Hot on the heels of the firebreathing Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT-8, Chrysler saw fit to stuff the same 6.4-liter HEMI V8 into the newly-redesigned 300 for the 2012 300C SRT8. AT 465 horsepower and 465 lb-ft of torque, the 300C SRT8 gets to 60 in less than 5 seconds, while looking sharper than the regular...
Continue Reading...
The 2012 Honda Civic bows at New York with new styling across the line, and new powertrains for Si and Hybrid models. The regular Civic sedan and coupe make do with the same powertrain and 5-speed transmission from the last model. But if it ain’t broke, as they say, don’t fix it: the 1.8-liter i-VTEC...
Continue Reading...
The 2012 Nissan Versa does something rare, though not entirely unexpected these days: it gets bigger and gains a surprisingly slick interior, but keeps its $10k sticker. Nissan’s smallest car gets completely redesigned to target the global market: the V platform (V for “versatile,” in Nissan marketing-speak) will be sold around the world as the...
Continue Reading...
The RC in Nissan Leaf NISMO RC stands for “Race Competition.” It is not a RadioShack product. And the electric Leaf has been fettled by Nissan’s motorsport division NISMO to do battle on the track. Doing battle against…we don’t know yet. The Leaf RC is an engineer’s lab experiment, a “rolling laboratory” for the mainstream...
Continue Reading...
The Infiniti JX won’t be shown until the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in August. But Infiniti already has big plans for the three-row luxury crossover, setting it into production in 2012 as a 2013 model. Don’t accuse Infiniti of not planning ahead: the concept will debut in August at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the production version...
Continue Reading...
While we’re gearing up for the New York Auto Show, another one is happening a world away. At Shanghai, Subaru unveiled the XV concept, a new 5-door crossover. The XV is a crossover (likely based on the 2012 Impreza set to be revealed at the New York Auto Show this week) that’s smaller than the...
Continue Reading...
Volvo is teasing a new concept for us—but they won’t tell us what car it is, or what show it’s going to debut at. Volvo, why must you torture us so? The “Concept Universe,” as they have dubbed it, so far consists of a short video that reveals some sketches and a fastback, four-door-coupe shape...
Continue Reading...
Think electric vehicles aren’t sporty enough to tackle the vaunted Laguna Seca? Speed Ventures doesn’t think so. For the third year in a row, they’re offering EV owners the chance to drive the world-famous race track, compete against each other, and even win a trophy. Refuel 2011 is open to all EVs, including electric motorcycles...
Continue Reading...
The ultra-posh Mini Goodwood (sorry, “Mini Inspired by Goodwood) can start impressing unsuspecting neighbors in Germany, where it will start at 50,000 Euros. With French-stitched leather, deep carpets, and wood that is burled to the max, the luxury Mini is aimed at those whose manservants have given up parallel-parking their Rolls-Royces in narrow city streets, and...
Continue Reading...
Ford is planning a product-lineup bonanza in China, with plans to introduce 15 new vehicles there as part of its Asian expansion plans. The announcement was made at the 2011 Shanghai Auto Show, where Ford also outlined plans to more than double the number of dealerships currently open: from 340 to over 700. Ford will...
Continue Reading...
Many embargoes died to bring you this information. Colors, drive modes and performance estimates about the latest über-car from Porsche, the 918 Spyder, have been leaked through internal dealership documents. The 918 Spyder will initially be available in four monochromatic colors: Carrera White, Black, Platinum Silver Metallic, and Basalt Black. All will have a black interior, but Porsche...
Continue Reading...
The 2012 Kia Rio and a facelifted Soul will be unveiled at the New York Auto Show next week. The Rio and its five-door hatch Rio5 will get the same design language and H-shaped grille as the rest of the Kia lineup. The Rio sedan was last shown at Geneva, but the Rio5 hatchback will...
Continue Reading...
It shouldn’t be too much of a stretch to notice that there’s a correlation between rising gas prices and the number of people gobbling up motorcycles and scooters. During 2007 to 2009, when gas prices seemingly spelled doom for America’s love of four-wheeled conveyances, street-legal motorcycle sales soared 94%. But even after gas prices settled...
Continue Reading...
You meet the nicest people on a Honda… until they steal it. Honda owners should remember that the tagline only applies to motorcycles, as their cars were once again the most stolen and recovered vehicles of 2010 according to statistics released by LoJack security systems. The Honda Accord and Civic, as well as the Toyota...
Continue Reading...
The rich have spoken, and their servants have voted for them: the Bentley Mulsanne is the preferred ride of ballers around the world, according to a survey in Centurion Magazine. The magazine is published by American Express, and only available to the lauded gentry who hold the Centurion Card—the black card. Their first Reader’s Choice...
Continue Reading...
Quick, name the European car company that’s made the most progress in reducing their emissions. Peugeot? Smart? Even Dacia? If you had bet on Ferrari, the poster child for irresponsible motoring, you’d have won big. Among luxury and supercar makers, Ferrari has made the most strides in reducing their CO2 emissions, according to recently-released figures....
Continue Reading...
The Subaru Impreza and Kia Sorrento are currently under the scrutiny of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, as the government agency is investigating the cars for serious defects. Approximately 50,000 Sorrentos from 2011 could lose power because of a transmission intermediate driveshaft that could fail, according to four complaints received by the feds. Five more...
Continue Reading...
Audi has finally unveiled the Q3, the compact SUV ready to do battle against the BMW X1. In Audi’s relentless quest to leave no niche unturned, the Q3 is the dinghy to the Q5’s and Q7’s superyachts. At about 14.4 feet long, it’s a tick bigger than the A3, at 13.9 feet, and its styling—which Audi...
Continue Reading...
It’s been 40-some odd years, but Mini is finally returning to the world rally stage. The Mini WRC Team will be competing in the 2011 World Rally Championship with the John Cooper Works Countryman, as modified by legendary performance company Prodrive. The team was recently launched in its factory in Oxford in a nostalgia-laden gala that...
Continue Reading...
Dealers and their automakers have some good news recently: they are getting the highest transaction prices in 15 years, according to a new report. CNW Research has crunched the numbers and found that early sales in April were selling at 87 percent of the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, and a reduction in haggling. “Dealers are the...
Continue Reading...
A Dodge Challenger was struck down far before its time at the Brampton, Ontario factory—bursting into flames right in the final stages on the assembly line. The fire was caused by a heat lamp that had ignited some paperwork that was attached to the car. Nobody was injured and no other cars were counted as...
Continue Reading...
Because your new washer and dryer combo from Sears just can’t get home fast enough, Ford unveiled a hotted-up version of their Transit van, subtly named the SuperSportVan. The SSV, unveiled at the (where else?) Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham, England, is a short-wheelbase Transit stuffed with a 3.2-liter five-cylinder engine with 200 horsepower and...
Continue Reading...
Chalk it up to youthful hubris. A 20-year old man totalled a 200+mph Gumpert Apollo on a country road in Germany, careening 60 meters into a pasture and reducing the 700-horsepower car to scrap. A girl was in the passenger seat, rather unsurprisingly—what’s surprising is that she was willing to be seen in the Apollo,...
Continue Reading...
Enthusiasts have wanted them for a while—a low-revving torque monster under the hood of our Jeep Wranglers or clean-burning Grand Cherokees. Now Jeep executives are actively considering the idea of importing diesel models to the United States. “Diesel in some of our models makes absolute sense,” said Michael Manley, president and CEO of Jeep, who...
Continue Reading...
sidebar...
