showed off a few examples of the company’s new A1 Sportback Five-Door at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show. The German automaker has already said that the larger hatchback will be available with the same six engine options as its three-door sibling. That means buyers will be able to lay their hands on an A1 Sportback Five Door with a 1.4-liter turbocharged gasoline four-cylinder good for 185 horsepower. There are also three diesel engine options available for those who require a little extra fuel economy.
The base model will land with an MSRP just shy of €17,000 in Europe, or $27,000 USD based on current exchange rates.
While we’re plenty partial to the orange A1 in the lead gallery above, Audi also showed off a unique Samurai Blue version of the vehicle that could only exist in Japan. Here’s hoping you like bizarre wheel color options.
Despite consistently slow sales, has executed a slight facelift for the Ridgeline’s 2012 model year and begun offering a new low-cost Sport model (pictured) to enhance appeal. But the unibody four-door pickup’s sales have been lackluster since its 2006 model year debut, leading to widespread speculation that the Ridgeline would disappear from showrooms altogether. The rumormill eventually built up enough steam that American Honda’s Truck Planner, Sage Marie, was compelled to take the unusual step of addressing the gossip head-on last month with an However, that statement of support didn’t shed any light on future developments for the model.
We’re here in Japan for the , and we’ve had the chance to talk with Tetsu Iwamura, President and Chief Executive Officer of American Honda, about the future of the Ridgeline. According to Iwamura,
“Ridgeline is quite an important model to us. It’s the only truck-type of model we have. We’re fully aware of the importance of that model and we’re trying to make that model grow much more. At this moment, there is no intention to stop the Ridgeline. In order to make Ridgeline much more attractive – in order to enhance Ridgeline – we are studying lots of things at this moment.”
When further pressed if Honda remains fully committed to this segment, Iwamura confirmed that the company is indeed in it for the long haul, though he declined to say that that the Ridgeline would get a second-generation model. Still, it sounds like Honda is still expecting to offer something with a bed, and the Ridgeline can’t continue to soldier on indefinitely as-is… might the Japanese automaker ponder a radical new direction like the ?
Sitting inside Nissan’s Smart House perched above the automaker’s booth here at the was a fitting setting to talk about Nissan’s plans for future electric vehicles. The mock building was being powered by a , with the EV parked below and connected through the Leaf-to-Home system. Within a few minutes of starting my interview with Hideaki Watanabe, Nissan’s corporate VP of the Zero Emissions Business Unit, the lights flickered on and the ceiling fan began to spin. For a country just beginning to recover from the March 11th tsunami, being able to pull extra energy from an EV during a blackout would be indispensable. But that’s not why I’m sitting down with Mr. Watanabe.
I want to know about performance EVs.
Seeing a Nismo version of the Leaf sharing the stage with Ghosn implies that Nissan is at least exploring the possibility of a sports-oriented EV.
Nissan is committed to a zero-emissions future. Carlos Ghosn, Nissan’s President and CEO, maintains that 10 percent of the global automotive market will be comprised of electric vehicles in 10 years. And Nissan is helping to lead the way with the Leaf and two forthcoming EVs: a small commercial vehicle and an electric city car, both due to arrive in the next few years.
But more often than not, zero emissions means zero fun. So seeing a Nismo version of the Leaf sharing the stage with Ghosn implies that Nissan is at least exploring the possibility of a sports-oriented EV. And even Ghosn hinted at the idea when speaking about Nissan’s dual (or is that dueling?) roles as both performance brand and alt-powertrain champions.
But after speaking with Watanabe, we’re still a ways off. “It’s about [EV] volume,” Watanabe tells me, making it clear that first comes widespread electric vehicle adoption followed by component costs coming down. Once that happens, Nissan can justify production of an electron-powered sports car. So when is that going to happen? Three to five years seems like a reasonable guesstimate, but more importantly, what form will it take?
The Nismo Leaf Nismo (above) is just a concept and it’s nothing more than a body kit to provide additional downforce and a new set of wheels – a bit ridiculous for a glorified commuter. The – with it’s dramatic weight loss and race-spec hardware – may pack the performance, but it’s far too hardened to be considered for production. So what’s likely to happen first is some kind of hybrid sports coupe from Infiniti, followed by a full EV (see ) that can justify the price premium, ala the . But an electric performance vehicle from a major automaker is definitely in the cards; it’s just a matter of waiting to see who pulls it off first.
We have a soft spot for rugged wagons like the and the , and while these useful soft-roaders are slowly going the way of the dinosaur here in the United States, they’re still quite popular in Europe. is now getting in on the action with this, the – a more capable version of the Passat Estate that isn’t offered Stateside.
The Alltrack rides a full 30 millimeters higher than a standard wagon, comes standard with 4Motion all-wheel drive and has an off-road mode. When engaged, the off-road setting activates hill descent assist, alters the ABS mapping to allow for higher thresholds on loose terrain and quickens the reaction time of the electronic differential locks in an effort to prevent wheelspin on gravel. In the UK, Volkswagen will offer the Passat Alltrack with two versions of its popular 2.0-liter turbo-diesel inline-four, rated at 138 and 168 horsepower.
for the full details on the high-riding Passat, and click through our attached live gallery to see the new Alltrack under the lights of the .
There was a time when American buyers were routinely forbidden from getting their hands on automakers’ more entertaining pieces of engineering. These days, more and more automakers are turning to global product development, which means we get to play with hardware like the and the Ford Focus ST. , however, seems bent on keeping the really fun stuff on its home turf, including the delicious . The company’s engineers went full bore on the turbocharged flat four-cylinder engine under the hood, balancing all of the internals, dropping on a ball bearing turbo and reflashing the ECU for a total of 316 horsepower.
Outside, the sedan comes equipped with fender-mounted vents and special badges to distinguish the model from the rest of the fleet, and designers have clipped the vehicle’s iconic wing in favor of a smaller lip spoiler. We like the look. We just wish we could drive it. for the full press release.
Koenigsegg is officially amazing, at least according to the Guinness Book of World Records. The well-known record-keeping organization has granted the the record of quickest 0-300-0 kilometers per hour by a two-seat production car. The time? A scant 21.19 seconds, recorded at the Angeholm Airfield in Sweden on September 2, 2011, with Robert Serwanski behind the wheel.
That’s just over 186 miles per hour, then back to a complete stop, in 21 seconds. Yowza. That’s accomplished that day by the Agera, though it is the only one that was certified as a world record by Guinness. For the record, Koenegsegg’s masterpiece scooted to 300 km/h in 14.53 seconds on its way to 200 mph in 17.68 seconds. It can stop with equal alacrity, taking an evil 6.66 seconds to halt from 300 km/h and 7.28 from 200 mph.
The final stat is arguably the most impressive: 0-200 mph and back to 0 in just 24.96 seconds. Want to know what’s even better than that? The fact that it was all recorded on video. to see for yourself.
Let’s get one thing straight: This is not a coupe. Not even close. But ever since kicked off the bastardization of the word ‘coupe’ with its crossover, automakers seem to think that any vehicle with a sloped roofline can be classified by this word that has always been – and should always be – reserved exclusively for two-door cars. That’s a whole different rant, though. In the meantime, we’d like to introduce you to the .
Debuting at the , the Cross Coupe is the first vehicle to ride on Volkswagen’s new modular transverse matrix architecture, and it previews the future of the automaker’s crossover range. It may look large, but the Cross Coupe is actually smaller than the current , closer in size to that of a . It certainly isn’t bad to look at, even with that big, grinning face. The compact shape is well-proportioned, though it appears that the chrome wheels were ripped right off a loaded .
The Cross Coupe is powered by a unique all-wheel-drive hybrid drivetrain, with two electric motors (one for each axle) paired with a turbocharged gasoline engine. estimates that this powerplant will produce around 262 horsepower, but will be able to drive on pure electricity for about 25 miles. Running to 60 miles per hour will take around seven seconds.
Scroll through our high-res image gallery above to see the Volkswagen Cross (not-so) Coupe Concept live from the Tokyo Motor Show floor.
I’ll be honest – I don’t love our . It’s a perfectly fine luxury sedan, but as a daily driver, it has about as much personality as the new sofa I bought last month. Autoblog Editor-in-Chief John Neff, on the other hand, is quite fond of our long-termer, and in my conversations with him, the vast majority of his praise was concentrated around the Hyundai’s behavior on really long road trips – something that, even after our team collectively put nearly 20,000 miles on the car, I had yet to experience, aside from a few quick jaunts between Detroit and Chicago.
Earlier this month, I needed to make a trip from Detroit to southern Illinois and back – 1,200 miles in total that would be covered over two 9.5-hour stints. And since my route would only take me along the hardly scenic, decidedly boring interstates of the midwest (looking at you, I-75, I-70 and I-57), this was clearly a job for the .
Keep your eyes locked on the official for the majority of our updates, as well as the official Autoblog Twitter account (, look for the hashtag).
Forty years, countless miles, a corporate name change and untold heaps of abuse separate Dave Coleman’s 1971 Eyesore Racing Datsun 510 from the . But that didn’t stop the guys from Inside Line from pitting the two distant cousins against each other in a gravel there-and-back race over a little more than a mile. The beater 510 has plenty of rally class wins under its belt and has been prepared to tackle the worst a stage can throw at it. There’s a full cage on board as well as plenty of skid plates, and everything else has been gutted in the name of weight savings.
The Juke, meanwhile, is a bonafide street-legal commuter. Where the 510 has race harnesses, the Juke has airbags, but it also has the benefit of all-wheel drive on its side. How did the two fair on the impromptu rally course? We won’t ruin the surprise for you, but we will say that the show down was closer than we would have thought. to check out the clip for yourself.
Juke takes to the dirt against the Eyesore Racing Datsun 510
It appears the gentleman who piloted his into a Texas lagoon has run into a spot of legal trouble. The insurance company that paid out $2 million for the trashed exotic is calling fraud on the whole scenario, and a federal judge has decided that the claim should go before a jury. Andy House of Lufkin, Texas, originally purchased the Veyron after securing an interest-free $1 million loan from Lloyd Gillespie. Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Company alleges House attempted to pay a confidential informant to steal the Bugatti and set it on fire so that he could later claim insurance on the vehicle and double Gillespie’s initial investment.
Before that could happen, however, House drove the Veyron into a salt water marsh. Amateur video captured the vehicle calmly exiting the paved surface and splashing down, and House later said that he had swerved to avoid a pelican on the road while trying to pick up a dropped cell phone. The vehicle’s owner then left the supercar idling in the salt water for 15 minutes until the vehicle died of its own accord. House claimed that he was being bitten by mosquitos at the time and didn’t want to return to the car to turn off the engine.
The insurance company also claims that the collector’s car policy House took out on the vehicle doesn’t apply in this case since House violated the terms of the policy. Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Company claims House put over 1,200 miles on the vehicle in the three weeks he owned it. to check out the video once again.
BMW let loose the details on its two months ago and little’s been mentioned of it since. If you had seen the liquid blue sedan tucked anonymously into the BMW stand at the , you might wonder if it’s ever going to engage in a public display of affection. The hybridized 535i gets BMW’s much-loved turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six and a 55-horsepower electric motor, for a total of 335 hp and a 5.7-second run to 60 miles per hour.
It’s coming to the United States early next year, so details like exact fuel economy and pricing – which is to say, how much more you’ll have to spend to get more fuel economy than a 535i – should be on the way very soon. In the meantime there’s a press release and a fresh gallery of high-res photos live from Tokyo for you to peruse.
has experienced a very challenging 2011. The devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the flooding in Thailand have conspired to badly damage Honda’s ability to build vehicles here in North America. That should change soon, though, as Automotive News reports that North American Honda plants will be running at full steam by the beginning of December.
Honda’s challenges during the Japan earthquake included a and several plants that were unable to produce the parts needed to build vehicles here in the States. Just as production began to normalize, the Thailand floods caused a shutdown of the automaker’s Ayutthaya plant, which reportedly led to a 4.7-percent reduction in output.
With Honda’s plants running at full steam, the automaker should be able to for new models like the and the .
Every other year, trots out another Pivo concept to the , and each successive version is weirder than the next. But this latest version – the predictably named – is different. Nissan wants to build it, and while its awkward shape and trick doors won’t make it to production, much of the underlying tech will.
Since 2005, each Pivo has featured some four-wheel-steering system, and the Pivo 3 takes it to the next level with a 6.6-foot turning radius that can practically spin the Pivo on its axis. Power is delivered thorough individual in-wheel motors, with energy stored in a Leaf-inspired lithium-ion battery pack. The big feature is the Pivo 3’s automated parking system, which not only finds a space, but drives off to park itself then returns courtesy of a smartphone app.
So when are we going to see it hit the Japanese and European markets? Two years? Five years? Your guess is as good as ours as Nissan isn’t giving up much.
, certainly the greatest motorcycle racer of our generation, has no concrete plans to leave . In fact, after an extremely disappointing first season with in 2011, we’d wager he’ll be sticking around for at least a few more years to prove he’s still got what it takes to win at the highest level when competing on competitive machinery.
But, as we’ve heard in the past, Rossi would love nothing more than to “retire” by taking a break from two-wheeled competition and settling into something with four. And while we know The Doctor has proven , the likeable Italian apparently prefers to rally. In an interview with Rossi said:
I’m happy, it was one of my best rallies, even if I had won it the past. Getting ahead of Loeb in two specials really turned me on… I’ll do a few more years in MotoGP, then I’d race in rallies: these machines are really fun to drive because they have less electronics.
A future career in rally racing wouldn’t be a stretch for Rossi – the motorcycle racer finished in second place in a RS WRC, a mere 24 seconds behind eight-time world champion Sebastien Loeb’s .
has whipped the sheets off of its EV-STER, a rear-wheel drive electric roadster not dissimilar in size and scope to the late, lamented . If you’re looking for a successor to Honda’s S2000 or a rival, this isn’t it – the EV-STER is significantly smaller than those cars, and with a pure electric drivetrain, this showcar is more suited to top-down fun in the city than the open road.
Purely a concept for the moment, the EV-STER offers a 160-kilometer range, a 0-37 mph (60kph) time of 5.0 seconds and a top speed of 99 mph, though Honda isn’t offering much in the way of hardware specifications.
Attractive in both general form and detail, we could admittedly do without the yoke-style steering interface employed here and in Honda’s other concepts. Steering wheel aside, we hope Honda finds a way to bring something like the EV-STER to market… and we wouldn’t mind if it weren’t a EV, either.
had provided early sketches of its , and many of you in the comments weren’t confident that it would look as good in real life as it did in (digital) ink and paper. Dare we say it, but we think it looks better in the metal than it did in drawings. A mean, ground-hugging wagon with a 1.6-liter boxer-hybrid powertrain, its internals are close enough to production to make the jump in the not-too-distant.
Its interior, however, is another matter. Undeniably beautiful, features like the monitor in the steering wheel and the steel-rimmed wood pedals are treats we won’t be seeing anytime soon. No matter – if there were to be a wagon in our future, we’d hope this were it. There’s a bit more information after the jump, and a much closer look at it in the gallery of high-res photos.
is bringing a whole range of transportation solutions to the , from this plug-in hybrid sedan concept to folding scooters and pod cars. Dubbed AC-X for Advanced Cruiser eXperience, this streamlined sedan draws heavily from the FCX Clarity fuel cell sedan’s aesthetics, applying its design language to a plug-in hybrid electric showcar.
Powered by a 1.6-liter four-cylinder and a pair of electric motors, the four-seat AC-X features a super-slippery .21 cD thanks to active aero bits (front bumper, side skirts and rear diffuser) and transparent full wheel covers that remain stationary when the car is in motion.
Just as interestingly, the AC-X explores autonomous control, with “Automatic Drive Mode Support,” which folds the control yoke ‘wheel’ into the dashboard, reclines the front seat and presents an ottoman for the driver’s legs, all while safely delivering its passengers to their destination.
Despite such future-think technologies, the AC-X’s powertrain seems remarkably near-term, with a realistic EV-only cruising range of 50 kilometers and a maximum electric-only top speed of 100 kph (62 mph). Check out more in our gallery live from the show floor.
Certainly for the moment, this is the biggest competition the has: its twin, the . The volcanic orange coupe was unveiled in another corner of the , and frankly, it’s got a lot to recommend it. The frontal treatment is slightly different than on the BRZ, but the only digression out back is the lack of a spoiler, and the GT 86 looks pretty good without it.
Inside, it’s a tale of two cabins. Clearly has brought a higher-spec cockpit to the party, and although you might not dig the red two-tone scheme, the iPhone cradle, toggle switches and white gauges are nifty. Of course, that niftyness will cost you a navigation screen, but these are exactly the kinds of choices the GT 86 vs BRZ crowd will need to make. Brush up on the specs in the release after the jump and take a walk around it in our high-res image gallery.
It’s finally arrived: Subaru’s version of the long-in-gestation Toyobaru has just said hello to the world at the . In case you’ve been in Witness Protection for the past two weeks, we’ll recap : 2,689 pounds, 200 horsepower and 151 pound-feet from the direct-injected 2.0-liter boxer engine, six-speed manual and automatic transmissions on offer and a lower center of gravity than a .
There’s still no word on pricing yet, but this is the rear-drive sports car that will be working to redefine little, fast, flickable handling. One more thing about the Subie version: it’s the only one you can get in this shade of blue. You can refresh yourself on the details in the press release , and say hello to our newest little friend in the gallery of high-res images.
has just taken the wraps off of its new concept sedan, the Takeri, at its display stand here at the Tokyo Big Sight expo hall (honest, that’s what it’s called). The C/D-sized concept sedan furthers Mazda’s Kodo ‘Soul of Motion’ design language while hinting at the next .
Predictably, the Takeri (derived from the Japanese word for “Male”) is equipped with a full slate of Skyactiv features, including Mazda’s new Skyactiv-D clean diesel – a version of which we recently fell in love with in the – and a .
In person, The Takeri offers a very attractive shape, with traditional Mazda cues including a prominent hexagonal grille (we particularly like the subtle matte metal element that links the grille to the headlamps) and short overhangs. More importantly, the showcar appears to be a production-friendly shape if you discount items like the showcar mirrors, slightly oversized 20-inch wheels and raise the roofline by an inch or two. Given the Mazda6’s slow sales pace, a successor can’t get here soon enough.
For more details, check out our high-res image gallery or to read the official press release.
