Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen TDI, 2010: The Weekly Driver Car Review

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The 2010 Jetta Sportwagen is not as well known as the Toyota Prius. But the two vehicles have been compared. The Prius is the much talked about, industry-leading hybrid. The Jetta TDI is the increasingly popular and peppy diesel. The Prius made many of 2010 Best-of-the-Year lists and even topped some of the compilations. But the Jetta and its surprising value and impressive gas mileage ratings weren’t too far behind. In short, the Prius revolutionized the hybrid industry in the United States and the Jetta may well do the same for cleaning-burning diesel engines. The Weekly Driver Test Drive There’s

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Honda Insight, 2010: The Weekly Driver Car Review

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The original Honda Insight, sold from 2000 to 2006, was odd-looking. But as the first mass-produced hybrid available in the United States, its unique status and strange looks made it cool. When the Insight departed, the Toyota Prius took over hybrid dominance, and Honda hasn’t been happy since. The Insight returned in 2009 as a 2010 model and Honda is ready to go head-to-head with the Prius by offering its new base model Insight for less than $20,000 — the country’s least expense hybrid. Toyota has responded with new Prius. It’s more expensive and in its recent tenure, several times

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Yaris, Touareg, Probe among Cars.com worst named cars

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The author writes: “Below are 10 vehicles from the past 30 years with names so awful and awkward that we’re sometimes surprised consumers gave them a shot.” No. 8 on the list, for example, is the Toyota Yaris. The author details: “There was a girl in my dorm freshman year who organized her shoes alphabetically by mood. She majored in dead languages and responded to every single question with ‘no worries.’ She once set the dorm microwave on fire by overcooking a ham-and-cheese Hot Pocket. Yes, that story is ridiculous and nonsensical … sort of like naming a car Yaris.”

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Bugatti in spotlight for 2010 Monterey Historic Automobile Races

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“The Bugatti Grand Prix that will be held at the prestigious historic races in Monterey allows our owners to share the remarkable Bugatti heritage and to show the lineage that defines who Bugatti is today,” said Alasdair Stewart, director of sales and marketing at Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. “Bugatti has stood for uncompromising performance, luxury and exclusivity, and these attributes are as true today in the Veyron as they were in what was one of the most successful race cars of all time, the Bugatti Type 35.” Bugatti was founded in Molsheim, France, as a manufacturer of high performance automobiles by

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Toyota planning new challenge to 'cheap car' Tata Nano

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Since the announcement of the first production plans for the Tata Nano, the auto industry has remained abuzz about the minimalist vehicle known as the world’s cheapest car. After months of controversy and delivery delays, the Nano is now being sold in India and Tata has plans to export the $2,000 car to other countries. Several other manufacturers make cars that cost less than $10,000. And Toyota now says it will join the “cheap” car market. It plans to release a concept car  it will target to the world’s emerging markets. The concept model’s name is EFC. It stands for

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Ford Escape Hybrid, 2010: The Weekly Driver Car Review

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A hybrid sport utility vehicle? About six years ago, the idea still seemed outrageous. But then the Ford Escape hybrid debuted. Skeptics sneered. But now SUV hybrids are plentiful from several manufacturers. In other words, there’s competition for the Ford Escape, even if some of the competition remains from Ford via the very similar Mercury Mariner and Mazda Tribute. The Escape hybrid is a “full” hybrid electric system, meaning the system can switch automatically between pure electric power, pure gasoline engine power or a combination of electric battery and gasoline engine operating together. That means  maximum performance and efficiency. The

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Kia Soul, 2010: The Weekly Driver car review

The Soul debuted at the Paris Motor Show in 2008, it was first available in February 2009 in Europe and a month later debuted in North American dealerships. With its varied trims, engines, colors and accessory options, Kia proudly declares the 2010 Soul is available in more than 10,000 combinations. The Weekly Driver Test Drive By coincidence, I drove in consecutive weekly test drives, the Nissan Cube followed by the Kia Soul. Both vehicles are innovative and in some ways, they’re a lot of alike — versatile, Utilitarian Hatchback Vehicles or UHVs (I made up the term.) I primarily drove

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Think Global will soon begin U.S. production of new electric car, The City

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The Oslo-based company, reorganized with a $47 million capital injection, is “30 to 60 days” from announcing a U.S. production site for its cars, Richard Canny, chief executive officer, told Bloomberg. Three U.S. cities are vying for the production facility with the announcement of the location expected before the end of January, 2010. The City has a range of 112 miles on a charge and will cost about $30,000 in the U.S. after a $7,500 federal tax credit, Canny said. The company said it has orders for 2,350 cars. Think Global hired investor Valmet Automotive, a contract manufacturer, to build

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Audi debuts super sports car, 2010 R8

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New for 2010, a refined 5.2 FSI V10 engine joins the R8 lineup. With menacing, unmistakable styling and the unshakable performance of quattro all-wheel drive, the R8 represents the very edge of what is technically possible in a sports car today. The 2010 Audi R8 is unique in the Audi portfolio and is hand-assembled at a maximum of 20 cars per day. A wide, low stance is derived directly from the Audi motorsports program and helps to provide the R8 with its world-class handling. The R8 was inspired not only by victorious Audi Le Mans race cars, it shared the

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Honda electric concept car: The Native

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Honda has come a long way since its original eco-friendly car, the first generation Insight. Its latest effort is the concept car, the Honda Native. It can change colors. Designed by Tudoran Liviu, the Honda Native concept comprises an electric engine powered by a heavy-duty lithium-ion battery pack and can house three passengers including the driver. This ultra compact car with great aerodynamic features has been designed for the massively congested future traffic where speed will be ignored over low space riding efficiency. The interior is designed from lightweight materials such as aluminum and offer an OLED display to provide

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Tata Motors may soon produce world's cheapest hybrid

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Tata Motors has garnered global attention via the Nano, the world's cheapest car. It could be awhile, but Tata could surpass its current high plateau of notoriety if it follows up on a recent announcement the Indian manufacturer will produced the world's cheapest hybrid vehicle.

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Honda showcases concept P-NUT, personal neo-urban transport vehicle

Among all the flashing lights and flamboyant unveilings of new cars, no vehicle attracted any greater curiosity at the recent Los Angeles Auto Show than the Honda P-NUT. The acronym stands for Personal-Neo Urban Transport (P-NUT). It’s a vehicle design Honda touts as: “A futuristic concept for an ultra-compact and sophisticated city coupe.” Conceived around a small “footprint” for maximum convenience in tight urban settings, the packaging concept integrates a center driving position configuration and a rear powertrain layout. The exterior styling leverages crisp angles with dynamic flowing lines that originate from the front of the vehicle and span outward

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Honda Pilot, 2009: Weidel on Wheels

When Honda came out with the Pilot six years ago the Japanese automaker quickly had another hit. The Pilot became one of the forerunners in the eight-passenger midsize crossover segment. It’s a sport utility vehicle whose car-like qualities and hauling capabilities were lauded. Despite the accolades, one aspect of the Pilot got exposed – third-row seating was lacking. It wasn’t accommodating and the guess is in many Pilots the third row lay flat and it was left unused. The weakness remained, but the popularity of the Pilot grew with sales rising more to than 152,000 by 2006. But one year

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BMW Z4 Coupe, 2007: The Weekly Driver Car Review (Video)

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According to Consumer Guide, the 2007 BMW Z4 convertible and coupe are Best Buys in the premium/sporty car category. The car is racetrack able, yet also reasonably practical as a daily driver. The American-built two seaters have incline 6-cylinder engines. The base 3.0i convertible has 215 horsepower, 3.0i model has 255 horsepower and the high-performance M version has 330 horsepower. The Z4 gets a perfect 10 score from Consumer Guide in steering and handling and 9 marks in acceleration. On the contrary, the BMW gets scores of 0, 2 and 3 respectively in rear seat comfort, cargo room and ride

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Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance preparing for 60th anniversary in 2010

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With its 60th anniversary celebration set for next August, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, founded in 1950 as a celebration of the automobile, has evolved into one of the world’s foremost classic car events. Additionally, as exemplified by the more than 20 new and concept vehicles showcased at the 2009 Concours, the annual event now offers a glimpse into the automotive future. Several vehicles made world debuts at the 2009 Concours last August, including the Bentley Mulsanne grand tourer, Bugatti Sang Bleu, Devon Motor Works GTX, Iconic Motors Heritage Roadster Concept Chassis, 2011 Infiniti M and Spyker C8 Aileron Spyder.

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Tata Motors planning diesel and facelifts for 2011 Nano

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The exported edition will also feature 5-speed gear box which is absent in the Indian models which restrict speed to 65 mph based on safety. The five-speed gear box will be ideal for the European roads as Indian roads to do not facilitate gear changes at 65 mph. The exterior changes will also include and opening tailgate and a modified outside rear view mirror which allows movement of the mirror in its casing. This feature will also allow electrical adjustment feature in the future. There will also be check straps on the doors to limit the opening of doors.

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