Mercedes’ commercial vehicles division has lifted the veil off of the 2014 Citan Crewbus, a long-wheelbase variant of the existing Citan capable of carrying up to seven passengers.  The name Citan is a combination of the words “city” and “titan.”

The Citan is a product of the alliance between Mercedes parent company Daimler and Renault-Nissan.  Essentially a rebadged Renault Kangoo Maxi, the Citan Crewbus wears a front fascia heavily inspired by the recently-facelifted 2014 Sprinter van but nearly every body panel is interchangeable between the Kangoo and the Citan from the A-pillar back.

Stretching 180 inches long, the Crewbus features space for up to seven passengers spread out over three rows of seats.  The third row seats can be adjusted individually and removed altogether when not in need, freeing up a generous amount of cargo space.

 

The Citan Crewbus inaugurates two new variants of existing Renault-sourced four-cylinder engines: A 1.5-liter turbodiesel that churns out 110 horsepower and a 1.2-liter gas-burning unit rated at 112 horsepower.  In Europe, the 1.5-liter is also found under the hood of the Dacia Logan, the Renault Clio and the Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class.

Both engines send power to the front wheels via a six-speed manual transmission and are available with a fuel-saving start-stop system.

The 2014 Mercedes Citan Crewbus will go on sale throughout Europe next spring.  Pricing information will be announced closer to its launch.

Mercedes is working on selling the Citan in global markets including Russia, Chile and select Southeast Asian countries but the van will not take on the Ford Transit Connect on U.S. shores.<![CDATA[
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New rumors have surfaced suggesting Mazda’s next-generation Mazdaspeed3 could arrive with a turbocharged engine and all-wheel drive.

The latest report is in stark contrast to previous rumors – in July it was reported that the next Mazdaspeed3 would ditch its turbocharged powerplant altogether for a more powerful version of the automaker’s 2.0L naturally-aspirated Skyactiv mill. However, Australia’s Drive is now claiming that the new Speed3 will retain its boosted motor.

A turbocharged engine would match up more closely with other hot hatches in the segment, such as the Volkswagen GTI and Ford Focus ST.

Although it sounds as if the Mazdaspeed3 might hold onto its turbocharged engine, the pocket rocket’s infamous torque steer could be put to rest. The latest Mazda3 is built on the same architecture as the CX-5 crossover, meaning it would be fairly straightforward to equipped the Speed version with all-wheel drive.

“From a technical point of view it’s not difficult to install a four-wheel-drive system,” Mazda3 deputy program manager Takeo Mariuchi said.

Mazda is mostly keeping quiet on the future of the Mazdaspeed3, but expect to see a new version of the car in showrooms within the next two years.

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Ford will boost its North American exports to China by as much as 40,000 units per year, one of the automaker’s shipping partners has revealed.

Auto Warehousing Co., a vehicle processing firm that ships vehicle out of a port in Portland, Oregon, revealed this week that Ford is planning to boost exports of its North American-made Explorer and Edge SUVs to China by about 40,000 units. The Explorer is built at Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant and the Edge is made in Oakville, Ontario.

“The vast majority of the vehicles we sell in China are built in China,” Ford said in an emailed statement to The Detroit News. “As part of our plan to offer a full family of SUVs to Chinese consumers, we began importing the Ford Explorer from the U.S. to China this year. Explorer joins our locally produced EcoSport and Kuga, as well as Edge, which is imported from Canada.”

Ford exported just 16,405 vehicles from all countries to China during the first nine months of 2013.

The decision to boost exports from the United States is likely tied to capacity restraints in China. So far this year Ford has delivered 647,849 vehicles in China, marking an improvement of 51 percent over the same period in 2012.

Ford will continue to boost exports to China next year as it rolls out its Lincoln luxury brand to the world’s largest auto market. The first Lincolns sold in China will be built in the U.S., although Ford is expected to eventually shift to local production.

Photo by Mark Elias.<![CDATA[
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A new report finds Dutch sports car builder Spyker will equip its upcoming B6 Venator with a Lotus-sourced V6 engine.

In a letter to potential customers, Spyker CEO Victor Muller proudly announced the company’s partnership with England’s Lotus will continue over the coming years and be expanded to include mechanical components for the upcoming B6.  Precisely which engine was picked was not revealed but rumors claim Spyker’s next model will be powered by an evolution of the supercharged 3.5-liter V6 mill also found under the hood of the Lotus Exige S.

Based on a Toyota-built block, the blown V6 generates 345 horsepower and 295 lb-ft. of torque when bolted in the Exige S’ engine bay.  Muller promised the Venator would pack at least 375 ponies so the engine will likely undergo several modifications to increase its output.  Power will be sent to the rear wheels via a six-speed automatic transmission.

A carbon fiber body and an aluminum platform will help keep the Venator’s curb weight under 3,100 pounds, 719 pounds more than the Exige S.

Production of the B6 Venator is scheduled to start in November of 2014, nearly a year later than initially announced, and deliveries will begin shortly after.  The first 100 cars will be part of a limited edition edition developed jointly with Swiss watchmaker Chronoswiss and will feature a turned aluminum dashboard with a Chronoswiss clock.  To sweeten the deal, the lucky owners will receive matching wristwatch engraved with the car’s serial number.

Official pricing information has not been published yet but Muller previously hinted the car will cost around $195,000 in the United States.<![CDATA[
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Aston Martin has confirmed it will not follow the path blazed by Ferrari, Porsche and McLaren and adopt gasoline-electric hybrid technology.

“Hybridization has two aspects: To pass someone in Formula 1, which is irrelevant on the road, and to increase fuel efficiency.  It is very simple: If you drive a little slower, you will be much better off,” explained CEO Ulrich Bez.

Bez added he believes the intricacy of linking a hybrid system with an internal combustion engine makes cars unnecessarily more complicated and noticeably heavier.  He also fears owners of gasoline-electric sports cars will face costly problems further down the road because electric components tend to be less reliable than mechanical ones.

Instead of adopting hybrids, Aston Martin will meet the stringent emissions and gas mileage regulations that will come into effect throughout the European Union by making its cars more aerodynamic and lighter thanks to advanced composite materials  Working with input from Mercedes’ AMG division, Aston engineers will continue to fine-tune the existing V12 engine in order to maximize its efficiency and the company’s top brass has not ruled out lowering its displacement from six to five liters or less in the distant future.

Keeping the V12 around might cost Aston Martin more money than developing a hybrid system in the short run but Bez believes the iconic engine is key to preserving the firm’s image.

“Maybe I am too old for those things. Minimalist engineering is where we should be and not in [hybrids].”<![CDATA[
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Initial demand for the i3 electric vehicle has been so strong that BMW is already considering boosting its investment to increase production of the plug-in city car.

The i3 is still about a month out from launching in Europe – the four-seater will hit showrooms in the United States and China next year – but BMW has already taken 8,000 reservations for the car. BMW expects to sell 10,000 units of the i3 in 2014.

If that upward sales trend continues, BMW says it “will adjust capacity according to demand.”

“If demand holds, which is what it’s looking like, we will soon have to invest more,” Chief Financial Officer Friedrich Eichiner told Bloomberg. Eichiner didn’t mention how much BMW might have to invest to boost the i3′s production capacity.

The i3 will launch in Germany on November 16 with a starting price of 34,950 euros. The i3, which debuted earlier this year at an event in New York, will arrive in U.S. showrooms during the second quarter of 2014 with a base MSRP of $41,350. BMW will also sell a version of the i3 with a small gas generator for $45,200.

BMW will follow up the i3 with the $135,700 i8 plug-in sports car.

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Ford announced on Monday that it will begin production of its EcoSport and Edge SUVs in Russia next year. The move is part of Ford’s plan to grab a bigger slice of the growing Russian auto market.

Ford and its Russia joint-venture partner Sollers will begin building the compact EcoSport utility vehicle in Naberezhnye Chelny, Tatarstan, sometime next year. The Edge will begin production in Elabuga, Tatarstan, early next year.

“The Ford EcoSport and Ford Edge, which have proved to be great successes around the world, will give Russian customers two new stylish, fun-to-drive options from Ford’s family of SUVs,” said Ford Motor Company Executive Chairman Bill Ford, who currently is visiting Ford Sollers’ operations in Russia. “In addition to strengthening the Ford brand in Russia, production of these vehicles will create jobs and prosperity for the local community and help build a strong Russian auto industry for the future.”

The EcoSport will be the first vehicle built at Ford’s all-new Naberezhnye Chelny plant.

The Russian-built EcoSport will be available with either a 1.6L or 2.0L engine. Both manual and automatic transmissions will be on offer.

The Edge will be positioned between the Explorer and Kuga in Russia. The Edge will be offered exclusively with a 3.5L V6, automatic transmission and all-wheel drive.

Ford announced plans in 2012 to offer the Edge in mainland Europe for the first time in 2014.

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