Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Autoblog Podcast #76]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/30/autoblog-podcast-76/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/30/autoblog-podcast-76/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/30/autoblog-podcast-76/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , ,

It's car debut week, apparently, for Autoblog Podcast #76. As we start winding up for the car show season, news is beginning to break. We start with the Ford Verve, Ford's B segment concept that will be the new Fiesta in Europe. It will be coming to the US, as well, even though Ford Europe's designers didn't imbue it with the three-bar grille. Just send it. We also saw the production result of Chrysler's JC49 in the surprising Dodge Journey CUV. It's got some very cool packaging in the interior, and the styling is successful, if not heart-pounding. Cross your fingers that it doesn't get saddled with the same materials in the rest of Chrysler's interiors - you know, plastic that makes milk jugs laugh. We finally got to see the Jaguar XF sans camo, too. Let's hope it runs like a scalded cat (with the AJ V8 in supercharged and naturally aspirated forms, it should do pretty well), because it's got the face of one. The amalgam of borrowed cues work well together, and it's a huge improvement from the overtly retro S-Type. Maybe it will serve as a tipping point, moving Jag from a nostalgically styled brand to a bolder, more cutting edge look, Last but not least, we're competing in the 24 Hours of LeMons. We've got an '88 RX-7 that's going to get torn to shreds. We can hardly wait, look for updates on the preparations, as we head toward the event on October 20th and 21st. And we're out - 44 minutes of punditry.


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Autoblog Podcast #76 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 30 Aug 2007 10:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>24 hours24Hoursautoblog podcastAutoblogPodcastbb segmentBSegmentchryslerdodgefiestafordjaguarjourneylemonspodcastracingvervexfThu, 30 Aug 2007 10:56:00 ESTAutoblog Podcast #76Dan Roth44:00autoblog, podcast, 76, ford, chrysler, verve, dodge, journey, jaguar, xf, lemons, racing, motorsports, 24 hours,<![CDATA[SEAT going bigger, targets Mondeo, others]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/05/31/seat-announces-new-b-segment-models/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/05/31/seat-announces-new-b-segment-models/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/05/31/seat-announces-new-b-segment-models/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

SEAT B-Segment
Click image for photo gallery

Erich SchmidtNo longer content to just pump out hatchbacks and crossover-y little MPVs any more, Spanish VW subsidiary SEAT is getting ready to dip a toe into the highly-competitive D-segment, taking on the likes of the Ford Mondeo and Peugeot 407. That's some pretty stiff competition, but if the sketches SEAT prez Erich Schmidt (above right) released this week are any indication, the larger SEAT's styling is going to be mature and forward-looking while (apparently) shedding some of the brand's overt visual quirkiness along the way.

In fact, the head-on sketch reminds us of the the new Mondeo, with touches of the Jaguar C-XF concept car and the current Aussie-market Ford Falcon thrown in for good measure. That's not a bad thing at all, and as demonstrated by the new Mondeo, styling matters The new car will be offered in sedan and wagon variants, and it'll be built at the company's Martorell plant, when it ultimately bows in 2009.

And now, we wait...

UPDATE: We don't know why the PR refers to the B-Segment. As a commenter points out, the Mondeo, et al are D-Segment competitors in Europe, so we updated the post to reflect that.

[Source: SEAT]

Gallery: 2009 SEAT sedan

Continue reading SEAT going bigger, targets Mondeo, others

SEAT going bigger, targets Mondeo, others originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 31 May 2007 11:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>b segmentb-segmentBSegmentnew seatNewSeatThu, 31 May 2007 11:24:00 EST<![CDATA[Spy Shots: Ford Verisa on U.S. soil?]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/04/24/spy-shots-ford-verisa-on-u-s-soil/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/04/24/spy-shots-ford-verisa-on-u-s-soil/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/04/24/spy-shots-ford-verisa-on-u-s-soil/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Could this be the B segment car that Alan Mulally obliquely referred to between Shrub jokes during his NYIAS keynote? What we have here is a Mazda Versia, a JDM car that Ford may be considering bringing to the US. That'd explain it tooling around the Dearborn area, and it looks like it was snagged in California a while ago, too. It'd slot nicely under the Focus and inject some new life into small cars at Ford. We're thinking that the "I made it myself" bodywork of this mule is not an attempt to appeal to the bodykit and bewinged crowd, and just hastily assembled for engineering tests. Powered by a 1.6-liter four cylinder, fuel economy should be solidly in the 30s, while the Mazda roots at least hold the potential that it'll run with the Honda Fit. That's our hope, anyway -- because the worst case scenario has it recalling the Aspire.

[Source: Popular Mechanics]

Spy Shots: Ford Verisa on U.S. soil? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 24 Apr 2007 09:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bb segmentBSegmentcarfordjdmmazdaminismallsub miniSubMinitinyversiaTue, 24 Apr 2007 09:06:00 EST<![CDATA[The U.S. B-segment car Mark Fields axed]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2006/08/09/the-u-s-b-segment-car-mark-fields-axed/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/08/09/the-u-s-b-segment-car-mark-fields-axed/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/08/09/the-u-s-b-segment-car-mark-fields-axed/#commentsFiled under: , ,



Back in January at the L.A. Auto Show Mark Fields promised the audience at his keynote speech that Ford would soon be unveiling a new product to compete in the fast-growing subcompact (or B-segment) market in the U.S. Well, here we are in August and Ford is still without the promised small car to compete with the Chevy Aveo, Toyota Yaris and Honda Fit. What happened?

Well, it turns out that Ford was rushing to market a version of the Fiesta-based EcoSport small SUV (pictured) that its subsidiaries sell in Mexico and Brazil. According to The Detroit News, the already fairly basic EcoSport would have been stripped down even further as Ford tried to come up with a price leader for the market. Fields (wisely, in our opinion) canned the project, saying this week that he'd rather wait for Ford to "come in with a product that's distinctly Ford" and not "just another econo-box."

[Source: Detroit News]

The U.S. B-segment car Mark Fields axed originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 09 Aug 2006 16:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>b classb segmentb-classb-segmentecosportWed, 09 Aug 2006 16:57:00 EST