Hatchbacks
Volkswagen Golf Blue-e-Motion Detailed in New Photos
Volkswagen has just released a selection of new images of the Golf Blue-e-motion concept, with diagrams and even under-the-hood photos of the brand’s upcoming electric car. Set to debut in 2013 along with the Up blue-e-motion and Jetta blue-e-motion, VW will first test a fleet of 500 cars next year. The concept is powered by…
Lexus CT200h Viral Marketing Involves Online Adventure Game
It’s truly amazing what the Internet has enabled companies to do in terms of marketing their products. The advent of Adobe Flash technology and truly interactive experiences allows users to immerse themselves and forget that they’re actually being sold a product. Lexus has taken one of these approaches with their new CT 200h viral marketing…
Half of MINI E Lessees Sign on for a Second Year
Roughly half of those who took part in the MINI E’s lease program in North American have opted to sign on for a second year. As the first electric MINI, the MINI E was built as a test platform for future electric car models from MINI and parent company BMW. MINI’s pilot project included leases…
Volkswagen Golf GTI Excessive Edition Debuts at Worthersee Tour GTI Meet
Volkswagen has a long history of unveiling wild SEMA-esque cars at the annual Worthersee GTI Meet and this year proved to be no different. While its not the Bentley W12-powered widebody GTI, the GTI Excessive is a more realistic street car and certainly gets our motors running. The car features flared fenders and a complete…
Report: New Front Drive BMW Hatch to Share 1 Series Badge
The upcoming lineup of front-drive “small premium” BMWs will will share the 1 Series badge with their RWD counterparts. According to a report by AutoCar, the new models, which will share the same underpinnings as the next-generation MINI Cooper, will also be hatchbacks and are likely to be offered in both 3-door and 5-door trim….
Volkswagen Officially Launches 40 MPG, 170 HP Polo GTI, Evokes Comparisons To Legendary MK1 Golf GTI
Volkswagen‘s been on a roll with hot hatches lately; the Scirocco, Golf GTI MKVI and Golf R are all fine performance cars that the common man can buy, but as the cars balloon in size, equipment and power, they become further and further removed from their ancestor, the tossable, no-frills MKI GTI. The car that…
Ford Fiesta Production in Cologne Tops 6 Million Units, 13 Million Globally
Rolling off the assembly line at Ford‘s plan in Cologne, Germany yesterday was the six millionths Fiesta model – a Vision Blue Sport edition intended for a German customer. Show above next to an original Fiesta, this seventh-generation model celebrates 31 years of production in Cologne, with Fiestas dating back to 1976 in Europe. In…
405-HP Volvo Polestar Performance C30 Concept Detailed in New Video
It’s probably the most talked about Volvo in a decade (if not longer) and the Swedish automaker has just released a new video highlighting the many awesome aspects of the Polestar Performance C30 Concept. In case you missed our first post on this car, the extra spicy hatch is in many ways like the Ford…
Volkswagen Polo R to Bow in 2012
Volkswagen will expand its R lineup of performance vehicles, adding a hot-hatch Polo R in 2012. News of the hard-core sub-compact comes via AutoCar, suggesting the Polo R is likely to get a turbocharged 1.6-liter 4-cylinder making roughly 210-hp. Unlike the Golf R, however, the Polo will remain front-wheel drive as the Polo platform can’t…
Mazda2 Yozora Special Edition: Forbidden Fruit For Americans
Small cars and Mazdas are very popular in Canada. The Mazda3 is constantly battling with the Honda Civic for the title of “Best Selling Car,, and models like the Mazda5 and RX-8 are seen far more frequently in the Great White North than the United States. With that said, Canada is naturally a very important…
Ford Fiesta S1600 Launched in the U.K. with Added Looks, Power
Just days after the Fiesta finally launched in North America, residents of the U.K. can already get a better version of Ford‘s sporty hatchback than what is offered here. Called the Fiesta S1600, for starters, it’s a three-door hatch, which isn’t part of the product lineup in North America. Included in motorsports-inspired package is a…
New Honda CR-Z Mega Gallery Delivers More of the Sporty Hybrid Than You Can Handle
In love with Honda’s new CR-Z? Then we have a treat for you. Honda Europe has just released a mega-gallery of CR-Z photos, showing the new hybrid sports coupe from so many angles we forget what the CRX looks like. There’s not much new to report about the car, other than the fact that like…
Ford Fiesta Overtakes VW Golf as Top Seller in Europe
With Ford just about ready to launch its new Fiesta in North America, the American automaker is celebrating the car’s success overseas where it has just surpassed the perennial top seller, the VW Golf, to become Europe’s best selling car. While Ford somewhat erroneously reported last week that it had topped VW in overall sales,…
Report: 2011 MINI JCW to Get Added Power, Updated Aero
We absolutely love the MINI John Cooper Works (JCW) edition (reviewed here and here) and for 2011 it’s going to get more hard-core. According to the MINI experts at MotoringFile and thanks to some new spy photos from LeftLaneNews we have better insight to what the mid-cycle updates will include. For starters, the JCW will…
Honda CR-Z Tuning Keeps Growing With New Tein Suspension Products
Before Tein made their way to North America in the form of Tein USA, the green-branded suspension products were a rarity and collectibles amongst the JDM-fanatics. Oddly enough, when Tein did get established in America it seemed that the goodness of their products got diluted. Once items like their srings became readily available, the prestige…
Russian Designer Denis Simachëv and Tuner TopCar to Build 25 Limited Edition MINIs
Denis Simachëv x TopCar MINI Cooper S We love customized MINIs like we love air, so seeing a street art-inspired one from Russia made our hearts go all aflutter. Prepared in a strict limited run of 25 unique cars, the Russian artist Denis Simachëv and Russian tuner TopCar will create each car as a wholly…
Report: Ford RS500 Engine Upgrades Available to Other Focus RS Owners
Last week we reported that the Ford RS500 had “sold out” in 12 hours based on the interest it garnered with official news of its release. Following hot on its heels and noticing the overwhelming demand on the RS500, Ford has released news of the MP350 package for regular Focus RS owners. For those currently…
Report: Lexus, Infiniti Steering Clear of Big Hatchbacks
Neither Lexus, nor Infiniti will look to compete with BMW and the 5 Series Gran Turismo in the new large luxury hatchback segment. This comes as somewhat of a surprise for both automakers. Sure, Lexus is as traditional as they come, but it did just debut the new CT200h hybrid hatchback (a more entry level…
Report: MINI JCW WC50 Model Headed to U.S. Dealers As Most Expensive MINI Ever
Last year MINI unveiled a very special and very cool John Cooper Works Championship 50 Special Edition model in the U.K. to celebrate the company’s 50th birthday. And now according to the folks at MotoringFile, the JCW WC50 will also be offered in the U.S. – but it doesn’t come cheap. Originally MINI had no…
Report: Ford Focus RS500 Sells Out in 12 Hours
The Ford Focus RS500 debut has been a little interesting, to say the least. Ford had built a new website, teasing the release of the car over several days. They claim however that the website was “hacked” and the official (and enticing) photos of the Ford Focus RS500 were released 48 hours early. Perhaps it…
Report: Ford Fiesta ST to Get 180-HP EcoBoost 4-Cylinder
Ford has reportedly given the green light to a hot-hatch version of the new Fiesta sub-compact, which will be called the ST. According to a report by AutoExpress, the Fiesta ST will get a version of the 1.6-liter EcoBoost 4-cylinder used in the C-Max MPV. It is expected to make around 180-hp and deliver a…
Kia Forte Hatchback to Expand Forte Lineup to Three Models
Thanks to some spy photos obtained by the folks at InsideLine, we now know that Kia is planning to introduce a five-door hatchback to the Forte lineup. It’s not clear when the car will debut or exactly what it will be called; there’s the obvious Forte hatchback, or the Forte5 name (in reference to the…
Lexus CT200h Confirmed for U.S. With Debut at New York Auto Show
After its debut at the Geneva Auto Show just a few weeks ago, Lexus has now officially announced it will sell the CT200h hybrid hatchback in the United States. The CT200h will be the first full hybrid offered in the premium compact class. Power comes from a version of Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive system using…
Lexus CT200h to get North American Debut at New York Auto Show
Lexus will debut its latest model, the CT200h, in front of a North American audience for the first time at the New York Auto Show at the end of the month. Officially unveiled at the Geneva Auto Show last week, the CT200h is not only a luxury hatchback, but the first hybrid in the compact…
