The Full Skinny on the New Volvo V40 Including the Engine Range

You've no doubt seen the official pictures and video of the all-new Volvo V40, which is proving to be the worst kept secret of the 2012 Geneva Auto Salon.

Nevertheless, we have more news coming our way thanks to our Greek friends over at Auto2day-gr, as they sent us the skinny on all those details about the V40 we were missing. And yes, we can confirm that the data is official.

We'll start with the V40's dimensions as in one of our previous posts featuring some scans from the Swedish edition of Auto Motor und Sport magazine, we wrongly assumed that the V40 measured 450cm (177-in.) long.

As it turns out, the publication was referring to the maximum length of the series, which it said would eventually include the S40 sedan, C40 three-door hatchback and XC40 SUV, and not specifically the V40.

The V40 measures 4,369mm (172.0 -in.) long, 2,041mm (80.3-in.) wide including the mirrors and 1,445mm (56.9-in.) tall, while it rides on a 2,647mm (104.2-in.) wheelbase. That makes it roughly the same size as its BMW rival, the new generation of the 1-Series.

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Subaru Refines 2012 Legacy Tourer in the UK, gets More Fuel Efficient Boxer Diesel

Subaru has launched an updated version of its load lugging Legacy Tourer in the United Kingdom. The 2012 model has received a number of technical enhancements highlighted by the presentation of a revised diesel engine and select equipment upgrades.

The most important change for 2012 is of course the fitment of a tweaked 2.0-liter flat-four turbo diesel engine, which is Euro 5-compliant and features a more efficient turbocharger, and new exhaust-camshaft timing and lighter connecting rods. It also gets a new oxidation catalytic converters and Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF).

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Pininfarina Cambiano Concept is a Classic GT Coupe on One Side, a Saloon on the Other

The first official photos of Pininfarina's Cambiano concept car are out in the open ahead of its world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show thanks to the folks over at Italian car magazine Quattroruote.

When Pininfarina first announced the Cambiano, it made word of a sedan model but the teaser pictures that followed clearly showed a two-door coupe. As it turns out, the Cambiano study is both a coupe and a sports sedan.

To elaborate, on the driver's side, the concept has one large door while on the passenger's side Pininfarina opted for a suicide door solution and also eliminated the center pillar to afford better entry and exit to all seating positions.

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BMW Breaks All the Rules with New 640d xDrive Diesel Coupe and Convertible Models

According to most purists, a BMW sports coupe or convertible are supposed to have a smooth gasoline engine –preferably an inline-six- mounted up front and sending power to the wheels at the back.

The new 640d xDrive Coupe and Convertible that will debut at the Geneva Motor Show next month ticks only one of those boxes: the straight-six found under the hood. However, it's not fed by gasoline but by diesel fuel and it channels power to all four wheels.

It's not the first diesel-powered 6-Series as that taboo was broken by the previous generation model, but it's the first to combine an oil-burner with BMW's electronically controlled all-wheel drive system.

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ABT Sportsline to Debut New VW Up!, Beetle and Audi Tunes in Geneva

The Geneva Salon may not be the prime place for tuners, but it is one of the two most important motor shows in Europe together with the Frankfurt and Paris events that alternate each year, and as such, big players in the industry like ABT Sportsline always have something new to show.

At this year's event, ABT will debut several new tuned models including the Volkswagen Up! and Beetle, and the Audi AS6 Avant and QS3 crossover.

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GM Relies on Euro Operations for the Development of North American Chevy Cruze's Diesel Engine

When it comes to diesel technology, Europe is king and all for good reason as diesel-powered models account for roughly half of all sales across the continent.

Therefore, it's no wonder that General Motors tapped its European operations for the development of the diesel engine to be offered on the North American market Chevrolet Cruze sedan.

The Detroit automaker tells us that the new diesel unit is being developed by the powertrain engineers at GM's diesel center of excellence in Torino, Italy, with the help of their counterparts in Pontiac, Michigan, while Opel's engineers in Russelsheim, Germany, are also supporting the program by developing the accessory drive, acoustic cover and other specialized components.

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VW Releases a Fresh Collection of Photos of the New Passat Alltrack

First seen at last year's Tokyo Auto Show, the new VW Passat Alltrack is now available for order in select markets around Europe.

We revisit it today because the German automaker has seen fit to afford us with a new crop of images that show the high-ridding estate model in a different light.

The Audi A4 Allroad's more economical cousin gets all the usual bells and whistles expected from an estate model turned into a soft-roader.

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Spy Shots: 2014 Volkswagen Passat Test Mule Riding on the New MQB Platform

Volkswagen is taking platform sharing to the next level with its brand-new Modular Transverse Matrix (MQB) vehicle architecture that is flexible enough to be used in some 60 different models ranging in size from the VW Polo and Seat Ibiza to the next generations of the Audi TT sports car and the VW Passat.

We'll have the chance to see the first application of the MQB platform with the new Audi A3 hatch at next month's Geneva Auto Salon followed by the Mk7 VW Golf at the Paris Motor Show in September.

As evidenced by these spy photos, the German automaker has also began developing the MQB platform for the next iteration of the global Volkswagen Passat codenamed B8 (not to be confused with the North American market model) that is due in 2014.

The vehicle seen in these pictures is a test mule, meaning that VW's engineers have placed the body of a current Passat Estate on top of the new MQB platform, which features wider front and rear tracks.

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Holden Reveals 2012 Colorado Pickup Truck in Production Trim, Sales Start Later this Year

General Motors' Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck (which will be made and sold in the States) has made its appearance in Australia in production guise under the Holden nameplate. The automaker had previewed the Holden version with a lightly camouflaged concept at last year's Melbourne Auto Show.

The 2012 Holden Colorado that will arrive in dealerships throughout the country in the middle of this year has dropped some of the more exciting, but not at all practical, elements of the show car such as the large alloy wheels and sporty mirrors but nothing much else has changed.

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Peugeot Drops New Photos on the New 4008 Crossover, will go on Sale Outside Europe as well

There's a lot of news coming out of Peugeot's headquarters today, and it's all about the 2012 edition of the Geneva Motor Show.

After the presentation of the 208 XY and 208 GTi concept models earlier today, the French brand unleashed a new batch of pictures of the 4008 in the outside world, including the first images of the interior.

You may recall from our first story on the 4008 that it is based on the Mitsubishi ASX, also known as the Outlander Sport in the States, and RVR in Japan and Canada. The ASX itself uses a shortened version of the regular Outlander's platform that also forms the base for the larger Peugeot 4007 and Citroen C-Crosser SUVs.

The 4008 measures 4,340mm long (295mm shorter than the 4007), 1,800mm wide and 1,630mm tall, and rides on a 2,670mm long wheelbase, offering a boot volume of 416 liters with a spare wheel and up to 442 liters with a puncture repair kit.

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Très Chic: Peugeot XY Concept is all About Luxury and Style

While most gearheads will focus their attention on the 208 GTi Concept, Peugeot has readied a second study based on its freshly launched supermini. This one is called the 208 XY Concept and it will also debut at the 2012 Geneva Auto Salon in a couple of weeks' time.

The 208 XY study could be Peugeot's answer to the more upscale Citroen DS3 sub-compact model. Premium touches on the outside include a bespoke ‘Pulsion’ paintwork that Peugeot says has the ability to change color depending on the distance and the position from which it is viewed. It is created with sixteen coats of paint and lacquer.

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BMW Introduces New M Performance Parts Program, Includes Engine Upgrades

There's a lot to see from many automakers at this year's Geneva Auto Show, including a raft of new models from the BMW brand, which will introduce the new 6-Series Grand Coupe, the facelifted X6 and X6M, the new M6 Coupe, X5 M50d, X6 M50d M550d xDrive sedan and Touring along with several new engines for the 1-Series, 3-Series and X3.

That's quite a handful but we're not done yet. The Bavarian firm will also showcase the latest 3-Series sedan, the i3 hatchback and i8 sports coupe concepts (all of which we've already seen before) and in a world premiere, the new BMW M Performance accessory program, which brings us to this post.

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Ford Drops Another Picture of B-MAX, Says it will Debut the MPV at the Mobile World Congress

While the all-new B-MAX will be introduced to the automotive world at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show on March 6, its actual world premiere will take place at a very different event at the end of this month.

Ford revealed today that the company's executive chairman Bill Ford will unveil the sub-compact MPV on February 27 at the 2012 Mobile World Congress, in Barcelona, Spain.

The Blue Oval notes that it is the first automaker ever to present a new car at the leading mobile industry event, and all for good reason – or so it claims – as the B-MAX will debut feature several mobile technologies.

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Mazda Releases UK Pricing and Specifications on New CX-5

Following its launch in several markets around the world, the new Mazda CX-5 is now available for pre-order in Britain with first deliveries to take place this spring.

The compact crossover model, which is Mazda's first production model embody its SKYACTIV technology, will be offered with a choice of three engines including a 2.0-liter petrol producing 165PS (163bhp), and a 2.2-liter turbo diesel with either 150PS (148bhp) or 175PS (173bhp).

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New SsangYong XIV-2 Convertible Concept Crossover Heading to Geneva

At last year's Frankfurt Motor Show, SsangYong displayed the XIV-1 Concept for a compact crossover in the likes of the Range Rover Evoque.

Now, the South Korean automaker has announced plans to showcase a second body style of the study called the XIV-2 ‘convertible’ concept at the 82nd Geneva International Auto Salon in March.

Whereas the XIV-1 was a five-door model with "suicide style" rear doors, the XIV-2, (which stands for eXciting User Interface Vehicle 2), is a three-door crossover featuring a one-touch automatic opening soft-top roof that incorporates the rear window and rolls back in a similar way to Fiat's 500C.

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Mazda Takeri Concept to Make European Debut in Geneva – New Mega Gallery with 82 Photos

We saw the new Mazda Takeri concept for the first time at the 2011 Tokyo Auto Salon last December and now the mid-size sedan will be making its European debut at at next month’s Geneva International Motor Show.

What's special about the Takeri is that it isn't one of those fantasy concept models that will go away after hitting the motor show scene as it previews the styling of the next Mazda6 range, expected in 2013.

The Takeri is the latest Mazda concept to adopt the Japanese firm's "KODO – Soul of Motion’ design theme after the production CX-5 SUV and the Shinari sports sedan study showcased at Geneva last year.

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Opel Launches New Corsa “Kaleidoscope” Edition in Europe

With the fourth generation of the Opel Corsa entering its sixth year in the market, the German automaker is trying to beef up interest in the supermini with the release of another special edition version.

This one is called "Kaleidoscope" and it affords a more individualized look to the Corsa.

The Kaleidoscope is available with a choice of two special metallic exterior colors called "pepperdust" and "technical grey", which are combined with glossy black roof, black mirror housings and for the first time, a black grille frame. It also rides on dark 17-inch wheels and gets chrome exhaust pipes.

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New 2012 Ford B-MAX Opens Up to Us, Shows its Sliding Doors

Ford continues the slow strip tease of its all-new B-MAX small MPV prior to the production model's grand premier at the 82nd Geneva International Auto Salon in the beginning of March.

This time we get a full-blown photo of the B-MAX's innovative hinged front doors and sliding rear doors that integrate the central body pillars, which Ford called "Easy Access Doors".

The design allows for 1.5-metre (close to 5 feet) wide unobstructed openings on either side of the B-segment multi-activity vehicle.

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New Vauxhall Combo Goes on Sale in the UK, will Come to North America as a Ram

The latest generation of the Fiat Doblo van has the fairly unique (but not sole) distinction of being offered more or less unchanged by several different auto brands. These include Opel and its sister company in the UK, Vauxhall, and starting from early 2013, the Chrysler Group's Ram Truck division will also offer the van in North America.

For the time being though, Vauxhall has launched sales of the New Combo in Britain. The light commercial vehicle is available with a choice of four diesel units ranging from a 1.3-liter CDTi with 89bhp (90PS) to a 2.0-liter CDTi delivering 133bhp (135PS).

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Facelifted 2012 Seat Exeo Sedan and ST Arrive in the UK

We first saw the mildly updated for 2012, Seat Exeo, at last year's Frankfurt Motor Show and now both the sedan and ST station wagon variants of the previous generation Audi A4-based model are available for order in the United Kingdom.

Prices start from £19,480 RRP (recommended price on the road) for the base sedan model fitted with an 118bhp (120PS) 2.0-liter turbo diesel. Other engine options include two more 2.0-liter TDI diesels with 141bhp (143PS) or 168bhp (170PS) and a 2.0-liter TFSI turbocharged petrol with 208bhp (211PS).

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