Lamborghini may be leaning towards an SUV and not a production Estoque

Lamborghini has been on the fence about which model to add to their lineup for what seems like forever, but it looks like the decision will finally be made sometime before the end of the year. At first it was believed that we would get to see the production version of the Estoque, but it may be the successor for the legendary LM002 that will come out on top due to the trends in growing markets like China.

"We haven’t asked our customers so much in terms of a personal question but the feeling, especially for the new markets, is SUV seems to be the majority," said Christian Mastra Lamborghini Asia-Pacific boss. "If you think about India, China, Brazil, Mexico — all the new markets are more keen on this kind of car. Especially as we might have also the heritage with that, if you think about the LN002. We’ll see, the decision has not been taken yet."

If Lamborghini does go through with their SUV, they would be clearly following in the footsteps of their main competitor, Porsche, but that will be where the trail ends. Mastra says Lamborghini will not be going into the hybrid, or even diesel markets with their models. They say their supercars will always be powered by V10 or V12 engines and the SUV or sedan may be seeing a turbocharged engine, but that’s the only compromise they will make to their heritage.

posted on 10.3.2011 09:00 written by Simona   

source : http://www.topspeed.com/cars/future-cars/ke2048.html

Mitsubishi Eclipse May See Reincarnation

With a definitive 22-year run and a recent termination of production, any news on the Mitsubishi Eclipse should be far and few between, or should it? At a recent media preview of the i electric car, Greg Adams, Mitsubishi Motors North America’s Vice President-Marketing and Product Planning was quoted saying that the Eclipse "always comes back around sooner or later."

Just when we were closing the book on the Japanese automaker’s mid-size sports car, all of a sudden there’s another chapter. According to Mitsubishi, the Eclipse was "the most-successful U.S.-market sports car from a Japanese auto maker in the past 20 years." It sold 982,024 units in the U.S. since the car’s 1989 launch and saw a 105.4% increase in sales through August 2011 compared to 2010. So why was it axed? As with any other automaker, Mitsubishi’s focus has switched to fuel efficiency, leading them to market their new i-MiEV extensively, so the extra work in trying to get the Eclipse to the next level was probably not worth it at the time. The Galant sedan will also be seeing its dreadful end by 2013, as will the Endeavor SUV. These deletions will leave Mitsubishi with three models in their lineup, and some room to grow when they’re ready.

Adams said that a future midsize sedan from Mitsubishi wasn’t off the table as long as the numbers worked out, so the Galant may still have its fair chance to come back. Our vote, though, is for the Eclipse.

posted on 10.3.2011 12:00 written by Simona 

Source : http://www.topspeed.com/cars/future-cars/ke2048.html