We’ve already seen BMW’s new smooth-and-sleek Six Series as a droptop, but is it possible that the design will gain back some of its Bangle-ian spizzarkle as a coupe? Don’t hold your breath. The new design has more old-world grace than the previous model, but as a result it looks like it’s trying a bit too hard to be a Jag or Maserati. Sure, both of those brands offer some of the most elegant touring options on the market, but isn’t BMW supposed to be just a little farther ahead of the curve than its “Olde Worlde” competition? Shouldn’t BMWs be just a little bit more architectural and a lot more coldly technical-looking? Still not sure? Hit the jump for some endless B-Roll and a gallery.
(Read More…)

How many times had I written that Volkswagen’s sicklish SEAT will come to China? I had to peruse Google to find out. For more than two years, SEAT’s impending arrival in the Middle Kingdom had been floated, and then, like clockwork, the denials followed. So with a good deal of “yeah sure, it has been tried before” do we read the story in Autocar that “the Spanish marque will exhibit for the first time at next month’s Shanghai Motor Show and expects to be selling cars in China from early in 2012.” (Read More…)

Now here is an interesting tidbit from Volkswagen’s press conference of today.  Remember when three weeks ago J.D. Power announced that 72 million light-vehicles were sold worldwide in 2010, a number never seen before? Volkswagen has a different picture. (Read More…)

Volkswagen looks back at its best year in history. At a press conference today, Volkswagen CEO  Martin Winterkorn announced a consolidated group profit before tax of €9 billion ($12.45 billion). €1.9 billion ($2.6 billion) of that is Volkswagen’s share out of their China businesses.

(Read More…)

Luxury cars, pronounced an endangered species two years ago, are back with a vengeance and enrich their makers. After reporting record sales, BMW follows with record profits. The Bavarian Motor Works are looking at a 2010 pre-tax profit of €4.8 billion ($6.7 billion) on sales of €60 billion ($83 billion). Not bad for a company that delivered only 1,461,166 BMWs, MINIs and a few Rolls-Royces last year. (Read More…)

Are there any winners of carmageddon? You bet there are: The Germans. They were sheltered from the American meltdown by virtue of a minuscule market share. At home in Europe, they were saved in 2009 by European cash for clunkers largesse. Following that, they could not make enough cars to power the insatiable export machine.

Development pretty much came to a halt in the U.S. and Japan in 2009. It yet has to reach full revs. Flush with cash, German manufacturers never had to stop the development of new cars. Due to the long development cycles, we just begin to see the beginnings of this effect. (Read More…)

Germany is in an uproar against ethanol. Last week, motorists celebrated a win against alcohol in their gasoline: Oil companies stopped the build-out of E10 gas stations. The matter still fuels the headlines. Over the weekend, German’s Die Welt newspaper shocked its readers with the news that the bio-benzene can ruin engines which supposedly are ok for the fuel.

“E10 is under suspicion to stress the engine oil harder than conventional fuel. This causes minimized viscosity and increased engine wear,” writes the paper. Supposedly, the stuff literally waters down the oil. Die Welt quotes Thomas Brüner of BMW who said: “The 10 percent ethanol increase the water in the engine. The water condenses and mixes with the oil. The oil gets diluted and ages faster.” (Read More…)

When Toyota became the world’s largest auto manufacturer in 2008, they reluctantly accepted the title. Toyota knew that the title was not won by Toyota’s  strength, but by GM’s weakness. Toyota also was highly aware that the guy in front is everybody’s  target. Their worst fears became reality sooner than they thought.  Now, in an unusual departure from the usual Wolfsburg hubris, Volkswagen also realizes that too much success can make punch-drunk and lead to stupid or deadly mistakes. (Read More…)

German motorists won an important battle against ethanol. They used a downright un-German tactic: Widespread insurrection. They simply won’t buy the stuff. An edict handed down from Brussels ordered that Super has to contain 10 percent of ethanol. An alliance from Germany’s ADAC autoclub to Greenpeace said the new gasoline is a work of the devil, it is liable to ruin cars, and the environment. That didn’t impress Brussels.  But then, a buyer strike did set in. (Read More…)

Germany is busy digging itself out of a – mostly mathematical – hole.  According to data released by Germany’s Kraftfahrtbundesamt, registrations in February were up 15.2 percent compared to February 2010. The graph above tells a different story. (Read More…)

Don’t get confused by news that Volkswagen formally took over the Porsche Holding. They did, but Porsche Holding Salzburg is just one of the complicated web of Porsche companies. And  quite an interesting one. (Read More…)

Despite the strong yen, Japanese auto exports rose 7.3 percent in January to 365,288 vehicles, that’s up for the 13th straight month, reports The Nikkei [sub].  Exports weren’t strong enough to out-balance the Japanese car market that contracted 21.5 percent in January. As a result, domestic production in Japan dropped 6.3 percent to 706,107 units in January. This is the fourth straight month of decline, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association reported today.

A lot of executives at Japanese carmakers wish they would be doitsu, or German. (Read More…)

Now we know why Reuters became confused about Daimler and Renault: It’s those other French forging a bloody alliance with those other Germans as well! (Read More…)

Developing a new car with traditional technology costs an arm and a leg. Add future technology, and you are starting to talk real money. You need to spread the R&D costs across a lot of cars. The trouble is, massive sales of EVs are still just a dream. What to do in such a dicey situation? You look for partners. Renault and Daimler hammered out a new agreement. “Renault will supply the electric motors for the Smart and Twingo, we develop and make the batteries for both models,” Daimler’s head of research and development Thomas Weber told his hometown paper Stuttgarter Zeitung in an interview that will appear today in the print edition. (Read More…)

Opel green lighted their new convertible. It is based on the current Astra and will be built in their Polish plant in Gliwice , Automobilwoche [sub]. In Gliwice, the car can be built alongside of other Astra models. According to Opel, the car should go on sale in 2013.

Foundation for the new ragtop is Opel’s compact car architecture, which underpins the Astra, the Astra Sports Tourer and the future Astra GTC.  The new convertible take te place of the Astra Twin Top with its foldable hard top.

Also scheduled for 2013: A new sub-subcompact.  And a homegrown version for the Agila, which currently is a rebadged Suzuki. Volkswagen wants Suzuki for itself.