The Ford F-150 and its 8-cylinder bretheren may have a lock on America’s auto market, but rising gas prices and improving technology have helped the once-pedestrian 4-cylinder engine dominate the automotive world, with 65.4% of cars built in 2010 powered by a 4-banger. About 18 percent of light trucks were similarly equipped. While we lost...
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BMW has always been known for their trademark inline-6 engines, but the recent industry-wide trend of downsizing has led to BMW adopting turbocharged four-cylinder engines as an alternative to smaller, naturally aspirated I6 engines in the name of efficiency. First to get the turbo-4 treatment is the X1 small crossover, although Jim O’Donnell, head of...
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Everytime we feel that Mansory can’t top its previous creation, it looks like the out-of-the-box vehicle builders have no end of out-of-the-box thoughts. Most recently, they’ve taken their already modified Porsche Panamera creation and have decided to splash a highlighter-bright yellow to its exterior. Prestige Cars in in the United Arab Emirates will be offering...
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While the Hyundai Veloster made its debut at the Detroit Auto Show, the company has quietly been testing a barely disguised Veloster with something a bit more sinister under the hood. The most likely explanation is that Hyundai is testing a more powerful Veloster, likely with a turbocharger. A turbo Veloster would be the most...
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These spy shots of a purported 2012 Buick Lacrosse GS struck us as a tad strange, but hey, GM did make a Cadillac CTS-V Wagon, so why not do another niche performance luxury vehicle? The most obvious visual difference are the Opel Insignia OPC wheels, which make the Lacrosse’s dowdy sheetmetal look pretty mean. The...
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After going through the equivalent of 160,000 miles worth of grueling tasks, Ford will take apart an Ecoboost V6 selected for the evaluation process, in a bid to demonstrate that the boosted V6 can be a viable alternative to traditional V8s. The V6, which was randomly pulled from the regular production line, was put into...
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The Ford Territory is the enthusiasts idea of a dream SUV; based on a rear-drive car platform, the Territory is available with turbo six cylinder or V8 powerplants and was widely received by both private owners and government agencies looking for a rugged utility vehicle. With the Territory looking pretty much the same since its 2004 debut,...
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Formula 1 will revert back to its craziest era in 2013, when it adopts a 1.6L 4-cylinder turbo engine for its series. The last time the turbo 4-banger was offered, it made in excess of 1,300 horsepower, but the new rules will be focused more on efficiency rather than outright power. With a maximum redline...
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The Saab 9-4x will come to America starting at a base price of $34,205 when it hits American dealers sometime in 2011. The $34k entry point will get you a front drive 9-4x with GM’s 3.0L direct injection V6. Moving up the ladder, the $38,075 Premium is laden with more opulent features and Saab‘s renowned...
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In the midst of our busy daily news gathering, we somehow forgot to bring you these new pictures and details of the Volkswagen Eos hardtop convertible, which gets some fancy new duds for 2012. A new front end treatment, to better fit in with the rest of Volkswagen’s current offerings, will be fitted to the...
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Despite the harsh criticism leveled at the Nissan Juke, Nissan‘s…. erm…distinctive crossover is off to a pretty good start, according to sales data from Timothy Cain over at Good Car Bad Car. In it’s first month on sale, Nissan sold 2103 Jukes, significantly more than the Honda Eelement or Volkswagen Tiguan, while closing in on...
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While only a small percentage of buyers actually opt for a manual transmission, offering one usually indicates that a company seriously cares about how their products perform. The Chevrolet Cruze, with it’s 1.4L turbo engine, has all the right stuff to be a fun-to-drive compact, but the sole transmission choice, a 6 speed automatic, wasn’t...
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BMW’s updated X3 SAV has been priced by BMW with a starting MSRP of $37,625 for the xDrive28i and $41,925 for the xDrive35i. The xDrive28i model comes with BMW’s naturally aspirated 3.0L inline 6 wh 240 horsepower. The 35i, as you may have guessed, has BMW’s turbocharged 3.0L making 300 horsepower. The new X3 comes...
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Abarth’s rumored mid-engine sports car will apparently use the KTM X-Bow as a starting point, replacing the X-Bow’s Volkswagen mill with a Fiat Multi-Air engine good for 180 horsepower. The terms of the deal would see Abarth purchase the rolling chassis from KTM and install their own engines. It’s not yet known if the Abarth...
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Nissan has a tradition of entertaining television ads that put a smile on your face, and their new Juke has a couple of comercials that continue that tradition. The first is a Walter Mitty-esque spot where an ordinary office worker turns into a dashing mercenary of menial tasks thanks to his Juke, and the confidence...
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Turbocharging is moving away from the performance sphere and into the mainstream as companies seek to get more power and fuel economy from smaller displacement engines. Honeywell, a leading automotive equipment supplier and turbocharger company, estimates that by 2015, 35 million new vehicles with turbochargers will be sold annually, up from 17 million right now....
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Ford‘s 3.5L V6 Ecoboost engine, a twin-turbo 6-cylinder engine that will go into the upcoming F-150 pickup, will put out 365 horsepower and a whopping 420 lb-ft of torque at 2500 rpm. The 3.5L V6 may lack the outright grunt of Ford’s 6.2L V8, 90 percent of the power is available from 1,750 to 5,000...
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Audi’s craziest TT, the TT-RS will officially make it to the United States after an online campaign by Audi convinced the automaker to bring the 360-horsepower sports coupe to America. Audi executives were initially skeptical of the sales potential of the TT-RS, but planned a limited run of just 250 cars for the Canadian market,...
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Ah the luxury of having a Panamera Turbo. How about having the ability to increase horsepower output by close to 80 at the push of a button? TechArt, famed Porsche tuner, has done just that for the new luxury sedan with their Power Kit. The Power Kit is labeled as TA 070/T1 and empowers the...
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Nissan‘s oddball Juke crossover is beating sales projecting in Japan by 300%, moving 1300 units in its first week. The turbocharged Juke is certainly unique looking, and its compact proportions and relatively low price should help make it an attractive proposition in a land where novelty and quirkiness are highly sought after traits in an...
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The send-off for the world’s most awesome car has to be fitting for something a car that costs in the millions of dollars, (never mind its awesome performance), and Bugatti knows that the final edition of their Veyron supercar has to measure up. Another special edition with different paint and a cool name won’t cut...
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Volkswagen‘s all new Passat has been revealed in a rendering obtained by Auto Express, one the allegedly came from a German dealer brochure. The new car clearly adopts the “corporate face” that Volkswagen is instituting, similar to the front fascias of both the new Polo, Golf and Touran. Auto Express reports that motivation will come...
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The 2011 Chevrolet Cruze is an important car for General Motors, with Chevrolet positioning the car as both a premium and compact car, something many Americans deem to be mutually exclusive. With advanced powertrains, a high quality interior and exterior styling that doesn’t scream “rental car”, Chevrolet has chosen to price the Cruze just a...
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GM is recalling 547 Cadillac SRX’s equipped with the 2.8L twin-turbo V6 due to potential engine failure if the car is run with regular, rather than premium fuel. In a statement released by NHTSA, the agency said that “The combination of regular fuel usage and aggressive driving maneuvers may induce pre-ignition.” If pre-ignition occurs, you...
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