Nissan NV200: Nissan’s take on the London Taxi

Nissan is taking on the Black Cab market with the Nissan NV200 London Taxi, expected to go on sale in 2014 from around £30k. It may not be the biggest market in the car world, but the profile of the London Taxi makes it a worthwhile target for car makers. Mercedes recently took on the traditional Black Cab with their Vito-based taxi and did a very good job – but at a price; the Mercedes Vito Cab costs around £42k, almost £10k more than the traditional London Taxi.

Maserati Ghibli teased ahead of Shanghai Motor Show debut

Maserati appear to be teasing the arrival of the smaller Quattroporte – the Maserati Ghibli – at the Shanghai Motor Show later this month. Maserati is on a bit of a new model rush at the moment, and it looks like the tease photo they’ve released today is for the new Maserati Ghibli. The Maserati Ghibli isn’t going to be a sporty coupe – as you might reasonably expect – but a cut-down version of the new Quattroporte, designed to take on the performance versions of Europe’s executive express cars – think BMW 5 Series, Mercedes E Class and Jaguar XF.

Toyota targets conventional engine in defense of green image

In the race to boost fuel economy, overhauling the internal combustion engine is all the rage. Ford, Hyundai and Mazda are among those focusing on direct injection, turbochargers and improved transmissions as they reinvent their powertrain lineups. So with its emphasis on hybrids, Toyota Motor Corp.