Long Term Update 1: 2011 Mini Cooper S Countryman ALL4
Long Term Update 1: 2011 Mini Cooper S Countryman ALL4
So far I'm finding the long-term Mini Cooper Countryman to which I've been assigned and the BMW 5 Series GT I just got out of are relatively similar beasts when you examine them closely.
Long Term Update 1: 2012 Volvo S60 T6 AWD
Long Term Update 1: 2012 Volvo S60 T6 AWD
"If you wreck this car, you're going to have an awful lot of explaining to do," a friend recently said in the S60's front passenger seat. At the time, the Volvo was decelerating from about 70 mph as the section of narrow, two-lane highway we were driving ended at a stop light in a small coastal California town. The amazing thing was that the S60 was stopping under its own control, its front-mounted radar detecting the car ahead slowing for the flashing red traffic signal.
Exclusive First Test: Nissan Juke R
Exclusive First Test: Nissan Juke R
When we first heard Nissan was building a Juke with a GT-R powertrain, we thought it was the biggest April Fool's joke ever. But the FrankenJuke was no joke, and after months of teasing, the Nissan Juke R made its official debut at the Dunlop 24 Hours of Dubai. Not only did we watch it rip around the track, but we also got to drive and test Nissan's fantasy crossover creation.
First Drive: Audi A1 Sportback 1.4 TFSI
First Drive: Audi A1 Sportback 1.4 TFSI
Naming a car is a perilous task. Occasionally, manufacturers hit the nail on the head (the VW Beetle springs to mind), but sometimes the name turns out to be an optimistic flop. Cars like the Suzuki Swift, Chevy Celebrity, and Dodge Dynasty -- the latter was canned after just one generation -- are all names that made unkeepable promises.
First Test: 2012 Honda Ridgeline Sport
First Test: 2012 Honda Ridgeline Sport
Honda's Ridgeline has always been an in-between vehicle. It's a hybrid mix of sport/utility and truck, basically an SUT similar to the Hummer H2 SUT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Cadillac Escalade EXT, and Ford Explorer Sport Trac. Since Honda joined this group for the 2006 model year, a lot has changed -- all but the Avalanche/Escalade are gone, and those may disappear in a year or two -- but not much has changed with the Ridgeline. That led to rumors that the unibody half-ton was also going to go the way of the rest of the SUT category.
Long Term Update 1: 2011 Kia Sorento
Long Term Update 1: 2011 Kia Sorento
After putting some miles on our long-term Sorento, editors have developed some pretty strong opinions. Everyone who has commented on the car starts with basic pleasantries. "Lots of cargo space in the rear, with the third row folded flat" commented associate editor Scott Evans. "The steering wheel controls are an example to be shown to other automakers" said associate online editor Benson Kong. I can't believe that this thing has a base price below twenty-five grand.
Long Term Update 1: 2012 Audi A8
Long Term Update 1: 2012 Audi A8
The moment of truth, when it came, was on the slick, rain-soaked Route 122 that wriggles between Neah Bay and Port Angeles, Washington, along the shoreline of the Juan de Fuca Straight. There, midway through a quickish right hand flick, was a nasty mogul. I saw the hump and kept my foot down. I'd been running the A8 briskly along the twisting two lanes of the Northern California and Oregon coastlines for almost 800 miles by now, and thought I knew the chassis pretty well. This would be a test of trust.
Last Drive: 2011 Lexus GS 450h
Last Drive: 2011 Lexus GS 450h
The 2011 Lexus GS 450h fails a game of numbers and, as a result, won't be missed by many. For a V-6 luxury hybrid promising V-8-like power, the GS 450h's 22/25 mpg city/highway EPA rating and its overall performance aren't bad, but it turns out few people will pay a $12,050 premium for "not bad." So while the outgoing GS 450h has been driven into irrelevancy, will the new 2013 Lexus GS 450h suffer the same fate?
Shifting Gears: Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCT
Shifting Gears: Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCT
Fiat Powertrain engineer Constantinos Vafidis knows all about Ford's PowerShift woes in the USA. And he believes his company's new double-clutch transmission, just introduced in the Alfa Romeo Giulietta in Europe and destined for the 40-mpg version of the closely related Dodge Dart, will awe rather than annoy Americans. Like Ford's unit, the Fiat Powertrain-designed and -manufactured six-speed is equipped with a pair of dry clutches. But much engineering effort has gone into tuning it for smooth launches and shockless shifting.
First Drive: 2012 BMW ActiveHybrid 5
First Drive: 2012 BMW ActiveHybrid 5
It's been widely noted that while there are 22 different hybrid cars currently on the American market (with the 2012 BMW ActiveHybrid 5 about to join them), nearly 50 percent of the category's sales are captured by one car, the Toyota Prius. Why do you think that is?
Long Term Update 6: 2011 Nissan Juke SL
Long Term Update 6: 2011 Nissan Juke SL
Among the most well-worn buttons on our Juke's innovative I-CON (Integrated Control) display is the one labeled Sport. In the Juke, the piano black piece is a means to a more responsive throttle, weightier steering, and a transmission that holds its "gears" near the 1.6-liter's redline. Nissan describes the mode as giving a "more intense performance feel." I call it How It Should Be mode, or, put simpler: Normal mode.
Cadillac ATS-V vs. BMW M3
Cadillac ATS-V vs. BMW M3
It wasn't that long ago the idea of a Cadillac being mentioned in the same breath as a BMW M car was laughable. However, the undeniable badassness of the current-gen CTS-V has changed the performance world forever. Although both the F30 M3 and ATS-V will undoubtedly be produced, neither manufacturer is talking specifications or performance numbers. Which leaves us to speculate...
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Car review and newsReview of news on the market of cars becomes more incredible every month.
Here is a short description of greatest series production cars of last time.
The first member of rate is Astrum Meera is a new concept proposal conceived.
Design of car possesses several features that tap into the role of safety, sustainability and practicality. The exhaust of the car has built-in sensors whose purpose is to track the level of CO2 emissions, alerting the driver when they exceed the normal limit. The wheel rims work through magnetic levitation, like train wheels, making the car lighter and faster. The car's side mirrors retract within its body when parked, and they roll out as soon as the engine starts. They each have a build-in camera system, allowing driver to clearly see outside from inside the vehicle with ease.
New concept sport car from German car producer E-Wolf. E-Wolf unveils an EV supercar that’s so sporty. With a top speed of 155 miles per hour and a 0-60 acceleration that clocks in under four seconds, it has the performance to match its Italian playboy good looks, and its all-wheel drive, where each wheel is powered by an independent electric motor, should be able to keep all 2,000 pounds of it on the road. The Ford F650 is a super truck, appeared in 2000. The F650 is designed as a heavy hauler and is often used for towing or as a small dump truck. It is humongous! Its weight is about 160 tons, height is 3.5 meters – like a one-floor house! But then again, with a price tag of $60,000 up to infinity, it’s not like the standard home owner will possess one anyway.
Spyker Cars adopts new 'Swedish' name
Dutch automaker will rename itself Swedish Automobile NV as part of its deal with a Chinese investor
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Car News Test DrivesBefore you and me see new models of cars or modifications of old one, they pass through the stricked control in laboratories, garages, on streets and platforms. Everything thing is called test drives. There cars are tested on a great number of points – power, safety, control, easiness of driving, protect from damages and other features. Tests can be made not only for the whole car, but for its separate parts also – wheels, air bags, hardness of base, suitiness of wheels to the type of road, protect from temperature and many others. For each, even smallest detail, scientists have couple of test.
In special laboratories techniques create situations and observe how car will show itself. How will these situations will influence passengers and driver.
It helps producers to identify all problems and disadvantages due to correct them before mass production. In case of low quality test drives, innocent people can be harmed.
While cars are tested instead of passengers, soft manikins are used. Numerous appliances are based on them, and at the moment of artificial crash it will memorize the force of hit, speed, possible damage on other characteristics, needed to be clarified.
When parts are tested they may be separated from the car structure or be on their place. These test also show what material is better to be used on this or those detail, how long will it serve and how it should be treated.
Kia Rio B-Spec First Drive
As I came up fast over the crest just before the sharp right-hander, I felt the race car begin to understeer away from me. "No worries," I thought, forgetting what exactly I was driving, "I'll just get on the power and get it straightened out." A tank-slapper later I was facing the other direction on the edge of the grass. I had just spun out on my first lap ever in a race car. A front-drive Kia Rio B-Spec race car, at that.
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