The initial slow start to the Chevrolet Volt rollout sped up in March with sales of more than twice the number than were sold in January and February combined. Sales of 608 Volts plus 321 in January and 281 in February now make 1,210 total. This is not a lot compared to 18,018 Cruzes sold...
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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...
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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...
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The Toyota plant which builds the Yaris subcompact for export markets will remain closed for another month, as the factory recovers from the massive earthquake which struck northern Japan. While the plant has had repairs completed and electricity has returned, the supply of natural gas has not been restored. Toyota’s other plants are expected to...
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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...
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Volvo recently revealed that it is looking for 400 early adopters to test a prototype of its 24 kWh all-battery powered C30 Electric car. Better get in line early, because the limited range, practically hand-made vehicle will be leased for just $2,100 per month. Why bother with an every day C30 four-passenger, two-door hatchback, when the exotic...
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Taking shots at your competitors is nothing new in the advertising world, but North Americans generally see the kind of gentle ribbing that comes from restrictive libel laws and the preference for subtlety over braggadocio. Not so in Brazil, where Nissan ran a campaign for their Tiida small car (aka the Versa on our shores)...
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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...
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Fiat’s 900cc TwinAir 2-cylinder turbocharged engine, currently available in the European market Fiat 500, has won critical acclaim for its performance and use of advanced technology, and the motor will soon be available in both the Alfa Romeo MiTo and Fiat Punto. The TwinAir will superceed the current base engines in both cars, rated at...
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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,...
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Mitsubishi‘s diminutive i electric vehicle is undergoing some fairly substantial changes when it makes its debut on our shores, the most significant being a slight increase in length and a 5 inch bump in width, with the extra size added to help the car feel better during high speed highway driving. While Japanese drivers experience...
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An old finance maxim states that “by the time you’ve read about it, it’s already too late”, but that hasn’t stopped used car dealers from eagerly snapping up any 4-cylinder or hybrid vehicle as gas prices continue to climb. With one dealer calling the sudden trend a “panic”, values of previously undesirable cars like the...
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With the Chevrolet Cobalt SS being a critical (if not commercial) success, General Motors has been pushing for an SS version of their new Chevrolet Cruze small car, and the program looks like it’s a go, with much of the work being done by their Australian Holden division. While details are still preliminary, a more...
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Despite being an ultra-niche vehicle, interest in the Nissan GT-R always remains strong, and car enthusiasts have been fretting about whether Japan’s natural disasters have impacted production of the revised GT-R. According to an interview with David Reuter, Nissan Americas vice president of communications, supplies of the GT-R are safe, with roughly 70 percent of...
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The Insurance Institute For Highway Safety awarded the Mazda 3 with its Top Pick honor in the small car category. The Mazda3 met the criteria by scoring a “Good” rating in all crash test categories (front, side, rear and rollover) and has electronic stability control. The Mazda3 is the first car from the automaker to...
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Ford‘s strategy involving smaller cars priced at a premium will become even more important if gasoline rises beyond $4 gallon, said Ford of the Americans President Mark Fields. “There is a natural kind of water level that if a gallon of gas goes over, that may shift the market mentality,” Fields told Automotive News. “When it...
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The Audi A2 was well ahead of its time when it launched in 1999, and it paid dearly for its advanced nature, with a short lifespan and disappointing sales. But the A2, which was capable of getting 78 mpg in some trim levels, appears set for a renaissance. Times have changed, and the demand for a...
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Designing a single car for the entire world is a tough proposition. No matter how hard engineers strive towards a unified design, concessions must usually be made, particularly with regards to engine and gearbox choices. Other instances have called for variations in size to suit regional tastes. While the Ford Focus and Chevrolet Cruze are...
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For all the hype surrounding the Fiat 500, Ford‘s CEO, Alan Mulally, has become one of its most prominent detractors, condemning the car to failure before it’s even launched. Speaking to the Italian language magazine Panorama, Mulally remarked “I do not see large market in the U.S.A. for a smaller car than the Fiesta. Those that tried...
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Toyota‘s plus-sized Prius, the Prius V, has began production, and will start at $28,600 in Japan, roughly $3,700 more than the standard Prius. Many feel that the price will be closer to $27,000 in the United States, although the American-spec Prius V will lack the third row seat. Toyota claims that this feature would not...
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With the positive reception given to the very compact MINI Rocketman concept at this year’s Geneva Auto Show, MINI execs have given indications that the car will be produced sometime in the near future. “We are good at looking at history and interpreting a future for it,” MINI sales and marketing chief Kevin Robertson told...
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The Kia Rio used to have the ignominious honor of being a “penalty box”, a car you didn’t want to spend time in unless absolutely necessary. But with the upswing in quality from Kia, and shared underpinnings from the promising new Hyundai Accent, the all-new Rio, shown for the first time at the Geneva Auto...
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Diesel hot hatches have always been a bit of an oddity – one would think that a big, heavy diesel engine would throw off the superb balance and lightweight that are the hallmarks of most front-wheel-drive hot hatchbacks, but the MINI Cooper SD is one diesel hot hatch that deserves the benefit of the doubt...
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Mazda took the wraps off its Minagi concept crossover at the Geneva Auto Show today, showing the world what the upcoming CX-5 soft-roader will probably look like when it comes to market in the next couple years. Powered by an unspecified SKYACTIV powerplant and featuring styling cues taken from the gorgeous Shinari concept car, the...
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