OPEL MOKKA SMALL CROSSOVER DEBUTS

General Motors continues with its badge-engineering by announcing the new Opel Mokka compact SUV. It’s exactly the same (apart from the badges) as the Buick Encore and Vauxhall Mokka. We in South Africa are only interested in the Opel of course, and hope the local operation seriously considers bringing it over here.

TOYOTA YARIS HSD HYBRID ON ITS WAY TO MZANSI

Toyota South Africa confirmed it will start selling the smallest hybrid in the company during the year sometime. The Yaris HSD (Hybrid Synergy Drive) uses similar components to the Prius in order to go forward.

DETROIT 2012: NEXT HONDA NSX FINALLY SHOWS UP

“Like the first NSX, we will again express high performance through engineering efficiency. In this new era, even as we focus on the fun to drive spirit of the NSX, I think a supercar must respond positively to environmental responsibilities.” And so the next Honda NSX was introduced to the world via the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

DETROIT 2012: AUDI REVEALS HOT Q3 VAIL CONCEPT

While this car is called the Audi Q3 Vail Concept, make no mistake, it will be produced. Perhaps not in the exact form as it appears here, but very much so on the powertrain front. At least. Audi unveiled it (not sure if there’s a pun in there) at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

HYUNDAI VELOSTER TURBO BREAKS THROUGH

Hyundai’s Veloster is headed to Mzansi sometime this year. The little coupe is supposedly a direct competitor to the Volkswagen Scirocco. Launched in the United States in 2011, the car was equipped with a naturally aspirated 1.6-litre GDI making 103kW and 167Nm of torque.

DAKAR 2012: MZANSI TOYOTA HILUXES FINISH IN TOP 10

Today's 8th stage of the 2012 Dakar was a day of consolidation for team Imperial Toyota. The long hard stretches (some of the straights were in excess of 20km long) showed that the Imperial Toyota Hilux's lacked the straight line speed to beat the unrestricted Hummers and turbo-diesel Minis. On the positive side, the three South African Toyotas finished 6th (Giniel), 9th (Lucio) and 10th (Duncan), the first time that all the cars finished in the top ten.

VOLKSWAGEN HAD A GREAT DECEMBER

During December, a total of 29 787 new passenger cars were sold in South Africa. (This figure includes an estimate of Mercedes-Benz South Africa (Pty) sales for December 2011 developed using historical data, trend cycle and seasonal influences after a precautionary global directive by Daimler AG in Germany that it, for the time being, discontinued participation in the South African Automotive Industry’s domestic new vehicle sales and export sales reporting.) 

DETROIT: DODGE DART BREAKS COVER

Dodge is (hopefully) on its way towards a spectacular resurrection. One of the central focal points of this phoenix-like rise will no doubt be the Dart, a car based on the Alfa Romeo Giulietta. That’s because Fiat practically owns Chrysler now. So officially the Dart has been unveiled at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

ROLLS-ROYCE ANNOUNCES RECORD SALES

Rolls-Royce announced a record sales year for 2011. The ultra-luxury brand owned by BMW Group sold 3 538 cars last year. Its portfolio of products now includes the Phantom, Phantom Drophead Coupe and the Ghost. Yet, it was comprehensively outgunned by fellow German-owned classic British brand Bentley.

OFFICIAL: BMW TO OFFER MANUAL M5

One man’s Mopani worms, is another’s caviar. That seems to be the case here as BMW announces some fantastic news for its American customers, while the rest of the world receives not-so-good news. The new BMW M5 will be offered with a 6-speed manual option, but only in the North America region.