Confirming the recent rumours that have been circulating on the internet, General Motors has released the first images and details of the 5-door Chevrolet Cruze hatchback. The show car will be officially unveiled at the 2010 Paris Motor Show on the last day of September.
Although billed as a show car, the production version should not have many changes to the exterior design. The model is described to feature a coupe-like roofline to enhance the overall sporty appearance and it is built on a
After 11 accidents involving the newly launched 458 Italia with five of them ended up in flames, Ferrari finally decided to investigate the issue and announced a recall on their latest supercar.
According to CNN, Ferrari's investigators discovered defects in the bonding adhesive used to attach the heat-shield to the wheel arch in each of the five cars that caught fire. Since the heat-shield is used to shelter the wheel arch housing from the exhaust pipe, in the event that the glue dissolves
There have been quite a few French cars tested recently over at SgCarMart recently and those of you who cannot get enough of anything French, I am glad to report that I had a spin in a 2010 308 VTi 1.6 quite recently.
This car has been around since 2008 and for SG$100k, gives you a whole lot of car for the money. The 308 1.6 I drove is a Malaysian specced car. Which only lacks the glass roof of the one sold in Singapore. Over in Singapore, you'd get a panoramic glass roof, dual zone air-c
A Norwegian website claims to have snagged the first official photo of the 2011 Volkswagen Passat from one of the automaker's European retailers, and sources suggest that we could see the restyled mid-size sedan as early as the Paris Motor Show this October.
There's still some question about what engines will be available when the new Passat arrives next year. Expect VW's ubiquitous turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four and 1.8 TSI units to reappear in the revised model. A new 300-horsepower 3
Hyundai has pulled a 180-degree turn in brand image over the past few years, but alas, no one is immune to the threat of recalls. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in USA has recently begun a preliminary investigation of the new Hyundai Sonata for an issue with the steering system.
Approximately 16,300 of the Alabama-built units could be affected, although there have been no official complaints, injuries, or accidents yet. According to the NHTSA, the intermediate st
Rome is still on track to host a round of the world championship in 2012 or 2013, the Italian capital's mayor revealed recently.
A possible street race in the famous city has been on the cards for quite some time now, but it had been thought that political obstacles had thwarted the plans. But mayor Gianni Alemanno told a morning television programme on Rai 1 television stating that "from 2012 or no later than 2013, a grand prix will take place in Rome.
Onyx or Onyx Concept is an Irish company that started out with tuning the Range Rover Sport and all sorts of premium SUVs (like the Porsche Cayenne and the full sized Range Rover) and the odd Bentley (the Continental GT). They have now gone a little down market with the BMW E92/93 M3. Of course, onyx is a semi precious stone, so loved by traditional Englishmen who think that luxury means an onyx coffee table for their living room. And that table is usually a little garish and slightly over the t
[extract]
Talks are ongoing between Saab Automobile and three car manufacturers on sharing their technology in a move to reduce model-development costs and bolster its recovery, according to Spyker Cars NV Chief Executive Officer Victor Muller, the head of Saab
Volvo is one of those manufacturers that are seriously pursuing engine downsizing in their larger passenger cars. They first started using a small 1.6liter direct injection turbo diesel in their flagship saloon the S80 a few months back and according to European reviewers, the car is still a refined car. So in a bid to further lower the carbon emissions and increaase fuel economy throughout their vehicle range, Volvo have now launched their Gasoline Turbocharged Direct Injection (GTDi) engines i
It's no longer the Nagare design philosphy for Mazda but the Shinari, said Mazda at a press conference in Milan a few days ago. The Shinari design concept car takes its design language from the Japanese concept of 'Kodo' or 'soul in motion'. This new concept will replace the natural Nagare concept which takes the flow of motion in nature. In other words, both are ideas about movement, with the new concept supposedly more soulful than the earlier more nature inspired one.
The Shinari design p
In another sign of the growing importance of the Russian market, Ford chose the 2010 Moscow International Auto Show for the world premiere of its facelifted Mondeo series that rivals the likes of the Opel Insignia, Mazda6 and Volkswagen Passat.
On the outside, all three body styles (four-door sedan, five-door liftback and estate) of the 2011 Mondeo gained a restyled front bumper with LED daytime running lights, a revised bonnet profile and restyled LED tail lamps. Interior revisions are kept
After a mid-season break, the Formula 1 Grand Prix is back again with the Belgian Grand Prix at the Circuit de Spa-Francochamps, a circuit both spectacular and emotive. The La Source hairpin, the downhill plunge to Eau Rouge, the forest setting and the longest lap distance in the Formula 1 World Championship which according to the Formula 1 drivers, a fabulous track to race on and a fantastic race for us to watch. This time, Lewis Hamilton driving the McLaren wins the pretty damp and wet race.
[extract]
For those who feel that the previous generation Honda City has the ugliest rear, please reserve your comments until you see this freakish automobile
Hot on the heels of the presentation of the updated 2011 Accord sedan and coupe models for North America, Honda today released the refreshed JDM version of the saloon that goes by the name Inspire in Japan. This is the equivalent of the Thailand-built Honda Accord that Kah Motors brings into Singapore.
Since the Inspire already featured the 2011 Accord's reflector extensions at the back, Honda focused its attention on the front end which received a new grill, and bumper design which mimics i
German firm Senner Tuning has released a new line of styling and performance enhancements for the freshly introduced Audi A1 supermini with the 1.6 TDI diesel engine.
The tuner starts by massaging the 1.6-liter diesel with a recalibrated ECU, boosting output from 105HP to 140HP. Peak torque also climbs from 250Nm to 310Nm. A new sports exhaust system with a pair of 90 mm tail pipes and an upgraded KW suspension kit is also part of the package, while the car's stance is made more aggressive w
[extract]
The FoMoCo (Ford Motor Company) and Mazda Motor Corporation are investing a total of US$350million on a joint 50:50 venture in Thailand. This comes pretty soon after Ford
[extract]
Lotus has unveiled photos (and specs) of two new Lotus Evora models ahead of their public debut at the upcoming Paris Motor Show. One of the models is the Lotus Evora IPS (Intelligent Precision Shift), which is Lotus marketing talk for something so dull and common called the
In recent years, the concept of design cross-overs or collaborations between designers has caught on with car manufacturers in a big way.
Thus far, most of the collaborations have been with design houses to release luxury or designer versions of their cars. Mind you, these include all range of cars from the affordable (Levis Chevy; Agnes B Peugeot) to the grossly expensive (Hermes Bugatti).
But sometimes luxury isn't quite enough. After all, if you drive an expensive towkay sedan, you a
Full details of Peugeot 3008 Hybrid 4 has emerged as the car is heading to next month's Paris motor show in production form. This is the first hybrid production car from PSA, also the world's first diesel-electric hybrid.
By mating the already very efficient 2000-bar common-rail injection turbo diesel engine with a small electric motor, Peugeot achieves a carbon footprint of just 99 grams per kilometre. This compares well with the most efficient hybrid and advanced diesel cars currently on
Don't be mistaken. Hyundai is not going into the music industry but launching a new subcompact sedan. Along with the local version of the new Sonata, Hyundai is also showing the RB "concept" at the Moscow International Motor Show. What we're really looking at here is a thinly disguised version of the Russian market Verna/Accent subcompact, which originally made its world premiere at the Beijing Auto Show back in April 2010.
The RB will be built at Hyundai's first full-cycle plant in Saint Pe
[extract]
Mercedes Benz owners have got Brabus Carlsson and a few others to tweak their cars. BMW owners have got Hartge and Alpina to name a few too. Audi and VW owners have ABT and MTM if you wanted to tune one. But when it comes to Volvo, that sometimes is the other choice that is chosen over the usual suspects mentioned above, you are usually stumped on what
Brabus has launched their styling, handling as well as a slight performance upgrade for the gullwinged Mercedes Benz SLS AMG.
Launched sometime last year, the SLS AMG is designed to be a modern 1950s 300SL Gullwing revival and basically replaced the flamboyant SLR McLaren. In standard Mercedes-AMG form, it already looks very impressive right up to the rear section where it does seem slightly plain looking. However, Brabus being a performance tuner, a very Mercedes specific tuner, means that
China always seems to come up with the strangest ideas and some of them actually seem pretty amazing. This is no exception. One geek managed to turn an Ipod into an Iphone, now they're thinking of making a bus that cars can drive under them to ease congestion.
It is a good idea to start of with as driving behind a bus is avoided most of the time by motorists. The reason is simple; buses are slow, huge, takes forever to change lanes and if they cut across the entire road to turn right at a j
The boys over at Gtrblog have got a hold on the 2012 Model Year "MY" (or end 2011 JDM) R35 Nissan GT-R specification, prices and pictures! According to them, the pics and specification stated here are of the real thing.
The 2011JDM Nissan GT-R has a new factory code too, from CBA-R35 to DBA-R35. Visual updates and upgrades include LED daytime driving lights located on a restyled front bumper. The shape of the little winglets/canards have changed and there is also a redesigned rear bumper/dif
