Mazda recently walked away with some good praise. Japan loves the MX-5 so much, they gave it their Car of the Year award, similarly to how we have our North American Car of the Year.
The Miata MX-5 is on our nation’s list as well, but the final winner for the car position won’t be announced until January.
Japan’s list for Car of the Year also included the BMW 2-Series at third place, while the hot new Honda S660 came in second. The BMW took the cake however as Import Car of the Year.
Of course, it might seem a bit typically predictable that a car made nationally would receive the national award for the Car of the Year, but judging by the recent press, the Miata has been scoring very high praise already. It’s less powerful than its predecessor, but it’s much lighter to make it just as amiably quick to make it fun and for those who think driving a slow car fast is just more fun.
Do you think it adds to the greater possibility of it being chosen for our North American award?
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Australia’s Motoring appears to have received the scoop on the next-generation Subaru WRX STI and according to their finding, the new model should be out sometime in 2017 with a game-changing hybrid powertrain.
The new model is being developed on the company’s new Subaru Global Platform and the WRX STI itself could have as much as 325hp with the typical 2.0L turbocharged flat-four ordeal, but with the assistance of some electric motors somewhere.
This could mean an entirely new all-wheel drive system, where the rear axle could be driven by the electric motor while the gas engine powers the front axle, calling for the first departure from their signature symmetrical all-wheel drive system ever since it was invented decades ago.
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Chrysler’s seeking to rework its entire lineup given their current offerings haven’t quite yielded the sales the company projected, according to AllPar, which means the Auburn Hills automaker could introduce a whole bunch of new models in the near future.
Some of these models likely include many existing ones today that are overdue for replacement, such as the aging 300 sedan, an overdue Town & Country minivan, and even an updated 200. There’s even potential of a new entry-level subcompact in the form of a 100, to compete with the likes of the Chevrolet Cruze, Ford Focus, and Honda Civic.
It’s only an idea at the moment however, since Chrysler also wants to avoid product overlap since such a car could clash with the Dodge Dart, the direct competitor from Mopar to the Cruze, Focus, etc.
Chrysler too also will seemingly boost their crossover variety since we all know, the crossover is the sales king and breadwinner these days, so ones to hit the heart of the market, where the Ford Explorer, Toyota Highlander land, as well as the Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Acadia twins, aren’t too far-fetched. This would mean the introduction of a total of two crossovers, of the midsize and full-size affair.
The midsize affair would compete against the Ford Edge, Hyundai Santa Fe, and the equivalent Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain crossovers.
– By: Chris Chin
Source: Allpar
Volkswagen’s far from ending its suffering from the major Dieselgate scandal over the past several months and the walls keep tumbling down as Reuters recently heard the People’s Car corporation could be forced to sell Bentley, Lamborghini, or Ducati in order to help pay for the damage control taking place over Dieselgate.
Volkswagen AG apparently pulled out a massive 20 billion euro loan through several banks to remedy the issue and pay for the PR shitstorm that would follow. All of it must be paid back within the year, though VAG is hoping for the best and planning for the worst. That worst case scenario would be sell off one of their three major luxury brands.
But that’s before Volkswagen AG lifts of MAN power engineering operations for MAN trucks.
If it hasn’t been any other indication from the constant media coverage of Dieselgate, Volkswagen has some big dues to pay for their mistake. Selling one of their top assets however is a worst-case scenario situation and the likelyhood of the it getting to this point is rather, unlikely.
Nothing has been confirmed yet obviously, but it would still be an interesting discussion to ponder about an alternative outcome of wondering what major corporation should purchase Lamborghini from Volkswagen AG, as an example.
– By: Chris Chin
Source: Reuters
Even though the BMW M2 literally just came out a few months ago, BMWBlog reports Munich already set a death sentence for the car, by 2020.
With simple math that you don’t need an Asian to help you do, that leaves less than five years left with the car’s lifespan, meaning if you want one brand new, you better start saving up over the next few.
Click here for our original post on the 2016 BMW M2.
Sources within BMW suggested production was to be far greater than that of the original 1-Series M Coupe, but the M2 will still be capped at 11,000 units total, averaging out to around 2,200 per year, globally. Some speculation suggests the number could increase though with the possibility of an M2 convertible variant, though such speculation remains in the rumormill, though such a possibility isn’t totally unlikely.
Either way, buyers still can opt for a pretty potent 2-Series coupe in the form of the semi-M-treated M235i.
– By: Chris Chin
Source: BMW Blog
Porsche officially announced to be introducing a refreshed Cayman and Boxster, firstly by appending the series number, 718, to the name to create the 718 Cayman and the 718 Boxster. It’s to pay homage to the original 718 designation from 1957–you know, to just remind you that Porsche hasn’t forgotten about its heritage.
The Typ 718 was also a class victor at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1958, so the number isn’t after some random concept of Porsche’s haunted past that didn’t make it into production. To put things more into perspective, the original 718 on with a 142hp four-cylinder.
The new 718 Cayman and 718 Boxster won’t be short on power though since Zuffenhausen also announced the introduction of some new turbocharged 1.6L and 2.0L turbocharged flat-fours for the duo with power figures topping out at around 286hp.
Given the Boxster and Cayman’s expected low curb weight, performance should be supremely balanced as they’ve always have been.
Stay tuned for more info.
– By: Chris Chin
Source: Porsche
Despite the major push to relieve our dependence on big oil providing us with gasoline to indulge in our daily petrolhead fixations, if someone were to scream–“THE END IS NIGH FOR GAS POWERED CARS”–we’d still look on from the side in dismissal, knowing that said individual could be out of his or her mind.
Because, on contrary to the popularization of electric vehicles, hybrids, and even the final coming of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, the most practical alternative propulsion vehicle to mesh the smoothest into the lives of drivers around the world has been the gasoline-powered alternative, the hybrid–meaning, it’s still going to be a while until the gasoline and diesel internal combustion engine becomes obsolete and such chants lead to truth.
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It’s coming to the end of 2015 already (believe it or not) and it’s also that time of year, auto show season! It’s also the season when the North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year finalists are announced, and that’s just what happened.
Fighting for the almighty marketing award for the car is the Honda Civic, the Mazda MX-5 and Chevrolet Malibu while the Truck/Utility finalists involve the Honda Pilot, the Nissan Titan XD, and the Volvo XC90.
The winners will be announced after a panel involving 53 automotive journalists from Canada and the United States occurs between now and the North American International Auto Show. The jurors will reportedly stick to some new “benchmarks in their segments for innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction, and value.”
The date for the announcement of the winners is set for January 11th.
– By: Chris Chin
Source: NOCTY
Mercedes-Benz recently launched a whole bunch of information and pictures of the next-generation E-Class sedan, but only of the car’s interior and its development.
Ok, at least they gave us something to work off of. So, what’s new?
Well, if you were expecting basically the interior of an S-Class but at midsize level proportions and quality, then you expected correct, as the interior of the new E-Class looks strikingly similar to that of the new S-Class and even the new C-Class.
Like the S-Class though, the E-Class interior does entirely without analog gauges for a similar dual wide-LCD screen display across the driver-side and center console of the dash, to make a total of 12.3 inches per display–that’s a lot of friggen real estate for some LCD screens.
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Hyundai finally got around to revealing their hotly anticipated, Genesis G90, which is essentially our next-generation Equus and the first car to be launched under the company’s new luxury sub-brand, Genesis.
The model revealed is specifically for the Korean Domestic Market and thus, is slightly different than the model we’ll be getting on shores, but not by much. For instance, the G90 in Korea will be suffixed by the codename, EQ900. But, that’s almost pretty much it as the Genesis G90 EQ900 should virtually be mechanically identical to our version, due sometime next year.
That means power is provided by a new base 3.8L naturally-aspirated and direct-injected V6, a carry-over mill from the likes of the Hyundai Genesis sedan and the Santa Fe crossover, but in the G90, it produces 311hp. The next option up is an all-new turbocharged 3.3L V6 with 365hp on tap, while the top-spec engine remains to be the 5.0L Tau V8 with 419hp interestingly. Interestingly because the current 5.0L Tau V8 is rated for 429hp. Either way, all mills are mated to Hyundai’s latest in-house eight-speed automatic with rear- or for the first time, all-wheel drive.
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