Kia Optima 2011 car review

The Kia Optima, now in its second decade in the midsize sedan segment, has a new design for 2011. It’s a streamlined profile the manufacturer says “conveys elegance and athletic confidence from every angle.” Designed in Frankfurt, Germany and Irvine, Calif., the 2011 Optima is slightly longer, wider and lower than its predecessor. Available in LX, EX and SX trims and as a hybrid, the gas-engine Optima offers a 200-horsepower 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine with a six-speed manual transmission. The Weekly Driver Test Drive Like other unheralded cars, the Kia Optima is surprisingly impressive when driven, and it’s the recipient of

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Tata has clear urban vision with Pixel concept debut

Tata Motors, which owns Jaguar Land Rover and manufactures the Nano (the world’s cheapest car), has rolled out its Pixel Concept urban car at the Geneva Motor Show. The Pixel is geared toward European and Asian markets where fuel is far pricier than in the U.S and urban streets are crowded. Tata says the Pixel is 10 feet long, “comfortably accommodates four adults.” Its doors open up, rather than out, to avoid cyclists, pedestrians or approaching traffic. The Pixel has a “Zero Turn toroidal traction-drive Infinitely Variable Transmission (IVT).” It can rotate one rear wheel forward and the other backward.

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Rolls-Royce unveils electric, nomadic 102 EX Phantom

Rolls Royce is calling it the first electric luxury car, but so far it’s only a “traveling global experiment.” At least that’s how the carmaker is describing the 102 EX Phantom concept unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show. Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös discusses the 102 EX Phantom at the show in the video below. As Müller-Ötvös describes, the car will be showcased on a year-long world tour to “car owners, prospects, enthusiasts and members of the media.” The goal, said Müller-Ötvös, is to determine if the electric Phantom “provides all the qualities expected of a Rolls-Royce, without compromise.” The new

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Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback, 2011 car review

Approaching its 40th birthday, the Mitsubishi Lancer has been sold around the world with about a dozen different names, Lancer Fiore to Mirage Saloon to Dodge Colt. Now in its ninth generation since its 1973 debut, the Lancer under its various badges has sold more than six million units. For 2011, a more entry level ES trim joined its sedan and hatchback siblings at a base price of about $2,000 less than last year’s model. The reduced price was prompted by the influx of top-notch small cars available from almost every manufacturer. The Weekly Driver Test Drive The Lancer Sportback

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Rare GM Futurliner bus set for Indiana auction in May

A unrestored Futurliner bus from General Motors “Parade of Progress” of the 1940s and ‘50s is among the early consignments for the expected roster of 1,000 cars and motorcycles available May 12-15 in Auctions America by RM at Auburn Auction Park in Auburn, Indiana. The Futurliner bus, one of 12 built and eight known in existence, has an estimated value of $450,000 to $600,000. In highly original condition, it has recently been equipped with eight new tires, a new plexiglass windshield and all-new rubber and metal siding. These futuristically styled buses, measuring 11 feet high and 33 feet long, were

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Google this: Honda gets best website car industry honor

Statistics for online car purchases, or at least the amount of time car buyers spend researching car purchases online, has dramatically increased in recent years. Which is why manufacturers strive for efficient, informative web sites. Honda has the best automaker website, according to J.D. Power & Associates. Honda (www.honda,com) is followed by Mazda, Mini, Porsche and Acura in the 1,000 point ranking system based on speed, appearance, navigation and information/content. According to J.D. Power, Honda.com performed well on information/content, navigation and speed measures (meaning appearance apparently wasn’t Honda.com’s site’s strong point). The Power Manufacturer Website Evaluation Study began in 2000

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Maybach boasts luxury, security with new armoured limo

Maybach has debuted its new Maybach Guard, an armoured limousine based on the Maybach 62 and featuring integrated safety systems by the German engineers in Sindelfingen. Responding to the needs of businessmen and Heads of State around the world, Maybach reports: “The protection offered is absolutely peerless and discreet: even to a specialist eye it is almost impossible to distinguish a Maybach Guard from the regular Maybach 62 saloon. “When it comes to the performance, the German engineers have surpassed themselves: a special armour – made of highly specialized steel and high-tech Kevlar – is integrated in the body shell

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Women of the 2011 Geneva Motor Show

The idea of models representing manufacturers at car show dates more than 80 years. Eight women wearing what were then considered skimpy bathing advertised the 1927 Packard 343 Series. They were called the Damsels of the Dance. Forty years later, the once provocative idea had become commonplace in the auto industry. And in the book Chrome Sirens – The Enduring Allure of Auto Show Models, published in 2008, details the history of car show models is documented. Fast-forward to 2011 and the idea of car models is going strong at the Geneva Motor Show. A photo gallery of some of

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Geneva Motor Show, 2011: History, hot women, new cars

The International Geneva Motor Show (French: Salon International de l’Auto) was first held in 1905. During its tenure, it has showcased most of the major auto manufacturers’ vehicles — combustion engines to benzene-and-steam powered cars to the current influx of hybrid and electric machines. Held in this year March 3-13, the Geneva Motor Show is hosted at the Geneva Palexpo, the convention center next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport, and is presented by Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d’Automobiles. AC Cars MkVI, Aston Martin Virage, Aston Martin V8 Vantage S, Audi RS3 Sportback, Bentley Continental Supersports Ice Speed Edition, Bentley

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Geneva Motor Show: Jaguar debuts hybrid concept B99

The Jaguar B 99, a new concept car from Bertone, one of the world’s oldest design brands, will have its world premiere March 3-13 at the Geneva Motor Show. The B 99 projects Jaguar‘s classic style into the future with refined Bertone (now 99 years old) elegance with its sleek lines and smooth volumes. The result is a compact, four-door sedan that fits perfectly into the D segment. Starting with a classic three-volume architecture, Bertone designers have shaped a taut, muscular body with strong character, entirely constructed with handmade aluminum panels in true Italian “coachbuilder” tradition. The unique personality of

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Honda, Subaru, Toyota shine in Consumer Reports' study

Honda, a perennial top pick, Subaru, the all-wheel driver pioneer, and embattled Toyota claimed the top-three spots in the annual survey by Consumer Reports to determine the manufacturers with the overall best cars. Honda, whose Fit earned high marks with the Hyundai Elantra and Chevrolet Avalanche, led the Japanese company’s consistent ratings throughout its line en route to the industry’s highest total in the magazine’s detail assessment. Ford posted the largest quality gains among the major automakers with improved road tests and reliability scores. Honda Motor Co., including its Acura division, had the highest overall score, 74, and the best

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Mercedes-Benz, Liam Neeson battle black SUV in Unknown

Epic cars scenes in movies range from Gene Hackman in the French Connection to Steve McQueen in Bullitt and the classic Mini Cooper scene in the Italian Job to high energy catapult across the country by Barry Newman in his 1970 Dodge Challenger in Vanishing Point. Selecting best car scenes in movies is subjective. But Liam Neeson’s car chase scene in Unknown, the current No. 1 movie in the United States, is memorable. It fits in well with the flow of film and while not in the caliber of some of the best cars scenes of all-time, it’s edge-of-your-seat footage.

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Aston Martin DB4 (James Bond's car, sort of) 1958-63 review

James Bond drove a 1964-65 Aston Martin DB5 in the first Bond movies and acquainted most Americans with England’s Aston Martin. But the 1958-63 Aston DB4, which the DB5 strongly resembled, was the first all-new Aston since industrialist David Brown bought and saved the revered automaker in 1947. Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond novels, never owned an Aston Martin, but he sure knew about classy cars. He owned a mid-1950s Ford Thunderbird two-seater and a rakish, early 1960s Studebaker Avanti, which he shipped to various countries to drive whenever he left England. Fleming’s wife was so jealous of

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Chrysler 200, 2011 car review

Chrysler performed a major miracle in transforming its so-so Sebring mid-size front-drive sedan into the far superior Chrysler 200 model in only about a year. Such a project usually takes much longer, but faltering Chrysler had to rush things. Many critics are surprised, and some feel it shows that Chrysler promises to be far more competitive under its new Fiat control. The Sebring name is gone, replaced by the “200” name. The 2011 200 logically fits beneath the name given the improved top-line 2011 Chrysler 300. There are three 200 trim levels: the base $19,245 LX, mid-range $21,245 Touring and

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Academy Awards: Hyundai ponders reality in Genesis ad

The Hyundai Genesis gained its first substantial acclaim as the 2009 North American Car of the Year. But the South Korean manufacturer didn’t rest for very for long on the praise. It’s now touting its performance-oriented Genesis during the Academy Awards. The award-winning Genesis sedan set a new benchmark in the premium car category. It costs about $33,000 and included performance and luxury features like touch-screen navigation, electronic parking brake with automatic vehicle hold, Adaptive Front Lighting System (AFLS), Lexicon audio systems and electronic active head restraints. But the new Hyundai Genesis is the 365-horsepower, 25 mpg edition. One automotive

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Oscars: Honda, Ford, Toyota teased in Hyundai Elantra ad

Among the nine commercial slots Hyundai has purchased for the Academy Awards, seven will be broadcast during the Oscars telecast, four with the voice over of Arrested Development star Jason Bateman. Three of the ads “Drawing Board,” “Childhood,” and “Deprogramming” all showcase the Hyundai Elantra. The commercial “Drawing Board,” is a straight-forward, none hi-tech 30 seconds during which Hyundai quotes car reviews in various praises of the 40 mpg 2011 Elantra. Toyota, Honda and Ford all take understated, perfectly timed criticism, while one car site is quoted as saying the Elantra has hit a home run in the compact car

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