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VW considering adding all-wheel drive to Audi A1, Polo?

Filed under: Hatchback, Audi, Volkswagen, Rumormill

Audi A1 live in Paris

Audi A1 TFSI – Click above for high-res image gallery

Audi surprised us all when it took the wraps off its top-of-the-line A1 TFSI hatchback packing everything but the kitchen sink…and the S1 nameplate. The reason, according to reports, was that every S model in the company’s history has featured Quattro all-wheel drive, but the PQ25 platform on which the A1 is based can’t accommodate it. At least, not yet.

The UK’s Autocar now suggests, however, that a business case is being made inside the Volkswagen Group to engineer the platform to accept the extra driveshaft. Doing so would allow for proper Quattro-driven S1, but that’s not all. In order to justify the cost, the Volkswagen Polo could get a couple of models driven on all fours, including a Polo R hot hatch to slot in above the Polo GTI and a CrossPolo soft-roader with actual traction to back up its butch styling.

Gallery: Paris 2010: 2011 Audi A1 TFSI

Gallery: 2012 Volkswagen CrossPolo

[Source: Autocar]

VW considering adding all-wheel drive to Audi A1, Polo? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 14 Oct 2010 14:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Second Drive: 2011 Hyundai Sonata 2.0T

Filed under: Sedan, Hyundai, First Drive

Forced Induction Makes For More Family Fun

2011 Hyundai Sonata 2.0T

2011 Hyundai Sonata 2.0T – Click above for high-res image gallery

Here in the U.S., the mid-size sedan market is thought to be all but impregnable to newcomers. Ruled for decades by models that have become icons of the industry, the segment has enjoyed a long and peaceful reign by the likes of the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. But the funny thing about success is that if you’re not very, very careful, it breeds complacency. While the titans of the four-door kingdom have been sleeping on beds of cash made on the innovations of two decades ago, Hyundai has been busily polishing its reputation and pouring over $550 million into fresh research and development for new and advanced drivetrains for its 2011 Sonata.

One of the long accepted tenants of the mid-size sedan is “Thou Shalt Have a Six-Cylinder Option.” Ironically enough, this mode of thought arose as a challenge to the previously held belief that if you wanted to move four-doors in America, you had to offer a V8 under the hood. But when Japan’s Big Three proved they could dish out V8 horsepower with six-cylinder fuel economy, the eight-cylinder family hauler all but disappeared from the scene. Now, Hyundai is out to repeat history by debuting a turbocharged four-cylinder designed to rattle the cages of Toyota, Honda and Nissan.

Gallery: 2011 Hyundai Sonata 2.0T: First Drive

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Second Drive: 2011 Hyundai Sonata 2.0T originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 14 Oct 2010 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First Drive: 2012 Ford Grand C-Max

Filed under: Minivan/Van, Europe, Ford, First Drive

The Blue Oval Boys Bet Big By Going Small

2012 Ford Grand C-Max

2012 Ford Grand C-Max – Click above for high-res image gallery

Historically speaking, the Ford Motor Company has been successful at a great many things, but building minivans hasn’t been one of them. Perpetually mired in the shadow of offerings from Chrysler and Japan’s automakers, the Blue Oval folded up its sliding-door tent and went home years ago, killing off its undersized Mercury Villager in 2002 and then extinguishing the Windstar-turned-Freestar (and its short-lived Mercury Monterey counterpart) in 2007. Brand supporters will doubtlessly note that the family-ferrying segment was in decline for some years before Dearborn walked away from it, but the truth is that Ford never managed to crack the market’s top ranks despite more than 15 years of trying.

So why, then, is red-hot Ford risking a return to the segment in 2012 with the Grand C-Max shown here – a vehicle that’s conspicuously smaller and less powerful than the segment norm? Do they know something that we don’t? We hopped a puddle jumper to Nice, France after covering last week’s Paris Motor Show in an attempt to find out.

Gallery: 2012 Ford Grand C-Max: First Drive

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First Drive: 2012 Ford Grand C-Max originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 07 Oct 2010 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First Drive: 2011 Infiniti G25

Filed under: Sedan, Infiniti, First Drive, Luxury

The Infiniti For Those Afraid Of Fast

2011 Infiniti G25

2011 Infiniti G25 – Click above for high-res image gallery

Thanks to years of dedicated work and impressive engineering, Infiniti has earned a reputation for being the “Japanese BMW.” Like the German automaker, Infiniti’s U.S. entries are decidedly more performance oriented, but the brand’s decision to install the naturally-aspirated 2.5-liter V6 in its G Sedan had us wondering if things were changing… and not for the better.

Follow the jump to find out if our suspicions have been confirmed.

Gallery: 2011 Infiniti G25: First Drive

2011 Infiniti G25

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First Drive: 2011 Infiniti G25 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 11:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First Drive: 2011 Infiniti IPL G Coupe

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Infiniti, First Drive, Luxury

Increases Performance Little, but also Increases Price Little

2011 Infiniti IPL G Coupe

2011 Infiniti IPL G Coupe – Click above for high-res image gallery

Our waiting Infiniti IPL G Coupe idles curbside. Exiting its enormous Thermos-sized chrome exhaust tips, the invisible waveforms invite a closer listen. The baritone note suggests power, with a cadence that is is lumpy, sounding closer to a V8 with a heavy cam than any V6 we’ve ever heard. A harbinger of things to come, or just an evil audible tease? We had flown to California’s Napa Valley to find out, but first we needed some context.

Gallery: 2011 Infiniti IPL G Coupe: First Drive

2011 Infiniti IPL G Coupe

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First Drive: 2011 Infiniti IPL G Coupe originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 05 Oct 2010 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google CEO: Ridiculous that humans drive cars

Filed under: Technology

We have a hard time imagining a world in which we don’t drive. Google CEO Eric Schmidt doesn’t have that problem. He feels that humans should give up their right to the steering wheel and hand the keys over to a computer. At a recent TechCrunch conference, Schmidt opined that we humans aren’t very good at driving, adding that “it’s a bug that cars were invented before computers.”

It’s hard to fight Schmidt’s logic. After all, thousands of Americans die each year due to accidents that are mostly avoidable. Then there’s the matter of traffic jams; Computers could one day seamlessly route vehicles to the best possible road, virtually eliminating the Interstate parking lot. Oh, and don’t forget that drivers are becoming increasingly distracted by electronic gadgets like smartphones.

Autonomous vehicles? Nice idea, but until it truly feasible and reliable on a massive scale, we’re more than happy to drive ourselves. And while we’re at it, we’ll row our own gears, too.

[Source: TechCrunch]

Google CEO: Ridiculous that humans drive cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 02 Oct 2010 17:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Paris 2010: 2011 BMW 5 Series Touring is an excellent vehicle you’ll never drive

Filed under: Wagon, Paris Motor Show, BMW, Luxury

2011 BMW 5 Series Touring

2011 BMW 5 Series Touring – Click above for high-res image gallery

Take a good, hard look at this vehicle, which is currently on display at the Paris Motor Show. Seems like it would be the perfect alternative for someone who wants a luxury SUV but doesn’t need a vehicle that large. It also appears to be the perfect car for a person who wants cargo room yet despises luxury crossovers. This is the 2011 BMW 5 Series Touring – and we can’t have it.

Wagons are, quite unfortunately, going the way of the dodo in this country. A vehicle that makes too much sense won’t sell in a country where sense is tossed into the wind. The problem is, that’s part of what makes this country great – the idea that we can go and buy a V10-powered Ford Excursion even if we just use it to drive the kids to soccer. Yet, that vehicle only makes sense for a small number of people, and those people are buying better tools for their job anyway.

The 2011 BMW 5 Series Touring, assuming of course that you are looking for a luxury car, makes far more sense to far more people. It fits just as many people as the high-riding crossover alternative, while also providing just as much cargo space. It’s arguably better looking than any crossover or sport utility vehicle. More importantly, it has loads of useful space while at the same time being a blast to drive. The only area it would fall in a comparison would be in regards to towing.

You can view the stats for the 2011 BMW 5 Series Touring in the press release after the jump, but it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. We won’t get to enjoy the 306 horsepower 535i Touring, or any other variant of this wonderful wagon. And before it’s even left in the ‘comments’, yes, we know all about the BMW 5 Series GT.

Gallery: Paris 2010: BMW 5 Series Touring

Paris 2010: BMW 5 Series Touring

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Paris 2010: 2011 BMW 5 Series Touring is an excellent vehicle you’ll never drive originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 01 Oct 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First Drive: 2011 Ford F-150 and its four new engines

Filed under: Truck, Work, Ford, First Drive, Off-Road

Will Pickup Buyers Embrace A Turbocharged V6? They Should, And Fast.

2011 Ford F-150

2011 Ford F-150 – Click above for high-res image gallery

The year is 1977. Jimmy Carter replaces Gerald Ford to become the 39th President of the United States and creates the United States Department of Energy. Apple Computer is incorporated, and the Commodore PET, the world’s first personal computer, is sold. NASA’s first space shuttle is christened Enterprise and performs its initial test flight.

Music lovers welcome Fleetwood Mac’s latest release, the Grammy-winning album Rumours. The Supremes, Elvis Presley and Led Zeppelin play their final concerts, and, later in the year, Elvis leaves the building for good. The top grossing movie? Star Wars. On television, Fonzie rather famously jumps the shark.

In the world of automobiles, Porsche introduces the front-engine 928 and Burt Reynolds turns the black and gold Pontiac Trans-Am into an object of desire. And, finally, the Ford F-Series earns its status as the best-selling vehicle line in America. Clearly, a lot has changed since 1977… except, of course, for the Blue Oval, which can still boast that its full-size pickup truck is the number one nameplate in the United States.

Ford has no intention of passing that particular baton to anyone else, and in order to maintain this impressive bit of marketing gold for a 34th straight year, the Dearborn-based automaker is putting four brand-new engines, including a 3.5-liter turbocharged EcoBoost V6, in the engine bay of its F-150. The automaker says 2011 marks “the most significant powertrain upgrade in 62 years of the F-Series.” We, of course, had to verify that claim for ourselves.

Gallery: 2011 Ford F-150: First Drive

2011 Ford F-150

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First Drive: 2011 Ford F-150 and its four new engines originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumormill: Rumblings of Zeta-based family of rear-wheel-drive GM sedans persist

Filed under: Sedan, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Rumormill, Luxury

Cadillac Sixteen concept car in the wet

The ongoing yarn about General Motors fielding a brace of rear-wheel drive flagship sedans based on a new generation Premium Zeta platform has hit the big time, with Motor Trend reporting that the platform will underpin a sport sedan for Chevrolet. Last month, the rejigged Zeta was touted as the basis for a flagship Buick that would finally, and properly, challenge Lexus. MT’s report says there will be two wheelbases for this new Zeta, and that those two variants will do duty under a Cadillac, a U.S. Buick and potentially a Chinese-market Buick, and several Holden models along with the aforementioned Chevy.

As the basis for premium sedans, General Motors could spend the money to make it properly light and strong through the use of high-strength steels. The Chevy sport sedan mentioned would be “a kind of four-door Camaro” – Pontiac G8 GXP redux, anyone? – while the Buick only gets described as “cushier,” and both would go on the shorter wheelbase Zeta.

The most interesting tidbit could be Cadillac’s use of the long-wheelbase platform. MT prices a Cadillac flagship at between $125,000 and $140,000 and says the Zeta-based Cadillac, Whitacre’s S-Class rival for the Crest-and-Wreath brand, will sit beneath it. If it all comes to pass, that would give Cadillac a larger CTS, then an XTS, then a properly sporting high-end luxury competitor, then a one-Caddy-to-rule-them-all ne plus ultra model by 2014 or so. Hat tip to Joshua!

[Source: Motor Trend]

Rumormill: Rumblings of Zeta-based family of rear-wheel-drive GM sedans persist originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 14:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First Drive: 2011 Volvo S60

Filed under: Sedan, Performance, Volvo, First Drive, Luxury

Not The Naughtiest of Volvos, But Definitely Up To Something

2011 Volvo S60

2011 Volvo S60 T6 AWD – Click above for high-res image gallery

Volvo has been gearing up the promotion machine for its new S60, and it’s taking an unusual tack, referring to the Swedish automaker’s latest sedan as the sportiest and “Naughtiest Volvo Ever.” This, of course, may seem a bit like proclaiming that Greg was the rebel in the Brady Bunch. It might have been true, but the Swedish automaker’s lineup hasn’t exactly been fraught with the sort of characters that your parents warned you about, has it?

If this S60 is ‘naughty,’ it’s probably in the same way that going to prom with your mother is ‘naughty.’ It’s wrong, certainly… particularly for the couple sharing your limo. It might even be a bit dangerous – for your social life – but at the end of the day, the core wholesomeness of both mothers and Volvos can’t be denied, right?

Well, perhaps not. After all, although it was developed under the Ford umbrella, this new S60 comes to market with new ownership (China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group) and new leadership (former Volkswagen of America head Stefan Jacoby). And that is some rather sexy sheetmetal – particularly when it’s slathered in such an assertive paint color. But what’s going on beneath the skin? You’ll have to follow the jump to find out.

Gallery: 2011 Volvo S60: First Drive

2011 Volvo S60

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First Drive: 2011 Volvo S60 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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