Economy Cars
Hyundai Elantra, Canada’s Best Selling Car?
Quick, what’s the best selling car in America? Answer, the Toyota Camry. Our neighbors to the North, however, prefer the smaller and more agile Honda Civic. Or at least they used to. With the first sales numbers for 2011 having just come in, Hyundai Canada has announced the new 2011 Elantra is the best-selling passenger…
2012 Nissan Versa Rumored for New York Auto Show Debut
New reports continue to point to the New York Auto Show as the venue where Nissan will debut the all-new 2012 Versa. Late last year Nissan unveiled the car at the China (Guangzhou) International Automobile Exhibition, where it is sold under the ‘Sunny’ badge. Historically, the larger Sentra and Sunny were the same vehicle, but…
Scion iQ Minicar Launch Delayed, Brand Focusing On Selling tC
It has been a hit in Asia and Europe, but North Americans will have to wait a bit longer to get their hands on the Scion iQ. Originally the plan was to start selling the cutesy iQ minicar by March, but Scion’s parent company Toyota has now pushed this launch a few months back, so…
2012 Suzuki MR Wagon is the World’s Cutest Box on Wheels
Suzuki has been struggling with its car division in North America, and sales in 2010 were particularly poor. However, in its home market of Japan, the brand does quite well, thanks to tiny run-abouts like this new MR wagon. The MR wagon fits under the kei-class category in Japan, which in English would mean, ultra…
Five-Door Accent Will Kick Fiesta’s Butt Says Hyundai CEO
Hyundai Motor America CEO John Krafcik announced a five-door Hyundai Accent is coming to the U.S., boldly saying it will “kick the Fiesta’s butt.” The announcement came in a Q&A session with readers on Jalopnik after one reader asked if Hyundai will introduce a five-door Accent. Such bold talk is rare from a manufacturer, especially…
2012 Ford Focus Torque Vectoring Control Explained
When Ford first revealed the new 2012 Focus at the North American International Auto Show almost a year ago it was vague about a new ‘torque vectoring system’ that’s designed to improve handling. The Blue Oval has now released a description of the system and how exactly it will benefit customers. Essentially it’s a form…
2012 Hyundai Accent Previewed With Verna Hatchback at China’s Guangzhou Auto Show
Several spy photos have already given us a good idea of what the next-generation Hyundai Accent will look like, but we now have the first look at the hatchback model. Unveiled at the Guangzhou auto show in China, the Accent will be sold as the Verna overseas. In China two engines will be offered including…
2012 Toyota Vitz [Yaris] Officially Revealed With Gauges Where They Should Be
Toyota has officially taken the wraps off its new Japanese Vitz model, sold here as the Yaris. That might not at first be obvious, as the sub-compact has received quite the makeover, with an edgier design. It might not get your heart racing, but it won’t send you into a coma where you’ll dream about…
BMW Megacity Sub-Brand Models to Wear the ‘i’ Badge
After the Second World War, BMW produced a city car that was cheap and compact, and it was called the Isetta. Since then the company has gone onto create bigger and better machines, but it seems that BMW wants to go back into the city car business. For the past year, rumors have been circulating…
2011 Honda Civic Gets Just Two Stars in New NHTSA Side Crash Test
n the Civic’s case, it drops from a four-star overall rating in 2010, to three, largely due to a side impact test where it earned just two stars. Other small cars fared about the same or even worse.
2012 Nissan Versa Revealed as New Global Compact Car
Nissan has unveiled the design of its new global compact sedan at the China (Guangzhou) International Automobile Exhibition. Going by the name Sunny in China, it will be badged as the Versa in North America. Historically, the Sentra and the Sunny were the same vehicle, but that began to change two model year’s ago when…
2011 Nissan Versa Gets Pricing, Content Changes
Nissan is keen to maintain the Versa’s appeal as a value driven small car, as a result, the base sedan with a five-speed manual gearbox has a MSRP of $9,990 which is unchanged from last year.
Mitsubishi Global Small Car Revealed in Design Sketches; Is This the New Colt?
Mitsubishi has just announced a new global small car that could turn out to be the next Colt. Currently Mitsubishi sells the Colt in major markets like Europe and Japan, competing in the popular sub-compact segment. The Colt has also been long-rumored to make a return to North America, where the small car segment has…
Chevrolet Aveo to Change Name to ‘Sonic’
Despite having already debuted the new Chevy Aveo show car at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this year, and the official production model reveal at the Paris Auto Show, General Motors has reportedly decided to change the sub-compact’s name when it arrives here in 2011. According to the team at GMInsideNews, Chevy has green-lighted a…
2011 Honda Fit Gets Added Convenience Features, Stability Control Now Standard
The long-standing leader in the sub-compact segment, the Honda Fit now has a lot more competition than in the past. With the launch of cars like the Mazda2 and Ford Fiesta, Honda has decided to pack more value into the Fit. For 2011 all Fit models now include USB, cruise control, remote entry and Vehicle…
LA 2010: 2011 Hyundai Elantra Now Even More Attractive Thanks to $14,830 Base Price [Video]
Hyundai has just added to the attractive qualities of its all-new 2011 Elantra sedan by announcing a new base price of $14,830. This is on top of the beautiful new exterior and the 40-mpg highway rating that Hyundai is promising for all models – not just special Eco models, like Chevy’s Cruze that cost a…
Honda Stopping Sales Of Civic In Japan
In a move that would be unthinkable to most North American consumers, Honda will stop selling its ubiquitous Civic in Japan due to non-existant demand for the iconic compact. Japanese have been gravitating towards hybrids, ultra-compact cars and small minivans for some time now, leaving little room for the venerable Civic sedan, an extremely popular…
Subaru to Unveil Impreza Concept at LA Auto Show
Little has been said about Subaru in the lead-up to the LA Auto Show, with the Japanese automaker keeping tight-lipped about future product plans. Now we’ve received a teaser image of what Subaru calls the Concept in Motion (CIM). While Subaru is working on a new coupe with Toyota (the FT-86/ FR-S / Toyobaru), several…
2011 Hyundai Elantra Officially Revealed With Stunning New Look, 40-MPG
After providing all the juicy details on the new Elantra last week, Hyundai has now lifted the embargo on the car ahead of its LA Auto Show debut, allowing us to reveal one of the most attractive compact car packages on the planet. And while it does compete in that compact car class, the Elantra,…
Hyundai Elantra Teased Ahead of LA Auto Show Reveal
Later this week Hyundai will be previewing its new Elantra model ahead of its LA Auto Show reveal, but the clever folks in Hyundai’s PR department have let slip little bit of the car’s sheetmetal before the unveiling. There’s little new here as we’ve already seen the Elantra not once, not twice, not three times,…
Fiat-Based Dodge Caliber Replacement Coming in 2011 With 40-MPG Target
The first Fiat-based Dodge model is set to debut in late 2011 and is believed to be the replacement for current Caliber. Like the Caliber it will be a compact model and will be based on Fiat’s new Compact Wide architecture, which first debuted on the all new Alfa Romeo Giulietta. Power will come from…
2012 Kia Rio: First Spy Pictures Reveal Optima-Inspired Look
Several spy photos of what appears to be the upcoming 2012 Kia Rio reveal that the Korean automaker’s subcompact sedan is posed to borrow heavily from the design of the all new Optima. A sister car to the Hyundai Accent, power is expected to come from the same engine choices: either a 1.4-liter 4-cylinder or…
2012 Toyota Yaris/Vitz Revealed With More Dynamic Design, Increased Size
The Toyota Yaris is an excellent point A to point B vehicle, with excellent fuel economy and an attractive price. Plus, it’s a Toyota, so it’s reliable. That being said, the reasons to consider buying a Yaris have never included its looks. Toyota appears to be ready to change that, with new photos from a…
2012 Honda Civic Spied Fully Exposed While Testing in Dubai [video]
For the first time the 2012 Honda Civic has been spied completely undisguised, with both photos and video showing the new compact sedan undergoing hot weather testing in Dubai. Looking not all that different from the current model, Honda seems to be moving away from its more provocative design language to a style that’s intended…
