Luxury Cars
-
While we all like to go on about horsepower or differentials or suspension arms when discussing new cars, we often overlook the place where you and your car spend the most time together--inside the cabin. In order to recognize this aspect of vehicle development, Ward’s Auto releases a list every year for the best car interiors in a number of different vehicle segments. The vehicles--both cars and trucks--were divided into segments, with one winner named in each category. After driving the vehicles over a two month period, judges evaluated them during their daily driving cycles and...
-
Audi Teases New R8 GT Spyder
Audi’s lighter and more track-focused R8 GT supercar recently went on sale and if you’ve just ordered one, you may not be too pleased to hear that Audi is set to launch a convertible R8 GT Spyder in the not too distant future. Previewed here today in these official sketches, the new R8...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2013 Audi A3 Sedan And Hatch Previewed In Official Sketches
We got a pretty good indication as to how the next-generation 2013 Audi A3--the new Sedan variant, at least--will be styled with the unveiling of the A3 Sedan Concept at last month’s 2011 Geneva Motor Show. Now, Audi has released several teaser sketches of the production version, this time of...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Report: All-Wheel Drive BMW M5 On The Cards
A few years back if you were told BMW’s hallowed M division would be launching SUVs, installing turbochargers and striving for improved fuel efficiency, you’re immediate assumption would be that the person telling you all this was crazy. Fast forward to today and we have the X5 M and X6...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Range Rover Hybrid Coming In 2013, Plug-In Hybrid Version In 2014
Land Rover is ensuring its range of luxury SUVs has a safe future despite high fuel prices, with the aid of hybrid and more advanced plug-in hybrid technologies. The automaker has already built several electrified prototypes and concept vehicles in the recent past, which we have reported on in...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2012 Audi Q3 Coming To Shanghai Auto Show: First Official Sketches
The Seat-built 2012 Audi Q3 will make its official debut at the 2011 Shanghai Auto Show, according to the company. The new smaller crossover will do battle with the likes of the BMW X1 and Range Rover Evoque. These official sketches are our first look at what to expect. Power for the new Q3 is...
Nelson Ireson -
When it comes to all things automotive, the luxury playground of Monaco is probably best known for its annual Formula 1 race and sheer number of supercar owners than anything else. However, we now have a new tidbit of automotive related news concerning the Principality. Confirming his commitment for more environmentally friendly solutions, Monaco’s Prince Albert II has decided to use a new 2011 Lexus LS 600h luxury hybrid sedan at the occasion of his marriage to Charlene Wittstock on July 2, 2011. The Prince is known for taking a keen interest in encouraging environmental protection and...
-
Audi U.S. Chief Personally Responds To Angry Customer
Have you ever asked to speak to someone’s manager and then been approached by the boss of the whole company (in this case the regional chief)? Probably not, but that’s roughly what happened to one customer angered by delivery delays of a recently purchased 2011 Audi S4. Going by the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BMW And Brilliance 5-Series Plug-In Hybrid: 2011 Shanghai Auto Show Preview
As we first reported several months ago, BMW and its Chinese partner Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd. has developed a new plug-in hybrid version of its 5-Series, revealed today ahead of its debut in just a few weeks at the 2011 Shanghai Auto Show. The vehicle is classed as a prototype and...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Only Ten Aston Martin One-77s Left, Dealer Ads Start Showing Up
Reports came out last year claiming that the stunning new Aston Martin One-77 supercar, which is being produced in a limited run of just 77 cars, had been sold out within months and that 10 of the cars were going to just one buyer from the Middle East. While these reports later proved to be untrue...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Jaguar Working On AWD XF, XJ, Possible XFR-S?
The future is a murky, often treacherous thing the car industry. The past few years are a practical study on that point; looking forward from 2006 and looking backward from now reveal two very different paths. But despite the dicey nature of automotive prognostication, a few reports are out...
Nelson Ireson -
GM: Buick To Compete With Asian Luxury Autos, Cadillac To Rival The Germans
General Motors is being clear about positioning of its upmarket Buick and Cadillac brands, explaining that Buick is designed more for drivers who want understated luxury whereas Cadillac is more about dynamic performance and style. Speaking with Automotive News, GM marketing chief Chris Perry...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Ford is the first to admit that its upmarket Lincoln brand is in need of direction, seeing it languish as a lower tier luxury brand for the past several years despite its Detroit rival, Cadillac, being able to turn things around considerably during the same period. We’ve seen some potential with cars like the MKS though at the same time we’ve seen some major mistakes--Lincoln MKT anyone? We’ve also reported several times in the past about Lincoln launching seven new models by 2014, with compact cars and crossovers to be included. But to really shake things up Ford is also...
-
BMW Hints At CSL Successor With Special M3 Sedan Concept
This past weekend BMW’s M performance division held a special event in Munich, Germany where it showcased a number of special models, namely, a concept version of the upcoming 2012 BMW M5 that we were fortunate enough to get leaked images of. With all the hoopla surrounding the upcoming...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BMW M Boss Kay Segler To Head MINI
MINI may soon get a kick in the performance department with news emerging today that the boss of BMW M, Dr. Kay Segler, will be responsible for MINI brand management starting from May 1. Segler, 56, has overlooked the development of several key M division models including the recently revealed...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2012 BMW M5 F10 Concept Leaked
The good folks at BMW are not going to be happy about this, but leaked photos of the BMW Concept M5, the "concept" that presages the coming 2012 M5, based on the F10 5-Series, have emerged on an enthusiast forum. The images appear to come from behind the wall of an embargoed event currently...
Nelson Ireson -
Report: Bugatti Galibier 16C Four-Door Gets Greenlight
Rumored to be on the road to production since 2009, the Bugatti Galibier 16C four-door is back in the spotlight, this time on the back of word from sources supposedly close to the decision-making process that say Volkswagen has given the project the green light. If you've forgotten the Galibier's...
Nelson Ireson -
Acura To Feature In New ‘Thor’ Movie Alongside Natalie Portman
There’s a new comic book derived movie brewing in Hollywood and this one is set to feature a handful of cars from one of the least heard of luxury brands, Acura. The movie we’re talking about is Thor, the story of an ancient warrior brought to Earth to defend humanity and get chased by...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
The new 2012 SLK is on the loose, revealed at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, but we're still waiting for the AMG variant. From the looks of it, we won't have to wait much longer, as these spy shots add to those captured last summer, bringing the car's shape into sharper focus as it loses some of the previous camouflage. According to the spy photographers, the engine under the hood sounded like a V-8, tipping the new 5.5-liter twin-turbo V-8 as a possible power source. That could put power figures as high as 450 horsepower in AMG trim--a leap of 90 horsepower over the current SLK 55 AMG, which...
-
Report: Buick To Get Own Version Of Opel Ampera
Buick is reportedly the next recipient of Chevrolet’s ‘Voltec’ range-extended electric car platform, with news surfacing this week that GM’s mid-level luxury brand will get its own version of the Opel Ampera. Buick, you may recall, is already selling a rebadged Opel in the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Goatherding Cabrera: Gallant Gallardo Replacement To Pack 600 HP, Supercharger?
Everyone knows Lamborghini names its cars after famous fighting bulls. But those names also have Spanish meanings--and while Gallardo means "gallant" in its mother tongue, its replacement's name isn't as elegant: Cabrera means "goatherder" in Catalan and Spanish. Whatever the nominal designation...
Nelson Ireson -
2012 Jaguar XF Development Mule Sports New 2.2-Liter Diesel
Official "spy shots" released today by Jaguar show a 2012 XF development mule packing a new 2.2-liter diesel engine. While we won't likely be seeing the oil-burner here in the U.S., the images are still relevant to what we may soon be seeing on our roads. Wrapped in swirly camouflage vinyl, it's...
Nelson Ireson -
Five-Millionth Audi A4 Rolls Off The Production Line
Since the introduction of the first Audi A4 back in 1994 (albeit the A4 is essentially the original Audi 80 renamed), more than five million cars bearing the A4 name have rolled off Audi production lines in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm in Germany. The five-millionth model was a ‘Misano...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Audi Shows Off A5 e-tron quattro Plug-In Hybrid Prototype
Sophisticated hybrid systems that utilize an internal combustion engine to power one axle and an electric motor spinning the opposing one seems to be all the rage these days and could potentially form the next wave of green car technology to sweep the auto industry. By powering two axles instead of...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran