CARSCOOP |  |
- This Is Why the Toyota MR2 Was Called the "Poor-Man’s Ferrari"
- Next Mazda2 Won't Be Designed as a Bloke’s Car, But it Will Get Crossover’d
- Jaguar-Land Rover Wants to Build Factory in Brazil
| This Is Why the Toyota MR2 Was Called the "Poor-Man’s Ferrari" Posted: 01 Dec 2013 01:07 PM PST  When it comes to rear-wheel drive affordable sports cars, the Japanese know the name of the game better than anyone else does. Sure, we now have the Toyota GT-86/Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ trio, but in the 1980s and 1990s, customers had a lot more options to choose from. The Toyota MR2 however, is a special case, as it belonged to a rare breed of mid-engined RWD affordable sports cars. This layout allowed great handling capabilities that rivalled those of much more expensive sports cars. Launched in 1984, the first-generation MR2's hard angular lines were followed in 1989 by a more rounded and sculpted second-generation model, often labeled as the "poor-man's Ferrari". This mischievous remark actually says a lot about the MR2's qualities, and the car's fans couldn't agree more. Scroll down to see how attached they are to their MR2s from the latest Petrolicious video. By Dan Mihalascu        |
| Next Mazda2 Won't Be Designed as a Bloke’s Car, But it Will Get Crossover’d Posted: 01 Dec 2013 10:05 AM PST  A report from UK publication Autocar on Mazda's upcoming 2/ Demio supermini says that the all-new model will sport an even less aggressive design in order to appeal to Asian and female buyers, the former being the main target audience. According to Mazda's European design chief, Peter Birtwhistle, "The car is much more profitable in Asia than it is in Europe and has therefore been designed to appeal to a predominantly feminine customer base. It's prevented us from putting too much visual muscle into the styling, for fear of scaring people off." He does end by saying that "it's a good-looking car, and I'm happy with the result," so we'll obviously wait until we see it before passing judgment – it may even be refreshing without all that aggression that is so commonplace and often forced, especially on offerings on the smaller end of the scales. Finally, a crossover version of the next Mazda2 / Demio is also mentioned, and since the market is full of them, especially in Europe and demand is very high, it will definitely work, perhaps even better than the regular hatch model. Expect to see the all-new Mazda2 hit Old Continent showrooms sometime towards the latter part of 2014. By Andrei Nedelea                   |
| Jaguar-Land Rover Wants to Build Factory in Brazil Posted: 01 Dec 2013 07:02 AM PST  Another luxury automaker is looking to build a production facility in Brazil, following announcements made by Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW in the last twelve-or-so months. Reuters informs us that talks are already well underway between government representatives of the Rio de Janeiro state and officials for the Jaguar-Land Rover group regarding the construction approval of a $437 (€321) million production facility that will become operational in two years' time. Once all the paperwork is out of the way, which ought to very soon, according to Luiz Carlos Ferreira Bastos, the mayor of the town of Itatiaia where the factory is to be built. He emphasized that "everything is very advanced with only minor details to be worked out," adding that the factory could employ as many as 700 people. The source also quotes a representative of the Indian-owned automotive group who acknowledged the news saying "Jaguar Land Rover confirms that it is carrying out a study on the installation of a manufacturing unit in the country… At this time, we cannot confirm the size of the investment or other details of the study." It seems that the tax incentives offered by the country's government in order to attract foreign investment have paid off, but there is also a growing need for luxury products in Brazil, the largest economy in the area, and one that has been noticeably maturing in recent years, so much so that it even got its first Rolls Royce showroom, opening in Sao Paulo, last year. By Andrei Nedelea                 |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Carscoops To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
