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Volkswagen Beetle R Concept: 2011 LA Auto Show
Looking a bit like a junior DTM car, Volkswagen today showed off the “Concept” Volkswagen Beetle R, the same car that made its world debut a few months ago in Frankfurt – and it looks just as production ready today as it did then. While the German firm was a bit tight-lipped about the details, they did say…
2013 Volkswagen CC Gets Subtle Makeover: 2011 LA Auto Show
Volkswagen today unveiled the freshened 2013 CC four-door coupe, with a revised front fascia and some spiffy new LED taillights that clearly distinguish it from the 2012 model. Not much else has changed according to VW, but the German automaker did take a big step towards making the CC a bigger player by adding a…
New Holiday Gift Ideas From Porsche Design
‘Tis almost the season and if you’re looking to fill up your holiday gift list, Porsche has a few ideas you’ll want to let Santa know about. New items that will make great gifts include iPad and iPhone cases. The cases are made from original vehicle interior leather and decorated with a Porsche crest. To…
MINI To Join B-Spec Racing
MINI has announced that they will be entering the B-Spec racing class in 2012, with MINI of Charleston, a franchise owned by Hendrick Automotive Group. The B-Spec car will be a base Mini Cooper Hardtop with a 1.6L 121-horsepower engine. The car will weigh 2,535 lbs and KW Variant 1 coilovers, upgraded brake pads and…
2012 Fiat 500 Abarth Revealed with 160-HP: 2011 LA Auto Show
Europeans won’t be the only ones having all the fun with the Fiat 500 Abarth anymore. North American showrooms will be gaining the turbocharged 160-hp 1.4L MultiAir engine model packed full with an Abarth-tuned suspension, brake system, race-inspired design and technology features not normally seen on compact cars. Full power comes on at 5500 rpm, while…
Jaguar XKR-S Convertible Unveiled with 542-HP: 2011 LA Auto Show
The all new Jaguar XKR-S Convertible is now official, boasting a supercharged 5.0L V8 engine that is also found in the XKR-S Coupe. With 542-hp, this makes it Jaguar’s most powerful open-top model yet and also rounds off the XK-line with a convertible variant for every model. Performance numbers for this convertible are impressive, with…
Volkswagen Looks To Grow Payroll By 10 Percent In 2012
Volkswagen CEO Martin Wintekorn told a German newspaper that they intend to increase its global staff by more than 10 percent in 2012. Currently Volkswagen employs 449,000 employees worldwide, but Winterkorn believes it’s entirely possible for VW to pack 500,000 in full by the end of 2012. That’s a whole lot of Volkswagenites. It’s no…
Forbes Creates Worst Car Flops of 2011
Just as consumers purchase cars that best fit their lifestyle needs, automakers likewise produce cars that it believes are the best fit for the market. However, the devils are in the details and a jarring oversight can cause a product to flop. Last week, Forbes created a flop compilation of 2011. Enlisting the expertise of…
Jaguar XF Diesel Achieves 62.9-MPG In Cross-America Trek
Say the word Jaguar, and probably the first thing to come to mind won’t be fuel efficiency. Jaguar recently took a road trip from New York to Los Angeles in a British spec XF 2.2 Diesel, and covered the 2884-miles journey at an average of 62.9-mpg. This makes it the most efficient Jaguar ever made….
Fiat 500’s Slow Sales Leads To Chrysler Worker Layoffs
Slow sales by Fiat are causing layoffs for workers in Chrysler‘s Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance Plant in Dundee, Mich., responsible for building the 1.4-liter FIRE engine used in the 500. The actual numbers behind the layoffs are, however, in dispute. Tom Zimmerman, the plant’s unit chairman for UAW Local 723, said in an interview with…
Audi Cutting Back On Manuals For Europe
Audi drivers across the pond are getting the short end of the stick, or to be more precise: no stick at all. What’s all this stick business, you may ask? The new version of the Audi S4 and S5 will only be available with an automatic transmission in Europe, cue the snickers and sneers from North American…
BMW ActiveHybrid 5 to Bow at Toyko Motor Show
BMW will officially introduce the new ActiveHybrid 5 at the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show, which will open its doors to the press on November 30th. Confirmed details on BMW’s latest luxury sedan is a turbo-charged inline-six combined with a 40kW electric motor. During slow speeds, the BMW is capable of pure electric propulsion. Along with…
Alfa Romeo Working On Lightweight Spider Aimed At Mazda MX-5
With the previous generation Alfa Romeo Spider now firmly in the ground, Alfa is looking to the next generation, and reports indicate that it will be a substantial break from the last car (pictured above), based on the stunning but portly Brera sports coupe. Alfa is eager to fast track the Spider in time for…
Entry Level Porsche Development Put On Pause
The weak global economy is so battered that even the one-percent are feeling the hurt. In the case of premium sports car maker, Porsche, a mid-engine roadster to slot underneath the Boxster was originally intended for introduction by 2014. Designed to be a spiritual successor to the legendary 550 Spyder, the entry-level four cylinder roadster’s pricing target…
Ferrari California Re-Design Spied During Testing, Possibly Turbocharged
AutoGuide’s spy photographers caught an updated version of the Ferrari California testing near Ferrari’s home base of Maranello, Italy and our photographers noted that an unusual whistling sound – possibly that of a turbocharger, was heard emanating from the engine bay. Ferrari hasn’t done a turbo V8 since the psychotic F40 of the 1980’s, and…
MINI To Offer Recaro Seats As An Option
MINI is finally offering Recaro seats as an option for their various models, but only in one configuration. The Recaro seat option will come in black Dinamica and leather only, but they are heated. They will be available for all the MINI models except for the Countryman and Convertible. Pricing is set at $3,000 on Cooper…
2013 Mercedes-Benz S-Class: More Technology, More Efficiency
Further aiding fuel efficiency is a 9-speed automatic transmission, a development of the current 7G-Tronic, though whether it will be standard on all models, especially the lower priced diesels remains to be seen.
Aston Martin Celebrates Crossing The 1-Million ‘Fan’ Mark On Facebook
Luxury sportscar manufacturer Aston Martin is celebrating a milestone as they now have over 1-million fans on the social networking site, Facebook. In celebration of this milestone, Aston Martin will lets its ‘fans’ design a special one-off vehicle by answering a series of questions. The most popular answer will decide the specification of “The Millionth…
BMW to Bring Diesels to Japan with X5 xDrive35d: Tokyo Motor Show Preview
For European automakers, diesels may rule the road back at home, but they’ve had a challenge convincing North American consumers to adopt the gasoline alternative. And if that’s considered an uphill battle, selling diesel cars in Japan, the land of the hybrid, is a virtual Mount Everest. To date, BMW has never offered a diesel…
Land Rover DC100, DC100 Sport Heading to LA Auto Show, Hint at Defender’s Return
First unveiled at the Frankfurt Auto Show, Land Rover has announced it will showcase both the DC100 and DC100 Sport concepts at the Los Angeles Auto Show later this week. More than just a regional unveiling, this announcement is an indication by Land Rover that it is looking to offer the next-generation Defender (which the…
2012 Mercedes ML63 AMG is a 516-HP Super Ute: LA Auto Show Preview
Adding some serious grunt to its new M-Class SUV, Mercedes has just revealed the high-performance ML63 AMG model ahead of its official debut at the LA Auto Show later this week. Based on the all-new ML, this super-ute now features Merc’s new twin-turbo 5.5-liter V8 engine rather than the old 6.2-liter unit, delivering an extra…
TVR Resurrected With Rumors of an All New Model
Due to financial insolvency, Russian TVR owner, Nikolai Smolenski, split TVR into multiple entities in December, 2006. But now, the British sportscar company returns beginning with the launch of an all new website with a redesigned logo inspired by the original emblem from 1954. According to the website, TVR will provide clients with pre-owned TVR…
Dodge Hornet to Bow at Detroit Auto Show, Sized Smaller than Compact Rivals
Dodge will unveil its new 2013 compact car during the January 2012 Detroit Auto Show. Since this is the first all-new car designed by the combined Chrysler and Fiat Company that will debut three months from now, we are used to expecting information to leak prior to the car’s official unveiling, whether from spies and…
Classic Volkswagen Bus On Sale In Holland
Holland hippie community rejoice! As of last month, Volkswagen‘s Dutch operations has debuted the 2012 model Volkswagen Bus. No, it isn’t the Bulli concept we saw earlier at Geneva, but the original Volkswagen Type 2, commonly known as the Bus or Combi. The popularity and desirability of the classic van isn’t surprising. Current asking prices…
