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While we’re fans of the sporting practicality that Honda’s five-passenger Fit has been offering to Americans for the last few years, we’re not sure that we’d be quite so happy with the package if we had to share it with three additional friends.
That’s what Honda seems to be proposing, if French web site Le Blog Auto can be believed, with these scans of a new Fit variant called the Freed, stretched to accommodate as many as eight passengers. The Freed will apparently be powered by a 1.5-liter four making 118 horsepower and hooked up to a CVT transmission.
Have a look at the potential Freed in our gallery below.
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General Motors China’s mini-commercial vehicle joint venture with SAIC and Wuling Motors, introduced the new Wuling Rong Guang minivan today on its stand at Auto China 2008.
With a length of 157.5 inches, height of 75.5 inches, width of 63.8 inches and wheelbase of 106.3, the Rong Guang offers a much more spacious cabin than traditional mini-commercial vehicle. Its 1.2-liter DOHC gasoline engine generates maximum of 70 horsepower per liter (84 total) and maximum torque of 80 foot-pounds at 4,000 rpm. The Rong Guang consumes less than 5.5 liters of gasoline per 100 kilometers (about 43 mpg) under a constant speed of 50 km/h and is expected to reach Chinese dealers in May. (Click on the thumbnails below to check out a gallery of Rong Guang images or through the jump to read on.)
General Motors tipped its hand about an upcoming seven-passenger MPV in the labor agreement it drew up with the United Auto Workers in 2007. Now the spy shooters of Brenda Priddy & Company have come across the first fruit of that agreement with these images of a new MPV mule out and testing.
The vehicle appears to be built on GM’s global Delta chassis, which is an excellent indication that the MPV will be offered in many markets, and under the umbrella of several of GM’s brands worldwide. Priddy expects that the vehicle will be built domestically at the Hamtramck, Michigan plant, though much of the R&D work was likely done at the facility in South Korea.
The new hauler will most likely end up in the hands of Chevrolet, with Opel and Daewoo also being logical recipients. Have a look at Priddy’s handiwork in our gallery below or click through the jump to read the spy shooter’s impressions of the new MPV.
Haima Auto, a sub-brand of First Automobile Works (FAW) based in Haikou, will debut its self-designed MPV concept Haima H2 at the upcoming Beijing Auto Show.
The model will be powered by Haima’s own 1.8-liter HA-VIS engine and has a wheelbase of 105 inches. According to a technician from the company the MPV is set to go into production in the fourth quarter of this year. The prices will likely range from RMB 100,000 to 130,000 (roughly $14,285 to $18,571).
The new concept is tagged as new Mazda Premacy by the local media for the company’s connection with Mazda. Haima Auto has been involved in a joint venture with Mazda since 1992 under the name of Hainan Mazda Motor & Stamping Co., Ltd. Its new name “Haima” is derived from the Chinese initials of “Hainan Mazda,” which also happens to mean “sea horse” in Chinese.
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While powerful older rear-wheel-drive sports sedans are certainly the vehicle of choice for most of Japan’s street drifters, this video helps to prove that four wheels, an engine, and a bit of can-do spirit are all that is really required. Watch as an older Toyota Previa (actually a JDM Estima) is thrown around in an exquisite example of minivan control.
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OK, here’s another batch of renderings from the Zhejiang-based Chinese automaker Geely, a new MPV. It looks a bit like the set of rendered Meirifeng MPV images that the company released in 2006, which didn’t quite make it to production. We’ll have to wait until later next month to find out more about the Geely, when specifications are given at the Beijing auto show. We don’t yet know what name this MPV will get, perhaps Geely will choose another wild animal?
By zooming in a little we can see Geely’s new logo, which cost the company 2 million RMB (roughly $285,042) in its designing fees.
Check out the Geely MPV and the Meirifeng in our gallery below.
If you’ve got an idea for Question of the Day, a funny photo for Caption It, or just want to share a news tip, let us know at windingroadtips@gmail.com
When you’re eight-feet and four-inches tall, as is the claim of Ukrainian Leonid Stadnyk, your shopping list for cars is probably quite small. Which is why the world’s tallest man was smiling so brightly recently, when Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko handed him the keys to a new vehicle designed for someone just his size.
Stadnyk had written his president asking for assistance, after finding that no vehicle on the market could accommodate his massive frame. The President came through with a custom built Chevrolet minivan, conceived of by a design team on the Ukraine’s ZAZ automotive factory in Zaporizhia.
(Click on the images below to follow Leonid on his first ride or on the jump to read on.)
With the demise of the illustrious Crown Victoria nigh, Ford - as well as cab drivers in New York City - may have to look to new ideas to fill the hole left by the sedan’s departure. Perhaps it’s fitting, then, that Ford’s fitted a new Transit Connect to demonstrate the European van’s ability to serve in livery fleets.
We could do without the two-toned paint ripped out of Judge Dredd, but many of the Transit Connect’s features seem more than ideal for a modern NYC taxi. Fitted with a second-row bench, the Taxi concept seats five like the ‘Vic, but offers nearly four times the amount of luggage space. Those twin sliding doors may be minivan-like, but they do provide easy entry and exit without protruding into traffic.
(Click through for more on the Transit Connect Taxi, including a release from Ford)
In many ways the minivan is the perfect vehicle for a jet turbine engine retrofit. That huge load bay makes for a natural jet housing, with good ventilation from the sliding side doors, and a nice big window in the back for exhaust.
Despite all that, there just seems to be something fundamentally wrong with wrecking this kind of havoc with a Dodge Caravan. Where are the groceries supposed to go? Click on the YouTube video above to see a minivan run the quarter-mile in under eight seconds, or on the thumbnails below for a gallery of strange stills.
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Though T&C styling can still be seen from a mile away on the VW van, the German automaker has done its best to change the face and the character of the vehicle. Volkswagen family grill and headlights have been added to the Routan making the face of the minivan the single element that is most distinct from its Chrysler origins.
(Click on the thumbnails below to launch live and stock galleries of the Volkswagen Routan, or through the jump to read on.)
Those of you jonesing for a European Ford to make its way Stateside, your wait is over - although it may not be what you were hoping for. Officially debuting later today at the Chicago auto show is the Transit Connect, a mid-sized utility van previously available to customers in Europe.
Launched overseas in 2002, the Transit Connect replaced the previous Escort Van range, and competes against other mid-sized utilities like the Citroen Nemo and Renault Kangoo. Although many of Ford’s compact offerings in Europe have moved to the newer C1 platform, the Transit Connect rides on a modified version of the previous Focus’ (C170) underpinnings.
(Click through for a gallery of the Transit Connect and more on Ford’s new mid-size van)
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