While Volvo was apparently set to discontinue North American sales of all station wagons – arguably the vehicle they built their reputation on – in favor of crossovers. But that looks like it will change starting in 2012, with the launch of their V60 plug-in hybrid. Unveiled at the Geneva Auto Show, the V60 Plug-In...
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Volvo fans can rejoice now that the famous station wagon variant, the V60, is back (in North America), but it couldn’t be further from the rugged, mechanically simple station wagons of the past. The V60 Plug-In uses a 215 horsepower 2.4L diesel 5-cylinder engine to drive the front wheels, with a 70 horsepower electric motor...
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Volvo has unveiled a plug-in diesel hybrid version of its V60 wagon ahead of the Geneva Auto Show, which promises to do for fuel spending what Atkins did for bread consumption. The diesel hybrid takes Volvo’s 2.4-liter inline-five turbodiesel, pumping out 215 horsepower and 324 lb-ft of torque and adds an electric motor to the...
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Europe is getting the Grand Cherokee with a diesel as well as special 70th anniversary editions, as Jeep will announce at the Geneva Auto Show in a week’s time. The diesel will be a turbocharged 3.0-liter V6, sourced from the Fiat mothership and built by VM Motori. It’ll come in two forms: one with 188...
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Mazda‘s announcement regarding a SKYACTIV diesel engine in future products had car geeks hoping for a diesel Mazda3, but it looks like the oil-burner will actually make an appearance on the mid-size Mazda6, putting it squarely against the updated Volkswagen Passat, which will be available with a TDI diesel engine. While details on the SKY-D...
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NHTSA is investigating certain Volkswagen Golf and Jetta TDI cars, as well as the Audi A3 TDI for a suspected fuel pump defect that could cause vehicles to stall at highway speeds and render them unable to restart. The agency claims that it has received 160 complaints and one accident report relating to the defect. The TDI...
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Volkswagen is planning to spread the platform love with its new Up city car, with Czech subsidiary Skoda being the first VW division to get the tiny car, with a SEAT-branded version to follow. Packaged as a three-door five-seater, a 1.0L gasoline engine and a 1.2L diesel engine will be offered, with an all-electric version...
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Car companies pay close attention to the Middle-East market, but it’s usually in relation to high-priced exotics and luxury cars. So it comes as a big surprise to hear that Volkwagen might be launching a concept car at the upcoming Qatar Motor Show that will consume only 1-liter of fuel to travel 100 km. That...
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The Jeep Grand Cherokee diesel wasn’t long for this world in its previous iteration, but the oil-burning Jeep will soldier on in Europe, where diesels enjoy massive popularity. Bowing at the Geneva Auto Show in March, the Grand Cherokee CRD will likely use a version of Chrysler’s previous diesel engine which made 218 horsepower and...
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As part of Ford‘s “One World” plan, a single platform will be used across all markets worldwide. While we reap the benefits with the all-new Focus and C-Max, there can be trade-offs when different markets require different attributes in a vehicle. With the Ford Vertrek Concept, unveiled today at the Detroit Auto Show, the Blue...
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Despite the American introduction of diesel engines from most major European brands, Volvo remains non-committal to the prospect of diesel powertrains in America. Volvo offers a broad range of diesels in Europe and other markets, but Stefan Jacoby, CEO of Volvo, offered little, stating “We are taking a deep look at whether we will introduce...
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Porsche‘s CEO confirmed that the brand will launch a diesel powered variant of the Panamera sports sedan in late 2011. Using the success of the Cayenne diesel as an example, CEO Matthias Muller made the announcement during an interview with Germany’s Westfalen-Blatt newspaper. The Panamera diesel is expected to get a 3.0L V6 TDI engine...
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The Mercedes-Benz GLK will get a diesel option in 2012, making it the lone compact luxury SUV to be offered with an oil-burning powertrain. Mercedes-Benz will also offer a diesel C-Class at launch in 2013. Mercedes will also re-introduce the E-Class diesel for 2011, after a one year hiatus. Ernst Lieb, Mercedes USA’s President, said...
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Audi is launching a revised version of their 3.0 TDI in the German market that sees a slight reduction in power in exchange for improved efficiency. New new Q7 TDI will pump out 204 horsepower and 332 lb-ft through an 8-speed transmission and return 33 mpg, comparable with some four-cylinder sedans. 0-60 will take 9.1...
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Land Rover‘s new Range Rover Evoque two-door SUV is on a publicity blitz ahead of its deubt at the Paris Auto Show, and details are begging to emerge. Rather than the usual 8-cylinder powerplant, the Evoque will use a 2.0L Ecoboost 4-cylinder, dubbed the Si4, which makes 240 horsepower. Land Rover will likely have to resort to...
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Alfa Romeo’s Giulietta and MiTo hatchbacks will get an all-new, in house dual clutch gearbox, known as the TCT, which will be unveiled at this month’s Paris Auto Show. The TCT gearbox will initially be available with the 1.4L Multiair engine making 168 horsepower, followed by the 2.0L diesel outputting the same amount of power....
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The Automobile Club de l’Ouest, the sanctioning body behind the 24 Hours of LeMans race, announced a series of rule changes designed to make the gasoline powered LMP1 race cars more competitive with their diesel powered brethern. Currently, oil-burning offerings from Audi and Peugeot dominate the field, but in 2011, the auto makers will see...
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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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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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British car maker Morgan, long known for its quirky, retro sports cars based around wooden frames, is propelling itself into the 21st century with two new sports cars, including a diesel-electric hybrid, a first for the fiercely traditional car maker. Morgan designer Matt Humphries said that the vehicle would be called the LIFEcar 2 and...
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Ward’s Auto is reporting via their Twitter feed that Hyundai North America President and CEO John Krafcik told reporters that their North American arm will have a fleet average fuel economy rating of 50 mpg by 2025. Hyundai is currently planning the launch of their first hybrid, the Sonata Hybrid, for this fall, with more...
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Prince Charles is shutting down The Mall in London to display environmentally friendly vehicles for 10 days in September. The Prince is not only a keen environmentalist but a collector of Aston Martins and other sports cars, and the nexus of both conservation and automobiles is an appropriate area of interest for him. The Prince...
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In a move that’s hardly shocking to North Americans, Range Rover insiders told Autocar that the all-new TDV8 diesel engine will not be offered in North America. While the new TDV8 offers significant gains in emissions and fuel consumption over the previous diesel unit, it still fails to meet U.S. emissions standards, which are in...
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Audi owners will no longer have to worry about accidentally filling their diesel vehicles with gasoline. The company is introducing a mechanism that will have you pumping without a problem. Right now, you can’t put diesel into a gasoline-powered vehicle because the diesel nozzles are large and won’t fit in the filler neck. On the...
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