2011 Volkswagen Eos Exclusive price starts at 34350 EUR

 

Meet the Volkswagen Eos Exclusive edition. Normally a plebian offering, the Eos can now be spruced up with a few luxury car standards such as two-tone nappa leather, sport seats, contrast stitching, "piano lacquer" trim, chrome accents on the grille ribs and three new 18-inch wheel designs. The Volkswagen Exclusive package also nets you a sport suspension that lowers the car 0.6 inches.



All of these luxury-like extras come at a price, though. A standard VW Eos will run you 27,524 euro with shipping and hefty European taxes, or roughly $35,300. To snag an Exclusive package, you'll need to drop a whopping 34,350 euro, or about $44,200. Obviously the prices don't translate exactly due to differences in U.S. and European taxes, but that's still a $9,000 (5000 euro) mark-up for the package. For perspective, the luxurious Volkswagen Phaeton starts at 65,800 euro, or $84,600, and in the U.S., the Eos starts at $32,390.



Is the extra coddling worth the coin? Unless you live in Europe, you won't have to worry about it for now, but VW says it's working on a Special Edition Eos for the U.S. market though no specific release date has been set. Presuming it does come here, would you buy one if the price was right?

Thanks to: Motor Trend

2011 Chevrolet Camaro convertible

Chevrolet has announced that the new Chevrolet Camaro convertible will make its official debut at the Los Angeles auto show this November. It’s set to go on sale in February 2011, and will battle the Ford Mustang convertible for the dollars of sun-loving pony-car fans. Speaking of dollars, we also now know how many of them it will take to snag a ‘Maro droptop: $30,000, or about $6500 more than the base hardtop. It’s also about $2000 more than the cheapest Mustang convertible ($27,995). If the pricing gap holds true throughout the lineup, expect to pay at least $39,000 for the cloth-topped Camaro SS.



As we expected, the droptop will employ the same powertrain lineup as the Camaro coupe. The base engine is a direct-injected, 3.0-liter V-6 with 312 hp, while SS models score a 6.2-liter V-8 producing 426 hp. A six-speed manual remains the standard transmission, with a six-speed automatic optional for those who like their cruisin’ simple and their livin’ easy.



We also got another peek at the convertible, this time an SS model. Shot with its top down in an idyllic beach setting, it looks as handsome as the coupe, although we have yet to see the car with its fabric roof in place.

2011 Lexus CT 200h F Sport : Australian International Motor Show

The 2011 Lexus CT 200h F Sport treated compact hybrid made its debut at the Australian International Motor Show and features light alterations in an attempt to burnish its sporty credentials. Like many factory packages, changes to the appearance take the forefront. The Lexus hatchback receives alloy wheels, badging, an updated body kit, and a different interior with CT 200h F Sport steering wheel, pedals, door-sill plates, gauge cluster, and tinted window glass. The Flame Blue color, which is nearly indiscernible to the IS F's Ultrasonic Blue Mica, can also be ordered.

The Lexus CT 200h is otherwise unchanged and remains powered by an adapted version of Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive with revised intake, exhaust, and programming for the 1.8-liter Atkinson-cycle inline-four. The suspension, called the Lateral Performance Damper System, allows Lexus to forgo strut bars and boost torsional rigidity while suppressing vibrations for a comfortable ride.

2011 BMW X3

The latest 2011 BMW X3 births a cabin worthy by the BMW badge. It characteristics high-quality fabrics, an bettered blueprint, and a generous boot capacitance of 550 litres (19.4 cubic feet). The latter canful be increased 1,600 litres (56.5 cubic feet) cheers to 40/20/40 fold rear seats. Choices let in GPS sailing (on an 8.8-inch display), dual-zone machine rifle climate control, a diorama sunroof, a agiotage sound system and an automatonlike tailgate.

New 2011 Hyundai Equus

Hyundai surprised the automotive world when displayed the 2011 Hyundai Equus at the 2009 New York Auto Show. The success of the Hyundai Genesis sedan, however, has the Korean automaker thinking big. If Americans will embrace the Genesis as a Hyundai luxury car with a price tag as high as $40,000, some ask, what's to stop them from embracing a more luxurious model a step up the food chain wearing a Hyundai badge?



The Genesis offers some equipment found only on $50,000 luxury cars in a $32,000 to $40,000 price range. The Genesis appears to be convincing skeptical auto writers and skeptical car shoppers that Hyundai can build a bargain luxury car.





In Asian markets, this car is sold as an alternative to the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and Lexus LS - a super-luxury car with a sticker price approaching six figures. Would Americans accept a six-figure Hyundai?



The Genesis succeeds by offering a BMW 5-Series-like experience for the price of a 3-series.

Standard Equus features like a massaging driver seat, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control and a 17-speaker surround-sound audio system are usually options on even high-end luxury cars. Hyundai even plans to supply Equus owners with an Apple iPad as a standard feature, which will function as a sort of interactive owner's manual and maintenance minder.





Even with this minor demerit, the 2011 Hyundai Equus is a genuine competitor to other luxury sedans, both midsize cars like the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class and flagships like the BMW 7 Series and Mercedes S-Class. The "Hyundai Equus" is a large luxury sedan available in Signature and Ultimate trim levels. The Equus Ultimate seats four, as the rear bench seat is replaced with a pair of reclining bucket seats with heating/cooling/massaging functions and a passenger-side power footrest. This rear-wheel-drive car is equipped with a six-speed automatic transmission. According to Hyundai estimates, the Equus will achieve 16 mpg city/24 mpg highway and 19 mpg combined.



The 2011 Hyundai Equus comes standard with stability and traction control, antilock brakes, electronic seatbelt pre-tensioners, active front head restraints, a lane-departure warning system, front and rear parking sensors, a rearview camera, a driver-side knee airbag, front and rear side airbags, and side curtain airbags.





If you're wondering whether a value-oriented brand like Hyundai can produce a luxury car, the cabin of the Equus will put your mind at ease. The passenger-side rear seat even has a power-operated footrest. In its home market of South Korea, the Hyundai Equus Ultimate is frequently used as a VIP limousine.

2020 Apple iMove

A while back there was a rumor going around that Apple and its overlord Steve Jobs were going to be getting into the city car game. Although nothing official has been announced in the years since those rumors started - and Google looks ready to shut down anything Apple has coming with its driver-less cars - the Apple iMove, an independent design study, is likely close to what people were thinking as soon as Apple mentioned "car".



Designed by 20-year old Liviu Tudoran, the iMove is simple, smooth, cute, and most of all, blends right into the Apple product lineup of pods and user-friendly design.



The exterior uses "photocromic material" to adjust the exterior hue of the vehicle (at least on the transparent parts) based on a variety of presets. Think of it like the Mustang's MyColor gauges, but on the outside of your ride.



Have a look at the pics below (and use our new zoom function, if necessary) to check out some of the designer's ideas and explanations behind them. While the spelling may be a bit off, the idea seems to be fairly on.



The iMove, though currently just a sketch and rendering, will be right at home in the cities of the future. I'll take mine in Vintage Mac Beige please.



By Phil Alex



Source: Liviu Tudoran

The New Hyundai QarmaQ

Hyundai has presented at the Geneva Show the series model i30 hatchback and Hyundai QarmaQ concept.The crossover Concept, which has been announced in a sketch published a few weeks ago by Hyundai, brings an important change of approach in what concerns the materials used in its composition.While the traditional cars use metal and glass, QarmaQ is assembled from plastic materials made by GE Plastics. The Hyundai QarmaQ concept is the result of the cooperation between the 2 companies and brings, as novelty, a vista of the kind that only a view from the chopper gives, because of the great surface of the plasticized windows from the car's body.By integrating GE's polycarbonate glazing wrap-around and the GE Lexan windscreens, the body weight of the cars is reduced by almost 50 %. A unique technology characterizes Lexan screens: Exatec Technology. It' s a technology through which a thin, protective layer of glass is deposited on the screen, which helps when protecting from scratching or effects of humidity. The material, much lighter than traditional glass used in automotive industry, also increases the impact resistance and both occupant and pedestrian safety. When talking about pedestrian safety, we can also mention the system that uses deformable sections under the concept's body panels, which is able to absorb crush energy in case a collision with a person may happen.GE Plastics' High Performance Thermoplastic Composite (which is used for the horizontal body panels) manages to also save some weight. 900 recycled plastic bottles have been used when manufacturing other body panels.The new concept is a showcase of 30 new technologies that will be found in the future Hyundai models. The car is the result of the hard work of Hyundai Motor Europe's Design and Technical Center and it has been engineered in cooperation with GE Plastics. It will be ready to roll in 2008 to 2014