A round-up of other stories in brief
Only one Irish dealer for Infiniti
With sales predictions of 200 in its first full year, Nissan Ireland is planning a cautious introduction for its luxury brand, Infiniti, to Ireland.
Infiniti makes its Irish debut in summer 2009 in time for New Year sales in 2010. Spearheading the introduction of the new brand will be two SUVs receiving their debut at the Geneva Motor Show, the FX and the mid-sized EX. Initially offered with V6 petrol engines, a new high-performance diesel unit will come on stream later in 2010.
Diesel powered models are crucial to success in Ireland, though Infiniti will make its sporty G series saloon and coupé available with petrol power only until the model is superseded in 2012. A folding hardtop convertible version is also in the works.
Infiniti cars will be sold through bespoke dealers, with just one planned for Dublin in the short term.
Italian police bust fake Ferrari ring
Italians are used to buying bogus Gucci bags or Rolex watches to look stylish, but police found a new height of craftsmanship and cunning when they broke up a ring selling fake Ferrari cars for a fraction of the real price.
Police accused 15 people of building the blood-red sports cars and selling them to car fanatics on a budget, most of whom knew they were buying a counterfeit classic.
Car body workers, whom police called "very able", cobbled together mostly fake parts and a few original components. They used body parts from other makes of automobiles, such as chassis, roofs, hoods, trunks and doors.
The body parts were modified to look like Ferrari classics such as the 328 Gtb, which went out of production in the late 1980s. Some of the cars sold for about €20,000, about a tenth of the going price for some versions.
When Lotus sent a press release ahead of the Geneva Show proclaiming that a sneak peek at the forthcoming Project Eagle sportscar would be on its stand, it was a little surprising to find nothing more than a section of the car's chassis on display. Admittedly, the 25kg structure is a wonder to behold, featuring the production-ready components currently under development. Lotus Engineering is keen to push its Versatile Vehicle Architecture (VVA) technology, which has been designed to allow virtually any vehicle type to be produced in low volumes based on the same basic set of components. Lotus will unveil the new sports car at the British show in July.
Subaru's Geneva Motor Show stand saw the European debut of the new Forester and the launch of the world's first boxer diesel-engined passenger car in the form of the Legacy and Outback. The third-generation Forester is based on the platform of the new Impreza and features a multi-link double-wishbone rear suspension. It is 75mm longer, 45mm wider and gains 110 mm in height. Rear legroom grows by 95mm, while the load space is now 450 litres with the rear seat up - 63 litres more than the previous model.
It will be on sale in Ireland next month, as a 2.0-litre petrol only with the new 2.0-litre boxer diesel engine appearing in the autumn.
First look at the Opel Astra's new lines
When Ford released its re-designed Focus recently and the first spy-shots popped up of the new Volkswagen Golf VI, it was only a matter of time before Opel started to rework its Astra range. Now here's the picture to prove it: the third important German hatchback will be replaced by an all-new model next year.
This is the new car undergoing cold-weather testing in northern Finland last weekend.
Despite the car's irritating disguising, the new profile, the front fascia and the massive rear bumper with the parted tail-lights are visible. While we can't say anything to the shape of the three-door model yet, it seems to be clear that the five-door version will get the current model's sloping roof line plus the trapezoidal-shaped c-pillar.
Overall, however, the new car looks somewhat sleeker and more elegant.
Besides the five-door model pictured here, Opel has an estate, a convertible (Twin Top) and the three-door (GTC) in the pipeline.
Honda's new models
Honda has confirmed it will launch a completely new five-door hybrid model by the end of the year, with Irish sales starting in spring 2009. It will be followed by a compact hybrid sports car, based on the CR-Z concept. This will be launched at the end of next year.The company has also confirmed a new Jazz will be launched this summer, with the car due in Ireland by autumn.