The motor industry is staging a minor rally but is not out of the woods yet.

In the current economic climate, the motor industry is all about unit sales and Ford grew its January car sales figures by almost 1,200 units, according to figures released today (5 February).

Ford Fiesta and Ford Focus continued as the first and second-best sellers in the UK market. In third, fourth and fifth place respectively were Vauxhall Corsa, VW Polo and Vauxhall Astra.

These are troubled times for the American automotive giants but there were some bright spots at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, according to the Headlineauto agency.

Volkswagen wowed Detroit show goers in 2009 with its Concept Bluesport and this year it also stole many of the press day plaudits with its New Compact Coupe, based on the latest Golf.

Reports suggest that the NCC could be in production at VW’s Tennessee factory within two years.

The NCC is powered by a 148bhp direct injection and turbocharged 1.4-litre TSI engine, which drives the front wheels via a seven-speed DSG gearbox. But there’s also a 20kW electric motor which is used to boost acceleration or enable zero-emissions running. VW is claiming a top speed of 141mph and 0-62mph in 8.6 seconds. Even more impressive is the claimed 67.3mpg and CO2 emissions of 98g/km helped by a stop-start system.

BMW has announced a raft of improvements and changes to the 3 Series range to offer drivers more power and torque with lower fuel consumption and emissions. All the new engines and models make their debut in the UK market on 20 March and conform to EU5 emissions standards.

BMW announced on 18 January that its 3 Series Coupé and Convertible receive design changes and interior enhancements which, it says, are intended to keep both models at the forefront of their respective sectors. The company will also launch the BMW 320d EfficientDynamics Saloon – its cleanest 3 Series ever.

It is interesting to reflect on just how far diesel technology has come in a dozen years.  Back in 1997, BMW’s 325td Saloon had 25% more engine capacity than today’s standard 320d Saloon. Yet the intervening years have made the 325td look sluggish and thirsty by comparison. 

Today’s standard 320d Saloon – not the 320d EfficientDynamics Saloon variant – has 58% more power, 71% more torque, 36% lower emissions and consumes 58% less diesel.  At 7.5 seconds to 60 mph, it is also 4.5 seconds or 38% quicker – that’s progress!

Can Nissan’s Cube follow in the wake of Fiat’s iconic 500 and become an urban style legend in the UK? Well, maybe, says Nick de Cent.

Munted is a ‘delightful’ word I learned recently from my 12-year-old-daughter: apparently it means ‘ruined’ or ‘out of your head on drugs’. There’s a related (I presume) and equally colourful slang expression – ‘munter’ – which, I’m told, means ugly, especially when applied to women.

I’m currently trying to make up my mind whether either term might reasonably be applied to the new Cube, which makes its debut over here in January. For, while Nissan describes this box of tricks as ‘cute, quirky and perfectly formed’ with ‘iconic angular design’, I’m of the opinion that no amount of posing the Cube next to modern-art installations will fool us into believing this vehicle is a thing of beauty.

At a time when the automotive world is falling over itself to embrace greener technologies and break free from a dependence on oil, ultimate performance and luxury marquee Bugatti has chosen to unveil what it describes as the ‘most exclusive, elegant, and powerful four-door automobile in the world’ – cue the Bugatti 16 C Galibier concept.

We’ve all seen Jeremy Clarkson creaming is pants over the Veyron (even my 12-year-old daughter wants one, though she’ll settle for a Mini Cooper S convertible – Ed) but how will the ultimate luxury offering from the folks at Molsheim in Alsace, France, fit into today’s world of faltering economics and hybrid engines?

Yet, maybe it doesn’t matter to the super-rich who can be this car’s only market; we’ll see if it ever gets built. Bugatti president Dr Ing. Franz-Josef Paefgen has stressed that the Galibier is one of several concept studies the company is considering for the future direction of the brand.

So, as the climax of its centenary celebrations, the VW subsidiary showed off its 16 C Galibier concept to a bunch of the good and the great – or filthy rich (do you mean customers and opinion-formers – Ed?)  at the company HQ founded by the legendary Ettore Bugatti. ‘Galibier’ is the name of one of the most difficult alpine passes along the Tour de France and was a version of the four-door Type 57 Bugatti which, in its time, was the epitome of sporting elegance.

McLaren chose a notable date – 09/09/09 – to unveil its new road-going high-performance sports car. But will its new offering survive in a fiercely competitive sector, asks Nick de Cent?

McLaren Automotive is a company rich in recent history both on the track and in terms of its road-legal supercars. The firm’s automotive division has already built the world’s most critically acclaimed supercar, the McLaren F1 (1993-1998) and the world’s best-selling luxury supercar, the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren (2003-2009). Can it replicate this success with a new line of ‘no-compromise’ sports cars?

The new MP4-12C is the first in a range of high-performance vehicles from the Woking-based manufacturer, which the company says will ‘challenge the world’s best sports cars’. It says the rules in the sports car world are about to be re-written: well, that’s fighting talk, even if the new line is being launched at a time of unparalleled upheaval in the automotive industry.
 
‘McLaren is already a car maker with maturity and experience, having produced iconic cars such as the F1,’ McLaren Automotive managing director Antony Sheriff emphasised to ModernSelling.com.

Ferrari’s new V8, the 458 Italia is the latest incarnation of the mid-rear-engined berlinetta and set to wow the crowds when it debuts at next month’s Frankfurt Motor Show, writes Nick de Cent.

While it’s true that every new Ferrari is an event, there are some models that stand out. And the people at Maranello are saying that the forthcoming Italia is one of those.

They say that during the course of the Prancing Horse’s distinguished history certain cars have marked a genuine departure from the current range and ‘this is very much the case with the Ferrari 458 Italia, which is a massive leap forward from the company’s previous mid-rear engined sports cars’. As if that weren’t enough, the new V8 is astonishingly beautiful.

US chat show host and car enthusiast Jay Leno joined public figures, business leaders, celebrities and media guests for the official unveiling of the new Jaguar flagship at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea last night.

Jaguar’s new XJ is the company’s new four-door range-topper, available to order now (dependent on market), with the first customers due to receive their cars in early 2010. Prices start at £52,500 for the standard wheelbase 3.0-litre V6 diesel luxury.

Packing 325 horsepower, a sophisticated four-wheel drive chassis and a better-than-six-second 0-60 time, Vauxhall’s new Insignia VXR might be just what the competitive, quota-achieving company car drivers need to keep them out in front.

Based on the successful 2009 European Car of the Year, and available in hatch, saloon and Sports Tourer body styles (available in the autumn), the new high-performance Insignia will be Vauxhall’s first VXR model to adopt 4x4 technology, using a bespoke chassis developed through an extensive test programme at the gruelling Nürburgring circuit in Germany. Apparently, the car underwent 10,000 km of validation at this most demanding od circuits.

They say that it’s wise to save the best till last and it looks as though that is exactly what Mercedes-Benz and McLaren have done with the awesomely styled SLR Stirling Moss.

Just when you thought the Mercedes McLaren SLR might be approaching its sell-by date, this venerable supercar re-emerges for the summer in a new uncompromising guise. The latest variant fuses modernity with unashamed nostalgia for the days of 1950s derring-do, when legendary racing driver Sir Stirling Moss won the Mille Miglia in record time driving an SLR 300. (I once had an argument about ABS with Sir Stirling on a BMW press trip a few years ago – ‘Not a lot of people know that Ed’.)

Step forward the new SLR Stirling Moss which enters production this month, following on from the SLR Roadster which reached the end of its road in May. Like a magnificent butterfly, the newest SLR will enjoy only a brief moment in the sun, with production ceasing in December.

Never mind feeling the breeze, it’ll be more like a hurricane in Aston Martin’s new 191 mph rag-top DBS Volante – but only in a good way, writes Nick de Cent.

Aston Martin’s new Volante made its debut at the Geneva Auto Salon on 3 March. Later this summer, fans of the legendary British marquee will be able to wrap their hands around the steering wheel of the new soft-top offering which completes the DBS line-up. The idea is that the new Volante will ‘afford customers the combination of the DBS’s already-established benchmark sports car characteristics with all the thrills of open-air motoring’.