This rather stylish looking hatchback is a Holden Cruze. It will have its first public reveal in a few weeks on the Chevrolet stand at the Paris Motor Show. The car has been designed and built by Holden’s Port Melbourne design studio.
The Cruze will be made in Australia and is set to roll off local production lines towards the end of next year. It’s no Astra, but it’s still a pretty handy looking piece of kit. Thankfully, the Holden version won’t share that unfortunate Chevrolet nose.
Following the release of Mazda3 sedan images and details, the Japanese manufacturer has released a few teaser images for the new Mazda3 hatch. The hatchback will have a full reveal at the 2008 Bologna Motor Show at 9am on 3 December (7pm AEDST).
The December 2008 issue of Wheels magazine also reports of a new Mazda3 MPS currently under development. It is said the new MPS will produce the same power (190kW), but techno-boffins have been working to improve on getting all that power through the front wheels with more success. A revised torque management system is being tweaked, which Mazda hopes will improve real-world driveablity throughout the rev range.
Other engine news sees the 2.2 litre diesel from the Mazda6, complete with a Euro5 emissions seal of approval, to be used in the Mazda3. Presumably this option will make it down under, but don’t lock it in just yet.
Stay tuned for the world premiere on 3 December with more images, no doubt.
AutoExpress has published two images of Alfa Romeo’s upcoming 149, the replacement to the 147 model. Featuring strong styling cues from the MiTo and 8C Competizione the little Alfa has, again, sucked in plenty of admirers. Personally, I will reserve my judgement as, like the 8C, while there is definitely plenty to like about the styling, I’m not so sure the front end is as successful as it could be. One thing is certain, the Golf-sized hatch will stand out from its rivals, and that is often half the battle when trying to win customers from other brands.
Power will come from usual petrol and diesel variations, with entry level models expected to have around 90kW (120bhp) up to 186kW (250bhp) for the range topping hot hatch. The higher powered 149s are also expected to have an electronic Q2 diff to try and reign in all that power on a front wheel drive chassis. The 149 will be available for European sales in mid 2009.
Source: AutoExpress