Reader Spots Alfa Romeo Milano in Frankfurt

We've already seen the new Alfa Romeo Milano hatch without any sort of camouflage in the notorious factory spy shots, but that doesn't mean that the Italians are willing to reveal the appearance of their BMW 1-Series rival to the public as of yet. One of our readers from Germany, who wishes to remain anonymous, caught this 'blacked-out' Milano prototype in the city of Frankfurt with his photo-capable Navman GPS.

Designed to replace the obsolete Alfa Romeo 147, the Milano is due to go on sale across Europe in 2010. It makes use of the Fiat Group's new C-Evo platform with power expected to come from a new generation of Multiair petrol and a variety of diesel engines.

Thanks for the pics Anon!

2010 Ford Focus C-MAX: Reader Discovers Official Pics on USA Today

No sooner that we posted our article on the all-new 2010 Ford C-Max that included spy shots of the 7-seater model with the sliding rear-doors and a julino billym reader discovered two official images of the 5-seat version on USA Today's website. You can check out the photos in all their glory by clicking here and here.

Reader Scoops 2010 Opel Astra Test Car in Michigan

This past weekend, eagle-eyed julino billym reader Thomas Czarny picked up these shots of a heavily disguised 2010 Opel Astra hatchback prototype in a shopping mall parking lot in Traverse City, Michigan. The test car was fitted with manufacturer license plates and sported a GMPT (General Motors Powertrain) Engineering Vehicle sticker on the front windshield.

We're fully aware of the fact that new cars go through all sorts of tests in various places around the world including markets where they will not be sold, but we also know that GM is preparing an Opel Astra based small sedan for Buick which is scheduled to go on sale in the States by the end of 2011.

Earlier this year, our spy photographers snapped the Buick four-door sedan along with a five-door Astra prototype sporting Buick's corporate waterfall grille while undergoing testing in Germany.

Although the five-door model is said to be under development for Buick's Chinese market line-up, we can't entirely rule out the possibility that GM may also be considering the hatch for the U.S. where it would compete against the VW Golf and Mazda3.

This naturally brings us to the question, in addition to the sedan model, should GM also enhance Buick's U.S. range with a rebadged version of the 2010 Opel Astra hatchback?

Kudos to Thomas Czarny for the Scoop!

More Reader Spy Shots: Kia's Small MPV Snapped in the Czech Republic

julino billym readers Vladimir Pekulas and Jan Mlejnek bagged these shots of Kia's forthcoming mini-MPV on the highway near Mlada Boleslav in the Czech Republic. If you take a closer look at the pics after the jump, you'll see that the man sitting in the passenger's seat of the Kia test car retaliated against our readers by taking or pretending to take, photos of them also... But anyways, let's refresh our memory on Kia's new model which has yet to be named.

The five-seater MPV is in effect the production version of Kia's No3 Concept study that was shown for the first time in Geneva earlier this year. The Korean automaker's retort to the likes of the Honda Jazz, Opel Meriva and Citroen C3 Picasso uses the same architecture as the Kia Soul and Hyundai i20.

It is anticipated that the small MPV's engine range will comprise of 1.6-liter petrol and diesel units, both producing an output of 126HP, while certain markets may also receive a 115HP 1.6-liter diesel along with a range-topping 2.0-liter gasoline engine making 142HP.

Kia will most probably swoop the covers off the mini-MPV at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September with European sales set to start before the end of the year. Like the European market Cee'd, the MPV will be produced at the Hyundai Group's new plant in the Czech Republic.

"Děkuji" Vladimir Pekulas & Jan Mlejnek for the pics!