The Kuga joins Individual versions of the Ford Mondeo, Fiesta, S-Max and Galaxy, offering overseas buyers a host of luxury options you’d normally find on higher-end automobiles.

The interior trim in particular goes a long way towards addressing some of the incoherence we mentioned in our review as well. Along with the leather and stuff, the Kuga Individual gets a revised exterior package that evokes some of the touches from the concept car, like aluminum intake fascias, 20″ wheels and ground effects.

When we put the production Ford Kuga next to its progenitor, the Iosis X show car, on our test drive in Belgium, we couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. The Kuga is a fine looking cute-ute, but lacks the aggressive styling that made the Iosis X such a show stopper. Ford promised to close the gap a little with the Individual version of the Kuga, launched here in Paris.

The latter gives the Kuga a more road-skimming look as opposed to the Iosis X’s jacked-up stature, but it’s a nice touch all the same. The best part, however, could be the new engine option: the same Volvo-sourced turbo five from the hot Focus ST, albeit detuned to 200hp.

via:autoblog

The Megane is Renault’s bread and butter, competing in a dog-eat-dog segment against the likes of Volkswagen’s new Golf and the popular European-spec Ford Focus. Diversity is part of Renault’s plan of attack, planning to offer six different Megane bodystyles, each with its own distinct character. To start off, Renault launched the five-door hatchback and the sleek new coupe on its home turf here in Paris. Both represent striking departures from the models they replace, and the three-door cuts a particularly aggressive silhouette.

Standing in front of the Alfa Romeo display in Paris, we found ourselves in a bit of a conundrum. The big news from Alfa was, of course, the official worldwide show debut of the MiTo, and the stand was rife with them. But we’ve already brought you galleries of photos of the MiTo, and even flew all the way over to Italy to drive it. (For you, of course.) But a European car show wouldn’t be a European car show without some shots of an Alfa Romeo. Fortunately the Italians were kind enough to oblige with a new, hotter version of the impossibly gorgeous Brera.

Ralliart as any world car fan knows, is a badge synonymous with Lancer performance but has now been introduced for baby Colt as well. The Colt Ralliart replaces the old 3-door CZT and adds another innovation to the name by giving an extra two doors for variation, if you prefer it. So puny power becomes practical as well. The car runs a 150ps 1.5-litre turbo engine on both versions. As far as equipment goes, since you are not paying too much for these cars you aren’t getting that much back either. Some nice features include an auxiliary plug for audio inputs, cruise control and “come home” lighting.

It’s that time again, when Mitsubishi unveils the new generation Colt. Baby Colt was shown at the Paris Motor Show for the first time and is coming to a Mitsubishi dealer near you, in Europe anyway, by November 2008. In keeping up with the competition, the Colt will be offered in 1.1-litre, 1.3-litre and 1.5-litre Clear Tec engine variants. These are good for 75ps (100Nm), 95ps (125Nm) and 109ps (145Nm) each respectively. All in petrol. The last Colt diesel sold dismally so Mitsu will not go down that slippery spiky path again this time around. The engines are equipped with automatic stop and go technology to help improve fuel economy and reduce bad emissions. Standard is a 5-speed manual transmission but an AllShift automated manual is offered with the 1.3.

Source:World Car Fans

The Volage Concept features Michelin Active Wheel technology that incorporates 2 small electric motors per wheel, one of which provides the power for the wheels and the other used for the active electric shock absorber system (the suspension). The benefits of the batteries can be seen with the model’s on board control system that allows the driver to select different configurations depending on the situation. One configuration for example could see the model configured for drive comfort rather than just sheer power and speed.

Venturi are no stranger to the world of electric vehicles. Their previous works have included the Fetish Concept as well as an electric version of the Citroen Berlingo. This Autumn’s Paris Motor Show gives the company the opportunity to showcase their latest work, the Volage concept. The concept is a collaboration along with fellow French company, Michelin, well known for their tire products.

Production versions of the Volage Concept are planned to hit the market in 2012.

A lightweight chassis from the Fetish Concept keeps the overall dry weight down to 1,075kg with a pretty even weight distribution of 45% to the front and 55% to the rear. Put it all together and we have a tidy little sportscar capable of propelling from 0-100km/h in under 5 seconds.

Citroen is teaming up with Sony to launch a new concept that will debut at the Paris Motor Show and be available in Gran Turismo Prologue on the Playstation 3. Sony has released one image of the cloaked concept and a brief teaser video (posted after the break) showing the low-slung coupe sporting a set of slit LEDs, massive fenders and a widened stance. We haven’t been able to coax out any details from our contacts, but if this Citroen GT doesn’t make in onto the road, at least we’ll get to experience it in the virtual realm.
Source:autoblog.com

Belgian Mercedes tuner Expression Motorsports have put together a DTM inspired wide body package for the new W204 C-Class. Larger air vents in the bumper and hood enhance engine cooling while the widebody kit allows for the larger wheels up to 22-inch to be fitted. The kit consists of front bumper fascia with fog lamps and LED indicators, front carbon fiber lower lip spoiler, hood from C 63 AMG, hood vents, 10 piece fender flair set, side skirts, rear bumper fascia with carbon fiber diffuser and integrated LED F1 brake light and deck lid wing plus additional carbon deflector. Finally, a double twin-tip exhaust system along with an assortment of wheel packages round out the kit which Expression Motorsports refers to as their EX C Motorsport kit.

The BMW 1-series platform is perfectly poised to provide the underpinnings of the Z2, it has already successfully launched a convertible version for the 1-series and any modifications required should be quite inexpensive.

The Z2 would come with a fabric roof and styling would likely follow in the vein of its larger sibling. The ready made engine line-up of the 1-series should see an enticing 0-100km/h time of just under seven seconds and the top speed would lie at around 240km/h

Suzuki will continue its studies in fuel cell technologies with the fourth incarnation of its Fuel Cell Vehicles, the SX4-FCV. Just another pointless concept, seen it all before! An initial thought that may occur to may minds as Suzuki aren’t exactly the first name that comes to mind when it comes to innovation. However the Japanese automaker is attempting to reverse this trend, whereas most electric vehicles rely on their electricity to come from an external source, this model creates its own electricity through a chemical process using Hydrogen and oxygen.