Autoblog

Click above for high-res gallery of the Topos Sail concept

Turns out the recreational and commercial vehicle show in Dusseldorf, Germany has attracted more concepts than the just the Fiat Portofino. Volkswagen showed up with the Caddy Topos Sail concept, another nautical-themed vehicle that brings the boat life to land locked lovers of the water. Based on the Caddy MPV, the Topos Sail concept's biggest attraction is its roof, which is covered in wood decking and surrounded on all sides by aluminum roof rails. The roof deck is designed for lounging in the sun just like on the deck of a yacht, and the panels flip up to act as back rests. The concept also features a nifty ladder built into the rear lift gate with wooden steps, as well as wood trim elsewhere on the vehicle's exterior. We're certain it doesn't float, but you could park the Topos Sail down by the docks, climb up on the roof and order a daiquiri to get the full effect.


[Source: VW]

Jalopnik has caught spy shots of a fleet -- well, two -- of the new Chevy Tacuma minivans bound for Europe. If they are indeed replacing this Chevy Tacuma as well as that aardvark masquerading as a minivan, the Uplander, then it looks like things are about to get a lot more spacious over yonder pond. Supposed to be about the size of a Mazda5, the Tacuma appears to have front-hinged rear doors, which might make it more CUV than minivan. Also, the Tacuma is also supposed to be built at GM's Hamtramck plant in Michigan. If so, that would make it bedmates with the Chevy Volt, and, as Jalopnik speculates, perhaps another good home for a hybrid drivetrain...

[Source: Jalopnik]

Click above for gallery of the Car Camel

You need something to carry a car, but you don't want just any old pickup truck or SUV because anybody could do that. And since you do have that vintage Dodge Caravan lying around... why not grab the chainsaw and make something really special?

Allow us to officially introduce the Car Camel. Apparently plying the highways of Ontario, Canada, it's a shortened minivan with a car hauler stuck to its backside. It ain't pretty, and it probably ain't too fast, but we have to admit that it is pretty neat... if you're into that kind of thing. Have a look at the gallery of images below, but if any of you get the idea to make a Car Koala... please, don't. Thanks for the tip, Zak!

UPDATE: Jackpot! Autoblog reader Paul H found the owner's personal blog on which he explains how, and more importantly why, he built the Car Camel. Also check out more pics of the Car Camel, including it actually carrying a car, in the gallery below.


[Source: Photobucket]

Click above for another angle of the shorty Voyager

What would happen if an old Plymouth Horizon mated with a Plymouth Voyager? See above. Despite the fact that Chrysler used to offer its minivans with two different wheelbases, this is a vehicle that was fortunately never released out of the factory doors. Our guess is that the owner, like us, never really cared for those old non-powered sliding doors anyway. Why not just get rid of 'em completely? Our favorite view of the bus shows that there's nearly as much front-overhang as there is metal between the axles. In all seriousness, the work that went into cutting this sucker in thirds, throwing out the middle-section and welding it back together seems to have been done pretty well. Because the Voyager is a front-wheel drive minivan, the powertrain probably didn't need any tweaking at all.

[Source: Hemmings Auto Blog]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Toyota FT-HS concept.

A report by Automotive News detailing Toyota's future products reveals that the automaker's focus will be realigned to meet new fuel efficiency standards and limiting high-powered and niche offerings.

On the hybrid side, the new Prius will debut in Detroit, with sales beginning in the spring of 2009 as a 2010 model. The nickel-metal hydride battery will remain, and because of that, the plug-in model will be delayed until a lithium ion battery is offered. The new Prius will be packing the Corolla's 1.8-liter four cylinder and the car will be an inch wider and a half-inch longer. The second hybrid model might not come to Detroit, but development is currently under way and sales will be limited to Japan.

The Supra revival has been shelved due to high mpg requirements, allowing Toyota to focus on its RWD coupe, jointly developed by Subaru. Also, there's only room for one body-on-frame SUV from the automaker, so the 4Runner will be re-engineered for the 2010 model year, will debut in either New York or Chicago, and the FJ Cruiser will complete its lifecycle and be dropped in the next few years.

The Sienna and Venza will be equipped with hybrid drivetrains in 2012, with the Sienna receiving a facelift late next year, along with more cargo space and room for third-row occupants.

The report goes on to state that the Corolla will be redesigned in 2013, along with the Matrix, the next Camry will receive a facelift in 2010, with the new model debuting in 2012, and the new Avalon will debut in 2011 as a 2012 model.


[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

The market for oversize and jacked-up minivans parading as crossovers hasn't exactly set the world on fire, as Chrysler's Pacifica and Mercedes-Benz R-Class have ably proven. Still, Hyundai is set to throw its hat into the ring with the upcoming Portico, which is based on the concept vehicle from 2005 with the same name. To its credit, the Portico does manage to have a few new features that its competition doesn't. Seating for up to six is standard, though there are only two rows. Each row is a long bench, with the center spot on each row also able to fold down, allowing the option of converting the Portico into the world's largest and least efficient four-seater. Expect to find one of Hyundai's V6 engines underhood with a hybrid option rumored to follow. As a minivan replacement, the Portico could find a few buyers, but the Korean automaker had better find a way to squeeze every mile out of each drop of gasoline, otherwise the Portico will take residence right next to the ill-timed Kia Borrego on dealers' lots across the country.

[Source: AutoWeek]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Toyota Mark X Zio.

Toyota's JDM Mark X Zio has been caught testing in the arid climes of Death Valley, and while a Japanese-only vehicle running on U.S. soil is nothing new this time of year, the pseudo-crossover has made the switch from right-hand to left-hand-drive.

Despite its size, the Mark X Zio is actually capable of seating four, six or seven passengers by using a flexible seating layout that can accommodate either a 2-2-2 or a 2-3-2 arrangement. Essentially, it's a glorified minivan/crossover wearing wagon sheetmetal, and has the potential to slot in between the Toyota Venza and the tanking Highlander.

For consumers downsizing their SUVs, the Mark X Zio has the potential to fill a niche between niches, and with a LHD arrangement, we could see the Zio on U.S. shores before the close of the decade.


[Source: KGP Photography]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Volkswagen up! Space concept.

It was rumored last week and now it's been confirmed: Volkswagen's up! minicar will be switched from a rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout to a front-engine, front-wheel-drive arrangement when it goes on sale in 2011. According to VW CEO Martin Winterkorn, "Our engineers favored a rear engine and fought until the end for that solution." Unfortunately, the rear-engine layout had to be nixed due to cost constraints and the limitations it imposed on passenger space.

Volkswagen originally planned to launch the up! in Europe sometime in 2010, but the architecture switch has bumped back its sale date by four- to five-months, meaning it will likely hit showrooms in early 2011. While a few months wouldn't normally be a big deal, the Toyota IQ is set to debut in dealers early next year and the Fiat Topolino will launch late in 2009, putting VW behind the eight ball by almost two years.

Volkswagen plans to launch the up! in three flavors: a hatchback, minivan and sedan. The automaker expects sales in Europe and emerging markets to hit approximately 500,000 units per year, although a decision has yet to be reached on whether the up! will make it to the U.S.



[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

There has been plenty of support for Ford to bring its rest-of-the-world products to the North American market, and with the truck market doing a Roscoe P. Coltrane E-brake turn away from profitability, the Blue Oval's global efforts are becoming increasingly important for its survival. The plan going forward is to utilize small and medium sized vehicles from Ford's European arsenal globally. In North America, the cars will be spiffy, though Ford will be robbing Peter to pay Paul on that count -- spreading the costs of America's premium cars over the breadth of the entire program's worldwide scope.

According to Automotive News, we're getting a big list of Euro-Ford based cars in the near future. The Fiesta will slot in under the Focus, and will share a new platform with Mazda. Also on the Fiesta's underpinnings could be a small crossover or minivan. The Euro Focus will finally get here in 2011, when the next generation drops. 2012 will bring the C-Max, a Mazda 5-ish people mover. The Fusion moves to the EUCD platform, though we hope it doesn't grow too much, lose its joyous demeanor, or come up short on fuel economy. It looks like Ford's going to try to stack the B, C, and D segments with sedans and MPV-type offerings, as well as seriously tweaking all of its offerings to match the new and looming reality.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub Req]

Big Merc gender-bending is coming to the small Benzes when the platform underneath the A- and B-Class vehicles is released for consumption. Amongst the van-like MPVs will come a "four door coupe" that Autozeitung predicts will be called the CLA. Picture a shrunken CLS and you get the idea, and that's what Autozeitung's digital artist went with when fashioning a rendering. The "sandwich structure" of the current A/B-Class Benzes allows crash safety with a short nose, as well as passenger cabin benefits, but is costly to build, so something else is being brewed up for the new smallest Mercedes. The front-drive, tall and stubby cars haven't been fawned over, so a platform swap to an FR layout may be in store, though that would seriously chew up space efficiency. A muscled-up Euro scuttled plans to bring the original B-class to the United States, though this new version might just make it onto the boat to do battle in the burgeoning small/flexible/fuel efficient end of the market.

[Source: Carscoop]