of photos below.

GALLERY: 2011 Mercedes E-Class Cabriolet

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After displaying a concept version of the Prius Plug-In Hybrid (PHV) at the Frankfurt, Tokyo and LA Auto Shows, today Toyota officially announced the introduction of the production model in Japan. Starting immediately and carrying over the next six months, Toyota will build and ship 600 Prius PHVs to different markets around the world with 230 in Japan, 150 in the U.S. and 200 in Europe. The models will be leased to fleets and studied by Toyota.

The vehicle itself is in many ways identical to the current Prius, except with a 5.2 kWh lithium ion battery pack in place of the nickel metal hydride unit. In addition, the car gets the necessary charging hardware. Toyota claims the Prius PHV will be able to recharge fully in just 100 minutes from a 200 V outlet or in three hours from a 100 V outlet.

Toyota claims the Prius PHV will be capable of 134 mpg, although that assumes almost 50 percent of the driving is done in pure electric mode. The car is capable of traveling 14.3 miles on pure electric power and can reach speeds of 62 mph in pure electric mode.

Inside the Prius PHV will get a new PHV screens in the Navigation and Eco-Drive Monitor areas, including the range possible in EV mode.

Retail sales are set of late in 2011 and Toyota has said the car will be a “reasonable” price.

GALLERY: Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid

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The Element, the ugly duckling of the Honda lineup, will live on for a second generation. According to a report by Automotive News, Honda VP John Mendel has confirmed that despite the car’s underachieving sales numbers there are good reasons to introduce a modernized version of the functional box.

The largest argument for keeping the Element around is that it attracts a certain type of customer to Honda dealerships that wouldn’t otherwise be interested in a Honda. Surprisingly, despite the fact that the Element shares its platform with the high-volume CR-V, almost no one cross-shops the two. Element owners also tend to be a loyal bunch, so presumably Honda is hoping to move original owners into a new model.

For the most part, many had assume the Element was slated for the scrap heap of history after its seven year production cycle (two longer than the average) hadn’t produced a single second generation concept.

Originally Honda had targeted the Element at 75,000 units sold on an annual basis. This year it is on track for just 15,000.

There is no word on when the second generation Element could arrive, although it could be as early as the 2011 model year.

[Source: Automotive News via Autoblog]

Last year Cadillac took a leap into modern times by offering its new CTS model with Wi-Fi. Now, Chevy has announced that it will offer a dealer-installed Wi-Fi service for seven models including the: Equinox, Traverse, Silverado, Tahoe, Suburban, Avalanche and Express.

The on-board system will transform a vehicle (as well as the area within 150 feet) into a Wi-Fi hotspot, letting users surf the internet freely. Passengers can check Facebook or Twitter and even watch YouTube videos thanks to a 3G network connection of up to 1.5 mbps.

In addition the system can support several devices simultaneously and with additional docking stations, the router can be moved from vehicle to vehicle.

Until December 31st, Chevy is offering the Wi-Fi as an option for $199.

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