Archive for February, 2011
Video: Volkswagen Golf24 Endurace Racer Hits The Track
Posted on 17. Feb, 2011 by admin.
The pint-sized terror that is the Volkswagen Golf24 endurance race car hits the track and wails, over the top of an operatic soundtrack, in this brief video. We want more. At 440 horsepower, with all-wheel drive, and enough fins to give a shark a heart attack, the Golf24 is mean on paper and in looks. We think it’s going to be pretty mean on…
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Video: Official 2012 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe Preview
Posted on 17. Feb, 2011 by admin.
We brought you some of the first photos and details to hit the Web on the 2012 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe, and now Mercedes has followed the first volley with an official video detailing the new two-door. Unfortunately you’ll have to translate from European, as everything is described in standard units, rather than our familiar mpgs, etc.
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Jaguar Rates Tops In J.D. Power Customer Service Study
Posted on 17. Feb, 2011 by admin.
You might not think Jaguar–at least not first–when you think about luxury car brands, let alone luxury brand service. But you should. The brand with the leaping cat has scored a place among the top 40 companies across 20 industries as the leader in automotive customer service. It’s no surprise to either Jaguar or J.D. Power (nor likely Jaguar…
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2012 Mazda3 More Efficient, Less Smiley
Posted on 17. Feb, 2011 by admin.
The 2012 Mazda3, which debuted at an auto show in Canada this week, will indeed receive the new global 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine the automaker is dubbing “SKYActive.” What does that mean? Basically it has direct injection and uses lightweight materials to boost both fuel efficiency and torque by 15%.
Mazda needs to get better mileage because it’s far behind its compact-class competition in that category. The current Mazda3 gets an EPA-estimated 24/33/27 mpg city/highway/combined. A 15% boost would take that combined figure to 31 mpg and the highway number to 38 mpg, putting the car closer to its rivals. However, Honda just announced the 2012 Civic will get 39 mpg highway, and the new Hyundai Elantra gets 40 mpg highway.
At least the 2012 Mazda3 won’t be as far behind in fuel economy.
Mazda has also toned down the smiley face look of the Mazda3 with a more angular grille. We can’t really see much difference to the rear of the car, and we can’t stand the new wheels, which look like they belong on a Pontiac Vibe, shown in these photos.
We’d expect to get more details and better specifications on the new Mazda3 when we get closer to its fall on-sale date. In an unusual turn of events, Mazda is using the U.S. as its launch market for these new engines.
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Video: Season Two Of Corvette Racing’s Track To Street, Episode 1
Posted on 17. Feb, 2011 by admin.
It’s time to gear up for another season of racing. We know we are, and now Corvette Racing is, too, with the first episode in this season’s Track To Street series. The big change for this year? Paddle shifters. Now legal in GT2, the paddle-shift setup requires a lot of setup work to handle the sequential gear box not just quickly, or properly, but…
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2012 Honda Civic: First Look
Posted on 17. Feb, 2011 by admin.
- Competes with: Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Elantra, Mazda3, Ford Focus, Chevy Cruze
- Looks like: Honda isn’t going away
- Drivetrain: 110-hp four-cylinder hybrid with CVT; 140-hp four-cylinder with five-speed automatic; 200-hp four-cylinder with six-speed manual
- Hits dealerships: Spring 2011
Just weeks after Honda showed the world the concept version of the next-generation Civic, it revealed the production models online today.
The big news is not the design, which you can check out in the photos above and below, but the efficiency of the entire lineup. And it’s a big lineup, too.
Starting in terms of best fuel efficiency, you have the Honda Civic Hybrid in sedan only, which is estimated to return 45 mpg city/highway combined. That's 4 mpg better than the combined mileage of the outgoing Civic Hybrid and Honda Insight. It will be powered by a 110-horsepower, 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine and for the first time, a lithium-ion battery pack. It will be teamed to a continuously variable automatic transmission.
Then you have the Civic HF — “High Fuel economy” — sedan that will get an estimated 41 mpg highway thanks to aerodynamic bodywork shared with the hybrid.
The Civic HF will be powered by the same 140-hp, 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine as the standard Civic sedan and coupes. All will be mated to a five-speed automatic transmission. The regular Civics are estimated to return 39 mpg on the highway, up 3 mpg from the current generation. The Civic Hybrid, Civic HF, standard sedan and coupe, and a natural-gas-powered Civic GX will also feature the Eco Assist system the company has put in its CR-Z hybrid coupe.
There will also be a high-performance Civic Si sedan and coupe with a 200-hp, 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine. As you’d expect, they only come equipped with a six-speed manual transmission. Mileage and power are both up with an EPA- estimated 31 mpg highway, which is up 2 mpg from the outgoing model.
But what about the interior and all the standard features? We were only provided with one interior image, and it looks like the dashboard has been rearranged with the center stack angled toward the driver, a trick Audi recently made acceptable. The two-tiered gauge cluster remains, but it doesn’t look as futuristic as the current model.
There doesn't look to be a leap in interior quality, but it’s hard to judge from a single image. Plus, the current Civic has a nice interior for its age.
Trim levels will likely remain similar to the current lineup, and we expect to have a full rundown the closer we get to the on-sale date this spring. For now, let us know if you think this new Civic is an improvement on the current design or a step back.
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2012 Honda Civic Preview
Posted on 17. Feb, 2011 by admin.
Fresh from its “preview” in “concept” form at the Detroit Auto Show, the 2012 Honda Civic is here, and it looks pretty good. It also offers the all-important 40 mpg in two trims–HF and Hybrid. The entire 2012 Civic lineup is more efficient, but it’s the HF and Hybrid that headline: the 140-horsepower HF scores an EPA estimate of 41 mpg highway…
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Video: Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 On The Road, Interior Shots
Posted on 17. Feb, 2011 by admin.
The 2011 Geneva Motor Show is fast approaching, and with it, the latest supercar from Lamborghini: the Aventador LP700-4. From its carbon monocoque chassis to its 700-horsepower output, it’s pegged as the best Lambo yet. And now it’s on high-quality video. Posted to YouTube by Autogespot, the video looks more like an inside job than anything else…
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2012 Mazda3: SkyActiv Engine, Transmission
Posted on 17. Feb, 2011 by admin.
Mazda’s Sky-G line of engines was revealed back in September of 2009, but today, we get one of the first announced cars with the technology: the 2012 Mazda3 with somewhat differently-named SkyActiv G engine and transmission. So what’s all this talk about sky? It’s because the new engine cuts fuel use and emissions by about 30 percent thanks to…
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Bertone Jaguar B99 Concept Leaked, Previews Smaller Jaguar Sedan
Posted on 17. Feb, 2011 by admin.
The leaks are upon us, and the Geneva Motor Show is still weeks away. Today’s product of the leaky dam: a Bertone concept study called the Jaguar B99. It could preview a new, smaller sedan from Jaguar, though it’s clearly more concept than production at this pont. The suicide rear doors, for example, won’t make the production cut, and the complete…
