Autoblog

Click above for photo gallery of the Dongfeng Citroën C2 Kappa

Dongfeng Citroën will reportedly show a pair of cars adorned with graphics inspired by soccer/sport apparel manufacturer, Kappa. From what we can gather, a trio of Dongfeng Citroën C2s will be on hand, one in the red-and-white motif you see above, and two more sporting the automotive equivalents of the official Team Italia uniform. If the sketches are any indication, the cars will be given a dressed-up, rally-car look as well, with updated fascias, wheels, and the like. Whether a Citroën/Kappa trim package model is in the works for China is not clear, but at the very least, these show cars ought to be interesting to see when they're unveiled.


[Sources: Autoblog Chinese, FoMoCo News]

Geoff Upex worked with Land Rover for 23 years to help create and re-create the company's iconic boxy Range Rover line and in August, he relinquished the helm to Gerry McGovern. This week, Upex took his retirement on step further, saying that after his last day on Dec. 25, never again will he design another car. Not for Land Rover, not for Ford. Not for any automaker ever again.

It seems a tragedy that someone would completely give up something they devoted so much of their life to. We encourage Mr. Upex to continue creating stylish, attractive automobiles. If not for Land Rover, then maybe help a young, headstrong automaker in need of your sense of elegant restraint.

One charity case we think greatly deserving of your help, Mr. Upex (and we think we have a lot of support on this), is our style-challenged, hyper creative (and apparently nausea immune) Chinese friends at DongFeng. Please, Mr. Upex, for the sake of humanity, at least introduce DongFeng's designers to modern eraser technology. Please?

Chinese carmaker DongFeng introduced its D120 sports car at the Beijing show Saturday. The two-door apparently was created by mating a Solstice with a streeted-up Tiburon and has a 137-hp, 2.4-liter engine. The rear wing's height is adjustable, apparently by way of an old-fashioned bellows-type device, or else the D120 has a built in accordian underneath its rear hatch. That's the most we can say with much confidence. The Autoblog Chinese post, translated by Google, is somewhat hard to understand. Here's an example of some of its description after translation. Feel free to help us make sense of it...

"Safety, equipped with SRS airbag, a double-door antitrapping tightening belts and electric windows; Comfort. CD system with eight-inch LCD super, and after stretching, swinging around from top to bottom; cars are also equipped with the tail depends on probe Ergonomics with leather chairs, prudent elegance; top electric car with a sunroof and adjustable shading plate antitrapping Spoiler body and tail support ring smoother transition."

Not so sure we want our next car to have "probe Ergonomics."

More photos after the jump.

[Source: Hazik at China Car Forums and Autoblog China]

In an effort to keep its finger on the pulse of a quickly-expanding automotive market in China, Nissan's joint Chinese venture, Dongfeng Motor Co., has opened up a $41 million technical center in Guangzhou, China. The new center will develop vehicles for the Chinese market in cooperation with other Nissan technical centers around the globe. The facility, which replaces a smaller research operation, will also help develop less expensive components for Nissan cars around the world through the center's ties with China-based suppliers.

[Source: Automotive News]