A large majority of the automotive community decried the Honda CR-Z as neither fish nor fowl, a sporty hybrid that didn’t do anything well. Some even predicted this car to be Honda’s downfall, after having finally lost their way, two decades after producing the sporty and efficient Honda CRX. In any case, it turns out...
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The Vauxhall Astra is one of Britain’s most popular cars, and is also known as the spectacular flop that was the Saturn Astra in North America. While North Americans didn’t take too kindly to the compact, Belgian-built hatch, Europeans adore the Astra, but the next generation will face some stiff competition from the upcoming Ford...
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Audi‘s S1 hot hatch will make its debut at the Paris Auto Show, but forget about being able to buy it stateside. As we previously reported, the A1 range will not be coming here until 2014, when the car is due for a re-design. The S1 is expected to borrow heavily from its platform-mates the...
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All-wheel drive variants of small cars are quite popular in Europe, and the Fiat 500 looks to be the latest recipient of an extra drive shaft and differential. An eagle-eyed car enthusiast spotted this lifted Fiat 500 in Italy, and went to investigate. Looking under the car, he found all the hardware needed for a...
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Mazda‘s new Shinari Concept has really sparked a renewed interest in the brand and the Japanese automaker appears set to capitalize on this by exploring the direction of its new Kodo design language for the rest of the lineup. Having just released video of the Shinari Concept, Mazda has now released a video that gives...
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While Scion vehicles have been available in the United States for a number of years, they have never been officially brought to Canada, despite numerous grey market imports from south of the border. Now, Scion’s are finally available and Toyota Canada has announced pricing for the distinctively styled compacts. The 5 door xD hatchback starts...
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Nissan has announced a new brand for the Chinese market, known as Venucia, or Qi Chen in Chinese. The cars will be developed, launched and sold in partnership of Dongfeng Nissan, the local arm of the Japanese automaker. “In the future, we aim to sell more than one million vehicles annually and the new brand...
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Alfa Romeo’s Giulietta hatchback isn’t slated to come to North America until it’s redesigned in 2014, but a whole truck-load of them was spotted in Michigan, heading north on I-75. We can only presume that the cars were heading to Chrysler HQ for some kind of evaluation, but this isn’t the first time we’ve seen...
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Chevrolet has just revealed the very first photos of the all-new Aveo subcompact ahead of its debut later this month at the Paris Auto Show. The car keeps many of the design cues from the Aveo RS Concept shown at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this year, including the large front grille, oversized headlights and...
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As more details trickle out in advance of the Lexus CT200h launch (which Autoguide will be attending in the next few weeks) and Lexus has just announced some of the various safety features available on the Lexus hybrid hatchback. The CT200h has the usual alphabet soup of ABS, Electronic Brake Force distribution (EBD), Brake Assist...
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Mitsubishi‘s mid-size offerings, already long in the tooth and outdated, may have to soldier on to 2013, after which point they will be unceremoniously executed as Mitsubishi shifts its focus from heavy, lumbering mid-size cars to small vehicles and electric powertrains. Mitsubishi is currently lacking in capital, and is investing all of its cash in...
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Jeong Sung Eun, Kia‘s Vice Chairman, took the rare step of resigning his post on September 3rd, as he accepted responsibility for a large recall of Kia vehicles. Roughly 86,000 vehicles were recalled due to an electrical wiring issue that posed a potential fire hazard. About 35,000 Sorentos and Souls from the the 2010 and...
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Thanks to a 2011 Honda Fit dealer brochure obtained by TempleofVtec, we now have some insight into what might be coming for the 2012 Honda Fit. With the second-gen model launching in 2009, by 2012 the car is due or a refresh and its likely to get some of the new items and upgrades currently...
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Fiat seems to roll out a new special edition model of the 500 minicar almost every week. The latest is the Fiat 500 Arancia, offered exclusively in the Japanese market. Other than the bright orange paint, little is that’s special about this special edition, with other upgrades including a paint-matched orange dash and white trim...
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MINI is apparently starting work on a two-door variation of the Countryman SUV, with a vehicle that would be similar in concept to the just announced Range Rover Evoque. BMW managers have reportedly been inspired by the success of the BMW X6, and have faith that the desire for a couple-like crossover is strong in...
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Hyundai‘s subcompact crossover, the ix20, will be revealed at this month’s Paris Auto Show media days, but the company has released a rendering of the car in advance of its launch. Based on the Kia Venga, the ix20 is an interesting blend of a crossover and small car, similar to a Ford Fiesta hatchback. With...
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There’s also more pronounced curvature in the fenders, but the overall look is hardly distinctive for the B-segment these days.
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Nissan is making sure that supply of their Leaf is tight during the rollout period at the end of 2010. With a total of 200 cars spread around 5 major markets (California, Arizona, Washington, Oregon and Tennessee), this amounts to only a few cars per dealership. While the limited edition status of the initial Leafs...
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NHTSA is investigationg the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI after a handful of reports suggest that the vehicle can stall and lose power while driving. While NHTSA only received 7 complaints out of nearly 38,000 vehicles sold, other forums, including the extremely popular VWVortex and TDIClub have reported a series of complaints surrounding this issue. So far, causes...
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Jeep fans who were up in arms about the Compass and Patriot crossovers will have a no reason to get aggravated; a new video that purports to go inside Jeep’s design studios apparently show a new crossover based on a C-segment Fiat. Aside from the illustration, we can also see a clay model in the...
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Aston Martin‘s Cygnet minicar will come to the United States sometime in 2012 according to Automotive News. The Cygnet will reportedly cost $35,000 despite minimal changes from the Toyota iQ it’s based on. The Cygnet is a risky move for Aston Martin; a product like this is conceivably a good idea in places like London,...
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Mazda is betting that their new lineup of SKY direct injection gasoline and diesel engines will help raise the company’s fleet fuel economy by 30% by 2015. Mazda, which has long refrained from hybrid cars, claims that the next generation 2015 Mazda3 with a SKY-G gasoline engine and a Sky-Drive 6-speed automatic will get 40...
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In advance of the Los Angeles Auto Show, where the U.S.-spec Fiat 500 will make its North American debut, the company held a dealer meeting for 400 of its franchise holders. According to the AFP, Fiat told Chrysler dealers that it wants to open 165 showrooms in small car markets, with the goal of selling...
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Suzuki‘s Swift compact car won near universal praise in Europe and Asia, winning Car of the Year awards in the UK and Japan, as well as seeing duty in international rally championships. Suzuki was all set to bring the next generation Swift to North America, as a follow-up to their Kizashi sedan, but the project...
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