Cadillac wants to "Conquer" the European Luxury Market - Again...

Those folks holding the reins over at General Motors are a funny bunch. Every so often then they announce some grand scheme to enter Europe's extremely competitive premium automotive market with their Cadillac brand.

After GM's most recent fiasco with Kroymans, a Dutch distributor that sold Cadillacs in Europe before declaring bankruptcy last year, the U.S. automaker will now establish its own organization, called "Cadillac Europe" that will import, distribute and market a selected range of models specified for the Euro market.

"Europe is an important market for Cadillac," says Bryan Nesbitt, Cadillac general manager. "Re-establishing distribution of our premium offerings is good news for those who seek import exclusiveness".

Of course many Europeans have associated Cadillac's "import exclusiveness" with products such as the now discontinued BS BLS that was essentially a re-skined Saab 9-3 which in turn was heavily based on the Opel Vectra, but anyway.

At the Geneva Motor Show, Cadillac will give Europeans a taste of their newest products including the CTS Coupe that's sated to arrive in North American showrooms this summer and this fall in Europe as well as the new CTS Sport Wagon, CTS Sport Sedan, the range-topping 556HP CTS-V, the SRX crossover and the "oh so European" Escalade Hybrid.

No word on any diesel or small displacement gasoline engines. That said, we suspect that Cadillacs will continue to be a more rare sight than pink-colored Aston Martins on European roads.

2011 Nissan Pathfinder and Navara Pickup Facelifted in Europe, get new 231HP V6 Diesel

Nissan has given the European market version of the Pathfinder SUV and its pickup truck sibling, the Navara (sold as the Frontier in the States), a mid-life facelift to keep them up to date with the competition.

The Japanese automaker made a number of enhancements to both models including the introduction of brand-new 3.0-liter V6 diesel engine, some minor revisions to the 2.5-liter diesel, a refreshed exterior and improved interior with more standard equipment.

For the first time, the Pathfinder and Navara will be available with the Renault Nissan Alliance's new direct injection 3.0-liter V6 turbo diesel which will also be offered in the European market Infiniti EX30d, FX30d and M30d models.

In the Nissan models, the 3.0-liter V6 diesel is rated at 231-horsepower and 550Nm or 405lb-ft of peak torque available between 1,750 rpm and 2,500 rpm. According to Nissan, with this engine, the Pathfinder is capable of towing a 3,500kg (7,716 pounds) braked trailer with Navara having a 3,000kg (6,613 pounds) limit.

For the 2011 model year, the existing 2.5-liter four-cylinder diesel engine has been subtly retuned delivering an 11 per cent rise in both power and torque figures. Power rises by 19HP to 190-horsepower while torque increases by a healthy 47 Nm to 450Nm or 332 lb-ft.

Along with the performance gains, Nissan says that the changes have seen improvements in fuel economy and lower emissions. Over the combined cycle manual versions return 8.5lt/100km (equal to 27.7 mpg US), an improvement of 1.3 lt/100km, while CO2 emissions dropped by 40g/km to 224 g/km.

The cosmetic changes on the outside include a new bonnet design, revised grille, updated headlamps with projector styling, restyled front bumper with softer corners that adds 80mm to the length of both models, a new rear bumper for the Pathfinder and new alloy wheel designs.

Inside, both models feature new switchgear in the center console, revised door trims, new seat fabrics, the addition of chrome highlights, revised dials and, depending on the model, the availability of Nissan Connect Premium with a new high resolution touch screen.

Other changes include the availability of the ESP system and a rear view camera on the Navara as well as various equipment upgrades on both models (depending on the market).

The new Nissan Pathfinder and Navara will be launched at the Geneva Motor Show in early March, with the four-cylinder models due to go on sale across Europe in April 2010. They will be followed two months later by the new 3.0-liter V6 diesel flagship models.

While Nissan did not mention the North American-spec Pathfinder and Frontier in its press release, chances are that, if not all, most of the upgrades will be applied to both trucks in the 2011 model year.

New Audi RS5 Coupe Officially Revealed, Powered by a 450HP 4.2-liter V8

After the online leakage of the Audi RS5 Coupe brochure this past weekend, there was no point in holding back anymore, so the German automaker came out with an official release on its Geneva-bound BMW M3 fighter.

Developed by Audi's quattro GmbH division, the RS5 Coupe makes use of a revised version of the firm's 4.2-liter naturally aspirated V8 engine found in the previous RS4 and the current R8 Coupe.

In the RS5, the tweaked V8 engine delivers a maximum output of 450-horsepower at 8,250 rpm and 430Nm (317.15 lb-ft) of peak torque between 4,000 and 6,000 rpm. Power is transferred to all four wheels through a standard seven-speed dual-clutch S tronic transmission and a center differential in the quattro drivetrain.

With this configuration, the 4.2 FSI propels the coupe's 1,725 kg or 3,803 pounds from zero to 100km/h (62mph) in 4.6 seconds and on to an electronically governed top speed of 250 km/h or 155. Upon request, Audi can increase the top speed to 280 km/h or 174mph.

Not that it concerns your average RS5 driver, but Audi says that its hot coupe averages 10.8 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers or the US equivalent of 21.8 mpg.

It is worth mentioning that the RS5 comes equipped with a next generation quattro permanent all-wheel drive system that incorporates a self-locking crown-gear center differential which operates in conjunction with electronic torque vectoring.

Under normal conditions, the upgraded quattro system splits the power 40:60 front to rear but if necessary, up to 70 percent can flow to the front or as much as 85 percent toward the tail end.

The RS5 gets a revised suspension with the car sitting 20mm (0.79 inches) lower than a standard A5 and 19-inch alloy wheels with 265/35 tires or optionally, 20-inch rims and 275/30 rubber.

It also features a more powerful braking system with 365 millimeters (14.37 inches) ventilated discs at the front axle (380mm ceramic carbon-fiber brake discs up front are offered as an option) and an electronic stabilization program (ESP) that integrates a sport mode and can be switched off entirely.

To differentiate it from the S5 Coupe with its 354HP 4.2-liter V8, Audi gave the RS5 a special exterior treatment that includes a new single-frame grille with honeycomb inserts, a redesigned front bumper with oversized air inlets at each corner and silver splitter, plus flared fenders that hark back to the original quattro model.

At the back, there's a new rear bumper that houses a diffuser and two large oval-shaped exhaust pipes plus a hidden boot lid spoiler that automatically extends at a speed of 120 km/h (75 mph) and retracts at 80 km/h (50 mph).

Interior upgrades over the standard A5 Coupe's include a pair of sport seats, a sport steering wheel with perforated leather, red needles on the gauges and decorative inlays made of carbon fiber.

Optionally, buyers can trim the interior with decorative inlays in a dark, stainless-steel mesh look, while there's also a Carbon design package for the engine compartment and, for the vehicle body, there are styling packages in black or matt aluminum look.

The RS5 will go on sale in Europe this Spring with a base price of around €77,700.