German car magazine Auto Bild is planning build a sedan that will slot below the and compete directly with the . Citing no sources (so a grain of salt is recommended), the magazine claims the four-door, codenamed Pajun, will cost no less than $84,000 and be ready for production no later than 2017.
In September 2011, the Pajun could spawn coupe, convertible and even a shooting brake variant. Back then, rumors swirled about powertrain options that included a 550-horsepower V6, 600-hp V8, plug-in hybrid and an -sourced diesel.
Hopefully, Porsche is also working expeditiously to find a better name than Pajun, which in Korea is a , in Finnish it means willow, and, according to , in Welsh it means – wait for it – Cajun. That’s the name Porsche was using to refer to its smaller-than-Cayenne SUV before to Macan in February. Clever coincidence.
The global luxury war has three fierce combatants, all German, all producers of amazing vehicles, and all serious about besting their two other rivals. While has been winning as of late, the latest battle goes to .
The luxury brand sold 125,200 vehicles in April, topping BMW’s 121,476, according to Reuters. It was the first time Audi outsold BMW since January 2011. BMW still holds the year-to-date lead with 478,030 units sold, compared to 471,300 for April’s champ, according to the report. BMW sales are up 10.1 percent for the year, while Audi’s have risen by 11.7 percent.
sits over 50,000 units behind at 418,246, according to Automotive News. Sales of Mercedes vehicles are up 9.7 percent on the year.
Audi’s ascendency can be traced to China, where sales rose 44 percent in April, according to AN. European sales, by comparison, were only up 4.9 percent, with U.S. sales rising by 15 percent.
Every single Cadillac XTS post ends up with comments deploring the sedan’s FWD – even a post that speaks of nothing more than the with the car. For those folks especially, Car and Driver has loaded the hopper with news on the possible treats coming from the Wreath and Crest. Examining uses of the Omega platform, C/D says “a proper rear-drive sedan” will arrive in “a few” years and take the top spot in the lineup. Predictions are that it will have a rakish roofline and the 310-horsepower, 3.6-liter V6.
GM’s Omega platform is said to have been engineered to accommodate this new RWD flagship, though the chances of it actually coming to fruition are about as likely as winning the Mega Millions. The only trifles, according to C/D, are that the program hasn’t even been approved, and if it is, would Cadillac have an engine good enough to serve in such a car or would it need to develop one. But said flagshp does, we repeat, it does, have a platform. Still, since the Cadillac Sixteen concept is from a time when “Gaga” is what babies said, you should probably stick to the Mega Millions for now.
Automotive News reports will turn to Magna Steyr to build a new compact car in 2014. The Austrian manufacturer will assemble the vehicle as part of the luxury brand’s efforts to grow in western Europe and other global markets.
So far, Nissan and Infiniti have been tight-lipped about what the vehicle will bring to the table, but earlier reports have hinted the model will be designed to compete directly with the likes of the and Mercedes-Benz A-Class. Speaking of , the new Infiniti will likely ride on the same underpinnings as the current A and B-Class models.
The report says Nissan is set to use a number of Daimler components in the new compact, including Mercedes-Benz four and six-cylinder engines. Expect to see both gasoline and diesel variants as well. Magna Steyr is expected to produce between 50,000 and 60,000 Infiniti units per year. The two companies are currently finalizing the details of the agreement.
Nothing to see here, kids, unless you like watching powerful V8s with orotund exhaust notes kicking up walls of snow via a right-pedal workout and heaps of opposite lock. If that’s the case, there is something to see here, and it’s a promo vid for the AMG Driving Academy Winter Sporting held in Sweden.
This video is merely highlights. But if you like it, then you can book a trip to Moder Svea for this year’s sessions. for ice sculptures of rooster tails.
It is nearly impossible to avoid reminiscing about the 1983 Volkswagen GTI while driving the . As you may recall, “the original hot hatch” arrived on our shores seemingly eons ago with a naturally aspirated 1.8-liter four spitting out just 90 horsepower. While hardly brawny, even in an era of wheezy outputs (the 1983 Mustang GT 5.0 generated just 175 horsepower), its low curb weight of 2,100 pounds and a base price of $7,995 made the range-topping Rabbit not only light, tossable and reasonably quick, but very affordable.
Fast forward nearly three decades to the 2012 Golf R, a direct descendant of that first-generation . Thoroughly modernized, and riding on a sixth-generation chassis, the new two- or four-door range-topping boasts a bit more displacement and gobs more horsepower. But that is not all today’s hot hatch has gained. With innovation and refinement come mass and cost – both of which have risen dramatically over the past three decades.
After falling head-over-heels for the 2012 Golf R after our last spring, it was time to put one in our garage for a longer run on domestic soil. With an eager and open mind, we welcomed the Golf R into our lives for a week. While we didn’t have a chance to toss it around a closed racing circuit, we did put in several hundred miles on the highway, wrung it out on Mulholland and frolicked in wet Southern California mountain snow. In the process, we not only learned plenty about Volkswagen’s hot hatch, but we met several other Golf R drivers who were more than willing to talk to us about their own experiences.
Congratulations are in order: Saabs United has , what is likely to be the last of any sort ever produced. The group will be installing the car in the Saab Cars Museum on a permanent loan, as well as donating the additional money it raised during its fund drive.
Forgive us for being just a bit cynical here, but it’s really a shame this particular car is so mundane. It’s a Aero Griffin, a run-of-the-mill sedan that’s a direct descendant of the 2003 model year 9-3. Based on the global General Motors Epsilon platform that also spawned the similarly extinct , the 9-3 is arguably the car that killed Saab – or at least failed to save it – as GM was never able to sell enough of them or derive enough profit from the ones it managed to move in the U.S. to make a go of the brand.
We’re sure all Saab enthusiasts agree that the marque certainly deserved better treatment than it got from Detroit, and when we look back in fond remembrance on Saab, there are any number of models that will come to mind before we think of the final 9-3. Most of them are included in our .
The good people at Cars.com have slogged their way through sales data from April and found something interesting. The managed to walk away as the third quickest-selling car in the U.S., spending just five days on dealer lots. That figure was good enough to land it behind the and , both of which take four days to find a new homes. The plug-inhybrid has only been on sale for two months, and took the honor of being the second-quickest selling vehicle in March, according to Cars.com.
The report also took the time to look at the slowest-selling models around. Surprisingly, the sits at the top of that list, taking a whopping 250 days to turn. The isn’t doing much better. The 650i Convertible took fourth place with an average of 128 days on the lot while the 640i Coupe rounds out the top 10 with 111 days. Perhaps even more shocking is the news that there are four vehicles selling slower than the at 120 days on dealer lots. Head over to Cars.com for the full report.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced a recall of several recent models due to a defective transmission sensor. Some 10,000 vehicles are affected, including some 2011 and 2012 pickups, 2012 and models, and 2012-2013 Ford vehicles.
Problem vehicles will experience one of several issues with their automatic transmissions, including the transmission not shifting into reverse when the gearshift lever is moved to the “R” position, the “R” lamp on the dashboard not illuminating, and the backup lamps not working. A faulty transmission range sensor is the culprit.
Ford says the recall campaign will start on June 25, with owners being notified by the automaker. Ford can also be reached at 1-866-436-7332.
to read the full recall report.
, Expedition, Lincoln Navigator models over faulty transmission sensor
It seems like we’ve been hearing about the for a decade, but a report in Yahoo! states that the electric sedan is only a month away from production. That’s about one month ahead of schedule, as is reportedly wrapping up crash testing fast enough to start making the hotly anticipated EV.
The Model S couldn’t come at a much better time for Tesla, as the automaker just announced a first quarter loss of $89.9 million. The prospects aren’t any better for Q2, but the second half of the year should be an entirely different story. Q1 revenue was only $30 million, and the first half revenue is expected to come in around $60 million. With the Model S around for the second half of the year, sales are expected to skyrocket into the $600 million range. Tesla plans to move about 5,000 units in 2012, even though the automaker currently has 10,000 orders in-hand.
Some of those 10,000 hand-raisers might have something more to get excited about, as Tesla announced that the top range Signature model, which features a 85-kWh battery pack, will be able to travel on a two-cycle charge. That’s 20 miles more than Tesla previously announced. The first 1,200 copies of the Model S will be Signature models with the largest-possible battery pack.
Until the Chinese began producing the rather attractive MG6, the initials “MG” had been ill omens for at least ten years to all who approached them. The era of the Phoenix Four – former MG execs John Towers, Nick Stephenson, Peter Beale and John Edwards, who bought the company from its previous owners, the badly burned and hastily retreating , for £10 – was just an especially nasty capstone. Their collective £10 investment turned into millions of pounds for each of them but nary a car made before they declared bankruptcy and closed up shop. According to that cost £16.3 million to produce, however, the Phoenix Four .
After all that, there’s one more unsavory epilogue. There were 6,500 workers at MG’s Longbridge factory who left with nothing when Phoenix went bust. After everyone else took their share of the heavy amounts of cash that passed between boardrooms, there is £22,000 ($35,523 U.S.) for final payouts for the workers. That means they’ll each get a check for £2.50 ($4.04 U.S.) – it would have been £3, but according to the report at AOL UK the cost of the stamp needed to send the check comes out of the check.
Before the politics begin, yes we know this is how business works; the Phoenix Four only did what the laws of the land allowed, and that’s as far as you need to look for ruthless reason and rationale. Or you could paraphrase Hunter S. Thompson and say that some get rich and fat, others, well, don’t. Regardless, the MG trustees are appealing to the four directors to personally contribute to the worker payouts, but the odds on that are quite long.
Ben Collins is staying busy. The former Stig has once again returned to stunt driving, this time for the upcoming James Bond film Skyfall. According to The Mirror, Collins has been spotted filming in Istanbul, where he took the wheel to ram a into an during a crash scene.
The stunt vehicle used a special cage on the roof, where the stunt driver can manipulate the SUV with the actors inside. Collins has a long history of working with the Bond franchise. The TV personality turned stuntman worked on both “Quantum of Solace” and “Casino Royale,” though he’s also worked on other films as well.
In Collins’ memoir, “,” the driver turned author describes how he juggled his time in the Army, on Top Gear, as a race driver and a stunt driver at the same time. As you may recall, the BBC attempted to from being published at all, but lost the lawsuit in which it alleged revealing the Stig’s identity would breach Collins’ contract.
When put down several of its brands in recent years, it also let loose thousands of brand-loyal customers who will eventually need another car.
R.L. Polk Associates estimates there are more than 18 million cars from 16 discontinued makes on the road today. Those “ owners” have sales-hungry competitors seeing dollar signs. GM is offering owners $1,000 cash toward a , or a . is giving its lease customers a chance to get out of their contracts with no early-termination penalty and offering to waive six remaining payments if they drive off in a or .
Edmunds.com research shows the efforts are paying off somewhat for GM, with 39 percent of owners, 37 percent of owners and 31 percent of Saturn owners taking delivery of another GM-branded vehicle. But that leaves as much as 69 percent of owners going elsewhere. Ford, and seem to be attracting many former GM owners.
As points out, if you’re driving an orphaned nameplate, you just might be able to use that to your advantage when shopping for a new vehicle.
is recalling certain and models around the world due to a problem with the crankshaft. Roughly 13,000 examples of these cars are currently roaming the streets, and 206 are affected by this problem.
According to Autocar, the recall has been issued due to an incorrect finish on the vehicles’ crankshafts. The British magazine states that the problem “causes unwanted vibrations which can damage the engine if it is not changed.”
“We are writing to all clients affected now, asking them to return the car to a dealer for the work to be done,” a Ferrari spokesperson told Autocar.
In the United States, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has yet to issue a formal recall notice about the affected vehicles.
has rolled out a new video for its vicious . The 510-horsepower machine spends a little time frolicking through an industrial complex before taking to an open stretch of track for a little more fun. The entire clip is appropriately shot in black and white and set to the riotous tones of the hefty 6.2-liter V8 banging off the limiter. Not a bad way to blow two minutes of your day.
As you may recall, Chris Harris recently lined the C63 AMG Black Series up against bruisers like Porsche 911 GT3 RS and the BMW M3 GTS for a little . Harris found the C63 to be a willing dance partner with appropriate levels of presence on the street, but still found the machine out gunned by the track-bred Porsche. to check out the Black Series video for yourself.
shows off the dark side of the C63 AMG Black Series coupe
Michael Bay’s Transformers were true enough (for a Bay production, at least) to the original articles in their car and robot states, but their transforming sequences were epilepsy-inducing explosions of cranks and gears that made no sense at all. Admittedly, it didn’t stop us from enjoying the first movie.
But the work of a Japanese modeler is what we’ve been looking for: his Transformer takes us all the way back to the original eightes series when Bumblebee was a . This is version eight, fitted with 22 servo motors – it even throws punches and does a jig – and we’re told that version nine is on the way. We’d like to humbly request that all research on flying cars stops, and every resource be poured into a production version of this right now. to check out the video.
Hiring a lawyer is like hiring a hitman. Except it’s not against the law. A lawyer’s job is to exert your will on your legal opponent – and on the legal system itself. So it should come as no surprise to see this evolution of distracted driving case law: The victims of a traffic accident have filed a lawsuit against both the motorist and the woman he was texting with when he caused the crash, according to the Huffington Post.
Let’s just state for the record that we have no horse in this race, which is not unlike any other personal injury suit in which the plaintiff’s attorney rounds up anyone and everyone that might be named as a defendant. The difference here, however, is that this is the first time we’re aware of someone being accused of being an accomplice to the breaking of distracted driving laws and causing a crash without even being in the car.
The driver, Kyle Best, a 19-year-old at the time of the accident, has already pled guilty to three violations of New Jersey law, including using a mobile phone while driving, careless driving, and leaving his lane, according to the report. Best hit a couple on a motorcycle with his pickup truck, resulting in both the man and woman losing their left legs. At the time, Best was exchanging text messages with Shannon Colonna, according to phone records.
The couple’s lawyer is arguing that Colonna knew she was texting Best while he was driving, and that her behavior is no different than if she had been having a conversation with him in the car, according to the report. Her attorney, however, maintains that she can’t be liable for the driver’s decision to read the text when it was not safe to do so and that she . The judge in the case is expected to decide whether Colonna can be included in the suit on May 25, according to the report.
Certainly this case is a complicated one, and could have broad ramifications on distracted driving lawsuits as well as . If the plaintiffs’ attorney is successful in bringing the texting woman into the suit, we can certainly expect that lawyers in other states which have texting bans will follow their lead.
Things are good again at , which reported a $1.5 billion profit for the quarter, wrapping up a fiscal year in which it made just $3.5 billion, according to Business Week.
While Toyota saw sales growth in Europe, Africa, and its home market, North America was a weak point. Sales revenue for the fiscal year totaled $232 billion, down two percent, according to the report.
Though the company still beat its forecast of $2.5 billion, the real excitement surrounds its projections for the next 12 months. , Toyota says it expects to make $9.5 billion in the year that extends through March of next year, showing that the automaker has fully recovered from the effects of last year’s tsunami, according to the report.
Nevada has officially granted a license to test autonomous vehicles on public streets. The tech giant underwent demonstrations in both Las Vegas and Carson City to prove its vehicles are as safe or safer than those piloted by mere humans. The state requires two people to be in the test vehicles at all times, including at one occupant in the driver’s seat and another monitoring the vehicle via an onboard computer. If anything goes wrong, the human “driver” can take over by simply applying the brakes or taking hold of the steering wheel.
As of right now, Google has only applied to license three vehicles. Each one will carry a red license plate with an infinity symbol. According to Bruce Breslow, Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles director, vehicles with autonomous capability could be on the road within three to five years. When that happens, the machines will wear green plates.
The next-generation Subaru and are still shrouded in a cloak of secrecy. Or is it ? Either way, Car and Driver is reporting that when eventually pulls the wraps off whatever is going to wear the WRX badge, there’s going to be a turbocharged version of the 2.0-liter FA-series engine underhood, a derivative of the naturally aspirated engine that’s found in the .
How does the venerable buff book know this? Because the turbo’ed flat-four has already appeared in the Japanese domestic market , making 296 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, mated to a continuously variable transmission. C/D says that engine differs from the one in the BRZ in that it uses Subaru’s own direct injection system rather than one coming from .
In the standard WRX, horsepower numbers are expected to be a bit lower than in the JDM Legacy, though the STI version will probably see power boosted. C/D says the new 2.0-liter engine is supplanting the 2.5-liter Subaru has been using due to fuel economy considerations, though there’s also something to the notion of consolidating powertrains to reap greater efficiencies in manufacturing.
Things are good again at , which reported a $1.5 billion 
