Automotive Reviews Archives - Page 91 of 121

Audi has plans for diesel option for entire U.S. fleet by 2015

In Europe and other parts of the globe, diesel fuel cars account for about half of all passenger automobiles sales. Of course, that’s not the case in the United States. Audi, which won the 24 Heures du Mans with its Audi R15 TDI, wants to change the U.S. trend. The German manufacturer plans to offer a diesel option of all the models it sells in the U.S. by 2015. Audi currently offers diesels in two models: the A3 TDI compact hatchback and the Q7 TDI large sport-utility vehicle. Neither model represents a large portion of its total U.S. sales, but Audi says it could sell more of the diesel variants if it could keep them in stock. Diesels represent half

Electric and Hybrid

Tesla Roadster: Fast, lean and green driving machine

As part of its Go Electric Roadster Tour, Tesla Motors showcased its Roadster in Sacramento for the first time last week about two years after the Palo Alto, California-company debuted the high-end electric sports car. According to Tesla, an estimated 1,300 Roadsters are now in circulation worldwide. They’ve have been driven almost seven million electric miles, saving more than 350,000 gallons of gas and 18,000 barrels of oil. Tesla Roadster facts and figures: * The zero-emission Roadster, hand-built from carbon fiber, accelerates from 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds. * The Roadster is powered by a liquid-cooled battery pack, made up of 6,831 lithium ion cells (similar to those found in laptop computers); * It delivers 295 lb-ft of torque and

Luxury cars

Bugatti gets dubious honor: worst gas mileage averages

Bugatti is globally praised as among the world’s most innovative, powerful and expensive cars. But it isn’t often the renowned car gets recognition it would rather not have. In the recently released 2011 model list, the Bugatti Veyron has the lowest gas mileage average among all new vehicles tested by the Environment Protection Agency’s (EPA). The Veyron has average 8 mpg (city) and 15.5 (highway). While the Bugatti had the lowest average, several other cars known for their speed had abysmal averages. The Mercedes-Benz G55 AMG, the Bentley Continental GTC and Continental Flying Spur and the Rolls-Royce Phantom/Phantom Coupe/Drophead Coupe all have 11 mpg averages in city driving. Lowest 2011 gas mileage averages Bugatti Veyron, 16 cyl, 8.0 L, Automatic,

Pickup Trucks

Ford has new pitch for 2011 F-150: ‘We’ll bring it to you’

Ford Motor Co. isn’t content with the long-standing, best-selling status of its F-150 pick-up truck. So to increase aware of the 2011 model featuring the new EcoBoost engine, an automaker representative will bring the truck to your house for a test drive. Ford is launching a 60-city tour to promote the F-150. Potential buyers can sign up for a Ford representative to bring the truck to the participant’s house or place of work for a 30-minute drive. The new F-150 model has the EcoBoost V-6 engine, which uses twin turbo charging and direct fuel injection. Ford is touting this EcoBoost engine as being just as powerful as a V-8. Its 365 horsepower can tow as much as 11,300 pounds and

Luxury cars

Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson puts rare Ferrari up for auction

Reggie Jackson, the Hall of Fame baseball player and long-time car collector, is selling one the most unique cars in his collection, a 1973 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Spyder. With chassis number 16835, Jackson’s car is among the rarest Ferrari models, and it will be one of the featured sale items at RM Auctions’ annual Automobiles of Arizona, Jan. 20-21, 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Ferrari was also owned daredevil Evel Knievel, who died in 2007. The iconic motorcycle jumper sold the car to radio disc jockey Frankie Crocker after crashing while attempting to jump the fountains of Caesar’s Palace. Knievel’s injuries in the jump prohibited him from getting into the car. Crocker sold the original condition, Pininfarina-coachbuilt car to

Electric and Hybrid

Honda CR-Z, 2011: The Weekly Driver Car Review

After various debuts in recent years at car shows around the globe, the 2011 Honda CR-Z (Compact Renaissance Zero) arrived for North American consumers in August as a compact hybrid electric and marketed as a sport hybrid coupe. The CR-Z combines a hybrid gasoline-electric powertrain and is the successor to the second generation Honda CR-X via its design and similar name. The CR-Z is the only gasoline-electric hybrid model offered by any automaker that can be equipped with a manual transmission. The new Honda is offered in three trim levels: base, EX, and EX with navigation and has a base price range from $19,950 to $23,310. The Weekly Driver Test Drive New car models often get attention, but since the

Specialty cars

Bugatti Type 57C leads top-10 most expensive auctioned car list

The automotive website MIBZ.com has compiled a unique car list. It’s a twist on the ever-evolving industry standard list of most expensive new cars. The offshoot list is the 10 most expensive cars sold at auction. The web site doesn’t elaborate how its list was compiled. Nonetheless, the list is a varied, stunning display of vehicles and some extraordinary prices. In all likelihood, the impetus for the list occurred in June when the price record was set in the sale a 1936 Bugatti Type 57C Atlantic, one of only three made, o an anonymous buyer for an estimated $30 million. The site commented: “The buyer remains anonymous and he’d better live in a deserted volcano. Made of platinum. Somewhere on

Electric and Hybrid

Chevrolet Volt, 2011: General Motors’ radical new green machine

The new compact Chevrolet Volt hatchback sedan is the world’s first mass-produced electric vehicle with extended range. It’s the most radical General Motors high-volume car since the 1960s Chevy rear-engine Corvair, which was virtually buried by the then-new conventional Ford Mustang. The front-wheel-drive Volt is the most mass-produced aerodynamic car Chevrolet has made to get maximum fuel efficiency. One aerodynamic trick is giving the car a phony grille. Air is fed to the engine compartment via an “under-grille” scoop below the bumper. The futuristic aerodynamic 1960s Studebaker Avanti used the same type of air induction. Still, the Volt drew few extra glances despite clever design features, such as unusually aerodynamic rear styling. That’s the way Chevy wants it. “It’s more

Sports Cars

Rare Porsche models honored for automaker’s 60th anniversary

As part of its 60th anniversary celebration, Porsche Cars North America embarked on a quest to find the oldest Porsche sold in America via The Porsche Classic Search. It encouraged individuals to submit documentation their Porsche was one of the earliest in its category sold in the United States. With awards and bragging rights at stake, the entries are an impressive collection of finalists, including the oldest U.S.-retailed model found, a restored 1952 Strawberry Red 356 Cabriolet. Among the hundreds of submissions from Porsche owners across the country since last August was a rare 1952 356 Cabriolet owned by Dr. Robert Wilson of Oklahoma City, Okla. Wilson’s car was imported in November of 1952 by Austrian businessman Max Hoffman, in

Sedans

Suzuki Kizashi, 2011: The Weekly Driver Car Review

Now in its second model year as Suzuki‘s most expensive vehicle, the Kizashi is a value-priced sedan trying to find a niche in the crowded mid-sized segment. Its name in Japanese means “something great is coming.” What’s great about the Kizashi is that Suzuki is offering the vehicle in the near-luxury category with a top-of-the-line price ($25,000) that’s still about $5,000 less than the average price of a new car in the United States. Suzuki attracted a buzz when the car debuted a year as a cheap (but not cheaply built) alternative to an Audi 4. With a few exterior changes and amended sport packages, the second edition remains the same good value as the 2010 version. The Kizashi may

Electric and Hybrid

Electric car curious? Rent a LEAF, CODA or Renault from Avis, Enterprise, Budget soon

If you’re not quite sure if you want to buy an electric car, there’s an alternative to a test drive at a dealership — renting a Nissan Leaf, a Renault Fluence, Kangoo Express of CODA sedan. Depending up rental car company preference — Avis, Budget or Enterprise — and where in the world you live, several electric vehicles will soon be available for a business trip, vacation or for fun. Avis Budget Group, which also owns Budget Rent A Car, has ordered 500 Renault Fluence Z.E.’s and Kangoo Express Z.E.’s to rent in France, Spain, Belgium, England, Germany, and Portugal in 2011. Enterprise, Avis’s rival, has signed a deal with CODA to buy as many as 100 of its sedans in

Pickup Trucks

Chevy Silverado 2500 HD, 2011: Roman Mica’s video review

Heavy duty pick-up trucks were once the work horses of the Chevrolet fleet. They were brawny trucks used by brawny men to do brawny jobs. But that’s changing fast as more recreational buyers are opting for vehicles like the Silverado 2500 HD to haul campers, horses and boats. Chevrolet redesigned the Silverado 2500 HD in 2011 to make it even more brawny with a sturdier frame for more towing capacity. Roman Mica, contributing editor of TheWeeklyDriver.com, recently test drove the new Chevy truck. And as a sell-admitted non-truck-kind of guy, he was both surprised and not-so surprised with the Silverado 2500 HD — as the video below details. To read more of Roman Mica’s car reviews, visit: www.TFLcar.com. James RaiaA

Specialty cars

Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport, 2011: It's Superman

And in one early passage, Neil, whose column is titled Rumble Seat, writes: “The Super Sport can accelerate from highway speeds to more than 200 mph in the time it takes you to read this sentence out loud. Literally.” “And then, just when other hypercars—Lambos, Ferraris, Paganis and even rarer isotopes—run out of steam, the Super Sport accelerates harder. This experience quickly exhausts one’s supply of Old Norse oaths and curses and one is reduced to childish wows and holy cows.” “At full throttle in the Super Sport, the world comes at you in one ferocious, howling, soul-shaking, Newtonian sneeze.” Here are some facts and figures about the 2011 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport: Price: $2.8 million (estimated) Horsepower: 1,200

Specialty cars

Google driving hard into the future with artificial intelligence cars

Early in the article, sub-titled “Smarter Than You Think,” Markoff writes: “The car is a project of Google, which has been working in secret but in plain view on vehicles that can drive themselves, using artificial-intelligence software that can sense anything near the car and mimic the decisions made by a human driver.” “With someone behind the wheel to take control if something goes awry and a technician in the passenger seat to monitor the navigation system, seven test cars have driven 1,000 miles without human intervention and more than 140,000 miles with only occasional human control.” “One even drove itself down Lombard Street in San Francisco, one of the steepest and curviest streets in the nation. The only accident,

Electric and Hybrid

Toyota announces plans to debut two Prius siblings by 2013

According to a dispatch in the Wall Street Journal from the recent National Dealer Conference in Las Vegas, one of the new hybrids will be smaller and one larger than the current Prius, the country’s largest-selling hybrid. According to the newspaper, Toyota executives briefed dealers about the new vehicles, including size details. The pending smaller hybrid will comparable to the Toyota Yaris. The larger new hybrid will offer about 50 percent more interior space and storage than the Prius. Toyota also announced a milestone for the Prius at the same dealers’ meeting. Since its debut in 1997, Prius sales worldwide recently surpassed two million units. The Prius was first available in the U.S. in 1990. Despite its success, Toyota is

Sport Utility Vehicles

Kia Sportage, 2011: Roman Mica's Rambling Review

No, make that the Sportage is the best-looking car in its class. With chiseled features, a bad-boy-on-the-block lowered roof line and “look at me know” sparkling LED accents, the Sportage is youthful and refined. Yet, four small details hold the Sportage back from perfection. 1. The seats are Amish hard; 2. The ride suffers from too much wooden roller coaster personality; 3. My tester had a persistent, annoying squeak that drove me batty; 4. The engine is anemic. Let’s start with the squeak. It used to be, especially back in the bad old car ’70s and ’80s, that almost all cars, especially those built in Detroit, came factory equipped with complimentary squeaks, rattles and rolls. But Japanese manufacturers raised the

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