sedan
Maybach Announces Price Hike For 2012 Line-Up
In Maybach‘s last full year of sales before the hyper-luxury brand will be shuttered for 2013, Daimler has increased the MSRP of Maybach’s 2012 line-up. According to the latest pricing updates released by Mercedes-Benz USA, the 2012 Maybach 57 will begin at $379,050, an extra $3,080 over the 2011 model year. The 2012 Maybach 57…
Cadillac CTS, SRX Earn 5-Star Crash Safety Rating [Video]
Last week, the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety announced that 2012 earned a record number of “top safety picks,” but the automotive industry is looking to set the record number even higher. Cadillac‘s 2012 SRX crossover and CTS sports sedan and wagon models received a crash safety rating of 5-star overall. According to the National…
Volkswagen Passat Ad Pulled From Canadian TV [Video]
Volkswagen Canada is pulling a television commercial after receiving complaints that it is insensitive and offensive. The ad features the Volkwagen Passat, but the complaints center around what happens after the man pulls into the emergency lane. He jumps out of the car in a panic, saying his wife is having a baby, but stops to chat…
KBB Most Researched Vehicles List Released
Kelly Blue Book Released their list of the 20 most researched vehicles and three of the top five spots belong the Honda products. The Civic and Accord placed first and second respectively, with the Toyota Camry in third, the Honda CR-V in fourth and the Ford F-150 in fifth. The Hyundai Sonata and Elantra placed…
Record Number of IIHS Top Safety Picks For 2012
In a display of continuing safety advancements in automobiles, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reported that more vehicles have earned the “top safety pick” this year after manufacturers have strengthened the roofs of their vehicles to improve its rollover safety. Sixty-nine cars, thirty-eight SUVs, five minivans, and three pickups made the “top safety pick”…
BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe Revealed as Mercedes CLS Rival
The new 2013 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe joins the latest luxury four-door coupe niche alongside the likes of the Mercedes-Benz CLS, Audi A7, and Porsche Panamera. At 4.4 inches longer than the 6 series two-door coupe, the first four-door Gran Coupe available in the United States will be in 640i trim, utilizing BMW’s N55…
Mazda3 to Dethrone Holden Commodore as Australia’s Best Selling Car
With only about three weeks until 2012, the Australian car market could end 2011 with a new best-selling sedan for the first time in 15 years. Although the Holden Commodore has been Australia’s favorite and a sales leader since 1997, Australia’s Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries revealed that the Mazda3 has currently sold 301 more…
Infiniti M To Get 4-Cylinder Engine In Europe
With Europe having a long history of taxing cars based on engine displacement, automakers have long dodged this levy by placing diminutive engines in even their largest vehicles. Infiniti is hoping to get around this by following the same path, and starting in 2012, the Infiniti M will feature a pair of 4-cylinder engines borrowed…
Audi A3 Spied Winter Testing In Sweden
The Audi A3 was caught by our spy photographers undergoing winter testing in Sweden. Despite heavy camoflague, we already know what the next A3 will look like – look at any current Audi for clues to what the front and rear treatments will resemble. The new A3 will come in three and five door variants…
Toyota To Export 6,000 Camry Sedans To South Korea
The South Korean auto market has long been dominated by domestic automakers like Hyundai and Kia, but Toyota is planning to make a play by sending 6,000 American-built Camrys to South Korea. Deliveries will begin starting in January, 2012. Toyota has been exporting the Sienna minivan since November, and also sells the Corolla, Prius and…
2013 Dodge Dart Revealed With Alfa Romeo Underpinings
Dodge revealed teaser shots of their Dart compact car, designed to replace the wretched Caliber crossover, and so far it looks to be the first hit of Alfa Romeo-inspired product for North America. Using the underpinings of the lovely Alfa Giulietta compact, the Dart will use a 1.4L turbocharged Fiat MultiAir engine – good for…
GM Efforts Failed To Achieve Profitability For Opel
General Motor‘s European subsidiary, Opel has contributed greatly to GM’s engineering and technology development. Despite this, Opel has had difficulty making profit. GM Vice Chairman and Opel’s supervisory board chairman, Stephen Girsky explained to Financial Times Deutschland, “Unfortunately, our plan for making Opel profitable this year did not work.” Analysts suggest causes for Opel’s unprofitability include…
Bank of China Tipped as Latest Saab Savior
Although Saab has been struggling for the past year, don’t bet against it. All but doomed when GM sought to stop Saab’s deal with the Chinese Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co. and Pang Da Automobile Trade Co., Youngman is now proposing a new deal with Bank of China, the country’s fourth largest bank by market…
Japanese Manufacturers Cutting Costs Due To Rising Yen
Reports are coming in that Japanese auto manufacturers are looking for ways to cut costs on vehicles being exported to the United States in order to squeeze profits due to the record high yen against the dollar. A prime example is the new GS 350 from Lexus, that has been highly anticipated and praised by…
2013 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Spied [Video]
Our spy photographers have done it again, this time finding the 2013 Mercedes-Benz S-Class in the wild. The S-Class is an important product for Mercedes, but this generation has the added burden of replacing the now-dead Maybach sedans, as well as acting as the flagship for Mercedes-Benz. Expect to see VIPs, celebrities and African desposts chauffeured around…
Cadillac ELR Electric Car Could Be Rear Drive
An article in Automotive News suggests that the Cadillac ELR, which will share major driveline components with the Chevrolet Volt, will actually be rear-wheel drive. The report states that the ELR has been dubbed a 2+2, meaning two small seats in the rear, similar to a Porsche 911. The Volt uses a t-shaped battery pack…
Lexus To Enter Indian Market Starting In 2013
Toyota has announced that starting in 2013, it will sell Lexus vehicles in India. No specific products were announced for sale, but likely contenders include the LS and GS sedans, as well as the RX crossover. Given India’s less than perfect roads, the LX and GX SUVs (based on the popular Toyota Land Cruiser SUVs)…
Maserati Will Launch Three Products In Quick Succession – Sergio Marchionne
Sergio Marchionne revealed Maserati‘s big plan to introduce three new products in quick succession during a recent interview at the CBI business conference held in London. The three new vehicles are a replacement luxury sedan for the Quattroporte, a smaller Maserati four-door based on the Chrysler 300, and the Maserati Kubang SUV based on the…
Maybach Killed By Mercedes-Benz; Pour Out A Bottle Of Moet For The Homie
Mercedes-Benz‘s Maybach luxury brand will be axed, much to the consternation of rappers (pictured above), athletes and insipid nouveau riche types everywhere. While Mercedes had high hopes for the brand, Maybach’s sales have slumped to around 200 units annually, whereas targets called for sales of 1,000 cars per year. Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche told German…
Top 12 Most Profitable Vehicles
While automakers and outside research firms publish sales figures and earnings reports on a regular basis, one metric we rarely get a glimpse of is how profitable each vehicle is. In an era of re-badging and platform sharing, one would think that the most profitable vehicles are those with a large number of derivatives to…
Tata, Owner Of Jaguar, Land Rover Names Next CEO
Tata Sons has named Cyrus Mistry as its next CEO, as current CEO Ratan Tata prepares to retire. The unmarried, childless Tata named Mistry as CEO of the holding company responsible for Tata’s numerous divisions, among them their automotive sector which owns Jaguar and Land Rover, along with the namesake Tata Motors brand. “The appointment…
Volkswagen Accused Of Providing Ringer Press Cars: Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports has made allegations against Volkswagen that the company provided press vehicles that were built to a higher standard than versions sold to consumers. Stories of “ringer” press vehicles are legend in the automotive world – most recently, Ferrari was accused of providing press cars that performed far better than customer cars. Now, the venerable consumer…
2013 BMW 328i Starting At $35,775, 335i Starting At $43,275
The 2013 BMW 3-Series will start at $35,775 when it goes on sale in February. For that amount of coin, you can walk away with a base model 328i, while a 335i will set you back $43,275. The base price for the two models has only been bumped up by $300-$350, but the newest 3-Series…
Volkswagen To Phase Out 2.5 Liter 5-Cylinder With New 1.8-Liter Turbo 4
Reports from sources within Volkswagen has revealed intents to replace its less popular 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine for a new 1.8-liter turbo four-cylinder engine. This smaller turbocharged engine is based on the staple 2.0 liter turbo engine found in the GTI, and are already found in Volkwagen’s European offerings. Producing 158-hp and 185 lb-ft of torque,…
