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PAGE 16 · www.autonewseurope.com February 19, 2007 Geneva auto show preview Read more about Geneva auto show debuts in our comprehensive A to Z guide in the next issue. Starting Friday, March 2, you can download the guide as an easy-to-print-out PDF document at Carmakers go green www.autonews.com/geneva07.

Carmakers will demonstrate how they are ing more environmentally friendly power- Daihatsu will show an Eco version of its its hybrid cars. Honda’s concept is for a small making cars more fuel-efficient at this year’s trains. Cuore minicar. It will also have a stop-start sports car powered by a hybrid powertrain, Geneva auto show. BMW debuts a 1-series three-door variant system that cuts CO2 emissions to 99g/km. Honda aims to show that sports cars don’t have Pressured by EU legislators to curb CO2, the with a stop-start system and brake energy re- Toyota and Honda show concepts for poten- to be gas guzzlers. gas mainly blamed for global warming, au- generation that will reduce fuel consumption tial future hybrid cars. Toyota’s Hybrid X study The show’s preview days for the press and tomakers need to show that they are develop- as well as CO2 emissions. previews a possible new design language for industry are on March 6 and 7.

Audi A5 BMW 1 series, 3-door Audi’s A5 coupe takes design director Walter de’ Silva’s much-praised styling lan- Less than three years after its launch as BMW’s entry-premium car, guage a step further. While it keeps the signature large the 1 series gets a new variant: a sporty three-door. It debuts a stop- single-frame grille, the A5’s front lights are smaller start system that will be standard on all 1-series models except the and more sculpted. The car also has more 130i. Another technology on the 1 series that will reduce fuel use angular lines on the hood and doors. The and CO2 emissions is a brake energy regeneration system. Last year, design will be a starting point for the 1 series overtook the 5 series to become BMW’s No. 2 selling car future Audis. Due to launch in Europe after the 3 series. BMW sold 132,129 units of the 1 series this summer, the four-seat and 125,381 of the 5 series, according to JATO Dynamics. coupe will be positioned above the lower-premium A4 sedan, but just below the medium-premium A6.

Photo: Lehmann

Brilliance BS6 Citroen C-Crosser/Peugeot 4007 Brilliance Jinbei Automobile’s European French sister brands Peugeot and Citroen will launch their new Japanese-built medi- importer, HSO Motors Europe, will show um SUVs in Geneva. The Peugeot 4007 and Citroen C-Crosser go on sale this sum- the BS6 upper-medium sedan, its top-of- mer with only a 2.2-liter diesel engine. The 4007 stays true to Peugeot’s design lan- the-line model, in Geneva. The BS6 is built at a guage with its feline-styled front end and large lion brand badge on the hood. joint-venture factory with BMW in Shenyang, near Chrome chevrons at the front give the C-Crosser a typical Citroen look. The SUVs China’s border with North Korea. The car will cost €19,000 to are 5+2 seaters with a third row of seats that folds flat. They are based on the Mit- €23,000. HSO Motors Managing Partner Hans-Ulrich Sachs, who helped to subishi Outlander, which goes on sale in Germany February 10. Mitsubishi will build launch the Hyundai brand in Germany in 1991, aims to sell 15,000 BS6s in Europe 15,000 4007s a year and the same number of C-Crossers. this year. HSO also intends to show the BS4 lower-medium sedan and the BC3 coupe in Geneva.

Dodge Demon The two-seat Demon previews a car Dodge could launch to challenge the Mazda MX-5 roadster and the new Opel/Vauxhall GT. The rear-wheel-drive Demon is 3970mm long and is powered by a 170hp, 2.4-liter gasoline engine. Dodge isn’t saying if it will build the Demon, but the car looks like a near-pro- duction concept.Dodge is starting to succeed in Europe. The US muscle-car brand sold 10,970 units in Europe last year, according to JATO Dynamics, up from 311 vehicles in 2005. About 97 percent of those Ford Mondeo sales were of the Ford has given the Mondeo a sleeker design and new technology. lower-medium It has also made it bigger to help the car compete in the declin- Caliber hatch- ing upper-medium segment, where buyers are migrating to back, which SUVs and crossovers. The Mondeo will offer optional adaptive was launched cruise control, one of the first examples of this technology last spring. moving down from premium models. Ford launches produc- tion versions of all three Mondeo body styles in Geneva: a four- door sedan, five-door hatchback and station wagon. The car goes on sale starting in May.

Daihatsu Cuore Daihatsu wants to be seen as an environmentally friendly brand in Europe. It debuts a new Cuore in Geneva that has an Eco version. With its stop-start system, the Cuore Eco uses 4.2 liters of gasoline per 100km. Its CO2 emissions are 99g/km. Daihatsu’s sev- enth-generation Cuore is less boxy than its predecessor and adds safety technology such as optional electronic stability control and knee airbags. AN_070219_16&17.qxd 16.02.2007 12:09 Uhr Seite 17

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Mazda 2 The Mazda2 loses its boxy appearance and gets a sleeker, sportier look. While most minicars and small cars are getting bigger, the third-generation Mazda2 is down- Honda sized. At 3880mm long, it is 40mm shorter than its predecessor but 150mm wider at 1690mm. The new car’s design closely resembles the Sassou concept that was Small shown at Frankfurt’s 2005 IAA. When it launches early next year, the Mazda2 will be Hybrid the first car underpinned by Mazda parent Ford Motor’s new shared Sports Concept architecture for small cars. Mazda is leading the development of Honda aims to show that sports cars this architecture, which also will underpin the next Ford can be environmentally friendly. The Small Hybrid Sports Concept "explores the Fiesta and Fusion in Europe. Madza built idea that a car can have a low environmental impact yet still deliver all the driving some units of the old Mazda2 at Ford’s enjoyment expected of a compact sports car," Honda says. Designed by the Japan- plant in Valencia, Spain. The new ese carmaker’s r&d center in Offenbach, Germany, the sleek coupe previews a Mazda2 only will be made in Mazda’s potential future Honda small sports car powered by a gasoline-electric powertrain. Hiroshima, Japan, factory.

Mercedes C class The new C class will play a key role in Mercedes-Benz CEO Dieter Zetsche’s plans to return the carmaker to No. 1 in quality and customer satisfaction surveys. Mercedes Peugeot 207 Outdoor cannot afford any electronics-related quality glitches on the lower-premium sedan, The 207 Outdoor previews a new variant of the 207 small which accounts for a third of the carmaker’s global sales volume. Two body styles car that Peugeot will launch in the autumn. With its will be offered in Europe. The Avantgarde variant (below) has the three-point increased ground clearance, chunkier bumpers Mercedes star in the center of the grille, which is similar to the carmaker’s and other SUV styling cues, the 207 Outdoor roadsters and coupes, and is aimed at younger buyers. More traditionally minded looks similar to Volkswagen’s Cross Polo, which customers likely will choose the Elegance variant, which has the star in its usual has been a sales success. The production Out- location on the hood. door will keep the SUV styling details and the concept’s panoramic roof. Like the 207 station wagon that launches in the summer, the Out- door will be marketed as a practical car that can carry more luggage than the 207 hatchback. The Outdoor also will be targeted at buyers who have active leisure pursuits.

Renault Twingo Skoda Fabia Renault adds sporty Twingo variants to help the car compete in the minicar seg- Skoda adds more technology to the Fabia, ment that has become more crowded since the car’s launch in 1993. A GT version its best-selling model, to help improve will have a 100hp, 1.2-liter turbocharged gasoline engine. The GT and basic Twingo its standing in the fiercely competitive versions keep the styling of a concept shown at the Paris auto show last September small-car segment. Among new (below), except for the concept’s wide wheel arches and fat tires. These features will options are adaptive lighting and a tire- appear on a high-performance pressure monitoring system. The Twingo RS, which launches new Fabia’s front-end takes next year. Renault also styling cues from the Czech car- will debut a station wagon maker’s Roomster small minivan. version of the Clio The second-generation Fabia is longer and taller hatchback. than its predecessor. The Fabia goes on sale soon after the Geneva show. Prices will be about the same as the current Fabia, which costs about €10,250 in Germany. A station wagon version is due early next year.

Diatto ’s Diatto brand will be revived in Geneva with the V-8 Diatto Zagato supercar built by coachbuilder Zagato. Two collectors, whose names have not been disclosed, asked Zagato to build two modern-day versions of the lightweight supercars that Diatto made before it folded in 1932. Diatto was founded in in 1835, the same year it patented an innovative wheel for carriages. It built its first car in 1905 and survived for 27 years building racecars and ultraluxury models.

Volvo V70 Volvo has made the new V70 station wagon more stylish than its predecessor to stop customers from switching to minivans, SUVs or crossovers. The Swedish carmaker also has tried to maintain the car’s reputation for practicality by giving it an additional 55 liters of luggage space and a rear seat that includes an integrated, adjustable child booster seat. Volvo aims to sell 80 percent of its annual V70 production in Europe. The V70 is based on the S80 medium-premium sedan, which went on sale last summer.