Autoblog

T2X concept from the 2005 Seoul Motor Show

So far, General Motors has been taking a measured approach with crossover vehicles. The General has recently rolled out the seven-to-eight-seat Lambda-based Saturn Outlook, GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave to join its smaller Chevy Equinox, Pontiac Torrent and Saturn VUE. Now we're hearing from the folks over at Motor Authority that an even smaller CUV based off of the Opel Corsa could soon be sold at your local Chevy dealer.

European Opels are currently being brought into the US as re-badged and good-looking Saturns, but Chevy's status as the General's volume brand may garner it some of the styling and handling benefits of GM's Euro marque. GM already unveiled the T2X concept in Korea, showing that it has the design resources to make good-looking small CUVs, and some of those styling cues are destined to be used on an Opel Corsa-based CUV, reports Motor Authority. The cute 'ute is rumored to hit our shores as a 2010 model wearing a Bow Tie badge instead of the Saturn stamp. The Chevy version of this small crossover will undoubtedly receive different powertrains than what's offered overseas, and we'd imagine that a mild hybrid mated to a fuel-efficient four-cylinder would result in above average gas mileage.

[Source: Motor Authority]

Some cloaked shots of the production version of Ford's newest cute ute have surfaced. First shown as the iosis-X concept in Paris, this C-segment crossover features that same "kinetic design language" we see in Ford of Europe's S-MAX and C-MAX, in a size that slots between the two. This small crossover would compete head-to-head with the Toyota RAV-4 and Honda CR-V, among others.

Just when we thought the CUV/SUV market couldn't get any more crowded, this would be the eleventieth UV in the Ford lineup alone. But it's a looker, this one. Using spy photos of a heavily disguised prototype, the artist created a rendering that looks athletic and stylish but functional, sort of like a scaled down Mazda CX-7, which is a good thing. Our previous spy shots of this productionized iosis-X looked markedly different, but it's likely the older pics were of a test mule. As this vehicle gets closer to it's early 2008 launch and Frankfurt debut, the shape seems to be taking its final, more stylish form.

[Source: drive.com.au]

A tipper just sent us some pics of what appears to be the next Honda CR-V caught nekkid out in public. While the front end looks like a reasonable update to the current model, the rear, especially the sloping window line aft of the C-pillar, looks like Honda took a page right out of the Ssangyong book of automotive design.

No info was provided along with the pics, so it very well may be the case that what we're looking it is not the next CR-V. Time will tell as the soft-roader should debut with its new duds soon if it's still to be a 2007 model.

Thanks ebm14 for the tip!

Check out the front shot after the jump...

Those rev-hungry Hondaheads over at the Temple of VTEC have persuaded spyshooter Brenda Priddy to part with a couple of images of the 2007 Honda CR-V, giving readers the best look yet at the popular crossover's pending replacement.

The glimpses show a vehicle remarkably similar to that of a rendering we showed you a few days ago. Even more car-like in execution than the outgoing CR-V, the mule in the photos does away with the rear-mounted spare, which will likely improve repair costs in rear-enders, but goes some way toward making the new model look exceedingly hatchback-esque.

[Source: VTEC.net]

(tip nods: A.K. Maloney, Karth Manthi)

Fish around in your pants for the Suzuki's fob, punch the unlock button, pull the handle, and clamber inside. Or, rather, you might've, were there actually a need to engage in a bit of pocket-lint spelunking. Not so with the new Grand Vitara. In an unusual move for its class, Suzuki has fitted their compact SUV with a type of keyless entry and start. Oh, there's a fob (a big, chunky one, at that), but you won't need to lay hands on it every time you want to get in or out of the vehicle... that's what those rubberized oval buttons on the two front doors and rear cargo access door are for. Approach the vehicle with the fob somewhere on your person, and the 'Zuki detects its presence, allowing you to open the door (one push on the handle button for your door, two nudges for everyone). It's a system that works well, particularly as keyring-resident box still works as normal. Hidden within is a key for valets and less-than-trustworthy types.

[Click through to the jump for further interior impressions and more than a dozen photos!)

Suffice it to say that Suzuki has never stunned North American consumers with beautiful automotive designs. In point of fact, reviewing their history reveals a certain manic quality, little of it pretty. Oddball propositions like the toy-like X-90 and character-free Esteem have given way to the likes of Suzuki's ill-proportioned Aerio and milquetoast non-statements on the order of the Verona and Forenza. But there are tangible signs that the automaker is finally finding the plot– the inexpensive Italdesign-penned Reno and the tweener SX4 crossover are both attractive propositions. But the offering most likely to become the company's poster child is the all-new-for 2006 Grand Vitara.

A direct replacement for its tired, boxy predecessor that reigned from 1999-2004, the new Grand Vitara is infinitely more compelling with even just a cursory glance. By comparison, yuppies ought to be clamoring for the reborn GV like it's next year's Ikea catalog. Simply put, it's a looker. The strong lines of its clamshell-style hood set the tone, creating a defining ridge across the top of the rectilinear grille, lending the clear-lensed headlamps a bit of edge. The former element is of the blacked-out cross-hatch variety, with a thin, u-shaped chrome lip adding definition and a bit of class. Even when viewed from the dead-on, the GV's meaty fender flares lend it a properly butch stance, particularly as they mold so nicely into the bumper, itself augmented by a pair of blisters housing auxiliary driving lamps. Complaints? Well, the chrome 'S' badge on the nose is a bit outsized, coming across like a Superman logo reinterpreted by an anime artist. But it's hard to blame Suzuki's designers for wanting to get the message out that they're finally in the business of making attractively styled vehicles.

(Click here for the full walk-around, along with more commentary)