Economy Cars
Start/Stop Technology To Be Implemented In 55% Of New Vehicles By 2016
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Stop/Start technology will more than triple in five years as automakers worldwide seek better fuel efficiency. This function allows a car’s engine to shut off when the vehicle is at rest, for example, at a stop light, and the engine restarts when the gas pedal is pressed. With the engine turned off for short amounts…
Chevy Sonic RS Planned With Added Performance
Chevy is planning to deliver an RS version of its new Sonic hatchback with improved performance. Sadly, it won’t come with any more power, but it will get handling improvements and upgrades to its brakes. In addition, look for more aggressive RS bodywork. Currently the Sonic is already best-in-class in creating power in the sub-compact…
Top 10 Selling Cars in May: Honda and Toyota Absent from List
The May auto industry sales numbers are in and things continue to look down for Honda and Toyota. Both brands saw big drops in their May sales, with Honda down 23 percent and Toyota down 33 percent. While the earthquake and tsunami are to blame for supply issues, it’s hard to ignore the fact that…
2012 Honda Civic Sedan Receives IIHS Top Safety Pick Award
The all-new 2012 Honda Civic sedan models received the highest safety rating of Top Safety Pick from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, announced today. In order to receive a top safety pick, the vehicle must include a standard electronic stability control system and must successfully protect occupants inside the vehicle, involved in front, side…
Mazda2 Getting New SkyActiv Direct-Injection 1.3-Liter Engine in Japan
This Fall Mazda will introduce the 2012 Mazda3, sporting the first use of the automaker’s new SkyActiv technologies in North America. Full details about the engine aren’t yet available, but it is a 1.6-liter and uses direct injection. That car won’t, however, be the first ever model to receive a new SkyActiv engine, with Mazda…
2012 Honda Civic Supply ‘Severely Restricted’ Dealers Warned; Sales Could Dip in 2011
Every time a new version of a car is introduced sales are expected to spike. That, however, is not the case with the all-new 2012 Honda Civic with American Honda Motor Co. sales boss John Mendel warning dealers in a memo that supply will be “severely restricted, with limited availability of certain models.” Due to…
Volkswagen Planning Larger SUV, Smaller Car for North America
With Volkswagen now having launched the new Jetta and Passat on our shores, the automaker has pretty much run out of cars to Americanize and so it will soon look to deliver some all-new models designed to appeal to our less sophisticated tastes and larger beltlines. One of the first will be a three row…
Hybrid, Diesel and Small Car Sales Spike in March
Consumers are reacting rapidly to rising gas prices, switching gears away from gas guzzlers and instead purchasing small, fuel efficient cars. According to the latest statistics released by Baum and Associates, sales of hybrid and diesel models saw the biggest jump, climbing at three times the industry average in the month of March. Compared to…
2012 Kia Rio Sedan Debuts With 138-HP, 40-MPG and Start-Stop Technology [New York 2011]
There are a lot of important points to make about the all-new 2012 Kia Rio Sedan, but the most surprising is that it will be the first in the sub-compact segment to feature start-stop technology. Called Idle Stop and Go (ISG for short), the Rio will completely shut off its gasoline engine when at a…
2012 Honda Civic Lineup to Debut at NY Auto Show
Honda will reveal the all-new 9th generation Civic lineup at the New York Auto Show on Wednesday. Totaling six models, the next-generation of the Civic will include a Coupe and Sedan, Si Coupe and Sedan, Hybrid, Natural Gas model and even a high-mpg HF model. Powered by a 1.8-liter i-VTEC engine, the new Civic comes…
2012 Hyundai Accent Teased Ahead of NY Auto Show Debut
Hyundai has released a lone teaser image of its upcoming 2012 Accent via Twitter ahead of the car’s debut at the NY Auto Show. A cropped profile pic it doesn’t show much, but then again, we’ve already seen it. Having been shown at several overseas auto shows with a different name on the back, the…
2012 Subaru Impreza Revealed with 36-MPG Ahead of New York Auto Show Debut
As rumored, Subaru will unveil its all-new 2012 Impreza sedan at the New York Auto Show. Partially revealed with a profile photo, Subaru promises its new compact sedan will be the most fuel efficient all-wheel drive vehicle available in North America, with a 36-mpg rating. Subaru has said it will showcase both the four-door sedan…
2012 Nissan Versa Set for New York Auto Show Debut Based on Smaller Micra Platform
The debut of the new Nissan Versa is all but confirmed for the New York Auto Show in just two weeks time, although according to new reports the car is set for a significant change. Pictures of the 2012 Sunny (as it’s known overseas) have already been released and a sketch resembling those images has…
2012 Kia Rio Likely to Get 138-HP in North America, Sedan to Debut at NY Auto Show
The all-new 2012 Kia Rio will sedan will debut at the New York Auto Show, with a strong possibility that it will house a significantly more powerful engine than its European counterpart. At the Geneva Auto Show last month, Kia unwrapped the Rio hatchback, sporting a turbocharged direct-injection 1.2-liter 4-cylinder engine. North American models, however,…
Hyundai Elantra Recall Affects 190,000 Models for Airbag Problems
Hyundai has recalled over 190,000 Elantra models over concerns that the passenger side airbags might not work properly. The Elantras were from the last generation, built from July 2006 to November 2008, and cover model years 2007 to 2009. The recall deals with a defect in the airbag seat sensor that detects a person’s weight…
Tata Nano Would Sell for $7,000 to $8,000 in the U.S. Says Chairman
If the maker of the world’s cheapest car does move ahead with plans to sell it here in the U.S., the sticker price won’t be the $2,000 figure that the car retails for in its home market of India. Instead, says Tata Motors chairman, Ratan Tata, the Nano city car would likely range between $7,000…
Nissan May Add Two New Small Cars to U.S. Lineup
Small cars are becoming more attractive in North America as gas prices continue to skyrocket, and Nissan is making plans to meet demand. According to a recent report, the Japanese automaker will add two new models to its production facilities in Mexico. Designed for sale in the Americas region, this could include the United States….
Kia Rio Hot Hatch Under Consideration to Spice Up Brand’s Image
Kia‘s new designs are helping brand the Korean automaker in a more positive light, particularly here in North America with the stylish new Optima. But in other parts of the world mid-size sedan’s don’t hold the same cache, nor do they sell all that well, so Kia is looking at alternative ways to create a…
2012 Ford Focus SE SFE Can Achieve 40-MPG, Other Versions Can’t
The 2012 Ford Focus is being eagerly awaited by those looking to buy a car in the C-segment of the market, which includes cars like the Hyundai Elantra and the Chevrolet Cruze. However, if you want to achieve the claimed 40-mpg fuel rating, you’ll have to choose the Focus SE SFE (Super Fuel Economy) model….
Geneva 2011: Kia Rio Revealed
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…
2012 Mazda3 SkyActiv Targets 40-MPG With Added Power
Mazda recently unveiled its new 2012 Mazda3 model, a mid-cycle update with one important change under the hood. Along with some cosmetic updates, the 3 gets Mazda’s new SkyActiv engine. At the time, Mazda was only willing to say that it was a direct-injection 2.0-liter 4-cylinder, targeting a 20 percent fuel economy improvement, while also…
Competitive Compact the Next Step for Dodge Says Brand Boss; No Plans for B-Segment
With both Chevrolet and Ford now offering serious rivals to cars like the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla, a competitive C-segment Dodge is a next major step for the brand says CEO Ralf Gilles. The slow-selling Caliber is rumored to be retired next year, and Dodge is preparing a new compact car based on a…
2012 Kia Rio Uncovered Ahead of Geneva Debut With Turbocharged Direct-Injection 1.2L
Kia has just released the first details and photos of the new Rio sub-compact ahead of its world premiere at the Geneva Auto Show in March. A sister car to the Hyundai Accent (details on the 2012 model here), the Rio gets a unique styling and for now will only be available as either a…
Hyundai Targeting 5 Percent Market Share For 2011
Hyundai is looking to capture 5 percent of the U.S. car market in 2011, amid projections that show greater overall sales for new vehicles in the coming year. With Hyundai sales up 24 percent in 2010, and a market share of 4.6 percent, the new target is certainly reachable, especially with new products like the…
