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Volkswagen aims for lofty Beetle sales

The attractive new 2012 Volkswagen Beetle is expected to sell as many as 50,000 to 60,000 units a year in the United States. The car launches this fall. That level will be a big improvement over the latter years of the outgoing model, in which sales dwindled to just 15,000 a year, but it remains lower than the record figure of 83,000 achieved 18 months after the launch of the revised model.

Citroen Numero 9 Concept & 3 new Citroen DS models on the way

Citroen Numero 9 Concept Citroen has revealed the Numero 9 Concept ahead of the Beijing Motor Show – which we thought was the DS9 – and revealed 3 new DS models planned. The Citroen DS range is due to launch in China during 2012, and the impressive Citroen Numero 9 Concept – which we’d assumed was going to be the Citroen DS9 (and may still be) – has been conceived to mark the launch of DS at Beijing later this month. A big Citroen flagship has been on the cards for some time and the Numero 9 is an evolution of the Citroen Metropolis Concept, which we thought could become the DS6, and is probably destined to go in to production at some point as the DS9.

Lotus Exige LF1 Limited Edition – one for every Lotus F1 victory

Lotus Exige LF1 Limited Edition – one for every Lotus F1 victory It’s a nice idea to build a limited edition car – the Lotus Exige LF1 – to celebrate very one of the 81 victories Lotus has enjoyed in F1, but it does make you wonder if Lotus has done it because they’re never likely to win again (and if they do, do they produce another LF1?). Still, Lotus has pulled out the icon JPS livery for the Lotus Exige S (from the days cigarettes could be advertised) to give the LF1 a pretty paint job of black and gold (with added red bits) including a black and gold Lotus badge up front and a contrast stitched interior with F1 logos on the seats. Also interesting is that each car will receive a plaque commemorating each individual victory, from the 1960 win at Monaco with Stirling Moss behind the wheel to the last in Australia in 2013 with Kimi Raikkonen.