GM has officially announced the Opel/Vauxhall Meriva Concept that will be shown in Geneva next week.

The Meriva concept is a very different beast from the current Meriva, with its FlexDoors system (rear hinged doors). According to GM, the b-pillars “have been retained for passive security reasons”, a phrase that seems to point to a production-ready car.

Continue reading: Opel Meriva Concept - the official announcement

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Some photos of the Opel Meriva Concept surfaced today. The small MPV features rear-hinged rear doors that can open to a 90° degree angle. If you put together the presence of the b-pillars and the sober interiors, the Meriva Concept looks pretty much ready for production.

Via | Carscoop

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Jokejoe from the Autopareri forum tips us off to the official images of the 5 seat version of the Citroën C4 Picasso, which will be shown in public for the first time at the Geneva auto show in a couple of months’ time.

The 5-seater seems to be even better than the 7-seater, from a design point of view: its more compact profile, almost egg-like recalls that of the C3, but it keeps all the styling elements of the C4 line, especially the discontinuos profile of the beltline.

The engine range should the the same as on the 7-seater: 1.8 and 2.0 gasoline engines, with respectively 125 and 143 ps; 1.6 and 2.0 HDi turbodiesel engines with respectively 110 and 138 ps. Later the C4 Picasso should get a 90 ps version of the 1.6 HDi and a 1.6-liter gasoline engine with 110 ps.

No word yet on prices.

Continue reading: Citroen C4 Picasso - the 5 seat version

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The Ford S-Max is the Car of the Year 2007. The sporty people-carrier from Ford narrowly beat the Opel Corsa (235 against 233 points).

This award vindicates once again Ford’s choice of combining great internal volumes (7seats, more than 1.900 litres of capacity) with car-like handling and safety for all occupants (5 stars EuroNCAP). More importantly for Ford, the S-Max is a success with the public, not only with critics.

A curiosity: the jury, composed of 58 journalists from 22 european countries, awarded three of the first four places to MPVs. The S-Max in first place, the Citroën Picasso in third (222 points) and the Skoda Roomster in fourth (189 points).

The other finalists follow at a distance: Seguono the Honda Civic in 5th place (148 points), the Peugeot 207 in 6th (144 points), the Volvo C30 in 7th (141 points) and the Fiat Grande Punto in 8th (138 points).

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Ford has released official photos and specifications of the S-Max, the sporty 7-seater that will debut in Geneva.

The top-of-the-range engine will be the same 2.5 liters turbo that powers the Focus ST, with 215 hp and 325 Nm. The other engines will be a triplet of TDCi turbo-diesels (1.8 with 125 ps, 2.0 with 130 ps with APF and 2.0 with 140 ps both with and without APF) and a 2.0 liters gasoline engine with 145 ps. It’s still not known whether the S-Max will ever equip the new 2.2 liter turbodiesel that outputs 170 hp.

In 7-seater configuration the S-Max has a cargo capacity bigger than the previous Galaxy (285 liters against 235). When all rear seats are folded, the cargo hold has a flat load floor 2 meters long and 1.15 meters wide (2,000 liters capacity). Prices should start from 25.000 €.

Continue reading: Ford S-Max

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