General Motors will recall 2,100 Chevrolet Cruze sedans after a steering wheel came loose from the car’s steering column recently. General Motors claims that no injuries resulted from the problem, and a bolt that was not properly installed was the culprit. “We made a mistake, but we’re confident that we’ve got it fixed,” said GM...
Continue Reading...
After confirming that there would be an all-wheel drive version of the Jaguar XJ, CEO Adrian Hallmark also confirmed future product plans, including a smaller sedan and a hotter version of the XFR. Jaguar hasn’t elaborated on their plans for a new small car, but such a vehicle will be crucial for them to expand...
Continue Reading...
The American Automobile Association has compiled annual statistics for its “Your Driving Costs” study, and the numbers show that operating a car will hit your pocketbook harder than previous years. The study focused on the cost of operating a sedan, and AAA estimated a total cost of $8588 per year, while an SUV would see...
Continue Reading...
BMW and Chinese automaker Brilliance have joined forces to create a plug-in hybrid version of the 5-Series long wheelbase sedan sold in the Chinese market. Set to be revealed at the Shanghai Auto Show in April, the 5-Series plug-in will back an unspecified displacement turbocharged engine making 215 horsepower and a 94 horsepower electric motor....
Continue Reading...
Jaguar is apparently readying an all-wheel drive version of their XJ sedan and the car should be on the market within 2 years. Jaguar is looking to combat their German rivals, each of which offer an AWD variant of their large sedans. While only a 20 percent of cars in the United States are sold...
Continue Reading...
Saab has halted production yet again amid another dispute with suppliers. Saab representatives declined to say how long the production stoppage would last, but said that they were in discussions with their suppliers to resolve the matter. Saab’s parent company Spyker said that last week’s production stoppage was related to unpaid bills. In an interview...
Continue Reading...
Subaru will re-start their large car production plant, nearly a month after an earthquake caused parent company Fuji Heavy Industries to shut the factory down. The factory builds the Legacy, Impreza and Forester, which comprise the bulk of Subaru’s U.S. lineup. The plant will only be running at 50 percent capacity initially. Subaru claims that...
Continue Reading...
Dodge is preparing a special Mopar edition of its Charger sedan, similar to its Mopar ’10 Challenger, and has revealed a sketch of the car, shod in the familiar black-and-blue paint scheme. Blue stripes run across the body of the car, and the Charger’s tacky hood scoops are also gone, making this car almost worth...
Continue Reading...
For the first time in its life, the Nissan Altima has outsold both the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, taking the title of America’s Best Selling Sedan. Altima sales were up by 27 percent compared to last year, helping Nissan achieve a record month in sales. Currently, Nissan is offering a number of incentives, including...
Continue Reading...
For all the skepticism surrounding the Hyundai Equus, the Korean luxury sedan appears to be doing well, even exceeding Hyundai’s own expectations. Hyundai’s Midwestern PR head Dean Bedore gave us some insight into the success of the Equus, noting that it currently has a 5 percent market share of the luxury car segment, while Hyundai...
Continue Reading...
The not-quite-an A6, not-quite an A8 five-door from Audi finally has a price: in America it will start at $59,250. At that price, the A7 will come with a 3.0-liter supercharged, direct-injection V6 hooked up to a Tiptronic transmission and quattro all-wheel drive. The sedan-cum-coupe-slash-hatchback will reach showrooms later this month, to confuse potential A6...
Continue Reading...
With its Lincoln luxury brand currently facing tumultuous times, parent company Ford has created a new internal division to help bring Lincoln back up to speed, after a period where the brand lacked resources needed to compete. Ford has set aside a staff of 85 to help work on various aspects of the Lincoln brand,...
Continue Reading...
Hyundai‘s vice-chairman, Shin Jong-Woon unequivocally quashed rumors regarding a separate premium brand for Hyundai’s upscale vehicles, telling Automotive News “There are no plans for Hyundai to make a separate brand.” Hyundai spokesman Frank Ahrens elaborated on Jong-Woon’s comments, citing costs and branding difficulties as the main obstacles towards establishing a premium channel ala Lexus, Infiniti...
Continue Reading...
Autoblog has revealed that the 2012 Kia Rio will make its debut at this April’s New York Auto Show, with an expected 1.4L 4-cylinder making 108 horsepower and 100 lb-ft of torque. Expected transmissions are a 6-speed manual and an automatic, rumored to be a 4-speed. The sedan will complement the hatchback previously revealed at...
Continue Reading...
With the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid delayed due to a change to the pedestrian warning system, the Kia Optima Hybrid will face similar delays, with units expected to arrive at dealers sometime in the summer, a full 5 months later than planned. The Optima Hybrid, being mechanically identical to the Sonata Hybrid, must also undergo the...
Continue Reading...
The 2012 Jaguar XF seen in the above spy shot may not look too different from the existing car, but the improvements you can’t see are what caught our attention. Jaguar claims that this XF is motivated by a 2.2L 4-cylinder diesel engine making 187 horsepower and 322 lb-ft of torque, while delivering about 52...
Continue Reading...
New luxury vehicles tend to post exceptional sales within the first year or so of their introduction, only to taper off to more reasonable levels as the vehicle’s life cycle continues. Not so for the Porsche Panamera, a vehicle derided by Porsche loyalists that has gone on to be the brand’s best-selling vehicle. In 2010,...
Continue Reading...
Rumors of Holden vehicles, specifically the rear-drive Commodore, coming to the U.S. have always been a fixture of the automotive media, and with the Holden-based Pontiac G8’s demise a few years ago, some of them have seemed to be more wishful thinking than anything of substance. General Motors is bringing back the larger Holden Statesman...
Continue Reading...
Determined to make sure the launch of their new 2012 Focus is flawless, Ford is road testing the first examples of the new Focus for 30 miles, an unprecedented length for a mainstream car. Ford will take a Focus from its Wayne assembly plant to a Dearborn test track for evaluation, and then a further...
Continue Reading...
BMW is planning to expand its range yet again, with reports of an upcoming 4-Series lineup that would compete against the Audi A5 Sportback in the burgeoning sporty hatchback segment. Rumors have been flying about a possible 3-Series GT, a complement to the crossover-like 5-Series GT (shown above), but this may in fact be part of the...
Continue Reading...
Ford is asking dealers to curtail orders of three shades of red paint, and one hue called “Tuxedo Black” due to difficulties sourcing metallic elements needed for the paint. The element, which is produced by a Japanese supplier, is unable to be produced to due damage resulting from the natural disasters that occurred in the...
Continue Reading...
Suzuki is set to reveal two all new cars at the upcoming New York Auto Show and the automaker has announced that one of those vehicles will be an updated Kizashi. With Suzuki stating that the new reveal will bring the “Kizashi to the next level,”, we’re left wondering whether this may be the long...
Continue Reading...
Maserati‘s new GranTurismo MC Stradale might be using a nifty new single-clutch automated manual gearbox in its home market of Europe, but North America will get a ZF-built 8-speed automatic. The ZF unit is a precursor to Maserati’s further use of the gearbox, and frankly, North American consumers of the brand will likely not notice...
Continue Reading...
While the Nissan Sunny has already been previewed at AutoGuide, we just got out first look at the hatchback version of Nissan’s subcompact (known as the Tiida) thanks to a Chinese photographer who spied the car out in the open. The new hatchback looks like a Lexus CT200h mixed with Nissan’s familiar corporate styling cues,...
Continue Reading...
sidebar...