Mitsubishi Carisma-Top 100 most reliable cars of the past decade

The Mitsubishi Carisma is a large family car^[1] produced for the European market by Mitsubishi Motors from 1995 to 2004. The model name was derived from a combination of the English car and the Greek kharisma, meaning "divine gift".^[2] It was co-developed with Volvo, sharing its chassis with the first generation of the Volvo S40, and built at the NedCar factory in Born, Netherlands, which the two companies co-owned at the time. Over 350,000 were built during its production run.^[3]
Available as a 4-door saloon or a 5-door hatchback, it featured gasoline engines from 1.3 L (introduced later in life) to 1.8 L, a 1.8 L gasoline direct injection engine, and 90 hp (67 kW) 1.9 L turbodiesel powerplants sourced from Renault, later with the 100 hp (70 kW) 1.9 DI-D common rail diesel engine, the same as used in both Volvo and Renault cars.

In spite of its name, the Carisma had a fairly neutral design as a result of being Mitsubishi's first attempt to target the traditionally conservative European company car market.^[4] Even when receiving a midlife facelift in 1999 that characteristic was not improved. The car was placed between the Lancer and the Galant, although after production ended, the Lancer took its place in Mitsubishi's European range.
In several markets where the Lancer was not available, the Evolution version was rebadged as a Mitsubishi Carisma GT.
The chassis was also used by Proton to develop the Proton Waja.

Production and sales

Year	Production	Sales
1995	19,100	?
1996	44,401	?
1997	82,255	?
1998	78,239	?
1999	54,460	?
2000	29,800	38,548
2001	22,203	28,647
2002	28,776	30,429
2003	26,074	28,123
2004	–	9,875

Porsche 911-2012

Porsche revealed the first official info of the new 991 and 911 generations.This model will be sold with a seven gears automatic transmission.Porsche revealed a series of official info about the new 911.With that info also came a few pictures of the prototype of this new generation.Sadly the images are really small and the car wear camouflage.Its expected that the new 911 will be officially introduced at the Frankfurt autoshow in September.Porsche announced that the entry version will be equipped with the 3.4L engine from the Boxter S.Porsche 911 Carrera S will make 400 HP,while the turbo version will have either 450 or 500 HP. The most interesting fact revealed by Porsche was the range of transmissions.911 will be sold with a 7 gear manual and no matter the choice all customers will have the option of Launch Control.The fuel consumption improved with 12-15% compared to the previous.

In 2016 Porsche 911 will receive a facelift and will get a hybrid version.The Carrera S version will have standard 20 inch wheels.

Peugeot 508 RXH - Diesel-electric hybrid

Peugeot attacks Volvo XC70, Audi A6 Allroad and Subaru Outback with 508 RXH.
At Peugeot rarely happens something interesting or nice.This time the french brand really seems to have one of those moments in which something nice and interesting really happened whether you believe it or not.Peugeot seems to pass trough one of those "renaissance" moments.Peugeot under new leadership in design reinvents itself.Today Peugeot introduced us with 508 RXH.Although the name seems inspired by one of Lexus's hybrids this car in a brand new elegant crossover.Unlike its potential rivals Peugeot brings something new,guess what? Yep is a hybrid.

On the european market there are no crossover hybrids on sale.RXH comes equipped with a 2.0L HDI engine that produces 163 HP for the front wheels but there is also an electric motor producing 37 HP for the back wheels.In total the car makes 200 HP and 450 NM of torque.Greenpeace will be extremely happy to find out that this car produces only 109 grams of CO2 per Km.It offers the possibility to run completely on electric mode and the fuel economy is somewhere at 56 MPG which is a lot in a good way.Esthetically speaking it stands out because of the high ground clearance,body armor underneath.

The LED's in the front fender stand out and they're always on day and night.I'm curious to see how the market will respond to this car that will be officially introduced in September at the Frankfurt auto show.

Land Rover received 18.000 orders for Evoque

Land Rover customers already ordered 18.000 Evoque's.The production started last week, the first 15.000 units being made in trims previously specified.The first Evoque that was ever made was donated to the  Heritage Motor Center museum from Gaydon. Evoque shares the factory in  Merseyside with  Freelander, its platform brother.“Range Rover is the luxury, Land Rover is versatility and practicality. Evoque helped us to define our brand and establish how it is positioned. That says a lot about where the Range Rover can go in the future. In terms of historical,  Land Rover is known for developing new market segments, or at least change the direction of Land Rover models. Think of the first Range Rover, the Range Rover Sport or Freelandar. We are optimistic that they will do the same thing with Evoque,” said Phil Propham, Land Rover boss.

Range Rover Evoque is offered with three exterior trims.These are called Pure,Prestige and Dynamic.The Pure version represents a minimalist approach of the design and uses mostly natural colors and shining metal ornaments.The Prestige version has a special interior and in the exterior gets 19 inch alloy wheels.The Dynamic is created for customers that want a redesigned body kit and 19 or 20 inch wheels coupled with a sporty interior.It appears that Victoria Beckham was involved in the design development.For Evoque's suspension Range Rover uses the Magnet Ride system,this car having the possibility to adjust its ride while cruising at considerable speed.The engine is a four cylinder 2.2 L that produces 150 or 190 HP.The front wheel traction version with a diesel 2.2 L engine gets 48 Mpg Range Rover claims and releases less that 130 grams of CO2 into the atmosphere.

First images of the new Peugeot 208

The French magazine Auto Plus presented the first two digital images of the future Peugeot 208.We can observe in this images that the front end of the future small class model of the Sochaux manufacturer reveals us the direction in design the french brand will take in the future.The future 208 is still heavily tested by the french engineers. 208 is the first vehicle designed by Peugeot after Ploue became the new lider of the department of design for the PSA group.

Under the hood buyers will find a three cylinder engine that will equip the most cheap version of this model.For an extra eco boost the engine have a Start&Stop system in the urban mode.The top version named GTI is expected to hit the market with a fist of steel being equipped with a 1.6L THP engine production a whooping 200 HP.Peugeot hopes that this will bring back the success of the famous 205 GTI.

The VAG group wants 55,9% of MAN

The Germans didn't quit on the idea to rule the world(at least the automobiles world).Volkswagen just added one more name on the list of brands own-MAN.About the VAG group most of us know that is the parent company for VW,Audi,Skoda,Seat,Lamborghini,Bentley and Bugatti.But VAG is also a major player in the commercial vehicles sector and the European trucks sector.The German group owns almost 75% of Scania and a part of MAN.Recently VAG showed its interest in rising the percent of shares owned at MAN SE from 30,5% to 55,9%.The officials wait for the approval from the European authorities.If the increase of the VAG group at MAN will be approved than the German company will become the main trucks manufacturer in Europe.

MAN and Scania own now 30% of the market sales while Volvo - Mack - Renault and Daimler (Freightliner, Mitsubishi Fuso, Thomas, Sterling şi Mercedes-Benz) own each 21% of the market.

Lotus Elan-Replacer of Evora

Don't worry cuz this replace mentioned in the title isn't going to happen very soon.Its about 2017.Evora is now the most comfortable model in the whole range that Lotus is offering and will stay in production at least until the launch of the new Elan in 2017 according to the chief executive Danny Bahar.

Bahar mentioned that the British manufacturer will design a V8 engine for the future Esprit because the potential customers would never pay 100.000 dollars for a supercar powered by a Toyota engine.The V8 engine will be 40% more compact than the one from Toyota and will become the base for a new 4 cylinder unit that will power the future Elise and Exige.If all goes according to the plan the future Esprit will go into production by the end of 2013.Danny Bahar also confirmed the plans for Ethos, a small dimensions luxury car that will be sold with electric and hybrid power options on the European market and for Asia under Proton badge with conventional engines.No matter the way you look at Lotus's plans for the future,Lotus remains the main British performance cars manufacturer that designs the car on the racetrack.

Alfa Romeo 4C-coming in 2012

Alfa Romeo officials came forward and they recognized that 4C will start production in the fall of 2k12.In march Alfa presented at the Geneva Motor Show the 4C concept.This time the Italians confirm that 4C will start production in the second half of 2k12.
The new Alfa Romeo 4C will mark the long waited return of the Italian manufacturer in the sports segment and will be also mark the return of Alfa in the US market after more than 20 years.According to the data given by Alfa officials the 4C will be available with a 1.8L turbo engine now available on Giulietta producing 235 HP.There are no information's concerning the dynamic performance but the Italians reassure us that the car will easily reach 150 MPH speed at which will be electronically limited.

He is the worst driver in Holland !

The show called "Who is the worst driver in Holland?" apparently has found its winner during the obstacle course when a contender managed to hit: the side wall,the TV show's guest,the camera man and another car after he confused the acceleration pedal with the brake pedal.
Fortunately nobody was seriously injured.Watch the video and see how Pim succeeded in becoming known as the worst driven in Holland.

Bentley sales have risen 20% in the first months of 2k11

The luxury British car manufacturer Bentley delivered on a global level in the past 6 months 2.987 units,which a 20% rise compared to last year.The economic downfall hit strong the auto industry last year and a lot of players in the industry suffered the consequences.The British from Bentley weren't able to stay out of trouble to but according to the latest numbers published by the companies officials the Albion manufacturer starts to recover.The new wave of sales was fueled by the freshly Continental GT and the brands popularity in China where the sales rose with 57% which translates in 680 cars.In North America Bentley sold 907 cars recording a 23% improvement and in Europe they've managed to sell 494 cars.

Opel Astra EcoFLEX

Usually when you hear of car with very low CO2 emissions you would think of a car with very little engine power.Low fuel consumption and low CO2 emissions come together with low or mediocre performance.With the EcoFLEX engines Opel/Vauxhall and Chevy take a different stand compared with other car manufacturers.GM takes a different approach.While the competing models with low CO2 emissions have equipped engines that produce around 105 HP, the new Opel/Vauxhall Astra EcoFlex is equipped with a diesel engine that makes 130 HP.This car follows other successful Eco models like the Insignia EcoFLEX with a engine that develops 160 HP and Corsa EcoFLEX-95 HP.
The new Astra EcoFLEX gets a staggering 55 mpg.This is the most economical and eco friendly model produced by Opel ever !Has a torque of 300 Nm,and a six gears transmission.This new model sets new standards in the compact European market,the compact market being the most important car market in Europe.

Chevrolet Cobalt Concept

Now at the Buenos Aires autoshow,Chevrolet presented officially the concept of a new family sedan.Cobalt concept will become a low cost family compact sedan which apparently will be sold in US and also in South America and Europe.It may seem weird that Chevy Cobalt will be sold in Europe since here in Europe Chevy Also sells the Aveo Sedan.If we compare the two models will observe that there are a few huge differences between the two models.First of all Cobalt isn't targeting young people like the Aveo,Cobalt being a much more mature car.Second of all the interior is much more refined and the car is not as sporty as the Aveo so there are a few differences.
The Cobalt's headlights are quite large and has a prominent grill.Chevy promises that the production model will have a great quality interior and will offer a big list of options to choose from.It will also be equipped with a 7 inch navigation system.The buyers will have to choose from two 4 cylinder engines one a 1,3L and one a 1,8L,gas and diesel version equipped with the FuelFlex system.The sales of this model will begin sometime in 2k12.I invite you all to share me on Facebook and Twitter and connect with me just searching Michael Scoffield.




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