Category: News Blog

By on April 20, 2016

2016 Buick Envision Front 3/4

Buick’s turbocharged, Chinese-made Envision crossover is landing on American shores in early summer, but the price could cause some buyers to rethink their purchase date.

Holding the title of being the first U.S. model manufactured in China, the Envision is already a two-year veteran of the overseas market. Americans are notoriously SUV-thirsty, so it was inevitable that the Envision would make its way here, loaded with a high level of standard equipment.

The starting MSRP for the 2016 Envision is $42,995 (all charges included), a figure that tops the range-leading Enclave, which starts at $39,065 (minus freight, destination and fees). Read More >

By on April 20, 2016

Ten Best/Worst Automobiles Today

So far, you’ve nominated 156 separate vehicles for TTAC’s 2016 Ten Best Award — including a cornucopia of models that shouldn’t be nominated. (Reading comprehension, people!)

Here are some insights into the Best & Brightest hive mind.

Read More >

By on April 20, 2016

Mitsubishi kei car

Mitsubishi Motors has some ‘splaining to do after fuel economy figures for its tiny overseas eK wagon were proven to be false.

The automaker overstated gas mileage by five to 10 percent over the last three model years, Bloomberg reports, allowing the minicars to be classified as greener than they actually were.

Powered by small-displacement three-cylinder engines, the vehicles are called “kei cars” in Japan (no, not K-cars). Read More >

By on April 20, 2016

2018 Honda CR-V (3)

Spy photos of the next-generation Honda CR-V have just rolled in from rural Ohio.

The camo-clad vehicle can’t hide the extensively restyled body planned for the 2018 model year. Honda’s plan is to grow the size of the strong-selling crossover, while bringing the whole package upscale. Read More >

By on April 20, 2016

Mario tips his Nissan Micra during a testing day at Mt-Tremblant

Mario Berthiaume will never forget May 21, 2015.

The rookie racer from Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada is laying down pre-season testing laps in a brand-new racecar prior to the first race of the Nissan Micra Cup. The car feels good. Mario’s lap times are falling, albeit gradually, thanks in part to a new set of tires. His approach is methodical. He’s taking on one corner at a time; after perfecting one turn as much as he can, he moves on to the next. After all, mastering braking points, lines, and apexes at Mont-Tremblant is key to getting the most out of the low power, pint-size racer.

Everything is going as planned.

That is, until seven laps into the fourth shakedown session of the day. Mario makes a rookie mistake and it happens. The rear of the #7 Micra swings right-then-left like a pendulum. The fresh rubber digs into the warming tarmac on the inside of Circuit Mont-Tremblant’s turn 10, causing the Micra to tip and roll. In under 10 seconds, Mario’s racing dream has turned into a $30,000 nightmare — and the twisted aftermath is resting on its side on the outside of turn 10.

His season is over before it even begins.

Read More >

By on April 20, 2016

2014 Mazda 3 5-door

Through the first-quarter of 2016, U.S. auto sales volume grew 3 percent compared with the same period in record-setting 2015.

Mazda’s U.S. sales have fallen 17 percent, a meaningful decline of 13,399 sales over the course of only three months.

Something isn’t clicking for Mazda. Read More >

By on April 20, 2016

Volkswagen TDI

The device Volkswagen used to cheat on emissions tests sat on a shelf for years before the automaker employed it on its diesel-powered vehicles.

Audi engineers created the software in 1999, but it was not immediately used by Volkswagen, according to the German newspaper Handelsblatt (via Reuters). Read More >

By on April 19, 2016

2014-jaguar-xfr-s-sportbrake-20

Jaguar’s design chief just broke the hearts of that tiny, tiny group of enthusiasts who were holding out for a new Jaguar wagon.

Ian Callum threw an ice cold pot of tea onto speculation that the British automaker would offer a wagon version of one of its new sedans, telling a group of auto journos in London that they were done with estate cars, Automotive News Europe has reported.

The reason for this has a lot to do with why Callum and the journalists were in the same room. The event concerned the 2017 Jaguar F-Pace, the automaker’s first crossover SUV. Read More >

By on April 19, 2016

Volkswagen Chattanooga Tower

Nope. Nuh-uh. Not gonna do it.

That was Volkswagen’s reaction to the idea of publishing its first-quarter results on time, according to Automotive News Europe, meaning the automaker’s current financial standing will be unknown until May 31.

The beleaguered company has bigger things to deal with in the near term — mainly, meeting the U.S. government’s April 21 deadline for a fix for vehicles caught up in the diesel emissions scandal. An April 21 deadline was issued last month by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, extending a missed deadline on a one-time-only basis. Read More >

By on April 19, 2016

Ten Best/Worst Automobiles Today

Hey, valued readers! This is a helpful reminder that if you don’t send us your Top 10 picks for the best and worst vehicles of 2016, you can’t win $100 of free stuff.

No one wants to miss out on free stuff, so follow these easy guidelines to be eligible for a $100 Amazon gift card. Blow off some repressed car anger while you’re at it. Tell us how you really feel about those models that tickle your fancy or fill you with rage and disappointment.

The clock runs out at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, April 24.

It’s easy — follow the link below and make your opinion known!

 

Submit your 2016 Ten Best/Ten Worst Nominations By Clicking Here

By on April 19, 2016

Lexus IS teaser

Lexus has redesigned its midsize IS because the styling wasn’t daring enough already.

The updated model was teased in an image released by Lexus ahead of next week’s Beijing Motor Show, where the next IS will be officially unveiled. Read More >

By on April 19, 2016

2015 Chevrolet Bolt EV Concept all electric vehicle – Exterior

When you’re in conversation with a self-described urbanist, it’s usually impossible to avoid numerous references to Amsterdam, that progressive utopia of bikes, tulips, marijuana-smoking tourists, and more bikes.

Well, expect to hear about it even more, now that Dutch parliament has passed a Dutch Labor Party motion to ban the sale of internal combustion vehicles in that country after 2025, according to Auto Express. The bill, which requires senate approval to become the law of the land, would see existing gas and diesel vehicles grandfathered, and the sale of new ones banned. Read More >

By on April 19, 2016

 Buick LaCrosse Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV)

The Beijing Motor Show begins next week, but Buick couldn’t wait a minute longer.

At yesterday’s 2016 Buick Day event in Shanghai (was there a parade?), the automaker rolled out its LaCrosse Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV), a model tailor-made for the Chinese market.

China loves Buicks, and Buick loves them right back, so much so that the U.S. will get a Chinese-made model this fall. The LaCrosse HEV is part of General Motors’ plan to foist as many vehicles on China as possible. Read More >

By on April 19, 2016

lINCOLN-cONTINENTAL-pRESIDENTIAL-2

China’s thirst for American executive sedans knows no bounds, so Lincoln is rubbing its palms together and giving the red-hot luxury market exactly what it wants: piles and piles of prestige.

The Continental nameplate is already soaked in presidential history, but for the Chinese market, the company’s flagship model needed something a little more…obvious. These images from China’s Autohome (via Carscoops) reveals Lincoln’s elegant solution — the addition of a “Presidential” badge to the sedan’s rear. Read More >

By on April 18, 2016

china battle

Idle hands are the Devil’s workshop, as the saying goes. Now imagine those hands are on the throttles and control levers of heavy, wheeled machinery.

A street battle broke out in China’s Hebei province over the weekend, according to the Associated Press, one that saw members of rival construction companies go at it in large, front end loaders. Read More >

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