2012 Saab 9-5 SportCombi – Click above to watch the video
Hello, gorgeous.
Truth be told, we’re usually smitten with any new wagon-shaped design, but there’s something about the that’s just particularly eye-catching. Perhaps its the rakish rear window, or how the sleek front end of the new-for-2010 works so well with the more cargo-friendly body. Maybe it’s the big dual exhausts out back, or the blade-like 19-inch ten-spoke alloy wheels.
In any case, will officially reveal its 2012 9-5 SportCombi at the next week, and we now have our first video glance at the road-ready car. We don’t yet have the full details about the 9-5 SportCombi, but the safe bet is that powertrains, transmissions and interior amenities will be carried over from the sedan.
to see Saab’s reveal video of the 2012 9-5 SportCombi for yourself, and stay tuned to our Geneva show coverage next week for live impressions of the shapely new wagon. Hat tip to AA!
StarTech Jaguar XJ – Click above for high-res image gallery
StarTech, a division of the mad tuning company Brabus, offers upgrades for high-end vehicles from the likes of and . Formerly only available if you didn’t live in the US of A, the company has now opened up shop in the States. StarTech now calls Irvine, California home to its U.S. operations.
The StarTech modifications are not as . StarTech focuses more on style enhancements for the British luxury sedans, coupes and SUVs. Wheels, aero upgrades and suspension pieces are typical components of a StarTech package, and it will show off the .
2011 Chevrolet Volt – Click above for high-res image gallery
How do you determine how environmentally friendly an automobile is? Certainly, fuel efficiency will be factored in rather highly, as will all manner of tailpipe emissions. But that’s only part of the story. Consider that there are many ways to power a vehicle; gasoline, diesel, electricity or any combinations thereof. Plus, you have to determine what actually goes into producing the vehicle and getting it into the hands of the consumer.
As you can see, assigning environmental grades to our current crop of cars and trucks is anything but an exact science, and the results will no doubt be swayed by how much emphasis is put on any given factor. And so it comes as no surprise that there are a number of differing opinions concerning the latest green machines to hit the market, and that may apply to the more than any other.
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy publishes a list of green vehicles every year. For the last few, the has parlayed its compressed natural gas running gear into a victory on . We won’t argue with that determination, and we also don’t see any issues with the all-electric earning the silver position… but that’s where things get murkier. The comes in at number three, followed by the , and . The next five slots are filled with compact and subcompact sedans and hatchbacks.
Are you asking yourself where the Volt fits in? So was . Speaking to Forbes, spokesman Rob Peterson had this to say:
Their logic would escape the majority of consumers. If you look at the EPA ratings for the Smart fortwo at 33 city and 41 highway, it’s actually less than the Volt’s after the electric range is exhausted. We’re being penalized against the Smart because our car is a four-seater with a battery pack and therefore weighs more. And we lose against the Leaf because we have a gas engine. But you really have to look at how the car is actually used – their methodology doesn’t add up.
No matter your personal opinion, one thing is for certain: As more and more category-bending vehicles hit the market, this topic isn’t going to be resolved any time soon.
Opel Zafira Tourer Concept – Click above for high-res image
We’ve seen lots of ways for an automaker to unveil a new car. They can do it online, at a special event, at an auto show. They can show us sketches and spy shots, they can give us a full array of photos, or they can make it all a big surprise when they pull back the sheet live in person. But this has got to be a new one: Opel has given us our first look at its latest concept car via hologram.
Well, not quite. It’s not like we’re looking at the hologram right now. What we’re looking at is a picture of a hologram, ostensibly generated by an iPad held by Opel/Vauxhall’s design chief Mark Adams. But that’s not the point: the point is that GM’s European and British subsidiaries will be unveiling this new concept next week in Geneva, and we won’t need a hologram or an iPad to see it.
The show car is called the Zafira Tourer Concept, and serves as a preview for the next generation of minivan based on the Corsa. It’s one of several new debuts for Opel at the European expo, joining the production Ampera (the overseas version of the ) and facelifted versions of both the crossover and Corsa hatchback. We’ll be on hand to see them up close and personal, but for now we’ve placed the press release for all those interested.
Cadillac CTS-V Coupe Race Car at Sebring – Click above for high-res image gallery
There’s really not a whole lot more we can tell you about the pair of that will be forming a two-pronged attack of the Sports Car Club of America World Challenge GT starting on March 25 in St. Petersburg, Florida.
That said, we can still all stare at all the pretty pictures that has been so kind as to release upon the masses. Check out our high-res image gallery below, where you’ll see the two cars in all their specially prepared, tire-squealing and exhaust-popping glory. Also note that this is the first time the cars have been displayed wearing the official livery of Andy Pilgrim (the No. 8 car) and teammate Johnny O’Connell (the No. 3 car) and they are lapping Sebring for a .
Smart ForSpeed Concept – Click above for high-res image gallery
Daimler has been so kind as to serve up a heaping helping of photos ahead of the vehicle’s unveil at this year’s Geneva Motor Show. As you may recall, the concept packs a 41-horsepower electric motor that can whisk this topless wonder all the way to 37 miles per hour in around 5.5 seconds. For reference, those numbers make up a two second improvement over the standard, production version . We aren’t into denying the fact that two seconds is no small gap, but we wouldn’t exactly go around calling this contraption quick, either.
The ForSpeed will hit the stage next month without a top, though Smart has been kind enough to include a toneau cover should the skies open up while you’re waiting to get to the vehicle’s top speed of 75 mph. The good news is that the ForSpeed carries a range of around 85 miles and can be quick charged to 80 percent of capacity in about 45 minutes.
EDAG Light Car Sharing Concept – Click above for high-res image gallery
EDAG is headed back to the Geneva Motor Show with a new take on car sharing. The company plans to unveil the new Light Car Sharing Concept, a machine that blends lightweight composites, modular pieces and an electric drivetrain to solve many of the woes facing communal autos at the moment. Along with body panels and interior components that can be easily swapped out for new pieces as wear and tear take hold, the concept comes with sophisticated GPS tracking software to allow car sharing companies to know exactly where their vehicles are at all times.
EDAG says that this new technology will help make car sharing more efficient in the future. At the heart of the vehicle is an axle-mounted electric drive system powered by lithium-ion batteries. All told, the gear is good for a range of 62 miles and a top-speed of 62 miles per hour. There are no output or acceleration figures to be had as of this writing, though that might change as we get closer to next week’s show.
2012 Infiniti M Hybrid – Click above for high-res image gallery
is touting its 2012 M Hybrid as the “only vehicle in America to offer more than 350 horsepower and 30-plus miles per gallon.” If that sounds like an excellent combination, the Japanese automaker has just announced that the cost of entry is $53,700.
The 30-plus mpg figure is, of course, on the highway, with an EPA estimated fuel economy rating of 32 mpg. The M Hybrid is rated at 27 mpg in the city and has a combined rating of 29 – not too shabby for a car with 360-horsepower on tap, courtesy of the 3.5-liter V6 mounted under the hood. $53,700 is a lot of scratch, but there’s not a lot of luxury sedans on the market that offer that much power while retuning that type of fuel economy. for the official press release.
Saab 9-3 Convertible Independence Edition – Click above for high-res image gallery
A couple of days after of a special edition surfaced in celebration of the company’s independence from , the automaker has confirmed its particulars and corrected a few details along the way.
The 9-3 Independence Edition celebrates not only ’s liberation out from under the GM umbrella, but also the 25th anniversary of the company’s first convertible. It’s based on the Aero trim model, but while earlier reports suggested it could get the 220-horsepower 2.0-liter turbo from the 9-5, the special edition is actually driven by a 1.9-liter diesel four with 180 horses and a six-speed automatic.
Amber Orange metallic is the dominant color, coating the exterior and highlighting the cabin with trim on the parchment leather sport seats and stitching on the steering wheel. There’s also grey piping on the floor mats and carbon-look leather on the instrument panel, levers and handles. And while those special 18-inch wheels may look like they’ve got five spokes, but actually have twenty.
Only 366 examples of the Independence Edition will be made in all – one for each day of this year and another to kick off the next. for the press release and check out the pair of images in the gallery below.
It’s been a while since we heard anything from Ian McElroy. As you may recall, he’s the twisted mind who came up with the notion of lodging a boxer four-cylinder between the rails of a motorcycle frame. Well, it appears that he’s been a busy bee since showing off his first take on the . McElroy has set about reimagining his creation with a diesel boxer lump at the heart of the action. The engine is still sourced from Fuji Heavy Industries, though it’s both smaller and more efficient than the old gasoline lump.
The newest addition to the Kickboxer family boasts new body work and a different swing arm design along with a new turbo configuration. Not quite mad enough for you? How about sticking an all-wheel drive version of the oil-burning moto in your pipe? McElroy worked up a twin-chain design that works with some help from a jack shaft, idler sprocket and a drive axle.
These aren’t just some random renderings, though. McElroy says that he has all of the CAD files he needs to have the bikes machined and built. All he needs is the coin to do so. Shall we start passing the hat?
Fiat 500 by Gucci – Click above for high-res image gallery
Chic, stylish and Italian, a car like the is a natural fit for the Gucci set. But in case that wasn’t obvious enough, the two Italian firms have teamed up on a special line. Spearheaded by Lapo Elkann – the rakish playboy brother of Fiat chairman and grandson of his late predecessor Gianni Agnelli – the Fiat 500 by Gucci is a joint effort between Gucci’s creative director Frida Giannini and Fiat’s Centro Stile in this, Italy’s 150th year of ndependence.
The car itself follows in the footsteps of the – not to mention the myriad of similar initiatives involving the and the Mini – and is available in either black or white. Gucci’s signature red and green stripe runs down the flank, with the Double-G logo on the wheel hubs and in the pattern on the leather seats.
Naturally, Gucci has also introduced a range of clothing and accessories to mark the occasion. The car and collection were launched by Milan Fashion Week and will be displayed at a dedicated stand at the Geneva Motor Show next week. Trend-setters needn’t wait to check out the details in the press release and the high-resolution images in the gallery below.
Growler E 2011 Concept by Bo Zolland – Click above for high-res image gallery
The , and we continue to pine for its classic lines to this day. Bo Zolland, a car designer from Sweden, is clearly also a fan of the iconic E-Type shape. Unlike most of us, though, he has the tools and skill to generate a vision of what the E-Type might look like were it to come back to life in the 21st century.
Zolland calls his rendered Jaguar homage the Growler E 2011 Concept, and it clearly takes design cues from the original version. We also spy some 240Z and , though you could just as easily say those cars learned their lines from the E-Type.
Fittingly, the Growler would be built atop the guts of a , which would also donate its 5.0-liter V8 engine (tuned to produce 600 horsepower). Check out Bo Zolland’s Growler E 2011 Concept in the gallery below. Sound off with your thoughts on his design in the comments.
It takes a while to get around the Nürburgring Nordschleife – around seven minutes in even the fastest of machinery with the best driver behind the wheel. But apparently it takes even longer to get around to releasing a special edition Nürburgring package that makes your go-fast supercar even more track-friendly.
We’re talking, of course, about the Nürburgring package, ’s six-figure V10 supercar fitted with extra kit for track duty. Lexus last May that they’d make 50 examples, and the better part of a year later, that it would finally be unveiled to the public at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show. Now less than a week away from its debut, has given us some additional details and images of the car which we only saw from three angles until now.
So what do we need to know? For starters, that extra ten horsepower isn’t meant to give the Nürburgring package-equipped LFA a quicker acceleration time. Nor a higher top end, either. The ten-horse boost is included to counteract the drag of the giant rear wing that helps keep the track-focused supercar glued to the Karussell. Also, while we knew the ‘Ring edition LFA could be had in white, black (matte or glossy) or orange (as pictured), Lexus has also confirmed that the interior can be trimmed in all black, black and red, or black and purple (a good match for the orange exterior if you were ever formerly known as ‘Prince’), and only European customers, for some reason, will get the full carbon-fiber interior.
There are more details to soak up in the press release , plus a new crop of images in the gallery below. But we’ll leave you with one more salient detail: Lexus is offering buyers one-on-one instruction from a ‘Ring master (or mistress) and a year’s free pass to lap the Nordschleife to your heart’s content. Of course, this is included in the $70,000 premium that the Nürburgring package commands over the already lofty $375,000 purchase price of an LFA. Tack on another $20K for the matte black finish, of course.
2011 Audi A8 – Click above for high-res image gallery
“Holy #&%*@^% $#^@!”
I have to admit losing track of how many times my hapless copilot uttered this – and countless other unpublishable phrases – from the passenger seat during our drive. But if I’m being honest, it doesn’t hold a candle to the endless string of explicatives running through my own mind.
The reason? I’m piloting a through a particularly tortuous stretch of California tarmac running between the Monterey Valley and the Pacific Coast, and for the better part of 20 miles, the driver of the tuned in the lead hasn’t seen anything other than the A8’s massive slatted grille in his rearview mirror. Just as impressive – if not more so – is the pair of worked-over E36 M3s that are having a hard time keeping up. And these guys are locals. They’ve been running this road for over a decade, only to have me show and spoil their ragtag rally in Audi’s latest luxo-bruiser.
I’d like to think that my hairpin heroics and high-speed capers are a testament to my own skills, but I’m not that deluded. I’ve been equipped with the standard auto journo-issued hamfists, and to think otherwise is to fall prey to motoring delusion and insult the work of Ingolstadt’s magicians. Audi’s new A8 is just that good, and the steer is just the half of it.
Rod “Torque” Redline from Pixar’s CARS 2 – Click above for high-res image gallery
We’re pretty big fans of the Pixar film and have been following closely the gestation of its sequel, , due in theaters on June 24. To that end, we’ve already introduced you to a dozen who’ll be rubbing bumpers with Lightning McQueen and Mater in the new movie. The folks at Pixar picked up on our enthusiasm and offered what is, to us, a very big honor: revealing a new character from CARS 2 exclusively on Autoblog!
So here he is. Meet Rod “Torque” Redline, described by the boys and girls at Pixar as “the greatest American spy in the world” and voiced by legendary Army of Darkness star . Clearly inspired by the best Made-in-the-USA muscle machines on the market today, Rod’s shape appears to be most heavily influenced by the and , with just enough cues from both to keep his shape ambiguous enough to avoid the lawyers. Sorry , your influence seems AWOL on Mr. Redline, but you’re already the star of a little independant film franchise called . Regardless, Rod looks ready for action in what’s shaping up to be a much farther reaching story than the stuck-in-Radiator-Springs plot of the first film.
Check out Rod “Torque” Redline’s official description and turntable video , as well as our ongoing gallery of new CARS 2 character below.
2012 Saab 9-3 – Click above for high-res image gallery
has pulled back the curtain on the , available once again in sedan, SportWagon and convertible variants. Across the range, buyers can now expect to be met with a new front fascia with the company’s signature headlight design borrowed from the sultry . Likewise, the grille now packs a larger Saab wing across the nose of the vehicle and all models will come with fog lights as standard equipment. Out back, the new 9-3 is dominated by a redesigned valance, and sedan models all come with a standard spoiler for the first time.
In the UK, buyers can spec their 2012 Saab 9-3 with a new turbocharged 2.0-liter gasoline engine with 163 or 220 horsepower depending on configuration, as well as the tried-and-true 1.9-liter twin-turbo-diesel four cylinder. The oil-burning mill will continue to be available in 130, 160 and 180 horsepower variants. Saab says that the company has managed to increase the efficiency of the company’s gasoline engines by around four percent thanks to tricks like variable valve timing, direct injection and twin-scroll turbocharging. Expect this new 2.0-liter mill to trickle over to the United States, as well. for the full press release.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Cabriolet has returned. One of the most popular line of convertibles ever made, the Golf Cabrio has been missing from the range since the MkIV model was cancelled in 2003. Even so, the most recent Cabrio was simply a MkIII car with a touched-up front end, meaning that the last new Golf Cabrio was actually introduced way back in 1993. This, then, is a bit of a milestone.
What of the Eos, you ask? A fine question. Arguably more closely related to the Jetta in the first place, the Eos will continue alongside the Golf Cabriolet (not to mention the New Beetle convertible, which is due to end production this year before its replacement comes along). The Eos is longer than the Golf Cabrio, though the same wheelbase ensures similar interior dimensions. The Eos also incorporates a retractable hard-top while the new Golf Cabriolet goes the fabric roof route, covering both bases. The Golf’s mechanism takes just 9.5 seconds to drop and can be operated at speeds up to 18 miles per hour. With the roof itself acting as tonneau cover, less trunk space is compromised.
A range of six turbocharged, direct-injection gasoline and diesel engines will be offered worldwide, five of them available with dual-clutch transmissions and three with BlueMotion technology.
There’s no word on availability for us in the United States, but given the similarity with the Eos and company’s strategy vis-a-vis the Scirocco, it’s entirely possible this could remain outside our reach like the latter. We’ll have a closer look at the Golf Cabriolet when it debuts next week at the Geneva Motor Show, but for now you can check out the images in the gallery below and the details in the press release .
Volvo V60 Plug-InHybrid – Click above for high-res image gallery
After initial details and a solitary image, has followed up with more information and photos of its latest product. The V60 Plug-In Hybrid is billed as the world’s first diesel plug-in hybrid, packing a 2.4-liter five-cylinder turbodiesel coupled with a 70-hp electric motor on the rear axle.
The hybrid diesel wagon enables the driver to select from one of three modes of propulsion: Pure for electric drive, Hybrid for alternating propulsion and Power for an extra boost from both. The flexible powertrain also gives the driver the option of conserving battery power and operating purely under diesel thrust (for instance when entering the city), as well as a through-the-road all-wheel-drive option by enabling both motors when traction is limited.
As a plug-in hybrid, the Volvo wagon can be charged in 7.5 hours on a 6 amp socket, 4.5 on 10 amps or as little as 3 hours at 16 amps. And while production targets weren’t spoken of in yesterday’s announcement, Volvo has now confirmed that the V60 Plug-In Hybrid will hit dealers next year. for the press release and check out the images in the gallery below for a closer look as the car’s debut at the Geneva Motor Show approaches.
If you’re still trying to work your mind around how the new fits with the company’s ultimate driving machine mantra, Autocar may have the piece of the puzzle that you’re missing. According to reports, the German automaker is currently planning to flesh out the fledgling marque with a host of alternative fuel vehicles.
Not everything under the i banner won’t be sailing on all-electric power all the time. The news came courtesy of marketing head honcho Ian Robertson, though he chose not to delve deeper into what other types of alternative fuel we could see from the green arm of .
Autocar also stole some time with BMW R&D boss Klaus Draeger, who said the upcoming i8 won’t boast the same fuel-savvy diesel engine as the BMW Vision Efficient Dynamics concept. Instead, the production version of the vehicle will carry a small gasoline engine on board to make it more appealing in various markets (including the States, we’d imagine) all over the world.
While there aren’t any specifics on exactly which engine will find its way into the new green supercar, we’d think that the new wouldn’t be a bad guess. Also interesting are reports that BMW may extend its new i sub-brand to its motorcycle division, possibly with a range of hybrid and/or electric two- and three-wheeled scooters, motorcycles and trikes.
Skoda’s Geneva line-up (sans new concept) – Click above for high-res image
Skoda has announced that it will unveil a new concept car at next week’s Geneva Motor Show, confirming on its parent company’s plans for the European expo. Though little in the way of details were announced, ’s Czech subsidiary has indicated that the show car will showcase the company’s latest design language.
The mysterious concept car – which does not appear in the solitary accompanying image above alongside its existing range – will also bear a fresh take on the Skoda logo, and will join the previously-announced on the company’s show stand at the Geneva Palexpo. We’ll have to wait a little longer as the show approaches to find out more, but in the meantime you can read the full press blast .
