VW Golf on Top European Car Market

If you're in the market for a brand new car and you live in Europe, odds are, you're just going to make traffic even worse by the end of the year.

But that's a good thing, mostly. It's good for the car manufacturers and it's good for those who are obviously doing better financially, allowing them to afford buying new instead of used.

Compared to the same month last year, new car sales in February 2015 were up 7.8% according to JATO Dynamics and their analysis on new car sales. If we add this up to the rise we've seen in January, it would mean that the market is already ahead by 7.1% compared to 2014.

As of right now, Europe's best selling brands are Volkswagen, Renault and Ford (for the month of February). TheGolf holds a strong lead with sales up 5.8% last month, while the Polo holds down second place ahead of the Renault Clio.

Speaking of Renault, they took 2nd place away from Ford thanks to the Clio being a massive hit - mostly because of its looks. Otherwise there would be no reason why Renault should be outselling Ford in any capacity.

The Fiesta is however the 4th best-selling model in Europe, while the attractive Peugeot 208 is 5th, ahead of the new Opel/Vauxhall Corsa.

The all-new Passat is also looking strong, quite strong when you think about the fact that it's selling at a pace which basically matches what cars from the supermini segment are doing. It's 63.8% rise compared to its predecessor last year makes it the most improved performer among the top 10 models.

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Mercedesc-Benz Concept A-Class

Mercedes-Benz is said to be planning a front-wheel drive sports car to rival the Audi TT. The automaker has just started developing the next-generation A-Class, which will reportedly have a coupe variant. 

Obviously, there’s nothing official yet, but German magazine Auto Bild claims the front-wheel drive sports car will exist and will be stylistically inspired by the Mercedes-AMG GT super car. The new entry-level sports car will be offered with some of the engines of the upcoming A-Class, including turbocharged diesels and gasoline engines. 

The TT rival will also be equipped with the high-performance engine currently used by the A 45 AMG, CLA 45 AMG and GLA 45 AMG. Besides the front-wheel drive basic configuration, the sports car will also be available with all-wheel drive. 

So when are we going to see a TT rival from Mercedes-Benz? If rumors are true, the automaker will unveil a pre-production concept sometime in 2017 or 2018, followed shortly by the production car.

Of course, all this raises the question of what will happen to the SLK...

Note: 2011 Mercedes Concept A pictured

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2015 Volkswagen Scirocco

The new model is set to make its debut around the year 2015, and according to a report from Caradvice, who spoke to Volkswagen Group head of design Walter de Silva, it will be revolutionary.

“It must be completely different. Completely,” de Silva was quoted as saying. “We don’t want to repeat the body style of the Scirocco, we want to change that. At the moment, it’s only a studio [project]. It’s not defined at the moment. We are still working…but we are looking 360 degrees,” he added

If they don't have their own ideas, perhaps they could take some inspiration from this interesting proposition.

Whatever plans VW may have, the next Scirocco will be a front-wheel drive car with all-wheel drive possibly offered as an option, so it will use the MQB platform that underpins the latest Golf, with which it will also share its range of engines. Furthermore, the new Scirocco might break the ice for the US market - the current model is not offered Stateside, as it not only steps on the toes of the GTI but it's also too expensive to be imported.

The new Scirocco promises to be a better different Volkswagen, so we look to 2015 with anticipation. Automotive design trends could change in two years, so we really don't know what we're going to get.

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BMW M8 Supercar

In fact the M1, which was produced for BMW by Lamborghini between 1978 and 1981 in just 456 units, is still the only supercar and, at the same time, the sole mid-engined model to sport the blue propeller.

This may change if M division boss Friedrich Nitschke gets his way. According to Car magazine, Nitschke has proposed a new supercar that will be based on the underpinnings of the upcoming i8 hybrid coupe.

The i8, which will go on sale next year, is powered by a mid-mounted 1.5-liter three-cylinder that drives the rear wheels and an electric motor powering the front ones, for a combined output of 349HP and a 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) time of 4.6 seconds.

That’s quick but hardly supercar material. For the proposed M8, the four-cylinder would be replaced by a twin-turbocharged V8 with around 600HP. The M8 would lose the i8’s batteries and electric motor and, with it, 200 kg (441 lbs) from the hybrid’s 1,480 kg (3,263 lbs) weight, and thus it would be significantly lighter than rivals such as the 1,458 kg Ferrari 458 Italia.

Way back in the 1990s, another proposal for M8, based on the 8-Series and powered by the same V12 used in the McLaren F1, never made it past the prototype stage. Four years ago, BMW unveiled the M1 Concept (pictured above) to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the original; despite rumors to the contrary, it remained just a concept. Here’s hoping that the third time will be a charm…

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2013 Volvo V60 Diesel Plug-In Hybrid

The company says that it will ramp up production to 4,000-6,000 units from 2014, since order books are already beginning to fill up. The project, which has been developed and financed by Volvo and Swedish electricity supplier Vattenfall, is the world’s first diesel plug-in hybrid.

Incorporating the hybrid’s manufacture in the Torslanda plant’s production line, which also builds Volvo’s regular models, has required certain parts of the assembly line to be modified in order to integrate the more than 300 different parts that the V60 Plug-in Hybrid encompasses compared to the conventional models.

For example, the electric motor and its drive shafts are fitted on the same station as the final drive on the standard all-wheel drive versions. Additionally, the lithium-ion battery pack, which according to Mertens is “the single most complex system in the car”, is lifted through the tailgate and then spun a quarter of a turn in the passenger compartment in just 60 seconds and with less than 20 mm clearance.

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