New look for Lincoln's MKZ

The Lincoln MKZ was restyled and re-engineered for the 2010 model year. The most striking change is the large split grille with tall vertical fins, key elements of Lincoln's new design language. Richer-looking materials and a higher level of fit and finish highlight the redesigned interior. The car debuted last month at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Sales begin in the first quarter of 2009.

Bentley boom is over — for now

The global sales slump finally has caught up with high-flying Bentley Motors.

Volkswagen AG's British superluxury brand has enjoyed a terrific decade, but its rapid growth has come to a screeching halt this year.

Sales in 2008 will decline about 30 percent both worldwide and in the United States, said Stuart McCullough, Bentley's board member for worldwide sales and marketing.

At the Los Angeles Auto Show, McCullough said he expects Bentley's global sales to fall to about 7,000 units this year from 10,014 in 2007. And he said North American sales will skid to about 3,000 from 4,290 last year. Through October, U.S. sales were down 30.1 percent to 2,333.

Bentley, which has 37 U.S. dealers, has almost three months of inventory in the United States but does not want to pile on incentives, McCullough said.

"We're not putting on dealer cash or cash for retailing, but we're helping fund dealer stock levels," he said.

If a dealer is considerably above normal inventory levels, McCullough said, Bentley provides financial assistance.

Bentley cut production 15 percent this year. "We saw the cascade coming," McCullough said.

At the Los Angeles show, Bentley rolled out a special edition of its Azure — the 500-hp Azure T. The Azure T will be priced about $50,000 above the standard open-top Azure, which starts at $342,495 including shipping.

Only 400 will be produced, with about 100 coming to the United States. The U.S. debut is expected next summer.

MINI Convertible

MINI cabrio goes topless in first official pictures.

The new MINI Convertible has broken cover, and given the success of the previous drop top it’s no surprise that BMW has lifted the lid on the current generation.

Due to reach showrooms in March, the new MINI comes two years later than its hatchback equivalent. These are the first official pictures of the soft-top and it looks like it's been worth the wait.

The second version of the best-selling convertible will make full use of MINI’s ‘Minimalism’ package, BMW's clever term for its Efficient Dynamics systems. The result is a cleaner more frugal beast. Performance has also been improved and the range-topping Cooper S now pumps out 175bhp from its turbo-charged 1.6-litre unit.

The new cabrio gets a healthy makeover too. A raised shoulder line and added chrome strip surrounding the car, highlight the cars sporty nature. While the trademark circular headlamps and hexagonal grille both remain. There are also two all-new colours making their debuts; Interchange Yellow and Horizon Blue.

Opting for the same two-stage electronically-operated canvas roof as the previous car, the top can be partially opened to act as a sunroof as well as fully retracted.

Another accessory making its debut is MINI’s ‘Openometer’, the add-on records how long the top has been down, letting passengers know how long they've been 'cool' for, air conditioning also now comes as standard.

Prices start at £15,995 for the standard Cooper rising to £18,995 for the Cooper S

Aston Martin One-77

Sneaky Paris reveal gives us a hint of what Aston has in store

We've already seen murky pictures of the million pound Aston Martin, but now the company is wheeling out the real thing - albeit with an inconvenient sheet across most of it.

This is our first glimpse at the One-77, although the idea is that those wealthy enough to buy one will be able to tweak and specify a lot of the car themselves - meaning the slight bits of car we see here may not be standard items, or they could be the base that customers have to work with.

It has also been confirmed the One-77 has a sophisticated carbon fibre chassis, handcrafted aluminium body and a stonking 7.3-litre V12 under the bonnet. 'Exhilarating performance' is promised by Aston in 'the ultimate creative interpretation of the renowned British marque'. Consider us teased. Are you? And would you splash out the best part of a big lottery win solely on a car? Wing your way to the forum and reveal all.

Lamborghini Estoque

New super-saloon from Lamborghini gets its Paris unveil

After several weeks of teasing, we finally know the identity of the all-new model from Lambo. This is the Estoque, a four-door, four-seater concept. Expect a production version to not look much different, though, so long as public reaction isn't too negative. It clearly fits in with the existing Gallardo and Murcielago model ranges, and even has hints of Countach about its front-end.

It's front-engined, four-wheel drive and will likely use a V10 power plant. Oddly for a Lambo, practicality and spaciousness are promised, and are achieved via a long wheelbase, which allows the car's height to stay low and keep the Estoque in line with the rest of the brand's models.

And if you're wondering, the name Estoque is derived from the term for a 35in sword used by a matador in bull-fighting. A typically Lamborghini name, then. The car is a concept for now, but in the company's words, they wouldn't produce a concept that couldn't be feasibly built.

Exciting, or just plain silly? The forum's the place to tell us about this, and anything else that's being revealed in Paris.

Porsche plans coup against Piech

Porsche Chairman Wolfgang Porsche has gained majority support among the two clans that own his family's carmaker to remove cousin Ferdinand Piëch from his post as Volkswagen chairman, a German magazine reported.

"It is not a question of 'if', rather 'when' and 'how'," Focus quoted one Porsche manager as saying.

The news magazine report ahead of its publication on Monday comes after a turbulent VW supervisory board meeting on Friday, where Piëch broke ranks with the other three Porsche representatives on the board.

Porsche had been quoted in comments made yesterday to Focus as saying of Piëch: "I am horrified by the behavior of the chairman."

The challenge is the result of long-running tensions between Piëch, part owner of Porsche, and his cousin over control of Volkswagen -- their company's largest investment in which the sports car maker is poised to take the majority this year.

Piëch, who has run Audi and Volkswagen as CEO before taking over as chairman in 2002, is a calculating strategist who has survived several coup attempts.

His power base stems from close allies like VW CEO Martin Winterkorn and the unwavering support from VW's powerful unions, which oppose Porsche's attempts to limit their influence.

Volkswagen declined to discuss the report while Porsche was not immediately available for comment.

Porsche Panamera

Porsche’s new four-door coupé is to undergo a extensive testing

Dubbed Panamera, it was pictured recently undergoing intensive chassis testing on the German Nürburgring. Scheduled for an official presentation at the 2009 Geneva show, the fourth range from Porsche is developed to be a strong competitor to the Mercedes CLS and the future Aston Martin Rapide and Volkswagen four-door coupé.

Though the Panamera takes over design elements from the 911 range, there will be significant differences, too. While the first has always kept its rear-mounted boxer engine, the newcomer will do with a choice of three front-mounted motors, though set back to the centre of the car as much as possible. The entry-level unit will be Volkswagen’s 3.5-litre six-cylinder unit developing 300 bhp, while Porsche’s own drivetrain will be a direct-injection eight-cylinder petrol engine, available in naturally-aspirated guise (350 bhp) and with twin-turbo (560 bhp). That should be enough to beat up the competition for a while – Mer'ss’ CLS 63 AMG comes up with 'only' 514 bhp. However, should Stuttgart make the CLS even stronger, Zuffenhausen would strike back with the Porsche GT’s 700-bhp ten-cylinder unit ...

The target for the Panamera is to be a true sportscar while at the same time it shall be a family-car for every-day with four full seats, easy access to the rear and a luggage compartment of around 450 litres. When it hits the road in 2009, Porsche hopes to be able to sell 20,000 units annually – and to jump over the barrier of 100,000 sold cars per year.

Piech stymies Porsche over Audi

Volkswagen Chairman Ferdinand Piech broke ranks with Porsche, his own clan's sports car maker, by tacitly backing VW staff in a boardroom showdown as thousands of workers protested outside.

A source briefed on Friday's events said Piech was not present during a VW supervisory board vote, allowing 10 members from the carmaker's labor unions to outvote the nine remaining shareholder representatives -- including three Porsche executives -- in a motion concerning VW's premium unit Audi.

The defeat for Porsche Automobil Holding means Volkswagen's largest shareholder will need approval from the VW supervisory board for any form of cooperation with Audi.

Volkswagen's luxury brand is a potential competitor to Porsche because Audi makes sporty cars such as the TT roadster and R8 high-performance coupe, which rival Porsche's Boxster and 911.

Porsche Chairman and VW board member Wolfgang Porsche attacked his cousin in a magazine interview, in a rare show of divisions between the Porsche and Piech clans.

"I am horrified by the behavior of the chairman," he was quoted as saying of Piech in Germany's Focus magazine. A preview of the article was released ahead of publication on Monday.

Extra power

The squabble took place as VW staff staged one of the biggest protests in the carmaker's history to support a German law giving labor and the state a big say at VW, which has passed Ford Motor Co to become the global number three automaker.

Both the European Commission and Porsche, poised to boost its VW stake to a majority, oppose the so-called VW law, which gives the state of Lower Saxony extra power to shape company strategy with its shareholding of just over 20 percent.

Union IG Metall said 40,000 Volkswagen workers from inside and outside Germany protested near its Wolfsburg headquarters. Staff from MAN, a truck maker in which VW holds a large stake, joined them.

"In times of shareholder value and finance market-driven capitalism we need more, not fewer, VW laws in our country," IG

Metall's leader Berthold Huber shouted in a passionate address to the noisy demonstration.

After the EU's highest court ruled last October that the 48-year-old law violated EU rules on the free flow of capital and needed changing, the German government made changes aimed at satisfying concerns in Brussels.

But EU Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy rejected those changes as insufficient.

Huber told the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung daily he would shift the protests to Brussels if the Commission lodged another complaint against the VW law, as McCreevy's office has threatened.

Earlier this week, Lower Saxony's premier said the state would raise its stake in Europe's biggest carmaker to 25 percent to retain its blocking minority if necessary.

Volvo S80 HPC

A Volvo S80 about to embark on some laps of a race track? Fish out of water? Well this S80 High Performance Concept has evolved a bit. It’s got four-wheel drive, new sports suspension, racing brakes and 345bhp. It’s also the first model to come from tuner Heico Sportiv to be endorsed by the Volvo Car Corporation, so it stands a fair to middling chance of becoming a production reality too.

Much of Heico’s time was spent nurturing the relationship between a pre-production four-wheel-drive system and its own ECU, but, with help from Bilstein, the firm has also developed new suspension that enables the car to sit 40mm lower on its 255/30-shod 20in wheels.

This has the desired effect of reducing roll in corners and further improving the car’s sure-footedness, but it still feels more like a quick saloon than a sporting one. In auto mode the gearbox doesn’t hold ratios long enough to exploit the increased torque, and the steering – an S80 weak point – is lifeless.

Heico was adamant that this car should maintain its ‘Volvo-ness’. It’s certainly achieved that. But in this concept a little too much so.

GM plans to show production Volt this month

General Motors plans to show a production model of its Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle as part of the automaker's upcoming 100-year anniversary celebration this month.

The automaker, which formally celebrates the 100th anniversary September 16, so far has shown only concept versions of the Volt.

"The rumors that a production version of the Volt will show up at the celebrations are true," a GM source told Automotive News Europe.

"The car will be a true representation of what the production version looks like and be somewhat different from the concept versions."

The car will be shown to employees and media at GM headquarters in Detroit.

Speaking at the London auto show in July, Bob Lutz, GM's vice chairman of global product development, said, "A production model will be showing this fall, but not at Paris (auto show)."

Preproduction models of the Volt will be built next year and 2010 ahead of the final production version in 2010, Lutz told Automotive News Europe. A European version will follow in 2011.

"Everything is looking good," Lutz said. "We have quite a few running around now in old Chevy Malibu bodies, so we can modify the engine and battery configuration."

Lutz said the body would be the next-generation global compact architecture. That's the same one to be used on the next-generation Vauxhall/Opel Astra and the Chevrolet Cruze, which will be launched at the Paris auto show in October.